homepage travelogue bottom back to last page Clicking on any picture enlarges and scales it to 6:4 it in a new window
As though capturing the brief impression of a passerby, Edouard Manet here painted a young Parisienne sitting in a café or brasserie, a glass of beer at her side. Even her face consists of just a few quick strokes applied to the white-primed canvas like makeup. She is probably reading the recently launched La Vie Moderne, a magazine with short articles on literature, art, and society that appealed to men and women alike. Manet contributed illustrations to the publication and exhibited some of his works -including this one- at its offices.
So this is how a fashionable lady reads. No ham-handed grabbing to consume, she has on gloves and only handles the magazine at the corners.
(BELOW) ========================================================================================
Gustave Caillebotte French, 1848-1894 Paris Street; Rainy Day, 1877 Oil on canvas
What the experts say: "In his masterpiece, Paris Street; Rainy Day, Gustave Caillebotte brought an unusual monumentality and compositional control to a typical Impressionist subject, the new boulevards that were changing the Paris cityscape. The result is at once real and contrived, casual and choreographed. With its curiously detached figures, the canvas depicts the anonymity that the boulevards seemed to create."
Now, let's hear from just some slub: "I like the detail, like the delicate veil over the woman's face in the foreground. Everything - people and horses - seem in motion. One feels like the couple is about to brush by in an instant, haven't we all experienced this? I don't think EVERY umbrella would catch the light: some should be dark."
This canvas is Pierre-Auguste Renoir's second attempt to fulfill a commission from the stockbroker Leon Clapisson, a new collector of Impressionism, to paint his wife, Valentine. Initially, the artist decided to paint Madame Clapisson outdoors, taking tea in a rose garden, but neither Renoir nor Clapisson was satisfied with the result. In this second portrait, the sitter appears indoors in an evening dress, set against an abstract background that picks up the reds from her chair, blues from her dress, and yellows from her gloves.
If you have found my Munich art gallery reviews (Munich) (Hey, the Louvre too!) you know my take in portraiture: it's always about the hands. Here they are gloved and hold a feather. Though most of the women is just nothing special, I think her eyes convey some personality long after she has left our world behind.
I have wandered into an area featuring older art. Most of it is religious. The Church was among the few with enough money to sponsor art. I don't care for most of it.
This fellow looks to be a painter - he is sharpening a quill pen. The only reason I include this painting is look at the blemish on his cheek. If they were careful enough to include the blemish, then I would argue the rest of this young dude must be just as accurate.
I always enjoy paintings where the holy family of 2000 years ago are dressed like contemporaries of the 1500's. This is a beautiful dress - look at the detail. Look at the folds everywhere and at the detail in the angles wings. This is very beautiful all around. Why is Christ reading a bible that hasn't been written by his deciples yet? Is it an advanced copy?
These panels once formed the wings of a triptych, or three-paneled folding altarpiece. Its center (now in the Musks Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels) shows the Virgin and Child enthroned under an elaborate architectural canopy. The two elegant saints can be identified by their attributes. Behind Saint Barbara is the tower where her father locked her up to keep her safe from suitors; Saint Catherine is depicted with the wheel upon which she was tortured and the sword used to behead her. She also holds up a ring to the lively Christ Child in the Brussels panel, indicating that her mystical union with Christ is the subject of the altarpiece.
Once again, I marvel at the detail
The red, green, and blue primary colors used in this painting is very pleasing. But I include this picture only because, unlike many other surrounding pictures of baby Christ, his unit is tastefully covered up by a foot.
At Zama, outside Carthage, in 202 B.C. the Roman general Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal's army, despite the powerful elephants deployed by the Carthaginians. This painting incorporated silk and gold threads and some of the prestige of tapestry.
I am always interested in Roman history. I like the desperation of battle depicted here, particularly the wounded. I have heard of similar incidents, including battles fought by Alexander the Great where the wounded, unable to stand, keep fighting.