Georges de la Tour's "The Education of the Virgin"*

Seven works of art I would like to see at the Frick

I recently visited New York and seeing the Frick was part of my plans, but due to time constraints I couldn't do it.  Anyway, in an effort to turn lemons into lemonade, I'm going to post seven works of art from the Frick that I wish I could have seen.  

Nationality: French

Born-Died: 1593-1652

Creation Date: c. 1600 to 1652

Size: 33 x 39 1/2  in (83.8 x 100.3 cm)

Media: Oil on canvas 

Location: The Frick Collection, New York City, New York, USA

I don't know for sure but it's possible that the image here is actually from a copy in France, but it is extremely similar to the painting in the Frick nonetheless.  The anatomical rendering here is slightly awkward--it reminds me of George Tooker--but the light is great (as I would expect.)  In any case I'd like to see this painting.

* the authorship of this painting has been questioned.

Diego Velazquez's "Philip IV at Fraga"

Nationality: Spanish
Born-Died: 1599-1660
Creation Date: 1644
Size: 51 x 39 in (129.8 x 99.4 cm) 
Media: Oil on canvas 
Location: The Frick Collection, New York City, New York, USA

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres' "Madame Jacques-Louis Leblanc (née Françoise Poncelle, 1788–1839)"

Nationality: French
Born-Died: 1780 - 1867
Creation Date: 1823
Size: 47 x 36.5 inch (119.4 x 92.7 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, USA

Johannes Vermeer's "The Music Lesson"

Nationality: Dutch
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: c. 1662-1665
Size: 29.4 × 25.2 inch (74.6 × 64.1 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Royal Collection, St. James Palace, London, U.K.

Starting the Year with Johannes Vermeer: "Saint Praxedis"

Nationality: Dutch
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: c.1655
Size: 40 × 33 inch (102 × 83 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: Private Collection

This is another work with a disputed authorship. 

Starting the Year with Johannes Vermeer: "Diana and Her Companions"

Nationality: Dutch
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: c.1653-1556
Size: 38.8 × 41 inch (98.5 × 105 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands

Authorship of this painting has been disputed over the centuries, but many art historians now believe it was painted by Vermeer.  The original signature read "J.V. Meer" which would seem to indicate Johannes Vermeer (when he was younger he would sometimes sign his name "van der Meer.") Johannes was not the only painter named "Vermeer" in Delft, which has fueled the flame of mystery, but it is considered likely to be by Johannes Vermeer. 

Unfortunately, this painting has been manipulated a great deal since it's creation: portions of it have been re-painted and it has been cropped.  Manipulation of paintings is more common than you might think.

Albert Bierstadt's "Sunset in the Rockies"

Nationality: German-American
Born-Died: 1830-1902

Creation Date: 1866

Media: Oil on canvas

Frederick Sandys' "May Margaret"

Nationality: English
Born-Died: 1829- 1904

Creation Date: 1865-1866

Size: 17.5 x 11.5 inch (44.45 x 29.21 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas

Alphonse Mucha's "Winter"

Nationality: Czech
Born-Died: 1860-1939

Creation Date: 1896

Media: *

Location: Private Collection

* On Wikimedia (the source of this image) the medium is listed as "Oil on panel" which doesn't seem right at all to me.  I was always under the impression that this was a lithograph.  When I saw a similar Mucha poster in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, it was definitely a print of some kind and I suspect this is a print as well.

Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello

I was chatting with a friend about which of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' namesake was the best artist--I found it challenging to say. Which do you like best? Which do you like least? With this in mind, I thought it would be fun to show my favorite piece by each of these artists (in no particular order.)

Raphael's La Fornarina

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1483-1520

Creation Date: 1518-1519
Size: 33 in × 24 in. (85× 60 cm)
Media: Oil on panel
Location: Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy

(This picture doesn't do this painting justice)



Michelangelo's Lybian Sybil

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1475-1564

Creation Date: 1508–1512
Media: Frescoe
Location: Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome, Italy



Donatello's St. Mark

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1386-1466

Creation Date: 1411–1413
Size: 93 in. (236 cm)
Media: Marble
Location: Orsanmichele, Florence, Italy



Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1452-1519

Creation Date: 1489-1490
Size: 21 in × 15 in. (54× 39 cm)
Media: Oil on panel
Location: Czartoryski Museum, Kraków, Poland

One Year of Art! Jacques-Louis David's "Napoleon Crossing the Alps"

Nationality: French
Born/Died: 1748-1825

Creation Date: 1801
Size: 102.3 × 87 in. (261× 221 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison, France

All of the detail and in-context photos are by me.

Although Napoleon was a terrible and deeply flawed person (he reminds me of Gail Wynand actually), independent of the specifics of history, I have always loved this painting which is why I am posting it for the one-year anniversary of this blog. In fact, it is one of my favorites--a powerful view of man as a capable and heroic being. When Napoleon commissioned it, he said he wanted to be portrayed as "calm on a fiery steed," which is an idea that I love.

Bartholomaeus Anglicus' "Man [Body and Soul]l"

Nationality: French
Born/Died: 1203-1272

Media: Gold (?) and tempera (?) on parchment (?) or vellum (?)
Location: Les Mans, France

Considering that it was made during the Dark Ages, and despite it's technical awkwardness, this is a surprisingly upbeat view of man.

G. I. Larishev's "Halloo, Halloo, Annushka" Decorative Box Cover

Nationality: Russian

Creation Date: 1991
Media: Painted lacquer box cover



I admit I do not understand the significance of this title.

A. A. Fedorov "In the Woods" Decorative Box Cover

Nationality: Russian

Creation Date: 1993
Media: Painted lacquer box cover

S. S. Rogatov's "Autumn" Decorative Box Cover

Nationality: Russian

Creation Date: 1988
Media: Painted lacquer box cover



Another beautiful painting from Lacquer Miniatures Fedoskino: Masterpieces of Russian Folk Art.

Albert Herter's "Young Girl"

Nationality: American
Born/Died: 1870–1950

Henri Regnault's "Execution without Trial"

On this Day in the History of Art: Rosa Bonheur died (1899), "Star Wars" released (1977)

Nationality: French
Born-Died: 1843-1871
Creation Date: 1870
Media: Oil on canvas
Size: 119 x 57.5 in. (302 x 146 cm)
Location: Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France



This is a grim painting with many artistic virtues, but one in particular involves the technique with which it was painted. Of course the paintings of Jackson Pollock do not qualify as art from the Objectivist standpoint (instead I would call them terrible works of design), but it wasn't because of his splatter/drip technique. While most of the subjects depicted here were rendered in a more-or-less traditional way, some of the blood was rendered by dripping and splattering the paint in a way that is not essentially different from Pollock's technique. The difference is that in Regnault's painting the paint has been carefully integrated into the subjects.

Unknown Painting by George Heming Mason

Fraz Xavier Winterhalter's "Prince Albert"

I've always loved paintings like this but I think too many people get caught up in the fact that portraits often depict a specific person. Because portraits are depictions of people many audiences and artists have concluded that the purpose of portraits is to depict people. Consequently they believe "identity" is at the root of artistic portraiture. This is the underlying thinking behind "Portrait Galleries" which usually focus on the history of the subjects instead of the artistry of the painter. I say: it's a good work of art in spite of the fact that it is a depiction of Prince Albert. Identification (of an identity) is at the root of non-artistic portraiture (mug shots, driver's licenses, etc.) but metaphysics is at the root of artistic portraiture. The same is true for other subjects like landscape (in art and non-art.) I don't care about Prince Albert and I don't think anyone else does either. It's not a work of art or a good work of art because it depicts Prince Albert or "captures his identity."

50th Posting! Jacques-Louis David's "Napoleon Crossing the Alps"

Because today is special I'm posting one of my favorite paintings. It is sometimes also called Napoleon Crossing the St. Bernard Pass.