Nationality: French Born-Died: 1684-1721 Creation Date: 1718-1719 Size: 93.9 x 47.7 in (55.9 x 45.7 cm) Media: Oil on canvas Location: The National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
This wonderful painting is another example of a work that was given a title after the death of the artist. Apparently the lutist is a depiction of Watteau himself. It appears as if the primary figures in this painting are about to engage in a very serious dance. As is typical of Watteau, it also appears as if some sexual advances are being made by other characters.
Nationality: Dutch Born-Died:
1632-1675 Creation Date:
1656 Size: 56 × 51 inch (143 × 130
cm) Media: Oil on
canvas Location: Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany
It has been speculated that this scene which depicts a "music hall" (a kind of bar/brothel) with a man picking up a prostitute also includes a self-portrait of Vermeer on the left. I would hate to think of that drunk with the dirty grin on his face was the brilliant and subtle artist Johannes Vermeer! That being said, this painting has many, many visual virtues.
It might seem strange to us to see carpeting on a table, but that was commonplace in Delft at that time. Also, although much speculation has been written about it, it is unknown why the blue jug is so precariously placed on the edge of the table.
Creation Date: c. 1660 Size: 7.5 x 10.6 in. (19 x 27 cm) Media: Oil on copper Location: Louvre, Paris, France
Considering how small this painting is it is very realistic and solid looking. I am also inrigued by the fact that it is painted on a sheet of copper, which is uncommon and, from my understanding, difficult to do when you consider how easily the paint can flake off after a few years or even months. That being said, I think many painters (such as myself) are tempted to paint on sheets of metal because they obviously last longer than canvas or any kind of wood-based panel.
I really like the male figure in this painting, but the old woman is practically a cartoon. I would like it better if the woman wasn't even there.
Please enjoy Jennifer's fascinating take on this unusual work. If you would like to host this blog for a day, feel free to drop me a line.
Nationality: AmericanBorn/Died: 1986- Creation Date: 2011Media: Musical recording and video recording
Lady Gaga is a rare performer who is both wildly popular and wildly underrated. I first recognized the "wildly underrated" part when I tried convincing a couple people that the song Bad Romance is an utterly transcendent song by someone who obviously knows "the total passion for the total height." They remained unconvinced.
Now, Lady Gaga has turned out a video that's a jaw-dropping allegory of virtue and vice. Not a simple song "advocating Satan-worship," as some YouTube commentators think, nor a slightly-less-simple ditty about a girl who likes the bad boy, Lady Gaga makes it abundantly clear that in this song, "Jesus is my virtue; Judas is the demon I cling to."
I invite you to watch the video now, before reading this analysis, as many times as you like. The more you notice on your own, the more fun this will be.
On this Day in the History of Art: Jean-Léon Gérôme born (1824), Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux born (1827), Walter Goodman born (1838), Salvador Dalí born (1904)
This week I'm going to post two images per day of Bouguereau’s work--one piece that I like and one that I don't.
Nationality: French Born-Died: 1825-1905
Nymphs and Satyr Creation Date: 1873 Size: 102.4 x 70.9 in. (260 x 180 cm) Media: Oil on canvas Location: The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA
Although I will never hang a reproduction of this painting on my wall, there are things I enjoy and respect about it. It has brilliant lighting with a wonderful and inviting warm cast. Although only one large beam lights the scene, through clever artistry, Bouguereau painted each figure with a different overall lighting scheme from the others. The reflected light that bounces off the environment and the pale figures onto other figures is handled with superb sensitivity to both stylistic effect and realism. The same can be said for the clever use of the background tonalities, which range from having high value contrast on the left to more unified tonalities on the right. Despite the sharp clarity with which the figures are represented they do not appear unnaturally stiff.
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The subject of Danae being impregnated by a shower of gold from Zeus is common in Western painting, but it is one of the few instances were money is used for something sexual. I always find it strange that the shower of gold usually takes place in the form of coins. Although the coins in this painting look (to me) static and uninspired in their presentation, this is still a beautiful painting.
This image was painted on a bedroom wall in Pompeii and it was buried when Vesuvius erupted. It appears to be an inter-racial couple and there is evidence to suggest that the figures are intended to be Pygmalion and Galatea. In the Greek myth, Pygmalian was a Cypriot sculptor who did not think the women he saw in the world were good enough, so he carved a perfect woman out of ivory. Falling in love with the statue, he asked Venus to make her real and she granted his wish. Apparently the feeling was mutual!
Rodin made a great deal of very steamy, sensual, voluptuous sculptures and drawings. He is an artist that I imagine some Objectivists might be a little unsure of--some of his work presents man as strong and ecstatic while some of it presents man as tortured and crushed. He reminds me somewhat of both Michelangelo and Victor Hugo in that regard. Intrestingly, Rodin was actually a contemporary of Hugo (click here to see a bust of Hugo by Rodin.)
In this painting of "the morning after," Cupid is trying to slip out of bed without waking Psyche, but he's a little tangled. Not only is Psyche's arm draped over his leg, but she's lying on his wing and his foot is even caught on the sheets. His face has a happy, guiltless and amused look, as if his predicament was hardly a major dilemma. Psyche sleeps peacefully on a sumptuous bed while dawn breaks in the distance.
This is another Rococo painting and while it may seem un-sexual today, at the time it was quite scandalous. You may notice that the wide-eyed man and the woman both seem to be enjoying the fact that the man is looking up the girl's dress. This painting is also known as The Happy Accident of the Swing for this reason. I'm sure that the rhythm and dizzying movement of the swing is meant to be suggestive as well.
Today's post is not one that I have any strong feelings about as a work of art, but I am posting it simply because I am so shocked that it was made at all. This is an image, painted in 1627, of a former Shah of Iran with the title (descriptive title?) "Shah Abbas I and his page." It's shocking for me to see such a tender, informal portrayal from that region of what appears to be a homosexually suggestive scene. Considering also that it is a depiction of the historical ruler of the country is beyond my comprehension. I am not a scholar of Middle Eastern history in any sense, but this image certainly stands in stark contrast to what I would have guessed the former Shah of Iran would have thought about homosexual behavior.
Although there are thousands and thousands of sexual works in art museums, this is painting is particularly explicit for a Western oil painting. The stylized, wriggling lines, warm colors, overall composition and the gestures of the figures are all nicely integrated into the scene. A wonderful and sexy work of art.
This week I'm posting works of art that depict sex or sexuality in a positive light. Since Modernism genuinely positive portrayals of sex have been frowned upon by many in the arts community (particularly in art schools) for a variety of reasons--all of which I dismiss as bad ideas. So as a small gesture in the opposite direction, I am going to post and briefly comment on seven works of art which present sex and sexuality as happy, fun, satisfying, beautiful, powerful and good. Enjoy!
Once again I invited an Objectivist to host this blog for the day and today's art object was chosen by Jennifer Kerns. If would like to host this blog for a day, feel free to email me here.
I asked Jennifer to write a brief statement about her thoughts on this painting and this is what she had to say:
This is one of the most beautiful paintings in human history and it has a fascinating story which you can read here. Scandals, ruination, Sargent caving into public pressure, stuff like that.
