WashDC 17: Bazille and friends

Held in the new East Wing revamp, they did the entrance right.

Wow. On the last day of the show, July 9, I was lucky enough to be in DC. I was lucky enough to read about it. And I was lucky enough to see it. This was a great show, about one of the early Impressionists who did not live long enough to see just where the movement was going.

Frédéric Bazille Reclining Nude, 1864

Who was Frédéric Bazille? He was one of the original founders of the Impressionist movement, the others being Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissaro, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley and Berthe Morisot. These young painters had formed ties through studios and contact with Manet. Morisot, the female in the group, was more sheltered, as studio painting for a woman was not yet “acceptable.”

A fresh look at a more spectral palate, more realistic subject matter and a concentration of creating imagery using the nature of paint, rather than duplicating drawing in color was an impetus for this group. They traded pencils in for brushes. Degas and Cassatt even go back to the old tradition of pastel. They are the children of Delacroix, Corot, Courbet, as well as Turner and Constable. Because of them, we admire the work of Boudin,  Jongkind and Diaz. Without them there is less appreciation of Whistler and Sargeant, and there is no Matisse.

9 rue de la Condamine done in 1870

“I am having fun so far painting the interior of my studio with my friends. Manet did me himself.”

Bazille’s Self-Portrait with Palette, 1865 and Self-Portrait with a Detachable Color, 1865-67.

A rare portrait by  Claude Monet Portrait of Bazille at the Farm of Saint-Siméon and a photo of the artist.

Cailleboite and Sisley lived long enough to see their place in the sun. Sisley, for example, is always considered first rate, but never strays far from the original tenets. The beauty of his work lies in those wonderful snow scenes where his lightness of touch of color sets him slightly apart. Renoir and Monet moved toward their own direction, the former a portrait painter, the later a landscapist. Degas is always Degas, with or without Impressionism. He is the draughtsman of a century, where there was no such shortage of great draughtsmen. Morisot continued to paint her paintings in that wonderful style she had developed as a young woman. Pisarro, the oldest, but youngest at heart, reinvented himself constantly. Later members like Cezanne and late joiners Cassatt, Gauguin and Seurat, were already in another direction.

One of his best to me, has always been Portraits de famille (Family Reunion)

Not everyone fits into that Impressionistic mold. Degas did not, but his use of pastels blurred that a little, but like Bazille, his painting is harder edged and in the early canvasses the paint thinner and brushwork less textural. Caillebotte in paintings such as  Rue de Paris; temps de pluie (Paris Street; Rainy Day) has that similarity in paint. The difference is Bazille is really a master at light which shapes his form, he and Monet really do have that in common. Even in his later works shown, the brushwork is subdued, but the light still plays an important part in shaping the painting

Femmes au jardin [Women in the Garden] is one of my favorite Monet’s. Madame Monet painted four times. Look what he does with the light with each of the dresses, now look at Bazille’s painting above. Lucky for us, it appeared at the show.

Monet in ’66 and Bazille in ’67 both owe that sense of detail to fabric to the tradition of Ingres, one of  the best textural artists of the French school extending back as far as the paintings of Clouet. Texture is a hard, and sometimes tedious thing to visually create, it may involve pattern, and a specific use of value. Bazille’s sensibility to light and texture is different than Monet. Most of the Impressionists eventually abandoned use of texture. I can only think of Caillebotte as the one that kept some semblance of it. Cezanne for example created monumental form from color, but abandoned texture altogether.

Frédéric Bazille’s View of the Town, the model I read was actually his sister.

Frédéric Bazille’s La Toilette

La Toilette is quite a sensational painting, the three figures compressed in a square format, the beautiful flesh tones of the women, the use of pattern and texture, and the rich palette make it a real looker.  The young woman to the right could have stepped out of a later Renoir, right down to the dress, when he went for less fuzzy brushwork. The work also has elements of Delacroix. The knee and foot of the center figure are a little awkward, but the idea of pushing out the woman on the left and pushing back the center figure whose torso is lying on the bed is done well. He gives it a few dark highlights on the edges of the torso to hold it together. The rich color and pattern of the background and the beautiful use of paint for the fuzzy stripes on the woman in the left in the foreground is a beautiful device. The painting depends on color, even though drawing with a brush is obvious. It is well composed, and put together. I had never seen even copies of this one.

Frédéric Bazille’s Summer Scene (Bathers)

Each painter sees light in a different way, and so for Bazille when compared to Monet.  To me, Monet saw shadows as patterns from light. The Reunion piece shows a painter who sees things under a distinct canopy and light dapples in. If you have ever shot a camera under these conditions, you see light differently, the patterns are less distinct and those spots of light that seep in form abstractions, next to the regularity the forms under the light-blocked canopy form. Even his outdoor male bathers, seem to be the product of outdoor light like 1884-7 bathing beauties of Renoir.

How many of us when young have either drawn or photographed ourselves nude, and then later sat embarrassed with the results? I have gotten the feeling that Bazille may have done the same with this painting. While his dreamy eyed bather in the above painting, seems a bit cliche for a young Frenchman, this one seems you painted yourself, your brother or a friend mooning someone and then felt a little ridiculous after. Think about it when you compare it to something like  L’Âge d’airain (The Age of Bronze) by Rodin.

Frédéric Bazille’s  Le Pêcheur à l’épervier (The Fisherman with a Net)

Frédéric Bazille’s Young Woman with Peonies (Le musée Fabre)

Frédéric Bazille’s Young Woman with Peonies (National Gallery DC), 1870

The above paintings were a joy to see together. I have loved forever this painting from the collection of the National Gallery, and it has sat for years without context. I have always believed it was a response to Degas’ 1865 A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers (Madame Paul Valpinçon).

Frédéric Bazille’s The Western Ramparts at Auiges-Mortes. 1867

Pierre Auguste Renoir’s Frédéric Bazille, 1867 and  Frédéric Bazille’s Pierre Auguste Renor, 1868-69.

In 1870, Bazille became a victim of warfare, during the Franco-Prussian War. He died at 28, these amazing paintings were all that was left of him for us. It was said that Renoir was embittered upon news of his death, and that had he tried to talk his friend out of joining the army to begin with. Several of his paintings were secured by his father, which is why they are in the museum at Montpelier. The portrait by Renoir (above) was then owned by Manet, and his father made a trade of another for the portrait of his son. Some say he was forgotten altogether when Impressionism gained steam.

What a difference 150 years make. The audience compared to the artist, the dandy meets the barbarians, I suppose.

Life is a series of accidents, many more pleasant than not. The visiting of this show reminded me of a young art student hitching to Boston and someone telling him about a Cezanne show at BFA. He made it to a great show, full of wonderful paintings. His old counterpart, decades later, fell into a similar accident. Several years ago, when in Paris, I was at the Musée d’Orsay, some of these paintings were not on display due to a show they were getting ready for Manet. It was wonderful both to see and be able to photograph, what was not allowed the day I was there. Thanks curators of the National Gallery DC, you put a great show together.

Autumn in New York: Chihuly LIVE

Splashes of the Halloween season in the Children’s Park, become a backdrop for the work of Dale Chihuly.

These postcards from the Bronx Botanical Gardens, use many areas of the park as a backdrop for the work of glassmaker Dale Chihuly. Many images are variations of work done before. Chihuly’s work is always worthwhile to see, being the foremost glassmaker since Tiffany, but steeped in the twentieth and the twenty-first century. Don’t miss it if you can before October 29.

The genius of Dale Chihuly.

roma 17: Finding Caravaggio

The Fortune Teller, an early work of the master in the Capitoline collection

Another copy exists in the Louvre.

A while back, I had read the definitive biography, M: The Man Who Became Caravaggio by Robb  and blogged on some of the work of Michelangelo Merisi (1571 – 1610) , or as we know him, Caravaggio. Thus, seeing a second version of The Fortune Teller, but with more classic treatment of the male (the Louvre version seems to be a portraits of one of his assistants or friends).

S. Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist) also on view at the Capitoline.

The St. John in the Capitoline is Caravaggio at his classic style. The use of red for the drapery and the chiaroscuro used on the figure, already gives you an idea where Rubens and Correggio will go, with slightly broader palettes. After seeing the Rafaello rooms in the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, you kind of get the reaction to the color constrain that Caravaggio is going for. His concentration of flesh tones and the use of red and medium blue, go far against the black grounds.

Deposizione (The Entombment of Christ) at the Pinacoteca at the Vatican Museums

The last time I saw this was at a terrific show of Caravaggio, at Scuderie del Quirinale. Desposizione was as striking as it is today. The sculptural effects he creates in this tight space is amazing, including the way the stone they are standing on juts out. Of all his work the faces are beautifully done, especially the women, watch how the hands lead in and out of space of the group.

 Mary Magdalena (center) is truly one of the most beautiful women Caravaggio has ever painted for me.

Look at the slight angle change of the heads from John to Nicedomus

Too bad the lighting of the painting led to a flair, but overall the beauty of the faces in this one is incredible.  The beauty of simplicity, the great use of drawing. It will always be amazing to me, that Caravaggio began painting directly on canvas without dozens of preliminary drawings!

But BINGO! San Luigi dei Francesi holds three Caravaggio’s in one small chapel.

In Rome you can explore and find artist’s work onsite, as they were intended to be displayed. This is the story of Caravaggio’s series on St. Matthew. East of the Piazza Navona, in the beautiful church of San Luigi dei Francesci in a little corner chapel, for nothing, but a few coins, if you wish, you can see a display of at least two of his finest paintings. In order to really see the paintings, everyone takes turns popping in coins for the lights to stay on.

As you cannot enter the chapel it is difficult to photograph both The Calling of Saint Matthew and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew, as they are on right angles. The reason for the fuzziness of the images are due to correction of the parallax with photoshop. The vantage point also led way to the unwanted glare.

San Matteo e angelo (The Inspiration of Saint Matthew)

It is a shame that they are set so closely and the vantage point harder to see. Especially the The Calling of Saint Matthew, which is incredible in its darkness. Like a light out of darkness, Jesus stumbles into a den of dandies (check the get-ups) to call out St. Matthew, either drunk or afraid. The compressing of the action into areas leaving lots of space above, and the  gesture Christ’s hand already begin hands moving all over. Things learned from Leonardo and Michelangelo, and passed on to artists like Caravaggio and Andrea del Sarto.

Vocazione di San Matteo (The Calling of Saint Matthew), best I could do.

Vocazione di San Matteo (The Calling of Saint Matthew) (detail)

Notice how the two younger males at the right end of the table nearer to Christ, actually seem to move away from the table to open up space. Notice that face of the boy is probably Cecco at the back end. This is the face of Caravaggio’s apprentice and is seen in several paintings here, including , the angel in The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, as well as St. John the Baptist. He is probably also the boy in The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew. 

This is one painting in spite of the neutral background, where the colors the dandy’s wear, seem so outstanding. The tone here is less somber than The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew where everything is almost the same color and the figures more in a deeper space.

Martirio di San Matteo (The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew)

The space is more an indication of the work he will do beginning in Naples. A good link from the space created in Raphael’s work and eventually moving full force in the work of Correggio and Tiepolo.

 

The Allure of Michael Vasquez

Michael Vasquez C9: Ultimate/Imperial – Carol Mart

The first time I saw Vasquez’ work was at a show in the National Portrait Gallery in 2014, I thought the stuff was terrific. When OMA ran the show 2016 Florida Prize in Contemporary Art, I was pleased to see more of his work. It is large portraiture, very well painted, but arresting. Allure was one of the words used to describe his work, I just lifted it. The work, obviously, based upon photos first, nonetheless, makes color and form precise. Take a look at the color red, especially near the denim paints, in 275 North – OZ and Red below. Here is a guy who understands Rubens.

Michael Vasquez 275 North – OZ and Red

His technique, while photorealistic, is in the Close vein, but with an understanding of Pollack. The use of the modern photo with the finish, would be an interesting thing to see. Remember, Degas also was interested in the photo, shot photos, and in turn had a definitive effect on photographers. Here in Zombies, surfaces close up, are affected, but very well done. The guy understands paint, both as a wet drawing medium, but for color as well. It is like he studied up and close Delacroix brushwork in which one color visually from a distance, is can be up to  three colors with specific pattern to brushstrokes.

Michael Vasquez Zombies

Zombies (details).

The composition is Zombies, really is that good, he shoved the 4 principles into the upper right hand corner. The arm of one gang member stretches across, in a rich staccato of color The shirt of the member with the gun, is a cartoon full of rich images. The faces are modelled beautifully, once again use of paint and value. The color blends across the faces. He even blots out one of the faces, with the show of gang symbols, we have come to expect. He is post-Kehinde Wiley, in some respect, but the faces here in Zombies are powerful portraits. The gun makes it seem even more eerie.

Michael Vasquez War and Peace in Little Haiti (Rodd, Rick and James)

The figures of War and Peace in Little Haiti (Rodd, Rick and James) work beautifully with the background he has created. While the background is less subdued, the faces of the figures are more subdued. As in Zombies, the hands are beautifully done, these are not the hands of warriors or athletes, these are hands of the average young men, The light coming in from the right beautifully brings up both faces and the hand gestures. Again the figure in the foreground seems to be drenched with paint.

I wanted to put these up in school during Hispanic Heritage Month, but figured I would be blasted down by some of the parents, not for ethnic reasons. The gun in Zombies would be the first no-no. These are beautiful, powerful images that Vasquez has created, and haunting in their content. But as portraits, he has immortalized groups of people some would not want to recognize. In a way Vasquez, is the Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans or Gordon Parks of our time. He is preserving a segment of the population we need to remember, to face later, in a more benign time.

 

 

 

Another day, another Matisse

Orlando has a lot of little museums. The OMA is the biggest and specializes in American Art. The Mennolo, which was a officially for the showing of Florida painter, Earl Cunningham, specializes in more folk or naive art. The Polesek, is a museum of the sculptor, who became sort of an installation in Winter Park, where the other two museums are. There is also the Cornell Fine Arts Museum (CFAT), at Rollins college, also in Winter Park. The last museum is the wonderful Louis Comfort Tiffany collection at the Morse Museum, also in Winter Park.

I had never been to the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens. This was one of those lectures with a local artist, in conjunction with their work. That the local artist was related to Matisse, actually his grandson, made it all the more interesting. That some of the work centered on cut paper collage, something I had recently taught might give me some insight for my students.

There was a nice gathering at the Polasek for Pierre Henri Matisse, The Other Matisse. As he was running late, with impending rain, we were allowed to see the exhibition on our own. Matisse is totally charming, funny, articulate and very willing to share. He abounds with energy for a man two years shy of 90. Amazing, when one remembers the state of his younger grandfather in the famous Cartier-Bresson shots.

Royal Bouquet (We’ll Always Have Paris Series)

But we have one artist at a time. Our Matisse, does paper cut collages and some interesting paintings done richly with a palate knife. He also has a design flair for presenting his work. His playful work reminds me more of another Fauvre, Raoul Dufy.  Dufy’s work was more decorative, but with lots of rich color. The precision of Pierre’s work is quite beautiful and well done. Up close, very nicely done. I am  surprised by that he was never approached (or was he?) by book companies for cover work, especially with the We’ll Always Have Paris series.

Paris Gate (We’ll Always Have Paris series)

Violet Splash

Precision also carries into his stained glass forms, too

Olde Florida Series

In The Beginning #One

Detail of Fishes, Flowers, and Frogs. Oh My!

Santon Figurine of Artist

For more about his biography

NMlive: Days 3/4

In the early stages, it is just you and that torso and the rest of the bag of clay.

In the pleasantness of the early morning, not so cold, but a lot colder than home, with that beautiful yellow light and those tints of a New Mexican winter, we start each morning together, hand-building our sculptures. Some better than others. But everyone is determined, and there are times in the afternoon, where everyone is so intense, there is no talking.  But our mornings are always pleasant, and our instructor, Roxanne Swentzell, asks if we want coffee.

Roxanne displays how to create facial expressions.

In the early stages there is so much to look at. Now that I sit back and look. It is fascinating where the arrival point was destined from.

Dinner one night at Il Vicino

Fun walking around the Plaza in Santa Fe

Windows are always interesting in Santa Fe

 

ye-a-ah!: Finally, OMA!

When I used to visit OMA, I sometimes felt like this. . .

but then someone at OMA left something under the tree. . .like a gift!

That is because, as of now, that Chihuly I could only write about. Now, I can photograph and share it with you. For the past few years, I could only show things that were outside the galleries, or in workshop situations, like the Maya Lin or workshops, where I could show my hometown museum and collections or shows. Now, thanks to that little Japanese man who ran around with a flash, photographing everything, I learned today, I could put that camera that was in my hand to good use. So I will start, by saying, the OMA has a fresh look. They actually took down some walls, and shook up some of the collections.

We will start with the Harold Garde show, which has got me thinking how can I bring this to my students.

I have covered for some grades Matisse, Mondrian, Kline and the Hard Edge painters. Third will paint like Rothko and experiment with him, while we cover the color wheel. But I can never get enough of abstract expressionism, because it is such a natural for pure design. The kids seem to like it, and I rarely get “anybody could do that.” So this guy, I immediately love and have ideas for big paintings for Art Club done on poster paper with large brushes and a brighter palette!

Harold Garde At Pasture

The astoundingly beautiful Black and Blue/ (Black Blue and White)

Harold Garde’s Into the Woods, reminiscent of Matisse, but with his own kind of brushwork and overlay of color. His earlier work has some great overglazing going on.

Harold Garde’s Flowers

Harold Garde’s Standing/ [Standing V.16]

Harold Garde’s Jazz II

And just when you think, what am I doing teaching this, this 92 year young painter comes along and shows you the love of color on color and brushwork that delineates something. Thank you, Harold Garde. Thank you, OMA.

 

 

chi: a few hours more

Wow! Lake Michigan done in Maya Lin style.

Janene put it together before I did, and this is over security in Midway. What a great statement, and what a great way to start a weekend, in one of the most underrated city–travelwise– in the United States.

From Friday night to Sunday, a short weekend in a great architectural city, as well as a good place to spot museums. Dinner Friday at Lao Hunan. Seems like they are making a transition with the name and menu, but not with the taste. E voilà!

Saturday is done. Sunday, we went over to Pilsen to see the National Museum of Mexican Art. I am sorry we didn’t stop to eat, the smell of grilled chicken getting off at Damen, made your mouth water. Art trumps food! And the museum is always interesting, forward and worthwhile. A morning trip, spread itself into 2-1/2 hrs. worth. All of it good.

A tribute to Selena Gomez, complete with Jack in the Box wrappers!

The National Museum of Mexican Art is free, and well worth a donation. It is young in feel and provides viewers with fresh ideas about art. It has that same mentality as the Museum of Contemporary Art, also in Chicago.

On the way back to the Damen Station take the first left and catch some local murals!

At the Art Institute, we saw friends and caught two shows in the new wing.

Somewhere around the year 0, Statue of Young Dionysos (above) was created. This was quite a feather in the museum’s cap. His face almost reflects contemporary cartoons.

How would you like this for the display of your work?

Charles Ray Sculptures were set in probably one of the most dramatic settings in years. I don’t know if the impact came from the sculpture or the interaction with the site. Geez, strike a pose.

Even people began to become poseurs with the sculptures. Maybe they should have added Madonna’s Vogue to the event.

Making Place: The Architecture of David Adjaye starts off as on-site models of architecture of David Adjaye. It is pure form, and a little dry. True appreciation by real architects and designers who are checking out the beauty of form and interaction to site specific design. Not exactly for the novice. And then the second room, and the work really comes alive.

Texture and color come into play. Color becomes even more evident, as his work is touched by the tragedy of a young, black male architecture student murdered in England, racially motivated. And the context comes to play, somewhat. But we get to see the work, see models in full color with photos onsite. Several in the DC area. Another good reason to be in DC.

Lower income housing for a Harlem site.

Someone said something like, oh two ugly blocks for housing. The building has so many nice things. The front is broken planes, so that there is not a sense of flatness, and a bit of individuality in the little side windows, which doesn’t give that boring, conformity. A nice terrace several stories up, in a common area. A beautiful surface. And from a photo, a sense to the site, as it juts above a treed area. Very nice. Not the old housing project thing common in the 90s.

Library in the DC area in Virginia

And why not? I am in a premier city for architecture, among other things.

chiLIVE: Within 12 hours

 

Easy times in Chicago. A new statue near Millennium Park and an interesting installation.

Live rehearsals at the Park.
Sharing a proud moment.

Lovely wedding party.

Along Michigan.

Inside MCA.

Andy’s pillows at Loyola.

A dance at the Navy Pier.

A view.

A celebration at Staropolska Restaurant.

A meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

nyc: So nice, named it 2X

On the other side, I watched this bridge go up as a kid.

Passing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, I am reminded of the fact that I have both ridden and driven this hundreds of times. I remember riding over it from Fort Hamilton as a cigarette smoking high schooler. Riding in the back of Louie Ferretti’s VW, rolling down windows as the wind blew hard against the car. I took express buses to mid-town and then in my own car from Astoria to work for Dick Capuozzo. There is a certain modernistic beauty to the bridge and all it’s grayness. The Brooklyn side is more dramatic. Brooklyn is always dramatic.

Wow, they now have a US flag on each tower!

If you ever get to NYC, take a hike across the Brooklyn Bridge.  Breuckelen, the Dutch name for broken land, became Brooklyn under the English. But the roots were Dutch and that foundation is the underpinnings of New York in general, I believe. We were never English like Boston, Nor was it  like Philly, who also had Dutch roots, but mixed with Swedish and Finnish!

So Mary and Jaime take me to see how much (yupster) Bushwick or Boswijck, the Dutch name for”little town in the woods” has changed. But it’s actually Bushwick Inlet Park in Williamsburg and there are  soccer players and a flea market.

I expected Divine to jump out of this one.

At the Brooklyn Flea Market in Williamsburg near 50 Kent Ave  you are going to find a lot of stuff, nobody really wants labeled “vintage,” except the prices which are ridiculous. It kind of reminds me of Holly Woodlawn and the welfare worker trying to buy her shoes to make a lamp in Trash.

The city was festive that day,  people kayaking on the East River was an eye-opener as the city became people friendly again. People utilizing the resources, rather than ignoring them.

Places junkies and crazies used to inhabit, now become vantage points for young hipsters.

New York was a city loaded with small factories,  where nearby residents used to work. Long Island City was great for this, but you could find it all over the city. Today these structures still exist, either as storage areas, functional building or condos. Many well over 100 years, where average people once played out their lives.

Always Have Protection, Dumbo Moving Co.

Near Fort Green.

2001 and 2015, the everchanging downtown Manhattan skyline.

Brooklyn Heights is a great place to see the Manhattan Skyline. As we rode along the BQE, there was already a change in the skyline the last time I drove through this. The Freedom Tower was completed and the ghost of 9/11 reared its head. As I researched for a picture (the top one) I realized there was a slight change in angle, but the photographer and I were in near proximity 14 years apart. I watched those towers go up. I had an unemployment hearing in that buidling. My cousin worked in that building, maybe with Nadjari. It was in disbelief that I would here longer than them.

Beautiful along the BQE. Parachute Jump is still there, as we make move along into Queens again.

I went to high school and college in Brooklyn, so I will forever have a fondness for this borough, perhaps because it is the only one of five, I never lived in.