Sorolla Comes to Provence

"Pescadoras valencianas"
Oil on Canvas, 120 x 150 cm
Joaquim Sorolla

Twice a year, the Hôtel de Caumont in Aix-en-Provence mounts a special exhibit, featuring an artist of note. I start checking their website in January, eagerly awaiting news of what the summer show will be. Imagine my delight when the 2020 show was finally announced: "Joaquin Sorolla: Spanish Lights". Yay!!

"Pescadora valenciana"
Oil on Canvas, 47 x 37 cm
Joaquin Sorolla, 1916

I first wrote about Sorolla over six years ago. (Yes, I've been writing this blog for that long!). Sorolla is the proverbial "painter's painter", and is known for the luminous light he captures in his canvases. I was excited to read that the exhibit in Aix will focus on Sorolla's creative process, and will feature a number of his small drawings and oil "sketches". 

"Le retour de pêche"
Oil on Canvas, 45 x 74.3 cm
Joaquin Sorolla, 1904

I love Sorolla's oil sketches! Even though they are small in scale, they are works of art in their own right, hardly deserving of the dismissive label "sketches". These "sketches" also seem to hold the key to unlocking insights into the way that Sorolla saw the world, and how he created his compositions. I've never seen any of them in person--just reproductions in books. I can't wait to see them up close and personal! 

"Levantine Landscape"
Oil, 4.75 x 8.74 inches
Joaquin Sorolla, 1888

The curators say that this exhibit, and the sketches and drawings in particular, will shed light on Sorolla's creative process and his approach to painting. It's always a treat to get inside the mind of a great painter--and I hope that this show will facilitate that. 

"Tejados de Madrid"
Joaquin Sorolla, 1882-84

I'm illustrating this post with images of paintings that will be shown in Aix, and also some of my favorite "sketches". If you can't get to Provence this summer, don't despair! You can see some of Sorolla's greatest masterworks right here in the USA at the Hispanic Society of America in New York. And the catalog of the exhibit will be available on Amazon in April. Enjoy!

Blue & White Forever!

"Anemones and Chinese Vase"
Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 36 1/4
Henri Matisse, 1922

Among the small handful of things that I would count as truly timeless, one rises to the top: blue and white porcelain. The Chinese invented porcelain as long ago as the 700's, but they managed to keep the formula secret for over a thousand years. Europeans probably saw their first porcelain when Marco Polo brought some back to Venice after visiting Kublai Kahn. And the fascination began! Blue and white porcelain has always had a hint of the exotic, and has been widely sought after. No wonder that artists have portrayed it in their still life paintings ever since the Renaissance.

"Still Life with Chinese Porcelain Jar"
Willem Kalf, 1669

I love to look at paintings of blue and white porcelain, and consider the vastly different approaches to painting it. From the finely detailed works of Dutch masters, to more whimsical depictions by Matisse and other moderns, there much to delight the eye. And of course the scholarship on blue and white porcelain is limitless. I have read that the vase depicted by Matisse in the top image is "underglaze blue with figures in a landscape, possibly of the Kanji period" (that's 1622-1722).*  How it can be identified so precisely is something of a mystery to me. But it's nice to look at, and it's the first place my eye goes in this painting.

"Lady at the Tea Table"
Oil on Canvas, 29 x 24
Mary Cassatt, 1883-85

Sometimes porcelain is the main player in these paintings, and other times it is a supporting actor. Just above is an example of blue and white as a strong supporting actor: a portrait by Mary Cassatt, depicting her cousin serving tea. The tea set is of Nanking Ware, probably from the late 1700's. They say that it was probably a cherished family heirloom. Very appropriate for inclusion in a family portrait, wouldn't you say?

"Still Life with Melon"
Oil on Canvas, 20 7/8 x 28 3/4
Claude Monet, 1872

Nowadays blue and white wares are widely reproduced. Some reproductions look cheap, but others can be very convincing. I have both types in my studio to use as props. And one or two true antique pieces. There's no substitute for the real thing! The coloration of the antique pieces is truly inimitable--and fun to paint. 

"Chinese Pots"
Oil on Canvas, 11 x 14
(c) Erin Gafill

I'm closing with paintings by some of my favorite contemporary still life painters, and one of my own. Enjoy!

"Silvery Light"
Oil on Linen Board, 10 x 8
(c) Marjorie Hicks

"Orchids, In Full Swing"
Oil on Board, 24 x 18
(c) Lesley Powell, 2019
Available at Huff Harrington Fine Art

*Identification of particular porcelain depicted in paintings is from Blue & White China Origins and Western Influences, ed. John Esten, c. 1987.

To Tell the Truth

I am taking a Shakespeare course this winter (for the curious, we're studying Macbeth), and it has motivated me to reprise a post from several years ago. The topic is "Truth". I have learned that the Great Bard himself occasionally misstated historical facts. He might place a battle in the wrong locale. Or have historical figures who never knew each other cross paths. But as the wise instructor of my class says, those factual misstatements did not prevent Shakespeare from accurately portraying the reality of the human experience, from its highest heights to its lowest depths. In other words, Shakespeare might not have gotten all of the "small t" truths right, but he definitely got the "Capital T" Truths right!

"A Place in the Sun"
12 x 12, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2020

I believe that all art involves the search for "Capital T Truths". When painting, I sometimes recall a quote attributed to Tolstoy: "Facts stand in the way of Truth". Put differently, the slavish painting of every window pane, every telephone pole, every fence post, every leaf on every tree, does not necessarily make for a painting that communicates the painter's experience of the scene. In fact, a far more powerful  approach is to eliminate extraneous detail from the painting. By distilling things to their essence, the painter can reach the real truth of his experience, rather than allowing minutiae to distract from it. 

"Distant Bridge"
18 x 12, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2019

This idea is expressed perfectly in a statement that I love about Eugene Delacroix: "He had a precious gift in his ability to sacrifice detail in order to attain a more durable reality."*

"Field Study"
7 x 14, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2019
SOLD

A more durable reality. Yes, indeed. What a gift to create such a thing! I close with another quotation that inspires me to search for the Capital-T TRUTH in what I try to portray. It's a lifelong challenge...

The more intimately I know a place,

the painted facts become less important

than the truth of the whole experience.

--Bonnie Paruch

*Quotation from Delacroix, C. Roger-Marx and S. Cottee, (c) 1970, Henri Screpel, Paris.