Hockney in Lockdown

 

I have written earlier about Martin Gayford's book, "Spring Cannot be Cancelled". It focuses on David Hockney's work at his Normandy farmhouse during the COVID lockdown of 2020.  When I wrote that post, and when I read the book, I never dreamed that I would actually see (in person!) the art that Hockney produced during this period.  But I have just returned from Paris, where that very work is on exhibit at the Musée de l'Orangerie--and I must report that it is amazing to see in person.  I'm not usually a big fan of digital art, but this is stunning.  Photos cannot do it justice. 

 

Hockney has been "painting" with an iPad for over ten years.  This Normandy work was all produced on his iPad, and printed in a very large format. The paintings move through all four seasons as they come and go at the farm, and are assembled in a cycle or frieze format.  It is 263 feet long!  The paintings tell their story in a monumental form, reminiscent of the Bayeux Tapestry.  So it comes as no surprise to learn that Hockney was actually inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry, one of Normandy's greatest treasures.

To view the work, one walks through a long, narrow corridor, which is lined with the Hockney paintings, up one side and down the other.  The seasons come and go, but you are at the same farm, seeing the same buildings, fields, and trees, as the seasons work their changes on them. The overall effect  manages to evoke simultaneously two opposing senses: that of containment and that of expansiveness.  Not to mention the pure visual fun of all the squiggles of color!  It's really quite a show.

If you won't be in Paris for the exhibition, you can still read the Gayford book, which has lots of insights from Hockney about creating art.  Or order the fold-out book of the Orangerie exhibit (apparently available in French only) which gives you a better idea of the frieze presentation.  So much to see! 

Easter Story

 

Detail from Giotto's "Lamentation"

As Easter approaches, I want to share some beautiful frescoes depicting events of Holy Week. I have chosen frescoes by Giotto  de Bondone from the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. Giotto told the story of Christ's passion with a series of unforgettable frescoes. As you follow the story in a series of panels along the walls of the Chapel, you can't help but experience an emotional build-up, and an increasingly tragic tone.

Giotto, "Kiss of Judas"

Giotto, "Kiss of Judas" detail

Giotto was a early Renaissance painter, whose work marks a clear shift from the prior Byzantine style. Before Giotto, paintings tended to depict people in a one-dimensional, highly stylized, static way. The looked like flat cut-outs. But in the hands of Giotto, the figures become human. They are modeled in three dimensions, and their expressions are full of emotion. One critic has written that you can almost hear the sobs of the women and shrieks of the angels in these frescoes of the Passion. 

Giotto, "Crucifixion"

From Judas' betrayal of Christ, to the crucifixion and resurrection, we see masterpieces of Renaissance art. The  emotion of the characters is almost palpable. These frescoes were painted over seven hundred years ago (yes, seven hundred!!), but their appeal is timeless. And the Easter story that they tell--the victory of life over death--is as powerful today was it was two thousand years ago.

Giotto, "Lamentation"

It would not be an exaggeration to say that each fresco warrants hours of study. The overall harmony of the ensemble is marvelous, but I think that the details of certain characters and expressions are equally compelling. I am including close-up images from several of the panels. Any one of these, standing alone, would be a master work. The entirety makes for a very rich feast. Notice the bare little tree on the right in the fresco just above ("Lamentation"). The tiny green buds on it are said to symbolize the coming resurrection. And of course, we can't end with the crucified Christ--the focus of Easter is the triumph of the resurrection!

Giotto, "Resurrection and Noli me tangere"

I love this resurrection fresco, which combines a scene from the empty tomb with the scene of Jesus' appearance to Mary Magdalene. On the left, the Roman guards sleep at the tomb, and two angels sit nearby. On the right, the risen Jesus appears to Mary Magddalene. The flag carried by Jesus reads "victor mortis", or "conqueror of death".  Hallelujah!  Happy Easter!

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!

Why Bother?

Lesley with Diebenkorn

I recently visited The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. The impetus for my visit was the special exhibit "Bonnard to Vuillard: The Intimate Poetry of Everyday Life." And it did not disappoint! I broke one of my usual rules, and allowed myself to study the exhibition catalog in advance of my trip. Comparing my experience with the catalog to that of my in-person  visit, I was struck by the rewards I got from making the effort to go to the show in person. In today's world where almost everything can be done "virtually", why bother to go in person? Read on for my top three reasons.

Visiting the Nabis Exhibit

1.  You can't appreciate the scale of a painting from an image in a catalog. Paintings presented on the pages of a book are necessarily of somewhat the same dimensions. After all, a page is only so large! It would be far too distracting to show a person standing by each painting in order to show its relative size. We can read the actual dimensions in the descriptions of the paintings, but even knowing that information doesn't convey the "feel" that we get from confronting the painting in person. A small painting encourages you to step close, to peer in. A huge painting encourages you to step back, to let the whole of it wash over you. Just look at the dramatic difference is scale between the Diebenkorn painting at the top of this post, and the Nabis' paintings following it. Two different worlds!

"The Door and the Sewing Table"
Oil on Cardboard, 16.75 x 17.5 inches
Édouard Vuillard, c. 1900

2.  Reproductions don't show the true colors of the original. Even though we have wonderful new technologies for reproducing images, the reproduced image just cannot tell the real truth of the original. Oftentimes the reproduction comes very close to the original, but falls slightly short. Occasionally the reproduced image is so poor that it doesn't even seem like the same painting as the original. The catalog for the Nabi exhibition is a wonderful one, with excellent quality images overall. Even so, there are exceptions. For example, one of my favorite paintings in the exhibit was the one pictured immediately above. I swore to my husband that I had not seen it in the catalog--I was adamant that it was definitely NOT in the catalog. Upon returning home and consulting the catalog, I found that it was in fact pictured there. But the reproduction was so far off the mark that I didn't even recognize the painting. See the reproduction below (photo from the catalog). I rest my case.

Reproduction of Vuillard

3. A well curated exhibit places the paintings in a context that enhances your enjoyment and appreciation of the artwork. No question about this. I have attended exhibits that were so well staged that I felt as if I had entered a time machine and had been taken to the painter's world. The Anders Zorn retrospective in Paris is one that comes to mind, and I tell you why here. The Nabi exhibit at The Phillips was in that same category. Because the Nabis believed that art should be part of everyday life, they created not only paintings, but also decorative items such as stained glass, screens, tapestries, and vases. The Phillips included all of these types of objects. The curators went even further, and wallpapered some of the gallery spaces to reflect the style of the Nabis' era, and the nature of the interiors they painted.  I'm including an example below. The colors, the textures and the placement of the art evoked the decade of the Nabis at their zenith. A great job!

Gallery in the Nabis Exhibit, The Phillips Collection

If you can get to Washington for the Nabis exhibit at The Phillips, it's worth a journey. The show runs through January 26, 2020. If you've been, or if you go, let me know what you think!

The Painter & The Sketchbook

Da Vinci Sketchbook

Greetings from Paris! I have been taking in the museum exhibits here, and it is like drinking from the proverbial firehose. Way too much to digest at once! So many thoughts, so many sights, so many emotions. For this post, I will share just one thought--a thought that has been reinforced with each and every exhibit I have seen: a painter is never without a sketchbook at hand. 

 Palezieux Sketchbook

Giacometti Sketchbook

This, of course, is not new news. It's a time honored practice. and even in the 21st century, experts on creativity admonish us painters to keep our sketchbooks handy. So I have a new resolution, and you can guess what it is!

Giacometti Sketchbooks

It's thrilling when special exhibits include the artists' sketchbooks. Seeing them allows you to take a peek inside the painters' minds. I love to look at the sketches--they are the birthplace of ideas.  Alas, the sketchbooks are in glass cases, but at least they are open to selected pages, and at least I can see the size of the notebook, the type of paper, and the way the ideas were crammed in. 

Da Vinci Notebook

I'm illustrating this post with photos of sketchbooks of Degas, da Vinci, Alberto Giacometti, and also some lesser knowns. Each unique, each illustrative of the mind of the artist. Enjoy!

Willem Basiaan Tholen Sketchbooks

Degas Sketchbook

Another Toulouse

"Carmen Gaudin" (detail)
Oil on Canvas, 52.9 x 40.8 cm
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, c. 1884

We all know the artist Toulouse-Lautrec for his avant garde posters and his depictions of black-stockinged prostitutes. But I have just seen a wonderful exhibit at the Grand Palais in Paris that introduced me to another side of his work. The exhibit places Lautrec in the line of “expressive realism”, alongside Manet and Degas. His portraits are far from the caricatures we think of when we think of his posters.

"Portrait of Vincent Van Gogh"
Crayon on Carton, 57 x 46 cm
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, 1887

Early in his career, Lautrec studied in the Parisian atelier of Fernan Cormon, along with fellow student Van Gogh. His friendship with Van Gogh must have been the impetus for the portrait above. The portraits are beautifully crafted, and their colors so delicately and sensitively noted.

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec

Besides admiring Lautrec's portraits, I was especially taken by his drawings. Like so many artists, he was constantly sketching and drawing. It was a way of capturing life and honing his skills. In fact, draftsmanship always underlies his work. 

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec

I loved the way the exhibit highlighted the way that Lautrec evolved to become more and more concise. Over time, his work began to emphasize the simple gesture, and the primary emotion of his subject--sometimes even leaving the impression that the canvas was unfinished. He could convey so much with selected features, and just a few marks of color! You can see how his move toward concision and selectivity paved the way to his posters, which are masterpieces of those traits.

"Yvette Guilbert"
Oil n paper, mounted on canvas, 58 x 44 cm
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, 1894

Some of his paintings toe the line between paintings and drawings. They were some of my favorites. I'm including a few here--enjoy!

"Femme se Frisant"
Oil on Carton, 56 x 39 cm
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, c. 1884

If you are lucky enough to visit Paris this winter, the exhibit runs until January 27, 2020. Worth seeing!

Manet and Modern Beauty

"Moss Roses in a Vase"
Oil on Canvas, 22 x 13 5/8
Edouard Manet, 1882

It's the last week of the exhibit, and I'm afraid I am going to miss it. The Art Institute of Chicago has mounted what by all accounts is a magnificent show that features Edouard Manet's late works. Manet was undoubtedly a catalyst in the art world, moving away from the old-school "salon" style of painting (think large, formal, multi-layered paintings of historical and biblical subjects) and entering a new, modern style of painting (think scenes of contemporary life, loosely painted, often alla prima in one session). Manet was a truly a pioneer in making modern urban life an acceptable subject for fine art.

"Jeanne"
Oil on Canvas, 29 1/8 x 20 1/4
Edouard Manet, 1881

The Chicago exhibit is entitled "Manet and Modern Beauty", and runs until September 8, 2019. It focuses on later works, from the years shortly before Manet's death in 1883. Among them are lovely portraits of finely dressed women--feminine beauty in all its glory. The painting just above, "Jeanne", was a hit at the Paris Salon of 1882. But then it passed into private hands and faded from view. It was eventually purchased by the Getty Museum for $65 Million. Today it is the star of the Chicago show.

"Flowers in a Crystal Vase"
Edouard Manet, 1882

The show also includes a number of small floral works. I love these! They tell me of an eye for beauty in the simple things, and a sensitivity to beautiful color relationships. Manet painted these works during a time of difficult health struggles and acute physical pain. As written in the IRIS publication of the Getty: " Fresh, intimate, and unapologetically pretty, the late work demonstrates his defiant embrace of beauty and pleasure in the teeth of acute physical suffering."

"The House at Rueil"
Oil on Canvas, 36 9/16 x 28 15/16
Edouard Manet, 1882

If you miss the exhibit in Chicago, there's another chance to see it in Los Angeles at the Getty -- opening October 8, 2019!

Sorolla Fans Rejoice!

"Maria dressed as Valencian Peasant Girl" (detail)
(c) Sorolla 1906

Faithful readers know that I am a huge fan of the Spanish painter Sorolla (or Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, if you must know the full name!). Sorolla is perhaps one of the least well know of the great Impressionists these days. He achieved great recognition during his lifetime (1863-1923), but has faded into relative obscurity, especially outside of Europe.

"Women Walking on the Beach"
Sorolla, 1909

But there is good news for all Sorolla fans: The National Gallery in London has mounted a major Sorolla exhibition that is hanging right now. It runs until July 7, 2019. This is the first major exhibit of his work in England in over a century. Entitled "Sorolla: Spanish Master of Light", this exhibit should prove to be a giant step in bringing his work back into the forefront.

"Sewing the Sail"
Sorolla, 1896

The London exhibit includes over sixty works. One third of them are from private collections all over the world--I love to see paintings from private collections, because it is such a pleasure to confront new work that has not been featured time and time again in books and magazines. I especially like to see the miracles that Sorolla could work with whites. The two paintings immediately above are like a master class in seeing and painting white!

"Garden Grotto, Alcazar de Seville"
(c) Sorolla, 1910

Sorolla painted all sorts of subjects with equal ease and élan. From landscapes to portraits, from peasants to aristocracy, it seems as if he could do anything. And like all greats, he made it look so effortless! But we know from his studies (many of which will be included in the exhibit) that much behind the scenes work was done to lay the ground for the bravura strokes that would make the finished painting.

"Alahanbra, Granada"
Sorolla, 1910

For those of us who can't make the journey to London, there's a beautiful four minute video showing the exhibition, which you can see here. Or if you are in New York, don't miss his fantastic cycle of paintings at the Hispanic Society--learn about it here. Enjoy!

"A Street in Granada"
(c) Sorolla, 1910

A 500 Year Old Publicity Stunt

Photo (c) Lesley Powell

For a number of years, I was lucky enough to visit Venice every spring. My husband and I used to go at just about this time of year--right before Easter. I love the whole of Venice, which is a visual feast, if ever there was one. Magnificent architecture, charming canals, a sweeping lagoon--and the art! Venetian artists gave a whole new meaning to color. One of my favorites is Jacopo Tintoretto. This year marks the 500th anniversary of Tintoretto's birth. In celebration, the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., is mounting the first ever American retrospective of his work. It opens this week--March 24th, 2019.

Self Portrait
Oil on Canvas
Jacopo Tintoretto, 1547

One of the marvels of Venetian art is how much of it was commissioned for particular spaces in public buildings, and how much of it remains in its original location--hundreds of years later~! Both religious and secular buildings are filled with glorious artwork. As you might imagine, there was fierce