Notices by Laura G, Sassy Sixty-something (laurajg@deacon.social)

From The New York Times.

Your art history post for today: “Rainy Day, Boston,” 1885, by Childe Hassam (1859-1935), oil on canvas, 26 × 48 in. (66 × 121.9 cm), The Toledo Museum of Art. #arthistory #art

From the website: ‘“I am never tired of observing [people] in every-day life…. Humanity in motion is a constant study to me.”
--Childe Hassam

In Rainy Day, Boston Childe Hassam chose a thoroughly modern subject: the wide avenues and new brick row houses of Boston’s fashionable South End at the intersection of Columbus Avenue (on the left) and Appleton Street. Hassam, who lived at the time on Columbus Avenue, explained that his street “was all paved in asphalt, and I used to think it very pretty when it was wet and shining, and caught the reflections of passing people and vehicles.”

Modern, too, was the unusual use of empty space in the center foreground of the painting. The plunging perspective of the streets and the “wide angle” view suggests the influence of photography, still relatively new. The effects of weather and the subject of city life with its to-and-fro bustle (notice how Hassam slightly blurs the trotting horses’ legs to capture the idea of movement) were influenced by the French Impressionists.’

Your art history post for today: The Laundress, by Honoré Daumier (1808-1879), oil on oak, 19 1/4 x 13 in. (48.9 x 33 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. #arthistory #art

From the website: “This painting depicts a subject visible from Daumier's studio on the quai d'Anjou in Paris: laundresses returning from laundry boats moored on the Seine. Despite the weight of her bulky load, the woman tenderly extends her hand to help a child up the steps of the embankment. With her sturdy form silhouetted against a bright background, the humble worker acquires a certain monumentality. This picture is the largest and possibly the last of three painted versions of the composition; Daumier's pigments have deteriorated, obscuring the last digit of the date inscribed at the lower left, but in 1893 it was recorded as 1863.”

Your art history post for today: “View of Venice,” by Norwegian painter Frits Thaulow (1847-1906), oil on canvas, 82 by 66cm., 32¼ by 26in., Sotheby’s London listing 30 May 2008. #arthistory

Information on the artist from another institution, Christie’s: “As brother-in-law to Paul Gauguin and a close friend of Claude Monet, Thaulow was certainly attuned to the currents of Impressionism. Throughout his career, his own style was in constant evolution and he always kept abreast of new stylistic developments and pictorial innovations. He was strongly influenced by Carl Skanberg's innovative use of color, which later encouraged the artist to adopt a wider chromatic palette. It is no surprise that his own work displays impressionistic tendencies, particularly evident in the rippling effect of the water and the reflective play of light upon the river.”

Your art history post for today: by Louis Anquetin (1861-1932), Avenue de Clichy, Five O’Clock in the Evening, 1887, oil on paper, mounted on canvas, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut. More in ALT. #arthistory #Art

From the museum: ‘Louis Anquetin’s Avenue de Clichy (Street – Five O’ Clock in the Evening) has been praised as “the” masterpiece by the French artist. Created in 1887, this painting introduced a new artistic language depicting contemporary Parisian street life.

Here, Anquetin has moved away from the grim realism and impressionistic experiments still favored by many of his contemporaries, to push the aesthetic norms and boundaries of the time. With few colors, simplified forms, and a cropped image reminiscent of photographic snapshots, Anquetin positioned himself at the artistic vanguard of this period.’

Drawn freehand on my iPad Pro, Apple Pencil between my arthritic fingers, using the Sketch Club app, while standing in front of a 19th-century reproduction plaster cast of Aphrodite from Melos (Venus de Milo), the marble original is 2nd century BC, in the Louvre Museum, Paris. #art #arthistory #digitalart

“We read to know we are not alone.” ~C.S. Lewis

“Old Woman Reading, Probably the Prophetess Anna,” 1631, by Rembrandt van Rijn, oil on panel, Rijksmuseum. #arthistory #Art

From the website: “Here the light comes from behind the old woman: the brightest illumination falls on the book and her wrinkled hand, modelled with paint. Her face remains in shadow. She could be the prophetess Anna, an elderly widow who, according to the Bible, served God through fasting and prayer. Tradition has it that Rembrandt’s mother posed for this painting.”

Your art history post for today is from the 5th century A.D. — The Good Shepherd mosaic in the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy. We are used to depictions of Jesus with a beard, but people of different places and times often portrayed him differently. #mosaic #arthistory #Art

From Rick Stevens: “In Ravenna, just south of Venice, stands the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. It was designed to be the burial place of the sister of the Roman emperor.

Its precious mosaics, dating from the fall of Rome, are considered the finest from ancient times. The light that sneaks through the thin alabaster panels brings a glow and a twinkle to the early Christian symbolism.

The dome is filled with stars. Doves drink from fountains, symbolic of souls finding nourishment in the world of God.

This scene reminds worshippers of Psalms 42, "Like the thirsty deer longs for spring water, my soul longs for you, my God."

This fifth-century work shows the standard Roman portrayal of Christ, beardless and as the good shepherd. Jesus, dressed in gold and purple like a Roman emperor, is the king of paradise receiving the faithful, represented by lambs, and surrounded by this timeless beauty.

The art of mosaic-making is still alive and well in Ravenna. Nearby, in the Koko Mosaic workshop, works commissioned by an international clientele are being created.

The process is much the same as in ancient Roman times. Minerals are baked into glass to make a rainbow of colors. The colored glass and gold leaf pieces are broken with a hammer, then artfully set in wet cement. The results are almost as beautiful today as they were in Justinian times, as the Ravenna tradition of fine mosaic work lives on to this day.” https://classroom.ricksteves.com/videos/ravenna-s-mosaics-at-a-byzantine-mausoleum-and-modern-day-workshop

Your art history post for today: by Nicolas Régnier (1591–1667), Young Woman at Her Toilette, 1626, oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon, France. #arthistory #art

Well, had my appointment today with my primary care physician, following up on the blood pressure scare of the other night. Of course, my BP was perfectly normal for today’s visit. I feel like when you take your car to the shop and they say, “We can’t reproduce the problem.” At any rate, she said that it is not unusual for people my age to have blood pressure readings fluctuate, and she does not recommend blood pressure meds because, with an intermittent problem, the risk is my blood pressure could go dangerously low. Can’t win for losing. 🤷🏼♀️

As the EKG was normal and blood work did not suggest any organ damage, I am just to take my blood pressure each morning and continue to live my normal life. The rheumatologist on the other hand leans toward me seeing a cardiologist, so I will let her know the PCP’s opinion and she what she has to say.

I continue to appreciate your prayers. When my blood pressure went to 192/100 in the ER, setting off an alarm, that really got my attention.

By Zhao Shao'ang (Chinese, 1905–1998), White Peacock and Red Persimmon, hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper, 175 x 81 cm. (68 7/8 x 31 7/8 in.), sold at auction, Christie’s Hong Kong, in 2019, for 8,045,000 Hong Kong dollars. #Art #arthistory #China #chineseart

The lot essay: “ As the last disciple of Gao Qifeng (1889-1933), a master of the art of the Lingnan School, Zhao Shao’ang, one of the “Tianfeng Seven,” can be considered one of the most extraordinary artists among the second generation of the Lingnan School. His works show a sense of pure beauty and are separated from the spirit of politics and revolution. These qualities distinguish him from the first generation of the Lingnan School.
Zhao was an expert of the flower-and-bird genre. The art master Xu Beihong (1895-1953) also praised him as “the best in the modern Chinese flower-and-bird genre” in his letter to Hu Shih (1891-1962). Peacock, the subject matter that Zhao loved to paint, also known as “auspicious bird”, is the king of birds and traditionally symbolizes “truth, goodness, and beauty.” Zhao Shao’ang was awarded the International Art Gold Medal at the Belgium Centenary Independence World Fair in 1930 with a peacock painting.

White Peacock and Red Persimmon has the same subject and composition as his 1969 work1, currently in the collection of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. It is speculated that the dates of these two works were likely close. The persimmon branch drawn by freehand brushwork with thick and fresh ink colour contains the style of Gao Qifeng’s vigorous brushwork. The colour gradient of the leaves combined green, yellow, and red tones and formed a soft and harmonious contrast to the white peacock, which increases the layering of the painting. The white peacock stands on the branch, opens its mouth and looks back, with its pure white tail spreading slightly; all of which were made up of Zhao’s delicate brushwork. The scene makes the viewers feel the sound of peacock’s call and presents the graceful and elegant temperament of the peacock as well. It is not only a fabulous work that combines “truth, goodness, and beauty,” but also a combination of visual and auditory multi-sensory experience.”

My art history theme for May is birds. So, check out her hat! By Alice Pike Barney (1857-1931), Portrait of Kate Deering Ridgely, oil on canvas, 50 x 32 1/8 in. (126.9 x 81.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC. #arthistory #Art #womanartist #womenartists

Info on the artist from another institution, the Brooklyn Museum: “Alice Pike Barney was an artist and patron who pursued her interests despite the wishes of her husband. She was born into a family that had grown wealthy by distilling and selling liquor, was raised in New York, and fell in love with Henry Morton Stanley, the man who discovered Dr. Livingstone in Africa. Her family did not approve of the match and Barney married someone her family found more acceptable. The couple moved to Cincinnati and Barney began taking drawing classes in 1885, had a painting accepted by the Paris Salon in 1889, and by 1898 was living there and studying with James A. M. Whistler. Her husband disapproved, and it was not until his death that Barney was able to fully explore her own talents and support the work of others. In the early 1900s, she built a villa for herself called the Studio House, which is now part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Art.”

For a more in-depth profile, see: https://www.washingtonchronicles.com/2021/11/Aliice-Pike-Barney.html

Radha and Krishna beside a Lake at Sunset, c. 1750, unknown artist, India, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, Philadelphia Museum of Art. #IndiaArt #arthistory #asianart #asianartists #Art From the museum website: “In this scene, blue-colored Krishna and his beloved Radha overlap so closely that they almost become one. This perfect union of lovers expresses, on a religious level, the melding of human into divine that is the goal of the spiritual journey. The artist repeats the motif of union in the multiple bird couples filling the pond, including a pair of striking redheaded Sarus cranes, two great black birds that may be Indian cormorants, and a pair of whitebreasted kingfishers. Their mating and the lushness of the landscape indicate that this is monsoon season, a time of intimacy and rebirth and a metaphor for the state of bliss that comes from total, loving devotion to God.”

@inthehands I did a whole series of portraits of people wearing masks. I draw freehand on my iPad Pro, Apple Pencil between my fingers. Here are a couple of examples. #DigitalArt

Since Hanukkah begins this evening at dusk, your art history post for today is detail from America Windows, 1977, by Marc Chagall (1887–1985), stained glass, The Art Institute of Chicago. Notice the menorah at the bottom right of the left panel. More info in ALT. #arthistory #hanukkah