From Philadelphia, Beaux was a society painter in there and in New York. Her style was similar to the work of the most famous of the portraitists of the era, John Singer Sargent.
Dance Lesson
Dorothea and Francesca, 1898 by Cecelia Beaux
Kick Up Your Heels
Toulouse-Lautrec immersed himself in the world of dance halls, becoming friends with the performers. He saw the upper class men of his birth, visit these lower class venues looking for drink and prostitutes and must have felt that at least his working friends in the venues were the more honest about who they really were.
Who's Watching Whom?
Merry Jesters by Henri Rousseau 1906
Rousseau frequently visited the botanical garden in Paris for inspiration, he then concocted scenes with wild animals in his imagination and put them on canvas. His style was admired by other artists for it's straightforward and untrained style.
Peacock
La Libre Esthetique exhibition poster by Gisbert Combaz, Library of Congress
The Art Nouveau style was created as a reaction to the literal styles which dominated most of the 19th century. It is primarily a decorative style which utilizes sinuous shapes and naturalistic plant forms to create flowing movements.
All Grown Up
Ophelia ("And he will not come back again") by Arthur Hughes, The Toledo Museum of Art.
This version of Ophelia is about 12 years after the first version where she looks like a little girl. It is a different interpretation of the character of Ophelia and seems to have more to do with the model, than the play.
Little Girl Lost
Ophelia, c. 1851-53 by Arthur Hughes, Manchester City Art Galleries.
Hughes was influenced by Pre-Raphaelite Group after reading their publication The Germ. His painting of Ophelia from Shakespeare's Hamlet represents a much younger woman then most other artists, even as Hughes himself would later portray her.
Delirium or Grief
Ophelia by John Everett Millais, 1851-2, The Tate Gallery, London
Millais’ painting of Ophelia done very early in his career is one of the finest works created by the short-lived Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and their movement. The legend of the candles, sickness and the model herself would become the PRB’s most often re-told tale. However, it pales in comparison to the work itself when it stopped me in my tracks at the National Gallery in London (on loan from the Tate at the time) and set me on a whole new path for my Master’s thesis.
Spots Before My Eyes
Kusama with Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama, currently at David Zwirner Gallery NYC
I got to see the Kusama exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2018 and I found it to be one of the most exciting and interactive exhibitions I had seen in a long time. Her work is so colorful and uplifting that is the perfect art for the social media age. Hi neighbors: The Phoenix Museum of Art has a Kusama Infinity Room too (see it when they re-open).
Bringing the Modern to Tradition
The Modern Song (Modan bushi) by K. Kotani, 1930.
Japanese Art Deco period. The work presented shows us a country working to combine tradition with the modern western world whose influence had been felt in Japan for a while, but whose culture was only then beginning to be adapted. This can be seen most prominently in the depiction of the Japanese version of the "Flapper," or modern early 20th century woman, who was up-ending society in the West.
Holy Cows
Nebamun’s cattle, fragment of a scene ,Thebes, Egypt Late 18th Dynasty, around 1350 BC.
The Egyptians considered cows an essential element of life and survival. As the once fertile area of Northern Africa became a desert, the domesticated cow brought life and nourishment. The goddess Hathor was also frequently depicted as a cow's, or at least with the horns of cows as part of her crown.
Setting the Scene
Dancers in the Wings by Edgar Degas, 1876-78, Pastel
Degas is well known for his superior ability to draw and to fade into the background so that he could capture a scene without influencing what was happening.
Before Cubism
Portrait Olga dans un Fauteuil by Pablo Picasso, Picasso Museum
Olga in an armchair. This early portrait is of his first wife Olga whom he married in 1918 and separated from in 1927, but never divorced. She was active in society and Picasso had disdain for that lifestyle.
Spot On
Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grand Jatte by Georges Seurat, Art Institute of Chicago.
Seurat did preparatory drawings everyday for six months getting ready to paint this picture of people relaxing on a day off. The style is called Pointillism and involves using color dots to create the image. Who knows how Seurat would have refined the style he invented if he had not died at the age of 32.
Love you, Mom!
Sketch
Monkey (study for La Grande Jatte), 1884 by Georges Seurat, The Art Institute of Chicago.
Seurat made hundreds of studies for his painting La Grande Jatte, some just small pencil sketches like this, some on-site oil sketches, and even full large scale drafts.
Monkey Business
Monkeys in a Kitchen by David Teniers the Younger, The Hermitage
Teniers was a prolific painter and also the court curator for Archduke Leopold in Brussels during the 17th century. Of the over 2000 works he painted, many of them were copies of other works in the Archduke's collection, as well as, paintings showing the placement of the art on the walls.
Recreation
Past Times by Kerry James Marshall, 1997.
This work was recently bought by Sean Combs (P.Diddy) for his personal collection.
Marshall who is from Chicago and was classically trained as an artist, has gained much fame in recent years through gallery representation and shows at the Met Breuer, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago,, and the Tate Modern in London.
As an art historian, I can’t help but make a connection between his work and the work of the great Jacob Lawrence.
Mad Architecture
The Old Pennsylvania Station, NYC, 1910-1963, McKim, Mead, and White Architects.
When the original Beaux-Arts station was torn down in 1963 there was such an uproar from the citizens of NYC that the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission was established. The loss of historic architecture to make way for future projects is a double-edge sword, what went up in its place is Madison Square Garden. The destruction of this building was featured in an episode of the television series Mad Men.
Mad Monsters
Matthias Grunewald, detail, Isenheim Altarpiece,1510-15,
These fantastic monsters are part of one of the most amazing pieces of art to come out of the 16th century. There are three different views or openings and the final view is a wood carving.
Tripping the Light Fantastic
Ball at the Moulin de la Galette by Pierre Auguste Renoir, Musee d'Orsay.
Renoir was studying the effects of light at different times of the day at one of his favorite venues and as he enjoyed himself with his friends - good work if you can get it. One of the most famous of the Impressionists, he was working closely with Monet at this time. Check out Kahn Academy for some great videos on art and artists.
Preferring Art to War
Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk Emperor Huizong, 11th cantury, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Emperor Huizong is the one of the most famous of the Song Dynasty emperors. He followed the Taoist religion and was known to be a fine artist, poet, and writer who surrounded himself with others who shared his interests. His interests in things artistic led to his downfall when his army, such as it was, was easily overtaken and he was replaced as emperor by the Jin forces.