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Dawn by Odd Nerdrum.
When I was working at the Joslyn Art Museum in the 1991 I saw the work of Odd Nerdrum for the first time and was struck at how it seemed old and new at the same time. I recognized references to artists of the Northern school and Caravaggio, but it was also so contemporary as art seemed to be moving toward a return to Realism.
Return of the Sun, 1986 by Odd Nerdrum.
Nerdrum is an artist whose influence lies in classic artists like Rembrandt, who prefers to mix his own paints and stretch his own canvases. He draws upon a knowledge of art history to create his work - he has done his homework and reveres those that have come before him, paying them homage and respecting history.
Thanksgiving by John Currin, 2003, The Tate Collection, London.
John Currin's artwork brings to mind the naturally lit rooms of Vermeer and the realistic, beautiful, yet often grotesque figures of Odd Nerdrum. What I see here are three women, obviously related, preparing a huge turkey for Thanksgiving, but the turkey is really the star. It is impossibly fat and huge, I have a hard time believing they will be able to fit it into an oven.
Happy Thanksgiving.