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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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