ArtExpertOnLine

I am sorry it has taken me so long to write, but life just got in the way this week.    I found this artist and image late last week and am so excited about exchanging comments about it with you.    Artist is Zeng Shanqing (1932-) and the work is titled, Vigorous Horse.  It was completed in 2002 and is part of the collection of Williams College, Museum of Art.  It is an ink and color on paper, measuring 17" x 27".  Shanqing was born in Beijing, China working as a college professor at the Central Academy of Art.  From 1949-1970's his creative work was stifled by the Cultural Revolution of ruler Moa Zedong.  He suffered political criticism and endured several years of physical labor.   In 1986 he moved to the United States and is currently living in New York City with his artist wife, Yang Yamping.   The horse is an important image in Chinese mythology and legend, and is the 7th cycle of the Chinese zodiac. So here, Shanqing image directly relates to the trauma of his

      Crispin and Scapin  by Honore-Victorin Daumier (1808-1879) has never been one of my favorites, but it's message is so powerful I thought it would be a worthwhile contrast to others we have looked at.  Plus, it's message is as relevant today as it was in 1864 (circa) when it was painted.  It is an oil on canvas, 24" x 32" and part of the collection of the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.    As we can see by their costumes, Crispin and Scapin were characters in French comedy.  I have no information about their history, but it has little bearing on viewing the painting today.  They are on stage and the theatrical lighting casts important and harsh shadows as we see one whispering a deep secret to the other.  The crossed arms and sinister grin indicate a pleased reaction. Their close connection indicates they may be partners up to no good.   Much of Honore Daumier's work was caricatures commenting on social and political life in 19th century France.   Here he u

   In 2018 I walked into a bookstore in Nuremberg, Germany and happen to see a small paperback with this painting on the cover.   Not able to read German, I asked at the desk for a translation of the title: "Frauuen, die lesen, sind gefahrllich"; which seems to mean:  "Women reading are dangerous".  Combining two of my great loves, painting and book reading, I bought the book.  Someday, maybe I will learn to read it, but looking at the pictures is great.  And, this one on the cover is my favorite.    Vittorio Matteo Corcos (1859-1933) was an Italian artist from Florence who built his career as a genre portrait painter and occasionally did illustrations for magazines. This work is titled: Traume, or Dreams.  It is oil on canvas, 62.9" x 53" and is part of the collection of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, in Rome.  It was painted in 1896. The woman is Elena Vecchi, the daughter of a friend of Corcos.    Men have been painting women forever, a

   This week it is time for a true fantasy, so let us go to the desert of Africa for an image created in 1897 by French artist, Henri Rousseau.  This is a large oil painting measuring 51" x 6'7" and is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City.    I love Rousseau's work.  Each seems like a total departure from the norms of any day or period, and always brings a smile to my heart.   He is considered a primitive painter because he had no formal training and art was more of an avocation, out of necessity.      It is known that Rousseau never traveled to Africa and his knowledge of it's people or lions came from books or the zoo.  Yet here he has created a poetic fantasy of a sleeping gypsy woman in a remote desert.  She is clutching her walking stick and next to her is an Italian mandolin and water jug.  Her costume has been described as Oriental.  So nothing makes sense, other than the obvious - that it is not meant to