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...

      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...

   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 ...

   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 sens...

  Today I give you a new challenge, but an interesting one.  Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) was difficult to understand in 1952, when he completed this painting and art novices still have trouble understanding.  It was originally titled, Number 11 and sometimes the year completed was added to the title.  Later it simply became known as Blue Poles, however many art critics believe, as I do, that this title does a disservice, because to much attention is drawn to the major lines and not to the work as a whole.  It is an enamel and aluminum paint with glass on canvas, measuring 83.5" x 192.5" or almost 7 feet tall by over 16 feet long, so huge!  It is part of the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra.  They purchased it in 1973 for 1.3 million, today its value ranges from 100 - 300 million.     As most people know, Pollock was the first "action" painter.  He laid the canvas on the floor and carefully poured,...

   Here we are in the darkest and shortest days of the year and I give you a beautiful sunset image celebrating this season.  Claude Monet (1840 - 1926) painted it as part of a large series he did from 1890-91, this one completed in 1891.  Stacks of Wheat, (Sunset, Snow Effect) is the title.  It is an oil on canvas measuring 26" x 40", part of the permanent collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, which owns the most of the haystack series.  I am not certain how many paintings Monet did as part of this series, but Monet showed 15 in a Paris gallery in 1891, an exhibit that was a major art and financial success, establishing Monet as a French painting master.     Monet didn't have to travel far to find a field of haystacks, for they stood just outside his farm home in Giverny, in a province of Normandy, north of Paris.  In this northern area, Monet experienced all four seasons of the year, all portrayed in this haystack series.  Not...

   Just before the 2019 holidays I thought I would gift you something entirely unique and fun, plus a tropical scene to warm our cold day. Our artist is John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) and this is his painting, Muddy Alligators.  Sargent created it in 1917 in Florida. He is considered an America ex-patriot for he lived throughout Europe and traveled extensively.  His major genre was oil portraits, but late in life he visited the U.S. doing watercolors in Maine and Florida.   Muddy Alligators  is part of the permanent collection of the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts.  It is 13 1/2 x 20 1/2.     This is a watercolor over  graphite, meaning he started with a pencil drawing.   It would appear most of these reptiles are reasonably sedate, providing ample opportunity for a pencil study.  In the foreground we see shadows from a fence.  Since we are looking slightly downward on the alligators I assume ...