Still Life
Posted by VelvetSky, May 5 2007, 06:03 AM
Beginning with this week's post, I am mirroring my blog entries at my blogspot site: Tea, Sympathy and Perfume
I'll continue to post here until next week. If you're interested, please bookmark my new site, and I'm looking forward to seeing you there!
Still life is an art genre that dates back many centuries, affording artists an opportunity to explore technique, design, object arrangement and spatial organization. Many still life paintings contain hidden symbolism, or hold themes of the fleeting impermanence of life. Many are simply reminders of the heartbreakingly beautiful simplicity of the everyday and the mundane.
Still Life With Peaches, (c. 1875) Antoine Vollon. Vollon was a self-taught artist who painted many beautiful and interesting still lifes. Many of them included metal ewers and bowls: Vollon began his artistic career as an ornamental craftsman and engraver. Peaches are a common theme among still life artists because of their texture and beautiful color gradations.
A Still Life With Chrysanthemums and a Fan, (c. 1885) Guillaume Vogels. As one of 20 Belgian painters, designers and sculptors who formed what they called "Les XX" in the 1880's, Vogels exhibited this painting at their annual exhibition in Brussels. I love the white chrysanthemums here, a symbol of long life. The fan symbolizes femininity.
Flower Still Life, (1656) Willem Van Aelst. The brilliant Dutch painter Van Aelst influenced centuries of artists after him with his crisp, gorgeous floral still lifes like this one. Van Aelst excelled in depicting vanitas: the emptiness and transience of earthly things. In this work, Aelst symbolizes this theme with fading flowers, wilted leaves, a mouse, and a watch.
My Gems, (1888) William Michael Harnett. The Irish-American artist Harnett, most known for his realistic and detailed trompe l'oeil works, proves here that a still life doesn't need to include flowers or fruit. A subtle and sophisticated depiction of the vanitas theme and the five senses, here is a collection of books; a lamp; broken matchsticks; a pipe and spilled ashes; the piccolo and sheet music.
Still Life With Portrait, (1970) Roy Lichtenstein. This is one of 6 still lifes that Lichstenstein painted during this period. While Lichtenstein's artistic sensibilities were decidedly bold and modern, he still drew inspiration from the Old Masters with his arrangements and object placement. I like the cherries.
Amalfi, (1937) Istvan Csok. Don't you love this daring composition by the Hungarian artist Csok? The combination of still life and landscape, the shocking yellow brilliance of the lemons, the purple of the tablecloth, the winding road, the silky tones of the sea. This painting must be unforgettably beautiful in person!
Bowl of Apples on a Table, (1916) Henri Matisse. This Matisse is an old friend of mine; it's hanging in my local art museum. I like to stand in front of it and absorb the love that Matisse put into this little table, the black outlines and the soft, red rosiness of the apples, and the smell of the paint. I can feel Matisse's presence in the air around me when I visit this painting.
Scarlett Says...
Posted by VelvetSky, May 4 2007, 04:20 PM
...Mary's blog is moving here: Clickie
Oh fiddle-dee-dee....I'll think about it tomorrow!
April In Paris
Posted by VelvetSky, Apr 28 2007, 06:04 AM
My friends and readers, I want to announce that this blog (aka Tea, Sympathy and Perfume) will be moving from POL to Blogspot beginning later in May. I'll share the link with you soon, and I hope you'll bookmark me and visit me there regularly.
I've very much enjoyed blogging here on POL, and I'll continue to enjoy reading the blogs of all of my friends here.
I expect to continue posting on the general topic board, depending on the obnoxiousness-level of the trip-trap.
Now on to the art!
It's all about Paris this week. Whether she is present in our memories, or simply in our imaginations, Paris is, as Hemingway said, a moveable feast!
Ballet at the Paris Opera, (1877) Edgar Degas
Boulevard de Capucine, (1876) Claude Monet
La Tour Eiffel, (1889) Georges Seurat
(Sharing a work of pointillism in this format is hopeless, but view this from a distance from your monitor and you'll have the effect)
Montmartre, (c. 2006) Liudmila Kondakova
Notre Dame de Paris, (1881) Luc-Olivier Merson
A Flower Market Along the Seine, (c. 1919) Georges Stein
Untitled (view of Parc Monceau, Paris), (1908) Susan Watkins
Vogue cover, (October 13, 1930) Georges LePape
Fulltilt
Posted by VelvetSky, Apr 23 2007, 07:05 PM
This post is for my friend Renee...and for her intelligence, wit, fun, comraderie, and just plain hutzpah. I'm glad I had the good sense to claim her as my friend away from this board.
Be aware, my fellow Billy Goats Gruff, when trip-trapping over the bridge. There's usually a troll down there somewhere.
Guinevere's Maying, (1897) John Collier
Landscapes
Posted by VelvetSky, Apr 21 2007, 07:27 AM
"I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use our natural resources, but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob by wasteful use, the generations that come after us."
Theodore Roosevelt
" It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it. "
George W. Bush
Sunday, 22 April, is Earth Day. Perhaps we should take a moment tomorrow to give thanks to The Creator of our world, or simply for the extraordinary cosmic stroke of luck we have to be alive on our precious round jewel.
Gray and Gold, (1942), John Rogers Cox
The Pyramids with the Sphinx and Palms, (1858) Edward Lear
Poppies, Isle of Shoales, (1891) Childe Hassam
Houses in Provence;The Riaux Valley Near L'Estaque, (1883) Paul Cezanne
Blue Coast, (c.1970) Eyvind Earle
Birch Forest, (1902) Gustav Klimt
Mojave Wall, (1915) Thomas Moran
Rabbit Warren at Pontoise, Snow, (1879) Camille Pissarro
Heade's Hummingbirds
Posted by VelvetSky, Apr 14 2007, 05:18 AM
Humming-Bird
I can imagine, in some otherworld
Primeval-dumb, far back
In that most awful stillness, that only gasped and hummed,
Humming-birds raced down the avenues.
Before anything had a soul,
While life was a heave of matter, half inanimate,
This little bit chipped off in brilliance
And went whizzing through the slow, vast, succulent stems.
I believe there were no flowers then,
In the world where the humming-bird flashed ahead of creation.
I believe he pierced the slow vegetable veins with his long beak.
Probably he was big
As mosses, and little lizards, they say, were once big.
Probably he was a jabbing, terrifying monster.
We look at him through the wrong end of the telescope of Time,
Luckily for us.
D.H. Lawrence
This week's post is for BitterGrace, and for all of us hummingbird-lovers.
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819-1904) was a Pennsylvanian who focused primarily on portrait painting until the late 1850's when he began travelling to coastal areas of the East Coast to paint seascapes and salt marshes. It was during this time that Heade perfected his ability to capture light, atmosphere, and various weather conditions so superbly in his paintings.
During a trip to Brazil in 1863, Heade made a series of small paintings of hummingbirds, igniting a passion for these lovely creatures that lasted the remainder of his life. Combined with his love of orchids and other flowers, as well as still life subjects, Heade created some beautiful pieces, including the ones below.
As is so typical in the art world, Martin Johnson Heade's work was virtually unknown at the time of his death. It wasn't until interest in American art soared during the patriotic 40's that his paintings were re-discovered.
I know you will all enjoy these. Note the luscious, misty, moody backgrounds that hallmarked Heade's style. They were all painted between 1865-1875.
Two Hummingbirds With Their Young
Two Hummingbirds Perched on Passionflower Vines
Tropical Landscape With Ten Hummingbirds
Orchids, Nesting Hummingbirds, and a Butterfly
Hummingbirds and Apple Blossoms
Amethyst Hummingbirds
Peep Peep
Posted by VelvetSky, Apr 8 2007, 06:01 AM
Barbie and Scottie say Happy Easter! And don't eat too many Peeps.
Eggs
Posted by VelvetSky, Apr 7 2007, 05:27 AM
Today I'm sharing a few of the spectacular Imperial Easter Eggs from the jewelry firm of the great Peter Karl Faberge, "Supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty", Alexander III and later to his son, Nicholas II. These beautiful objects were tokens of love to their Tsarinas, given at Easter to commemorate births, anniversaries, holidays, and other significant personal events.
I wish you all a happy and blessed Easter!
This is known as the First Hen Egg, and was the first of these famous eggs made by the House of Faberge for Alexander III. The shell is made of gold and white opaque enamel, which opened to reveal a gold yolk, containing a gold hen with ruby eyes. He presented this Easter gift to his young bride, Tsarina Maria Fyodorovna, in 1885.
Below is the Renaissance Egg of 1894, the last annual Easter Egg to be presented to Maria by Alexander, 8 months before his death. The egg was carved from a block of milky agate and traced with opaque enamel bands. It is set with diamonds and rubies, and likely contained a gift of pearls.
Here is the Rock Crystal Egg, presented by Nicholas to Alexandra in 1896 to commemorate places of interest in her life. The 12 miniatures revolve around a central gold shaft when the emerald button on top is pushed.
Here is the beautiful Lilies of the Valley Egg, a gift from Nicholas II to Tsarina Alexandra in 1898. In her beloved Art Nouveau style, it was enameled in rose-pink against a gold ground with pearl flowers and gold, diamond-set leaves. When a pearl button on the side is pressed, a triplet of portraits arises of Nicholas and his two daughters, Olga and Tatiana.
The Pansy Egg of 1899 was given by Nicholas to his mother. It's made of nephrite, silver, diamonds, enamel and mother of pearl. The egg opens to reveal a collapsible easel with tiny portraits of Maria Fyodorovna's family.
The spectacular Swan Egg, which Nicholas presented to Alexandra in 1906. The egg itself is made of gold, mauve enamel and diamonds. The surprise inside is a wonderful silver-chased swan on a 'pond' of aquamarine. A tiny mechanism causes the swan to move and spread it's wings, showing each feather separately, move it's feet and raise it's neck.
Finally, the Winter Egg was Nicholas' gift to Alexandra in 1913. The egg is of rock crystal, platinum, diamonds and moonstone. It opens to reveal a basket of wood anemones. Each flower is exquisitely crafted of white quartz, with jade leaves and garnet centers, resting on a bed of gold moss. 
Fools
Posted by VelvetSky, Mar 31 2007, 05:36 AM
Be wary, it's April Fool's Day tomorrow!
The Wheel of Fortune, (1883) Edward Burne-Jones
Fortune can, for her pleasure, fools advance,
And toss them on the wheels of Chance.
Juvenal
Roman poet & satirist (55 AD - 127 AD) 
Titania and Bottom, (1864) John Anster Fitzgerald
Lord, what fools these mortals be!
William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Act 3
scene 2
The Isle of the Dead, (1880) Arnold Bocklin
Tis foolish to fear what you cannot avoid.
Publilius Syrus (~100 BC) 
Multnomah Falls, Columbia River, Oregon (1867), Carleton E. Watkins
A fool and water will go the way they are diverted.
African Proverb 
The Kiss of the Enchantress, (1890) Isobel Lilian Gloag
I wonder what fool it was that first invented kissing.
Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745)
The Fool, (2004) Ciro Marcheti, The Gilded Tarot
When The Fool is drawn, it may represent Beginning, Inconsequence, Innocence, Freedom, Spontaneity, Originality, Happiness, Non-criticism, No attachment, Initiative, Adventure, Irresponsibility, Experience, Immaturity, Optimism, Boldness, Carpe Diem, Creative Chaos, New Beginnings, Foolhardiness
A.E. Waite, Pictoral Key to the Tarot, 1910
Lithograph (c. 2000), Shag (Josh Agle)
A fool and his money are soon parted.
Anonymous
March's Flower
Posted by VelvetSky, Mar 24 2007, 05:10 AM
When Narcissus (the son of the river god Cephisus and the nymph Liriope) was a sixteen years old, the nymph Echo fell in love with him. But her love was not returned, and she disappeared from the woods and mountains, fading away, until only her voice remained.
One day Narcissus, having come to a pool to quench his thirst, saw his reflection in its smooth surface, and fell in love with it. And since he could not obtain the object of his love, he died of sorrow by the same pool. The nymphs grieved him, including Echo. But when they prepared his funeral pyre, they could not find his body. Instead they found the flower that today bears his name.
Narcissus, (1599) Caravaggio
Daffodils, (1885) Berthe Morisot
Winter Daffodils, (1902) Sarah Wyman Whitman
Printed linen textile (1883), manufactured in New York City
Still Life with Daffodils (1890) John Singer Sargent
Tumbler of glass, enamel and silver (1894) Daum Freres and Co.
Anemones and Daffodils (1884) Henry Roderick Newman
Narcissus in an Opaline Glass Vase (1875) Henri Fantin Latour
on Scarlett Says...