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Topic:
Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: Cezanne's "Still Life with a Basket of Apples"
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
9/23/07 9:49pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "Self Portrait" by Rembrandt
- Date Edited:
11/27/07 2:12pm (3 edits total)
Edited By:
Zaz
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Next: "The Art of Painting" by Johannes Vermeer
c. 1666-7, oil on canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
At first glance, this looks like a picture of an artist painting a model. But the young woman is Clio, the Muse of History. "Wearing a wreath of laurel, she holds a trumpet, respresenting fame, and a book, denoting history. Vermeer's source for this image is probably Cesare Ripa's "Iconologia", an Italian study of classical symbolism which was published in Dutch in 1644.
Vermeer never sold this picture, and it disappears after his death until 1813, when it resurfaces attributed to de Hooch. It was reattributed to Vermeer in 1859. Hitler purchased it from the Czernin family in 1940, and it was recovered by American troop from a salt mine in 1945. The Czernin family tried to recover it, claiming a forced sale. They lost in the courts.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
9/24/07 8:47pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "The Art of Painting" by Vermeer
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Next: "Landscape with the Nymph Egeria Mourning over Numa" by Claude Lorrain
1669, oil on canvas , Galleria Nazionale de Capodimonte, Naples
This scene is taken from Ovid; the Nymph Egeria is mourning for her husband Numa, an early king of Rome. Her lamentations disturb the goddess Diana, who sends attendants to warn to belt up. To no avail; eventually Diana turns her into a spring. At this time, Lorrain was the foremost landscape painter in Europe.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
10/3/07 9:26pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings:"Landscape with the Nymph Egeria" by Claude Lorrain
- Date Edited:
10/3/07 9:29pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Zaz
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Next: "The Gouden Leeuw at the Battle of the Texel" by Willem van de Velde the Younger
c. 1687, oil on canvas 150 x 300 cm, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
This depicts the last battle in the third Anglo-Dutch War, the battle of the Texel, which the Dutch won against the allied French and English fleets, thereby preventing an invasion of Holland. Probably painted for a Dutch patron, it is seen from the Dutch POV, and as the ship of the Lt. Admiral Cornelius Tromp's ship 'Gouden Leeuw' ('Golden Lion') is the large Dutch ship, at centre, he may have been the commissioner.
You need to click on the picture to see the proper dimensions. Smashing.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
10/15/07 9:11pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings:""The Gouden Leeuw at the Battle of the Texel"
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Next: "Les Charmes de la Vie" by Jean-Antoine Watteau
c. 1717, oil on canvas, Wallace Collection, London
Critics think this picture depicts the five senses: sound (the instrument), sight (the distant background couples), the dog (smell), the wine bottles (taste), and touch (the group). The composition, with decided vertical and diagonals, is brilliant.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
10/28/07 1:55pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "Les Charmes de la Vie" by Jean-Antoine Watteau
- Date Edited:
10/28/07 1:58pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Zaz
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Next: "The Silver Goblet" by Jean-Simeon Chardin
c. 1726-7, oil on canvas, Musee des Beaux-Arts, Lille.
At one point, still lifes were considered only fit for student exercises, but the efforts of painters such as Chardin helped elevate them.
This is a very beautiful one, which the surfaces rendered with extraordinary ability, most notably the surface of the goblet.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
11/10/07 6:01pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "The Silver Goblet" by Jean-Simeon Chardin
- Date Edited:
11/27/07 2:13pm (3 edits total)
Edited By:
Zaz
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Next: "The Stonemason's Yard" by Canaletto
Painted when Canaletto was only thirty, this shows a working-class Venice building site in warm red tones and with a lowering sky.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
11/26/07 8:38pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "The Stonemason's Yard" by Canaletto
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Next: "The Finding of Moses" by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
c. 1735-40, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Commissioned by a famous Venetian family, it was sold to the Earl of Bute in 1769. It was larger; it was cut down by the Bute family.
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Rogue1-and-a-half
Title: Manager: Amphitheatre
Registered:
Nov '00
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Date Posted:
12/5/07 11:35am
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "The Finding of Moses" by Tiepolo
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I like the Canaletto which I haven't seen before. That's quite beautiful.
-----signature-----
I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
Without having ever felt sorry for itself.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
12/27/07 3:31pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "The Finding of Moses" by Tiepolo
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Next: William Hogarth "Marriage a la Mode: The Tete-a-Tete, or Shortly after the Marriage"
1743, oil on canvas, National Gallery, London
This scene is said by the book to be the first of six painted by Hogarth in his satirical series critical of an arranged marriage.
Actually it isn't:
This one is the first: 
From Wiki: "Marriage a la Mode (Plate 1): The opening scene of Marriage a la Mode takes place in the opulent home of Lord Squanderfield. Suffering from the gout he is seated to the left, under the magisterial canopy. He is engaged in negotiations of matrimony concerning his effeminate son who is seated to the extreme right. The elder Squanderfield is proudly displaying a chart of his family tree (which shows his direct lineage to William of Normandy) to the father of the projected bride, who sits across the table from him. Plainly dressed in the clothes of a merchant he scrutinizes the marriage contract. Between them stands the usurer who is passing to Lord Squanderfield the major element of the 'agreement', which is money.
The reason the Earl is marrying his son to a non titled family is clearly evident through the window. Work on his new mansion has ceased due to lack of funds. The architect patiently waits at the window for a resumption in activities.
The younger Squanderfield is showing no interest in his prospective bride, who sits next to him. He is much more fascinated with his own reflection in the mirror. The bride, dressed much more plainly than the groom, is both discontented and bored. Standing beside her is Councilor Silvertongue, who seems very interested in the bride. Silvertongue will play a major role in the following scenes.
A nice touch is added by the pair of dogs at the young couple's feet. Their manacled state is clearly symbolic of the couple's marriage. On the walls hang portraits of Lord Squanderfield, many of them being ridiculously heroic."
Marriage a la Mode consists of six engravings first published by William Hogarth in 1745. Exploring the dire consequences of an arranged marriage, it examines both the foolish and dangerous natures of the aristocracy and the aspiring merchant class. Hogarth stated that he engraved the heads and faces in each scene. The backgrounds, however, demanded more technical expertise and he thus commissioned three French engravers working in London to complete the series. They are, Louis Gerard Scotin, born 1690 (plates 1 and 6), Bernard Baron, 1696-1762 (plates 2 and 3) and Simon Francis Ravenet, 1706-1774 (plates 4 and 5). Both Baron and Ravenet also assisted Hogarth in some of his other engraved sets.
The picture in the book is Plate 2: The young fashionable couple are at breakfast. The husband has been out all night playing cards, and sports a black spot (sign of treatment for venereal disease) on his neck. His young wife is fresh from the arms of her lover. The servant in the background is yawning and disleveled; the one on the right is rolling his eyes over unpaid bills.
Here's Plate 3: 
"Marriage a la Mode (Plate 3): The third scene depicts some of the depraved entertainments of Squanderfield. He is in the house of a quack. Objects scattered throughout the scene indicate that this man practices forms of uninviting medicine, occultism and procurement. Skeletons, heads, mummies and machines akin to medieval racks of torture adorn the room. In the foreground Squanderfield half-jokingly questions the benefits of the doctor's pills. The bowlegged doctor, however, appears unconcerned and busies himself with cleaning his glasses.
The most unsettling character is the angry, knife-bearing woman standing between them. Scholars are divided upon her actual role but the most likely theory is that she is the mother of the young woman, or girl, to the right of Squanderfield. Silently crying, she is no doubt being sold as a new mistress for Squanderfield. Both the mother and quack doctor will receive financial recompense."
Next: 
"Marriage a la Mode (Plate 4): The fourth scene concentrates upon the domestic life of the bride. Beside her, lolling on a couch, is Silvertongue. Their gestures leave little doubt that an affair is in progress. To make the matter even clearer a black servant boy plays with a broken horned statue in front of them, suggesting that Squanderfield is cuckolded. Finally, the paintings deal with scenes of mythological or biblical sex. Silvertongue's portrait assumes a favorable position on the wall to the right.
To the extreme right a fat castrato is singing to musical accompaniment. One lady is enraptured by his voice. The expressions on the faces of the other characters range from boredom to vacuity."
Next: 
"Marriage a la Mode (Plate 5): Tragedy strikes in the fifth scene. Squanderfield has discovered the lovers' hideout and fights a dying duel to defend his 'honor'. The astonished landlord and watchman enter to the left while Silvertongue retreats through an open window, in his night shirt. Squanderfield slumps in death from his bloody wounds and the Countess tearfully kneels to beg his forgiveness. A portrait of a prostitute with a squirrel in her hand hangs on the wall behind them."
Last: 
"Marriage a la Mode (Plate 6): The story concludes in the miserly house of the merchant. The Countess has taken her life with an overdose of laudanum. The empty bottle now lies on the floor. Behind the central group the doctor is berating an idiotic servant who is wearing an ill fitting, cast off coat from his master. At the table an emaciated dog takes advantage of the confusion. Ever frugal, the merchant's meal consists of a cheap pig's head.
An old nurse holds the Countess's daughter to the dead mother for a last kiss. Her legs reveal the braces of a cripple which she probably inherited from her father's venereal escapades. The merchant removes a gold ring from his dead daughter's hand. The ring will no doubt be sold and the profits entered into one of the ledger books encased on the wall behind his head."
As you can see, these paintings had more life as engravings. Hogarth sold the lot for L126, not much of a return.
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harpuah
Registered:
Mar '05
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Date Posted:
12/29/07 5:48pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "Marriage-a-la-Mode" by Hogarth
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I couldn't see a couple of these very well... too small.
I can appreciate the concept behind this series. I'm not a firm believer in marriage myself, let alone an arranged marriage. The artist paid close attention to detail. I like the gruesome tone of the series.
-----signature-----
The person who stands up and says, 'This is stupid,' either is asked to behave or, worse, is greeted with a cheerful 'Yes, we know! Isn't it terrific?'
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
12/30/07 6:04pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "Marriage-a-la-Mode" by Hogarth
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Thank you, Harpuah, for that pungent and succinct commentary... 
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
1/10 9:41pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "Marriage-a-la-Mode" by Hogarth
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Next: "Mr. and Mrs. Andrews" by Thomas Gainsborough
c. 1750, oil on canvas, National Gallery, London
This is a famous painting of a young married couple in an agricultural setting.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
1/20 8:46pm
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "Mr. and Mrs. Andrews" by Gainsborough
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Next: "Cheetah and Two Indian Attendants and a Stag" by Sir George Stubbs
c. 1765, oil on canvas, Manchester City Art Gallery
A present to George III from Sir George Pigot, the Governor General of Madras. The setting is probably meant to be India (no mountains in Windsor Great Park, where the cheetah was kept). The Duke of Cumberland wanted to see if the cheetah would attack a stag if he could. (He did attack; the stag drove him off with his antlers).
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Process
Registered:
Jan '08
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Date Posted:
2/3 8:28am
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "Cheetah with Two Indian Attendants" by George Stubbs
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Zaz posted:
Next: "Cheetah and Two Indian Attendants and a Stag" by Sir George Stubbs
c. 1765, oil on canvas, Manchester City Art Gallery
A present to George III from Sir George Pigot, the Governor General of Madras. The setting is probably meant to be India (no mountains in Windsor Great Park, where the cheetah was kept). The Duke of Cumberland wanted to see if the cheetah would attack a stag if he could. (He did attack; the stag drove him off with his antlers).
That cheetah looks more like a pug. 
The painting is very well done but I don't understand the concept. Was he trying to see if the cheetah is a predator?
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
2/3 8:38am
Subject:
RE: Folio Society's 100 Greatest Paintings: "Cheetah with Two Indian Attendants" by George Stubbs
- Date Edited:
2/3 8:40am (2 edits total)
Edited By:
Zaz
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If I was going to pick a painting from Sir George Stubbs, who specialized in animals, this wouldn't be it.
[image=http://www.museum-replicas.com/images/productimages/small/Stubbs,%20two%20saddled%20horses-red.jpg]
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