Tag: art

Portrait of Madame du Barry by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

Portrait of elegant woman in exterior setting.
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, 1755 – 1842), Madame du Barry, 1782, oil on canvas, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection) 2014.136.36

In a complete 180 from the spiritual contemplation of our last episode, today we’re looking at the portrait of Jeanne Bécu, who became Madame du Barry, the last mistress of Louis XV of France. She lived and loved (a lot!) in the days before the French Revolution. We’ll find out her fate along with that of her portraitist, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. I’ll give you a hint–only one of them survives!

Here’s the portrait of Élisabeth with her daughter I mention.

Painting of woman seated and holding her daughter in her lap.
Self-portrait of Élisabeth and her daughter.

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SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas

Episode theme is “String Quartet no. 3, Op. 136” composed by Benjamin Godard, performed by Steve’s Bedroom Band. Courtesy of musopen.org

Madame du Barry information

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun information

Memoirs of Madame Vigée Lebrun
Translated by Lionel Strachey Published by Doubleday, Page, & Company 1903. Free epub available at Google Books

Wikipedia entry on Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

Grove Art Online (for DC library card holders):

Liechtenstein painting information

National Gallery copyist program information

Slow Art Day

Season 3 Update

detail of painting showing a woman's hand and chest of jewels
A peek at our first look for Season 3

Hey everybody! I just wanted to let you know I’m hard at work on Season 3! We’re going to start off with another Gallery favorite, this time by Vermeer.

The new season starts soon, and in the spirit of spring rejuvenation, I’ve made a few tweaks to make the show more binge worthy. I hope you like the changes! And I’ll finally be posting to Instagram @alonglookslowart!

So, get ready to listen while strolling through the spring blooms and cherry blossoms. For those of you with low vision, you can listen with Apple Podcasts or the Overcast app on your iOS devices. As always, you can find links to the information in each episode in the show notes. And I’ll include any books or publications you might like.

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SHOW NOTES

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGEdNSNkZoo&feature=youtu.be

End of Season 2

The word Look from the show's logo

We’ve reached the end of Season 2! Thanks to everyone who came back and all the new listeners and subscribers who joined us. I appreciate your support!

I’ll be taking some time off for the holidays and to plan Season 3. The gallery has some fantastic shows up, so visit if you can! There’s Corot’s Women, a retrospective of Gordon Park’s photography, the Birmingham Project by Dawoud Bey, the Rachel Whiteread retrospective and more.

There are also a few more dates for senior lecturer David Gariff’s The Christmas Story in Art a fascinating look at how the story we know came about. This is where I found out about the symbolism of rocks!

You can catch up on any episodes you missed here or you can listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Soundcloud, TuneIn or your favorite podcast app. You can find links to some of these below.

I’ll be posting updates here, so check back.  And as always, thanks for joining me!

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SHOW NOTES

“A Long Look” theme is Ascension by Ron Gelinas

Exhibitions information https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/current.html

The Christmas Story in Art schedule and live stream

River Landscape with Cows – Aelbert Cuyp

Painting of cows in a landscape
Aelbert Cuyp (Dutch, 1620 – 1691), River Landscape with Cows, 1645/1650, oil on panel, Gift of Family Petschek (Aussig) 1986.70.1

This evening scene celebrates the peace and prosperity the Dutch were finally enjoying after 80 years of war with Spain. But don’t be fooled by its bucolic vibe. The backstory of its ownership is something straight out of Indiana Jones.

We’ll find out why the cow is a Dutch icon and the clever way one family screwed with the Nazis to keep this out of their hands.

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SHOW NOTES

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas

Episode theme is Sonata No. 15 in D Major Pastoral, Op. 28 – I. Allegro composed by Ludwig van Beethoven performed by Paul Pitman. Courtesy of musopen.org

River Landscape with Cows information
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., “Aelbert Cuyp/River Landscape with Cows/1645/1650,” Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century, NGA Online Editions (accessed August 27, 2018).

A Painting’s History: Cuyp’s River Landscape with Cows (video)

Slow Art Day http://www.slowartday.com

Recommended Reading

Paintings in the Dutch Golden Age (PDF)

The Embarrassment of Riches by Simon Schama

Portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci by Leonardo da Vinci

Portrait of Ginevra de Benci by Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci (Florentine, 1452 – 1519), Ginevra de’ Benci [obverse], c. 1474/1478, oil on panel, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund 1967.6.1.a

Welcome back for Season 2! I’m starting off with one of the Gallery’s greatest hits, the portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci by Leonardo da Vinci. It’s the only painting by Leonardo in America!

We’ll explore this unusual two-sided work, find out the story behind the strange combination of plants on the back and even learn a little Latin. I’ll also tell you where you can find Leonardo’s fingerprint!

close up showing Leonardo's fingerprint
Reverse side of Portrait of Ginevra de' Benci
Leonardo da Vinci (Florentine, 1452 – 1519), Wreath of Laurel, Palm, and Juniper with a Scroll inscribed Virtutem Forma Decorat [reverse], c. 1474/1478, tempera on panel, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund 1967.6.1.b

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SHOW NOTES

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo

Episode theme is “Galliard, Parthenia XIII (For Bassoon and Harp – Feller-Rønnes)” composed by John Bull. Performed by Mac Playback Harp.
https://musopen.org/music/31808-galliard-parthenia-xiii/

Ginevra de’ Benci information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/da-vinci-ginevra-de-benci.html

https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.50724.html#relatedpages

Slow Art Day http://www.slowartday.com

RECOMMENDED READING

Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo’s Ginevra de’ Benci and Renaissance Portraits of Women (PDF)

05 Blue Morning – Bellows

Image of the painting "Blue Morning" by George Bellows depicting the construction of the original Penn Station in New York City.
George Bellows (American, 1882 – 1925), Blue Morning, 1909, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.82

Today, I’ll be looking at “Blue Morning” by George Bellows. Bellows lived and worked in New York at the turn of the 20th century and studied under artist Robert Henri (pronounced Hen-rye). His classmates included John Sloan and Edward Hopper. “Blue Morning” may have been inspired by Henri’s call for his students to paint the world around them instead of more genteel academic scenes.

We’ll find out how Bellows is connected to Mary Cassatt and how New Jersey inspired one of the greatest technological achievements of the 20th century.

And we’ll see how an artist who’s so highly regarded for realism bent the rules a little here!

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SHOW NOTES

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas
youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo

Episode theme is “Frog Legs Rag,” courtesy of WFMU’s Free Music Archive
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/James_Scott/Frog_Legs_Ragtime_Era_Favorites/01_-_james_scott_-_frog_legs_rag

Blue Morning
Robert Torchia, “George Bellows/Blue Morning/1909,” American Paintings, 1900–1945, NGA Online Editions, https://purl.org/nga/collection/artobject/46557 (accessed January 11, 2018).

“The Rise & Fall of Penn Station”
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/penn/

Slow Art Day
http://www.slowartday.com

04 The Annunciation – Van Eyck

Jan van Eyck (Netherlandish, c. 1390 – 1441 ), The Annunciation, c. 1434/1436, oil on canvas transferred from panel, Andrew W. Mellon Collection

In this belated holiday episode, I’ll be looking at another favorite of mine, “The Annunciation,” by Jan Van Eyck. This complicated and fascinating painting illustrates the Biblical story of the Archangel Gabriel’s arrival to announce to Mary that she’s been chosen to bear the son of God.

We’ll talk about how this innovative painter wove elaborate religious imagery into this composition and the technique he used to create such gorgeous detail. We’ll also find out why a zodiac is involved, what Van Eyck did as a side gig and which Renaissance noble may have been the model for Mary. And you get to hear me mispronounce Latin!

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SHOW NOTES

The Annunciation  https://www.nga.gov/Collection/art-object-page.46.html

Slow Art Day http://www.slowartday.com

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo goo.gl/daee6S

“The Annunciation” theme is “Greensleeves to a Ground” performed by Ariel Martin Bellio https://musopen.org/music/2096/anonymous/greensleeves-to-a-ground/

03 The Boating Party – Cassatt

The Boating Party
Mary Cassatt (American, 1844 – 1926 ), The Boating Party, 1893/1894, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection

Today, I’ll be looking at Mary Cassatt’s “The Boating Party.” This large painting represents a big break in style for Cassatt. She was one of the few American Impressionists in Paris as well as one of the few American women working as professional artists. She’s best known for her intimate domestic scenes of mothers and children but we’ll find out how an exhibit of Japanese prints and summers on the Mediterranean influenced her to try new techniques and move beyond Impressionism.

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SHOW NOTES

“The Boating Party” https://www.nga.gov/Collection/art-object-page.46569.html#overview

For information on Mary Cassatt, visit  NGA Mary Cassatt online feature  and click on “Mary Cassatt – Selected Paintings” or “Mary Cassatt – Selected Prints”

Slow Art Day http://www.slowartday.com

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo goo.gl/daee6S

“The Boating Party” theme is “Laideronnette, imperatrice des pagodes” by Ravel, performed by Luis Sarro https://musopen.org/music/539/maurice-ravel/ma-mere-loye/

02 Young Girl Reading – Fragonard

Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732 – 1806 ), Young Girl Reading, c. 1770, oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. Mellon Bruce in memory of her father, Andrew W. Mellon

Today, I take a long look at Jean Honoré Fragonard’s “Young Girl Reading,” part of his famous series of “Fantasy Figures.” Or is she?

Join me while we find out and explore the mystery of the woman lurking underneath.

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SHOW NOTES

“Young Girl Reading: A Hidden Portrait Revealed” https://www.nga.gov/features/fantasy-figures-identified/hidden-portrait.html

“Fragonard: The Fantasy Figures” https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2017/fragonard-the-fantasy-figures.html

Slow Art Day http://www.slowartday.com

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo goo.gl/daee6S

“Young Girl Reading” theme is Piano Sonata no. 9 in E, Op. 14 no. 1 – I. Allegro by Paul Pitman