Tag: national gallery of art

Nonchaloir (Repose) – John Singer Sargent

Painting of young woman asleep on sofa in elegant room
John Singer Sargent, Nonchaloir (Repose), American, 1856 – 1925, 1911, oil on canvas, Gift of Curt H. Reisinger

John Singer Sargent was famous for his high society portraits set in elegant rooms like this. Find out why he gave up what he called “a pimp’s profession” and began painting just for his own pleasure, doing landscapes and scenes of his family. His niece Rose-Marie, pictured here, became one of his favorite subjects.

Painted just before World War I, we also find out what happened to them after this peaceful afternoon.

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SHOW NOTES

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

Episode theme is 3 Pieces composed by Lili Boulanger performed by  Pandora Selfridge. Courtesy of musopen.org

Nonchaloir (Repose) information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.35080.html

https://www.nga.gov/audio-video/audio/repose-nonchaloir-sargent.html

John Singer Sargent information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1858.html

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

Recommended Reading:

A Catalogue of the Collection of American Paintings in the Corcoran Gallery of Art: Volume 2, Painters Born from 1850 to 1910 (PDF 9.8 MB)

American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part II (PDF 91.2 MB)

John Singer Sargent and His Muse by Karen Corsano and Daniel Williman

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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.8MB)

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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

The Return of the Prodigal Son – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Painting of "The Prodigal Son"
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Spanish, 1617 – 1682 ), The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1667/1670, oil on canvas, Gift of the Avalon Foundation 1948.12.1

This enormous, dramatic painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo focuses on the emotional homecoming in the Biblical story of “The Prodigal Son” in which youth and money make a bad combination.

Murillo painted this as one of eight paintings for a charitable hospital in Seville and we’ll find how the king of Spain’s top official tried to “borrow” it to place in a royal museum. We’ll also discover its connection to Napoleon Bonaparte and a guy nicknamed “Joey Bottles.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.5MB)

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SHOW NOTES

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

Episode theme is “Adagio in G minor” composed by Tomaso Albinoni/Remo Giazotto and performed by Noh Donghwan. Courtesy of musopen.org

The Prodigal Son information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.34956.html   

“Joey Bottles” article
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/nyregion/new-jersey/26bonapartenj.html

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

Recommended Reading

Spanish Paintings of the Fifteenth through Nineteenth Centuries (PDF)

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.3MB)

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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)

07 Judith Leyster Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait by Judith Leyster

This warm and welcoming self-portrait by Dutch master Judith Leyster is a gallery favorite. Join me while I talk about how this remarkable woman accomplished what few women artists did in her time only to disappear from history until an English court case began her revival.

We’ll discover the reason why her impractical outfit served a larger purpose and her clever two-birds-with-one-stone marketing technique.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.0MB)

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SHOW NOTES

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

Episode theme is “Concerto for 2 Flutes in C major, RV 533 – III. Allegro” by Antonio Vivaldi performed by the Orchestra Gli Armonici
https://musopen.org/music/3613-concerto-for-2-flutes-in-c-major-rv-533/

Self-Portrait information
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., “Judith Leyster/Self-Portrait/c. 1630,” Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century, NGA Online Editions, https://purl.org/nga/collection/artobject/37003 (accessed February 12, 2018).

https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/leyster-self-portrait.html

Court case information

https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/leyster-self-portrait.html#judith-leyster-self-portrait-c-1630

Judith Leyster: A Woman Painter in Holland’s Golden Age, by Frima Fox Hofrichter, Doornspijk, 1989, Davaco Publishers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Leyster#Leyster_and_Frans_Hals

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

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!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.7MB)

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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/