Tag: Paris

The Good Shepherd by Henry Ossawa Tanner

Image of oil painting being described

Henry Ossawa Tanner became one of America’s most famous Black artists by depicting dream-like Bible scenes like this one. Click here to see it on the Gallery’s site. Clicking the image on their page will open a viewer that allows you to zoom in and pan around.

In today’s episode we’ll find out how he went from working in a flour mill to a successful artistic career in Paris and what he has in common with another artist, Richard Norris Brooke. And we discover a mystery about one of his early works!

“The Good Shepherd” by Henry Ossawa Tanner, American, c. 1918
Corcoran Collection (The Evans-Tibbs Collection, Gift of Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr.)

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SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

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

Episode theme is “Virtutes Instrumenti” by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4590-virtutes-instrumenti

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Artwork information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.195513.html

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/american-art-to-wwii/symbolism-america/a/tanner-angels-appearing-before-the-shepherds

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/henry-ossawa-tanner-and-his-influence-in-america/

Tanner Bio
https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1919.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ossawa_Tanner#cite_ref-eoaah_6-0

https://americanart.si.edu/artist/henry-ossawa-tanner-4742

Tanner painting technique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWxErF_nzd4

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

The Mother and Sister of the Artist by Berthe Morisot

Image of oil painting being described
Morisot, Berthe (French, 1841 – 1895), The Mother and Sister of the Artist, 1869/1870, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.186

When Berthe Morisot and her sister Edma wanted to learn how to paint, their parents willingly obliged. After all, that was part of an upper-class young woman’s education. But when their teacher saw their incredible talent, he warned their mother, “…they will become painters. Are you fully aware of what that means? It will be revolutionary…” And he was right! For a woman to become a professional painter was almost unheard of in 1850s Paris.

But Berthe did it, even after her well-meaning mentor Édouard Manet made some…uh…improvements to this painting just before the deadline for submission to the all-important Salon. Prepare to cringe!

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SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

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

Episode theme is “Fauré Nocturne no. 4 in E-flat major, Op. 36” composed by Gabriel Fauré.
https://musopen.org/music/7909-nocturne-no-4-in-e-flat-major-op-36/

https://musopen.org/music/performer/european-archive/

https://musopen.org/music/composer/gabriel-faure/

Artwork information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.46661.html

https://www.artble.com/artists/berthe_morisot/paintings/portrait_of_the_artist’s_mother_and_sister

Morisot information
Stuckey, Charles F., William P. Scott, and Suzanne G. Lindsay. Berthe Morisot, Impressionist  1st ed. New York: Hudson Hills Press, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum in association with the National Gallery of Art, 1987.

Shennan, Margaret. Berthe Morisot : the First Lady of Impressionism  Phoenix Mill: Sutton, 1996.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-berthe-morisot-brought-radically-feminine-perspective-impressionism

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

Little Dancer Aged Fourteen by Edgar Degas

Photo of the Little Dancer statue
Edgar Degas (French, 1834 – 1917), Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, 1878-1881, pigmented beeswax, clay, metal armature, rope, paintbrushes, human hair, silk and linen ribbon, cotton faille bodice, cotton and silk tutu, linen slippers, on wooden base, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon 1999.80.28

Tired or determined? This is Marie van Goethem, a young ballet student at the Paris Opera. We’ll find out where she came from and the not-so-glamorous life of a ballerina in Paris in the 1880s.  We’ll also find out how Degas broke the rules and managed to freak out the public with this statue!

We’ll also discover how he was the original upcycler, using materials he had on hand to create her! See the photo below.

An Illustration of the materials used in Little Dancer armature.
Diagram of the armature of Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. Courtesy of the Object Conservation Department, National Gallery of Art.

At the end of the episode, I let you know which mystery show she plays an important role in!

Ed. note: I’d like to thank the staff of the Object Conservation Department at the Gallery for their help with today’s episode.

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SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

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

Episode theme is “Violin Sonata in A major” composed by César Franck. Sonata for Cello and Piano – I. Allegretto ben moderato. Performed by Paul Pitman, Bang-Eun Lee

Degas’s Little Dancer exhibition brochure (PDF)

Little Dancer Aged Fourteen (NGA Highlights Essay)

Degas and His Dancers (Smithsonian Magazine)

Modeling with Clay (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocAc–CQdPw

Little Dancer featured in Endeavour (link expires 6/30/19)

Slow Art Day

Place du Carrousel by Camille Pissarro

Painting of the Tuileries Gardens
Camille Pissarro (French, 1830 – 1903), Place du Carrousel, Paris, 1900, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection 1970.17.55

Camille Pissarro was an Impressionist painter who created this sun-drenched view of a famous park in 1900. We’ll find out where this lovely scene takes place and how and why just 5 small strokes of color can conjure up a fashionista.

We’ll also discover its connection to Hermann Goering and how a Gallery director was instrumental in the formation of the Monuments Men program.

Here’s a detail of the frame I describe. Check out the carving!

Close up of the elaborately carved corner of a painting frame
Corner detail of frame

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SHOW NOTES

“A Long Look” theme is Ascension by Ron Gelinas

Episode theme is Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn composed by Maurice Ravel, performed by Luis Sarro. Courtesy of musopen.org

Place du Carrousel information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.52199.html#overview

Impressionism
https://www.nga.gov/features/slideshows/impressionism.html

World War II Provenance Research
https://www.nga.gov/collection/wwii-research.html

Monuments Men information
https://www.nga.gov/about/monuments-officers-national-gallery-art.html

The Monuments Men (movie)

The Monuments Men (book)

Slow Art Day

Recommended Reading

Art and Illusion by E.H. Gombrich

06 The Railway – Manet

Painting of woman and young girl outdoors in front of iron railing with steam rising behind them.
Edouard Manet (French, 1832 – 1883), The Railway, 1873, oil on canvas, Gift of Horace Havemeyer in memory of his mother, Louisine W. Havemeyer 1956.10.1

Today, I’ll be looking at “The Railway” by Édouard Manet. This enigmatic painting has fascinated viewers since its creation in 1873. Set in a rapidly modernizing Paris, the work raised loads of questions (and critics’ hackles.)

We’ll find answers to some of the mysteries and (just like in “The Mill” episode) discover something I’d never seen before!

Here’s a photo of the egg-and-dart molding around the frame I mention. You can see why it would be hard to describe!

Close-up of frame border

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SHOW NOTES

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

Episode theme is Claude Debussy’s “Cello Sonata – III. Finale – Anime” performed by Paul Pitman and Bang-Eun Lee
https://musopen.org/music/4516-cello-sonata/

The Railway
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.43624.html#relatedpages

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