To be honest, there are very few American sculptors. There are even fewer American sculptors of the feminine persuasion. Feminist feminine sculptors can probably be counted on one hand. And, boy, do we need more of them if this is what they can achieve.
Tag: 19th century
Wednesday
This has kind of turned into the stereotypical model of the form of George Washington portrait, and I’m not entirely sure how accurate it was to begin with. I mean, to be fair, I’m sure the likeness was at least somewhat correct, however, it seems like they’ve managed to suck all the life out of him.
Wednesday
I’m ever so fond of this painting. I always stop in front of it and admire the realism of the asters. The rest of the painting seems unfinished or even haphazard in comparison to the care taken to present the flowers in such perfect light, but oh, what beauty. <3 (Sorry, I’m working overnights and my brain is a puddle of mush at this point.)
Monday
This is another case of ‘small but mighty’. All in all, it is a series of haphazard brushstrokes that don’t even really make a complete picture, yet, the impressions of everything that they want to convey somehow come across. The colors aren’t quite correct, but they are close enough to approximate what your eye believes it wishes to see, and it fills in the blanks and the extreme contrast of the figure of the little girl seems to be stark, even harsh and alien to the rest of the scene.
Tuesday
This particular work reminds me of Mrs. Hughes from Downton Abbey for some reason. I don’t know why; it just does.
Monday
There is a lot of crossover between Rococo design and Victorian Impressionism; the repression of sexuality in public while glorifying it in private, all the while alluding to it in portraiture, sketches, etc., is very similar. Renoir’s palette of ‘girly’ pastel hues and feminine lines makes this painting flirty, fresh, and inviting in a borderline naughty way.
Saturday
This particular painting is very small but very mighty in its mastery of spacial acuity, color, dimensional flow, and everything else that goes with holding the attention of an audience. By far, it is my favorite of the newest additions to the collection.
Friday
This is another sculpture where you can feel the emotions that are meant to be communicated without any kind of extraneous filler nonsense. Rodin knew his shit.
Thursday
The textures of this sculpture are really something else. There is a richness and a feel to it that is lacking in many other similar works. The overall feeling of pained resignation and a determination to carry personal dignity right to the very end is literally leaping out of the bronze.
Tuesday
While SLAM’s edition of Monet’s Waterlilies is out on loan to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, this is the piece that is hanging in its place on loan from Kimbell. It is an important piece in its own right and is very beautiful on its own merits; the singular nature of the subject as well as the angles from which it is approached is unusual and may be unique. It is not quite impressionism, not quite realism, not quite photorealism, yet has qualities of all of those movements.