Uploads from WVJazzman

Cleveland Museum of Art - The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:07:15 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1606-7 by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Sentenced to death for his missionary activity in Greece, Andrew asked to be martyred like Christ. While on the cross, Andrew preached to an enormous crowd, and when his executioners tried to remove him, a mysterious force paralyzed them. Upon finishing a prayer, a dazzling light enveloped Andrew and he died.

In an unusual interpretation, Caravaggio presents the event as intimate and private, rather than as a public spectacle, and his innovative use of light and dark suggests the presence of God.

Cleveland Museum of Art - Samson and Delilah

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:07:03 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

about 1621 by Gerrit van Honthorst

Samson single-handedly crushed the Philistine army. In turn, the Philistines bribed his lover, Delilah, to reveal Samson's source of strength: his hair, uncut since birth. While Samson was asleep, Delilah signaled a waiting Philistine, who sheared the hero, rendering him helpless. Honthorst intensified the narrative by having Delilah cut Samson's hair herself. An old woman also warns us against waking him, which implicates the viewer in Samson's emasculation. She also actives the space between us and the painting, a common strategy in this era to connect more directly with the viewer.

Cleveland Museum of Art - The Supper at Emmaus

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:06:51 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

about 1720 by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

Cleveland Museum of Art - Baptism of Christ

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:25:05 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1580s by the workshop of Jacopo Tintoretto

Based on a passage of the New Testament book of Matthew, Tintoretto represented Saint John the Baptist performing Christ's baptism in the river Jordan, during which the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove (accidentally cut off in my photo).

This painting dates earlier than most other works in this gallery - the powerful modeling of the bodies and luminous color characterize High Renaissance painting in Venice. Because of Tintoretto's pioneering use of rich color, his work was a crucial source for many of the artists in this gallery.

Cleveland Museum of Art - Noah: The Eve of the Deluge

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:24:51 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1848 by John Linnell

John Linnell presents a vision of the British landscape rich in spiritual and poetic associations. He draws on the biblical story of Noah's ark in which God orders Noah to build a ship to harbor his family and animals from the Great Flood. The English poet, John Milton, also addressed the story in his epic poem Paradise Lost, a passage from which Linnell included alongside his painting at the Royal Academy exhibition in 1848:

"When lo! a wonder strange! Of every beast, and bird, and insect small, Came sevens and pairs, and entered in, as taught, Their order: last the sire, and his three sons, With their four wives; and God made fast the door. Meanwhile the southwind rose, and with black wings Wide hovering, all the clouds together drove From under heaven."

The context for Linnell's picture may represent the debate at that time between theologians and scientists over the accuracy of biblical sources. Alternatively, the awe-inspiring theme, represented most clearly in Linnell's apocalyptic swirl of sky, was of longstanding interest to romantic painters and writers.

Cleveland Museum of Art - The Holy Family on the Steps

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:24:38 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1648 by Nicolas Poussin

The simplicity of this composition is deceptive; it is a complex meditation on the Holy Family's role in the redemption of humanity. At the center, Mary presents the Christ child to the world. At the left, Saint Elizabeth leans forward to foretell his eventual death, while her son, Saint John the Baptist, offers Jesus an apple, signifying humanity's fall from grace in the garden of Eden. Saint Joseph, at the right, received new emphasis in the 1600s as an important model for men - especially fathers. His compass, a sign of his occupation as a carpenter, also symbolizes God the Father.

Cleveland Museum of Art - Erato, Muse of Lyrical Poetry

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:08:29 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1798-1800 by Charles Meynier

Cleveland Museum of Art - Apollo and the Muses

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:08:15 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1798-1800 by Charles Meynier

From left to right:

Polyhymnia, Muse of Eloquence

Erato, Muse of Lyrical Poetry

Apollo, God of Light, Eloquence, Poetry, and the Fine Arts with Urania, Muse of Astronomy

Clio, Muse of History

Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry

Cleveland Museum of Art - Portrait of Tieleman Roosterman

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:08:04 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1634 by Frans Hals

Tieleman Roosterman's business in fine linen and silk fabrics extended as far as France. Given his trade, it is no surprise that Hals emphasized costume here - luxurious despite its sober color. Roosterman wears a black doublet with slashed sleeves, a wide collar, lace-edged cuffs,and breeches, as well as a large beaver hat. The inscription at the upper right, painted by Hals, gives the sitter's age as 36 and the painting's date.

Cleveland Museum of Art - View of Florence

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:07:53 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1837 by Thomas Cole

Cleveland Museum of Art - Sophie Guillemette, Grand Duchess of Baden

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:07:40 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1831 by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

Cleveland Museum of Art - Rest

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:04:40 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1879 by William Adolphe Bouguereau

One of the most celebrated academic painters of his time, Bouguereau underscores the moral virtues of the Italian peasants in this painting by depicting the dome of St. Peter's in the distance. The idealized figures and their triangular grouping recall the Holy Family paintings by Renaissance Master Rafael 400 years earlier. The painting was purchased directly from the artist by Cleveland banker and philanthropist Hinman B. Hurlbut in July 1879.

Cleveland Museum of Art - On a Terrace

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:04:27 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1867 by Ernest Meissonier

Trained as a print maker and book illustrator, Meissonier specialized in small paintings depicting scenes from French history and literature. This painting on wood panel depicts a man dressed like a character from The Three Musketeers (published in 1844) by Alexandre Dumas pere. Such paintings, admired for their technical virtuosity and romantic subjects, were immensely popular. Meissonier also painted contemporary military subjects and themes and became an arch-foe of the Realist painter Gustave Courbet.

Cleveland Museum of Art - Seaside (July: Specimen of a Portrait)

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:04:14 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1878 by Jacques-Joseph Tissot

This painting belongs to a series of allegories representing various months of the year. The sitter's relaxed pose and the distant beach suggest a summer vacation by the sea. Bright sunlight is reflected off the sand and filtered through the awning into the room, where it rebounds from the woman's ruffled dress onto her face. The model has been identified as Kathleen Newton, Tissot's British mistress from 1876 until her death in 1882.

Cleveland Museum of Art - Madeleine Lerolle and Her Daughter Yvonne

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:04:01 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

About 1879-1880 by Albert Besnard

This double portrait, exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1883, depicts the wife and daughter of Besnard's friend and fellow artist Henri Lerolle. Besnard emphasized their close relationship by placing Madeleine Lerolle and her daughter Yvonne in the familiar setting of the artist's studio, reflecting the artist's stated ambition of portraying figures in the natural setting of the world in which they live.

[Note: Madame Lerolle appears in the previously posted painting by Henri Fantin-Latour.]

Cleveland Museum of Art - Madame Lerolle

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:03:47 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1882 by Henri Fantin-Latour

Fantin-Latour exhibited this portrait of Madeleine Lerolle, wife of fellow artist Henri Lerolle, in the Paris Salon of 1882.

[Note: Madame Lerolle and her daughter Yvonne appear in the next posted painting by Albert Besnard.]

Cleveland Museum of Art - Cafe Wepler

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:18:11 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1908-10, reworked in 1912 by Edouard Vuillard

The Cafe Wepler was a popular Parisian restauant in the working-class district where Vuillard lived. Here it is portrayed in the evening, brilliantly lit by gaslights.

Cleveland Museum of Art - Woman with a Cape (Jeanneton)

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:17:56 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

early 1901 by Pablo Picasso

Cleveland Museum of Art - Harlequin with Violin (Si Tu Veux)

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:17:43 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1918 by Pablo Picasso

The diamond-patterned costume and triangular hat identify the musician in this painting as one of Picasso's alter egos, Harlequin, a jokester from the popular Commedia dell' arte. The phrase Si tu veux on the sheet of music may refer to a popular song that begins, "If you wish, Marguerite, make me happy by giving me your heart." The inclusion of this lyric may refer to Picasso's marriage to Russian ballerina Olga Koklova in 1918.

Cleveland Museum of Art - Festival of Flowers, Nice

nobody@flickr.com (WVJazzman) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:17:30 -0700

WVJazzman posted a photo:

1923 by Henri Matisse

While living in Nice after World War I, Matisse adopted a more relaxed style saturated with the warm colors of the Mediterranean. This painting depicts the view from the balcony of Matisse's room at the Hotel de la Mediterranee overlooking the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Pictured on the balcony are Matisse's daughter, Marguerite, and his model, Henriette, poised to toss their flowers to the participants in the parade below.