Originally Posted by kathleen

have you read the biography by gail levin. if not, i recommend it. my favorite piece is the philosopher (?) it is a woman sitting on a bed if i remember correctly, but i can't find it.

Thanks Kathleen, I just ordered the bio.!!!

Originally Posted by SuzyZ

Thanks Kathleen, I just ordered the bio.!!!

let me know what you think. i'll even reread it if you want to chat. i remember loving it at the time.

Originally Posted by anufangava

Gustave Caillebotte's Les Raboteurs. It is in permanent display at the Musee d' Orsay Paris. This picture does not do it justice.

This is a wonderful piece. My daughter has been known to go to Le Musee d'Orsay just to look at it (living in Paris makes that easy, along with her student pass wonderful.

[quote=caitlin1214][quote=Blue824]Have you been to Sant'Ignazio in Rome, Caitlin? The Pozzo fresco is gorgeous! (Btw, it is a fresco, def not on canvas!) I remember spending a lot of time in there!

Quote:

I've never been to Rome, but I'd like to. I do remember going to the Louvre when I was younger. And I think I even remember my parents saying something like, "Look, kids, there's the Mona Lisa!" I really wish I could go back there now that I can appreciate it more. Last summer I went to New York to see Spamalot! but also to see the Chanel exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After that I went into my favorite wing: the Egyptology wing. Followed a close second by the weaponry wing. But after that, I just had the BEST time exploring everything that museum had to offer. I couldn't just go in with the attitude "I'll see this and this and then leave" because there was SO much to see and take in.

It's funny! I first saw the Mona Lisa in Denver of all places! I was probably 8 years old, and the Armond Hammer collection came to town. I was in awe, to say the least.

Seeing her in Paris is like visiting an old friend who I met as a child in Colorado.

Wow, I feel like an outsider, I've only been to the Munch museum and the Hermitage, and I have to admit that I love lot of Munch's art and the expressions, but I also like Andy Warhol although I haven't really seen a lot of it in real life.
Can't really say I noticed anything special at the hermitage (of course, lots of beautiful paintings, but nothing that stuck), but I was kinda in a hurry, and I'm going back there in about two months anyways.

Originally Posted by Jennifer Marvin

My favorite “formerly physically living” artist would be Monet; especially since visiting His home and gardens. It was like walking into his paintings. Now, I feel a special connection to his work.

I love his paintings as well. I feel so at peace when I look at them. For those who are or will be in the San Francisco area, there is a exhibit of his work focusing on Normandy going on now at the Legion of Honor museum (ends Sep 17). It's a fantastic exhibit.

"Explore the Normandy of Claude Monet
From the sublime isolation of the great chalk limestone cliffs at Etretat to the picturesque and romantic seaside at Trouville, this is Monet's Normandy captured in 53 unforgettable paintings. This rare and exciting viewing opportunity—the first of only three venues in the United States—is not to be missed."

http://www.monetinnormandy.org/

One of my favourite paintings, when I was a child, was Georges-Pierre Seurat's Bathers at Asnieres (1884).

Seurat was a postimpressionist painter and the painting was created using pointillism (lots of tiny dots of paint). I was lucky enough to see this painting in the National Gallery in London when I was about 9 years old and I remember being amazed that someone could produce such a huge (201 x 300cm / approx. 6' 8" x 10'), atmospheric painting, using the painstaking process of thousands of small dots!


Here's what the BBC say about it:


In Seurat’s first masterpiece he perfectly captures the still, almost oppressive, atmosphere of a hot summer day. Working men sit in a motionless frieze on the edge of the river Seine in a suburb of Paris – factory chimneys and a railway bridge are visible behind. The glaring sunlight is rendered with bright light colours. White is everywhere and the grass is made up of a combination of greens, oranges and pinks – contrasting colours intended to heighten and brighten each other.

Originally Posted by chloehandbags

One of my favourite paintings, when I was a child, was Georges-Pierre Seurat's Bathers at Asnieres (1884). Seurat was a postimpressionist painter and the painting was created using pointillism (lots of tiny dots of paint). I was lucky enough to see this painting in the National Gallery in London when I was about 9 years old and I remember being amazed that someone could produce such a huge (201 x 300cm / approx. 6' 8" x 10'), atmospheric painting, using the painstaking process of thousands of small dots! Here's what the BBC say about it: In Seurat’s first masterpiece he perfectly captures the still, almost oppressive, atmosphere of a hot summer day. Working men sit in a motionless frieze on the edge of the river Seine in a suburb of Paris – factory chimneys and a railway bridge are visible behind. The glaring sunlight is rendered with bright light colours. White is everywhere and the grass is made up of a combination of greens, oranges and pinks – contrasting colours intended to heighten and brighten each other.

This is very beautiful. I grew up with a father who loved Seurat, so we understood pointtilissim at a young age. Unfortunately, it did not stick. I love the messy german expressionism to this controlled artform. still, it is so beautiful

Originally Posted by kathleen

This is very beautiful. I grew up with a father who loved Seurat, so we understood pointtilissim at a young age. Unfortunately, it did not stick. I love the messy german expressionism to this controlled artform. still, it is so beautiful

I love the way that, from a distance, the eye mixes the colours, rather than them being mixed physically; so the colours remain 'clean' and not muddied.

I know what you mean though, Seurat's was a dedication that must have bordered on OCD!!!

Originally Posted by jenna

I love his paintings as well. I feel so at peace when I look at them. For those who are or will be in the San Francisco area, there is a exhibit of his work focusing on Normandy going on now at the Legion of Honor museum (ends Sep 17). It's a fantastic exhibit. "Explore the Normandy of Claude Monet From the sublime isolation of the great chalk limestone cliffs at Etretat to the picturesque and romantic seaside at Trouville, this is Monet's Normandy captured in 53 unforgettable paintings. This rare and exciting viewing opportunity—the first of only three venues in the United States—is not to be missed." http://www.monetinnormandy.org/

The Bostom Museum of Fine Arts did a special exhibit of his work. I love the special exhibits because there's always an audio tour to go along with the painting.

I'm the type of person that needs to be pointed out the parts I need to pay attention to in the paintings. And I love that the audio tour does that.

There's a painting called "The Milliner's Shop" and for the life of me I can't remember who painted it. (The first one who tells me gets a cookie.)

The woman in the picture is wearing a green dress ad yellow gloves. She's looking at one of the hats.

(The audio tape says it isn't known if she's shopping or if she works there. My guess is she works there. Given the way she's looking at the particular hat and the fact that her dress is pretty plain.)

My most favorite piece of art is by Louis Icart. It's called "Speed". I have this original etching hanging in my dining room. It's extremely rare (to have an original etching), and it means the world to me. Here's a picture of a copy I found.

Originally Posted by caitlin1214

There's a painting called "The Milliner's Shop" and for the life of me I can't remember who painted it. (The first one who tells me gets a cookie.) The woman in the picture is wearing a green dress ad yellow gloves. She's looking at one of the hats. (The audio tape says it isn't known if she's shopping or if she works there. My guess is she works there. Given the way she's looking at the particular hat and the fact that her dress is pretty plain.)

Jean Louis Forain?

Never Mind! I found it!




The Millinery Shop by Degas

My all time favorite is another work by Seurat - A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte. Just as chloehandbags mentioned earlier, I'm still mesmorized by the stillness of this piece. It's calming and soothing.