Carmen (1915). John William (Willy) Sluiter (Dutch, 1873-1949). Oil on canvas. Sluiter studied at the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts and then he took classes at the Hague Academy of Visual Arts. He became a painter, illustrator of political cartoons, created posters, and was also bookbinding designer. He is well known for the 38 covers of sheet music which he designed between 1920 and 1925
Firebird. Erté (Romain De Tirtoff) (French, 1892-1990). Embossed serigraph of an Art Deco style ballerina. Erté enjoyed a long career as a fashion illustrator for Harper’s Bazaar magazine, and gained fame as the creator of gloriously extravagant costumes and stage sets for the Folies Bergere in Paris, and for George White’s Scandals in New York. He also designed for the opera and traditional theatre, and made a brief appearance on the Hollywood scene in 1925
Artist Frederick Carl Frieseke (1910). Karl Anderson (American, 1874-1956). Oil on canvas. Frieseke’s aesthetic influenced a whole generation of Americans in Giverny; significantly, almost all of the major figures of this group were from the Midwest, and like him, had first studied in Chicago; these included Lawton Parker, Louis Ritman, Karl Buehr, and Karl Anderson, the artist of this portrait
The Virgin and Child Enthroned (c.1500). Master of the Embroidered Foliage (South Netherlandish, active c.1495-1500). Oil on panel. The Clark Art Institute. Mary is distinguished by the embroidered cloth behind her. At her feet is a fertile, walled garden symbolizing her virgin motherhood. She holds Jesus in her lap as he turns the pages of a devotional book. In the background, two figures, distracted by the world, seem unaware of the angels praying nearby
Au Théâtre (1882). Jean-Louis Forain (French, 1852-1931). Watercolor, pen and brown ink and black traces of graphite on paper. Here Forain captures a moment of contemporary life: a way of being, exchanging looks, and leaning slightly to catch what another person is saying about the show they have both just seen. To give the scene immediacy for the spectator, the four characters in the foreground are shown from the waist up and a female figure in the foreground is seen from behind. Forain owes his taste for this almost photographic framing to Degas
Francis I visiting Cellini’s workshop (1854). Nicaise de Keyser (Belgian, 1813-1887). Oil. Amsterdam Historical Museum. Francis I (1494-1547), was king of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, France made immense cultural advances. Cellini worked at the court of Francis I at Fontainebleau and Paris. However, he considered the duchesse d'Étampes to be set against him and refused to appease the king’s favorites
Nina chantant la romance. Henri-Nicolas Van Gorp (French, 1756-1819). Oil on canvas. Musée des Augustins, Toulouse. The sobriety of the interior and the refined treatment of the dress recall the grace of a Ter Borch or Mieris. Most likely is depicted Nina, ou La folle par amour (Nina, or The Woman Crazed with Love), an opéra-comique in one act by the French composer Nicolas Dalayrac. It was first performed on 15 May 1786 by the Comédie-Italienne at the first Salle Favart in Paris
Woman in Profile Reading (c.1915). Oscar Fehrer (American, 1872-1958). Oil on canvas. In 1895, Fehrer traveled to Munich and studied at the Royal Academy until 1897. Following his stay in Munich, Fehrer resided in Paris and studied at the Academie Julian where he was awarded an honorable mention for his work. Having sharpened his skills as a painter at these German and French schools of art, Fehrer returned to America in 1900 and established a studio in New York City
La Joueuse de Théorbe. Manteau du soir de Paquin. [Player of the Theorbo. Paquin Evening Coat]. George Barbier. Hand-colored pochoir produced as Plate #18 of the Gazette du Bon Ton No.2 (Feb. 1914). Great silvering on the music stand and bodice, and exacting attention to detail and colouring. Barbier shows two of the major influences in defining Art Deco: the rich ornamentation of the Oriental counterpoised against the stark geometric. The artist experiments here with perspective as shown in her gown spilling out and over the margin.
Elsa Lanchester (exh.1925). Doris Clare Zinkeisen (Scottish, 1897-1991). Oil on canvas. National Portrait Gallery. Zinkeisen was a painter, stage-set and costume designer, writer and equestrian champion. The portrait shows Lancaster, an actress, in role, possibly as Nell Gwyn, in the early years of her stage career. After WW I, Lancaster starred in the Children’s Theatre, and later the Cave of Harmony, a nightclub at which modern plays and cabaret turns were performed
Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid (c.1670). Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632-1675). Oil on canvas. Gallery of Ireland. The firm stance of the statuesque maid acts as a counterweight to the lively mistress intent on writing her letter. The maid’s gravity is emphasized by her central position in the composition. In contrast, the mistress inclines dynamically against the compressed space on the right. The mistress is painted in precise, meticulous strokes as opposed to the broad handling of the brush used to depict the maid
King Lear: Goneril and Regan (Act I, Scene i), 1902. Edwin Austin Abbey (American, 1852-1911). Oil on canvas. Yale University Art Gallery. GONERIL Sister, it is not a little I have to say of what most nearly appertains to us both. I think our father will hence to-night. REGAN That’s most certain, and with you; next month with us
The Artist and the Model. Robert Fawcett (American, 1903-1967). Illustration. In his introduction to the book about Fawcett, Walt Reed wrote, “He’d had rigorous training in draftsmanship at the Slade School in England and learned to make it almost a science. Within the discipline of drawing the figure with a hard 4H pencil, with no erasures allowed, students learned to record proportion and perspective by eye”
Portrait of Louisa Leveson Gower as Spes (Goddess of Hope) (1767). Angelica Kauffman (Austrian, 1741-1807). Oil on canvas. Gower was the daughter of the Marquess of Stafford, whom Kauffman painted while in London. She paints her as Spes, the Roman goddess and personification of hope, symbolized by the anchor and the flowers in her hair. There is great sensitivity and depth in this portrait. Kauffman’s skill is evident in every aspect, from the soft hair and skin, to the realistic fabric, to the rocky background
Alice in Wonderland (c.1879). George Dunlop Leslie (English, 1835-1921). Oil on canvas. Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries. Leslie’s painting Alice in Wonderland has his wife reading to their daughter Alice – the child’s name a deft reference to Lewis Carroll but also evoking the absorbed child in a trance listening to the story, shown leaning up against her mother, with Alice wearing a demure pinafore and black stockings
Staircase Group (Portrait of Raphaelle Peale and Titian Ramsay Peale I) (1795). Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741-1827). Oil on canvas. Philadelphia Museum of Art. On an unusually large canvas, Peale made one of his rare full-length portraits, showing two of his sons on an enclosed spiral staircase. Its high degree of detail and finish shows that the painting was clearly intended to be a trompe l'oeil “deception,” an effect that Peale never attempted elsewhere. To enhance the illusion, he installed the painting within a doorframe in his studio, with a real step in front
The Young Virgin (c.1632-33). Francisco de Zurbarán (Spanish, 1598-1664). Oil on canvas. Met. According to medieval legend, the young Virgin Mary lived as a girl in the Temple in Jerusalem, where she devoted herself to praying and sewing vestments. This was a popular subject, with the Virgin serving as a model of behavior for young women. The delicate modeling of the Virgin’s face and the attention to the still-life elements, including the prayer book and the sewing, are characteristic of Zurbarán’s early style
Hindu Ballet, No. 2 (1913). Léon Nikolaievitch Bakst (Russian, 1866-1924). Opaque and transparent watercolor, silver paint, and graphite pencil on paper. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. “Ballet Hindou. Pour A. Pavlova.” Bakst did several costume designs for the celebrated ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) in the production of Oriental Fanstasy (also called Ballet Hindu), which opened in London in October 1913, and was performed later that same month in Boston
A Seated Ballerina. Walter Ernest Webster (English, 1877-1959). Watercolour. The seated ballerina is possibly a representation of Clara Josephine Wieck (1819-1896), a German musician and composer, considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era. Her husband was the composer Robert Schumann. Webster used Wieck’s likeness in two other paintings of ballerinas sitting
The Lady in Yellow or Remember (1863). Alfred Stevens (Belgian, 1828-1906). Oil on panel. Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels. In the 2009 Stevens exhibition in Amsterdam, this work was included in the ’femmes fatales’ section. The Lady in Yellow or Remember, a redhead with one glove on and one glove off, looks up from her book, shields her eyes with her fan, and gazes intently at the viewer. This painting was used for the strong campaign image for the exhibition
Morgiana, heroine of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, dances. From Stories from the Arabian Nights, 1907. Edmond Dulac. “Then, for the last figure of ail, she drew out the dagger and, holding it in her hand, danced a dance which excelled all that had preceded it in the surprise and change and quickness and dexterity of its movements. Now she presented the dagger at her own breast, now at one of the onlookers; but always in the act of striking she drew back”
The love letter (1881). Frans Moormans (Dutch, 1832-1893). Oil on panel. Moormans was a popular and well known artist of the 19th century specializing in portraits and interior genre scenes in the style of the 17th century Dutch artists such as Metsu and Vermeer. He was a student at l’Academie d’Anvers and a professor at l’Academie d’Amsterdam. He participated in numerous exhibitions notably at the Paris Salon where he was awarded a medal in 1889
Paule Gobillard Painting (1886). Berthe Morisot (French, 1841-1895). Oil on canvas. Musée Marmottan Monet. Morisot’s sister Yves displayed unusual talent for art, although she very early abandoned it as a serious pursuit. Yves’ daughter Paule Gobillard inherited both talent and ambition. She was often to be found working with Morisot in her home and studio. When Yves died in 1893 Paule and her younger sister Jeanne moved in for a time with their aunt Berthe and their cousin Julie Manet
Portrait of Xenia, Countess of Lathom, bust-length (c.1927). Arthur Ambrose McEvoy, A.R.A., A.R.W.S. (English, 1878-1927). Oil on canvas. Born Marie Xenia de Tunzelmann. She married firstly Ronald Morison, from whom she was divorced in 1921. She then married in 1927 the Earl of Lathom who died in 1930. She wrote a book on Claude Monet (P 1931) and (jointly) “An introduction to French painting,” by P.G. Konody and Xenia Lathom, P 1932 by Cassell
Young lady reading. Illustration on the front of a Victorian trade card for A&P Baking Powder from The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Rochester, New York. A dark and stormy night. An old, shadow-filled mansion. A warm, comfortable chair by the curtained window, perfect for a golden-haired, blue-eyed young lady to sink in to a good book after everyone else has retired for the evening. Then a sudden noise interrupts her reading. Perhaps the baking is done
Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler (1893). John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925). Oil. Smithsonian American Art Museum. “Bessie” Chanler’s determination and strength of character emerge forcefully in Sargent’s remarkable portrait. Wealth and social position did not shield her from tragedy. Yet she prevailed and eventually married John Jay Chapman, a family friend. Sargent greatly admired his subject, observing that she possessed “the face of the Madonna and the eyes of the Child”
Saint Mary Magdalen Penitent (c.1615). Domenico Fetti (Italian, c.1589-1624). Oil on canvas. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Magdalen is shown as a beautiful young woman with a crucifix and prayer book, representing her solitary and virtuous existence. Fetti stresses the intensity of the Magdalen’s devotion through his expressive treatment of her fluttering garments and clasped hands, and by representing her from below, as if she has already begun to ascend to the heavens
Two Dancers (1912). Gaston Bussière (French, 1862-1928). Oil on canvas. A student of Alexandre Cabanel, Bussière often produced work which combines the Symbolist approach, the art of the English pre-Raphaelites and that of historical painting by artists such as Jean-Paul Laurens. He interprets the latter’s universe in a phantasmagorical style, with flickering colours and affected forms which also evoke Jean Delville
Nu Jouant du piano. Frank Snapp (American, 1876-1927). Gouache. Snapp attended the Art Institute of Chicago and worked in Detroit, New York City, and Chicago, primarily as an illustrator. His gouache works were accomplished and colorful. Here, the lady has set aside her robe and perhaps is working on a short part of a composition as her posture limits her range
Lesende (1889). Louise Catherine Breslau (Swiss, 1856-1927). Oil on wood. Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, Bundesamt für Kultur, Bern. Positive reviews from critics, as well as continued Salon successes ensured that Breslau received numerous portrait commissions from prominent clients. Her portraits illustrate her facility at rendering facial expressions and her sophisticated monochromatic palette and striated paint handling
Lesson Time (1908). Harrington Mann (Scottish, 1864-1937). Oil on canvas. Royal Academy of Arts (Burlington House). Mann was a member of the Glasgow Boys who presented themselves as an alternative to the Edinburgh-based Scottish art establishment, which they saw as overly traditional and oppressive. Their passion for realism and naturalism was a constant influence. They often depicted everyday people doing everyday things
The Suitor. Florent Willems (Belgian, 1823-1905). Oil on panel. Willems modelled his work on that of Dutch genre painters of the 17th and 18th centuries. Willems emulated their meticulous technique, as seen especially in his depiction of silks and brocades. He also adopted their subject-matter: the majority of his works are genre scenes set in the 16th and 17th centuries
L’Orient (c.1899). Jean de Paléologue, known as Pal (Romanian, 1855-1942). Poster. The L’Orient is a six-sheet billboard. It was not done in a smaller format. It epitomizes everything that Pal did – the women, the color, the movement, the excitement. He did some other billboards, but this is one of his largest, and certainly his finest
The Rose. Charles-Joseph-Frédéric Soulacroix (French, 1825-1879). Oil on canvas. Soulacroix excelled in painting figurative subjects in the sumptuous interiors of the fashionable salons of Paris. The artist pays particular attention to detail in his paintings, depicting elegant furniture with fine silk and satin fabrics on the dresses and walls. He was very popular during his lifetime and continues to be regarded as the master of this genre today
Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte as President of the Italian Republic (1803). Andrea Appiani (Italian, 1754-1817). Oil on canvas. The Cisalpine Republic was restored by Napoleon on June 4, 1800. In January 1802, the name of the state was changed to Italian Republic and, on January 24, on the advice of Talleyrand, Napoleon had himself elected president. The republic had now a territory of more than 42,500 square kilometres and population of 3,240,000 in 12 departments
Portrait of Baronne Baba d’Erlanger and Miss Paula Gellibrand (1919-21). Augustus Edwin John (Welsh, 1878-1961). Oil on canvas. Richard Green. Baba was dark and intense, Paula shimmering and golden, with ice blue eyes. John responds not only to their superb good looks but to the zeitgeist – their marcel-waved hair and simple dresses have a classical unfussiness that ushers in the Roaring Twenties. The brushwork has the witty fluidity of a foxtrot, while the composition is organized around bold blocks of colour: red, gold and deep sapphire
George Barbier, plate depicting the dance of the flowers, engraved by François Louis Schmied, in Pierre Louÿs, Les chansons de Bilitis(Paris: Pierre Corrard, 1922). “…The young men plead with her; she shakes her head. Only at the music of the flutes she tears it off a bit, then altogether, and with the gestures of the dance she plucks the fresh young flowers of her body…”
Interior with a Woman Seen from Behind. Carl Vilhelm Holsøe (Danish, 1863-1935). Oil on canvas. The lady prepares to practice on the hammer piano which belonged to Holsøe and was sold at auction in 2012. The piano appears repeatedly in Holsøe’s paintings of interiors. The auction house wrote “Holsøe piano; A George III mahogany and satinwood hammer piano. Marked Adam Beger, Londini, fecit anno 1788. England, late 18th century”
La fenêtre (c.1865-70). Éva Gonzalès (French, 1849-1883). Oil on canvas. Richard Green. This painting shows the qualities of subtlety and flexibility of Gonzalès’ brush. The two little girls sit quietly on a balcony. One holds a book, the other a doll. The brush of the artist skilfully conveys the soft texture of fabrics, the craftsmanship of the wrought iron balcony and behind, the foliage of the wisteria
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