2018. március 31., szombat

Dancers


Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867-1947) – Dancers, c.1896 (Oil on cardboard. Musée d'Orsay) - - The composition is charming, offering a high-angle view on a ballet, without flattening the dancers nor depriving them of their airiness ; they fill the stage in lines, each group executing a different dance step, in varying degrees of synchronization. The subtle allusion to Degas is obvious, but benevolent, devoid of the lustful eye of the male often found in many of the master’s paintings…
 

2018. március 3., szombat

The Mandolin

James Smetham (English, 1821-1881) - The Mandolin, 1866 (Oil on canvas) - - The Mandolin is signed by Smetham and may be considered his masterpiece. However, in conception it bears all the hallmarks of Smetham’s friend and supporter, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The half-length female figure presented close to the picture plane and lacking background perspective, richly attired and mesmeric in beauty, characterised Rossetti’s oeuvre at this date. The model is Ellen Smith who sat for Rossetti in 1867.