Some Favorite Sargents

Alright, if I'm going to be completely honest, every Sargent is a favorite, but these three works are incredibly compelling pieces and I adore each one. His portrayal of light is extraordinary in each of them (as it is in virtually every canvas) and in Fumee d'Ambre Gris, his white on white brushwork is mind-boggling and I am in utter awe of it. To be able to work an entire canvas in little more than white and convey all the mystery of the subject matter is stunning.

In his portrait of the two Pailleron children, the endlessly contentious working relationship he had with little Marie Louise is more than evident in the expression on her face, as well as her body language. One need not have read the memoirs of Miss Pailleron to know that she was a handful for the artist. Simply gaze into her angry, defiant eyes in the portrait. While not nearly as unconventional as his portrait of The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, this work is still a very unique, unusual commissioned portrait. The children sit informally and the emotionally charged fiery red background mirrors Marie Louise's ire perfectly.

El Jaleo is a masterpiece of movement and energy. With the dancer's swirling, flapping skirts, her tapping heels, and the light rising from below as from footlights, one can virtually hear the instruments and the yells of the flamenco musicians and dancer. The energy in this canvas is vibrant and palpable.

It's been nearly four years since I last saw a vast group of Sargents in an exhibition. I think it might be time for one of my relatively local museums to consider mounting a show again soon. I desperately need to feed my need for them in person again. I really do.

Fumee d'Ambre Gris, 1880

Portrait of Edouard and Marie-Louise Pailleron, 1881

El Jaleo, 1882

Edison Head Study

A very tiny head study of Edison, just slightly smaller than life-sized. I thought it was time I drew one of my boys again, since it's been a while. I've been commissioned to do a dog portrait and thought it might be wise to flex my doggie fingers and eye once or twice before undertaking someone else's pet in a project.

Small Head Study of Edison Jack, graphite on paper, 2010

Twenty Years Today

It was twenty years ago today that two men, dressed as Boston police officers, bound and gagged the two security guards at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum and 81 minutes later had made off with thirteen priceless works of art: two Rembrandt paintings, including his only seascape "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee," a Rembrandt self-portrait etching, a Manet, five drawings by Edgar Degas, a Flinck oil, an ancient Chinese Qu, the finial from atop a Napoleon battle flag, and most importantly, Vermeer's "The Concert" which is considered to be the most valuable piece of stolen art in the world with an estimated worth of a quarter of a billion dollars alone.

It's a funny thing when you grow accustomed to seeing particular works in museums and how easily you find yourself taking them for granted. After all, they'll always be there for your viewing pleasure, right? While not a regular visitor to the Gardner Museum, I have been there many, many times in my life. I had seen those works that have now been lost to the public for two decades and loved them as I love all art (for the most part), and I have also seen the empty frames still in their places waiting for the return of that art that once graced them so magnificently. I sorely regret not spending more time with them, especially that glorious Vermeer. After all, there are Rembrandts, Flincks, Manets and Degas in virtually every museum as these were fairly prolific artists. But the oh-so rare Vermeer? How could I know that one day it would be gone, possibly forever, and that I may now never be lucky enough to see another Vermeer again in my lifetime?

I sincerely hope that someone, somewhere who knows where these works are and takes the museum and the FBI up on their offer: a $5 million reward with almost certain immunity from prosecution and no questions asked. Like so many others, I want the work back for everyone to enjoy, all the works from all the various artists. But for myself, I desperately want to see that Vermeer again.

Have You Seen This Art?

Boston commuters will be seeing a new billboard this week. With the 20th anniversary of the infamous Gardner Museum heist just days away, the biggest art theft in history, citizens are once again being reminded of the loss of those thirteen priceless works of art. And just to be sure the public hasn't forgotten, the $5 million reward is still waiting for anyone whose knowledge and information can return those works to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. This is what you'll see if you're driving along either Interstate 93 or Interstate 495 in the Boston area.

Oz in Oil

Michael Varley is a fine artist as well as a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and he was included in a recent show of work by the museum's guards. This particular piece is one in a series of Oz paintings titled Over the Rainbow #2 and I am utterly, completely and totally head over heels in love with it. Every piece in the series is wonderful, but for some reason this one simply screams in my face. It's the perfect melding of one of my fondest childhood memories (what little girl doesn't want to be Dorothy?), the starkness of the work, the visceral feeling of the storm that sent Dorothy's house flying, and the fact that it's just plain funky as hell. I want this work!

Over the Rainbow #2, 2007-08, Michael Varley

Photo of Over the Rainbow courtesy of mvarley.com.

Van Gogh Restoration

Vincent's own personal favorite among all his works, the painting of his bedroom in Arles, is currently undergoing restoration at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. A thorough examination of the canvas, which included micrographs and x-rays, found the work to be in dire need of a major cleaning to restore its original vibrant colors: the lavender-blues, the subtle greens and browns, the reds, and Vincent's beloved yellows have faded with time.

The museum removed the painting last January to begin work on it and is expected to complete the delicate job sometime in August, which is none too soon for the endless parade of saddened visitors unable to view this masterpiece. To placate all of us who adore Vincent and want to keep tabs on what the museum is doing to this Van Gogh, they've begun a blog that will allow the curious to see step by step the restoration process, with a new blog entry once or twice a week.

And for those who thought there was only one version of The Bedroom, there are actually three. The original sustained water damage while Vincent was still alive, prompting him to paint a copy of it. The original- now being restored- was sent to Theo in Paris for repair. The copy now hangs in Chicago while a third, smaller version painted by Vincent hangs in Paris.

To see the restoration in progress visit the Van Gogh Museum's blog at:

http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/blog/slaapkamergeheimen/en/

The Bedroom courtesy of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Degas

Artists are expected to be difficult, controversial and even crazy. It goes with the territory. But I find it extremely difficult to reconcile the exquisite work of Edgar Degas with the man he was: cruel, hateful, unapologetically racist. When I look at his breathtaking pastel nudes, his ultra-feminine ballet dancers and his energetic and vibrant race horses, I get chills. As an artist he was beyond brilliant, but as a man he was beyond the pale. Such sensitively executed art shouldn't ever have to be so intimately linked to such a shit of a human being. Frankly, it makes me feel cheated that these masterpieces are so tainted by the man who made them. Perhaps this is very naive thinking on my part, but I can't help myself.

Out of the Paddock, 1882

Blue Dancers, 1899

The Tub I from Suite of Nudes, 1886

All photos courtesy of edgar-degas.org.

A "New" Dutch Master

Breakfast Still Life With Glass and Metalwork, about 1637-39, Jan Jansz den Uyl

I am not, as a general rule, a big fan of the Dutch Masters, with a few well-noted exceptions. I did however discover the most amazing artist at the MFA that I knew nothing about and now I am completely smitten. His name is Jan Jansz den Uyl, 1596-1640 (about). Even though in his day he was a very well-known artist, today he's pretty much unknown which really isn't all that surprising, given the powerhouse of talent that period yielded. It would be virtually impossible to know everyone who was working in Holland at that time. Still, this man was a master of the ultra-realistic still life and I am still blown away by the detail he could recreate on linen. I could barely wrench myself away from his work.

Very little is known about him and even his birth and death dates are speculative. He's known for painting owl figures within his works, as his name means "owl" in Dutch. But try to find many images of his work and you'll come up short, which is too bad. I'd like to see much more of Jan den Uyl's work, and not just the plethora of "oil painting reproductions" available on endless websites. This brilliant man deserves more notice than that. Still, I consider myself very lucky to have one of his works close by where I can view it whenever the mood strikes me, and frankly now that I've gotten a taste of him, that might be fairly often.

Photo of Breakfast Still Life With Glass and Metalwork, about 1637-39, courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.