The Fruit of Love

"If music be the fruit of love, play on,

Give me excess of it; that surfeiting,

The appetite may sicken, and so die. "

Twelfth Night Act 1, scene 1, 1–3

William Shakespeare

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Edouard Manet

Music Lesson

1870

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 Gerard ter Borch

Judith Leyster

Leighton

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 Renoir

 Dali

Caravaggio

Mary Cassatt 

Marc Chagall

Georges Braque

Vermeer

Miro

 Picasso

 Henri Matisse

Vermeer

ABC Wednesday and Artist of the Week

Jan or Johannes Vermeer van Delft, 

b. October 1632, d. December 1675

Dutch Baroque genre painter who lived and worked in Delft, created some of the most exquisite paintings in Western
 art.

That I recall, I've seen  four of Vermeer's paintings in person. The first two below at The Frick in New York City where they were exhibited for a short time, along one which part of their permanent collection entitled Soldier and a Laughing Girl. Also one entitled The Concert, which is in the permanent collection of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

 The Milkmaid

 c.1658-1660

 The Glass of Wine

c. 1658-1660

Woman with a Water Jug

  c.1664-1665

The Concert 

c.1665-1666

Soldier and a Laughing Girl

 c. 1658

 Of the Vermeers I've seen, by far the most stunning is Soldier and Laughing Girl (above). I love the perspective, with the soldier's back turned to us as we gaze at the obviously pleased girl he is talking to. The map on the wall and the window are just right in detail; adding and not distracting from the subjects of the painting. I love how Vermeer paints windows.

 Girl with the Pearl Earring

c. 1665

Sources

Olga's Gallery

Web Museum Paris

Essential Vermeer

To view other takes on letters, visit ABC Wednesday the meme that spells it out (that's corny but I couldn't resist!)

Art In The Movies: Girl With a Pearl Earring

I had all these things in mind to write about in this post and damned if I don't get everything down when I think of it, I forget it overnight! Am I in early dementia or is that what's it's like to be 50?

Though I enjoy movie biographies of artists, they do have a tendency to affect the way I will look at that artist's portraits and self-portrait. In Girl With a Pearl Earring, I now think of Scarlett Johanson every time I look at the famous work by Vermeer.

Judging by this article stating that there is little biographical information on Vermeer, the author of the book of the same title, Tracy Chevalier, took great artistic liberties. It made for a good art story, Holywood style and very well-acted.

And below it looks like Colin Firth has insinuated himself into the canvas, though not as Vermeer, since it's not historically clear what the painter looked like.

The Girl With the Wine Glass 
this is fascinating...click on the title above for everything that is known about the painting! A fantastic site if you need a crash course in art - say, to impress a date!  ;-) 
 1659 - 60

And here is Colin as Vermeer. Hard to resist.

When in reality, as was mentioned previously, there are lots of unknowns about Vermeer. Including whether or not the painting below is his self-portrait or someone who sat for him.

Damn! I don't see a resemblance to Colin Firth!  ;-)

The Frick Collection - New York City

The Rehearsal
H.G. Edgar Degas
c. 1878-79

Officer and Laughing Girl
Johannes Vermeer

The Harbor of Dieppe
Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775-1851

Symphony in Flesh Color and Pink: Portrait of Mrs. Frances Leyland. 1871-3
James McNeill Whistler

Hello from New York City!

Last night after a yummy Indian dinner, W.P. and I went walking around the iconic Times Square. Crazy, commercialized American frenzy at its best. I love it once every couple of years, which is how often I've been visiting NYC in recent years.

After purchasing a big memory card for my new camera, I went about snapping silly photos all day. From the cab, walking down 5th and Madison Avenues, from the window of a cafe', along a sidewalk carpeted with people.

W.P. had only a meeting from 9:00 a.m. to noon and we had planned to go to MoMA together. He's never actually had the time to visit there on other business trips and was quite looking forward to it. Neither of us thought to look up the schedule and voila - the sign said Closed on Tuesdays. I then remembered a post by a blogger I don't know very well but whose comments I am always glad to read on other blogs - Grandmere Mimi. A few months back, Mimi posted about a visit she made to the Frick Collection, a smaller art museum in New York - located between Madison and 5th Avenues. After reading Mimi's post, I vowed to check it out the next time I was in NYC. As the MoMA was closed today, I immediately exclaimed - "The Frick!" and off we went.

I haven't yet digested everything I saw there but right off, the Whistlers held me most captive while there and still, now, as I think about the many incredible works of art I saw there. Apparently, Mr. Frick was not overly fond of American artists, so it is fortunate that he admired Whistler and acquired several incredible portraits and landscapes for the collection. Perhaps because Whistler was American-born but lived mostly in England. Other works included those of John Constable, William Turner, Claude Monet, Renoir, Manet, Degas and three irresistible paintings of Vermeer.

The museum was rather packed but probably nothing like what MoMA will be like tomorrow. I regret that W.P. will be tied up with work all day tomorrow and Thursday and may not be able to join me until after closing time.

The bright side of this is that I can take my time; savor each artwork I crave; return to those I love most and those I understand least. Like a little kid on the eve of the first day of school - I will have trouble sleeping.