Tag Archives: Renoir

Capturing Life

Impressionism: Capturing Life, The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath BA2, until 5th June 2016

Young Woman Seated, 1876 Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) Oil on canvas 66 x 51 cm © The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham

Young Woman Seated, 1876 Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) Oil on canvas 66 x 51 cm
© The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham

The emphasis of this delightful exhibition is on the figure in Impressionist paintings and the twenty-eight works on show come from UK collections. The colours in the 1876 painting Young Woman Seated by Renoir provided the inspiration for the four themed areas of the show – ‘Painting of the Future’, ‘Private Worlds, Public Gaze’, ‘Modern Life’ and ‘Impressionism in Britain’ – but the lay-out is cleverly designed so that the visitor can see glimpses of each area wherever they are in the exhibition space and thus looking forward or glancing back they may experience the full impact of this very special show.

Study of a Harvester, about 1900 Sir George Clausen (1852-1944) Black chalk and pastel on brown paper, 38.8 27.5 cm © The Holburne Museum. Photo © Dan Brown

Study of a Harvester, about 1900 Sir George Clausen (1852-1944) Black chalk and pastel on brown paper, 38.8 27.5 cm
© The Holburne Museum. Photo © Dan Brown

Many of the artists included were part of the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris in 1874 but exponents of Impressionism in the United Kingdom are also recognised with the inclusion of artists such as Sisley, Steer and especially Sir George Clausen through a group of eight of his works on paper, including pastels, from the Holburne’s own collection.

The Fisherman, 1884 Jean-Louis Forain (1852-1931) Oil on canvas 94.7 x117 cm © Southampton City Art Gallery / Bridgeman

The Fisherman, 1884 Jean-Louis Forain (1852-1931) Oil on canvas 94.7 x117 cm
© Southampton City Art Gallery / Bridgeman

Seriously, don’t miss this exhibition!

Hélène Rouart in her Father’s Study, about 1886 Edgar Degas (1834-1917) Oil on canvas 162.5 x 121 cm © National Gallery, London

Hélène Rouart in her Father’s Study, about 1886 Edgar Degas (1834-1917) Oil on canvas 162.5 x 121 cm
© National Gallery, London

 

http://www.holburne.org

Sublime Gardens

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse, Main Galleries, Royal Academy of Art, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1, until 20th April 2016

Auguste Renoir, Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil, 1873 Oil on canvas, 46.7 x 59.7 cm Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT. Bequest of Anne Parrish Titzell, 1957.614 Photo (c) Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT

Auguste Renoir, Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil, 1873
Oil on canvas, 46.7 x 59.7 cm
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT. Bequest of Anne Parrish Titzell, 1957.614
Photo (c) Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT

The star of this show which celebrates artists and gardens is, of course, Claude Monet.  Rightly so because he was a serious horticulturalist and one would certainly not disagree with him when he wrote ‘I perhaps owe it to flowers that I became a painter’.

It is a large show that welcomes more than one visit and the fact that like some gardens the paintings are arranged in themed rooms such as Impressionist Gardens or Gardens of Reverie gives the visitor ample scope to re-visit as one would a favourite part of a garden.

Joaquin Sorolla, Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1911 Oil on canvas, 150 x 225.5 cm On loan from the Hispanic Society of America, New York, NY Photo (c) Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York

Joaquin Sorolla, Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1911
Oil on canvas, 150 x 225.5 cm
On loan from the Hispanic Society of America, New York, NY
Photo (c) Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York

The paintings whether Impressionist, Postimpressionist or Avant Garde tell a story too of the growing interest in gardens by the middle classes through a variety of materials such as journals, receipts and letters.

Although not a gardener myself I enjoyed this show and found myself deeply moved in the last room where the three great Monet water lily paintings – the Agapanthus Triptych of 1916 – 1919, normally in the The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art and Saint Louis Art Museum, hang reunited once more.

Claude Monet, Nympheas (Waterlilies), 1914-15 Oil on canvas, 160.7 x 180.3 cm Portland Art Museum, Oregon. Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund, 59.16 Photo (c) Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon

Claude Monet, Nympheas (Waterlilies), 1914-15
Oil on canvas, 160.7 x 180.3 cm
Portland Art Museum, Oregon. Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund, 59.16
Photo (c) Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon

www.royalacademy.org.uk

Towards Abstraction

Winter Exhibition: Auerbach, Calder, Dufy, Lanskoy, Picasso, Renoir, Connaught Brown, 2 Albemarle Street, London W1, until 23rd December, 2015

Alexander Calder 1898 - 1976 Untitled, 1967 Signed, dated and inscribed lower right Gouache and ink on paper 43 1/8 x 29 1/2 in, 109.5 x 75 cm

Alexander Calder 1898 – 1976
Untitled, 1967
Signed, dated and inscribed lower right
Gouache and ink on paper
43 1/8 x 29 1/2 in, 109.5 x 75 cm

The theme for this very enjoyable exhibition is the journey towards Abstraction.  It is a delightful path bordered with works by artists such as Chagall, Afro, Henri Le Sidaner, Raoul Dufy, Leon Pourtau and Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin as well as those mentioned above. It certainly deserves to be seen.

 

http://www.connaughtbrown.co.uk