(via The Guardian) Maev Kennedy writes about the art collection of the late RB Kitaj + other viewpoints @ http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/news/story/0,,2230853,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/gallery/2007/dec/21/1?picture=331873654
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Al Gore
Total internal reflections of Albert Gore, Jr on art + other viewpoints @ http://www.artnewsonline.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=791
Sunshine And Shadow In Spain
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
The Art Of El Greco, Veazquez, And Murillo
1
When one thinks of Spain and art, the name of Velazquez jumps into the mind at once. Indeed, to most people, his is the only name in Spanish painting of outstanding importance. Looking back over the whole history of art in Spain, Velazquez’s figure overshadows that of everyone who went before him and of all who have come after him. In a sense, he is the only great painter Spain has produced. He interpreted the life of his time in terms that appeal universally, and no art has had more influence than his on modern painters.
How art came to Spain must now briefly be related. Until the fifteenth century there was little painting in Spain, and then, owing to the political connection of Spain with the Netherlands, the influence was markedly Flemish. It will be remembered that Jan van Eyck visited Spain in 1428, and the brilliant reception he received there induced other Flemish artists to visit the peninsula. Later, when Naples and the Sicily's came under the dominion of the Spanish crown, Italian art set the fashion to Spanish painters and particularly, as we might expect, the art of Naples. The Neapolitan School owed its origin to Michael Angelo Amerigi, called Caravaggio (1569-1609) from his birthplace near Milan. Undaunted by the great achievements of the Italian painters who immediately preceded him, Caravaggio sought to form an independent style of his own based on a bold imitation of Nature. While he was working in Venice and Rome, this astute student of Nature saw his contemporaries falling into decadence because they were artists imitating art. The seventeenth century painters of Rome, Florence, and Venice degenerated into mere copyists of Titian, Tintoretto, Raphael, and Michael Angelo. Caravaggio saw their error, and perceiving that art based on art leads to decadence, he gave his whole attention to Nature and so became a pioneer of realism. By choice he elected to paint scenes taken from the ordinary life of his day, and ‘The Card Cheaters’ is an admirable example of the novelty both of his subject and of his treatment. The novelty in his treatment chiefly consisted of the use Caravaggio made of light and shade (technically known as chiaroscuro) to enforce the dramatic intensity of his pictures. He exaggerated his shadows, which were far too black to be scrupulously faithful to Nature, but by the emphasis he thus gave to his lights he produced original and arresting effects which undoubtedly had a powerful influence on the two greatest painters of the next generation. How widespread was his authority is proved by the extent to which he prepared the way for both Velazquez and Rembrandt.
After working in Milan, Venice, and Rome, Caravaggio settled in Naples, where among those influenced by his realism was the Spanish painter Josef Ribera (1588-1650). ‘The Dead Christ’ in the National Gallery, London, is an example of Ribera’s stern naturalism.
Through Ribera the influence of Caravaggio penetrated to Spain, but already that country had had its art sense profoundly stirred by a foreign artist who not merely visited Spain, as other artists had done, but made it his home. This was Dominico Theotocopuli, who from having been born at Candia, Crete, was universally called El Greco, that is to say ‘The Greek’. El Greco (1545-1614), as we shall call him, went to Venice as a young man of twenty five and worked there for a time under Titian. About 1575 he migrated to Spain and settled at Toledo, where he became affected by the great religious fervor which was then agitating the peninsula.
Sunshine And Shadow In Spain (continued)
The Art Of El Greco, Veazquez, And Murillo
1
When one thinks of Spain and art, the name of Velazquez jumps into the mind at once. Indeed, to most people, his is the only name in Spanish painting of outstanding importance. Looking back over the whole history of art in Spain, Velazquez’s figure overshadows that of everyone who went before him and of all who have come after him. In a sense, he is the only great painter Spain has produced. He interpreted the life of his time in terms that appeal universally, and no art has had more influence than his on modern painters.
How art came to Spain must now briefly be related. Until the fifteenth century there was little painting in Spain, and then, owing to the political connection of Spain with the Netherlands, the influence was markedly Flemish. It will be remembered that Jan van Eyck visited Spain in 1428, and the brilliant reception he received there induced other Flemish artists to visit the peninsula. Later, when Naples and the Sicily's came under the dominion of the Spanish crown, Italian art set the fashion to Spanish painters and particularly, as we might expect, the art of Naples. The Neapolitan School owed its origin to Michael Angelo Amerigi, called Caravaggio (1569-1609) from his birthplace near Milan. Undaunted by the great achievements of the Italian painters who immediately preceded him, Caravaggio sought to form an independent style of his own based on a bold imitation of Nature. While he was working in Venice and Rome, this astute student of Nature saw his contemporaries falling into decadence because they were artists imitating art. The seventeenth century painters of Rome, Florence, and Venice degenerated into mere copyists of Titian, Tintoretto, Raphael, and Michael Angelo. Caravaggio saw their error, and perceiving that art based on art leads to decadence, he gave his whole attention to Nature and so became a pioneer of realism. By choice he elected to paint scenes taken from the ordinary life of his day, and ‘The Card Cheaters’ is an admirable example of the novelty both of his subject and of his treatment. The novelty in his treatment chiefly consisted of the use Caravaggio made of light and shade (technically known as chiaroscuro) to enforce the dramatic intensity of his pictures. He exaggerated his shadows, which were far too black to be scrupulously faithful to Nature, but by the emphasis he thus gave to his lights he produced original and arresting effects which undoubtedly had a powerful influence on the two greatest painters of the next generation. How widespread was his authority is proved by the extent to which he prepared the way for both Velazquez and Rembrandt.
After working in Milan, Venice, and Rome, Caravaggio settled in Naples, where among those influenced by his realism was the Spanish painter Josef Ribera (1588-1650). ‘The Dead Christ’ in the National Gallery, London, is an example of Ribera’s stern naturalism.
Through Ribera the influence of Caravaggio penetrated to Spain, but already that country had had its art sense profoundly stirred by a foreign artist who not merely visited Spain, as other artists had done, but made it his home. This was Dominico Theotocopuli, who from having been born at Candia, Crete, was universally called El Greco, that is to say ‘The Greek’. El Greco (1545-1614), as we shall call him, went to Venice as a young man of twenty five and worked there for a time under Titian. About 1575 he migrated to Spain and settled at Toledo, where he became affected by the great religious fervor which was then agitating the peninsula.
Sunshine And Shadow In Spain (continued)
Louis XVI’s Ceremonial Sword
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
Perhaps the most detailed reference to the existence and use of large V-Cut Roses is in the description of the ceremonial sword which Louis XVI of France commissioned in 1784. The sword itself disappeared in 1792, when the Crown Jewels were stolen, and illustration of it, other than of the original design, have survived. However, a great deal of information can be gleaned from the French Crown inventories and other official records.
The six largest V-Cut Roses weighed an average of 10 ct each. The gems came into the possession of the Treasury in the mid-seventeenth century, and in 1691 were described as ‘spread’ and ‘overspread’ (a facettes d’étendue and de toute étendue). They were not considered worth recutting when the rest of the obsolete cuts in the Treasury were sent to Antwerp to be refashioned. There was also an enormous number of small Roses. Two thousand of these were specially ordered.
The V-Cut Roses were removed by thieves, but were eventually recovered and returned to the Treasury. They were used again during the reign of Napoleon I in a pair of opulent jewels but, sadly, no illustrations were ever made of them and they disappeared completely when the remaining French Crown Jewels were sold in 1887.
Perhaps the most detailed reference to the existence and use of large V-Cut Roses is in the description of the ceremonial sword which Louis XVI of France commissioned in 1784. The sword itself disappeared in 1792, when the Crown Jewels were stolen, and illustration of it, other than of the original design, have survived. However, a great deal of information can be gleaned from the French Crown inventories and other official records.
The six largest V-Cut Roses weighed an average of 10 ct each. The gems came into the possession of the Treasury in the mid-seventeenth century, and in 1691 were described as ‘spread’ and ‘overspread’ (a facettes d’étendue and de toute étendue). They were not considered worth recutting when the rest of the obsolete cuts in the Treasury were sent to Antwerp to be refashioned. There was also an enormous number of small Roses. Two thousand of these were specially ordered.
The V-Cut Roses were removed by thieves, but were eventually recovered and returned to the Treasury. They were used again during the reign of Napoleon I in a pair of opulent jewels but, sadly, no illustrations were ever made of them and they disappeared completely when the remaining French Crown Jewels were sold in 1887.
Zaveri Bazaar
Anil Patil writes about Zaveri Bazaar or the Gold Market in Mumbai, India, the best place to deal in gold + other viewpoints @ http://www.commodityonline.com/news/specials/newsdetails.php?id=4304
I love this place + it's chaotic + I think it's the place to learn the ropes of the trade.
I love this place + it's chaotic + I think it's the place to learn the ropes of the trade.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The Lady Eve
The Lady Eve (1941)
Directed by: Preston Sturges
Screenplay: Monckton Hoffe (story); Preston Sturges
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda
(via YouTube): The Lady Eve (1941) Full Film - Part 1/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFV3TMRu8fw
I think the movie is great with the right tone + energy + performances. I enjoyed it.
Directed by: Preston Sturges
Screenplay: Monckton Hoffe (story); Preston Sturges
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda
(via YouTube): The Lady Eve (1941) Full Film - Part 1/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFV3TMRu8fw
I think the movie is great with the right tone + energy + performances. I enjoyed it.
The V-Cut Diamond Rose
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The V-Cut can be thought of as a cheap edition of the standard Rose Cut. Unlike Roses, which are considerably higher, V-Cuts were never considered worth refashioning except into Portrait Cuts and Half Brilliants (the true history of which has not yet been completed). They only existed in order to turn very thin cleavages into showy, faceted diamonds displaying a certain amount of glitter. In their simplest forms they had fourteen facets. By splitting some of these, they could be given as many as twenty facets. They are easily recognizable in drawings, having large interlaced and inverted Vs instead of the triangles found in crowned Rose Cuts.
The V-Cut can be thought of as a cheap edition of the standard Rose Cut. Unlike Roses, which are considerably higher, V-Cuts were never considered worth refashioning except into Portrait Cuts and Half Brilliants (the true history of which has not yet been completed). They only existed in order to turn very thin cleavages into showy, faceted diamonds displaying a certain amount of glitter. In their simplest forms they had fourteen facets. By splitting some of these, they could be given as many as twenty facets. They are easily recognizable in drawings, having large interlaced and inverted Vs instead of the triangles found in crowned Rose Cuts.
After The Boom Comes The Gloom
Economists writes about the astonishing sales of art in 2007 by the auction houses + the dealers concern towards the credit crunch on the financial arrangements made by auction houses to ease a big sale + the impact in 2008 + other viewpoints @ http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/artview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10345385
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