Category Archives: Art

Video Profiles: British Artist Hugo Wilson – “Old Masters Modernism”

Christie's LogoFormally trained as a classic painter, British artist Hugo Wilson borrows images and techniques from Old Masters to create dramatic new works.

‘A lot of historical references are simply practical. Others are more considered’ he explains. We visited Hugo in his London studio where he showed us the 8 meter wide charcoal drawing he’s been working on during lockdown, blending styles from classic to contemporary art.

In this video, Hugo discusses the influence of Old Masters on his own practice through works offered in Remastered, a curated sale exploring the dialogue between centuries.

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Cocktails With A Curator: “Veronese’s ‘Wisdom And Strength'” (Frick Video)

In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” enjoy a traditional Negroni with Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon as he discusses “Wisdom and Strength,” one of two large allegorical paintings by Paolo Veronese that hang in the West Gallery at the Frick. Discover the hidden message behind the two principal figures in this picture: a bearded brute clad in a lion skin and a woman of noble bearing with a miniature sun above her forehead. Tune in next week for a discussion of the painting’s companion work, “Choice Between Virtue and Vice.”

Top Artist Profiles: Brazilian Watercolorist Antonio Giacomin

Antonio Giacomin was born in Serra Gaúcha, where, in 1980, he started in the universe of painting. It was to improve in the United States, Mexico and Europe. In 2007, he launched the book “Poesias em Aquarela”, an inventory of thematic images resulting from trips undertaken in various regions of Rio Grande do Sul.

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In 2012, in partnership with the writer Nivaldo Pereira, he launched the book “Jeitos de Ser Brasil” , in which aspects of Brazilian culture were recorded. In 2014, in partnership with Marcos Fernando Kirst, he launched the work “Serra Gaúcha: O Passado Presente”. He won the contest to choose the design of the Queen’s crown at the 2014 Grape Festival. He lives and works in Caxias do Sul, where he maintains his studio.

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Top Online Exhibitions: “At Sea” At David Zwirner – “Resonates Forcefully”

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Yes! in the sea of life enisled,
With echoing straits between us thrown,
Dotting the shoreless watery wild,
We mortal millions live alone.

—Matthew Arnold, To Marguerite: Continued 

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Whether in the awesome forms of the legendary floods in Gilgamesh and Genesis, or via the more delightful but ultimately crueler torment of Homer’s Mediterranean, the sea is among art’s oldest subjects. For millennia humans have been fascinated and horrified in equal measure by mystery, eternity, and danger of which the sea seems to be a mirror: sometimes enigmatically placid, sometimes jagged with sudden storms.

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Dating from the nineteenth century to the present, these works differ in media and approach, but together, they ask social, political, and environmental questions that resonate forcefully today.

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Artist Profile: Henri Matisse And His ‘Divine Dancer’ (Sotheby’s Video)

Sotheby's logoUnseen since 1949 and set to appear at auction for the first time, this beautiful work is a quintessential example of Henri Matisse’s sensuous odalisques. The elegant model is Italian countess Carla Avogadro, reclining on an extravagant Venetian Rococo armchair that Matisse bought on a whim and, in his own words, became “obsessed” with. ‘Danseuse dans un intérieur, carrelage vert et noir’

Henri Émile Benoît Matisse was a French artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter.

Travels With A Curator: Osuna, Spain (Frick Video)

In this week’s episode of “Travels with a Curator,” journey to the Spanish town of Osuna, most famously known as one of the film locations for “Game of Thrones” but also the title lands of the 9th Duke of Osuna, whose portrait by Goya is in the collection at the Frick. Join Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, as he recounts his trip to rural Andalusia in search for the tomb of the Duke.

Museum Tours: “The Old Guitarist” By Pablo Picasso (Art Institute, Chicago)

On this episode of Art Institute Essentials Tour, take a closer look at The Old Guitarist, painted by Pablo Picasso between late 1903 and early 1904. In the paintings of Picasso’s Blue Period (1901-04), the artist restricted himself to a cold, monochromatic blue palette, flattened forms, and emotional, psychological themes of human misery and alienation. This painting reflects the then twenty-two-year-old Picasso’s personal struggle and sympathy for the plight of the downtrodden.

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Art History: “Titans Of British Modernism” In Early 20th Century (Video)

Sotheby's logoSotheby’s upcoming cross-category Evening Auction ‘Rembrandt to Richter’ (28 July | London), features many of the key British avant-garde movers and shakers of their day.

In this video, discover titans of British Modernism such as Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth; artists such as Christopher Wood and Marlow Moss who found their inspiration amongst the belle monde of Paris; Stanley Spencer and Cedric Morris whose inspiration remained resolutely closer to home; and a bold new generation of artists including Frank Auerbach who forged their careers in London in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Artist Profile: Scottish Painter David Roberts Masterpieces Of “Seville Cathedral” In 1833 (Video)

Sotheby's logoThese two magnificent paintings by Scottish artist David Roberts exquisitely capture the essence of life in Seville in the 1800s. Hear how Roberts, one of the most widely travelled artist explorers of the 19th century, executed these resplendent views of the Cathedral – one capturing the ceremony of the Corpus Christi festival, the other displaying the bustle of life outside. ‘Interior of the Cathedral of Seville’ and ‘The Moorish Tower at Seville’.

Artist Profile: German Expressionist Painter Lyonel Feininger (Video)

Lyonel Feininger combined influences from different art movements to find a style all his own. In this video, discover how Feininger’s work combines elements of Cubism and Lyonel FeiningerItalian Futurism, abstract form and function from the Bauhaus, and an expressive use of colour from his involvement with Die Brucke and Die Blaue Vier. Feininger’s instantly recognisable style is clearly visible in the dramatic interplay of light and shadow displayed in ‘Zottelstedt II’ from 1927.

Lyonel Charles Feininger (1871 – 1956) was a German-American painter, and a leading exponent of Expressionism. He also worked as a caricaturist and comic strip artist. He was born and grew up in New York City, traveling to Germany at 16 to study and perfect his art.