Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch post-impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life.
Category Archives: Arts & Literature
Cocktails With A Curator: ‘Saint-Porchaire Ware’
In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” join Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon as he delves into the mystery of three rare Saint-Porchaire objects currently on view in a room featuring enamels and clocks on the third floor of Frick Madison. Much remains unknown about 16th-century Saint-Porchaire ware—exquisite pieces inlaid with colored clay and embellished with three-dimensional reliefs—but an ongoing Frick research project recently identified an exciting potential link between the great French ceramicist Bernard Palissy and a lizard on one of the ewers at the Frick. This week’s complementary cocktail is a classic French American drink, the Boulevardier.
To view this painting in detail, please visit our website: https://www.frick.org/stporchaireware
Interview: Writer Paul Theroux – ‘Under The Wave At Waimea’ (Podcast)
What can a travel writer learn from staying at home? Anne McElvoy asks the prolific travel author Paul Theroux about the virtues of being homebound during the pandemic.
The author of “Under the Wave at Waimea” reveals that his friend and one-time foe V.S. Naipaul inspired a character in his new book about big-wave surfing in Hawaii. Also, verbal fencing with his sons Louis and Marcel and his ultimate travel destination.
Technology: How ‘AI’ Is Improving Creativity
Artificial intelligence is helping humans make new kinds of art. It is more likely to emerge as a collaborator than a competitor for those working in creative industries.
Artistry: Making ‘Hikihaku Obi’ Textile In Japan (Video)
Nishijin-ori textiles are known for their exquisite detail, and have been made in the Nishijin area of Kyoto, Japan for over 1,200 years. Follow the intricate process involved in creating obi (the sash worn with traditional Japanese clothing), using a specialised technique called hikikaku – weaving with precious metallic thread. From the making of the thread itself, to the weaving on the loom, watch as three obis are made – one from 100-year-old silver foil, one from mother of pearl, and one from the semi-precious stone, lapis lazuli.
Processes: Silver foil obi: 1:26 Mother of pearl obi: 4:17 Lapis lazuli obi: 6:35
Nishijin-ori (西陣織, Nishijin fabric) is a traditional textile produced in the Nishijin (西陣) district of Kamigyō-ku in Kyoto, Japan.
Originating in Heian-kyōto over 1200 years ago, Nishijin weaving is known for its highly-decorative and finely-woven designs, created through the use of tedious and specialised production processes. It is well-regarded for the high quality and craftsmanship of the resulting fabrics, commonly used for high-quality obi and kimono.
Artistry: ‘The Lore Of Fabergé Eggs’ (Video)
In the era of the Russian tsars, Peter Carl Fabergé’s jewel-studded objets d’art were a royal riff on a much humbler Easter tradition of ordinary folk giving each other colored hens’ eggs. Correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports on the lore of Fabergé eggs, from opulent originals to sparkling counterfeits.
The celebrated series of 50 Imperial Easter eggs was created for the Russian Imperial family from 1885 to 1916 when the company was run by Peter Carl Fabergé. These creations are inextricably linked to the glory and tragic fate of the last Romanov family. They were the ultimate achievement of the renowned Russian jewellery house and must also be considered the last great commissions of objets d’art . Ten eggs were produced from 1885 to 1893, during the reign of Emperor Alexander III; 40 more were created during the rule of his dutiful son, Nicholas II, two each year, one for his mother, the dowager, the second for his wife.
INTERNATIONAL ART: ‘APOLLO MAGAZINE – APRIL 2021’
| INSIDE THE ISSUE |
| FEATURES | Glenn Adamson on Alice Neel’s compassionate portraits; Antony Gormley interviewed by Gabrielle Schwarz; Christopher Turner on the Surrealist houses of Edward James; Morgan Falconer on Jessica Morgan’s ambitious vision for the Dia Art Foundation; Kaywin Feldman on cultural leadership in 2021 |
| REVIEWS | Eve M. Kahn on the opening of the Frick Madison; Sukhdev Sandhu on ‘Grief and Grievance’ at the New Museum; Christopher Baker on friendship and portraiture in 18th-century France; Michael Prodger on art museums in the 21st century |
| MARKET | Susan Moore previews spring auctions and reviews sales in Paris and Brussels; Emma Crichton-Miller on collecting Tiffany glass; Samuel Reilly on Frieze New York and gallery reopenings in London |
| PLUS | Kirsten Tambling on satirical images of Robert Walpole; Tim Smith-Laing on Baudelaire’s cantankerous art criticism; Emilie Bickerton in Eugène Atget’s Paris; Emma Crichton-Miller on single-artist museums in Switzerland; Will Wiles on the future of department stores; Thomas Marks on the Georgian feasts of Niko Pirosmani; Robert O’Byrne on Spain before the Civil War |
Art: ‘Hurricane Paintings’ Of Chinese-French Painter Zao Wou-Ki (1921 – 2013)
Zao Wou-Ki was a Chinese-French painter. He was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Zao Wou-Ki graduated from the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, where he studied under Fang Ganmin and Wu Dayu.
Master artist Zao Wou-Ki was one of the titans of Chinese art in the post- war period. His energetic painting ‘13.02.62’, offered in our upcoming auction Beyond Legends: Modern Art Evening Sale (18 April | Hong Kong), is from the artist’s powerful ‘Hurricane Period’ when he arrived at the pinnacle of his career. Discover how Zao perfectly fused Eastern culture with Western modernism, bringing dynamic inspiration to this work.
Cocktails With A Curator: Italian Painter Rosalba Carriera’s Portraits
In this week’s “Cocktails with a Curator,” Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon celebrates Women’s History Month by examining two exquisite pastels by Rosalba Carriera that recently entered the collection through a bequest from Alexis Gregory and are on view for the first time on the third floor of Frick Madison. Celebrated for her technically innovative pastel portraits, Rosalba was one of the most famous artists of 18th-century Italy, particularly remarkable given the male-dominated society in which she lived. This week’s complementary cocktail is the Vesper Martini.
To view these paintings in detail, please visit our website: https://www.frick.org/rosalbaportraits
Art History: ‘Picasso & Sanyu – Modern Masters’
Pablo Picasso is perhaps the Modern master most admired by Asian artists. His commitment to breaking with tradition resonated deeply with Chinese modernist pioneer Sanyu. In this episode of Expert Voices, our Head of Modern Art in Asia, Felix Kwok, introduces masterworks by both artists, which will headline our upcoming Beyond Legends: Modern Art Evening Sale (18 April | Hong Kong). ‘Nu Avec un Pékinois’ is a masterpiece from Sanyu’s post-war period that reflects themes of love and perseverance and ‘Buste de Matador’ from the 1970s is the first painting in Picasso’s final Matador and reflects an urgency in the face of mortality.
Boomers Daily 