Alex Roediger, MoMA’s senior information coordinator, looks at Helen Frankenthaler’s “Jacob’s Ladder” (1957) with a painter’s eye, and finds that “more paint” isn’t always the key to making a dramatic statement—even in Abstract Expressionism.
Tag Archives: Artist Profiles
Art: Jacqueline Roque – Picasso’s Ultimate Muse
Picasso’s stunning painting ‘Femme Accroupie’, offered in Sotheby’s upcoming Modern Art Evening Sale (9 October | Hong Kong), is a portrait of his ultimate muse and wife, Jacqueline Roque. In this latest Expert Voices, Sotheby’s Chairman Brooke Lampley tells us of the huge artistic inspiration Jacqueline had on Picasso. Discover how this work was the final summation of an entire series of portraits of her, and how it was inspired by master artists of previous centuries.
Profiles: British Painter William Lee-Hankey – ’19th Century Rural France’
William Lee Hankey RWS, RI, ROI, RE, NS was a British painter and book illustrator. He specialised in landscapes, character studies and portraits of pastoral life, particularly in studies of mothers with young children such as “We’ve Been in the Meadows All Day”.
Artists: Dutch Still Life Painter Simeon Nijenhuis
A painting has to be an experience for 52-year old Dutch Painter Simeon Nijenhuis, it needs to “live” and touch your senses. If you look at a painting of chestnuts, you should be able to smell the autumn. In order to meet its own standards, Simeon Nijenhuis must therefore work thorough.
Each new topic means many studies before and he is continually exploring new possibilities. He is not only concerned to master the technique, but also to develop his own vision. And it may be said that Simeon Nijenhuis has more than succeeded in this. His paintings are compelling, contemporary and very personal. And my senses at least ask for more.
Artwork: ‘Flowers In A Terracotta Vase’ By Jan Van Huysum (1682-1749)
Art: ‘Jeune Fille en Bleu’ By Amedeo Modigliani (1919)
Painted in 1919 after the artist fled Paris for the south of France, ‘Jeune Fille en Bleu’ is one of the finest works from the penultimate year of Amedeo Modigliani’s life. In this episode of Expert Voices, Sotheby’s Senior Specialist Simon Stock explains how the search for new subjects in this new location saw Modigliani depicting informal models found in local bars and shops. This portrait captures the serenity of the young girl sitter and we see all the recognisable traits of Modigliani’s late work: the simplified human form, the elongated neck and the vacant eyes.
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian Jewish painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and figures that were not received well during his lifetime, but later became much sought-after.
Artist Profiles: French Painter Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)
Director Colin B. Bailey takes a close look at three drawings by Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), considered some of the finest drawings in the Morgan’s collection: Seated Young Woman (ca. 1716), Young Woman Wearing a Chemise (ca. 1718), and Two Studies of the Head and Shoulders of a Little Girl.
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.
Art: Chilean Abstract Impressionist Roberto Matta – ‘Prince Of Blood’
Roberto Matta’s Prince of Blood (triptych) was not only the painter’s first contribution to Surrealism, it was also the first artistic attempt to visualize Einstein’s theory of space-time. In this episode of Anatomy of an Artwork, discover how Matta was inspired by Marcel Duchamp to create a work that gives visual form to a world in flux and contradictions.
Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren, better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile’s best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art.
Art: ‘Rembrandt – Master Of The Dutch Golden Age’
Arguably the greatest master of the Dutch Golden Age, Rembrandt is famed for several types of works: his monumental history paintings, his self-portraits and, as beautifully exemplified by the transcendent Abraham and the Angels, his intimate biblical scenes.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a Dutch draughtsman, painter, and printmaker. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history.
The Dutch Golden Age was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1581 to 1672, in which Dutch trade, science, and art and the Dutch military were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first section is characterized by the Eighty Years’ War, which ended in 1648.
