Tag Archives: Paintings

Art Insider: An Engineer Reviews Turner’s “Rain, Steam And Speed” (1844)

The National Gallery (March 1, 2024): Is there engineering in art, as well as art in engineering? We look at Turner’s famous depiction of a steam train in ‘Rain, Steam and Speed’ and stormy seas in ‘Dutch Boats in a Gale’ (1801).

Rob Bell from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers gives us an engineer’s take on these two paintings at the National Gallery. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was founded in 1847 and has over 100,000 members around the world.

Museum Tour: ‘European Paintings – 1300 To 1800’ At The Met In New York City

The Met (January 19, 2024): Join curators Stephan Wolohojian, Adam Eaker, David Pullins, and Anna-Claire Stinebring along with their special guests as they guide you through the newly reopened galleries dedicated to European Paintings from 1300 to 1800.

The reconfigured galleries highlight fresh narratives and dialogues among more than 700 works of art from the Museum’s world-famous holdings, which include recently acquired paintings and prestigious loans, as well as select sculptures and decorative art, showcase the interconnectedness of cultures, materials, and moments across The Met collection.

Art History: Rembrandt’s Prints & Life In Amsterdam

Christie’s (November 26, 2023) – Rembrandt House Museum Specialist Tim Schmelcher and Head of Collections, Epco Runia, discover more about Rembrandt’s life in Amsterdam, in particular his printmaking.

Then a more detailed look at the Sam Josefowitz Collection of Rembrandt prints – the most comprehensive and impressive in private hands – as we examine some of the highlights of these graphic masterpieces.

On 7 December 2023, Christie’s will be offering a selection of these prints across two sales in London: Old Masters Part I and The Sam Josefowitz Collection: Graphic Masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn.

Art History: Two Paintings Survey Canaletto’s Venice

Christie’s (November 23, 2023) – Immerse yourself in a dreamlike vision of Canaletto’s Venice where the floating city of the 1700s appears strikingly unchanged centuries later. Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto (1697-1768), was born and died in Venice.

Did Canaletto paint these paired views of Venice for the Countess of Essex?

Home for most of his life, the city was also the artistic subject that dominated his career. Canaletto helped establish the veduta — or topographical view — as one of the chief genres of Venetian painting in the 18th century, as well as a prime export. A pair of vedute by Canaletto, unknown to scholars until now, will lead the Old Masters Part I sale at Christie’s in London on 7 December 2023, as part of Classic Week.

Coming from a private collection, these masterpieces were painted around 1734, when Canaletto was at the peak of his powers, almost certainly for an English patron.

Find out more: https://www.christies.com/en/stories/…

Art Profiles: California Painter Jodi Bonassi’s “Spectacular” Bird Series

ERIC MINH SWENSON ART FILM (September 3, 2023) – Jodi Bonassi is a Los Angeles native and a professional artist who for over 3 decades has explored nature and the environment. The works often include animals so the transition to the bird series was a smooth one. 

The Museum of Modern Art and HIstory in the MOAH Cedar Annex gave her a solo exhibit “Bird By Bird”  in February 2022. The birds have led to many other exhibition opportunities. 

“I think of myself as a drawing informed painter.  This means that I mainly draw my images  beforehand and during the painting process.  My desire to contribute to society on a deeper level  drives me in the nature series to create narrative stories around my birds.  I wish to connect humans to nature and to each other.  Even in nature I desire to record history and people and how we all connect to nature.  It is important to preserve our wildlife  and question the environment that humans create.”

Jodi Bonassi: ‘Bird Series 2019 – 2023’ 

Profiles: David Hockney At The Huntington Library

Painting of a bare tree, with many small branches, in a green field with a blue sky.
David Hockney, Tree on Woldgate, 6 March, 2006

The Huntington Library (August 9, 2023) – A David Hockney in The Huntington’s venerable European art gallery? Yes, visitors can view the large and striking Tree on Woldgate, 6 March (2006), which depicts the serene Yorkshire countryside where the renowned artist grew up.

You can see fields in the distance and, in the center, a leafless tree with branches that twist and turn in an almost snakelike manner. The painting comes from a period in Hockney’s career when he created a series of plein air landscapes around his hometown.

Watercolor self-portrait of David Hockney, paintbrush in hand, looking at the viewer.
David Hockney, Self-Portrait with Red Braces, 2003

The painting hangs in conversation with John Constable’s monumental View on the Stour Near Dedham (1822). While the two works were created more than 180 years apart, their inspiration comes from the same source—childhood surroundings—and they both convey a sense of place and nostalgia.

One of the most famous British artists of the 20th century, Hockney emerged as a major contributor to the 1960s pop art movement and has had a multifaced career as a painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. He is perhaps best known for his acrylic paintings of bright swimming pools, split-level homes, and suburban California landscapes.

In 2022, The Huntington acquired its first Hockney works: 17 works on paper that include an artist book, drawings, prints, photocollages, and watercolors. These works display an intimate side of Hockney—like the self-portrait of the artist in red suspenders, bent over a table and peering over his wire-rimmed glasses, paintbrush in hand. His blue eyes, gazing straight at the viewer, create an immediate intimacy.

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Interview: British Fashion Designer Sir Paul Smith On His ‘Picasso Celebration’

Christie’s (July 10, 2023) – Iconic British fashion designer Sir Paul Smith, in his legendary chock-full studio, talks about bringing out “Picasso’s playful side” in a stylish new exhibition at the Musée National Picasso-Paris: Picasso Celebration: The Collection in a New Light.

Sir Paul Smith, guest artistic director at the Musée National Picasso-Paris. Photo © Paul Smith. Artwork © Succession PicassoDACS, London 2023
Sir Paul Smith, guest artistic director at the Musée National Picasso-Paris.

It is fifty years since Pablo Picasso died, on 8 April 1973 at Notre-Dame-de-Vie, his home in Mougins. The body of work that he left behind had a profound impact on the entire 20th century.


For this anniversary year, the Musée National Picasso-Paris has invited the British designer Sir Paul Smith, known for his work with colour, tailoring and unexpected details, to lead the artistic direction of an exceptional exhibition showcasing the museum’s collection.

Affiche Expositon Picasso Célébration

Profiles: Zhang Daqian’s Rare & Exquisite Paintings

Christie’s (May 11, 2023) – From Zhang Daqian’s atmospheric masterpiece ‘Ancient Temple in Misty Mountain’ to Qiu Ying’s ‘Celestial Mountains and Pavilions’, a rare and exquisite painting that belonged to the personal collection of Zhang Daqian, enter the beautiful world of Zhang Daqian as an artist and a collector.

Works by Zhang Daqian at Sotheby’s

Chinese Paintings: The World of Zhang Daqian - YouTube

Chang Dai-chien or Zhang Daqian was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a guohua painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned as a modern impressionist and expressionist painter.

Views: ‘Bohemia-History of an Idea, 1950–2000′(Prague)

Gabriel Orozco, Lime Game, 2001

Kunsthalle Praha, Prague, Czech Republic (March 20, 2023) – From post-war Paris and New York, through swinging London, to the free spirits of Tehran and Beijing. Kunsthalle Praha explores the idea of bohemia.

BOHEMIA: History of an Idea, 1950–2000
23/3—16/10 2023

Jules Kirschenbaum, Young Woman at a Window, 1953–1954. © Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York

Peter Hujar, David Lighting Up, Manhattan Night (I), 1985

Art Gallery Views: ‘Paths Crossed’ – Hilary Pecis

Hilary Pecis

David Kordansky Gallery (March 18, 2023) is pleased to present Paths Crossed, an exhibition of new paintings by Hilary Pecis, on view in Los Angeles at 5130 W. Edgewood Pl. from March 18 through April 22, 2023.

Hilary Pecis, Frog Town Pear Blossoms, 2023
Hilary Pecis
Frog Town Pear Blossoms, 2023

Pecis creates drawings and paintings inspired by the interior, exterior, and inter-spaces that surround her daily life. For her first exhibition with David Kordansky Gallery, the artist presents a selection of lush, saturated landscapes reflecting the mountainous, desert, and urban landscapes commonly associated with Southern California.

Hilary Pecis, Southern Rim, 2022
Hilary Pecis
Southern Rim, 2022