Contemporary, portrait, landscape, painting, best, top ten, paintings, oil, artist, artists, gallery, life, figure, graphite, sketch, Snowdonia, drawings, pencil, Art, geometry, composition, Master, Masterpiece, Welsh, Wales.
Contemporary, portrait, landscape, painting, best, top ten, paintings, oil, artist, artists, gallery, life, figure, graphite, sketch, Snowdonia, drawings, pencil, Art, geometry, composition, Master, Masterpiece, Welsh, Wales.
Mari and I recently went to Vienna for a holiday to celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary. It was an unusual trip for us, in that we stayed at a really, really posh hotel, which cost the earth, and so we had extra-fine dining experiences that we would not normally choose to enjoy. However, the many visits that we made to the Vienna art galleries were very much what we normally do, and boy oh boy, Vienna does have some great galleries.
'Childrens Games'
Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Oil Paint on Panel. 1560, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
First and foremost is the Kunsthistorisches Museum. It has lots of great paintings from the european tradition, but for both Mari and I the highlight was the collection of Bruegels. We spent pretty much a whole day, with a break in the gallery restaurant for lunch, in the Bruegel room. It has the 'Hunters in the Snow', and the 'Massacre of the Innocents', amongst others, and each one of these large paintings has the virtue of allowing the spectator to enjoy the work from a distance, seen as a whole, and then in close detail, so that the spectator's eye can wander over the surface, - like poring over a fascinating map.
As an example, 'Children's Games' (shown above) depicts many of the games that children played in Bruegel's time.
Here are some of the details dotted around the painting.
Blind Mans Bluff
Morra, or as we tend to call it, Rock, Paper, Scissors. A game that dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Riding the Barrel.
The game in the middle left is simply banging the blokes bum on the bench. And the game at the bottom centre is similar to one I remember playing in the schoolyard - several kids would bend over and hang onto the one in front, and then others would try to leapfrog as far as they could along the line of bent-over kids. There was some kind of aim to it, which I forget.
Leapfrog at the top, and 'Knights on Horses' fighting below.
Hobbyhorse.
(I can't remember what this one is, I'll have to check it out).
Running the Gauntlet (passing through kicking legs), plus other physical play.
I can't help but imagine the pleasure that Brueghel must have had as he worked on this painting.
There are many other great masterpieces in the museum, but in passing, here's one that I hadn't seen before, and which really impressed me, by it's simplicity, elegance and insight.
Portrait of a Young Merchant, by Hans Holbein the Younger.
We were also lucky enough to catch the newly-opened exhibition at the Albertina, 'Chagall to Malevich', a run-through of the varied Russian artist during the early 1900's. Excellent.
We spent a day at the Belvedere looking at the Klimts and the Schieles - (although I confess I've never been a fan of Klimt and this visit confirmed that he doesn't do it for me).
All in all, a great visit and one I would recommend. So next time you have a Golden Wedding Anniversary head off to Vienna!
Mari and I recently went to Vienna for a holiday to celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary. It was an unusual trip for us, in that we stayed at a really, really posh hotel, which cost the earth, and so we had extra-fine dining experiences that we would not normally choose to enjoy. However, the many visits that we made to the Vienna art galleries were very much what we normally do, and boy oh boy, Vienna does have some great galleries.
'Childrens Games'
The game in the middle left is simply banging the blokes bum on the bench. And the game at the bottom centre is similar to one I remember playing in the schoolyard - several kids would bend over and hang onto the one in front, and then others would try to leapfrog as far as they could along the line of bent-over kids. There was some kind of aim to it, which I forget.
(I can't remember what this one is, I'll have to check it out).
There are many other great masterpieces in the museum, but in passing, here's one that I hadn't seen before, and which really impressed me, by it's simplicity, elegance and insight.
'Childrens Games'
Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Oil Paint on Panel. 1560, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
First and foremost is the Kunsthistorisches Museum. It has lots of great paintings from the european tradition, but for both Mari and I the highlight was the collection of Bruegels. We spent pretty much a whole day, with a break in the gallery restaurant for lunch, in the Bruegel room. It has the 'Hunters in the Snow', and the 'Massacre of the Innocents', amongst others, and each one of these large paintings has the virtue of allowing the spectator to enjoy the work from a distance, seen as a whole, and then in close detail, so that the spectator's eye can wander over the surface, - like poring over a fascinating map.
As an example, 'Children's Games' (shown above) depicts many of the games that children played in Bruegel's time.
Here are some of the details dotted around the painting.
Here are some of the details dotted around the painting.
Blind Mans Bluff
Morra, or as we tend to call it, Rock, Paper, Scissors. A game that dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Riding the Barrel.
The game in the middle left is simply banging the blokes bum on the bench. And the game at the bottom centre is similar to one I remember playing in the schoolyard - several kids would bend over and hang onto the one in front, and then others would try to leapfrog as far as they could along the line of bent-over kids. There was some kind of aim to it, which I forget.
Leapfrog at the top, and 'Knights on Horses' fighting below.
Hobbyhorse.
(I can't remember what this one is, I'll have to check it out).
Running the Gauntlet (passing through kicking legs), plus other physical play.
I can't help but imagine the pleasure that Brueghel must have had as he worked on this painting.
There are many other great masterpieces in the museum, but in passing, here's one that I hadn't seen before, and which really impressed me, by it's simplicity, elegance and insight.
Portrait of a Young Merchant, by Hans Holbein the Younger.
We were also lucky enough to catch the newly-opened exhibition at the Albertina, 'Chagall to Malevich', a run-through of the varied Russian artist during the early 1900's. Excellent.
We spent a day at the Belvedere looking at the Klimts and the Schieles - (although I confess I've never been a fan of Klimt and this visit confirmed that he doesn't do it for me).
All in all, a great visit and one I would recommend. So next time you have a Golden Wedding Anniversary head off to Vienna!
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
Where do we find this bird and this butterfly?
(The answer will be in the next posting.)
And here's the answer from the last posting -
by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1915.
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
"An artist is not paid for his labour, but for his vision."
James Whistler
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. . . . and now, a Recommended Read . . .
Mona Lisa's Mustache
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings
This one is a long shot (that is, even if you can find a copy - it's no longer in print and I note that there are currently only two copies on Amazon). I have a signed copy which I bought for £4.00, second-hand, many years ago, I don't remember where, and I can't imagine nowadays that there are many copies around. However if you do manage to find one, you'll find it an compelling read. It should be re-published.
It is a detailed analysis of modern art, and other aspects of modern life, looking at the influence of magic. The writer sees most of modern art (i.e., before 1947 when the book was completed) as being driven by a revival of interest in magic, as are other aspects of life at that time such as the growth of Fascism and Hitlerism. The book has a somewhat intense character, and reads like the unveiling of a massive conspiracy theory in which the artists and some political dispositions aim to undermine the achievements of the age of reason, by the use of magic, obfuscation, secrecy, the occult and mysterious obsessions. It makes for a compulsive and fascinating read.
".........the very concept of occultism carries with it the idea that knowledge must be a secret thing. But the same idea is integral to Fascism. Those who dread the prospect of universal suffrage, popular education, freedom of thought, emancipation of women, will start off with a predilection towards secret cults. There is another link between Fascism and magic in the profound hostility of both to the Christian ethical code." (George Orwell ; Dickens, Dali, and Others).
Published on Alfred A. Knopf
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