Hello friends and everyone else. I'm back at the Joslyn Art Museum this time to show you some art across the pond from me. Many famous paintings and artists come from Europe. For this blog, I share some of my favorite ones. There are just too many to show you a good sample size of all the different style periods. I walked through a total of 5 separate galleries. Well, let's see if my taste is appealing to you or not.
Still Life, 1660 Painter: Claes Bergois (Dutch)
Still Life, 1630 Painter: Jacob Fopsen van Es (Flemish)
Testing your taste right away, haha. You see, art can make you hungry. I love me some seafood and lobster tops the list. Who would have thought a 400 year old painting would have me thinking about my next meal. These still life paintings were pretty popular by painters in the 17th century.
The Muezzin, 1865 Painter:Jean-Léon Gérôme (French)
This french painter was very intrigued with Islamic religious customs. I spent nearly a year deployed in a Muslim country and this one caught my eye. I can relate to the dress and appearance of the man who is viewing the city from a balcany.
The Studio of Salvator Rosa in the Mountain of Abruzzi, 1865 Painter: Thomas Jones Barker (British)
This British painter was a huge fan of the 17th-century Neopolitan painter Salvator Rosa. He did two things with this painting. One is he used some of Rosa's own work techniques. The other is he even depicted him. I love the landacaping view in the distance. It goes well with a lot going on in the center of the painting.
Young Girls at the Piano, 1889 Artist: Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French)
When I first saw this painting, I couldn't help but think of a fellow hivian. I was really hoping the artist was Spanish it would have had ties to her homeland. Oh well, perhaps in a past life, these were her students 😃.
Coast Scene - Approaching Storm Circa 1870 Painter: Gustave Courbet
Courbet was a leading figure of the Realist movement. Now he abandoned doing subject mattter art which was favored by members of the French Academy at the time, instead he chose to paint what I could actually see. I appreciate this because i tend to like paintings that are of a real background.
Landscape with a Mill, 1634 Painter: Jan van Goyen (Dutch)
After seeing so much art, I began to guess where the painter was from. I guessed right here because I associate old mills as Dutch. Am I really an art guro now? No, I am certainly not, haha.
Declus Mus Consulting the Soothsayers (The interpretation of the Victom, Circa 1617-18 Painter: Peter Pail Rubens (Flemish)
This painting depicts Declus Mus (Heroic Roman Consul) getting his fortune given to him by a high preast through a bull's liver. According to the story his fortune is that he will die via a battle to secure a Roman victory. I'm assuming being a warrior, he took this news well. It is a painting i found interesting because of the subject matter and the bright colors.
Fallen Angels, 1833 Painter: Edouard Cibot (French)
Everything usually has two sides. There is good than there is bad (evil). If you haven't figured out, this is the evil side. The two figures are Satan and Beezlebub. It appears they are up to no good. Look at the detail of the blood-stained wings, pretty creepy. Not a favorite of mine, but it does portray what you might imagine if you were to see them for real.
Madonna and Child with Saints Catherine and Agnes, 1520 Painter: Follower of Jan Gossaert (Flemish)
Religious art was all over this particular gallery. Most of the paintings (no worries, more yet) in this gallery were the oldiest. This one stood out to me because of this tri-fold look. Two saints, two musical angels and one baby and one Madonna really set the stage!
The Crucifixtion with the Virgin, Saint Jogn the Evangelist and a Donor, Circa 1460-70 Painter: Hans Pleydenwurff or Workshop (German)
There were a few other crucifixation paintings in this gallery but this one was a bit different. You see the smaller figure kneeling at the bottom? It's the patron of the painting next to their family Coat of Arms. This painting is a new realist style that Pleydenwurff introduced to Germany.
Saint Mary Magdalene Receiving the Host from an Angel, Early 14th Century Painter: Workshop of Pietro Lorenzetti (Italian, Sienese)
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, 1345 Painter: Attributed to the Master of Tobias (Italian, Florentine)
Here we are the two oldiest paintings in the museum. These are very similar styles that show what religious artwork would have appeared to look like in the 14th century. It's amazing to think these paintings have been preserved for so long. It makes you wonder how many didn't from this time period.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Circa 1500, Spanish Artist
Saint Paul Circa 1290-1305 Artists: Workshop of Giovanni Pisoni (Italian, Pisan)
The Spanish piece is of polychromed wood, while the Italian piece is of all marble. They were both well crafted and designed. When I first entered this particular gallery, I was really thinking I would see a lot of religious jewery in the form of crosses or other artifacts. Maybe all the pirates and raiders got a lot of those and the sure quantity of them in existence is low.
Plate, 15th Century Hispano-Moresque
Marriage Plate, Circa 1530-40, Italian
Plate depicting Galus Mucius Scaevola in the presence of Lars Porsensa,19th Century Italian
Portrait Dish, Circa 1500-30 Italian
Left to Right (All Italian)#1 Scalloped Tazza, Circa 1530-40 #2 Plate, late 16th Century #3 Casa Pirota Fruit Dish, Circa 1540-75 #4 Albarello, Circa 15th Century #5 Albarello Circa 1480
All these are made of tin glazed earthenware. All the pieces in this exhibit area were italian except the one Spanish plate. All were incased in glass to protect these beautiful fragile pieces of tableware. I wonder if they were ever used in formal table use. Perhaps not, maybe they have been display pieces for their entire existence.
Theres a few more i want to share, but I dont want to make this too long. At 1000+ words this is quite enough for a post, so I will cut it here. I hope you enjoyed what I shared. Are there any of them you really like? Share below in the comments.
Take care, stay safe and have a great rest of your week. Until next time!