Auguste Rodin, “The Age of Bronze,” 1875, bronze, 71 1/2 x 21 1/4 x 25 1/2 in. (c) FAMSF 2016
Marking the centenary of Auguste Rodin’s 1917 death, the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, California, will play host to approximately 50 bronze, marble, and plaster objects by the modern master. Details here!
Any chance to celebrate the “father of modern sculpture” is one worth taking, and the Legion of Honor in San Francisco is doing just that to celebrate Auguste Rodin’s centenary. Via the press release, “The exhibition will examine the artist’s celebrated life and influential work — from his early days courting controversy with sculptures that bore unexpected levels of naturalism — to his later renown and lasting influence. ‘Rodin Centenary’ is part of a worldwide series of major Rodin projects and will provide Bay Area audiences a significant opportunity to examine and recontextualize the legacy of Rodin.”
Auguste Rodin, “The Age of Bronze,” 1875, bronze, 71 1/2 x 21 1/4 x 25 1/2 in. (c) FAMSF 2016
Fifty works in bronze, marble, and plaster will compose the show, all of them from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s permanent collection. Max Hollein, director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums, suggests, “Our Rodin holdings are one of the finest and most significant collections in the United States. This exhibition will surprise visitors and inspire dialogue on Rodin and his impact on artists working today. It is a must-see for anyone who thinks there is nothing left to learn about this towering figure in the history of modern art.”
“Rodin Centenary” opens on January 28, 2017 and will be on view through December 31, 2017. To learn more, visit The Legion of Honor.
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Anne Cady, “The Hills Are Calling Us Home,” oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in. (c) NODG 2016
Group shows featuring miniature delights continue to abound this holiday season, with the latest display of brilliance coming to us from Vergennes, Vermont. Whose works can you expect to see?
Have you finished your holiday shopping for that special art collector and connoisseur in your life? If not, Northern Daughters Gallery in Vergennes, Vermont, is currently showing a range of outstanding works in miniature that will both brighten your day and make your holiday gift list shorter.
Rebecca Kinkead, “Grey Wolf,” oil and wax on panel, 7 x 5 in. (c) NODG 2016
Featuring the works of Anne Cady, Bonnie Baird, Cameron Schmitz, Katie Loesel, Pamela Smith, Rebecca Kinkead, and Sobelman Cortapega, “More Light” includes a fantastic range of subjects, including landscape, figurative, wildlife, and more. Executed in oil, watercolor, acrylic, and other mediums, each work is a lovely display of individual talent and virtuosity.
Anne Cady, “The Hills Are Calling Us Home,” oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in. (c) NODG 2016
The exhibition opened on December 1 and will continue through January 17, 2017. An opening reception will be held at the gallery on December 9 from 5-8 P.M. To learn more, visit Northern Daughters Gallery.
Bonnie Baird, “The Way of the Rain,” oil on panel, 12 x 12 in. (c) NODG 2016
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Michelangelo Buonarroti, “Pietà,” ca. 1548-1555, marble, (c) Florence Cathedral 2016
In this occasional series, Fine Art Today delves into the world of portraiture, highlighting historical and contemporary examples of superb quality and skill. This week: Michelangelo Buonarroti, “Florentine Pietà.”
Michelangelo carved one of his only self-portraits in what is arguably his last sculpture: the Florentine “Pietà.” The unfinished group displays four figures in a triangular composition. A large, hooded man hovers over a slumping Christ as he supports the martyr’s upper torso. Christ falls into the lap of his mother as another female figure, presumed here to be Mary Magdalene, supports Christ’s right side, as his arm is draped behind her head and resting delicately on her shoulder. The faces of the two female figures are generalized, and they are distinguished from Christ and the hooded male by their smaller size, at the base of the compositional triangle.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, “Pietà,” ca. 1548-1555, marble, (c) Florence Cathedral 2016
The large hooded figure is more specific and individualized from Christ, the Virgin, and Mary Magdalene. Ascanio Condivi, a pupil and assistant of Michelangelo’s, had intimate knowledge of the sculpture’s production and was the first to identify the large hooded figure at the apex of the composition as Nicodemus in his 1552 biography of Michelangelo. Vasari, too, witnessed the production of the group and took the identification further, recognizing the hooded figure as both Nicodemus and Michelangelo in the second, 1568 version of his Lives of the Artists.
As artists advanced in age and began to contemplate more seriously their inevitable deaths, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were two biblical men they could have easily appropriated to convey piety and intimacy with Christ’s sufferings. In particular, one biblical account of Nicodemus may have had importance to aging artists. In chapter 3 of the Gospel of John, Jesus tells Nicodemus, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Confused, Nicodemus asks Jesus how men can be born again when they are old, to which Jesus replies, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit.”
It seems likely that Michelangelo was familiar with scripture and possibly these verses. Teachings surrounding the concept of spiritual rebirth may have held significance for sculptors in their last years. The allure of this hypothesis lies in the fact that Baccio Bandinelli (another sculptor who represented himself as Nicodemus) died shortly after the completion of his monument in 1560; Michelangelo kept the Florentine “Pietà” in his studio until his death in 1564.
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In this ongoing series for Fine Art Today, we take a longer look at the history and features of a soon-to-be-available artwork of note. This week: Metello Motelli, “Iris.”
Highlighting Sotheby’s December 14 “19th and 20th Century Sculpture” sale is one of the most important Italian Romantic sculptures to come to auction in recent years. The sweeping sculpture, titled “Iris,” displays the messenger of the Greek Olympian gods emanating from foliage as she raises her veil in an arch above her head. As Sotheby’s correctly suggests, “[the work] epitomizes the ambitious imagination and technical virtuosity of Lombard marble carvers in the second half of the nineteenth century.”
The subject was an ideal one for the Italian Romantic Metello Motelli (active 1851-1894). “With the goddess Iris” Sotheby’s reports, “Motelli chose a mythological subject whose allegorical evocation of nature embodied the Romantic ideal. Appearing as the messenger of the Gods in Homer’s Iliad, Iris also functioned as a personification of the rainbow and was thought to travel land and sea at the speed of wind.”
Motelli’s version of Iris captures many of those qualities with beautiful precision and skill. In a sweeping diagonal composition, the viewer can sense the subject’s movement, as if she’s been caught by Motelli in the midst of her travels. The framing arch of Iris’ veil — found above her head — perhaps alludes to her personification of the rainbow. Sotheby’s adds, “In a gravity-defying tour-de-force, the goddess — personified as a graceful young girl — is seemingly lifted by a torrent of foliage and cloth, which, leaning forward, she suspends above her head as a billowing veil. The purity of the marble enhances the woman’s lithe, sensuous form, while the sculptor’s extraordinary skill is shown in the naturalistic detail of the base, whose wealth of flora and fauna is carved with vigorous finesse. A sculpture that benefits from viewing in the round, the marble exhibits an elegant S-curve in its side view, while its reverse reveals the goddesses’ long, stream-like tresses, which merge into the wave that suspends and supports her figure.”
Auction estimates for the brilliant sculpture are expected to be between $150,000 and $220,000. To learn more, visit Sotheby’s.
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Mary Lambeth received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Arizona State University, and a Master of Art Education from Texas Tech University. She is a former adjunct professor of the Lone Star College System in Houston where she taught Art History and Appreciation. She now lives and works as an artist and teaches yoga in Midland.
A sixth generation Texan, Mary is currently working on a series of Texas Native Wildflowers in several mediums, primarily watercolor – finding inspiration from the spring show of color along Texas highways. She is a signature member of the Texas Watercolor Society and the American Plains Artists Society, and also an Associate Member of the American Watercolor Society. Ever observant of plants, Mary is also a certified Texas Master Naturalist and former garden club president, and has held numerous board positions with the Midland Arts Association and the Houston Women’s Caucus for Art.
She has had multiple one person shows, most recently at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, TX, and her work has received numerous awards and recognitions. This featured piece was the 2016 “Watercolor” award recipient at the Stars of Texas Juried Art Exhibition, Brownwood, TX, Warren Taylor, NWS, judge.
Paula Swain is one of the 26 artists who participated in this year’s Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, which took place at the South Rim of Grand Canyon September 10-17, 2016. Now in its 8th year, the plein air event features artists painting at various locations around and in the Canyon. The exhibit and sale of their work at Kolb Studio on the South Rim will continue through January 16, 2017. The exhibit is open daily, and is free and open to the public.
For this year’s Celebration of Art, honoring the 100 year anniversary of the National Park Service, the artists were encouraged to submit a studio painting of any of the national parks. Swain chose to submit a painting of Capitol Reef National Park. She often travels from her home in Salt Lake City to paint the magnificent national parks in Utah.
Of the day Swain painted “Capitol Reef Trail’ she explains: “The incredible morning spent at Capitol Reef was peaceful, silent, and still. The colors of the sunrise changed, moment by moment, seeming to come in waves. I knew then that my goal was communicate the thrill of the sparkling light touching the edges of the sheer, ancient walls, with the glowing colors of reflected light within the shadows. My greatest delight is to share with the viewer this deep, exuberant joy.”
For more information and more photos of Paula’s work please visit:
Available at the C.M. Russell Museum exhibition and sale, March 16-18, 2017
About the Artist:
Jason Drake was born in 1955 and demonstrated an artistic ability from early childhood. But little boys also want to fly airplanes and the world of math and science lured him down the path to an engineering degree and a career as a military pilot. But he never forgot the artistic passion he cultivated while drawing and painting as a boy.
Following his military years, Jason worked as a graphic designer, creating marketing materials for print and the web. He learned the impact of visual communication and the power of a finely-tuned composition. Clean lines and simple lighting are as much a reflection of his personality as they are a mainstay in his work.
But he never abandoned his passion to be an artist. As a young man, he was influenced by the work of great illustrators like Norman Rockwell, NC Wyeth, and Howard Pyle. Later his attention turned to masters like Sargent, Winslow Homer, and Andrew Wyeth and he decided that the lasting impact of fine art painting was the fulfillment of his dreams. Always learning, Jason continues to develop his skills through workshops, books, videos, lessons with other artists, and putting miles on his brush.
Paintings in oil have comprised most of Jason’s body of work but a recent focus on egg tempera has produced his most exciting pieces yet. Seeing numerous Andrew Wyeth exhibits drew him toward the medium and its unique ability to render light through layers of color. Egg tempera has now become a mainstay in his repertoire.
Jason believes that his art should lift you up, elevate your perspective and help you hold onto things that have meaning.
Gallery owner Tim Miller wrote, “The depth and emotion of his American realism paintings captures the attention of every client who enters the gallery and he’s quickly become a sought after name amongst our patrons. Jason’s work is as stimulating as it is mature, as beautiful as it is timeless.”
Egg tempera master Koo Schadler observed that Jason’s work is “beautiful and accomplished; his tonal sense is excellent.”
Living in the Appalachian Mountains near Boone, North Carolina, he paints the wonder of nature that surrounds him and finds beauty in ordinary things and close friends. He is committed to producing works that reflect the glory of God and the dignity of Man.
Michiel van Musscher, “An Artist in His Studio with His Drawings,” 1665, oil on panel, (c) The Princely Collections, Liechtenstein 2016
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is currently showing a remarkable display of Dutch landscapes, still life, and scenes of daily life through the lens of more than 90 drawings and 27 paintings. Who can you expect to see?
Among the Golden Age masters on view currently at the National Gallery of Art are Aelbert Cuyp, Pieter Jansz Saenredam, Michiel van Musscher, and — of course — Rembrandt van Rijn. On view through January 2, “Drawings for Paintings in the Age of Rembrandt” is an entertaining exploration of the drawing process in the Netherlands during its period of greatest cultural achievement.
Michiel van Musscher, “An Artist in His Studio with His Drawings,” 1665, oil on panel, (c) The Princely Collections, Liechtenstein 2016
Artworks in the show include more than 90 drawings coupled with 27 paintings. In addition to the drawing process, the show also delves into the ways in which Dutch artists worked from life — using drawing as a means for composition, figural studies, construction drawings, and simple everyday observations. Via the museum, “It also examines the underdrawings artists made on their panel and canvas supports before painting their scenes.”
Rembrandt van Rijn, “Old Man Seated,” 1631, chalk on paper, (c) National Gallery of Art 2016
After its tenure in Washington, D.C., the exhibition travels to the Fondation Custodia in Paris, France, from February 3 through May 7, 2017. To learn more, visit The National Gallery of Art.
Rembrandt van Rijn, “Joseph Telling His Dreams,” 1633, grisaille, (c) Rijksmuseum 2016
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Doug Zider, “Sunset at the Heading,” oil, (c) Doug Zider
Molloy College’s Frank & Gertrude Kaiser Art Gallery is currently embellishing its walls with a stunning display of landscape brilliance via the works of Doug Zider through December 16.
For any connoisseur or collector who adores landscapes and seascapes of the Eastern Seaboard, Molloy College’s Kaiser Art Gallery is a great fit. Through December 16, the gallery is hosting a wonderful solo exhibition of paintings and prints by artist Doug Zider — a self-described islander and boater who delights in capturing an ever-changing natural source of beauty.
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Luciano Ventrone, “Rito Romano,” 2012, oil on canvas, 60 x 70 cm. (c) Image courtesy Violeta De la Serna
Now that you can successfully navigate Miami Art Week 2016, we’ve taken the opportunity to compile a short list of superb gallery exhibitions featuring some of the most outstanding representational arts.
Part of the robust draw to Miami Art Week is the event’s magnitude, offering the widest variety of art techniques, styles, and so much more. With our readers in mind, we’ve decided to compile a short list of representational exhibitions that have earned a can’t-miss stamp from Fine Art Today. During the fair’s first day, Fine Art Connoisseur regional sales manager Violeta de la Serna, a Miami native and herself an art and design collector, walked the entirety of Art Miami and CONTEXT in just over 4 hours! We’re lucky to have her!
Tomás Sánchez, “Basura de colores bajola tormenta,” 1991, acrylic on canvas, 43 x 59 in. (c) Image courtesy Violeta De la Serna
Within Art Miami, noteworthy were Gallery Andreas Binder and Marina Gisich Gallery. Gallery Andreas Binder is showing the amazing works by Yigel Ozeri, who creates breathtaking figurative works in oil. Several of his works are executed in monochrome, enhancing both the sculptural quality of his figures and photographic impressions.
Alonsa Guevara, “Fernanda’s Offering,” 2016, oil on canvas, 36 in. (c) Image courtesy Violeta De la Serna
Marina Gisich Gallery, hailing from St. Petersburg, Russia, is featuring the works of Kerim Ragimov, an accomplished portraitist. De la Serna also reports Art Miami visitors should stop at Gallery Henoch, where the works of Robert Jackson and Sally Fame Cochrane are sure to delight.
Kerim Ragimov, “Human Project: Fear Fair #42,” 2015, ink on paper, 16 x 9 1/2 in. (c) Image courtesy Violeta De la Serna
For lovers of exquisite still life, Jorge M. Sori Fine Art will be a hot destination for you. Featuring the works of Latin American masters, the esteemed gallery will host a joint exhibition of Tomás Sànchez and Renato Meziat. In addition, the gallery is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Ana Mercedes Hoyos, “La bara del premio,” oil on canvas, 39.3 x 39.3 in. (c) Image courtesy Violeta De la SernaYigal Ozeri, “Untitled (Olya),” 2014, oil on canvas, 12 x 18 in. (c) Image courtesy Violeta De la Serna
If you have an eye for tightly rendered realism, stop over at booth D403, where New York’s Bernarducci Meisel Gallery will be showcasing the works of supremely talented cityscape painters Richard Estes, Raphaella Spence, and many others. Lyons Wier Gallery of New York will also be presenting works by artists Cayce Zavaglia and James Rieck. Zavaglia’s work will contrast sharply from those at Bernarducci Meisel: large figurative acrylics that include highly abstract and expressive lines that activate the surface. Also in contrast are the works of James Rieck, whose works present a more illustrative style.
Luciano Ventrone, “Rito Romano,” 2012, oil on canvas, 60 x 70 cm. (c) Image courtesy Violeta De la Serna
Miami-based gallery Waltman Ortega Fine Art will also host a tantalizing show in booth A115. Among the artists included in its stable this year are François Bard and Cesar Santos.
Elisa Anfuso, (c) Image courtesy Violeta De la Serna
CONTEXT also produced a wealth of outstanding exhibitions. Number 1 on your list should be booths 123 and 314, where Elisa Anfuso with Liquid Art System out of Positano, Italy, has a fantastic program on view. Among the notable highlights are works by renowned artist Matteo Pugliese along with Umberto Ciceri, Peter Demetz, Riccardo Evangelisti, Marco Grassi, Kim In Tae, Livia Marin, Andrea Pakanowski, Antonio Sannino, Matthias Verginer, Willy Verginer, and Seo Young Deok.
Matteo Pugliese, (c) Image courtesy Violeta De la Serna
If you’re heading over to Art Basel Miami Beach, we recommend checking out Sayer Gomez’s “The Painting Thief in Ultramarine”, which is on view at Rodolf Janssen.
Robert Jackson, “52,” 2016, oil on linen, 60 x 30 in. (c) Image courtesy Violeta De la Serna
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