His artistic personality only recently discovered, the masterful pictures by baroque painter Georges de La Tour (1593-1652) are currently on view during a comprehensive and monumental exhibition at the Prado.
 
The Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain, has recently launched a monumental exhibition, organized into three tantalizing themes, dedicated to the life and career of baroque master Georges de La Tour (1593-1652). Although recognizing the debate surrounding a chronology of La Tour’s work, the museum has organized the show as the artist’s career progressed.
 

Georges de La Tour, “Penitent Saint Jerome,” oil on canvas, 157 x 100 cm. (c) Musee de Grenoble 2016

 
In “The Early Years,” La Tour’s religious figures and genre subjects — such as the mesmerizing “The Musicians’ Brawl” — are detailed. As the museum suggests, “it has always been considered that the most realist pictures are the earliest, which must have been produced at the end of the second decade of the 17th century.” Indeed, “The Musicians’ Brawl” draws more parallels to Michelangelo Caravaggio’s multi-figural compositions, brilliant color, and strong tenebrist light than La Tour’s later works.
 

Georges de La Tour, “The Newborn Child,” oil on canvas, 76 x 91 cm. (c) Musee des Beaux Arts 2016

 
Viewers encounter “Replicas and Series” next during the exhibition, highlighting La Tour’s developing palette and surface. The museum writes, “In the third decade of the 17th century La Tour’s technique evolved towards flatter, more watercolor-like brushstrokes resulting in more luminous paintings. At this date his originality and virtuosity reached their maximum expression in his daytime scenes. In addition, the physical types become less rough and the actions undertaken by the figures more serene and dignified.”
 

Georges de La Tour, “A Blind Hurdy-gurdy Player,” oil on canvas, 86 x 62 cm. (c) Museo Nacional del Prado 2016

 
The third theme, “The Final Years,” showcases the artist’s dramatic nocturnal religious paintings. The Prado reports that La Tour’s “celebrated, seemingly simple night scenes with their silent, moving atmosphere, include figures that magically emerge from rooms filled with silence, painted in an almost monochrome palette and with geometrical forms. The complete absence of haloes or other religious attributes and the humble figure types explain why some nocturnal episodes have been read in secular terms.”
 

Georges de La Tour, “The Fortune Teller,” oil on canvas, 102 x 123 cm. (c) Metropolitan Museum of Art 2016

 
The exhibition is without question a fantastic opportunity to experience one of the 17th century’s outstanding talents. Works from all across the globe have been loaned and borrowed by the Prado to compose the show, and their efforts have paid off in an exquisite display of baroque genius with the brush. In fact, the museum reminds viewers that “more than 40 paintings are more or less unanimously considered to be autograph works, while 28 canvases and prints are copies of lost originals. In other words, there are more than 70 known compositions, of which four are dated and only 18 signed.”
 
To learn more, visit the Museo del Prado.
 
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March 19 marks the date when sculptor Arthur Kern and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art open a solo exhibition of the artist’s surrealist works.
 
Distorted, abstracted, and fanciful are only a few words to describe the surrealist sculptures by artist Arthur Kern. Enhancing the mysterious allure of his work are descriptions of the sculptor himself, who “all but withdrew from the outside world thirty years ago,” the Ogden Museum of Southern Art reports. “Since then, he has spent much of his time working in his basement studio, creating scores of surreal sculptures that disturb as often as they enchant.”
 

Arthur Kern, “Self Portrait,” 1969, epoxy, (c) Arthur Kern 2016

 
Kern frequently represents human and equestrian subjects in his sculptures, and his inspiration “flows from his unconscious and can therefore be somewhat difficult to fathom, even for the artist himself.” Guest curator John Berendt recalls, “It was an exhilarating moment, walking into Arthur Kern’s place and discovering forty years of his sculptures arrayed throughout the house on shelves and table tops. There were dozens of them, every one uniquely memorable, even haunting — the elegantly surreal horses, the distorted faces peering through lenses and making bizarre eye-contact with the viewer. Kern’s sculptures merge the beautiful and the grotesque in strangely seductive ways. I left his house that day thinking, ‘People really ought to see these things!’”
 

Arthur Kern, “Sunday Cruise,” 2011, polyester resin, (c) Arthur Kern 2016

 
“Arthur Kern: The Surreal World of a Reclusive Sculptor” opens on March 19 and will be on view through July 17. To learn more, visit the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.
 
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A bronze masterpiece from the early 18th century could be yours via the esteemed Tomasso Brothers Fine Art in the Netherlands. When and how? Details here.
 
Tomasso Brothers — leading international dealers in the field of European bronze sculpture — is poised to unveil a monumental 18th-century bronze at this year’s TEFAF in Maastricht, Netherlands. Titled “Ganymede and the Eagle,” circa 1714, the sculpture “depicts a poetic moment from classical mythology when Zeus, disguised as an eagle, captures Ganymede, in Homer’s words ‘the loveliest born of the race of mortals,’ to become his cup-bearer” the dealers write. “This dramatic composition is a wonderful example of Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi’s suave modeling of form, and the sumptuous finish of his bronzes. It is also an extremely rare model: the only other known version is held by the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.”
 
The historic work is just one of the highlights at Tomasso Brothers Fine Art, stand 166, TEFAF 2016, offered for sale priced in excess of €1,000,000. The fair, which is the world’s leading art and antiques event, takes place at the Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Centre (MECC) from March 11-20.
 
To learn more, visit Tomasso Brothers Fine Art.
 
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Fifteen new paintings have been added and the closing date extended for a brilliant exhibition at the Powell Museum in Page, Arizona. Who’s the artist?
 
Artist Ron Larson has spent countless hours recording the beauties of the Colorado Plateau, and his artistic products are the subjects of a now extended exhibition at the Powell Museum in Page, Arizona. The exhibition, titled “Vistas & Visions of the Colorado Plateau,” opened in February of 2015, and Larson has spent the last year returning to the museum introducing new paintings from new locations — “usually two or three at a time every month or so throughout the year,” reports the museum. “Ron has made it his mission to find those distinctive places of stark and captivating beauty that can’t be found anywhere else in the world, then translate them to canvas.”
 

A view of the exhibition; (c) Image courtesy Powell Museum 2016

 
“Vistas & Visions of the Colorado Plateau” will now be on view through June 30. Moreover, Larson will host a lecture on May 18 in which he will report on his experiences over the last 18 months in capturing the elusive and ethereal beauty that is found in the Southwest desert. Continuing, the museum writes, “The Colorado Plateau is comprised of some of the most curious and extraordinary landscapes in the American Southwest. With over 60 national parks, monuments, wilderness areas and state parks, the Colorado Plateau’s pristine and unusual natural beauty remains safeguarded for future generations to experience. It’s the perfect place for an artist: Ron preserves the spirit of the wide open spaces, towering rock formations, meandering watercourses, and transitory moments of life on the Colorado Plateau in his art. He often paints on-site surrounded by the inspiring landscape and the interesting plant and animal life. Ron’s newest collection of paintings depict scenes from well-known places such as Lake Powell and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Monument Valley Tribal Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, and Grand Canyon National Park, along with lesser known, but equally stunning, parts of the Colorado Plateau over the Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico area.”
 
To learn more, visit the Powell Museum.
 
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The Steamboat Art Museum in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, is overjoyed to welcome back acclaimed artist Len Chmiel for a retrospective exhibition. Other coordinated events include….
 
In conjunction with the widely anticipated retrospective exhibition of Len Chmiel’s work at the Steamboat Art Museum in Colorado, the museum will also play host to a number of outstanding events, including workshops and an Artwalk in early March.
 
The exhibition, entitled “Len Chmiel: An Authentic Nature,” opened on December 4 and will be on view through April 9. On Friday, March 4, the Steamboat Art Museum opens its first Friday Artwalk from 5 to 8 p.m. On March 5, the public is invited to a “Wine & Conversation” event with Len from 5:30-7p.m.
 
To learn more, visit the Steamboat Art Museum.
 
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We’re just weeks away from the greatly anticipated exhibition and sale from the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. Collectors and connoisseurs should take note, as some of the best Western fine art on the market today could be your next acquisition.
 
The annual exhibition and sale to benefit the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana, is without a doubt one of the most highly anticipated fine art events in the country, and we’re just weeks away from the main event. In fact, a few events have already kicked off during the month of February, including “The Russell Exhibition” – on view now through March 17 at the C.M. Russell Museum — a temporary show that offers potential collectors and art lovers the chance at an up-class encounter with just a few of the available works.
 
The main exhibition and sale for 2016 will take place in Great Falls from March 17-19 and features several tantalizing events. Among the attractions are an “Art Preview Party” on March 17 from 6-8 p.m. “Art in Action” will take place on March 18 and will “give nationally known artists several hours to finish a piece of art while interacting with guests,” as the museum writes. A “First Strike Auction” will be hosted on the 18th at 6 p.m., focusing solely on works by contemporary artists. Finally, the major “Russell Auction” will take place at 4:30 p.m. on March 19 and feature contemporary art plus historical works in a competitive bidding atmosphere.
 
If you’re interested in attending the events, ticket and other information can be found here.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
 

Organized in tandem with the National Museum of the Prado, “The Divine Morales” is a monumental exhibition devoted to the work of Luis de Morales (1510/1511-1586). The show recently opened at a new location in Spain. Where and for how long?
 
On a list of Renaissance masters, one will rarely find Luis de Morales (1510-1586) — known as “El Divino” —among them. The Spanish painter, who worked largely in the Lombard style of Raphael, was known for his penchant for religious subjects and the verisimilitude with which he represented them.
 
“The Divine Morales” — a major exhibition dedicated to the artist — was organized by the National Museum of the Prado and the National Museum of Art of Catalonia and is now on view at the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum in Spain. Via the exhibition webpage, “This latest offering is designed to update what we know today about Morales’s work and his life, by taking a close look at some of his most characteristic paintings and, in particular, the devotional works that focus on the image of Christ. Although his most representative paintings were made popular by the replicas his followers painted, this new show includes a careful selection of works that showcase the true standards of quality in Morales’s extraordinary painting technique.”
 
The exhibition will include some 55 works from the Prado’s permanent collection and other Spanish and international museums, private collectors, and religious institutions. As the museum states, “Most of the works chosen are small and feature the archetypal half-length figures of his professional repertoire: the Madonna with Child, of the kind seen in the popular “Nursing Madonna” from the Prado, Christ with the Crown of Thorns in “Christ, Man of Sorrows” also from the Prado and Christ tied to the column, bearing the Cross or dead in His mother’s arms, as in the “Pietá” from the Museum of the Royal San Fernando Fine Arts Academy in Madrid.”
 
“The Divine Morales” opened on February 9 and will be on view through May 16. To learn more, visit the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
 

The Clement Art Gallery in Troy, New York, recently unveiled a tantalizing exhibition featuring a lovely range of metalpoint drawings from many of the nation’s top draftsmen and -women. Who’s included?
 
Featuring 10 profoundly talented artists, including Jeannine Cook, Jon Gernon, Eileen Kennedy, and Kandy Phillips, “The Luster of the Line: Drawings in Metalpoint” is a rare opportunity for connoisseurs to explore contemporary examples of a storied artistic technique.
 

Jeannine Cook, “Ammonites de Bourgogne,” silverpoint and watercolor (c) Jeannine Cook 2016

 
Metalpoint is a drawing technique developed during the late Gothic and Early Renaissance periods that afforded artists the ability to draft beautifully detailed and fine drawings. Beginning as silverpoint, the technique involves dragging a stylus or wire of silver across a surface prepared with a primer or gesso. With the rough texture, miniscule flakes of silver adhered to the ground. Silverpoint is noted for the quality of line, which is extremely fine and allows for great precision. Even so, silverpoint is extremely difficult and reworking a mistake is not easy.
 

Eileen Kennedy, “Wetlands,” silverpoint, 18 x 24 in. (c) Eileen Kennedy 2016

 
Over the past few centuries, early Renaissance silverpoint drawings have become fashionable for collectors, especially since the oxidation of the silver over time creates a beautiful maroon tint in the drawings. Artists who are known to have worked with the technique include Albrecht Dürer, Jan van Eyck, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael. On view through March 25 at The Clement Art Gallery, the exhibition shows “a variety of ideas and applications of this historical medium,” according to the gallery. “Silverpoint drawings have been described as elegant, delicate, and precise. They display the ‘hand of the artist’ more than perhaps any other medium, and are more completely archival than any other; drawings from the late Medieval period through the Renaissance have survived to the present without damage due to the inertness and permanence of the materials.”
 
To learn more, visit The Clement Art Gallery.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
 

Seattle-based artist Ann Gale is poised to feature her recent paintings at Dolby Chadwick Gallery in San Francisco, California. When does the exhibition open? Find out here.
 
The acclaimed painter Ann Gale will present an eclectic range of her latest works at Dolby Chadwick Gallery in San Francisco this March. Featuring oil paintings on canvas, linen-wrapped panels, and copper, as well as graphite works, there is sure to be something for every connoisseur to enjoy beginning March 3.
 

Ann Gale, “Shannon in red,” 2015, oil on copper, 12 x 9 in. (c) Dolby Chadwick Gallery 2016

 
Gale is particularly known for her captivating figurative subjects and a concept that delves into the nature of perception and “the psychology of human interaction that transcends the purely visual,” as the gallery writes. “It is a revelation to contemplate the work of an artist such as Gale, who spends months, if not years, studying a single pose taken by one of her models.”
 

Ann Gale, “Shannon in passage,” 2016, oil on canvas, 48 x 42 in. (c) Dolby Chadwick Gallery 2016

 
Continuing, Dolby Chadwick Gallery suggests, “With a stillness, and an intimacy so profound that it becomes nearly unbearable, Gale’s keen powers of observation seek many points of reference, yet recognizable likeness remains a concern almost completely removed from her scope of interest — a fact that for many years caused her to shy away from the term ‘portraiture.’ Her work instead addresses the emotionally-charged and potentially confrontational aspect of sharing space with, and relentlessly observing, another human being at close range for lengthy periods of time. While she also has painted friends and family, ‘when they were willing to endure it,’ she feels there is really no difference, ‘every person is shocking, complex, both visually and psychologically,’ she explains. Her unflinching approach is reminiscent of the wrenching and minutely-observed portraits of Lucian Freud — both grounded in a fearless exploration of raw experience.”
 
An opening reception for the exhibition will be held March 3 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The show will be on view through April 2. To learn more, visit Dolby Chadwick Gallery.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
 

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: Eanger Irving Couse, “The Successful Hunter.”
 
Born in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1866, Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936) is widely recognized as one of best American painters of Native Americans, New Mexico, and the American Southwest. Couse was a founding member and first president of the Taos Society of Artists, and his work can be found in the public collections of museums across the United States, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the New Mexico Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the Detroit Museum of Art — to name a few.
 
Today Couse’s home and studio are part of National Register of Historic Places. Among the honors Couse received during his lifetime were the Isidor Prize in 1917 from the famed Salmagundi Club and the Altman Prize in 1916 from the National Academy of Design.
 
Heading to the auction block via Altermann Galleries & Auctioneers on April 1 is the gorgeous “The Successful Hunter” by Couse. The magnetic oil displays a single Native American subject walking toward the viewer along a well-trodden path. Slung over the subject’s shoulder is the evening’s meal. The palette of the work is magnificent, filled with cool pastel greens and blues among the birch trees and warm browns and oranges composing the earth. The eye receives a brief reprieve in the subject’s clothing, which flashes a bright red hue that provides a point of focus. Bidding for the painting begins at $90,000 and is expected to realize as much as $120,000.
 
To view the full catalogue, visit Altermann Galleries & Auctioneers.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.