Bridge

Who would have thought?

Piet Mondrian
Chrysanthemum
1908–09
Charcoal on paper, 25.4 x 28.7 cm.

This gives me goosebumps...It could only be Schiele adding this amount of tension to still water! Amazing.

Egon Schiele
Trees Mirrored in a Pond
1907
oil on cardboard

Felix Vallotton
Autumn Crocuses
1900

P a u l - K l e e
Fish

Had a wonderful time at this museum with my sister😊

Vincent’s favourite cafés 🍻 He painted these vibrant spaces, socialised with fellow artists, and even traded his art for a meal or a drink. From the lively Café du Tambourin in Paris to the iconic Moulin Rouge and the charming Café de la Gare (now Café Van Gogh) in Arles, these cafés all inspired him. Absinthe was the drink of the time, and it flowed freely. Vincent enjoyed a drink, but he probably waited until after he had finished work on his paintings.

In a letter to his brother Theo while in Arles, Vincent explained that developing a painting is exacting work, ‘[…] where you have to think of a thousand things at the same time in a single half hour. Afterwards – the only thing that comforts and distracts – in my case – […] is to stun oneself by taking a stiff drink or smoking very heavily’.

‘Café Table with Absinthe’, 1887. Van Gogh Museum

Nike (the Greek goddess of victory)
c. 200–190 BC
Parian marble; 244 cm
Musee De Louvre

(*)This is one of the most celebrated sculptures in the world. H. W. Janson described it as "the greatest masterpiece of Hellenistic sculpture".

The sculpture is one of a small number of major Hellenistic statues surviving in the original, rather than Roman copies. Only Winged Victory's right wing is not original, and was added by mirroring the left wing.

The sculptor is unknown,although Paul MacKendrick suggests that Pythokritos of Lindos is responsible. When first discovered on the island of Samothrace (then part of the Ottoman Empire and called Semadirek) and published in 1863, it was suggested that the Victory was erected by the Macedonian general Demetrius Poliorcetes after his naval victory at Cyprus, between 295 and 289 BC.

The Archaeological Museum of Samothrace continues to follow these originally established provenance and dates.[b] Ceramic evidence discovered in recent excavations has revealed that the pedestal was set up about 20 BC, though some scholars still date it as early as 250 BC or as late as 180 Certainly, the parallels with figures and drapery from the Pergamon Altar (dated about 170 BC) seem strong.

The evidence for a Rhodian commission of the statue has been questioned, however, and the closest artistic parallel to the Nike of Samothrace are figures depicted on Macedonian coins. Samothrace was an important sanctuary for the Hellenistic Macedonian kings. The most likely battle commemorated by this monument is, perhaps, the Battle of Cos in 255 BC, in which Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia won over the fleet of Ptolemy II of Egypt.

The Victory was discovered in April 1863 by the amateur archeologist and then French vice-consul to Adrianopolis Charles Champoiseau (1830–1909), who sent it to Paris in the same year. The statue has been reassembled in stages since its discovery. The prow was reconstructed from marble debris at the site by Champoiseau in 1879 and assembled in situ before being shipped to Paris.

After 1884, the statue was positioned where it would visually dominate the Daru staircase.[c] Since 1883, the marble figure has been displayed in the Louvre, while a plaster replica stands at the original location of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace.

In the autumn of 1939, the Winged Victory was removed from her perch in anticipation of the outbreak of World War II. All the museums of Paris were closed on August 25. Artwork and objects were packed for removal to locations deemed safer outside Paris for safekeeping. On the night of September 3, the statue descended the staircase on a wooden ramp which was constructed across the steps During the years of World War II, the statue was sheltered in safety in the Château de Valençay along with the Venus de Milo and Michelangelo's Slaves.

The discovery in the 1950s of the palm of the right hand and two fingers established that this hand was meant to show the statue’s hand was making a simple gesture and was not holding an object; the partial hand is stored next to the statue

(*) wiki

The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.
~ Leonardo Da Vinci

Ornate Door in Fez, Morocco

An incredible example of Kirie - the Japanese art of cutting immensely intricate creatures from a single sheet of paper with only a knife. This delicate fine as lace example is the work of Master Kirie artist -Masayo Fukuda.

Well, no wonder I could never put that in words if Hesse did 😁

~Herman Hesse💫

We have some gorgeous August bank holiday gardens for you to explore this weekend, follow the link to get inspired and find one near you👇
https://ngs.org.uk/gorgeous-august-bank-holiday-gardens-to-explore



📷Morton Hall Gardens, Worcestershire ©Clive Nichols

Helen Frankenthaler in her studio, 1956 .Photograph by Gordon Parks / (Photo’s copyright: Gordon Parks/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Niki de Saint Phalle

Marc Chagall
The circus
1967

Fascinating

Thank you https://www.facebook.com/UpandRunningTorbay for inspiring my run today. Found some amazing marbled stones that children can go and see for their marbling projects 😊

F r a n z - M a r c
Sheaf of Grain
1907
University of Iowa Museum of Art

(*)This piece was completed around the time Marc visited Paris in 1907 and was influenced by the artists Cezanne, Gaughin and Van Gogh.

The similarity between this piece and the works of Van Gogh are visible. There is a resemblance between Sheaf Of Grain and Van Gogh’s series of paintings titled Wheat Fields which were painted in the 1890s. Marc spoke highly of Van Gogh and was inspired by his use of simple objects in his pieces and the symbolism within his work.

Sheaf Of Grain is distinguishable from his later work that involved bright primary colours and abstract shapes.

Whilst his interpretation of the subject matter in Sheaf Of Grain is not an attempt to capture a very realistic image, it is far easier to decipher the object of focus than in his later pieces where the animals he painted were sometimes barely recognisable at first look.

This is an example of his earlier work that came after his initial few years of training as an artist but before his famous period of German Expressionism. Marc began painting around 1900 but his life as an artist was cut short when he joined in German Army in 1914 to fight in the First World War and was killed in action in 1916.

His work may be divided into three different periods. From 1900 to 1907, he was in the early stages of developing his style.

From 1907, his style visibly changed as he went to Paris. Around 1911, his style changed yet again as he founded the Der Blaue Reiter journal and worked with the artists of the German Expressionist movement including Kandinsky and Delaunay.

(*) Source : http://www.franzmarc.com/sheaf-of-grain/

God the chats they must have had!

Left to Right: Wassily Kandinsky, Nina Kandinsky, Georg Muche, Paul Klee, Walter Gropius, Dessau, 1926.

Notice the unusual angle. Consider challenging yourself to draw an ear from there 😀 Very interesting to see how confident he was with space while he was such an expert at dropping the 3rd dimension in his paintings.

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)
Drawing of women
1887
pencil

🚪❤️ 'Life is a passageway.' - Do Ho Suh

'Staircase-III' is one of a number of works Do Ho Suh has made based on his personal memories of architectural spaces—both of his parents' traditional Korean house in Seoul and his own Western-style apartment in New York: 'The space I'm interested in is not only a physical one, but an intangible, metaphorical, and psychological one.'

This work includes a replica of the artist's staircase from his home, made of light fabric and carefully pinned in place. While the staricase and banister remain the same size when on display in different galleries, the surrounding ceiling area is adapted with each new space it inhabits. Photographed here you can see the gauzy red staircase floating on the ceiling of Tate Modern in 2011.

The artist is interested in transitional spaces—doors, bridges, staircases—things which at once connects and separate two spaces. This speaks to Suh's experience of cultural displacement, growing up in Korea and moving to New York, and his interest in the meaning of 'home'. These fabric architectural structures allow the artist to create transportable pieces which can literally be packed up and taken with him.

Do Ho Suh 'Staircase-III' 2010. Not currently on display. https://bit.ly/3KKZdAb

I created one of these recently and I'm super pleased with it😊 a lovely little project for kids too

Be a good neighbour to nature! 🐸🦋🦔

Mini-wetlands come in all shapes and sizes, but they all make a BIG difference to local wildlife.

Here's how to make your own 👉 https://ow.ly/9Qhy50Pv6Tj

"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration." – Nikola Tesla

The English Riviera Film Festival is back with "Gwenevere" a short film and talk with Internationally Best Selling Author Philip Reeve happening on November the 4th at Torquay Museum.

Part of the festival's rolling programme of events in 2023 to 2024

Tickets on sale now
https://www.facebook.com/events/1591416551349886

Devon And Cornwall Film

American actress, model and singer Marilyn Monroe died tragically on this day in 1962, age 36. Long after her death, Monroe remains a pop culture icon, and the inspiration for Warhol's series of 10 'Marilyn' screenprints. Although Warhol's portraits illustrate a veneer of glamour and celebrity, the series immortalises Marilyn as a figure of mass desire, hinting toward the darker realities of fame in our society. https://bit.ly/3OEWaMo

Andy Warhol, [no title], part of 'Marilyn' 1967 © 2023 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by DACS, London.

Henri Matisse
Le poisson rouge
1911
huile sur toile - 140 x 95 cm
Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts ,Moscow

Comme ses contemporains , matisse était conscient de l'influence libératrice de l'art japonais sur l'esthétique et la création d'images sur ses prédécesseurs, des impressionnistes aux postimpressionnistes. . La peinture suivante , Le poisson rouge 1912 , est peut-être inspiré par les nombreuses images orientales de poissons rouges qu'il aurait vu . Leur placement prudent implique le mouvement , donner de la vie à la composition . Les matiere , une nature morte au poisson rouge , est une célébration extatique de la vie domestique . Contrairement à certaines de ses peintures fauves , les couleurs semblent descriptives mais néanmoins rehaussées .
La peinture est appliquée en fine couche pour révéler la surface de la toile blanche , qui ajoute de l'éclat aux couleurs . Cette technique révèle également artist's gestes alors qu'il appliquait la peinture , ce qui implique également le mouvement et l'énergie .
La peinture noire offre un contraste et renforce l'impact des couleurs . Le dessin est lâche mais observé de près et capture le caractère des formes individuelles . Matisse's bol de poisson rouge est dessiné avec des ellipses précises qui s'étendent à la surface de la table et en dessous , placer le spectateur au-dessus du bol où les images du poisson rouge sont réfractées sur le water's comble

Biography -
Henri Matisse né le 31 décembre 1869 au Cateau-Cambrésis, et mort, le 3 novembre 1954, à Nice, est un peintre, dessinateur, graveur et sculpteur français.
Figure majeure du XXe siècle, son influence sur l'art de la seconde partie du siècle est considérable par l'utilisation de la simplification, de la stylisation, de la synthèse et de la couleur comme seul sujet de la peinture, aussi bien pour les nombreux peintres figuratifs ou abstraits qui se réclameront de lui et de ses découvertes. Il fut le chef de file du fauvisme.
De Pablo Picasso, qui fut son ami et le considérait comme son grand rival , à Andy Warhol qui « voulait être Matisse », tous les peintres du XXe siècle ont été confrontés à la gloire et au génie de Matisse.
Henri Matisse naît le 31 décembre 1869 au Cateau-Cambrésis en France, fils d’un marchand de grains. Sa mère est peintre amateur. Après la guerre franco-allemande, en 1871, la famille déménage à Bohain-en-Vermandois où Matisse passe sa jeunesse. Il commence sa vie professionnelle comme clerc de notaire chez maître Derieux à Saint-Quentin .
À 20 ans, à la suite d'une crise d'appendicite, il est contraint de rester alité pendant de longues semaines. Grâce à un voisin et ami peintre amateur, Léon Bouvier, Matisse découvre le plaisir de peindre.
Sa mère lui offre une boîte de peinture. Il réalise ses premières œuvres, plus particulièrement un Chalet suisse, chromo reproduit dans les boîtes de peinture en vente à l'époque, dont Henri Matisse peindra une copie, qu'il signera « Essitam ».
Dès son rétablissement, tout en réintégrant l'étude, il s'inscrit au cours de dessin de l'école Quentin-de-La Tour destinée aux dessinateurs en textile de l'industrie locale.
Il peint son premier tableau, Nature morte avec des livres, en juin 1890 .
Peu après, il se rend à Paris. En 1892, Matisse rencontre Albert Marquet à l'École des Arts déco puis s'inscrit en 1895, à l'École des beaux-arts, dans l'atelier de Gustave Moreau. L'enseignement du maître encourage ses élèves à penser leur peinture, à la rêver, au-delà de la virtuosité technique. Matisse, comme ses condisciples, Georges Rouault, Léon Lehmann, Simon Bussy, Eugène Martel, Albert Huyot ou Henri Evenepoel, est stimulé par cette conception de la peinture et entend développer la sienne selon son individualité. Gustave Moreau, lors d'une correction, lui dit : « Vous allez simplifier la peinture . »
Cette prophétie peut être considérée comme le programme esthétique de l'œuvre d'Henri Matisse.
En 1896, Matisse expose pour la première fois au Salon des Cent et au Salon de la Société nationale des beaux-arts, dont il devient membre associé sur proposition de Pierre Puvis de Chavannes.
Cette fonction lui permet notamment d'exposer sans passer par un jury. Il passe l'été à Belle-Île-en-Mer et rencontre l'Australien John Peter Russell, qui l'introduit auprès d'Auguste Rodin et Camille Pissarro.
Il commence à s'intéresser à la peinture impressionniste qu'il découvre en 1897 au musée du Luxembourg. Il est alors un peintre classique de natures mortes réalistes aux textures amples.
Pour gagner sa vie, Matisse et Marquet travaillent comme peintre décorateurs à la journée, pour les décorateurs de théâtre .
Le 31 août 1894 naît sa fille Marguerite dont la mère, Caroline Joblaud, est un de ses modèles . Le 8 janvier 1898, Matisse épouse Amélie Parayre . Ils ont deux enfants, Jean en 1899 et Pierre en 1900 tous deux nés à Toulouse où les Matisse vivent près des parents d'Amélie .
Le couple Matisse élève les trois enfants. Ils partent en voyage de noces à Londres où, sur les conseils de Pissarro, Matisse découvre la peinture de Joseph Mallord William Turner.
Puis Matisse s'installe en Corse , il habite dans une villa dont il a loué le dernier étage meublé à un certain De la Rocca.
Henri Matisse peint, à Ajaccio, une cinquantaine de toiles dont Le Mur rose qui représente l'arrière de l'hospice Eugénie vu depuis la Villa de la Rocca. Matisse s'inspire alors de Turner.
En 1899, il découvre le traité de Paul Signac, D’Eugène Delacroix au néo-impressionnisme .
À partir de 1900, Matisse travaille la sculpture et le modelage, à l'Académie de la Grande Chaumière, sous la direction d'Antoine Bourdelle et fréquente également l'atelier d'Eugène Carrière. Il y fait la connaissance d'André Derain et de Jean Puy.
Derain lui présente Maurice de Vlaminck. Il expose au Salon des indépendants (1901) et participe à la première édition du Salon d'automne (1903).
En 1902, Berthe Weill devient son premier marchand et, en 1904, Ambroise Vollard lui consacre sa première exposition personnelle ; cette année-là, il prend un atelier rue de Sèvres, dans l'ancien Couvent des Oiseaux.
En 1900, Matisse achète à Ambroise Vollard Les Trois Baigneuses de Cézanne, toile aujourd'hui au Petit Palais de Paris.
Matisse gardera toujours cette toile avec lui, refusant même de la vendre dans les moments difficiles , avant de la donner, en 1936, au musée parisien.
Car, pour Matisse : " Cézanne est notre maître à tous"

Turning Heads has now officially become an Approved Provider of Post 14 SEND education in Torbay :)

Very exciting :)