Monday Morning Museum 2011

Andreas Achenbach - German Landscape Painter - 16 May 2011
Eugène Atget - French Photographer - 31 October 2011
George Wesley Bellowa - American Ashcan School Painter - 4 July 2011
Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat - French Academic Painter - 15 August 2011
Félix Henri Bracquemond - French Art Nouveau Engraver - 21 November 2011
Pieter Bruegel The Elder - Flemish Nothern Renaissance Painter - 31 January 2011
Annibale Carracci - Italian Baroque Era Painter - 9 May 2011
Mary Stevenson Cassatt - American Impressionist Painter - 14 March 2011
Paul Cézanne - French Post-Impressionist Painter - 23 May 2011
Alvin Langdon Coburn - American-born British Tonalist Photographer - 14 November 2011
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot - French Realist Painter - 27 June 2011
John Constable - English Romantic Painter - 5 December 2011
Lucas Cranach the Elder - German Northern Renaissance Painter - 18 July 2011
Edgar Degas - French Realist / Impressionist Painter and Sculptor - 21 March 2011
Eugène Delacroix - French Romantic Painter - 12 December 2011
André Derain - French Fauvist Painter and Sculptor - 10 January 2011
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins - American Realist Painter - 10 October 2011
Walker Evans - American Social Realist Photographer - 4 April 2011
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin - French Post-Impressionist Painter - 21 February 2011
Francesco Lazzaro Guardi - Italian Rococo Era Painter - 25 July 2011
Katsushika Hokusai - Japanese Ukiyo-e Printmaker - 8 August 2011
Winslow Homer - American Maritime Art Painter - 24 October 2011
Edward Hopper - American Scene Painter - 26 December 2011
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky - Russian-born French Expressionist Painter - 6 June 2011
John Frederick Kensett - American Hudson River School Painter - 11 July 2011
André Kertész - Hungarian-born American Photographer - 30 May 2011
Gustav Klimt - Austrian Art Nouveau Painter - 7 March 2011
Joseph Christian Leyendecker - American Golden Age Illustrator - 19 December 2011
Édouard Manet - French Realist / Impressionist Painter - 19 September 2011
Francesco di Giorgio Martini - Early Italian Rennaissance Painter and Sculptor - 7 November 2011
Oscar Claude Monet - French Impressionist Painter - 14 February 2011
Berthe Morisot - French Impressionist Painter - 3 October 2011
Charles Nègre - French Photographer - 1 August 2011
William Lamb Picknell - American Landscape Painter - 5 September 2011
Robert Rauschenberg - American Pop Artist - 28 March 2011
Pierre-Auguste Renoir - French Impressionist Painter - 3 January 2011
Hubert Robert - French Rococo Era Painter - 17 October 2011
John Singer Sargent - American Portrait Painter - 13 June 2011
Elsa Schiaparelli - Italian-born French Desinger - 28 November 2011
Georges-Pierre Seurat - French Pointillist Painter - 25 April 2011
Charles Rettew Sheeler, Jr. - American Precisionist Painter and Photographer - 26 September 2011
Cindy Sherman - American Photographer - 17 January 2011
Edward J. Steichen - Luxembourgeois-born American Tonalist Photographer and Painter - 7 February 2011
Thomas Sully - English-born American Portrait Painter - 2 May 2011
Joseph Mallord William Turner - English Romantic Painter - 22 August 2011
Anne Vallayer-Coster - French Rocco Era Painter - 28 February 2011
Anthony van Dyck - Flemish Baroque Era Painter - 12 September 2011
Vincent Willem van Gogh - Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter - 24 January 2011
Rembrandt van Rijn - Dutch Baroque Era Painter and Engraver - 18 April 2011
Jacob van Strij - Dutch Landscape Painter - 20 June 2011
Jacometto Veneziano - Italian Early Renaissance Painter - 11 April 2011
Johannes Vermeer - Dutch Baroque Era Painter - 29 August 2011

Image: "Monday Morning Museum" logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper – Saturday 22 July 1882 Nyack, New York, to Monday 15 May 1967 New York, New York

American Scene Painter


Although Hopper may be best known for having a dark palette, I have chosen a work with a light palette – The Mansard Roof, 1923 – to feature. If the structure still exists, I would very much like to visit it.




Last Monday’s Artist – Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Next Monday's Artist - Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Images:
Left: Seven A.M., 1948 from the website allposters.com
Center: The Lighthouse of Two Lights, 1929 from the website metmuseum.org
Right: Rooms by the Sea, 1951 from the website ibibilio.org
Below: “Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Winter Solstice 2011

HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE EVERYONE!!!

Happiness is...whatever brings joy to your heart. Wishing you many gifts of joy throughout your life on Earth.


Image: "Winter Solstice 2011" graphic created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Joseph Christian Leyendecker

Joseph Christian Leyendecker – Monday 23 March 1874 Montabaur, Germany to Wednesday 25 July 1951 New Rochelle, New York

American Golden Age Illustrator


In anticipation of the upcoming holiday here is Leyendecker’s - Three Kings, 1900 – and the first verse of “We Three Kings Of Orient Are”

We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar.
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

Last Monday’s Artist – Eugène Delacroix
Next Monday’s Artist – Edward Hopper

Images:
Left: The August, 1896 from the website metmuseum.org
Center: At Tea, date unknown from the website metmuseum.org
Right: Couple Descending Stairs, date unknown from the website cgfa.acropolisinc.com
Below: “Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Paris Bookseller George Whitman Dies Above Shakespeare And Company At The Age Of Ninety-Eight

George Whitman – Friday 12 December 1913 East Orange, New Jersey to Wednesday 14 December 2011 Paris, France

I first saw George Whitman at Shakespeare and Company on Tuesday 4 July 1989 during my first (of many) trips to Paris, France. Part of my coursework for the Literary section of the University of California at Berkley’s Travel/Study program was to attend afternoon field trips to various parts of Paris. On that American Independence Day, a visit to the world famous bookstore across from Notre Dame was much anticipated.

My first entry into George Whitman’s life work presented books in every possible space (no faceouts here) – outside and inside; the register right as you entered the store where books could be paid for in American dollars or French francs (Euros were a dozen years away); and the way onto the second floor that was an adventure in “climbing” skills. I went to Shakespeare and Company several times on that first Parisian trip and George was always around somewhere – at the register figuring the currency exchange for customer book payments, escorting collectors into the rare book building, or as in the photograph above, reading at the bookstore’s window.

Years later, when I lived in Paris, the bookstore was a regular haunt of mine for the poetry readings held on the second floor during the cold months and outside in front during the warm months. And it was a frequent stop on my way to or from my favorite place to hang out on the Seine’s Left Bank. From that first visit in July 1989 to the last visit (so far) in August 2002, Shakespeare and Company has been a central part of my Parisian experience, whether as a student traveler or as an all-too-temporary resident. Thank you, George Whitman, for providing me with one of the best experiences in the City of Light. May your next “City of Light” be book-filled and angel-inhabited. Salut George!


Images:
Left: Shakespeare and Company entrance, Tuesday 4 July 1989. Photo is © An Adrean Darce Brent Image
Center: George Whitman, Tuesday 4 July 1989. Photo by Dorothy McCorkle
Right: UC Berkley students outside Shakespeare and Company, Tuesday 4 July 1989. Photo is © An Adrean Darce Brent Image

Monday Morning Museum: Eugène Delacroix

Eugène Delacroix – Thursday 26 April 1798 Charenton, France to Thursday 13 August 1863 Paris, France

French Romantic Painter


Just a little bit of summer – Bouquet of Flowers, 1849-1850 – to brighten this almost-Winter day.



Last Monday’s Artist – John Constable
Next Monday’s Artist – Joseph Christian Leyendecker


Images:
Left: Bedchamber of the Count de Mornay, circa 1831-1832 from the website of upload.wikimedia.org
Center: A Moorish Couple on Their Terrace, 1832 from the website of metmuseum.org
Right: Study of the Sky at Sunset, 1849 from the website wga.hu
Below: “Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: John Constable

John Constable – Tuesday 11 June 1776 East Bergholt, England to Friday 31 March 1837 London, England

English Romantic Painter


I have not been to this subject of Constable’s painting – Stonehenge, 1836 – but would very much like to experience it one Summer Solstice.



Last Monday’s Artist – Elsa Schiaparelli
Next Monday’s Artist – Eugène Delacroix


Images:
Left: Study of Clouds and Trees, circa 1821 from the website pintura.aut.org
Center: Salisbury Cathedral From the Bishop’s Grounds, circa 1825 from the website metmuseum.org
Right: Stratford Mill, 1820 from the website cgfa.acropolisinc.com
Below: “Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Elsa Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli – Wednesday 10 September 1890 Rome, Italy to Tuesday 13 November 1973 Paris, France

Italian-born French Designer

I really like the use of different materials in Schiaparelli’s – Pin, circa 1950s – and having blue in the pin only adds to my appreciation of the flower bouquet accessory.



Last Monday’s Artist – Félix Henri Bracquemond
Next Monday’s Artist - John Constable

Images:
Left: Evening Jacket, circa 1936-1938 from the website collections.wam.ac.uk
Center: Apollo of Versailles, Winter 1938-1939 from the website metmuseum.org
Right: Belt, Evening, circa 1938 from the website metmuseum.org
Below: “Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Queen Dragonrider Anne Inez McCaffrey Goes Between And Pern Fans Mourn - Thursday 1 April 1926 To Monday 21 November 2011

I was living in Massachusetts the first time I read a Pern story in an anthology borrowed from the local library. I continued to read and began to buy Pern and other of her series (Crystal, Ship, Talents) during my first residence in California. Then it was onto Europe and I’m sorry to say that during my stay there I did not often seek out Pern novels. Now I am in my second residence in California and I have revisited the Pern world thanks to Anne’s son Todd.

Anne McCaffrey was one of thirty women writers I featured in this blog during March 2010. The post began…

"I want to be a Dragonrider of a Golden queen and lead my Weyr in the fight against Thread! From the first novel, Dragonflight, I have loved the tales of Pern penned by Anne McCaffrey. They just touch something in my imagination. How wonderful it would be to ride a dragon and have such absolute connection with another living creature. Even though I prefer my science fiction located in space and with extra-terrestrial interaction, the Pern Series is a wonderful, different perspective."

Though I may never really ride a queen dragon or fight Thread, through Anne McCaffrey’s Pern novels and short stories I will always be an eager visitor to the planet Pern and its amazing dragons. You may have gone Between Anne, but you’ll always remain Beside in all the journeys of Pern.

Images:
Left: Anne McCaffrey from the website irishtimes.com
Center: Signed Bookplate for Dragon’s Time
Right: Anne McCaffrey from the website empmuseum.org

Monday Morning Museum: Félix Henri Bracquemond

Félix Henri Bracquemond – Wednesday 22 May 1833 Paris, France to Thursday 29 October 1914 Sèvres, France

French Art Nouveau Engraver


There’s no particular reason why I’m featuring Bracquemond’s – Soleil Couchant, 1875 – other than it has a bit of color while most of his designs lack pigmentation.





Last Monday’s Artist – Alvin Langdon Coburn
Next Monday’s Artist – Elsa Schiaparelli

Images:
Left: Eaux-Fortes, 1854 from the website digitalgallery.nypl.org)
Center: Soup Plate (part of a set of 3), circa 1866-1875 from the website metmuseum.org
Right: Frontespizio per il catalogo della collezione di stampe di Philippe Burty, 1878 from the website digitalgallery.nypl.org
Below: “Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Alvin Langdon Coburn

Alvin Langdon Coburn – Sunday 11 June 1882 Boston, Massachusetts to Wednesday 23 November 1966 Rhos-on-Sea, Wales

American-born British Tonalist Photographer


This image by Coburn – Cadiz, 1908 – I like because of the angular outline of the photograph’s central subject and its use conveys the illusion of looking through an unusual porthole.




Last Monday’s Artist – Francesco di Giorgio Martini
Next Monday’s Artist – Félix Henri Bracquemond

Images:
Left: Spider-webs, 1908 from the website upload.wikimedia.org
Center: The Octopus, 1912 from the website metmuseum.org
Right: Vortograph, 1917 from the website masters-of-photography.com
Below: “Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Francesco di Giorgio Martini

Francesco di Giorgio Martini – 1439 Siena, Italy to 1502 Siena, Italy

Italian Early Renaissance Painter and Sculptor


My ideal city would incorporate greenery and places to sit, elements which are missing from Martini’s – Ideal City, circa 1477 – although I do like the open plaza and fountain, I’m not loving the placement of the background structures




Last Monday’s Artist - Eugène Atget
Next Monday’s Artist – Alvin Langdon Coburn

Images:
Left: Architectural View, circa 1477 from the website upload.wikimedia.org
Center: Design for a Wall Monument, circa 1490 from the website metmuseum.org
Right: Interior of the Church, 1484 to 1490 from the website wga.hu
Below: “Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Eugène Atget

Eugène Atget – Thursday 12 February 1857 Libourne, France to Thursday 4 August 1927 Paris, France

French Photographer

Although I have been to Versailles, I do not remember seeing this Atget image – Versailles, Bosquet de la Colonnade, date unknown – but I like the photograph because it is the type of shot I would take.



Last Monday’s Artist – Winslow Homer
Next Monday’s Artist – Francesco di Giorgio Martini


Images:
Left: Paris – 136 rue Amelot – Portail, 1907 from the website upload.wikimedia.org
Center: Shop Front Of Courone d'or Quai Bourbon, 1922 from the website metmuseum.org
Right: Pavillon at 20 Rue Jacob, 1910 from the website upload.wikimedia.org
Below: “Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent