Monday Morning Museum: Richard Wilson

Portrait of Richard Wilson, 1752 by Anton Raphael Mengs

Richard Wilson – Sunday 1 August 1714 Penegoes, Montgomeryshire, Wales to Wednesday 15 May 1782 Colomeandy, Denbighshire, Wales

Welsh Romantic Painter

Lake Nemi and Genzano From the Terrace of the Capuchin Monastery, mid-1750s

“Wilson’s subject is the terrace of the Capuchin monastery at Genzano, with Lake Nemi below and Monte Circeo and the Mediterranean Sea in the distance to the west. On a rocky promontory at center right is the little hill town of Genzano with its two monuments, the church and bell tower of Santa Maria della Cima, and the Palazzo Sforza Cesarini. The buildings lie along the ridges and sloping wall of the volcanic crater, in the Alban Hills along the Via Appia, less than twenty miles southwest of Rome. Deep and very dark in color, Lake Nemi had been called by the ancient Romans the specchio di Diana (mirror of Diana), goddess of the hunt, who was thought to have been a denizen of the surrounding woods.” – Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse
Next Monday’s Artist – Frederic Edwin Church

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse

Portrait of Henri Matisse, 20 May 1933 by Carl Van Vechten

Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse – Friday 31 December 1869 Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France to Wednesday 3 November 1954 Nice, France

French Fauvist Painter and Sculptor

Icarus, 1947

"This bold and playful image is one of twenty plates Matisse created to illustrate his groundbreaking book "Jazz." The illustrations derive from maquettes of cut and pasted colored papers, which were then printed using a stencil technique known as "pochoir." Here, the mythological figure Icarus is presented in a simplified form floating against a royal blue nighttime sky. Matisse's flat, abstracted forms and large areas of pure color marked an important change in the direction of his later work and ultimately influenced "hard-edge" artists of the 1960s like Ellsworth Kelly and Al Held." – Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – John Smibert
Next Monday’s Artist – Richard Wilson

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: John Smibert

Self-Portrait, circa 1728-1739 by John Smibert

John Smibert – Monday 2 April 1688 Edinburgh, Scotland to Saturday 2 March 1751 Boston, Massachusetts

Scottish-born American Colonial Era Portrait Painter

Mrs. Francis Brinley and Her Son Francis, 1729

Born Deborah Lyde, Mrs. Francis Brinley (1698–1761) was the daughter of Edward and Catherine Lyde and the granddaughter of Judge Nathaniel Byfield... When she married Francis Brinley in 1718, she was a woman of wealth and social prominence. An entry in Smibert's notebook dated May 1729 identifies the infant as the Brinley's son Francis (1729–1816). Mrs. Brinley holds a sprig of orange blossoms, a gesture which may have been taken from an eighteenth-century print by Sir Peter Lely. The white orange blossom symbolizes both marriage and purity, while the fruit, a sign of fertility, emphasizes Mrs. Brinley's role as a mother. Orange trees, although fashionable in Europe, were expensive rarities in the colonies. The presence of one here reinforces the sitter's wealth. – Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – Adolphe Braun
Next Monday’s Artist – Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Adolphe Braun

Adolphe Braun, circa 1860

Adolphe Braun – Saturday 13 June 1812 Besançon, France to Monday 31 December 1877 Dornach, France

French Photographer

Flower Study, Rose of Sharon, circa 1854

“Perhaps stirred by a gentle breeze during the long exposure, several of the blossoms (roses of Sharon and common roses) registered with a slight blurriness, making them appear almost to breathe and to reach beyond the dimensions of the photograph. Carefully arranged and photographed against a medium gray background, the petals, leaves, and stems are rendered with an exquisite clarity and tonal richness, masterfully recording their texture and fragility.” – Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – Thomas Crawford
Next Monday’s Artist – John Smibert

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent