Monday Morning Museum: Francis Frith

Self-Portrait in Middle Eastern Costume,1857 by Francis Frith

Francis Frith – Thursday 31 October 1822 Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England to Friday 25 February 1898 Cannes, France

English Photographer

The Rameseum of El-Kurneh, Thebes, 1857

Medium: Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions: Image: 37.9 x 47.7 cm (14 15/16 x 18 3/4 in.)
Classification: Photographs
- Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Throughout the 1850s and 1860s photographs of historical and topographical sights were highly desirable and Frith was one of the most successful commercial photographers to cater to this demand. His pioneering photographic expeditions to the Near East proved very popular. The detail afforded by wet collodian negatives, as used for this image, produced prints that British publishers readily marketed. This photograph captures the monumentality of Egyptian landscape and architecture as well as the dramatic play of light on sand and stone." – Victoria and Albert Museum

Last Monday’s Artist – Jan Van De Cappelle
Next Monday’s Artist – Washington Allston

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Autumn Arrives!

Red, yellow, orange.
Glorious Autumn colors,
Falling gently down.

- Adrean Darce Brent
Saturday 22 September 2012

"Autumnal Equinox 2012" graphic created by Adrean Darce Brent

Happy Hobbit Second Breakfast Day!

Breakfast With Bilbo Baggins

Appetizer: Buttered-scones with raspberry jam and tea

Main course: Salad and chicken and beer OR pork-pie and red wine

Dessert: Seed-cake and coffee OR apple-tart with cheese and coffee

Invitation from the website hobbitsecondbreakfast.com

Monday Morning Museum: Jan Van De Cappelle

Jan van de Cappelle – January 1626 Amsterdam to December 1679 Amsterdam

Dutch Baroque Era Painter

A State Yacht and Other Craft in Calm Water, circa 1660

"One of the most celebrated painters of seascapes, Van de Cappelle was a native of Amsterdam whose investments in property and his father's dyeworks gave him a substantial income. His extensive collection of Dutch, Flemish, and German art included nine paintings and more than one thousand drawings by Simon de Vlieger, the Dutch marine artist who most influenced Van de Cappelle's own work. The Museum's picture is a mature example in good condition, although the paint has become a bit thin with age." – Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – Florine Stettheimer
Next Monday’s Artist – Francis Frith

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Florine Stettheimer

Florine Stettheimer, circa 1910

Florine Stettheimer – Tuesday 29 August 1871 Rochester, New York to Thursday 11 May 1944 New York, New York

American Painter

The Cathedrals of Broadway, 1929

“In four monumental Cathedrals paintings (executed 1929–42), Stettheimer created fantastic composite visions of New York City's economic, social, and cultural institutions. The Cathedrals of Broadway captures the magical atmosphere of neon-lit theaters, which offered films as well as live performances. As the United States entered the Great Depression, many Americans turned to the world of entertainment to escape reality. Here, New York's mayor Jimmy Walker throws out the first pitch of the baseball season in a cinema newsreel. An elaborate stage show takes place below the screen, while the names of famous theaters glow around the central proscenium arch.” – Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – Roger Fenton
Next Monday’s Artist – Jan Van De Cappelle

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Roger Fenton

Self-Portrait by Roger Fenton

Roger Fenton – Sunday 28 March 1819 Bury, Lancashire, England to Sunday 8 August 1869 London, England

English Photographer

Moscow, Domes of Churches in the Kremlin, 1852

“Fenton photographed the cupolas of the Cathedral of the Assumption at eye level, from the lower bell arcade of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, the city's highest building, looking west over Cathedral Square toward the churches of Terem Palace. The view shows, behind the cathedral, the modest Church of the Deposition of the Robe as it looked before a twentieth-century restoration would revive its original design. The Cathedral of the Assumption, built in 1475-79 by the Bolognese Ridolfo (Aristotele) Fioravanti for Grand Prince Ivan III, was the focal point of Russian religious life, where czars were crowned and patriarchs interred. Combining medieval Russian features with the harmonious geometry of the early Italian Renaissance, the church symbolized Moscow's ambition to be recognized as "the third Rome," replacing Constantinople, fallen to the Turks in 1453, as the center of Orthodox Christianity. Photographing from above and showing only portions of buildings and roofs, Fenton infused the composition with an exhilarating sense of airiness and light, the memorable image taking on the power of the architecture itself to proclaim the spiritual aspirations of a people.” – Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – John Marin
Next Monday’s Artist – Florine Stettheimer

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent