Palazzo Pitti Italy Art

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
Last night all of the state-run museums in Italy were free to enter as they stayed open late. So, after enjoying a wonderful aperitivo with a few friends in a cool place in Piazza Santo Spirito in Florence, we found ourselves staring at the long line in front of the Uffizi Gallery. It should have come as no surprise that everyone apparently had the same idea.

My friend Simone, one of my “character” friends who is always good for a laugh and often a dirty joke or two, suggested that the line would move fast and we should wait in it. But we had passed the Palazzo Pitti on the way over and noticed there was no line there. Both locations have so much to see, so it was a no-brainer to go there instead.

Well, we were in luck. The Pitti was having a very special exhibit that included works by so many of the greats and they had hand-picked these pieces from the Uffizi, Bargello, and other big name museums. So, we got to be close enough to touch a Botticelli, Michelangelo, Cellini, Donatello, and so many other names that I can only recognize them, rarely call them to mind. Such is my problem with labels. We were there for almost three hours until they began to close around 11 p.m. It was so cool to be inside the Pitti Palace that late at night! What views from the windows!

And while I was not supposed to take photos, since I do not use a flash, I follow that naughty guideline of “It is better to ask forgiveness than permission.” Mind you, this “rule” does not fit for all kinds of rule-breaking. So, I want to share with you some of the images that I took last night since I went to the effort and all . . .

And in closing, I just want to share that it is almost an overwhelming experience to be in a space in which you walk on design, look up at the ceiling for marvelous art, and then have the walls to compete for your attention! In fact, when the Italians put on a temporary exhibit, they erect colored walls to stand IN FRONT OF their decorated walls. It is bizarre how rich this country is with aesthetic and sensual experiences!

And I wanted to thank Linda Bell Brighton for featuring my charcoal and pastel (and SOLD) drawing “Tuscan Vista” on her blog Secrets of How to Write a Book. In a possibly strange coincidence, she also spoke about a quote from William Arthur Ward: “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.” This made an impression on me as a young child (it was on the cover of a diary that I received one year for my birthday) and I used it as the basis of a speech I gave during my high school graduation.

Italian Artist Sebastiano Ricci

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Howdy! On a visit to the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas, last month, I “rediscovered” an Italian artist named Sebastiano Ricci. Inspiring and intimidating other artists can be and I know that I must learn how to work faster. I cannot keep up with my brain! I have so many ideas in my head about art and mathematics in composition that I seem to be finding more and more examples of thoughtfully designed shapes, especially with the figure. Seek and ye shall find . . . an idea as old as mankind.



“Flora”
Sebastiano Ricci
125.3 cm x 153.7 cm (49 5/16 in. x 60 1/2 in.)
Oil on canvas, circa 1712-1716
Part of the Suida-Manning Collection

In Ricci's “Flora” (shown here) I noticed that the angelic figures in the painting surrounded the main figure of the woman in a circular pattern, the positions of their bodies and limbs leading the eye around her and thereby emphasizing her as the subject of the painting. The sign at the Blanton explained what is going on:

"In Ovid's Fasti, the nymph Chloris is seduced by the West Wind, Zephirus, and renamed Flora, goddess of flowers and spring. An important Roman deity, she was associated with voluptuousness. This painting renders the moment before her seduction: as Flora flirts with one putto and suggestively grasps the stem of an iris, Zephirus approaches from behind, indicating his quarry and cautioning silence to another putto. At the right, a vessel spills over with blossoms that portend the result of their union and celebrate their namesake. The design is so equilibrated, the rhythm so elegant, and the handling so rich that a quotation from antique statuary -- the Kneeling Venus -- appears seamless. The painting recalls the great mythological works of sixteenth-century Venice."

Another oil painting that I really enjoy on a much simpler arrangement of shapes is “Venus and Cupid” painted by Ricci in 1700. I like the giant sweeping “S” curve of the gesture of Venus, especially that long and slow-curving leg. It makes me want to ride a sled over snow! And I like the lighting with just enough shadow shapes to keep me interested. But one of my favorite parts is how seemingly natural the “modesty device” comes across -- that lovely white bird whose wing tones are light enough to do the job while the interaction between the two doves hardly makes you notice the function of the one.



If you would like to see more of Sebastiano Ricci’s paintings and read more about attributing art to dead artists, please read my my latest art newsletter

For a while now, I have been working almost every morning and again in the evenings for as many hours as I can stand to be outdoors on my marble sculpture “Gymnast.”. While I have written about various parts of my progress, I have been working here and there on other parts as well, such as her hair, her hands, and refining that difficult-to-reach inner area between her piked torso and legs. My students and colleagues have often heard me say that we tend to draw, paint, or sculpt ourselves. This is not a bad thing, in my view, it is simply part of our individuality. We see the faces and shapes of our family members more than anyone else’s. I suspect these shapes are imprinted into our memories before we even become aware of such things.

I have been fighting this a bit in my marble carving. She keeps having a short torso and she’s got some pretty ambitious hips for the size of the rest of her figure. So, while I work the rest of the composition, I am still trying to carve away the abdomen area and shape the forms there.

Unfortunately, I now have cat-sitting duty away from my studio and while I will take some art with me, I will be using this other home to withdraw a bit and focus on finishing the book I am writing on my life as a streetpainter in Florence, Italy.

So, I am taking a holiday from this blog for the next two weeks or so. I hope you get to swim in an ocean, sea, or river and enjoy this summer heat. I am looking forward to doing that next summer, but for now, I have too much work to do!

Take care and do not give up on me -- I will finish this stone carving in 2011 before I go back to Italy!
Ciao, ciao,
Kelly Borsheim

Portrait Exhibition Blanton Art Museum

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

My friend Margo and I went to the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas, about a week ago. We wanted to see their current exhibit: About Face: Portraiture as Subject . I believe they were trying to show just how many ways artists can interpret the idea of creating a portrait of an individual.


If that was indeed their goal, then I suppose they succeeded. I was a bit disappointed in the collection since it felt to me as if they just threw together as many different types of art as they could without going in depth into much of anything. Or as Margo put it, “Who hangs a Warhol next to a Sargent?” To the right of the Andy Warhol work of actress Farrah Fawcett, there was a bronze sculpture of Farrah created by Austin’s own famous sculptor Charles Umlauf. Both artworks were a gift to the museum from the estate of the former UT student, Farrah Fawcett.

The John Singer Sargent portrait is “Madame Belleroche” 1884.


Here is the Blanton’s write-up of their name-dropping exhibition:

Recently featured in the Wall Street Journal, About Face presents 35 portraits in diverse mediums from antiquity to today. Drawn mostly from The Blanton’s notable collection, along with several choice loaned objects, the exhibition includes works by artists known for their probing investigations of the genre, such as Albrecht Dűrer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, John Singer Sargent, Diego Rivera, Sir Jacob Epstein, Antonio Berni, Alice Neel, Chuck Close, Robert Henri, Andy Warhol, Yasumasa Morimura, Charles Umlauf, Oscar Muñoz, and Kehinde Wiley.

Visit our multimedia page with videos and audio clips about the exhibition.

There are quite a few really strong works in this collection; however, I found myself bored for some reason. Besides the Warhol, maybe it was the riveting collection of small wooden panels, each sporting a different solid tone of someone’s averaged flesh color. I am not sure if the point was to show how little difference there really is between people or if it was to show off how individual even seemingly similar skin colors could be. Ok, so it was one idea presented. But flesh patches on a wall hardly strikes me as portrait material. But then, I would like to believe that we are all just a little more complicated than this idea wanted to tackle. (My apologies for not recording the name of the artist or the artwork.)

I did enjoy the sculpture “Patrick” by Oliver Herring that is composed of a mosaic of photos of a figure in a crunched over sitting pose. The pose was intriguing and the technique probably new when it was first released. The life-sized figure was enclosed in an acrylic box. I hate it when the protection detracts so much from the art.

I really just had the impression that the Blanton was rearranging its collection to expose more of it in a new way to museum visitors. Who could blame them for that? Even gallery owners know that if they re-hang their art in different ways, the same visitor will invariably remark, “Oh, I never noticed this one before!” even when that work had been in the front window during that visitor’s last visit.

Anyway, I could have just been in a grumpy or impatient mood while I was there, so do not take my opinion for more than it is worth. Try to see the exhibit for yourself and make your own decisions. It is going on now through September 4, 2011.

I leave you with a detail shot of Austin-based contemporary artist Graydon Parrish’s oil painting on wood “Arrangement in Subtle Tones: Elsie, 2009”

Happy Birthday, Cousin Chris!

Tate Modern Art London

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I am visiting friends in London now and sometimes getting around a bit to visit some of the famous art sites. I thought that I could share with you that I was not terribly impressed with the Tate Modern Art Museum.

The great thing about all of the state museums in England is that they are free to enter, unless there is a special exhibit. Even then, one would only pay for that exhibit and the rest of the museum collection could be seen for free. Some of London’s treasures are so full of art that one would need a good month to see them all. The free price encourages everyone to come more often and enjoy one portion at a time, instead of getting information overload as one tries to pack it all into one day.

And while I found a few gems in the Tate Modern, I was mostly disappointed … or at least, not particularly wowed. I include a few snapshots to help you make up your own mind.




There was one, I think temporary, exhibit of an artwork by Ai Weiwei From where I stood above, it looked like an elongated room full of grey gravel. If you click on the link of the artist’s name above, you will discover that the “artwork” consists of, in fact, life-size porcelain sunflower seeds. I doubt they were even made by the artist, but I suppose I am cynical after learning about Jeff Koons back in the early 1990s when studying copyright violations. All I can say is … riveting.

However, after all of this fluff, I entered a room with a marble sculpture of Rodin’s Kiss, always a favorite! And right next to it as this lovely painting by another of my favorite artists, Edvard Munch.



This one is titled “The Sick Child” and I will quote the museum’s write-up here since I am lacking time and Internet access at the moment…

“Edvard Munch 1863-1944
Born Norway, worked Norway, France, Germany

The Sick Child 1907
Det Syke Barn
Oil on canvas
________________________________

Munch made several versions of The Sick Child over a period of forty years. The image draws upon his experience of visiting a patient with his doctor father and, more deeply, with memories of the death of his older sister when they were both teenagers. The first version, painted in 1885, represented a breakthrough in his work as he responded to the high colour of Impressionism to convey a powerful sense of emotion. This version is the fourth, in which Munch used contrasting reds and greens to further heighten its intensity.”

In case you did not already know, Munch is the author of the very famous painting “The Scream.”
Till next time … thank you for reading.