Tales from the Island of Serendip 4 4

[Flex Mentallo]

One of Vermeer's most celebrated works is The Lacemaker

 

 

 

 

Dutch culture of the 17th century was a conflict between home and world. In response to their own commercial successes, they invented the "cult of housework," an ideological elevation of domestic work to an almost sacral status. However, the Dutch often attached moral values (frequently contradictory) to each of these activities so that the painting could not only delight the eye, but nourish the soul as well.

 

Embroidery, like lacemaking, was traditionally shown in representations of the Education of the Virgin. In Dutch literary and pictorial traditions sewing and lacemaking were associated with fundamental values of Dutch culture, industriousness and domestic virtue. Women belonged in the home, doing needlework, taking care of the household, and looking after the children.

 

The Lacemaker, therefore, pictures an ideal: an industrious woman in a tidy house. While engaged in work rather than leisure, her elaborate hairdo and elegant satin dress seem to be more in keeping with middle or upper class. However, there can be little doubt that her diligence will preserve her virtue: within easy reach is a small book on the foreground table, most likely a prayer book or small Bible.

 

 

 

 

 

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The achievement of Vermeer's maturity is complete. It is not open to extension: no universal style is discovered. We have never the sense of abundance that the characteristic jewels of his century gives us, the sense that the precious vein lies open, ready to be worked. There is only one Lacemaker: we cannot imagine another. It is a complete and single definition.

Lawrence Gowing, Vermeer, 1952

 

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And finally, a gallery of other works. No more words - enjoy the silence...

 

 

Woman holding a balance

 

 

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Young woman with a water pitcher

 

 

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The Milkmaid

 

 

 

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A Girl Reading a Letter by an Open Window

 

 

 

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Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid

 

 

 

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Mistress and Maid

 

 

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The Love Letter

 

 

 

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The Geographer

 

 

 

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The Astronomer

 

 

[godquest]

The Concert

 

 

In the early hours of 18 March 1990 thieves entered the Dutch Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. They tied up the guards, and made off with an estimated $500,000,000 in paintings, including Rembrandt's only known seascape, Storm On The Sea of Galilee and Vermeer's The Concert. They disappeared, along with two other works by Rembrandt, five sketches by Degas, a Manet painting, a landscape by Flink and a bronze finial from a Napoleonic battle flag.

 

20 years on, the Gardner robbery remains the largest single property theft of all time. The whereabouts of the paintings remains unknown, though it is speculated that the theft was either planned or the loot subsequently usurped by Mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger. There is a $5,000,000 reward offered for their safe return, as yet unclaimed.

 

The Concert remains the world's most valuable single stolen artwork - estimates value it at around £200m

 

There was a great documentary on this art heist a couple years ago. It focused on one gentleman who spent many years tracking down leads, informers etc. It was a fascinating look into the high stakes underground art world. Amazing that such high profile paintings or any valid information about them had surfaced after all these years.

 

Great Saturday morning art refresher.

[Flex Mentallo]

There was a great documentary on this art heist a couple years ago. It focused on one gentleman who spent many years tracking down leads, informers etc. It was a fascinating look into the high stakes underground art world. Amazing that such high profile paintings or any valid information about them had surfaced after all these years.

 

 

 

I've not seen that one., but it sounds fascinating.

 

Of course it doesnt rank as the greatest theft in art history, just the one that is top of the unsolved list.

 

 

 

The Theft of the Mona Lisa

 

 

 

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

 

The Mona Lisa''s fame was emphasized when it was stolen on 21 August 1911.The next day, Louis Béroud, a painter, walked into the Louvre and went to the Salon Carré where the Mona Lisa had been on display for five years. However, where the Mona Lisa should have stood, he found four iron pegs. Béroud contacted the section head of the guards, who thought the painting was being photographed for marketing purposes. A few hours later, Béroud checked back with the section head of the museum, and it was confirmed that the Mona Lisa was not with the photographers. The Louvre was closed for an entire week to aid in investigation of the theft.

 

 

 

French poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who had once called for the Louvre to be "burnt down," came under suspicion; he was arrested and put in jail. Apollinaire tried to implicate his friend Pablo Picasso, who was also brought in for questioning, but both were later exonerated.

 

At the time, the painting was believed to be lost forever, and it was two years before the real thief was discovered. Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia had stolen it by entering the building during regular hours, hiding in a broom closet and walking out with it hidden under his coat after the museum had closed.[8] Peruggia was an Italian patriot who believed Leonardo's painting should be returned to Italy for display in an Italian museum. Peruggia may have also been motivated by a friend whose copies of the original would significantly rise in value after the painting's theft. After having kept the Mona Lisa in his apartment for two years, Peruggia grew impatient and was finally caught when he attempted to sell it to the directors of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence; it was exhibited all over Italy and returned to the Louvre in 1913. Peruggia was hailed for his patriotism in Italy and served six months in jail for the crime

 

 

As to it's value, when it toured the USA, it's insurance valuation was greater than that of the french ocean liner that transported it.

 

Mona Lisa, securely fastened in her temperature-controlled, custom-built container, boarded a French ocean liner and set sail. When the ship docked in New York, Mona Lisa was loaded into an armored vehicle and travelled to Washington, D.C., with an armed guard. For several weeks, the painting waited in a security vault while final preparations were made for the exhibition. Among the distinguished guests attending the private ceremony set to open the exhibit were every member of President Kennedy’s cabinet, all siting U.S. senators and congressmen, and all nine Supreme Court justices.

 

 

The following day, the exhibit opened to the public—and The National Gallery was overwhelmed with visitors. In just 27 days, more than 518,000 visitors filed past the painting. A month-long exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,drew more than a million people.

 

At one point during Mona Lisa’s Met stay, an overhead pipe burst in the special storage room that housed the painting each night. For more than an hour, water poured down on the precious piece, which was saved from permanent damage by the special bullet—and water—proof glass that it had previously been encased in.

 

Before the 1962–1963 tour, the painting was assessed, for insurance purposes, as valued at $100 million; the insurance was not bought. Instead more money was spent on security.

 

$100 million in 1962 is approximately $720 million when adjusted for inflation.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_theft

 

 

[cshepard81]

Great thread. I've browsed it a few times now and I've found different things to focus on each time. I love art but never studied it formally. My favorite Orientalist is Gérôme. Please keep this thread going!

[Flex Mentallo]

Donato Giancola...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's an impressive collection you have there! I'm particularly struck by this one - is there a story behind thr image? Do you know more about the artist? It puts me in mind of a certain "school" of contemporary realist painting that isnt quite as it appears.

 

 

[font:Times New Roman]Ah, yes I do. Among his other accomplishments Donato is an art instructor and gallery artist accomplished in many genres. He's been involved with numerous high profile art projects that include Lord of The Rings to a series of Joan of Arc gallery paintings. I'm not sure that I would describe the breadth of his work as contemporary realist although that description would certainly apply to some of his more poignant gallery work.

 

More biographical information on Donato from his website...

 

http://www.donatoart.com/news.html#joanofarc

 

Back in November Donato visited our home while in the Metroplex as featured GOH at FenCon (an area SF convention)...

 

 

(L/R: Brad's wife Cindy, artist Brad Foster in back, myself, Donato Giancola; unfortunately, my wife was the only one left to take the picture or she'd be in there too.)

 

A photo of Donato with his magnificent interpretation of Captain America (this shot was taken in what I like to call The War Room)...

 

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That is an amazing circle of friends you have there! Thank you for sharing.

 

Regarding Donato, I'm just curious, how do the Captain America painting and the painting of the young (drowned?) woman fit into his oeuvre?

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

Great thread. I've browsed it a few times now and I've found different things to focus on each time. I love art but never studied it formally. My favorite Orientalist is Gérôme. Please keep this thread going!

 

Many thanks on behalf of my fellow posters for the kind words, from you and many others. (Apologies to anyone we havent already personally thanked - but all the comments have been warmly appreciated.) Speaking for myself, this has been a hugely enjoyable project as my current work situation rarely allows me time to think about what fascinates me.

 

It is a bottomless well.

 

I already have at least a dozen ideas for topics to catch up with, many of which will recursively echo previous stories.

 

Not to mention what fellow contributors may bring to the fore. (I'm just as happy to spectate as post, which I have less free time for anyway, now Christmas is behind us.)

 

However, the direction this thread is not by any means pre-planned. You never know where it might take us.

 

And as Cat helpfully pointed out - everyone is free to post what interests them!

 

 

"Harem Women Feeding Pigeons in a Courtyard" by Jean-Léon Gérôme

 

[Cat-Man_America]

 

 

 

That is an amazing circle of friends you have there! Thank you for sharing.

 

Regarding Donato, I'm just curious, how do the Captain America painting and the painting of the young (drowned?) woman fit into his oeuvre?

 

 

 

[font:Times New Roman]You're welcome, Michael.

 

Donato is an artist who paints for a diverse audience. Most of his work these days are either personal works for the gallery market or commissioned pieces. Conceptually, his gallery paintings are directed more toward the fine art market.

 

His sea scene paintings have teasingly been dubbed his "Dead Things On Beaches" period by friends and colleagues, but thematically, these paintings are open to much broader interpretation. In this composition for instance, the young woman appears frozen in time, in a setting that is at once both fanciful and frightening. She doesn't necessarily appear deceased, and yet that is the overall impression given her surroundings. The vision is very peaceful and dreamlike, and yet bordering on nightmarish...

 

 

Donato's Captain America painting is a personal interpretation. He hadn't seen the movie before painting this work, but strangely his concept incorporates elements that would've been entirely at home in the film. In fact, this interpretation closely follows my own in respect to how I'd like to have seen Cap in the movie, had the film vision been bold enough to reflect Cap's original costume. Seeing this on display at Donato's booth while attending SDCC last year, I knew I had to have it...

 

 

The first Donato painting we acquired was his award winning St. George and the Dragon. This piece was purchased shortly after Mile High Con in 2011 where Donato was the AGOH.

 

That composition is presented below...[/font]

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

 

 

 

 

His sea scene paintings have teasingly been dubbed his "Dead Things On Beaches" period by friends and colleagues, but thematically, these paintings are open to much broader interpretation. In this composition for instance, the young woman appears frozen in time, in a setting that is at once both fanciful and frightening. She doesn't necessarily appear deceased, and yet that is the overall impression given her surroundings. The vision is very peaceful and dreamlike, and yet bordering on nightmarish...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Definitely more "dreamlocked" than dead.

 

I like this one as I'm a sucker for mermaids. (Anyone know any mermaid comic covers by any chance?)

 

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[Flex Mentallo]

I really like his work.

 

 

 

 

 

They reminds me a little of Caspar David Freidrich