Rembrandt: The Late Works

Every year numerous exhibitions take place all over the world, but once in a while there comes an exhibit of a lifetime. “Rembrandt: The Late Works,” currently at the National Gallery, is without a doubt such an event.

An exhibit highlighting an artist’s last years brings to mind the image of someone distressed by an awareness of the end of one’s life. In Rembrandt’s case, he had financial troubles and was ousted from his church due to his common-law wife to whom he was not officially married. In 1656 he declared bankruptcy and had to let go of his atelier, lavish home and collection of artwork and antiques. It’s not hard to imagine that under such circumstances, one’s artistic motivation would decline. But the exhibited works give no such impression. Instead, what emerges is a painter eagerly exploring new approaches to his art that appeal to the soul.


The exhibit’s starting point are the self-portraits that were Rembrandt’s life work. From his 80 self-portraits, the exhibit shows seven that were painted in his final years. The figure proudly holding a paintbrush and palette in Self Portrait with Two Circles (c. 1665-1669, fig.1), which Rembrandt painted 10 years after he went bankrupt, imparts the self-respect of an artist. In Self Portrait at the Age of 63, painted in the year that he died, Rembrandt depicted himself clasping his hands and looking straight outward from the canvass. But an X-ray of the painting revealed that originally he had been shown holding a paintbrush. In the painting engulfed in a warm light, Rembrandt had shed his artistic pride and expressed a deeper inner self.

This exhibition moves on to the next venue: Rijksmuseum (photo) in
Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 12 Feb - 17 May, 2015.

In addition to these famous works, this exhibition is showing some magnificent but so far not very well known paintings. The Conspiracy of the Batavians Under Claudius Civilis (about 1661-2) is Rembrandt’s largest piece, measuring five square meters. The painting thoroughly demonstrates Rembrandt’s mastery as “the painter of light and shadow.” A candle is hidden behind the characters while the golden light from the flame reflects against the white tablecloth and lights up the faces of the rebels from below. It is also remarkable that the entire painting was mostly done with shades of brown.

This painting is one of many that portrayed the Batavians who rebelled against the Roman Empire, an uprising that the Dutch identify with their own Eighty Years’ War for independence from Spain that ended in 1648. But Rembrandt’s piece was taken down after just a few months of display at the Amsterdam town hall. The reasons are not known although there are rumors that it was because Rembrandt had painted the bad eye of the main character Gaius Julius Civilis that was traditionally not depicted. The work was returned to the artist and he was not paid. Rembrandt later had to cut the piece down to one fourth of its huge original size in order to sell it, which explains its current dimensions (196 x 309 cm).

The exhibition is showing 40 oil paintings, 20 sketches and 30 prints, including self-portraits, historical paintings and portraits, as well as paintings of his common-law wife Hendrickje and biblical tales conveyed through renderings of daily life. In the spring of 2015, Rembrandt: The Late Works will travel to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the birthplace of the artist.

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square,
London WC2N 5DN
The United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 7747 2885
www.nationalgallery.org.uk

Opening times:

Mon-Thur, Sat, Sun 10:00-18:00
Fri 10:0-21:00
Closed 1 Jan and 24—26 Dec

Mark Rothko

fig.1 Mark Rothko, Untitled (man and two women in 
a pastoral setting), 1940. National Gallery Washington

The Gemeentemusuem Den Haag is currently exhibiting the works of the 20th century painter Mark Rothko. In addition to his classic style works from the 1950s, an entire room is devoted to his early works, some of which have rarely been seen before. Among them are urban scenes, still lifes and portraits expressed in shimmering colors that are completely different from Rothko’s generally known works (fig. 1).

Rothko began painting abstract works in the 1940s. At the time, European artists were seeking refuge in the U.S. after World War I and bringing to America the diverse art of Europe. Rothko was intrigued by the Surrealist and avant-garde movements and began to try an abstract approach to his works. His interest in Surrealism led to an exploration of philosophy, particularly of the works of Nietzsche. At one point during the 1940s, Rothko even stopped painting, believing it was more important to verbally explain his art.

fig.2 Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Untitled / Zonder titel,
1953, gemengde techniek op doek, 195 x 172,1 cm,
National Gallery of Art, Washington – schenking The
Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc. © 1998 Kate Rothko
Prizel & Christopher Rothko /Artists Rights Society
(ARS), New York c/o Pictoright Amsterdam 2014

But he returned to the art world after a few months. When Rothko began to express his artistic intentions through paintings again, his works were transformed into paintings of such unique character that they could immediately be identified as his work (fig. 2). Objects disappeared as Rothko pursued the depiction of universal human emotion such as happiness, grief, fear and enchantment, through the use of color.

Rothko created depth in his color by layering paints atop one another. Yellows and oranges can be seen through and amid a black canvass. The various layered colors influence each other, so that what at first appears to be a mono-toned black painting is gradually transformed into one of various different colors. The unstable and changing colors jolts the emotions of the observer. The term “inner light,” often used to describe Rothko’s paintings is born from this unstable movement of colors.
Rothko hoped that observers of his paintings would, like him, feel at one with the work. Standing in front of one of his giant canvasses, the viewer would gradually be immersed in the deep-hued rose, the warm yellow and gloomy black and sense becoming a part of the painting.

Mark Rothko Exhibition Until 2015, March 15. Closed Mondays.

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag

Stadhouderslaan 41
2517 HV Den Haag
The Netherlands
http://www.gemeentemuseum.nl/en

Opening times:

Tuesday — Sunday　11:00-17:00
Closed on Mondays, 5 May, 25 Dec

“Impression, Sunrise”: The true story of the masterpiece by Claude Monet

Fig.1, Claude Monet, Impression, Soleil Levant, 1872,
oil on canvas, 50 × 65 cm, Paris,
Musée Marmottan Monet, Gift of Victorine
and Eugène Donop de Monchy,
1940 © Christian Baraja

It is well known that the term “Impressionist” dates back to Claude Monet’s “Impression, Sunrise” (fig. 1) that was shown in the First Impressionist Exhibition. The fame of this monumental Impressionist work until now discouraged any deep investigation of its background. Yet the painting still remains shrouded in many mysteries. Does it depict a sunrise or sunset? When was it painted? It is signed “72,” but was it not in reality “73”? And so on. The ambitious exhibition “Impression, Sunrise: The true story of the masterpiece by Claude Monet,” currently underway at the Musèe Marmottan Monet, seeks to uncover many of these secrets by examining the history of the painting, its 1874 inaugural exhibit and how the piece came to the Marmottan museum in 1940 after changing hands among various collectors.

Fig. 2, Raoul Lefaix, L’Hôtel de l’Amirauté,
1928, Photograph on paper blued in the
album "Le Havre en 1928", 20 x 14.5 cm,
Le Havre, Bibliothèque Municipale
© Bibliothèque municipale du Havre

‘I had something I painted from my window in Le Havre: the sun in the midst and in the foreground some masts sticking up. They wanted to know its title for the catalogue (because) it couldn’t really pass for a view of Le Havre. I replied, “Use Impression.”’

The first person to get unravel the secret of the accurate “when” and “where” of “Impression, Sunrise” was Donald W. Olson, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Texas State University. Based on existing evidence that the painting was a view from a window of a hotel in the northwestern French port town Le Havre by the Atlantic Ocean, Olson determined the hotel by examining maps from that era and more than four hundred photos and postcards. It turned out to be the Grand Hôtel de l’Amirauté et de Paris (fig. 2). Because cranes and masts can be seen below, Olson concluded that Monet painted from the fourth or fifth floor.

It was further revealed that since the window of the room faced east, the sun must have been rising, and that the sun would have been in the position in the painting in either mid-November or late January. In addition, the rise and fall of the tide, the weather and wind direction were studied, based on the depiction of the large ship. This narrowed the time to either November 13, 1872 at 7:35 a.m. or January 25, 1873 at 8:05 a.m. Olson and the exhibit curators concluded that since Monet had signed “72” next to his name, the most likely date of its execution was November 13, 1872 at 7:35 a.m.

In addition to 26 works by Monet including “Impression, Sunrise,” the exhibit is also displaying 35 pieces by artists such as Eugène Boudin, who instructed Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Camille Pissarro both of whom took part with Monet in the First Impressionist Exhibition as well as 61 historic items. On this 140th anniversary year of the First Impressionist Exhibition, the exhibit casts another light on the history of impressionism.

“Impression, Sunrise”: The true story of the masterpiece by Claude Monet
Until January 18, 2015

Musée Marmottan Monet

2 rue Louis Boilly
75016 Paris
France
http://www.marmottan.fr/uk/

Opening times:

Tuesday 10:00-21:00
Wednesday—Sunday 10:00-18:00

Closed on Mondays, 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec　

Late Turner Exhibition

fig.1, J.M.W. Turner, Rain, 
Steam, and Speed – The Great Western Railway,
1844, ©The National Gallery, London

Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway (fig.1) is a masterpiece landscape that radiates in Western European art history. It is the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner who continues to be regarded as one of Britain’s greatest painters. A steam locomotive spewing steam, a symbol of modernization, is crossing the Maidenhead railway bridge across the Thames in the rain. The painting skillfully portrays the light and movement of the wind to depict the fast speed of the train. A hare desperately crosses the tracks in front of the locomotive while to the left, a lone boat floats on the Thames. Both are in contrast to the modernity and speed of the steam locomotive. How old was Turner when he created his work that signaled the unveiling of the modern painting? Was he a youth brimming with vibrant sensitivity or man of mellow maturity?

Turner painted this landscape in 1844, the year he turned 69. Having joined the Royal Academy -- the authority of the British art world -- when he was barely 26 years old, Turner could be described as having evolved at an early age. But he remained devoted to his art, and he continued to pursue new forms of expression until the end of his life at age 76.

fig.2, J.M.W. Turner, Ancient Rome;
Agrippina Landing with the Ashes of Germanicus,
exhibited 1839, oil paint on canvas, support: 914 x 1219 mm,
frame: 1230 x 1530 x 140 mm, Tate.
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856

The Tate Britain in London is currently showing the exhibit Late Turner focusing on the works of Turner between the years of 1835, when he turned 60, until his death in 1851. Centered on the paintings at Tate, which boasts the world’s largest Turner collection, the exhibit displays 150 works including pieces from galleries around the world.

Turner’s subject matters ranged from historical landscapes of mythology and historic events to familiar settings of the outskirts of London. In fact, he did not stay within Britain, but painted the sceneries of Venice, the ancient ruins of Rome and various other places that he visited (fig.2). Turner’s subject matters were broad, but what remains constant in his work is his pursuit of the expression of light. In his late works, Turner attempts to dissolve everything into a space of brimming light. This method of expression of light was criticized as too radical at the time but would later have a strong influence on Monet and other impressionist painters. Still today these late works are regarded as the most acclaimed of Turner’s paintings.


The pieces in Late Turner show no sign of gloom or decline in enthusiasm due to age. What we see is Turner vigorously continuing to capture in light, the dramatic changes in the natural world and the transfigurations of life under modernization.

Late Turner: until January 25, 2015. Open daily.

Tate Britain

Millbank
London SW1P 4RG
United Kingdom
http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-britain

Opening times:

10:00－18:00 daily

Renewal and Reopening of the Mauritshuis Museum

fig.2 Fotograaf: © Ronald Tilleman, Credits: Mauritshuis, Den Haag

The Mauritshuis Museum reopened on June 27 following a two-year long period of renovation. The massive refurbishing was made possible by the availability for rent of a part of a building across the street that once housed a private club. (fig. 1) The two buildings are now connected by a new underground lobby. The old museum has on permanent display, at it has in the past, treasures of the Dutch golden age including Rembrandt and Vermeer. The new wing has enhanced the museum’s educational facilities with new special exhibition rooms, lecture spaces for children and a library.

fig.1 The main building and new wing of the Mauritshuis

The renovation of the old museum structure focused on faithfully reproducing Jacob van Campen’s 17th century building representative of Dutch classical architecture. A repainting of the museum has highlighted the symmetric and straight lines of its design. The interior had been refurbished in the 18th century following a 1704 fire but according to the styles of the time rather than of the original. The plaster walls have now been repainted and the wallpaper replaced with woven silk cloth with beautiful patterns.

It was not only the buildings that were renovated during this long museum closure period. Climate control and lighting systems were improved. Ceiling paintings embedded as part of decorative murals were taken down and restored. Italian painter Pellegrini’s works from the Golden Room had discolored to gray from the soot of coal burning stoves. The cloudy gray film was removed, returning its original soft colors(fig.2).

fig.3 Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring,
c. 1665, Mauritshuis, The Hague.

In the galleries, the works of the leading painters of the Dutch Golden Age are displayed in roughly the same places as before the renovations. The 17th-century paintings such as Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulip and Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring(fig.2) and View of Delft that returned to the newly restored museum fit back in so perfectly, it is as if they are declaring, “this is our home.” Museum Director Emilie Gordenker says, “The building is one of the most notable surviving examples of seventeenth-century architecture in the Netherlands, which provides an impressive setting for the paintings.” After two years, this small and lovely pearl of a museum is once again radiating new light.

The June 27 reopening of the museum can be seen on Youtube. Following a humorous presentation of the trip around the world of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring during the museum’s restoration period, there are some glimpses of the museum interiors.

Mauritshuis Museum

Plein 29
2511CS, Den Haag
The Netherlands
http://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/

Opening times:

Tue—Sun：10:00－18:00
Thur：10:00－20:00
Mon：10:00-18:00（Until 1 November 2014）

From Watteau to Fragonard, les fêtes galantes

The Jacquemart-André Museum is the prominent and magnificent former residence of Edouard André and Nélie Jacquemart, decorated and renovated to accommodate the couple’s vast art collection, which they wanted to incorporate into their daily environment. Currently on exhibit is “From Watteau to Fragonard, les fêtes galantes,” comprised of about 60 items, centered on their collection.

fig.1 Antoine Watteau (1684 - 1721), Récréation galante,
ca 1717-1719, oil on canvas, 114,5 x 167,2 cm,
Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gem_ldegalerie,
© BPK, Berlin, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Jörg P. Anders

In the early 18th century, the light-hearted, graceful lines of Rococo art were blossoming and replacing the imposing religious and historic paintings typical of the Baroque style. Fêtes galantes is the popular category of paintings during this time that portrayed lovers frolicking in beautiful gardens and nature. One of the main painters of this genre was Jean-Antoine Watteau. Born in the Flanders region, Watteau went to Paris as a youth where he painted the elegantly dressed men and women into the traditional, bucolic setting of Flanders, amid abundant greenery and flowers in full bloom. The Rococo style refined lines and bright colors created a poetic and romantic atmosphere. (fig. 1)

Watteau did not have any students, but toward the end of the 1710s many painters began copying his work and creating pictures influenced by his style. The artist most shaped by Watteau was Nicolas Lancret. Lancret incorporated elements of reality into his works such as popular fashion of the times or places that anyone back then would recognize. For example, the woman dancing in the center of La Carmago Dancing is the Paris Opera star Marie Camargo. Camargo was known for her active footwork and brought many new steps to 18th century ballet. In order to facilitate the complex steps, she shortened her dresses from just below the ankle to the calf. In the painting her skirt is short and reveals that she is wearing toe shoes.

fig.2 Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806), La Fête à Saint-Cloud,
ca. 1775-1780, oil on canvas, 211 x 331 cm, Paris,
collection Banque de France, © RMN-Grand Palais / Gérard Blot

The popularity of fêtes galantes did not decline in the latter part of the 18th century but rather flourished further. As art patrons sought paintings to decorate their homes, larger works were created to fit the measurements of such spaces. A remarkable example is Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s La Féte à Saint-Cloud (fig.2). Fragonard painted with a superior brush technique, an enormous garden in which people are enjoying at their leisure a play and dancing. Most notable in the painting is a fountain at the center; the water soars up to a height of more than 5 meters, creating an extraordinary setting for the festivities. This painting represents the peak of the fétes galantes genre started by Watteau.

Musée Jacquemart-André

158 Boulevard Haussmann
75008 Paris
France
+33 1 45 62 11 59
http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com

Opening times:

Tue—Fri, Sun：10:00－18:00
Mon、Sat：10:00－20:30

Veronese Exhibit

図2 X7484, Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), Portrait of a Lady,
known as the "Bella Nani", about 1560-5, Oil on canvas,
119 × 103 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris (R.F. 2111),
© RMN (Musée du Louvre)/All rights reserved

An exhibit of the works of Veronese, a leading painter of 16th century Renaissance Venice is underway at the National Gallery in London. The showcased complex frescoes, altarpieces and portraits include ten from the Gallery’s collection and some 50 on loan from other European and American acquisitions.

Born in 1528 as the son of a stone cutter, Veronese was formally called Paolo Caliari but later changed his name to reflect his birthplace of Verona. Showing talent from a young age, by his late teens Veronese painted works commissioned by Verona’s aristocratic families. Although he is known as a Venetian painter, Veronese was born in Verona, some 100 kilometers west of Venice, and only moved to Venice when he was nearly 30 years old.

In Supper at Emmaus (around 1555, fig. 1) a Venetian aristocratic family is depicted taking part in the dinner at Emmaus. Jesus is seated in the center, looking up toward heaven and blessing the bread he holds in his left hand. Veronese does not focus on the Biblical event taking place in the center. On the right is a family uninterested in Christ, and in the foreground adorable children are frolicking with a dog. Rather than depict the holy world of God, Veronese painted Christ in the context of the daily life of Venetians. Christ and his disciples are portrayed in their traditional clothes while the others are wearing the current Venetian fashion.

fig.1 X7483, Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), The Supper at Emmaus,
about 1555, Oil on canvas 290 × 488 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris (146),
© RMN (Musée du Louvre)/Gérard Blot

One of the most highly regarded portraits by Veronese is La Bella Nani (around 1560-1565, fig. 2). The model is unknown, but from her clothes she appears to be a woman of the Venetian aristocracy, and the ring on her left hand suggests she is a bride. The woman wears a high-class blue dress with a pearl necklace, is adorned with rings and bracelets of rubies and sapphires, and has gold ornaments draped on her shoulders. Veronese has painted the jewelry in quick light strokes, and this free and bold portrayal reveals his genius.

The works of Veronese boast spectacular color. Critics of the 17th century described the painter’s lustrous palette as a mix of gold, the best quality pearls, rubies, and sapphire, along with the highest grade diamonds. The opulence and extravagance of Venice was portrayed most volubly in Veronese’s paintings of feasts such as The Feast in the House of Levi.

The Veronese exhibit runs through June 15.

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square,
London WC2N 5DN
The United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 7747 2885
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

Opening times:

Daily 10am – 6pm,
Friday 10am – 9pm

Closed on:

1 January and 24 – 26 December