Sunday, August 30, 2015

Randomly IV


Marion Davies, in "Beverly of Graustark", 1926.
Jean Alut l'ainé, miniature by Pierre Chasselat, circa 1780s.
Reservoir at Villa Falconieri, Frascati, by Maxfield Parrish, 1903.
Unknown, nd.
David Garrick and Eva Maria Garrick, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1772-73.
Comte Étienne de Beaumont and his wife Edith, dressed in costumes of the comte's design, 1920s.
Erato, Muse of Lyric Poetry and Cupid, by Charles Meynier, 1798-1800.
Unknown, nd.
Alexander II after his assassination, by Konstantin Makovsky, 1881.
(The Tsar had been - literally - blown up; it would prove difficult to arrange his corpse in a presentable manner.)
Garden Steps Leading to the Artist's Studio on Blegdammen, by Christen Købke, circa 1845.
Figure study, by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, nd.
 A Woodland Bather, by Henry Scott Tuke, before 1893.
Models, circa 1915.
An Elegant Figure Playing a Guitar at a Balustrade With a Macaw, by Jan Josef Horemans the Elder, circa early 18th century.
Flora, by Alexander Roslin, 1755.
Miniature by Louis-Lié Périn-Salbreux, circa 1790.
Vivien Leigh as Lady Macbeth, photograph by Angus McBean, 1955.
Parc de St. Cloud, by Constant Troyon, circa 1830s.
Sir Arthur Sykes, 7th Baronet Sledmere, by Simon Elwes, 1936.
Baron Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov, by Alexander Varnek, 1814.
(If the date is correct, the portrait would have been completed three years after Stroganov's death.)



Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Fluffy-headed gentlemen - portraits by Largillière, circa 1694-1730


(Detail of below.)

There is much confusion about the wearing of wigs in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Contrary to general understanding, not everyone wore a white, powdered wig. Women didn't wear full wigs at all - unless they'd lost their own hair - but only added false hair when the styles demanded inordinate height or volume. And many men had their own natural hair dressed and powdered, especially in the latter part of the eighteenth century. But there certainly was a period, from the second half of the seventeenth century to the first few decades of the next, when most men of the upper classes shaved their heads and wore large and long, usually powdered wigs. "Periwigs", "full-bottom(ed) wigs" - the best were made of human hair, the others of horse or goat hair - were so extreme that there was no pretense at all that the gentleman who sported it had grown it. And portraits of the time quite boldly represent them for exactly what they were: gloriously false.

Portrait of a Man, circa 1714-16.
Portrait of a Man, circa 1715.
Portrait of a Gentleman, nd.
Portrait of the Marquis d'Havrincourt, nd.
Jacques-Antoine Arlaud copying the Leda of Michelangelo, 1714.
Jean Thierry, Sculptor, nd.
Jacques Roettiers de la Tour, 1730. (As here, a bit of shaved scalp is often to be seen in this period's wig-burdened portraits.)
Jean de La Fontaine, at the age of seventy-three, 1694.
Charles de France, duc de Berry, grandson of Louis XIV, circa 1710.
Portrait of an Officer, circa 1714.
Field Marshal Erik Sparre, circa 1710. (Sparre was perhaps preoccupied with military matters, as he doesn't seem to have his wig on straight.)
Portrait of a Man in a Purple Robe, circa 1700.
Jean Pupil de Craponne, 1708.




Sunday, August 23, 2015

Shen Wei, photographer - images from the series "I Miss You Already"


Self-portrait (Lotus), 2012.

Shen Wei - born in Shanghai in 1977, now resident in New York - is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships. His work is shown internationally and is included in the permanent collections of many prestigious museums. More of his photography, as well as recent video work, may be seen on his website.

The artist's statement on this series.

Self-portrait (Como), 2009.
Self-portrait (Earthly), 2012.
Self-portrait (Juniper), 2012.
Self-portrait (Tea), 2010.
Self-portrait (Listen), 2012.
Self-portrait (Past), 2010.
Self-portrait (Twin Tree), 2011.
Self-portrait (Accident), 2011.
Self-portrait (Open), 2012.
Self-portrait (Heat), 2011.
Self-portrait (Fruitful), 2009.
Self-portrait (Climb), 2010.
Self-portrait (Mid-Autumn), 2011.
Self-portrait (Yuki), 2013.
Self-Portrait (Toes), 2011.