National Gallery from Edinburgh Castle |
National Gallery of Scotland, interior view |
National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh |
Scottish Paintings |
The collection of the National Gallery of Scotland spans periods of western art history from the Renaissance through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their collection includes masterpieces by Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, John Constable, J.M.W. Turner, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, and Edgar Degas. Beyond these names so familiar to the world stage are Scotland's own artists. The National Gallery displays important works by Scottish painters Sir Henry Raeburn, Allen Ramsay, Sir David Wilkie, William Taggart, Phoebe Anna Tranquair, and the Glasgow Boys.
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Six Butterflies and a Moth on a Rose Branch, 1622
William Gouw Ferguson 1622-1695 SCOTTISH / DUTCH |
Reverend Robert Walker
Skating on Duddingston Loch, 1795
Sir Henry Raeburn, 1756-1823 SCOTTISH |
The Letter of Introduction, 1813
Sir David Wilkie, 1785-1841 SCOTTISH |
17th century Scottish painter William Gouw Ferguson (1632-1689) lived and painted in Holland where he was known for his decorative still lifes of game. Six Butterflies and a Moth on a Rose Branch departs from his normal subject matter, but is most pleasing.
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Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823) was Scotland's first significant portrait artist. His Reverend Robert Walking Skating on Duddingston Loch is one of Scotland's most famous and best loved paintings. The good Reverend had learned to skate on the canals of the Netherlands, and came to Scotland at the age of 15. He married a Scottish woman, Jean Fraser, in 1778 and had five children. He was a member of the Royal Company of Archers and served as their chaplain. While minister of Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, he also served as president of the Edinburgh Skating Club.
Sir David Wilkie (1785-1841) lived in London and loved to travel. The Letter of Introduction by Sir David Wilke is partially autobiographical. In 1805, David Wilkie moved to London carrying a letter of introduction to the elderly connoisseur Caleb Whitefoord at the Royal Academy.
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Sir William Allan in Circassian Dress, 1818
William Nicholson, 1781-1844 SCOTTISH |
A Lady in Grey, 1859,
Sir Daniel Macnee, 1806-1882 SCOTTISH |
Sir William Allen sat for this portrait by William Nicholson while wearing a Circassian quilted jacket which he wore as a painting smock. Allen was a friend and former student of Sir David Wilkie. In promoting himself, he carved out an artistic identity by wearing his Circassian jacket, referring to his time spent in Russia. He was there to seek out portrait commissions through the Tzar's Scottish physician. While in Russia, he visited Odessa and the Caucasus Mountain region. There he collected arms, armour and costumes from the region. He considered himself an orientalist, often creating paintings with Circassian themes.
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A Lady in Grey was done by Sir Daniel Macnee, Scotland's leading portrait painter in the mid 19th century. The model of this painting is believed to be Daniel Macnee's daughter, Isabella Wiseman. Two years earlier, Macnee did a portrait of the famous actress Nelly O'Brien which won high praise and fame. A Lady in Grey has a similar pose and lighting effects.
Princes Street with the Commencement of the Building of the Royal Institution celebrates the transformation of Edinburgh and its burgeoning cultural life. Today, Scots look at this scene with pride. Sir Robert Wilkie considered Alexander Nasmyth to be the founder of landscape painting in Scotland. Nasmyth was fascinated by architecture, landscape design and civil engineering.
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Joseph Farquharson was both a painter and the Laird of Finzean in Aberdeeshire. His wooded estate inspired many snowy landscapes for which he is renowned. Unlike Winter Day Finzean, many of his paintings featured snowy pastures with sheep, earning him the nickname "Frozen Mutton Farquharson."
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Princes Street with the Commencement of the
Building of the Royal Institution, Edinburgh, 1825,
Alexander Nasmyth, 1758-1840 SCOTTISH |
Winter Day Finzean, 1901,
Joseph Farquharson, 1846-1935 SCOTTISH |
English Paintings |
Portrait of Sarah Malcolm, 1733,
William Hogarth, 1697-1764 ENGLISH |
William Hogarth (1697-1764) was a a satirist, social critic and cartoonist. But as a painter and printmaker, he was well positioned to express and distribute his satire and social critique to a wide audience. One of his best series was Marriage a-la-mode, on display at the National Gallery in London. Portrait of Sarah Malcolm may have reached a new low for artists seeking models for portraits, but Hogarth couldn't resist this sensational story. Poor Sarah sat for this portrait in Newgate Prison just two days before she was hanged in 1733. She was convicted for assisting two fellow servants murder her mistress Lydia Duncombe.
Thomas Gainsborough (1827-1888) preferred painting landscapes over portraits, but was England's dominant portraitist during the last half of the 18th century. His famous portrait The Blue Boy is in the Huntington Collection in Southern
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Landscape with a view of a Distant Village, 1748
Thomas Gainsborough ,1727-1788
ENGISH |
California. His landscapes are loved for their light palette and easy strokes. River Landscape with a View of a Distant Village is believed to be one of several commissioned decorative paintings meant to be hung over mantelpieces. |
John Constable (1776-1832) is best known for his landscapes. Born a half century after Thomas Gainsborough, Constable was not very successful during his lifetime, although his paintings are now some of Britain's most popular and valuable. In Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, Constable creates extraordinary drama and turmoil, using frenzied brush strokes to animate the landscape with dashes of white to suggest reflected light. The scene shows a horse drawn wagon pulled across the River Nadder. A sheepdog points the viewers gaze to the cathedral with a thunderstorm and rainbow in the background
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The Vale of Dedham, 1828,
John Constable 1776-1837 ENGLISH |
In The Vale of Dedham, Constable celebrates a scene from his youth, the River Stour and the Church in Dedham. Constable's father worked at a water mill on the river.
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Monarch of the Glen, 1851,
Sir Edwin Landseer, 1802-1873 ENGLISH
Monarch of the Glen is a recent acquisition of the National Gallery, costing 4 million pounds. Beginning in the fall, it begins a national tour stopping in Inverness, Perth, Paisley and Kirkcudbright before returning to Edinburgh.
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Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, 1831
John Constable, 1776-1837 ENGLISH |
Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873) is best known for his paintings of animals, especially horses, dogs and stags. He was also a sculptor and created the Lions so famously residing in London's Trafalgar Square. He was loved across class lines, with prints of his work commonly displayed in middle class homes. The Monarch of the Glen is one of the most famous paintings of the 19th century, encapsulating the grandeur of Scotland's highlands and its wildlife. Originally planned as part of a series for the House of Lords, it was sold privately. Prints were very popular, and in the 20th century, the image was used in marketing of various products such as The Hartford insurance.
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Dutch Paintings |
Self Portrait, 1657
Rembrandt Van Rijn, 1606-1669
DUTCH
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In the 17th century, the Dutch Republic was not only the center of the art world, it was the geopolitical center of Europe, its leader in both trade and science. The National Gallery of Scotland has a rich collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age.
Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606-1669), considered one of history's greatest painters is best known for his portraits, self portraits and Bible scenes. He never traveled outside of Holland, but was considerably influenced by the Italian old masters, through the painters from the Netherlands who had studied in Italy, such as Peter Paul Ruebens. Rembrandt created many self portraits, giving us a visual record of his appearance as he aged. This Self Portrait was believed to have been done in 1657 when Rembrandt was 50 years old. It was a rough period in his life as he had been declared bankrupt and had to auction his house, his art collection and studio furnishings.
Pieter Jansz Saenredam (1597-1665) was a contemporary of Rembrandt. Saenredam is known for his paintings of the clean white interiors of Dutch church interiors. After the Dutch Revolt lead by Protestants, highly decorated Catholic churches were stripped of their ornamentation. The Interior of St. Bravo's Church, Haarlem is the largest surviving work by Saenredam, and is also where he was buried.
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Peter Paul Ruebens (1577-1640) studied in Italy beginning in 1600. His visit to Venice, viewing paintings by Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto, and later in Florence and Rome, he was influenced by the work of Michalangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Caravaggio. A Study of a Head, St. Ambrose was done as Ruebens prepared his painting St. Ambrose Barring Emperor Theodosius from Milan Cathedral. Ambrose was a 4th century Bishop of Milan. Ruebens kept such studies in his studio and re-used them for other paintings.
Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) is known for his interior scenes of middle-class Dutch life. He was only moderately successful in his brief life time (43 years), but is
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The Interior of St. Bravo's Church,
Haarlem (the Grote Kerk), 1648
Pieter Jansz Saenredam,
1597-1665 DUTCH |
A Study of a Head, St. Ambrose, 1616
Peter Paul Rubens, 1577-1640
FLEMISH |
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, 1654
Johannes Vermeer, 1632-1675 DUTCH
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today revered as one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age. He was known to have been painfully slow in producing a painting and used very expensive pigments. Only thirty-six of his paintings survive today, and Christ in the House of Mary and Martha is his only painting of a Biblical scene.
Gebrand Van Der Eeckout (1621-1674) was a student of Rembrandt, and assumed his manner, allowing for confusion among some experts as to the attribution of some of his paintings. He is best known for his portraits, but also created genre and Biblical
scenes. A guardroom Interior was one of several scenes of guardrooms done by Eeckhout, suggesting it is a scene frequent and familiar to him or a scene of backroom interest. The superb coloring of this painting stands out, especially the shades of green in the young woman's dress.
Rembrandt Van Rijn's Hanna and Samuel is thought to show Hannah teaching her son, but some believe it to be Hanna at the scene of Christ's presentation at the Temple. It is possible this painting was begun by one of Rembrandt's students, Van Hooogstraten or Abraham van Dijck.
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A Guardroom Interior, 1621
Gebrand Van Der Eeckhout, 1621-1674
DUTCH |
Hannah and Samuel, 1650,
Rembrandt Van Rijn,1606-1669 DUTCH |
The Disputed Reckoning, 1658,
Pieter De Hooch, 1629-1684 DUTCH |
Pieter De Hooch (1629-1684) was a contemporary of Johannes Vermeer, and like Vermeer, a member of the Delft Guild of St. Luke. He is known for his genre paintings of quiet domestic scenes, often with an open doorway. The Disputed Reckoning with its ceiling beams and geometric floor along with vertical lines of the curtains give the painting a kind of shadow box effect, popular among art buyers at the time. The comic scene shows a the woman, a tavern host, holding a coin too small to cover the gentleman's bill.
Jan van der Heyden (1637-1684) specialized in townscapes and was a leading architectural painters of the Dutch Golden Age. He was also an engineer and inventor. He designed a street lighting system for Amsterdam and even became the city's street light director. A View of Cologne with the Carthusian Church and St. Pantaleon was done while visiting Cologne, Germany.
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Aert Van Der Neer (1603-1677) specialized in night scenes of snowy moonlit or firelit landscapes, often with rivers or canals. Unable to support his family from his art career, he was a tavern owner in Kalverstraat. He died in poverty. Frozen River Landscape captures a panorama of an early winter afternoon, filled with atmospherics and reflection. A Dutch pastime was to spend time on the ice, skating, eating, drinking, playing games or merely conversing.
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A View of Cologne with the
Carthusian Church and St. Pantaleon, 1660,
Jan van der Heyden, 1637-1712 DUTCH |
Frozen River Landscape, 1603
Aert Van Der Neer, 1603-1677 DUTCH |
An Alley of Trees in a Park, 1790
Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld, 1758-1846 FRENCH
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French Paintings |
After study in Italy, Jean Joseph-Xavier Bidauld (1758-1846) returned to Paris. In 1791, he entered the Salon for the first time, becoming a regular annual participant. He became successful and was the first landscape artist elected to the Academie des Beaux-Arts. In 1925, he was awarded the Legion d'honneur. One of his students was Jean Baptiste Camille Corot. After becoming a jury member for the Salon, he became less popular. Savaged by the press, he was seen as blocking a new generation of landscape painters from gaining entry to the Salon. An Alley of Trees in a Park shows elms framing a distant pastoral view beyond. His precise brushwork and clear lighting reflects his study in Italy.
Although a student of Bidauld, Jean Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1775) was not Bidauld's disciple. Corot became a pivotal figure in French painting, referencing elements of new-classical tradition while anticipating the plein-air innovations of impressionism. Claude Monet had this to say about Corot, "There is only one master here -- Corot. We are nothing compared to him, nothing."
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Entree du bois a Ville d'Avray was a familiar scene for Corot, as his family lived in Avray, just west of Paris. The composition of this painting along with its treatment of light is partially in response to the paintings of John Constable, which Corot had recently seen exhibited in Paris.
Achille-Etna Michallon (1796-1822) died of pneumonia at the age of 25, tragically ending his most promising artistic career. Although disputed, he is believed to have had Corot as one of his pupils. He studied in Italy for two years, a trip which had profound impact on his work. Forest Scene is a strikingly eye catching painting at the National Gallery of Scotland was started outdoors, but probably finished in Michallon's studio.
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Entree du bois a Ville d'Avray, 1825
Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, 1796-1875 |
Forest Scene, 1820,
Achille-Etna Michallon, 1796-1822 FRENCH |
Woman and Child in a Garden ,1883,
Berthe Morisot 1841-1895 FRENCH |
The Church At Vetheuil, 1878,
Claude Monet, 1840-1926 FRENCH |
Head of a Peasant Woman, 1885
Vincent Van Gogh, 1853-1890 DUTCH / FRENCH |
Olive Trees, 1889,
Vincent Van Gogh, 1853-1940 DUTCH / FRENCH |
Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was a member of the French Impressionists, and is one of "les trois grandes dames" of impressionism along with Marie Brocquemond and Mary Cassatt. She married Eugene Manet, the brother of painter Edouard Matet. Woman and Child in a Garden is believed to show Morisot's daughter with a female nurse. The composition seems to follow the natural focus of the eye, with the center more distinct and more sketch like and indistinct toward the periphery.
Beginning in 1878, Claude Monet (1840-1926) rented a house in Vetheuil on the Seine
and lived there three years. The Church at Vetheuil is a view of the house from the West and the 13th century church which dominates the village.
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Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) lived to only the age of 37, a life plagued with mental illness which eroded his general health. On top of this, his artistic endeavors resulted in only one sale during his lifetime, yet today is considered one of the most famous and influential artists in the history of Western Art. The model for Head of a Peasant Woman is Gordina de Groot who also posed for Van Gogh's first major work, The Potato Eaters. Her cap is painted in broken colors and only appears white against the darker tones of her face and blouse.
Olive Trees were the subject of 18 of Van Gogh's paintings while h was a patient at the Saint-Remy Asylum in Provence. Van Gogh believed olive trees symbolized the region as well as being associated with the Bible story of Christ's Passion. Van Gogh's technique is highly expressive, with much of the pigment applied strait from the tube. The stabbing and swirling strokes generate a felling of agitation, compounded by the steeply sloping ground.
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More than half of the paintings ascribed to Edgar Degas (1834-1917) were of dancers. A Group of Dancers is a late work is striking for its acidic colors and experimental technique. His fingerprints are visible in the top of the painting where he manipulated the paint.
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The Big Trees, 1902
Paul Cezanne, 1839-1906 FRENCH |
La Chambre Rose, 1910,
Edouard Vuillard 1868-1940 FRENCH |
A Group of Dancers, 1898,
Edgar Degas, 1834-1917 FRENCH |
Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) was a post-impressionist. His work is highly recognizable by his small repetitive, exploratory brush strokes used to build up planes of colorĀ building growing into complex fields. During the last years of his career, he created some experimental pieces focusing on rocks, trees and vegetation. In The Big Trees, areas of unpainted white canvas are crossed by branches of the trees creating a spacial ambiguity, anticipating the experiments of early cubism.
Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940) was a member of the avant-garde group, Le Nabis, including Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, and Paul Serusier. Vuillard painted mostly interiors, streets and gardens. He lived with his mother, a dressmaker, until he was 60 years old. His familiarity with fabrics nurtured in him an obsession with pattern, texture and color. In La Chambre Rose a child (probably his nephew) is almost out of sight while the flowers in the foreground are barely sketched in. Vuillard often left areas of the canvas unpainted so as not to interfer with the effect of the whole.
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Renaissance Italian and Spanish Paintings |
The Forge of Vulcan, 1565,
Jacopo Zucchi, 1540-1596 ITALIAN |
An Allegory (Fabula), 1590,
(Domenikos Theotokopoulos)
aka El Greco, 1541-1614 GREEK / SPANISH |
An Old Woman Cooking Eggs, 1618
Diego Velazquez, 1599-1660
SPANISH |
In the 1570's, Jacopo Zucchi (1540-1596) worked for Cardinal Ferdinando de Medici. The Forge of Vulcan is a classical scene showing Vulcan with his assistants, the Cyclopes, forging weapons for the Gods, with Minerva standing at the right. The diamond at the top of Minerva's shield is an emblem of the Medici family. The piece is thought to have been a bold statement of Medici power.
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El Greco (1541-1614) who's real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos was a painter of the Spanish Renaissance. He was born on Crete and trained in Venice and Rome before moving to Toledo, Spain. El Greco was ahead of his time and wasn't appreciated by his contemporaries, but finally found appreciation in the 20th century. Critics love him for his phantasmagorical pigmentation, marrying Byzantine traditions with western painting. The meaning of An Allegory (Fabula) is uncertain. The use of a monkey at the time in a painting represented a the presence of a vice. The boy's act of kindling a flame may allude to the arousal of sensual passions while the grinning observer could represent folly. The message of the painting is guessed to be that lust appeals to the foolish and baser instincts.
Diego Velazqeuez (1599-1660) was the leading artist in the Court of King Phillip IV of Spain, and is one of the most important painters of the Spanish Golden Age. He was known especially for his portraits and was a model for realist and impressionist painters, especially Edouard Manet. Others paying tribute to Velazquez were Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Francis Bacon. In An Old Woman Cooking Eggs is a genre painting. Velazquez liked to use working class characters, often using his family members as models. The old woman cooking the eggs appears to be the same woman in another of Velazquez's paintings, Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, 1618.
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American Paintings |
Niagara Falls from the American Side, 1867, Frederick Edwin Church, 1826-1900 AMERICAN |
Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, 1892,
John Singer Sargent, 1856-1925 AMERICAN |
Frederick Edwin Church (1826-1900) was a Hudson River School artist, known for his landscapes. It is believed that Niagara Falls, from the American Side was done in the 1860's to be shown at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. Church had been chosen to be the representative at the Exhibition.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was an American portraitist, but lived most of his life in Europe. Lady Agnew of Lochnaw is an imposing portrait. Her direct gaze emphasized by the flowing fabric of her gown and relaxed posture adds to her sense of confidence. This portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1893, and sculptor Rodin described Sargent to be the "Van Dyck of our times." |
The National Gallery of Scotland | Back to the Top |
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Sonoma County's
2017 Art @ The Source |
During the weekends of June 3 & 4 and June 10 & 11, discover the art and artists of Sonoma County. Sonoma County is famous for its varied scenery of vineyards, orchards, picturesque pastures of cattle and sheep, and its spectacular coast, dotted with world class wineries. This setting has drawn many artists who are proud to call Sonoma County their home.
This year, Art @ the Source features 99 returning artists and 20 newcomers showing their work in 78 studio locations. The Sebastopol Center for the arts currently is showing a preview exhibition with one piece of work from each artist. Viewing this exhibition and using the Art @ The Source Catalog, you'll be able to narrow your search, seeking out the art and artists who most interest you. Then, using the map in your catalog, hit the road and follow the yellow Art @ the Source Signs. Yes, its OK to use Google Maps too or the electronic navigation guide of your choice.
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On pages 4 and 5 of the catalog, you may learn of scheduled Artist Demonstrations.
On pages 22 and 23 of the catalog, you may also choose to visit studios based on the medium of your choice.
You may preview artist works at three locations, the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Corricks on Fourth Street in Downtown Petaluma and Gallery One on Western Avenue in downtown Petaluma.
Below is a sampling of some of the artwork now on display at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Drop by and see the show, and make plans to visit the Open Studios of Art @ the Source.
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This is the map from the catalog. You may get copies at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Corricks in Downtown Santa Rosa and Gallery One in Petaluma. It is also available at many gallery and winery locations throughout the County. You may also get a copy from any of the Artists Studios. |
Salmon Creek Winter Water, Charles Beck
Acrylic on canvas
Studio 49 |
Keeping Watch, Robert Benson
Watercolor
Studio 67b |
Port Authority, Ken Berman
Oil & Colored Pencil on canvas
Studio 38 |
Old Friends, Wendy Brayton
Oil
Studio 16
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Morning Fog Lifting, Phyllis Calvin Thomas
Oil
Studio 67d
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Westward, Michelle Carnes
Oil
Studio 19 |
Meander, Deborah Butterfield
Mixed Media
Studio 66d |
Tracks and Trails, Janet Charnofsky
Oil on canvas
Studio 58a |
Laguna de Santa Rosa, Christine Cobaugh
Photography
Studio 10b |
Sunrise over the Laguna, Fran Nielsen
Acrylic
Studio 12 |
Inauguration Day, Pamela Leotta-Wallace
(from the Obama Inauguratoin, 2009) Pastel
Studio 78
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Old Case Tractor, Janet Elmore
Watercolor
Studio 77b |
The Kelly, Rik Olson
Linocut
Studio 45
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The Great Stare, Francesca Scalpi
Photography
Studio 74 |
Iris Sunrise, Susan St. Thomas
Watercolor with Collage
Studio 52 |
Winter Light, Terry Sauve
Oil
Studio 42 |
Feathery Tulip, Peter Krohn
Scanography
Studio 31
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Raymond, JackiGail Jackson
Digital Photography
Studio 75c |
Tide Pool, Lillian Lehman
Sculpture / Mixed Media
Studio 77a
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What's Up?, Sandra Maresca
Oil on canvas
Studio 74a
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Plate # 6-16, Hugh Hope
Ceramic
Studio 54 |
Down at Crab Daddy's
Acrylic
Studio 15a
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The Scond Chakra II, Maria Isabel Lopez
SMALTI, stained glass, natural stones,
gold leaf and acrylic ... Studio 26
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Red Lion, Bill Theis
Photography
Studio 8b |
Garden Dream, Gayle Bergmann
Acrylic on canvas
Studio 22
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Exuberant, Sally Baker
Watercolor
Studio 68a
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Bouquet in the Window, Sandra Rubin
Acrylic and Oil
Studio 61 |
Mad Hatter, Diana Luiz
Watercolor
Studio 43a
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Railroad Red, Joann Cassady
Ceramic / Mixed Media
Studio 68b
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Intermingling Species, Rebecca Love
Ceramic
Studio 51b |
Art @ the Source | Sebastopol Center for the Arts | Corricks | Studio One | Back to the Top |
From our April 2015 issue ...
Scotland's Art Treasures Visited San Francisco's de Young Museum in 2015 |
From Edinburgh's three museums making up the National Galleries of Scotland comes this chronologically sequenced exhibition showing Scotland's treasures. The exhibition begins with Italian Renaissance and the Dutch Golden Age, then moves through French Impressionism and Post Impressionism, and leads into early twentieth century modern art.
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Scottish National Gallery |
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art |
Scottish National Portrait Gallery |
The exhibition includes fifty-five paintings featuring Italian, French, Dutch, English, Scottish and American artists. The Scottish National Gallery was founded in 1850. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery came nearly 40 years later, opening its doors in 1889. The Scottish Gallery of Modern Art opened in 1960. The chronological layout of the exhibition makes it easy for art students, young or old, to appreciate the sequential history of western art. Below is but a sampling of the exhibition with information about each from the exhibition's placards. We highly recommend taking advantage of the opportunity for viewing these often iconic and frequently monumental works in person. |
The Virgin Adorning the Sleeping Christ Child
1485, Sandro Botticelli, 1444-1510 |
Venus Rising from the Sea, 1520-25
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), 1485-1576 |
An Allegory, 1585-95, El Greco
(Domenikos Tehotokopoulos), 1541-1614 |
Botticelli's The Virgin Adorning the Sleeping Christ Child is rare for a 15th century painting because it is on canvas rather than wood panel. The hedge of thornless roses forms an enclosed garden, a symbol of the Immaculate Conception and the Virgin's freedom from original sin. |
Tiziano Vecellio (Titian) was in great demand, for he did both religious and secular paintings. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was born of the sea. Titian used a luminous palette with feathery brushwork recreating the soft flesh tones.
Domenikos Theotokopoulos (better known as El Greco) illustrates a fable in "An Allegory." It is debated, but this may be a recreation of a lost painting by Antiphilus of Alexandria of a boy blowing a fire described in the first century by Pliny the Elder. Or, it could be a painting of lust, as the youth seeks to kindle the passions of arousal.
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Old Woman Cooking Eggs, 1618
Diego Velazquez, 1599-1660 |
Christ in the House of
Mary and Martha,
1654-55, Johannes Vermeer, 1632-1675 |
River Landscape with a View of a
Distant Village, 1748,
Thomas Gainsborough, 1727-1788 |
Diego Velazquez was only 18 or 19 when he painted Old Woman Cooking Eggs. It belongs to a group of kitchen and tavern scenes which include familiar scenes with still life elements. The models were probably real people, friends or relatives, who reappear in other paintings by Velazquez. |
There are only 36 known paintings of Johannes Vermeer in existence, and Christ in the House of Mary and Martha is his only one illustrating a Biblical subject. Because of its large size, it is believed this painting was intended for a Catholic Church. It shows the story of the dutiful Martha objecting to her sister Mary for listening to Jesus while she tends to the kitchen duties serving the meal.
Thomas Gainsborough is best known for his portraits, but he also enjoyed, over the course of his long career, creating landscapes. He shows a familiarity with the landscapes of 17th century Dutch painters, as many Dutch paintings made their way to London. The wide horizontal dimensions of this painting reflects it was created for a "chimney piece" above a mantel.
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A Girl with a Dead Canary, 1765
Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1725-1805 |
Reverend Robert Walker Skating on
Duddingston Loch, 1795,
Sir Henry Raeburn, 1756-1823 |
Entree du bois a Ville-d'Avray, 1825
Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, 1796-1875 |
Jean-Baptiste Greuze's work was especially admired by the French Enlightenment writer Denis Diderot for combining Rococo style with the morality of neoclassicism. "A Girl with a Dead Canary"was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1865 while Greuze was at the height of his career. This young girl mourning the death of a pet canary would have had a double meaning for 18th century French audiences who would have seen it as a symbolic reference to the loss of virginity.
Sir Henry Raeburn's Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch is one of his best paintings and today is an icon of Scottish culture. Rev. Walker's skating pose resembles the balletic pose of Giambologna's statue of Mercury in Flight. It also illustrates the increasingly popular sport of ice skating among Edinburgh's elite. Reverend Walker was a member of the city's highly selective skating society.
Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot linked neoclassical landscape painting with Impressionism. Ville-d'Avray is a village located west of Paris where Corot's parents owned a small country house. In 1850, Entree du bois a Ville-d'Avray was retouched by Corot's friend Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Pena who added the red cap of the woman seated by the side of the road, meant to be a bold complement to the otherwise cool palette.
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The Vale of Deadham, 1827
John Constable, 1776-1837 |
The Reconciliation of Titania and Oberon, 1847, Joseph Noel Paton, 1821-1901 |
John Constable said of The Vale of Deadham, "I have painted a large upright landscape, perhaps my best." He was familiar with the grand traditions of European landscape painting from artists and dealers he met early in his career in London. His landscapes of the English countryside are known for their Romantic idealism.
Sir Joseph Noel Paton's The Reconciliation of Titania and Oberon has a companion painting, The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania, both inspired by William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Due to inquisitive fingers wanting to explore minutely executed details, the museum displays this large intricate painting behind glass.
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Portrait of Sir Alexander Morison, 1852
Richard Dadd, 1817-1886 |
The Marne at Chennevieres, 1864
Camille Pissarro, 1830-1903 |
Niagara Falls from the American Side, 1867
Frederic Edwin Church, 1826-1900 |
Following an 1842 trip to the Near East, Richard Dadd suffered a mental breakdown, murdered his father, and was committed to a psychiatric institution for the rest of his life. This Portrait of Sir Alexander Morison is of Richard Dadd's doctor Alexander Morison who was also a pioneer in psychiatric medicine. The setting for the portrait was provided by Dr. Morison's daughter. It includes the Morison house in the fishing village of Newhaven, Scotland. |
Camille Pissarro is often called the dean of the Impressionists, and was the only artist to show at all eight Impressionist exhibitions. The Marne at Chennevieres was painted while Pissarro rented a house at La Varene-Saint-Hilaire, southeast of Paris located on the Marne River. This painting shows that Pissarro was influenced by the work of Charles Francois Daubigny and Gustave Courbet.
American Frederic Edwin Church created ambitious landscapes of America's great natural wonders. By the middle of the 19th century, Niagara Falls had become a popular tourist destination. In Niagara Falls, the detail of Church's bare limbs of trees in the foreground are strikingly balanced by the sublime handling of the falling water and luminous mist. |
Portrait of Diego Martelli, 1879,
Edgar Degas, 1834-1917 |
Three Tahitians, 1899
Paul Gauguin, 1848-1903 |
Portrait of Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, 1892
John Singer Sargent, 1856-1925
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Edgar Degas' Portrait of his close friend, Diego Martelli is a view from on high, flattening the composition with his legs is sharp perspective. The asymmetry and cropping of the red slippers shows the influence of Japanese prints. |
Behind the sofa is a map of Paris with the Seine recognizable running through the southern neighborhoods of Paris.
Twenty-Seven year old Gertrude Vernon, Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, is shown here at a time when she was convalescing from nervous exhaustion. John Singer Sargent was well known for his society portraits, and here he achieves a sense of high glamour for his subject with the hues of fluid brushwork and delicate harmonies of color. It shows both opulence and grace.
Paul Gauguin's Three Tahitians was done during his second trip to Tahiti 1895-1901. This painting may have come from a Tahitian song (translated "The Savage") or it may be a classical theme of Hercules' choice between vice and virtue, as one woman offers a mango (like Eve's apple) while the other wears a wedding ring while holding a bouquet of flowers.
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Collioure, 1905, Andre Derain, 1880-1954 |
Lane at Veernonnet 1912,
Pierre Bonnard, 1867-1947
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Portrait of a Lady in Black, 1921
Francis Campbell Bolleau Cadell, 1883-1937 |
Henri Mattisse wrote Andre Derain inviting him to spend the summer at Collioure, a small port on the Mediterranean near the Spanish border. Derain was impressed by the intense light. He described the |
light as "a golden hue that suppressed shadows." Working with Matisse, he forged a new style, later to be known as Fauvism, simplifying his paintings with sensuously expressive powerful color.
By 1912, Pierre Bonnard had abandoned the dark tonalities of his earlier works. He now preferred working with a more vibrant palette of glowing purples, pinks, greens and yellows. Lane at Veernonnet was especially eye catching when seen in person, especially the pinks atop the wall. In 1910, he rented a small half-timbered house called Ma Roulotte (My Caravan) at Vernonnet, a small village on the River Seine in Normandy. He kept returning to this house to paint until 1939.
As a young artist, Francis Campbell Bolleau Cadell was one of four Scottish artists known as the Scottish Colourists. Their group was known for bringing intense Mediterranean hues into Scottish landscapes, still lifes and portraiture. In the 1920's however, Cadell abandoned loose impressionistic soft tones for more geometric compositions, tight, angular and almost two dimensional in effect. The model is one of Cadell's neighbors who often posed for him. Portrait of a Lady in Black shows another of Cadell's paintings in the background.
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Links to current museum exhibits relevant to Early California Art |
The Greater Bay Area |
The Walt Disney Family Museum
This museum tells Walt's story from the early days.
(on the Parade Grounds) 104 Montgomery Street,
The Presidio of San Francisco, CA 94129
Special Exhibition ... "Awakening Beauty,
The Art of Eyevind Earle
-- view location on Google Maps --
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San Francisco
de Young Museum
The Summer of Love Experience:
Art Fashion and Rock and Roll ... through Aug 20
Permanent Collection
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San Francisco
California Historical Society
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San Francisco
Legion of Honor
-Permanent European and Impressionist Paintings
-Degas, Impressionism and the Paris
Millinary Trade ... through Sep 24
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San Francisco
Contemporary Jewish Museum
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Oakland
Oakland Museum of California
-- ongoing Gallery of California Art
-showcasing over 800 works
from the OMCA's collection
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San Francisco
SFMOMA
http://www.sfmoma.org |
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Santa Rosa
The Museums of Sonoma County |
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Santa Rosa
Charles M. Schultz Museum
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Moraga
St Mary's College Museum of Art
Hearst Art Gallery
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Sonoma
Mission San Francisco de Solano Museum
featuring the famed watercolor paintings
of the California Missions
by Christian Jorgensen |
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Sonoma
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
551 Broadway, Sonoma CA 954
(707) 939-7862 |
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Ukiah
Grace Hudson Museum
"Wild Fabrications" through June 25
http://www.gracehudsonmuseum.org |
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Bolinas
Bolinas Museum
featuring their permanent collection,
including Ludmilla and Thadeus Welch,
Arthur William Best, Jack Wisby,
Russell Chatham, Alfred Farnsworth. |
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Walnut Creek
The Bedford Gallery, Lesher
Center for the Arts |
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San Jose
San Jose Museum of Art
approximately 2,000 20th & 21st
century artworks including paintings, sculpture,
new media, photography, drawings, prints, and artist books. |
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Monterey
Monterey Museum of Art
Ongoing exhibitions ...
Museums Permanent Collection
including William Ritschel and Armin Hansen
http://www.montereyart.org |
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Palo Alto
Cantor Art Center at Stanford University |
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Monterey
Salvador Dali Museum
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Sacramento
Crocker Art Museum
& their marvelous Permanent Collection |
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Sacramento
Capitol Museum
Governor's Portrait Gallery
Permanent Exhibits
(including one of our galllery's favorite artists,
Robert Rishell's portrait of Gov. Ronald Reagan |
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Stockton's Treasure!
The Haggin Museum!
-Largest exhibition of Albert Beirstadt paintings anywhere,
plus the works of Joseph Christian Leyendecker,
Norman Rockwell's mentor.
see our Newsletter article, April 2011 |
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Southern California (and Arizona) |
Los Angeles
Los Angeles Museum of Art
Art of the Americas, Level 3:
Artworks of paintings and sculptures
from the colonial period to World War II—
a survey of of art and culture
& "Levitated Mass" |
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Irvine
The Irvine Museum
Dusk till Dawn ... through Sep 28
The Irvine Museum
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Los Angeles
Hammer Museum (at UCLA) |
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Orange
Hilbert Museum, Chapman University
The Hilbert Collection focuses
on California Scene Painting,
including most well known
20th century California artists
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Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art
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San Diego
San Diego Museum of Art
Permanent Collection
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Pasadena
Norton Simon Museum
-an Impressive Permanent collection,
European impressionist and post impressionist paintings
See our newsletter from March 2014 |
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Pasadena
Pasadena Museum of California Art |
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Palm Springs
Palm Springs Art Museum
Permanent Collection
American 19th century Landscape Painting |
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San Marino (near Pasadena)
The Huntington Library
American Art Collection
Paintings by John Singer Sargent,
Edward Hopper, Robert Henri,
Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran,
William Keith, Mary Cassatt,
Thomas Hart Benton and many more.
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Laguna Beach
Laguna Museum of Art
-California Art and only California Art
Permanent collection includes many historic
California Artists of the Laguna Beach Art Association |
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Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix Art Museum
an excellent sampling of
Artists of the American West |
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Prescott, AZ
Phippen Museum
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& Beyond |
Honolulu, HI
Honolulu Museum
(see our Newsletter article
from February, 2015)
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Kamuela, HI (Big Island)
Issacs Art Center
65-1268 Kawaihae Road
Kamuela, HI 96743
(See our Dec '16 article "Hawaii's Paul Gauguin,"
modernist Madge Tennent, 1889-1972)
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Seattle, WA
Seattle Art Museum |
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Portland, OR
Portland Art Museum
Permanent Collection: American Art
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Washington D.C.
The Renwick Gallery
Permanent ... Grand Salon Paintings
from the Smithsonian American Art Museum |
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Chicago, IL
Art Institute of Chicago
Permanent collection:
the Impressionists |
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Cedar Rapids, IA
The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
Grant Wood: In Focus
is an ongoing permanent collection exhibition. |
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Bentonville, AR
Crystal Bridges
Museum of American Art
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Washington D.C.
The National Gallery
Permanent collection
American Paintings |
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Philadelphia , PA
The Philadelphia Museum of Art |
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Philadelphia , PA
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Campus |
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Brooklyn, NY
The Brooklyn Museum
American Art
Permanent Collection |
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New York , NY
The Whitney Museum of American Art
The largest selection of works by Edward Hopper |
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Detroit, MI
Detroit Institute of Arts
American Art
Permanent Collection |
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Ottawa, Ontario
National Gallery of Canada |
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