MMaxi

Hairpin Lalique | 21 mai 2008

 

 

 

 

 

What appears to be two sprays of the 'viburnum opulus roseum' shrub - the Guelder rose - is in fact a costly hairpin by the famous designer René Lalique. The hairpin is made of a translucent horn apparently so fragile that the flowers of diamond clusters seem to be bending the leaves. The delicate contrast of the materials gives the jewel a magical quality. Lalique was celebrated for his elegant and extremely expensive jewellery. His designs were made for wealthy clients, like his patron, the Armenian oil magnate Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian. He made a second hairpin in the same form for this client (now at the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon). That pin has the flowers executed in pale blue plique-á-jour enamel decorated with diamonds.


Year c. 1902-03
Artist René Lalique
Technique Horn, gold and diamonds
Dimensions 15,5 x 7,6 cm

Publié par MMaxi à 20:28:30 dans Art | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens

Michiel Jansz. van Miereveld | 01 avril 2008

Ambrogio Spinola


The Spanish army in the Southern Netherlands was under the command of the Italian Ambrogio Spinola. As a general this opponent of Stadholder Maurice was widely respected. Spinola travelled to The Hague for the negotiations that led to the Twelve-Year Truce. It was during this period that the artist Michiel van Miereveld of Delft painted his portrait, probably commissioned by Maurice for his gallery of paintings of famous heroes. Here Spinola, almost an exact contemporary of Maurice, is shown aged 39.

Title Ambrogio Spinola (1569-1630), Commander of the Spanish Troops in the Southern Netherlands

Year 1609

Artist Michiel Jansz. van Miereveld

Technique Oil on canvas

Dimensions 119 x 87 cm

Publié par MMaxi à 15:56:06 dans Art | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens

Judges | 01 avril 2008

Publié par MMaxi à 00:59:23 dans Art | Commentaires (3) | Permaliens

Mother's Duty | 30 mars 2008

Title
Interior with a Mother delousing her child's hair, known as 'A Mother's duty'
Year
c. 1658-60
Artist
Pieter de Hooch
Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
52,5 x 61 cm
In a room with a boxbed, a mother and child are sitting happily together. The woman is absorbed by a rather prosaic task: delousing her child's hair. The delicate play of the light leads the viewer's attention from room to room. The light in the room is somewhat subdued whereas as the room at the back is sunny. A garden can be seen through the open door. A ray of light shines through the high window, lighting up the two figures. It also catches the edge of the child's chair and the copper bedpan. The sunlight reflects strongly in the door, causing the floor tiles and hair on the dog's chest to glisten.

Publié par MMaxi à 04:57:17 dans Art | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens

Ferdinand Bol masterpieces | 20 mars 2008

An old woman is sitting quietly in her chair. On the table beside her is a book. She is wearing a kind of two-piece: a black dress and matching coat trimmed with fur, which is draped elegantly over the chair. In her hand is a handkerchief. This type of costume was fashionable around 1640 but the large ruff and the cap with wing flaps were out-of-date by this time. Nevertheless, the older generation tended to ignore the whims of fashion and continued to wear these garments.


Ferdinand Bol (1616-1680)

The artist Ferdinand Bol grew up in Dordrecht. He learned to paint either there or in Utrecht under the artist Abraham Bloemaert. Later Bol worked for a period at the studio of Rembrandts in Amsterdam, before setting up as an independent artist in 1642. Bol mainly produced portraits and history paintings. At first his work resembled Rembrandt's, but after 1650 he developed a more colourful and elegant style. Bol received numerous commissions, including for the Amsterdam town hall and the Admiralty. After 1669 and his second marriage to Anna van Arckel, Bol, now a wealthy man, hardly painted anymore. His self portrait of the late 1660s is one of his last works.



Title
Elisabeth Jacobsdr. Bas (1571-1649), widow of Jochem Hendricksz. Swartenhont

Year
c. 1640

Artist
Ferdinand Bol

Technique
Oil on canvas

Dimensions
118 x 91,5 cm

Publié par MMaxi à 13:11:05 dans Art | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens

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