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makin' art real talk
Monthly Archives: November 2014
madame cezanne
To celebrate the “Madame Cezanne” exhibit that opens at the Met today, I looked into their marital bliss…or lack thereof, apparently. Turns out that Paul Cezanne didn’t leave his wife anything in their will, and instead left it all to his son. Guess I need to add a new surname to my list of “Hated Pauls in Art History.” You’re in good company with that Gauguin clown, Cezanne.
lady with an ermine
Leonardo da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine” is a portrait of Cecilia Gallerani. She ended up being the mistress of da Vinci’s boss, the Duke of Milan. Although she had his child, they didn’t end up together. I guess when you’re responsible for commissioning The Last Supper and making weapons with 80 tons of bronze that was supposed to be used for your own equestrian statue…you gotta go with someone more noble.
Probably why that ermine-ferret-thing looks so awful.
bunny mellon
43 artworks from the Mellon Collection went up for auction earlier this week. The auction brought in more than $157 million. Bunny Mellon died earlier this year at 103. To honor her and her art collection, I’m going to work on bringing back elbow-length gloves and hanging out with First Ladies.
ginevra or nah
The portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci by Leonardo da Vinci is the only one on display in Americas. There’s some debate as to whether the juniper tree and sprigs on the back of the work are a pun on her name (juniper is ginepro in Italian) or not. Traditionally, junipers are symbols of pain and loss, and are often used in widow portraiture. If that’s the case, there’s a chance that Ginevra is someone totally different! Scholar Maike Vogt-Luerssen said she’s Fioretta Gorini, widow of Giuliano de’ Medici (of, like, the Medicis!), who was assassinated in 1478. He was stabbed 23 times. Yikes! I thought that stuff only happened on the Game of Thrones.
I suppose I’ll have questions for the National Gallery, since their website totally takes the claim of her both being Ginevra and da Vinci using the juniper/ginepro as a pun for her name.
The painting is unique in that there’s a back. It says “beauty adorns virtue.” She also used to have hands, but the panel was cut down due to damage.
pooh sticks
Christopher Robin, Pooh, and Piglet are wondering where their weekend went.
Like this illustration? You can buy it at Sotheby’s English Literature, History, Children’s Books and Illustrations auction later this week.
triple elvis
Warhol’s “Triple Elvis” sold for $81.9 million this week. More than a billion dollars were spent at auction at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Like, hello?! I rummage for change when ordering my iced coffee. This whole “millions to throw down on art” must be really, really nice.
sainte chapelle
Sainte Chapelle (the “Holy Chapel”) was built in the 13th century to house Louis IX’s relics, including the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True Cross. Sainte Chapelle was built in six years, which just blows my mind. I mean, there are photo albums and scrapbook projects I’ve had around for much, much longer than that.
During the French Revolution, the relics were kept in the National Library, and in 1806, were given to the archbishop of Paris to be placed in the Cathedral treasury. The Crown of Thorns is now housed at Notre Dame, and is put on display the first Friday of each month and every Friday during Lent.
judith
Like, Judith doesn’t even care about the idea of a 5 day work week. She’s only about that billowed drapery.
itsawrap
Sometimes art is a wrapping paper that adds just the right touch of superhero, donuts, and prismatic perfection (click on each image for the link).
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