For a while now I’ve been somewhat dreading the arrival of winter. The summer and fall were fantastic, weather and colors and events. But change is inevitable and this week I’ve become painfully aware of the winter that is upon us. Every night this week flurries have fallen, softening me to the onslaught of freezing temperatures, and this morning it’s been coming down since I rolled out of bed in tiny flecks and jumbo lumps. The radiators are hissing and knocking just about non-stop.
Fortunately, last weekend the weather was just warm enough to allow for some last minute fall day-tripping. Saturday the boyfriend and I bundled up and headed to the
Barnes Foundation in Merion to celebrate one year of each other’s company and get a little art ed. The site was beautiful, nestled into an extremely upper class neighborhood. I’d really enjoy going back in the spring to walk around the gardens/arboretum and do some sketching of the flora & fauna! As far as the art goes – the collection of Renoirs and Cezannes is almost overwhelming! I already have an appreciation for Renoir, so it was delightful just to see so many pieces of his work (over 180!) , but also developed a new appreciation for Paul Cezanne. There were also pieces by Chaim Soutine and Henri Rousseau which I wasn’t nearly as familiar with that were also inspiring.
Unfortunately, The Barnes Foundation doesn’t have a digital collection, nor do they allow photography or even sketching in the galleries, but I’ve tried to hunt down some images of some of the work that I loved.
Ricci-Art.com has a great library of Cezanne’s images, although I find that I’ve never appreciated these paintings more than standing right in front of them. Images of Cezanne’s paintings just seem somewhat underwhelming to me, but the brush strokes and color combinations were such a treat in person and make it very clear why he was such an inspiration to so many other artists.
Henri Rousseau’s images of nature and animals were very exciting to me, and reminded me of the thick jungles and wildlife in Frida Kahlo’s images. I wasn’t crazy about his architectural paintings, but still enjoyed his body of work.
The first couple of Soutines that I passed by were frankly shocking, and on first impulse I had no desire to see more. The grossly distorted portraits, depressing color palette, and somber subjects were not the romantic beauty I was expecting. But, after studying a few more of his paintings, they began to take hold, and reveal themselves a little more. I still think they’re exceptionally dark, but see now that that’s where the beauty in these images lie. The color and concept take precedence to the subject (like any good impressionist piece does), and that’s incredibly beautiful.
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Cezanne wins. Of course you know we'll be going to the Cezanne exhibition at the PMA.
<3
WV: peritsk – A Russian Parrot