The Gallery Meerkat

Earlier this year, I went to the Courtauld Gallery to see a special exhibition of the masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection (of Winterthur, near Zurich). 

It was a wonderful show - full of exciting paintings which had never been seen in England before.

Oskar Reinhart was born from a wealthy Winterthur family who ran a leading international trading company. More interested in art than business, he began collecting seriously in 1919. He eventually had to step back from the firm to devote himself fully to building his collection. This included impressionists and Renaissance works. He built a gallery which he then bequeathed to the Swiss Confederation, which opened to the public in 1970.

Rating: 4/5 ★★★★☆

A powerful seascape by the French Realist painter Gustave Courbet.

I’m always so delighted to see an artist paint the foamy white bubbles on the crash bursting of a wave, or at its collapsing peaks.

They’re a force of nature which the artist seizes and then pours onto his canvas for our delectation. See also: The Wave by Gauguin (right). 

This painting was - for its time - quite radical. Important for his stylistic (thick and expressive) brushwork - textured surface created by thickly applied paint via a palette knife. This would be influential.

Fellow blogger Debra (“She who seeks”) recently posted about Hokusai. This painting also traces its inspiration to those magnificent Japanese woodblock prints of the 19th century. 

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The Hammock (Le Rêve) by Gustave Courbet

A feeling of carefree escapism?

Being one with nature. This was early among Courbet’s ouvre.

According to wikipedia, it was “submitted to the Salon of 1845 at the Louvre in Paris, but rejected by the authorities.”

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Marguerite de Conflans Wearing Hood by Édouard Manet

Just wonderful.

Manet’s loose impressionistic brushwork crates a canvass “texture” to her delicate garments and accentuates her thoughtful and engaging gaze. The dark background really illuminates her presence alongside those diaphanous fabrics. 

It’s a beautiful portrait.

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Self-portrait by Paul Cezanne

I’ve never seen Paul Cezanne as a younger man. He painted this when he was only 27. Claude Monet bought it.

Aged 41.

He seems measured, deliberate & composed - and yet perhaps a little anxiety in his hand raised to his cheek? 

It’s also a bit of a dark painting and the overall effect is a bit inscrutable?

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Don Quixote and Sancho Panza by Honoré Daumier

From Miguel de Cervantes.

Bold colours, loose brushstrokes, and almost abstractions.

It’s a funny painting - I’ll have to think about it more.

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The Little Reader (La Petite Liseuse) by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot

Excellent - it’s that feeling of quiet inner peace.

Camille Corot was the teacher of Berthe Morisot. I think this is an interesting connection. 

Here he paints a woman entranced by a novel.

The posture, the face, and the environment all suggest a sense of serenity. 

Moreover, she feels so contemporary. Unlike the Rococo, she isn’t dancing, or posing alluringly, or doing anything at all. In fact, she doesn’t seem to care or notice the viewer - which perhaps invites the viewer to contemplate their relationship with the female object?

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Confidences by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Again, we see Renoir’s masterful use of light which adds to fleeting sense of the impressionist interaction. 

And, for me, once again ... a certain want in the visage. 

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Portrait of Victor Chocquet by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Lovely painting.

It’s nice to see Renoir paint a man. Victor Chocquet was a French art collector (wiki).

There is something irresistible about Chocquet’s gaze, and a certain charm & delicacy to his personality.

I like the open shirt, the feeling of an easiness about him and perhaps he’s a little bit of a thinker.

The light flowery background is a nice touch.

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The Milliner by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Beautiful brushstrokes forming her blouse. A lovely painting.

A working lady engrossed, confident, careful, against a light-greeny floral backdrop of swirling petals. 

I love those small & loose wisps of hair at the nape of her neck.

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Barges on the Canal Saint-Martin by Alfred Sisley

Great.

Sisley is an underrated impressionist.

Once again, fabulous waves rippling the water capturing the overcast atmosphere of the surface of the water which contrasts with the graded wooden finish of the barges.

And the sky’s calmful clouds are a beautiful contrast to the energy of the water.

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The Break-up of the Ice (La Débâcle) by Claude Monet

Another wow.

Monet’s mind-blowing watery effect.

The unripplied surface, a soft palette of colours across every surface, and those white brushstrokes of ice on the surface.

I feel I need to put on a jumper looking at this !

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Blue Roofs of Rouen by Paul Gauguin

Another wow.

The palette saturation is wonderful - azurean sky, then green hills, blue roofs, and red-browny fields.

This painting doesn’t like like a Gauguin yet. 

And yet, even so, his use of negative space in the foreground adds, I think, an allegorical tone to the work. Once again, Gauguin uses humans in a large & overbearing field which, to me, evokes a feeling of gloom, pity and/or despondency. For example, see Harvest: Le Pouldu by Paul Gauguin:

Harvest: Le Pouldu by Gauguin.

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Château Noir by Paul Cezanne

Cezanne is a difficult painter.

He does something beautiful - but why? 

Is it the limited form, the limited colours, the limited use of perspective, the melding of objects near and far ?

Not sure, but it does work. And brilliantly - sometimes he’s paintings are absolutely engrossing.

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Still Life with a Curtain, Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne

Another one of Cezanne’s enduring themes.

It’s obvious why he’s described as the father of modernism. It’s his intellectual challenging of art in producing something that doesn’t cohere - but has an immersive stunning effect.

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The Sickward of the Hospital at Arles by Vincent van Gogh

This is new to me.

And I had already seen so much of Van Gogh recently.

Poor Van Gogh. This is a window into his world - having spent weeks recovering from a mental breakdown. 

People huddled by the heater, a heavy atmosphere, solemn and lonely.

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The Clowness Cha-U-Kao by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Toulouse-Lautrec doesn’t do much for me, I don’t think.

Cha-U-Kao was a popular entertainer of 1890s’ Paris and a recurring subject of his.

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At the Café by Édouard Manet

Exhilarating to see this.

Manet’s brushwork is fascinating - the richness, the loose strokes etc... I always love poring over the details of his paintings.

And his subject is focused on the everyday and it’s fascinating. A recurring theme is Parisian bars - e.g. A Bar at the Folies-Bergère: 

I had already seen the twin to this painting at the National Gallery. It was a delight to see the other half at the Courtauld before it went to the National Gallery.

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Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto by Pablo Picasso

Hmm ... not sure how I feel about a painting.

This was recently in the news, according to artnet:

Beneath the melancholy hues of Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto by Pablo Picasso, conservators have uncovered a long-hidden secret—an earlier painting of a mysterious woman, concealed for over a century ... Painted in 1901, when Picasso was only 19, this artwork marks one of the earliest pieces from his renowned Blue Period—a phase that lasted until roughly 1904 and was characterized by a monochromatic palette dominated by cool cerulean tones. It depicts Picasso’s friend and fellow Spanish artist Mateau Fernández de Soto.

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Le Pilon du Roi (The King’s Peak) by Paul Cezanne

Wow .... I give up now.

Cezanne has won me over.

I could just walk into this painting.

I recently visited the Courtauld Gallery at the Strand in London.

I revisited Paul Gauguin’s famously mysterious and captivating “Nevermore”; and got to see “Te Rerioa” (The Dream) for the first time.

The more I delve into art history, the more incredible and groundbreaking Gauguin is. I must admit that I have a soft-spot for him; and it is hard to know where one should stand concerning his behaviour in the Polynesian chapter of his life.

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With that said, Nikhil Krishnan has written in the Daily Telegraph recently (“Racist sexual predator? That isn’t Paul Gauguin’s full story”) reviewing Sue Prideaux’s biography of Paul Gaugin.

She argues that we ought to reassess his standing and tarnished reputation a bit more fairly — especially against the present zeitgeist of identity politics and cancel culture. I will write more about this particular point soon; but here’s a classic example from the wonderful BBC.

Nikhil Krishnan’s main points:

1. Gauguin did not bring syphilis to Polynesia. Analysis of his teeth evinced no traces of cadmium, mercury or arsenic which was used to treat the disease. The introduction of syphilis to Tahiti and the other Pacific Islands can be traced to the late 18th century with European explorers.
2. It is unfair to criticise Gauguin as being a mere “colonialist” who abused Tahitian women and disdained the locals. She argued and proves that Gauguin devoted himself to fighting for the rights of Tahitians under the stuffy French colonial rule he despised. Writing:

Certainly Gauguin’s presence in Tahiti wouldn’t have been possible had he not been French; nor was he exactly a saint. His “marriages” to girls in their early teens were regarded with alarm even in an age with different attitudes to the age of sexual consent. But he was no ideologue: he used every opportunity to decry, eloquently and publicly, French policies in Tahiti. He was a stout defender of the indigenous culture of Polynesia against the attempts of missionaries, both Protestant and Catholic, to destroy every last trace of it. Prideaux finds evidence of Gauguin’s attitudes in a long-lost manuscript of a long, illuminating essay, Avant et après (“part memoir, part last testament”) that has only recently been made available to researchers.

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Nevermore by Gauguin (1897)

Very captivating.

This is probably Gauguin’s 15-year-old “companion” while living in Tahiti which makes it a difficult subject. If I’m not mistaken, the culture at the time on Tahiti permitted this kind of “relationship”. I am entirely sure about this as a matter of historical fact, but it raises a question of whether it matters?

There is a feeling of unease and pathos. While not at rest, it seems her hand might be asking tears, or just her posture. She’s anxiously observing two figures in the background.

This is really beautiful and the Tahiti southern Pacific themes are obvious in the flowers embellishing the walls.

Why “Nevermore”?

The painting’s title associates the bird on the ledge with Edgar Allan Poe’s poem ‘The Raven’. In it, a poet, driven mad by the death of his lover, hears a raven endlessly repeating ‘nevermore’. This sense of loss may allude to Gauguin’s disillusionment at the destruction of Tahitian culture by French administrators and Church missionaries.

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Te Rerioa (The Dream) by Gauguin (1897)

Painted only weeks after Nevermore.

It's quite striking. Here are 2 silent, rather distant, women. They are watching over a sleeping baby. Ancient Egyptian style cat (lack of 3D effect).

I like the position and posture of the seated lady with her chin in her hands.

The room is ornately decorated with elaborate wood reliefs.

This post is about some of the changes, rotations, loans and new acquisitions to rooms 43 and 44 at the National Gallery.

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The Petit Bras of the Seine by Claude Monet

Lovely.

I think there is something quite special and striking about poplars against a solemn landscape and calm riverbank.

This is not the first time Monet has captured Poplars.

I really love the way the river gently curves towards the empty horizon.

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Eva Gonzales by Edouard Manet

This the painter Eva Gonzales. She was Manet’s model and then his student.

She has those lovely rich curls, her marble complexion, engaging features; but that elegant satin gossamery dress is just so beautiful. I’m always amazed at how artists - like Manet - can make the folds of a dress look so delicate, like the feathers of a dove.

I also noticed those flowers on the floor. It’s probably form the vase she’s observing in the painting.

Portrait of Elena Carafa by Edgar Degas

I like the pose, and the direct gaze.

Elena Carafa was Degas’ cousin from Italy.

I do like the inclined angle towards the viewer, her nose is rather cute, and those keen and perceptive eyes. Her general face is a bit inscrutable though. It’s as though we’ve interrupted her reading.

It’s also nice the way her shawl melts into her black dress.

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Portrait of Carolus-Duran by Edouard Manet

This is Manet’s fellow artist Carolus-Duran. He reminds me of TinTin, which makes me smile.

Cap-off, hand-on-waist, riding boots, the confident swagger, slight hint of a contented smile, thick wavy hair ... it has the feel of those great stately portraiture.

I think this painting is unfinished.

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Ballet Dancers by Degas

Degas’ ballet dancers is just so beautiful.

If someone described a Degas painting to you, you’d picture some treacly cliche over a kitchen’s table in a typical lovely Auntie’s house. Instead, in Degas, there is an expressive force and weight to the figures matched by the grace and fluency of their interactions .

The vibrancy of his colours is also very striking and distinctive. It has, I think, a darker palette.

I love the way we can feel the texture of the canvas beneath ... that coarseness.

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Lake Keitele by Akseli Gallen-Kallela - 1905

This is quite interesting.

Akseli Gallen-Kallela was a Finnish artist, and here he painted Lake Keitele.

There is something mystical and ethereal about this painting. Those ridiculously long shadows of the island in the water, the untrammelled waters, the silvery streaks crisscrossing and dissecting the painting.

It’s also hard to tell what those white forms are across the water, perhaps some clouds but they doesn’t seem correspond. Perhaps something symbolic?

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The Kien Valley with the Bluemlisalp massif by Ferdinand Hodler

Love it.

Reminds me of Gauguin and we can see the Japanese wood-prints influence. But I’m not sure what I think of this.

Its clear Hodler’s imbuing the landscape with emotion and a striking colour (which is v. effective). The Alps are rendered a commanding and meditative force. Quite beautiful.

Life is made cartoon-like and ornamental in the sea of yellow.

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In the Bibemus Quarry by Cezanne

So beautiful.

This is supposed to be a quarry but Cezanne almost gives us the inside of a flower. The quarry walls being petals opening up.

I love the way the brown-orangey-rust colours melt as rock layers in an escarpment.

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Woman in the Garden by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

I like it.

It reminds me of Toulouse-Lautrec’s painting of Tristan Bernard.

Nice brushwork that creates texture for the lady’s clothes and the green foliage.

I also like the nose and lips on the young woman’s profile.

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La Terrasse at Vasouy, The Lunch, Part 1 by Edouard Vuillard

Vuillard gives us a wonderful summer fete.

This is supposed to be his friends eating outside with Paris literary and artistic circles.

Vuillard’s colours are incredible - so raw and yet so harmonious.

It doesn’t feel like this was painted on a canvass ... more like a slab of concrete!

We can really appreciate his wonderful impasto.

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La Terrasse at Vasouy, The Lunch, Part 2 by Edouard Vuillard

Just beautiful.

This painting was originally part of a single decorative panel (with the above painting).

Two little sweethearts being tended by a nurse in such a summery garden. I love the nurse’s hat; and those clouds have an amazing billowing texture and hue.

Some more impasto shots.

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Still Life with Water Jug by Cezanne

Another classic Cezanne - but unfinished.

Depicting a blue water jug and a plate with apples. The way the apples meld into and with the surfaces!

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Avenue at Chantilly by Cezanne

I really do like these type of Cezanne paintings. It doesn’t feel like these is much on the canvass; but a lot is carried here.

Interesting use of space and perspective. Looks like two openings. One to the clouds and the other to the red sphere (a sun?). I like interplay of the greeny foliage against the shadowy floor and the orange sandy middle.

It’s very beautiful.

Cezanne spent a few months in the north of France, around Chantilly.

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Harvest: Le Pouldu by Paul Gauguin

Interesting.

The thing about Gauguin is that the landscape and characters obey a simplified geometry and form; against which is defined blocks of basic colours. For instance, the sea (in the background) doesn’t really seem to obey the conventions of linear perspective. It feels a bit strange, curtain-like.

I often feel that there is an undertone of darkness in Gauguin’s paintings. Some kind of struggle which he seeks to capture. For instance, I didn’t really warm to ‘The Wave’ and ‘Nevermore’ (which I discussed at the ‘After Impressionism’ exhibition at the National Gallery). Though they are masterful.

For me, there is a subdued warmth in the colours - especially in the harvest - which accentuates this peasant community’s toil.

That poor lady’s bearing.

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Fruit Dish, Bottle and Violin by Picasso (1914)

A nice analytic drawing that cuts across structure and viewpoint.

I like Picasso’s encouragement, to us, to look at life through his unique lenses; but but I sometimes struggle to understand what Picasso is trying to teach us here about his perspective on life. Picasso didn’t see his furniture, bowls of fruit, bottle, violin in collapsed or cubist sharp lines and edges.

For me, when I see this kind of painting, I think its a clever illusion. Picasso is a visionary master of technical skill, but it’s hit-and-miss with me and Picasso. Sometimes I really like his paintings; but other time I struggle to see him communicate something profound.

But hey-ho. We’re all different.