Tag Archives: Paris

ChasingART Celebrates Claribel & Etta Cone

Imagine going back to the early 1900’s, touring Italy with Gertrude Stein and her friends Claribel and Etta Cone.  The days would be filled with poetry, art, food, wine and the sun drenched walks in the countryside.   Dressed in their Victorian garments – black dresses with Belgian lace-collars that framed ornate pins, they would have been easily spotted in a crowd.   Etta, the shy one of the two sisters, may have invited you to travel to Paris to attend the 1905 exhibition, the Salon d’Automne and stay with them in their rented apartments that were situated around the corner from where Gertrude and her brother, Leo, shared a living space.

The sights and sounds of Paris would have liberated your senses, especially when introduced to Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.  A highlight would be the visit to Henri Matisse’s studio on the day that Gertrude bought the “Woman with a Hat,” an oil on canvas that portrays Henri’s wife, Amelie.  Of course, there was talk that it was really Sarah Stein, the wife of Gertrude’s and Leo’s older brother Michael, who was the original purchaser.  But that is for others to debate.  You would have been more interested in examining Etta’s choice of Henri’s still life, “Yellow Pottery from Provence.”  And of course, Gertrude’s portrait sitting at Picasso’s Montmartre studio would be unforgettable.

In 1905, Claribel and Etta, at 41 and 35 respectively, may have been considered spinsters in their hometown of Baltimore but they were prepared to embark on their trip around the globe.  Budapest, Athens, Cairo, Shanghai – centres of commerce, art and exoticism.  Together, the sisters experienced the joy of discovery as they amassed one of the finest contemporary art collections in the United States.  They brought the world home.

 

For more information on the Cone Sisters, please go to Clanmother at Pinterest.

Edgar Degas @ 178

“Everyone has talent at twenty-five. The difficulty is to have it at fifty.”
Edgar Degas

The art world is commemorating Edgar Degas’ 178th birthday. I have always wondered about our preoccupations with birthdays, because there are so many other days to celebrate.  Perhaps it speaks to beginnings, the prelude to being, or maybe it’s simply the joy and freshness of new life.

Edgar Hilaire Germain Degas was born in 1834, Paris, France.  To place this time in history, consider that the French Revolution took place in 1789 – 1799, the Battle of Waterloo and defeat of Napoleon occurred on June 18, 1815 followed shortly thereafter by the restoration of the Bourbon King Louis XVIII to the throne.  But not all were happy.  The republican uprisings occurred in Lyons (1831), in Paris (1832) and again in both cities in 1834, the very same year that welcomed our birthday boy.

Edgar Degas was wealthy, the son of a banker.   His father, wanting a good life for his son, suggested the legal profession.  Degas attempted the legal studies in 1853, but his longing to immerse himself in the art world prevailed.  The École des Beaux-Arts in Paris was a welcome relief to academia.  Soon he was travelling to Italy to see (and copy) the masterpieces by Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian. From that point on, there was no turning back.

In 1862, Degas met Édouard Manet, in front of a Velazquez, on one of many his trips to the Lourve.   This was his introduction to the future Impressionists.  Edgar Degas is usually categorized with the Impressionists.  Indeed, he exhibited with them in seven of the eight Impressionist exhibitions.  His classical training and his dislike of painting directly from nature set him apart from the rest.  But he shared Monet’s love for Japanese prints, which encouraged him to try-out new perspectives.

Degas’ financial background held him in good stead.  He controlled the value of his work by only signing those pieces which he sold or exhibited. His subjects were from his high-born circle of influence: ballet rehearsals, opera houses, and race courses.  His wealth also allowed him to travel extensively:  1) With his brother, to New York and New Orleans in 1872-1873 and 2) To Spain, in 1880 where he etched with Pissarro and Cassatt.

Degas suffered from failing eyesight from the mid 1870s.  This did not stop him.  As a work-around, he took up photography at 61, experimented with pastels, and created small sculptures of dancers and horses .    We lost him on September 27th, 1917, at the age of 83, but his dancers live on in timeless splendour.

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For more on Edgar Degas, check out Clanmother on Pinterest.

Art Nouveau: Ideas Inspire Innovation

“Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts – the book of their deeds, the book of their words and the book of their art.”  John Ruskin

The Belgian journal L’Art Moderne, in the early 1880s, used the phrase Art Nouveau to describe a group of progressive Belgian artists working under the group name of Les Vingt (20 artists). These artists challenged the status quo by creating a new style. They were not alone. Many artists from Europe and America were on the same wavelength because they were all reading, or rather devouring, the works of French Gothic revival architect, Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc and the influential British art critic, John Ruskin.

Viollet-le-Duc is famous and respected for his restorations at Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris. John Ruskin advocated a holistic approach to the arts and removed the obstacles that existed between artistic disciplines. Even now, he is known as having foreseen the interest in environmentalism and sustainability.

Art evolves from our need to understand, control and organize our lives in order to maximize happiness and improve circumstances. Creativity validates ideas by communicating messages through dynamic, emotional and social images. I believe that idea inflows become creative outflows. In other words, ideas inspire innovation.

Art Nouveau came into being at a time when people were tired of the usual repetitive forms and techniques. They wanted more than “the same old, same old!” Who could blame them? The furniture and paintings from the Renaissance and Gothic periods had run their course. It was time to move on and make a fresh start with something new.

“When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.”  John Ruskin

To be continued, with the defining moment, Oscar Wilde & Aubrey Beardsley….

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Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris