Rococo meets contemporary

Rachel Feinstein
Eva (parasol), 2005
pastel on paper
39 x 27-1/2 inches
Courtesy Marianne Boesky
*image from http://artcritical.com

A chat with a new colleague at the museum got me thinking about the artists I wrote about in my thesis oh so many 7 years ago. The artist who prompted my interest of Rococo and Baroque art in contemporary art was Rachel Feinstein. I saw a show of hers in a gallery when I was thinking about topics and I was hooked. This pastel has always been one of my favorites. Feinstein works in a variety of media including sculpture. It's quite hard to a do a quick search of her on the web because her and her husband, the artist John Currin, are quite the socialites and most of what one immediately finds are glamour shots and lot of articles sans images.

Dancers

Dancers in the Wings, 1880
Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917)
Pastel and tempera on paper, mounted to paperboard
27-1/4 x 19-3/4 in.
Norton Simon Art Foundation M.1977.06.P
Norton Simon Museum

I love when you fall a work of art at first glance and then upon research and more you find out it is even more awesome than you originally thought. I have never been a fan of Degas, I found his subject matter a bit dull (sorry ballet fans) and have never been particularly attracted to the pastel colors of so much of impressionism. I never once doubted the awesome talent of the artist, it just wasn't for me.

While searching for something else I came across this gorgeous piece by Degas. Drawn in by both composition and the colors, which are almost juicy, I was excited to discover that the work is actually made up of at least 10 pieces of paper (Norton Simon Museum website) which were used to enlarge the drawing. I've always been fascinated by what pastel can be in the hands of someone like Degas. The work is also part tempera, but this is definitely something that cannot be discerned via the digital world (see as much art as you can in person!). I would love to see this work and really understand how the mediums are used.

Woman with a Crow

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)
Woman with a Crow, 1904
Charcoal, pastel, and watercolor on paper
Toledo Museum of Art 1936.4
Check out the TMA link above, I can't like to the work itself so check under Works on Paper.

I'm back! By both request and need (I really missed this). I do hope I can keep it up! Thanks so much to those who follow the blog and let me know how much they enjoy it. That is exactly what I hoped for when I started it. Yay!

The TMA has an endless array of incredible works of art. Normally I wouldn't be one to pull out a Picasso as being one of the best. Yes, yes too typical I often feel. I adored Picasso when I was in high school, but quickly realized that it wasn't such a stretch to be a fan of Picasso and I distanced myself while I learned and fell in love with a greater world of art. I've come back a bit and discovered so much more than the cubist paintings I spent so much of looking on.

The thing that is incredible about artists like Picasso is their artistic range. Picasso went through many periods in both his art and the world of art he was a part of. This gorgeous drawing/watercolor was made when he was only 23 during what is now considered his blue period (noting not only the more melancholy feeling of the work but also the predominant use of the color). I've seen many a Picasso over the years, but this easily ranks up there as a favorite.