The King's Painter

Charles Le Brun (1619 -1690) was an important artist in his time. He was co-founder of the Academie des Peintres et Sculpteurs in 1648 and later became Louis XIV's favorite painter. The king ennobled Le Brun and gave him the title Premier Peintre du Roi. He was placed in charge of the royal collections and became director of the gobelin studios. He is responsible for the paintings and interior design of the Gallerie des Glaces and the Salons de la Guerre et de la Paix at Versailles. Le Brun's work is highly appreciated. Not only a respected painter, as architect he was also closely involved with the building projects of Louis XIV. Nevertheless he left little influence. This is because he subjected his style entirely to the glorification of absolutism. His effectively composed scenes are seen more as admirable documents of historic events than as the individual style of an artist.

Picasso

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up" - Pablo Picasso




Nude Standing by the Sea 1929 oil on canvas Pablo Picasso Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

Art Auction

In preparation for the annual Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Gala and Silent Art Auction on May 1, 2009, I selected this painting for this year's participation. In 2008 I was able to donate a new painting for this fundraising auction. Lack of time has prevented me to do the same this year. This painting was made in 1997. It is an older work with the subject very appropriate for the occasion. The scenery in this painting is at Canyon Lake, in the Texas Hill Country. It has been part of my personal collection for all this time because this painting formed a milestone towards the development of my current style, where the sky dominates in importance over the landscape.
The Gala and Art Auction are a major fund raiser for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. This is the third year I made a donation to this important institution.

Sunrise - Canyon Lake oil on canvas 30" X 40" Chris De Dier

Ceilings

Contemporary taste has lost affection for elaborate ornament. Especially ceilings are the most popular victim to minimalism. Perhaps rightfully so. To turn a ceiling ino a breathtaking work of art takes enormous talent, skill and financial budget. With lack of any of these, it is best left plain and simple. The ceilings pictured in this post are superb examples of a lost art.

Above: Ornate ceilings of different period styles in the Louvre, Paris, France.

Left: Beaux-Arts ceiling in the Louvre, Paris.

Below Center: Frescoed ceiling in the chapel of the Palais de Versailles, France.

Left and above Right: Ceilings in the Palais de Versailles, France.

To the Right: Contemporary ceiling at a restaurant in New York City. This is as much visual interest as todays' low plasterboard ceilings can bear.

Fish In Murky Water

Small paintings can be fun sometimes because they allow easier experimentation. They are more practical to handle horizontally than larger formats and there is less pressure that the efforts should be successful. Controlling water based paints on oil paint is challenging but in the case of these three new paintings, it created more or less the desired result.

Koi I mixed media on paper 8" X 8" Chris De Dier

Koi II mixed media on paper 8" X 8" Chris De Dier

Koi III mixed media on paper 8" X 8" Chris De Dier

There Is A Difference

I was asked to paint a copy of an existing painting. The reason for this is a strange topic in itself that can be discussed at a later date. The best way to manage this commission was to paint similar without trying to imitate. The general idea, topograhy and light color range of the original painting were followed; beyond that, there was no point in even trying to come close to a copy.
Although both paintings below have strong similarities, they are quite different. I hope that one day, they will come together and be hung beside each other in the same space.
The top painting is the latest.

White II oil on canvas 48" X 60" Chris De Dier

White oil on canvas 48" X 60" Chris De Dier

Rooftops In The Snow

This painting by Gustave Caillebotte, captures the spirit of Paris so well. From the tower of the Notre Dame, similar rooftop scenes abound in any direction.

Master Monet

Claude Monet had his good days and his bad days, just like the rest of us. That means some of his paintings barely reach mediocrity and some of his work is simply outstanding. Here are some details of what I mean with "outstanding" from his series of phantomlike portrayals of the Cathedrale de Rouen of which 5 paintings are in the collection of the Musee d'Orsay. I am deeply impressed and inspired by them. Like some of his later - much larger -waterlilies paintings, the surface buildup of these paintings is mysteriously complex. It is work like this that sets certain artists apart and above their contemporairies and beyond.

French For Despair

Beaux-Arts sculptures cause me mixed feelings. I appreciate the Classical ideals that served as inspiration for depicting the human form and the use of physical pose to convey a mental or emotional attitude.
A lot of it is too dramatic or sentimental to my taste. Cultivated positions can easily look contrived when the artist does not use the correct amount of restraint to keep it subtle. When done with skill, it leaves some outstanding works of art. One sculpture that stopped me in my tracks is the above, and below, titled Le Desespoir (I forgot the name of the artist). I wished I could have taken it home.

La Gare d'Orsay

One of the highlights of this trip was our visit to the Musee d'Orsay. I knew already very well the collection of paintings it houses, and I was strongly anticipating to see them in real.... again. Some of these paintings I had seen already in 1978 in the Musee du Jeu de Paume, which held the impressionist paintings until 1986. Others I had seen before at some of the important exhibitions of Europalia in Brussels.

The interior of the museum itself remained for the most part a mystery because I had never seen images of the building itself. I knew it was a restored former train station from the Beaux-Arts period. However, that did not prepare me for the spectacular view of the main hall and how this vast space has been divided into exhibition rooms. Wow! It surpassed my wildest expectations.

Serra In The Tuileries

See that barrier of rusty steel in the distance, behind the people, forming a gate toward the Place de la Concorde? That is another Richard Serra sculpture. You will see it better by clicking on the picture to enlarge it.
Now I regret not having walked closer to be near it but on that afternoon my feet were whining relentlessly to walk back to our room and change to a horizontal position for a while. It's one of the things I miss so much from Europe, the ability to walk a lot on a daily basis. I am not used to it anymore!

Grand Serra

Another favorite contemporary sculptor is Richard Serra. I have seen some his work at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, in New York City (see Massive Curves, 09/02/2007), and now in Paris. Seems like every city with cultural ambitions needs to have a Richard Serra. One of his sculptures is partially blocking the view of the Place de la Concorde, at the end of the Jardin des Tuileries (I'll search if I have a picture of it).
Here his work is on display at the Grand Palais. It seems as if he made these monumental plates specifically for this space. His work always leaves quite an impression on me. Does that make me a junkie of minimalism?

Bronze Spider

A huge poster on the facade of the Centre Pompidou announced an exhibition of Louise Bourgeois' work. I admire her work a lot. She is one of the great sculptors of our era. However, I chose not to go see it because of the long lines in front of the ticket booths ... and because I do not like that building at all. Instead, I took a picture of one of her giant Spiders that found a home in the Jardin des Tuileries. It looks like an alien invader.

Memories

I had a great time at the Louvre and learned a lot, despite the crowd. I remember when museums were less visited ... at least on weekday mornings. I remember walking through the halls at the Louvre and only occasionally encountering other living souls. That could be a guard, or a couple of visitors, or here and there an art student, sitting at his easel in front of a painting that he/she was meticulously copying. In my earliest recollection, these art copiers were older men, some wearing a beret, indicating they must have been French. In later years they were younger and mostly Asian. And now there are none because museums became appealing to the general public and are busy as department stores on sales days. It's a great development, to see art is being appreciated by so many, but it also makes me feel nostalgic to quieter times.

Famous Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is a celebrity. She only gained that status during the last 100 years or so, which it is remarkable. Paris Hilton won't last that long (luckily).
I like the new location and the lighter colored wall much better. It is intriguing why this particular painting is so popular. Marketing is to a large degree responsible, because the painting is not particularly different in quality from the other paintings by this artist in the Louvre. My personal favorite is his lesser known portrait of St. John the Baptist (bottom picture)

Not A Cover Girl?

The Venus of Milo is certainly not a pretty woman to modern standards. Her big boned features punctuated by a blunt nose and heavy jaw, fat cheeks (do I see acne there?), massive hips and giant feet are not exactly suggestive of 21st Century ideals of elegance and beauty. Yet, there is a very strong attraction towards this sculpture, resulting from the inviting slightly forward leaning pose and direct gaze. She does not go unnoticed, she leaves a lasting impression... and let's agree that is not because her breasts are perfectly shaped, OK?

Few individuals possess that special aura of graceful confidence and personality that makes heads turn in their direction wherever they go. I read in an article - many years ago - that Elizabeth Taylor has (or had) that aura, Luci Baines Johnson has it too. When these women appear at public functions, we can not resist the urge to stare at them. Esthetic imperfections are overshadowed by grace. To be able to carve that untangible special quality in cold stone is ultimate Art. This is even more remarkable because the arms and hands, important elements by whose position we base a lot of our judgements, are missing.