"Color My World"

8 x 10"

oil on panel
sold

We are the fortunate ones here in the United States.  We can see Vincent van Gogh's iconic The Starry Night in person in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  We're lucky that way.

In 1888, Vincent van Gogh was hospitalized at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, an asylum for the mentally ill, after a breakdown. During his stay, he was encouraged to paint - and although he rarely ventured far from the building, he painted landscapes from his view through a window in his private room.  The Starry Night was an amalgamation of church spires and cypress trees and small villages and night sky constellations he drew from his memory of paintings done in the past.

His brother Theo thought the painting to be too stylized, too exaggerated but it has become one of the most recognized van Gogh masterpieces for decades.  Seeing a van Gogh in person is special - the colors are vivid and saturated, the thickness of the paint, the swirls and movement of pigments all give it motion and life.  There's nothing like it.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Da Vinci Bestowed"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

Happy Easter.

A good day to paint a woman viewing Savior of the World by Leonardo da Vinci.

Da Vinci painted Salvator Mundi (Latin for Savior of the World) around 1500, depicting Jesus giving a benediction with his right hand while holding a crystal orb in his other hand - said to convey his role as savior and master of the cosmos.  Da Vinci painted another 20 or so versions of this work.

Thought to be the original, it was restored and exhibited in London in 2012. Although its authenticity was disputed by some, it was sold at auction by Christie's in New York for - wait for it - $450.3 million. The purchaser was Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Farhan and will be displayed in the new Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum.

"Belfry"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

Now I know it's not nice to stare but I have this thing about fabrics.  Especially patterned, colorful fabrics.  I followed this woman around the galleries - enamored by her sari and layers of different jewel-toned wraps.  She reminded me of how elegant Georgia O'Keeffe was in her later years.

From the Art Institute of Chicago, a woman stands besides O'Keeffe's Church Steeple, 1930.  The painting belongs to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

"Drama Queen"

8 x 24"

oil on panel
sold

Of all the paintings by John Singer Sargent, this one, which I got to see in person, blew me away like no other - depicting the famous Shakespearean actress Dame Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth. 

Sargent attended the production of Macbeth at the London Lyceum and immediately wanted to paint the actress and convinced her to sit for him.  His pose of Terry holding a crown on her head, after the murder of Duncan, the Scottish king, didn't happen in the play, but he wanted a dramatic pose, concentrating on her intense gaze and that spectacular costume of green and blue embroidered silk.

Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth hangs in the Tate Britian.

My new painting will be included in the upcoming solo show Sargentology  opening March 2nd at the Robert Lange Studios.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Homebody"

9 x 12"

oil on panel
sold

I'm still working on paintings for my show Sargentology, but it's high time I posted those that I've completed, starting with the newest one.

Featured in this setting are three gentlemen - the viewer taking a rest on the gallery bench, Dr. Samuel Jean Pozzi on the left and the artist, John Singer Sargent to the right.

Sargent painted Dr. Pozzi at Home in 1881.  Dr. Pozzi was a good friend of Sargent's, he was a Parisian gynecologist and renowned dandy - described by a contemporary as 'himself a kind of beautiful work of art'.  Sargent painted his friend relaxed at home, wearing a plush, red robe with a puffy shirt underneath, with a peek of an embroidered slipper.  Notably, Pozzi's hands are a focus, elegant, one grasping the collar, the other pulling on the tie around his hip.  The attention to his hands suggests a reminder of Pozzi's method of examination in his profession as a gynecologist.  Dr. Pozzi at Home belongs to the Hammer Museum in LA.

Sargent painted his self-portrait in 1906 and belongs to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

Please click here for a larger view.

All of my paintings for the show, opening March 2nd at Robert Lange Studios, can be seen here.

"Red Alert"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I took a break from painting larger pieces and loosened up with this flirty moment - a woman seemingly being eyed by the Portrait of a Member of the Haarlem Civic Guard by Frans Hals.

Frans Hals (the Elder) was a Dutch Golden Age painter during the time of Rembrandt, a portrait artist much like his contemporaries.  I found it amusing that Hals insisted he stay in Haarlem and his clients needed to come to him to sit for a portrait, and it apparently worked for years because he did achieve success until he went out of style.  He was also an art restorer, dealer and art tax expert for the city.  Turned out the city and creditors sued him numerous times for debt and seized several pieces of furniture and paintings to settle. Left destitute, he was afforded a city pension but left nothing of note for his family when he died.

His portraits are hung in museums around the world.  There is a Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, Amsterdam, Antwerp, the Louvre in Paris, the Frick and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to name a few.

The Portrait of a Member of the Haarlem Civic Guard hangs in the National Gallery of Art DC.

"Swept Away"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

Like many a Rembrandt painting,  A Girl With a Broom, painted in 1651, is one of the most-copied or faked paintings of all times.  In fact, the fakes have been produced since the mid-1700's.  Numerous people through the years have claimed they have the original, but alas, the original hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

"An Assumption"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

This new painting will be my Christmas card this year.  

Featured is the Assumption of the Virgin with Saints Julian and Minias by the artist, Andrea del Castagno, painted in 1449.  The Rector of a church in Florence commissioned the painting for an altarpiece - a church that dated back to the 11th century.  In 1888, the church was demolished during the Reconstruction of Florence and the altarpiece was purchased by the Staatliche Museum in Berlin, where visitors can view this remarkable work of art.

The original photograph is by Stefan Draschan, who kindly gave me permission to use it as a reference.