CHROMATIC CAPTIVATION
Where
in the
artist’s brush
does the light live?
In oscillations
of the stroke? In the next
undulating wave of the
master’s soul? In alchemical
pigments, captured, refracted onto
canvas? Can light be coaxed, beguiled onto
canvas? Does light live in microscopic
clarities of naturalists, in the
halo of translucence of clasped
hands, in catchlights of soulful
irises, or in the
verve, the ardor of
the luminous
conduit
of a
soul?
© Linda Naylor
July 26, 2024
It wasn't until young adulthood that I began seeking my own understanding of the art world. Sure, there were trips to the Cincinnati Art Museum for the occasional special exhibit, and Cincinnati Music Hall for holiday theater productions. In the mid-1960s, our high school chorus was even invited with several other choruses to sing in the Cincinnati May Festival, an annual choral tradition first held in 1873.
My family did have the influence of my brother, Scott's, significant artistic talent. Scott spent 34 years sculpting commissioned bas relief destined for places like the Michigan Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Department of Defense conference rooms and many, many heralded private boardrooms and homes.
Scott also partnered with sculptor Ken Bradford to create 11 full-size statues of military servicemen and women for the City of Blue Ash's 1991 Bicentennial. Seeing the progression of sculpture coming to life was extraordinary.
Deep quiet is alluring, settling, and a reverent ease swept over me as Paul and I walked into the Portland Art Museum’s exhibit of Monet & Matisse. Feeling the presence of the masters, alive in their works, changes the chemistry of the observer.
Art speaks its own language. I suppose the language could be called meaning. Interpretive meaning.
We first breathed in the sunny, breezy light of the Seine captured by impressionist Claude Monet in 1881.
I was startled and enchanted by Camille Pissarro's impressionist metropolis. Single brushstrokes wielded the contours of carriage wheels and horses. 1903
Hudson Valley painter Martin Johnson Heade's light-flooded landscape of Jamaica's tree ferns was so expressive as to appear miraculous. His painting inspired the poem, Chromatic Captivation. 1887
Auguste Rodin's marble sculpture of a Danaid, a woman of Greek mythology who collapses in despair for the crime of murdering her husband on their wedding night. The physical contortions of her body captured permanently in marble reminded me of Michelangelo's unfinished Slaves statues in the Accademia in Florence, Italy, some of my very favorite sculpture. 1903
A dreamy young woman tenderly holding her little brother. Sweet, delicate, serene. William Bouguereau 1864
Beautifully depicted food and kitchen paintings are made all the more warm and humble when a child is included. She tends a pot with a ladle more than half her size, and the painting alludes to a more complicated world outside her working-class kitchen. Endearing. Pierre-Edouard Frere 1858
Often the most intriguing focal points of a painting may not be the obvious. Here, society portraitist Giovanni Boldini imbued a New York philanthropist with a sensual elegance. I love a great pair of shoes…
Master frame-makers crafted wooden frames, and many frames became masterpieces themselves during the Renaissance. They also conveyed status and taste.
What is the origin of the light?
Portland Art Museum French Moderns: Monet & Matisse Jun 8 - Sep 15, 2024
Happy Birthday 🎉🎂🎊