Artists' Portraits & Self-Portraits

Berthe Morisot with a bouquet
of violets (1872), Manet

Self-Portrait (1885),
Morisot

French painter, Berthe Morisot was a young subject of Édouard Manet, here dressed in all black. Years later, Morisot painted this rather impressionistic self-portrait using more muted colors and perhaps showing her age.

Which portrait do you like better?

Self-Portrait with palette
(1878-9), Manet

Manet himself then painted himself holding a palette and paint brush, again using dark colors. Does it seem odd that he is dressed formally and with a black fedora, tie, and jacket?

Self-Portrait with a Beret
(1886), Monet

Claude Monet sported a beret in this early self-portrait. It surprises me how only a bit of blue accompanies a rather boring color palette for Monet's portrait. Note how as a much younger man Monet can paint with full focus and precision, as opposed to later in life when his eyesight began to fade.

Self-Portrait (1888), Gauguin

Paul Gauguin also painted several self-portraits. Here is the self-portrait that Van Gogh challenged him to paint, along with his painting of mutual friend, Émile Bernard (in the background). The reference to Les Misérables refers to Gauguin's insistence that his life was like that of the book's hero, Jean Valjean. The Post-Impressionist livened up his portrait with a yellow floral background in homage to its recipient, his friend Vincent.

Self-Portrait with palette (1890),
Cezanne

Paul Cezanne did his share of self-portraits, including this one 'with palette'. What I enjoy about this is how Cezanne, who has been identified as a Post-Impressionist, makes use of multiple colors in his palette, face and neck, and even as decoration (and balance) on the reverse side of the canvas he's painting.

So much livelier and more engaging than Manet's rather monochromatic composition in brown and black! 

Self-Portrait #1 (1894), Beaux

I actually prefer this realistic self-portrait by Cecilia Beaux to Morisot's impressionistic portrait. I enjoy the use of earthtones and the treatment of lights and darks, highlighting her face. While the golden-brown background is what one might see in a professional photograph, she has created offsetting visual interest with the striped pattern of her dress.

Somehow, I prefer the character of older self-portraits of Renoir to those of the younger man. Here, his palette is less colorful than a typical Renoir, though the facial highlights seem to be channeling Rembrandt. I like Renoir's choice of warmer tones for the face and background. I especially like his pork-pie style hat! No fedora or palette in this one though!!

After visiting a Travel and Adventure Expo in Seattle this month, I became interested in Kenya. Besides the attraction of a safari for viewing animals in the wild, I think a visit to Kenya would provide a window into the culture (and art) of Kikuyu, the Bantu people native to Central Kenya.

Kikuyu Man (1908-10),
Gallen-Kallela

This portrait of a Kenyan man is by Akseli Gallen-Kallela and was painted early in the 20th century. Here, the subject is dark with a golden yellow background, as if the sun is shining on the back of the figure. The foliage and subtle brushstrokes give the impression of a somewhat barren grassy field.

I show this portrait because it shows art at the tail end of the time period of the other portraits of the late 19th century. Though not a self-portrait, the artist has captured the personality of his subject without forcing a formal pose.

Self-Portrait (1943), le Doux

I include this self-portrait by Charles Picart le Doux in comparison the that of Édouard Manet. Like Manet, le Doux painted self-portraits, portraits of family and friends, still lifes, landscapes, and even murals. His work also reminds me of Impressionists Paul Cezanne and Paul Gauguin (above), obviously with a more limited palette!

With a simple diagonal line, he suggests that he's working on a canvas.

Please note that I purposely excluded the artists who are more well-known for painting self-portraits -- specifically Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Frida Kahlo.

Famous Portraits of Children

The Age of Innocence (1788),
Reynolds

Now that I've been blogging for over six years, many of my favorite artworks have appeared in multiple posts. I apologize if you've already read about these common subjects. My love of portraits began with Rembrandt, who famously painted 75 self-portraits. As I became an art docent in my daughter's elementary school classrooms, I was exposed to many more talented portraitists, including Sir Joshua Reynolds, Principal Painter to the King. This painting may be of the artist's great niece. It was featured in my November 2022 post entitled, Famous Artists & Paintings -- By Century.

Lady Caroline Howard (1778),
Reynolds

Ten years earlier, Reynolds painted the portrait of Lady Caroline Howard, which was used early on in the art docent program in which I taught. See Artists With July Birthdays. The background and position of the subject figures are very similar, although you can easily see their stations and style of dress are quite different.

National Gallery, London

In Portrait Artists, my post from March 2020, I included a sweet portrait by John Singer Sargent. Although I'm a huge fan of the Impressionists, always gravitating to Van Gogh in particular, Sargent is my favorite portrait artist. Like Rembrandt, I am pleasantly surprised when I encounter one of Sargent's works at an art museum. 

A Girl with a Watering Can
(1876), Renoir

In Pierre Auguste Renoir's painting of A Girl with a Watering Can, the subject green watering can seems to get lost among the foliage and the dark blue of the girl's dress. If it wasn't for the lace trim on the dress it might be invisible. He has divided the composition in half, with the green grass in the background and the light dirt path in the foreground, balancing the girl's face color.

Young Girl with Doll (1884), Morisot

Much creepier is this portrait by Berthe Morisot. The black dress and the unusual and complicated background make it even more so. I am confused by the background. It feels like the girl is outside in a garden, but then the 'window' in the top right corner seems to depict a distant scene. Considering the upholstered chair, now that far off lighter area could be a bed. The large pot is also a distraction for me.

Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (1878), Cassatt

Perhaps the best known painter of children (and mothers) is Mary Cassatt. While I appreciate the cyan blue color of the fabric in the four chairs, I am less pleased with the clothing and pose of the young child. She seems to be relaxing, focusing on the dog resting nearby, and (maybe) waiting to be dressed. Apparently, Edgar Degas helped Cassatt rework this and ten other entries for her debut exhibition in 1879.

Mother and Child (1914),
Cassatt

My favorite is this pastel painting with its soft coloring and subtle blue shading. I like the child's little pink feet emerging from the mother's supporting left arm. The background is comprised of many colors, reminding me of one you'd see in a photographer's studio.

The Railway (1873), Manet

Édouard Manet's painting of a well-dressed child waiting for a train features his favorite model, Victorine Meurent. You may recognize her from his famous Luncheon on the Grass, although here she is clothed in a rather drab blue suit and matching hat. The model may not actually be related to the child. She may be portraying a nanny, who curiously is also caring for the girl's puppy.

Buttercups and Daisies (1881),
Hugh Cameron

I much prefer the portrayal of youths in the 19th century to those depicted as miniature adults in the earlier 18th century. Although this subject is shown without adult figures, she is realistically proportioned. Perhaps being related to the subject allows Cameron to capture the sweet personality of the little red-haired girl.

Beach Scenes & Women with Parasols/Umbrellas

On the Beach (1873), Édouard Manet

Beach scenes were popular subjects in the paintings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As you can see here, Édouard Manet and his wife are fully dressed and seated on the beach to watch the big ships sail by. Both subjects are well-covered as if they needed protection from the sun, suspiciously absent from their surroundings. The gray and black figures stand out against the pale-yellow sand. Curiously, Madame Manet's bonnet and shoe get the most detail.

Woman with a Parasol (1875), Monet

Continuing with three paintings by Claude Monet, I must include Woman with a Parasol (1875) even though it may not be a beach scene like the other two paintings. I love the atmospheric effects that Monet has achieved in this painting of his wife and child. Monet reflected the green ground in the underside of Madame Monet's parasol. Her white dress is like a canvas reflecting the colors of her surroundings, making it seem like we're looking through and beyond her. I love this painting!

The Beach at Trouville (1870), Monet

Earlier, in 1870, Monet depicted this scene of The Beach at Trouville. It may have well been people walking on a city street instead of a boardwalk and sandy beach. This northernmost coastal city of France is over 700 miles from southernmost Nice, where we visited in May 2011, yet it looks quite similar. 

Beach in Pourville (1882), Monet

Monet painted a series of more impressionistic beach scenes in 1882. The shadows of the cliffs in the bottom corner distract me almost to the point of drawing a 'line of tension'. Fortunately, the sandy curved shoreline directs me eye toward the muted building in the background.

By the Seashore (1883), Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted lots of portraits of women, including this one where the subject is posing in a wicker chair in the artist's studio. He added the beach scene in the background based on studies he did en plein air (outside).

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of
La Grande Jatte (1884-6), Seurat

The classic A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte was painted by Georges Seurat and depicts Parisians relaxing in a park on an island in the Seine River. It's probably the most famous Pointillist work of Neo-Impressionism. And also a very large painting measuring 6.6 ft × 9.8 ft. I usually try to tell my students the size of the painting that inspired my art lesson.

Fishing Boats at Sainte-Marie (1888), Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh's beach scenes typically contain brightly colored fishing boats. This one resembles Renoir's By the Seashore in that the subject boats stand out vividly against the more pastel background. The distant sailboats on the water almost disappear at the horizon.

Idle Hours (1894), Chase

I'm less familiar with American Impressionists such as William Merritt Chase. When I saw this scene of his family relaxing on a grassy knoll, it instantly reminded me of Port Townsend, Washington (sans Pt. Wilson lighthouse). Chase was also an art teacher who taught two of my favorite painters: Georgia O'Keeffe and Edward Hopper.

Lady with a Parasol (1900-1), Sargent

My favorite portrait painter has to be John Singer Sargent. His Capri Girl (my favorite) and other more formal portraits are unlike this one of a reclining Lady with a Parasol. Though in an awkward position, the shapes and swirling lines make for an almost abstract composition. I enjoy stumbling upon these gems whether I'm researching for my blog or visiting an art museum.

Women Walking on a Beach (1909), Sorolla

Our final artist is Spanish painter, Joaquín Sorolla. He has successfully captured his wife and eldest daughter taking a stroll along a beautiful beach. I love the movement and his ability to create a subtle value range using whites and grays. I'm assuming the daughter is on the right, carrying only her straw hat, while her mother is burdened with a coat and umbrella. Sorolla has cut off his wife's head and interrupts the wave crest with her hat and his daughter's hair.

Our National Gallery of Art in DC

Majorcan Fisherman (1908), Sargent

John Singer Sargent in Spain

Recently, my daughter attended a professional conference in Washington D.C. and took the opportunity to visit several museums. She shared her photos of famous works on exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. Curiously enough, there were two exhibits of one of our mutual favorite artists, John Singer Sargent, while on one of his seven trips to Spain (1879-1912) to study Velázquez. His painting of a Majorcan Fisherman is particularly captivating and unlike many of his other portraits, usually of women, and typically with a darker color palette. It reminds me of Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party (1888) with its canopy and view through to the water in the background. I love the shadows and the sharp contrast of the dominant orange tones with the striking blue of the water.

Newly Discovered Art & Artists

Blue Morning (1909), George Bellows

Another American artist, George Wesley Bellows (1882-1925), painted a similarly framed landscape looking out over water. He is famous for painting urban life in New York City. His Blue Morning scene is reminiscent of Edvard Munch's sad depictions of mine workers returning home in the snow. Here, the column, fence, and shadows frame a silhouetted portrait on a foggy morning. The 'blue' may represent either the color of the water or the sadness of the workers. This is the last of four paintings Bellows made from 1907-1909.

Street of Barns (1914), Feininger

German American painter, caricaturist, and comic strip artist, Lyonel Feininger grew up in New York City. He was a proponent of Expressionism, painting buildings, street scenes, and barns. His figures are elongated much like those painted by fellow German Expressionist, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. At first blush, I thought this painting was one of the works by Cubist George Braque. I guess I need to practice guessing artists using Artle - the daily art exploration game created by the National Gallery of Art (it's free!).

Still Life (1918), Picasso

Peonies (1901), Picasso

Speaking of Cubists and other Expressionists, The National Gallery of Art was also showing several works by Pablo Picasso. Besides his recognizable Harlequin Musician and The Lovers, also on exhibit were Still Life and Peonies. I hadn't realized that Picasso painted these flowers. Normally, Manet and Monet are the artists whom I associate with them.

Impressionists

Children Playing on the Beach
(1884), Mary Cassatt

Many of the French Impressionists' works are also on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. My daughter took photos of the works of Mary Cassatt, Édouard Manet, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Georges Seurat, and Pierre Auguste Renoir. I love the innocence of Cassatt's Children Playing on the Beach (1884). Her portraits are some of my favorites -- they are timeless.

The Railway (1873), Manet

Édouard Manet preferred painting portraits, and I'd call him a French Realist. Here in The Railway we see a portrait of a mother and child waiting at the train station. I am distracted by the bars of the iron gate as well as the stitching in the mother's coat. Perhaps the daughter is dressed up to receive her father from the train. Did you notice the puppy cuddling in the woman's lap?

Still Life with Pineapple (1924), Matisse

Fauvist Henri Matisse is responsible for many colorful still lifes, and I especially like this one with a pineapple. We were lucky enough to visit his museum while in Nice, France in 2011. Like contemporary artist, Kehinde Wiley, Matisse backgrounds are always very interesting.

Woman with a Parasol - Madame
Monet and Her Son (1875), Monet

The Artist's Garden at
Vétheuil (1881), Monet

Like Manet, Claude Monet used members of his own family as his subjects. We also visited his garden at Giverny in 2011. Quite impressive!

Landscape, Ile-de-France (1873), Pissarro

My daughter knows how much I appreciate the works of Camille Pissarro, His works transcend all of the various Impressionist movements, although he is often referred to as a Neo-Impressionist. His version of Monet's haystacks is equally impressive.

Seurat Retrospective, Georges Seurat

The exhibition also featured a sort of retrospective wall showing the work of French Post-Impressionist and Pointillist, Georges Seurat. Of course, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884-86) is probably his best-known Pointillist works, made famous by the play starring Mandy Patinkin.

A Girl with a Watering Can (1876),
Pierre Auguste Renoir

It's always fun to find familiar artwork at the museum you're visiting. Here's probably the most famous Renoir, A Girl with a Watering Can (1876). I seem to focus on the girl's upper half with the red bow and the blue and white dress, but I never really noticed the watering can. And I consider myself very observant!

More 20th Century Artists

Ground Swell (1939), Edward Hopper

So, luckily my daughter took photos of four more of my favorites, who are more modern and contemporary than those of the French painters you usually spot at art museums. These artists are Edward Hopper, Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Miró, and Lee Krasner (wife of Jackson Pollock).

I love Hopper's clean and confident style. His paintings have no frills, little shading, and calming areas of color that capture a moment and illicit relaxation for the viewer. 

Head of a Catalan Peasant
(1934), Joan Miró

Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle)
(1913), Kandinsky

I love Abstract Expressionism and the playful compositions of Kandinsky and Miró. Whether I am teaching kids or seniors to make colorful Kandinsky concentric circles or cutting out shapes to make Miró balanced compositions, it is always fun to find new masterpieces to share with them as examples for our projects.

Cobalt Night (1962), Krasner

It's surprising how many of Jackson Pollock's work I've seen at various art museums. Like Kandinsky, his compositions are usually numbered and mention the dominant color used in the painting. While vacationing in Palm Springs, I saw the exhibit of the 12 Women of Abstract Expressionism, including some works by Lee Krasner.

I hope you enjoyed this post about some of the 'most important' works currently on display at the National Gallery of Art in D.C. While in St. Petersburg, Russia in June 2019, our tour guide only showed us the 'most important' artwork because of the vast number of pieces at the Hermitage Museum. While I certainly appreciate seeing those, I still enjoy stumbling upon those diamonds in the rough, lesser known or seldom seen works, and even those by artists I've only recently discovered. This is how we learn and grow in our ability to appreciate visual art! 

Palm Trees and Tropical Art

This month's online class was called, Bountiful Beauty, Palm Tree Designs. We learned how to draw these tall, graceful, hardy, and resistant trees. We marveled at their upright growth, abundant fruitfulness, and flexibility. My first example was an upward-looking view using a curved trunk and feathery fronds. I used watercolor paint and embellished with markers.

My second sample showed the progression from a watercolor landscape to a much more vivid scene. I decided to compromise on the silhouetted trees of my inspiration and instead experimented with different colored Sharpies.

For my demonstration, which I finished after class, I decided to paint a closeup view of a palm tree with its dying fronds hanging down along its trunk. This one also turned out to be mixed media.

The Heart Art Healing sponsor of this Circle of Love event was inspired by this photograph of palm tree bark that I took while vacationing in Palm Springs. She was hosting our event from Hawaii. I am anxious to see her interpretation of the bark. The value range and intricate spiky shapes will make an unusual and abstract design.

I also took some photos of the native trees of Palm Springs. This one is a particularly lovely trio I captured while walking the dogs along a somewhat busy street. I love the composition with its low horizon, cluster of three palms, and the small tree off in the distance.

Palm trees on Martinique (1887),
Paul Gauguin

Not many famous artists used palm trees as subjects in their paintings. I did find one or two by Claude Monet that captured my eye. Due to copyright restrictions, I am unable to show you Monet's Palm Trees at Bordighera (1884), which he painted while visiting the southern coast of Italy with Renoir in December 1883. You may also appreciate the palm trees painted by Paul Gauguin. Gauguin captured the light using bright yellows and oranges, as well as creating a mood with his contrasting purple sky. Impressionists like Monet often used purple to replace black in their paintings. See The Color Purple, Violet, or Lilac in Art.