Happy Veteran's Day!
The month of October was quite a busy one for me, I was very lucky to have the time to travel to Washington, DC and Europe. In Den Haag, Holland, I visited the Gemeentemuseum where currently some of the Mauritshuis' collection are also on display. (My friend & I went to Mauritshuis because we wanted to see (well, OK, it was mostly me) the classical paintings of Dutch painters (Vermeer, Rembrandt, Van Eyck etc) but we didn't check their website first. So we got there and it was closed until 2014! Luckily some of their collections are being exhibited at the Gemeentemuseum).
FYI, I couldn't photograph the Mauritshuis' collection but I could use my old iPhone to photograph the rest.
The 2 paintings below are from the Gemeentemuseum's collection, they're my favorite. (I'm sure if I had more time to spend there I would find more than 2 favorites).
"Portrait of Edith" by Egon Schiele (oil)
I first saw Egon Schiele's works in Cesky Krumlov (the Czech Republic) back in the 90s. I was still a student and taking summer semester in drawing & print making in Prague. I thought his portrait paintings were so interesting, they're so different. He had outlines and filled the interior space with colors (almost like drawing & painting at the same time). His lines were so scraggly, the shapes were twisted, and the expressions were so subdued.
"Portrait of Edith" was very interesting to me for some reasons. The model was Edith, Schiele's wife. She was wearing her wedding dress, made of curtain fabric, she looked straight to the viewers. I think it is wonderful for a bride to wear color, white is very boring!
Around the subject the space is so cool (even the face, only the lips are warm) but the dress really warms the work, the burst of colors and lots of vertical lines. To me Edith seemed unsure whether she should smile or be serious therefore her expression was "in between".
Sadly, both Schiele & Edith died not long after this painting was done. They succumbed to Spanish flu. She was 6 month pregnant and he was only 28.
If you're interested reading more about Schiele, you can check this website:
www.egon-schiele.net
"Fishing Boat" by Jacob Maris (oil)
This painting by Maris really gave me calm feeling. The color palette is almost monochromatic blue-grayish. You can feel the expansive space around the boat is actually very dynamic, look at the movement of the ocean waves, the flying birds, the gathering clouds....the only static thing is the boat. The boat was anchored directly toward the viewers with that slim rope. It's a wonderful composition!
I haven't painted in a long time, I miss it very much of course. I think it's very important to see other people's works to get inspired. The last few months I saw lots of wonderful works in different museums, I am very grateful for the opportunity so hopefully I will find time and start to paint again soon.-:)
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