The Golden Age of Danish Painting (1801-1864) Exhibition – Part I

 This exhibition features more than 200 works by the leading Danish artists of the period covered 1801-1864: Christoffer Eckersberg, Christen Købke, Martinus Rørbye and Constantin Hansen…

 

The exhibition is well put together and general notices on the different themes covered (the Art studio, landscape open-air painting, travel paintings, interiors, etc.) as well as for individual paintings are very detailed and interesting. The quality of the paintings is high.

Unfortunately, with the Covid 19 Lockdown, the museum is closed for the time being. Let’s hope that the exhibition will re-open before it ends.

 

Prometheus Molding Man from Clay – Oil on paper mounted on canvas by Constantin Hansen

 

The Life Class At the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhaguen – Oil on canvas (57,7x82,5 cm ) by Wilhelm Bendz Copenhague, Statens Museum for Kunst

A Little Girl, Elise Købke, with a Cup (1850). Oil on canvas (39 cm x35,5 cm) by Constantin Hansen Copenhagune, Statens Museum for Kunst

 

A View Through Three Arches on the Third Storey of the Colosseum (1815). Oil on canvas (32 cm x 49,5 cm) by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg - Copenhaguen, Statens Museum for Kunst

 

Loggia, Procida (1835) - Oil on paper mounted on canvas (32 cm x 47,5 cm) by Martinus Rørbye, - Stockholm, Nationalmuseum

 

Fields of Oats Near Vejby (1843) – Oil painting (25,5 x 28,5 cm) by Peter Christian Skovgaard - Copenhaguen, Statens Museum for Kunst

 Fields of Oats Near Vejby is one of favourite paintings in the exhibition (Click on the photo to see a larger version). The notice for this painting explained that the Danish artists were interested in botanic and followed lectures by the director of the botanical garden. And this painting shows a precise observation of the different plants in this field.

Frederiksborg’s Castle Viewed from Jaegerbakken. Evening (1835) Oil painting on canvas (71,8 cm x 103,4 cm) by Christen Købke - Copenhaguen, Hirschsprung Museum

 

One of the Small Towers of  Frederiksborg’s Castle (around 1834-1835) -  Oil painting on canvas (177 cm x 162 cm) by Christen Købke - Copenhaguen, Designmuseum Danmark

One of the Small Towers of  Frederiksborg’s Castle (Detail)

 

Outside the North Gate of the Citadel (1834) - Oil painting on canvas (79 x 93 cm) by Christen Købke - Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

Outside the North Gate of the Citadel (Detail)

 

The Exhibition

The Golden Age of Danish Painting (1801-1864)

Temporary Exhibition
22 September 2020 to 03 January 2021

Petit Palais
Avenue Winston Churchill 75008 Paris – France

103 Hokusai drawings acquired by the British Museum

The British Museum recently acquired a Series of 103 Preparatory drawings by Hokusai for an illustrated book titled: Banbutsu ehon taizen zu 万物絵本大全図 (Great Picture Book of Everything).

These drawings were produced in 1829. This was a difficult time for Hokusai. As indicated in the Curator's comments, Hokusai suffered a stroke in 1827 or 1828, and his second wife died in 1828;

The Picture Book of Everything was never published and this is why we still have these drawings today. The process of engraving Ukiyo-e (Woodblock print) involves sticking the block-ready drawings onto the cherry-wood printing blocks before cutting it. The drawing is destroyed in the process.

Great Picture Book of Everything, were owned Henri by Vever (a French Art Nouveau jeweller). The works were then sold at auction in Paris in 1948 and had been in private collection ever since. They were auctioned again in June 2019 and the British Museum acquired them.

 

Preparatory drawing (hanshita-e) for an illustrated book, mounted on card. Two cranes and two turtles climbing on lotus leaves. Ink on paper by Katsushika Hokusai (1829).© The Trustees of the British Museum – Used under (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

 

Preparatory drawing (hanshita-e) for an illustrated book, mounted on card. Wu Zixu holding up a bronze vessel weighing 1,000 catties. Ink on paper by Katsushika Hokusai (1829).- © The Trustees of the British Museum – Used under (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

Preparatory drawing (hanshita-e) for an illustrated book, mounted on card. Ke Dao, Cai Lun, Li Chao and his son Ting Zhi engaged in tasks associated with publishing (carving woodblocks, making paper). Ink on paper by Katsushika Hokusai (1829).© The Trustees of the British Museum – Used under (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

You can see these works on site of the online collection of the British Museum 

Make sure you read the Curator's comments which are well written. For each entry, you can also read a translation of the text on the drawing.

Another remarkable feature is that you can zoom in and see the fine details of each drawing.

El Greco retrospective exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris – France

Domenico Theotokopoulos, known as El Greco, was born in Crete in 1541. Below are pictures of some works displaid in the El Greco retrospective exhibition (Grand Palais, Paris – France) - 16 October 2019 to 10 February 2020.

Cardinal Fernando Niño de Guevara (1541–1609) [ca. 1600] – Oil on canvas (170.8 x 108cm) by El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) 

Cardinal Fernando Niño de Guevara (Detail) 

Saint Luc - Oil on canvas by El Greco 

Fray Hortensio Félix Paravicino - Oil on canvas by El Greco 

The Adoration of the Shepherds - Oil on canvas by El Greco

 The Annunciation (ca. 1576) - Oil on canvas (117 x 98 cm) by El Greco [Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid] 

Saint Martin and the Beggar - Oil on canvas (original painted surface -99.5 x 55 cm) by El Greco 

Disrobing of Christ - Oil on canvas by El Greco

Chris bearing the cross - Oil on canvas by El Greco 

The Repentant St. Peter - Oil on canvas by El Greco [The Phillips Collection]

The Holy Family with Mary Magdalen - Oil on canvas by El Greco [Cleveland Museum of Art] 

San Francesco riceve le stigmate - Oil on canvas by El Greco

 Portrait of a Gentleman from the Casa de Leiva - Oil on canvas by El Greco

 Le Christ en croix adoré par deux donateurs - Oil on canvas by El Greco

Virgin Mary - Oil on canvas by El Greco

 Saint Joseph - Oil on canvas by El Greco 

Saint Veronica - Oil on canvas by El Greco 

The Repentant Magdalen - Oil on canvas by El Greco [Worcester Art Museum]

The Repentant Magdalen (Detail) - Oil on canvas by El Greco

The Repentant Magdalen (Detail) - Oil on canvas by El Greco 

St. Dominic in Prayer- Oil on canvas by El Greco [Placido Arango Collection, Madrid, Spain]

Holy Family (ca. 1580-85.) - Oil on canvas (106 x 87.5 cm) by El Greco 

St Francis and Brother Leo Meditating on Death - Oil on canvas by El Greco 

St. Francis Venerating the Crucifix - Oil on canvas by El Greco

Saint Paul - Oil on canvas by El Greco

St Peter and St Paul - Oil on canvas by El Greco [Nationalmuseum Stockholm]

St Peter and St Paul - Oil on canvas by El Greco [Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya- Barcelona, Spain] 

The Feast in the House of Simon - Oil on canvas by El Greco [The Art Institute of Chicago] 

Jesus expels the merchants from the temple - Oil on canvas by El Greco

 

The Annunciation - Oil on canvas by El Greco [Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest]

 Nude study for the Baptism of Christ – Drawing by El Greco

The Opening of the Fifth Seal - Oil on canvas by El Greco

Battistero di San Giovanni in Florence

Battistero di San Giovanni (The Florence Baptistry) is a minor basilica in Florence, Italy. It was built between 1059 and 1128 and has a magnificent mosaic ceiling inside.

Battistero di San Giovanni in front of the Duomo

mosaic ceiling

More information

Wikipedia article

Battistero di San Giovanni
Piazza San Giovanni, 50122 Firenze FI,
Italy