Weekend Edition 40

Berthe Morisot

The Beach at Petit Dalles (aka On the Beach), 1873

The fuss of regular life is boring you. Those people on the foreground are too occupied with the details of everyday life. The sails call for freedom, adventure. The ships are promising a journey to far away exotic countries that you only have read about. The sea scares you with its might and absolute loneliness.

Weekend Edition 23

Edgar Degas

End of an Arabesque, 1877

The artist is working. The first thing you notice is the yellow glow of the shirt. The glow represent the magic of the dance, the artwork. Next, you see the ballerina. She looks like a real simple person. There is nothing magical about her. How coud she create something so beautiful and enchanting? She've got something special, the talant(the bouqet). It is the flares inside her soul(the flowers inside the wrap) rhat she use to illuminate the world. She absorbs the surrounding world through the talant. This creates the magic and glow of the dance. If you look to the background, you will see that not all figures posses the same magical glow.

Hermann Max Pechstein

Hermann Max Pechstein at Beck & Eggeling(TEFAF Maastricht 2012)

Das gelbe Haus, Waldausgang mit Hochsommerdüne, 1919

At first, you are full of energy. You think you can walk on water and climb vertical walls(the yellow stain in the lower right  corner). You try to take a shortcut through the wilderness, storming up the hill. It is logical because the shortest distance to your goal is a straight line. Then you meet the reality(the brown line - earth layer above the yellow stain in the lower right corner). You get smarter (the violet line above the brown one). You realize that this approach will not take you even to the green grass of the forest, not mentioning the nice house in the field behind the forest. You back off and reassess your position (the mix of violet and brown spots in the lower center). You take the road that leads to the house you so desire to get to. The road is a slow route taking much more time, turning and running to the sides and over the hills. But eventually and surely you will get to the goal of your journey.

Weekend Edition 12

Edouard Manet

Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe

This is a feminist painting. Manet shows us the attitude to women in society at that time. First thing that you see on the painting is a basket. It was used, you see lunch leftovers scattered around. The second thing you see is the nude female body. It probably was also used, as you notice her clothes scattered around. Then you see two men talking. They are paying as much attention to the woman as to the basket. They are talking about something abstract, moral - some kind of mystical woman - a goddess? We can see her in the upper center. She is created by men's mind, and she is pretty modest, living in the forest alone (according to fairy tales) and nevertheless her body is covered unlike as her "real" representation. The last thing that you notice is the naked woman face. She is smart. She is fully engaged in the conversation. Manet puts her at the same level with men, as you can see her face is at the same height as theirs. Her posture tells us that she is thoughtful. She is detailed oriented, she notices things that men are not aware of - she is watching us, she knows that we are looking at her.

Weekend Edition 8

Camille Pissarro

The Boulevard Montmartre at Night

The night. It's time for entertainment. There are so many welcoming lights trying to seduce you, to pull you in. But there are too many lights. You are going from one light to another. The next light looks prettier than the previous. It's too many choices. You can't pick, because you are afraid to make a mistake. You are ready to pick a light but what if the best ever light comes along? Eventually you didn't go anywhere, trying to find the best place. It leaves you dark, empty and lonely.

Weekend edition 1

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Le Moulin de la Galette (1876)

The artist shows in the picture the atmosphere of the gathering : the physical and emotional. The sun spots make the mood warm, intimate and playful. And the main motif in emotions is flirt and relations between sexes. The painting is about friendship, love and intimacy.

Mark Rothko

Earth and Green

This is autumn. It is blue skies, but some leaves are red. The most are still green. This is beautiful, but makes you a little bit sad and philosophical.

Auguste Rodin

Two embracing Figures

The main lines are moving in one direction, showing unity of the pair. The arm lines perpendicular to the main lines show the desire to blend even more. The curve emphasizes the male initiative and female submission.