The recent show in Boston of exquisite work by Spanish artist Antonio Lopez Garcia included a painting called "La Cena" ("The Dinner"), 1971-80. The subject of the dinner table has a long history in painting going back to Pompeii and probably Greece. Seeing Lopez Garcia’s painting of the family meal made me want to re-examine three of my favorite paintings of this subject: one by Monet and two by … [Read more...]
Pictorial Art
While jostling to view a show of 19th century French paintings last week, I thought about how the popularity of Impressionism can sometimes obscure its genius. Monet’s inscrutable touch, temperament and crystalline vision, conjuring appealing sights, can mask his stunning originality. Throughout his long life he expended enormous physical and emotional effort to create his paintings. As I looked … [Read more...]
Claude Monet Copies
Anyone who has tried to paint copies knows that it is an active form of learning, accomplishing much more than looking alone can produce. I am not usually a fan of “How-To-Paint” books, but “Paint Like Monet” by James Heard looked like fun. Nine gouache copies are presented here. The book has a simple approach to help the viewer see the underlying structure of each painting. I wanted to copy … [Read more...]