The Red and Pink Gallery, Continued

   

Peder Severin Krøyer, "Interior with Marie Krøyer" (1889), Hirschsprung, Copenhagen.  I find the Skagen painters fascinating -- such light, such color.  The outdoor scenes seem to be more well-known, generally, so here is an interior for a change.

Sophonisba Anguissola, "Double Portrait of a Woman with her Dog" (undated), National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC.

Sir Joshua Reynolds, "Miss Susanna Gale" (1763-64), National Gallery of Victoria.  "On loan" to the Red and Pink Gallery from my dear friend Helen.

Unknown, "Portrait of a Man, aged 24" (1588), John Rylands University Library, Manchester.  This painting, commonly known as "the Grafton Portrait" after a previous owner, is argued by some to be a portrait of Shakespeare.  I am prepared to accept that it is not (some say it is in fact of Christopher Marlowe), but I would like to think that it is.  (The argument that Shakespeare at 24 would not have been able to afford such a rich silk doublet doesn't make sense, in my opinion, as he would certainly have had access to theatre clothing.)

Carl Larsson, "Ruth" (1906).  Some critics think less of Larsson for his so-called sentimentality -- it's true that one can hardly look at this picture and not smile, but it's a lovely work.  I like the way that the bookshelves make such strong horizontals and verticals against the softness of her dress, the way she is slightly off-center, and the utterly characteristic tossing of her own arm across the arm of the seat, childlike against the maturity of the books.

James McNeill Whistler, "Nocturne in Rose and Gray (Portrait of Lady Meux)," (1881-82) The Frick, Pittsburgh.  Such a bravura piece -- so characteristic of Whistler!  The wonderful pink satins flowing, the dark haughty eyes -- I could look at it for hours.

Comments

[Mary Tess]

Thank you for posting the gorgeous pictures. They remind me why pink is my favorite color.

[blackbird]

I LOVE Whistler...

[Anna]

I wonder if the Grafton Portrait actually has all that much merit. Personally I think it's flat,disappointing and find it hard to imagine what the painter had been trying to say. Costume can be anything the painter or sitter wants, and here it seems to be no real guide. If no-one had tried to attribute the subject I suspect the painting would be unknown. The Anguissola is a real portrait, however!

[Jeanne]

Anna, I'm not so sure about the Grafton portrait, either, although I don't think we could expect something wonderful. Obviously the painter was not Holbein (or, forgive me, whoever was the top portrait painter in 1588, as HH was dead by then!). It seems to me on a par, psychology-wise, with a lot of Elizabethan portraits, that is, rather flat and unsatisfying. While Shakespeare would likely have had access to expensive clothing (although poor himself), he would be much less likely to have sat for a top court painter.

I am utterly fascinated by Anguissola. Her works are not always of the same quality and polish -- but frankly, whose are? and this makes her to me all the more interesting. I was not in fact atal familiar with this particular portrait, but it is very characteristic of Anguissola in that she takes great care with the painting -- the balance, the handling of the luscious velvet, etc. -- and although she does not flatter the subject, obviously a wealthy but rather dumpy and homely woman, she still regards her with sympathy and perception.