Clara Peeters (1594-1657) - Still Life with a candle - Allegory of a wedding
Clara Peeters (1594-1657) Still Life with a candle - Allegory of a wedding (1607) Private collection
Que voit-on ? Une collation très légère consistant en quelques friandises présentées comme des bijoux dans un plateau en argent : l'une est en forme de cœur et l'autre formant l'initiale " P ", initiale de la peintre. A côté du plateau une bague, un solitaire, offert en présent pour sceller une union. Dans le fond du tableau deux verres de vin (un verre de Venise symbolisant l'élément féminin et un Römer symbolisant l'élément masculin) évoquant la fête intime et l'union. La chandelle avec la bougie allumée symbolisant à la fois la fête et aussi la vie qui s'écoule, appuyé par la présence d'une mouche sur la nappe, symbole de toute chose vivante appelée à se corrompre.
Rappel biographique : la peintre Flamande Clara Peeters était autodidacte et a peint essentiellement des natures mortes. (à l'exception d'un auto portrait). Elle fut active très jeune en tant que peintre (dès l'âge de 13 ou 14 ans selon les documents !) et fait partie des premières femmes peintres qui ait exercé officiellement ce métier, avec une place reconnue de son vivant, par les Guildes des peintres de la période d'or du baroque flamand. Cette femme à la personnalité hors du commun, dont on pense qu'elle fut, adolescente, l'élève très privée d'Osias Beert, se spécialise, dès l'âge de 18 ans, dans les natures mortes dont elle saisit les sujets soit autour de la table des repas quotidiens soit dans des mises en scène plus sophistiquées. Elle s'intéresse beaucoup aux reflets sur les objets métalliques, pièces, plats, vases, coupes, timbales bijoux, présents fréquemment dans ses compositions, en premier plan, avec un fond plus sombre. Ces plus belles natures mortes - qui sont autant de chef d'oeuvres - ont été peintes dans l'année 1611 et sont conservées au Musée du Prado.
Le Portrait de jeune homme est une peinture à l'huile sur bois (75 × 59 cm), datant de 1513-1514 environ, du peintre Raphaël1, conservée au Musée Czartoryski de Cracovie jusqu'en 1939. La trace du tableau a été définitivement perdue en 19452.
Le tableau a été probablement réalisé lors de la période romaine de l'artiste (1514 environ).
Le personnage représenté est inconnu, mais de nombreux chercheurs considèrent[Lesquels ?] qu'il s'agit d'un autoportrait de Raphaël. En effet les traits du visage sont considérés par beaucoup comme compatibles avec ceux de l'incontestable autoportrait de Raphaël de L'École d'Athènes du Vatican, identifié comme tel par Giorgio Vasari.
En 1939, Hans Frank, un nazi nommé gouverneur de Pologne par Hitler, par principe de la spoliation par Kunstschutz, l'a confisqué au Musée Czartoryski de Cracovie, avec une peinture de Rembrandt et la Dame à l'hermine. Les trois tableaux ont été utilisés pour décorer sa résidence1. C'est l'endroit où le Portrait de jeune homme a été vu pour la dernière fois en 19452.
Lorsque Frank a été arrêté par les alliés en , les œuvres de Léonard de Vinci et de Rembrandt ont été trouvées en sa possession, mais pas celle de Raphaël qui n'a pas été revue depuis.
Daniel Wildenstein soutenait en 1999 connaître l'identité de la personne en possession de ce tableau3.
Le personnage est représenté en buste, de trois quarts regardant le spectateur, portant une coiffe noire tombant sur la nuque, couvrant une chevelure abondante et crépue, tombant sur les épaules. Sur le front on aperçoit une raie séparant les cheveux au milieu.
Le portrait montre un jeune homme richement vêtu et « digne de toute confiance »4. Portant sur son épaule gauche une riche peau sur une large chemise bouffante blanche, il est assis sur un banc adossé à un mur brun dont la seule ouverture, de petites dimensions, se situe sur la partie haute à droite, laissant entrevoir un paysage composé d'arbres, de lacs, avec une ville fortifiée et des montagnes se fondant au loin dans un ciel clair.
Blue is one of the primary colors and this means that it has been used by artists for as long as art has been produced.
It has been associated with a wide variety of things, including spirituality and inner peace. It’s also related to healing and serenity and this is often reflected in paintings, especially those of the German Expressionists.
The opposite can be true as well. Having “The Blues” is referred to as a state of depression or sadness and Pablo Picasso’s “Blue Period” (1901-1904) is the best example of this in art history.
Lapus Lazuli has been used to produce ultramarine blue since the 13th century and was very expensive. That’s why blue was also associated with wealth for many centuries.
In this article, you’ll discover some of the most famous Blue Paintings. These are artworks in which blue is the dominating factor of the composition.
The identity of the sitter remains unknown because this work didn’t get a title, as was common during the Northern Renaissance. The fact that he holds a ring was long thought to be related to his occupation as a goldsmith but this theory seems to be unlikely today.
Portrait of a Man with a Blue Chaperon by Jan van Eyck / Wiki Commons
2. Infanta Margarita Teresa in a Blue Dress – Diego Velázquez
The girl was about 6 years old at the time and is famously known as the little girl who appears in the artist’s most celebrated masterpiece titled “Las Meninas” (1656). It was one of the final paintings that Venázquez completed because he passed away the following year.
Infanta Maria Theresa in a Blue Dress by Diego Velázquez / Wiki Commons
The enigmatic gaze of the girl has captivated viewers for centuries and she looks remarkably modern even today. The painting has been restored and although the original enamel-like green had faded to a black background, the girl’s stare was greatly enhanced.
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer / Wiki Commons
The Blue Boy is another blue painting in which the clothes worn by the main figure determine the color scheme of the composition. It’s one of the most famous paintings by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), a portrait painter who actually preferred to paint landscapes.
The boy’s identity was long thought to be the son of a wealthy merchant but is now believed to be the English artist’s nephew Gainsborough Dupont (1754–1797). What’s remarkable is that the blue costume actually dates back to the 17th century, not the 18th century in which Gainsborough lived.
The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough / Wiki Commons
The Starry Night is one of the most remarkable paintings in the rich oeuvre of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), the troubled Dutch artist who committed suicide the year after he completed this painting. It depicts the view he had from his asylum bedroom window at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
Van Gogh had checked himself into this mental hospital following his mental breakdown in Arles in late 1888. The position of the stars and moon before sunrise is very accurate but the village in the distance is an imaginary element. He also painted this work during the day in his ground-floor studio.
The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh / Wiki Commons
The Old Guitarist is one of the most famous paintings by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) from the artist’s Blue Period. This was a time when the world-famous Spanish artist was still an aspiring artist who was dividing his time between his native Spain and Paris trying to make a living.
This painting depicts an old guitarist on the streets of Barcelona. It can be classified as an Expressionist painting that represents the artist’s own state of mind. He was also influenced by the paintings of El Greco at the time, as well as the suicide of a close friend which had impacted him greatly.
Location: Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
The Conversation is the title of a painting by Henri Matisse (1869-1954) that depicts a conversation between him and his wife Amélie. This amazingly blue painting was completed shortly after he had abandoned the ideals of the Fauvism artists which focused on visit and unnatural colors.
It was one of many works in which he made blue the dominant color. Others include “Window at Tangier” (1911-1912) and “The Blue Window” (1913). Remarkably, he made his world-famous work “The Red Studio” also blue initially but later overpainted it to transform it into a red painting.
The Conversation by Henri Matisse / Wiki Commons
8. The Blue Rider – Wassily Kandinsky
Date created: 1903
Dimensions: 55 × 60 centimeters (22 × 24 inches)
Location: Private collection
The Blue Rider is one of the paintings that defined the future career of Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian artist who traveled to Germany in 1896. He had graduated in Law and Economics and already worked for several years before he decided to become a painter who produced some of the most influential paintings of the early 20th century.
He was initially influenced by the Impressionist artists and this shows in this work. he did, however, transition to abstract art, and this painting already shows signs of his future path. The work features a blue rider and blue shadows. It later became the source of inspiration for an art group named “Der Blaue Reiter.”
The Blue Rider by Wassily Kandinsky / Wiki Commons
Location: Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany
Blue Horse I is one of the most famous paintings by Franz Marc (1880-1916), one of the leading figures of the German Expressionist art movement which emerged shortly before World War I. It’s one of several blue paintings by the artist in which horses play a key role.
His paintings were initially ridiculed and misunderstood and this only became worse when the Nazis came to power and classified them as “degenerate art.” For the German artist and other members of the group, blue had a spiritual meaning which is why it played such a major role in his art.
