Something Beautiful

Drawings in Metalpoint!

Ever since discovering them through the Internet, I've loved drawings in metalpoint, i.e., in silver and gold.   So it was great to discover that the National Gallery of Art has an online feature devoted to this genre! 

Drawings & prints (MIA)

Take a quick look at these drawings and prints from the wonderful collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll see that the selection just seems to go on and on.

Fra Angelico (miniatures)

      The Convent of San Marco Museum in Florence, Italy, presented an exhibition a few years ago on Fra Angelico's illuminated manuscripts.   Although the exhibition closed some time ago there is, Deo gratias, its online counterpart continues.   (Note: the exhibition also looked at the work of Zanobi Strozzi and a few other artists, but they are not my focus here.)  

        Fra Angelico's illuminated initials and miniatures are found in the Choral books (Corali) section of the exhibition.   Four works are attributed to him and his assistants: 

Graduale di San Domenico (39); Close-ups 

Salterio I (16); Close-ups  

Salterio II (16); Close-ups

Missale II (33). Close-ups  

        In its iconography section, the exhibition also groups individual items according to theme.    The Glossary looks interesting but appears to be useful primarily for the learning of Italian!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hau watercolors

The set of 110 watercolors by Edward Hau would have to be on my personal list of StB's greatest hits.  There's just something about them.  

God the Father (blessing)

This drawing shows God the Father with his right hand raised in blessing.  The work is superbly done and has a mostly kindly atmosphere.   It was executed, probably sometime during the 1500s, by Girolamo dai Libri. 

Bonvin

I've mentioned in the past how much I like the Minneapolis Institute of Arts site, especially the Drawings and Prints Department.

While browsing there last night, I found myself looking at its drawings done largely in chalk. On page 2 I happened upon Seated Boy Holding a Cat, c. 1875, by François Bonvin, which I thought somehow quite affecting.

From there I found a brief biographical sketch of Bonvin and a list of his works online.

I was pleasantly surprised by the number of works available. Ten of them can be seen at the Cleveland Museum of Art site. I especially liked these two:

A Nun Seated at a Table Knitting, 1862 (gouache and watercolor)

Country Street in Alouette, 1861 (etching)

Drawings & Prints at the MIA

I'll be packing over the next couple of weeks. I'm just moving from one space to another within the upstate New York college town where I have lived for the most of the past twelve years. So, nothing very dramatic but it will still be a lot of work and not all that much fun.

To keep myself a bit of company during that time and, I hope, also for the viewing pleasure of others, I'd like to take another look at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts site, especially its Drawings and Prints department.

There's just something about this site that I love. The first thing to notice is that you can browse around in several quite nifty ways:

At random (one work at a time);

By artist (57 artists); and

By medium (17 media).

Each of these has its advantages.

The random work feature is a bit slow but has introduced me to some awesome works that I would otherwise never have come upon. Tip: after you've seen one work at random, hit the "Random Artwork" button on the right side of the page, and and another work will be delivered to you. You can keep doing that for as long as you want!

The artist feature is really fun. I might try exploring it a bit in a future post.

My personal favorite is the medium feature. I hope to delve into both drawings and prints over the next few days.

The Hermitage Drawings of Edward Hau

I've loved the drawings by Edward Petrovich Hau of the Hermitage and Winter Palace ever since I first discovered them more than ten years ago. It's been several years since I last looked at them but, having done so last night, I find that they still retain their charm.

Hau made this set of 111 watercolors of the Royal living quarters during the 1850s-1870s. They can be viewed at two different sites:

Complete set of 111 drawings (official Hermitage site)

Complete set. This site has far the superior presentation.

Feeling skeptical? Try just this one painting of the Antechamber of the Tsesarevich Alexander Nikolayevich. (Be sure to check out the zoom.)

Trois crayons (Watteau)

I love the trois crayons (red, black and white chalk) drawings of French artist Antoine Watteau. Here's his Seated Young Woman at the Morgan Library. 

Life of the People (exhibition)

Several years ago I came across the online exhibition Life of the People: Realist Prints and Drawings. I loved it then, and love it still. So, probably, will you. :-)