Artork of the month: Joan

This sculpture is amazing.  The first time I saw it at the museum I was slightly fooled for a second (okay, I allowed myself to be fooled, it was fun).  This work portrays reality so well that her feet are dirty just as if she has simply walked barefoot across the floor.  I love it, and I am pleased to say it is at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts as part of its permanent collection.

John DeAndrea

American, born 1941

"Joan"

1987, Polyester resin, pigments, synthetic (?) hair

Go take a look at this for yourself...

...it is a graceful illusion. 

Artwork of the month: A recently restored masterwork

This sculpture is truly amazing now that it has been restored to its assumed original orientation.  We used to joke about how it looked as if he was swimming, or diving into water rather than praying.  Turns out the jokes had merit.

Francesco Mochi

Italian, 1580-1654

"St. Paul the Hermit"

, marble

Before restoration.

Andrea Bergondi

Italian, 1722-1789

"St. Paul the Hermit"

1772, marble

Recently restored, repositioned and reattributed.

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts purchased "St. Paul The Hermit" in the year I was born, 1973.
It was believed to be the work of Italian sculptor Francesco Mochi.

Eike Schmidt, Curator of Sculpture and Design at the Minneapolis Institute of arts, discovered that the sculpture was by Andrea Bergondi in 1775.  The Midwest Art Conservation Center, restored the sculpture, removing cement that was added in the 1960s to create a solid base, cleaned it, and reorientated the sculpture so St. Paul would appear to be praying instead of diving.  

St. Paul is the first hermit saint of the Christian church. He retreated to Egypt to live a solitary life dedicated to the worship of God.

Regardless of its story, this sculpture is on exhibit on the third floor of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and is worthy of your time.  Go check it out, spend some time with this sculpture.  

Artwork of the month: "St. Benedict of Palermo"

One of the recent acquisitions at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, a sculpture of St. Benedict of Palermo, is so stunning you are truly missing out if you don't go see it right now.

Attributed to José Montes de Oca

Spanish, 1675-1750

"St. Benedict of Palerno"

1734, polychrome and gilt wood, glass

St. Benedict was the first christian saint of african origin to be canonized.  And as with all saints, it took a while for it to be official with the church, this guy more so because of who he was.

He was born in Sicily, 1524, to parents that were freed slaves from Ethiopia.  Yep, he was a black man and the church wasn't progressive enough at the time to canonize a black man.  He was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1743 then canonized in 1807 by Pope Pius VII.

St. Benedict was know for his extraordinary religious devotion, patience and understanding when confronted with racial prejudice, and acts as a truly devoted man of god.

"St. Benedict of Palermo" was purchased by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2010.

Artwork of the month: Subodh Gupta

At the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, on the second floor, there is a new "Modern" art gallery.  It is a great exhibit, and a fantastic set of works.  This one is my favorite.  The medium is bronze, made to look like gold and spray painted cardboard.  The context of the work is a philosophy that I can connect with, and after looking over Gupta's portfolio I can see where his ideas are coming from.

Subodh Gupta

Indian, born 1964

"Dubai to Calcutta #9"

2006, bronze with gold patina and aluminum, in parts.


This work is quite a tease...
...I will have to create something very cool now.

Artwork of the month: "Immaculate Madonna"

Every now and then a work of art truly inspires me, or I just like it, so I talk about it.  

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has been purchasing a great deal of quality works as of late.  One of the best acquisitions lately has been the "Immaculate Madonna" by Giacomo Antonio Ponsonelli.  It was purchased by Eike Schmidt, the curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture.  Here is a link to a pretty cool video about the work.

This sculpture was recently acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts at a bargain price, but that is another story.  I love this sculpture, it is truly a masterwork.  Now I can spend as much time as I want observing it, and someday if I feel inclined to do so, create my interpretation of it for today's world.

Giacomo Antonio Ponsonelli

Italian, 1654-1735

"Immaculate Madonna"

1710, marble


Go to the MIA and take a look at this...
...it is worth the time.

Artwork of the month: "Judith"

There was a time when the subject of "Judith" was a popular trend for artists to work on.  The character Judith is a heroine, the savior of her people as a result of her own sacrifice and belief in the Hebrew god.  Judith is a beautiful woman, widowed and del reliant.  Her anger with her people over their mistrust that God will deliver them from the coming invader's army, she sets off with her maid to take maters in her own hands.  

She promises the general of the Assyrians information on the Israelites, and gets him drunk, seducing him with her beauty.  When Holofernes passes out, Judith cuts his head off and sneaks out of camp with it.  The Assyrian army is demoralized and disbands, not attacking the Israelites.  Judith is a hero.

The book of Judith is not in the Hebrew bible, and as a result it is excluded from the Protestant scriptures.  The Catholic church has always maintained the the book of Judith is the word of god and can not be excluded.

The character Judith is a powerful archetype that has been played over and over again.  I would even consider Rosy the Riveter to fall into the same archetype as Judith.  A strong-willed, self-reliant, powerfully intelligent, god fearing woman, and a patriot.  The Archetype is common throughout history and is used as propaganda when needed to inspire a nation.

Judith has been a very popular subject for artists.  The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has over 20 "Judith" works in its permanent collection.

Agostino Carracci

Italian, 1559-1602

"Portrait of a woman as Judith"

Oil on canvas, 1590

Attributed to Antonio Gionima

Italian, 1697-1732

"Judith presenting herself to Holofernes"

Oil on canvas, first half of 18th century

Francesco Ladatte

Italian, 1706-1787

"Judith with the head of Holofernes

Terracotta, 1738

Pietro Della Vecchia

Italian, 1603/5-1678

"Judith with the head of Holofernes"

Oil on canvas, 1635-50

Giovan Gioseffo dal Sole

Italian, 1654-1719

"Judith with the head of Holofernes"

Oil on canvas, 1695

There are hundreds of works featuring Judith, but none of them have the impact as Caravaggio's "Judith beheading Holofernes," as it is and always has been the masterwork about Judith.  This painting is a perfect harmony of brutality and beauty.  This painting is at the National Gallery of Ancient Art of Barbarini Palace.

Michelangelo Merisi detto il Caravaggio
Italian, 1571-1610
"Judith beheading Holofernes" 
Oil on canvas, 1598-99

I intend to paint my own version of Judith...
...It will be abstract, but you will know it.

Artwork of the month: A true beauty

This marble sculpture is one of the most beautiful marble busts that I have ever seen. It is on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  It will surprise you with its perfection if you let it.  

Jean Antoine Houdon

French, 1741-1828

"Portrait of Madame de Sérilly"

1780, marble

"Positively, my social philosophy may be said to be enshrined in three words:  liberty, equality and fraternity.  Let no one however say that I have borrowed my philosophy from the French Revolution.  I have not.  My philosophy has its roots in religion and not in political science.  I have derived them from the teachings of my master, the Buddha."
-B. R. Ambedkar (founder of the Indian constitution).

Artwork of the month: "Veiled Lady"

If there is one thing that I can count on while working at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, is that someone will ask me where the "Veiled Lady" is.

The "Veiled Lady" is the most popular work of art at the MIA.  There is a good reason for it, it is simply amazing.   The marble was sculpted to look as if the woman was wearing a veil, and it truly captures the illusion.  This is a magnificent work of art.  Albeit, this type of sculpture was extremely popular in Italy during the late 1800's.  Regardless of this type of sculpture being common, this is a masterwork.

Raffaelo Manti

Italian, 1818-1881

"Veiled Lady"

1860, marble

Come down to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts...

...ask a security guard where it is.

Wood Relief Composition

Every now and then I must work with wood.  I just feel the need for it, and I go at whatever I have available to me.  I prefer to work with maple, the cleaner the better.
Here is my new piece, hope you enjoy it.

Relief Composition #1

2007, Maple and enamel on panel

46" x 26"

Detail.

Hung horizontally.

I will work with Maple again...

...I have been saving a large amount of very special wood just for artwork.

Maple Composition Sculptures

In 1999 I had a momentary desire to work with maple wood.  My grandfather had a huge amount of wood that we had chopped down, milled, and dried in the basement.  It is some of the best Maple I have ever seen.  I still have a about five cords of it and I intend to make more art out of it as I feel the need.

There is one missing from this set and I doubt that I will ever be able to get pictures of it.

 Composition 1

Maple, polyurethane.  1999.

 Composition 2

Maple, enamel.  1999.

 Composition 4

maple, polyurethane.  1999.

Composition 5

Maple, polyurethane.  1999.

Artwork of the month: "Bacchante and Satyr"

I love the cheesy rococo art movement.  It just sings about over the top taboo desires.  One of my favorites is this marble sculpture at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Jean-baptise Aguste Cleainger

French, 1814-1883

"Bacchante and Satyr"

1869, marble.

I find this sculpture to be sexually charged with mischief and intent; just look at the expressions on their faces. The Bacchante is a party girl.  She drinks, fucks, and has a good time all the time in the naked name of a mystery religion.   Her facial expression is one of intoxication, as her body language is inviting the faun to play.  The faun is posed just as provocatively, just look at his left leg.  He knows what to expect and has no shame to it.  All this sexual desire bottled up in the virtue of good taste and opulent decoration.  Bravo rococo!

Everyone likes sex...

...everyone like art about sex.