Gustave Moreau Home and Studio in Paris

 In March I had the occasion to visit the home and studio of French Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau (1826-1898), now the Gustave Moreau National Museum and open to the public. Located in the 9^th arrondissement of Paris, on a residential street, is this wondrous artists’ home. 

                                         Interior of Gustave Moreau's home

Gustave Moreau lived and worked in this beautiful setting from 1852, until his death in 1898. The living quarters are small and lavishly decorated with artwork, fine furniture and ceramics. 

                                             View of the second floor studio

To visit the studio, located on the second and third floors, is to be transported to Moreau’s world.  The space is large and well lit by large windows and ample wall space for the numerous large-scale works. Moreau’s thousands of framed drawings are handsomely preserved throughout the studio in flat files and in cases behind drapes (to keep them from direct light exposure.)

                 Spiral staircase that leads to the third floor studio and exhibition space.

Gustave Moreau was a most prolific artist creating an estimated 10,000 paintings drawings, sculptures and watercolors. His focus was large-scale biblical and mythological scenes.  His studio is a treasure trove of drawings, preparatory sketches and sculptures made in planning his paintings.  These preparatory objects offer insight into Moreau’s process. 

                 Horse sculptures by Moreau, created as studies for his paintings.

While studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts Moreau was influenced by master painters such as Michelangelo and Rembrandt as well as ancient and medieval art.  He would go on to have an effect on the work of Matisse and the Fauves, as well as the surrealists and even the abstract expressionists.

                   "Jupiter and Semele", 1895, oil painting by Gustave Moreau.

While still in his thirties Moreau wrote, “I think of my death and the fate of all these works and compositions I have taken such trouble to collect.  Separately they will perish, but taken as a whole they give an idea of what kind of an artist I was and in what kind of surroundings I chose to live my dreams.”

                                  Third floor studio and exhibition space.

Moreau’s home opened to the public in 1903.  I highly recommend a trip to this fascinating collection.  I also recommend two books that contain chapters about the museum and collection.  “Artists in Residence” by Dana Micucci, this amazing book has inspired me to visit many artists’ homes,  in including those of Delacroix, Bonheur, Daubigny, Van Gogh and Monet. The book “Artists Houses” by Gerard-Georges Lemaire is also fascinating.

 All photographs by Marie Dauenheimer.

"Durer to de Kooning" Master Drawings at the Morgan Library

It was a pleasure to view the “Durer to de Kooning, 100 Master Drawings from Munich” exhibition at the Morgan Library in New York.  The Morgan is a wonderful, intimate museum and often features master drawings exhibitions.

Those of you who follow my blog known I have a passionate interest in master drawings.  I enjoy looking, studying and copying them.  I enjoy using master drawings techniques in my work. Since I have been using pen, ink and wash, charcoal, and red chalk as of late I decided to focus on drawings in the exhibition that utilize these materials.

All the drawings in this exhibition were truly masterful and compelling in their own way.  The ones I was most attracted to were done in a rapid visualization style and showcase an energetic rather than meticulous style.   Jacopo Pontormo’s (1494-1557) red chalk drawing Two Standing Women, (1530) is stunning for its sense of animation and confident three dimensional rendering.  I love the way Pontormo suggests the fluidity of the gowns without over rendering.  This short hand of line allows the viewer to wonder and speculate about who these women are.

                 Red chalk drawing Two Standing Women by Jacopo Pontormo, 1530.

Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669), whose anatomical drawings I have long admired, surprised me with this dynamic pen and ink and wash portrayal of Age of Bronze: Design for a Mural in the Pitti Palace, (1641). As you can see from the finished fresco, Cortona worked out many of the compositional elements in this initial sketch.  A pentimento by Cortona can be seen in the upper right hand corner.

                       Pen and ink drawing Age of Bronze by Pietro da Cortona, 1641.

                            Fresco Age of Bronze by Pietro da Cortona, 1641.

Rembrandt’s (1606-1669) pen, ink and brush drawings have an energy mirrored by his brushstrokes and layering of paint!  In his rapid sketch Saskia Lying in Bed, A Woman at Her Feet (1638) the focus is on Saskia (Rembrandt's wife) and her contemplative facial expression.  She is drawn with delicate, decisive pen lines, while the bedroom and maid are loosely described with swift brushstrokes.

 Pen, ink and brush drawing, Saskia Lying in Bed, A Woman at Her Feet by Rembrandt, 1638. 

The pen and ink drawing Adoration of the Magi (1610) by Jacques Bellange (1575-1616) displays lively networks of hatched and crosshatched lines, which draw the viewer’s eye around this forceful drawing! 

         Pen and ink drawing, Adoration of the Magi by Jacques Bellange, 1610.

I wish I could share all 100 drawings with you!  I highly recommend the exhibition catalog by William M. Griswold and Michael Semff. And an excursion to the Morgan Library, always a delight!

Drawing the Figure with Pen and Ink

I am taking a class at the Art League in Alexandria, Virginia with instructor Robert Liberace. Liberace is an accomplished painter, sculptor and draughtsman. The class, “Figure and Portrait: A Modern Approach to Classical Drawing”, explores drawing the figure through master techniques, such as silverpoint, pen and ink, charcoal, red chalk and graphite.  I hope to post on these various techniques in the coming weeks.

                             Robert Liberace, Figure Study in pen and ink, 2012.

The past two weeks we have been using pen and ink with watercolor washes to create a three dimensional drawing of the figure.  Pen and ink, using flexible nibs, allows the artist to create energetic, dynamic sketches. Rembrandt’s pen and ink drawings, characterized by his calligraphic line, are great examples of this technique.

          Rembrandt van Rijn Woman Having Her Hair Combed, pen and ink, 1637

Pen and ink can also be used for longer more detailed studies.  It was a favored medium of Michelangelo, Leonardo, Durer and many other masters. Liberace recommends using a slightly textured text weight paper such as Twinrocker in “Calligraphy Cream”.  To add warmth to the paper he coats it with a light watercolor wash using yellow ochre or raw sienna. Since pen and ink is an unforgiving medium (erasing is difficult if not impossible) most artists begin with a simple pencil sketch of their subject. 

                Michelangelo Buonarroti, Studies of the Holy Family, pen and ink, 1505.

When ready to start drawing Liberace recommends using a sepia ink, such as seen in master drawings, with flexible nibs. The nibs allow the artist to create lines that go from thick to line as pressure is put on the nib. Rob also uses Micron technical pens as he draws. Technical pens (which store their ink in the pen) allow for a more consistent line.

                        Marie Dauenheimer, Figure Study, pen and ink, 2013.

I highly recommend experimenting with his wonderful medium!

National Gallery of Art Program "Seeing Rembrandt's Thoughts"

Last week I attended an educational program at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) on how art conservators, using x-radiographs, can see how Rembrandt developed his paintings. The program was lead by Melanie Gifford, Research Conservator for Painting Technology at the National Gallery of Art's Conservation Department. The program began with Gifford explaining how Rembrandt worked. He typically covered his canvas with a red ground, followed by a gray ground, he would then freely draw and block in the figures using brown paint. His underpainting was applied with bright pigment and in an exuberant manner. The final layer was applied thickly with an impasto that is one of Rembrandt's signatures. He layered the paint on the canvas, almost sculpting the features of his sitters. He also used a sharp tool to scratch paint out. We were able to observe these techniques by viewing the Rembrandts in the Dutch Galleries at the NGA with the use of monocular devices and by looking at x-radiographs of the paintings.



Detail of Rembrandt's "Self Portrait", 1659, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.



"A Polish Nobleman" by Rembrandt, 1637, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

During the program we examined paintings once attributed to Rembrandt, but now believed to be by Rembrandt's workshop. By studying the underpainting conservators can reconstruct how the paint was applied. The bravado with which Rembrandt painted is difficult to copy. Below is a painting once thought to be by Rembrandt, but now thought to be by his student Govaert Flinck.



"Man in Oriental Costume" by Rembrandt and his Workshop (probably Govaert Flinck), 1635, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

On March 5, 2011 I will be attending an all day workshop at the NGA called "Views of Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals". This program will focus on the upcoming National Gallery of Art exhibition on Canaletto's paintings of Venice (February 10-May 30, 2011).