Ballet class, dance hall by Edgar Degas

Wednesdays with Edgar Degas!

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 1880

Self-portrait by Morisot

Tuesdays with Berthe Morisot! 

Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris, France, 1885

Victorine Meurent by Manet

Mondays with Edouard Manet! 

Today we're going to look at his most ubiquitous model, Victorine Meurent.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA, c. 1862

One of the striking things about impressionism, and Manet in particular, is the way his models look right at the viewer. You're watching them but they, in turn are watching you. And his most riveting model was Victorine Meurent who, like her pose here and in "The Railway" below, stares right through you, a technique she perfected in both "Olympia" and "Luncheon on the grass." (both follow).

c. 1873

Victorine Meurent was, without a doubt, Manet's most well-known model. Her image, or rather images as portrayed in "Olympia" and Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe also known as "Luncheon on the grass" set the world of 19th century French art on fire.

"Olympia" Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France, 1863

Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 1863

Besides the highly controversial "Olympia" she was also the center of attention in "Luncheon on the grass."  Here, she's the only nude figure in the painting and she's the only one staring at the viewer, perhaps at someone walking by who stopped to look at the risqué scene in the woods.

Update from Grand Rapids

It's been some time since I've posted an update from West Michigan but there's no time like the present and so here we go.

Most of our Sundays and occasionally a Saturday has been spent out at Clear Lake this summer. It's been a place of refuge, given the nature of our country today, a refuge sorely needed and warmly embraced. In fact, we're going back out there this Sunday to help celebrate a birthday. Good times, good food and good folk, what a wonderful combination. And when family become friends that makes for an unbeatable combination.

Susie no longer bakes out in Grand Haven. While the opportunities presented by the kindness and generosity of Patty and Paul at Patricia's Chocolate were nothing short of incredible, the drive had just become too tiresome. Now, the French Tarte has a license to bake out of Nonna's Pantry in Ada, just 15 minutes from our house. The new owner loves her pastries and thinks the world of her, having seen what she could do when Susie provided the occasional French delicacy for the Pantry a couple of years back. Anyway, the new arrangement is so much better for her/our peace of mind. She has also scheduled an occasional class at Nonna's through the fall season as well. Tres cool.

As for me, well I just finished giving a two-week presentation on the Historic Cemeteries of Paris at Aquinas and I'm moderating a digital photo portfolio review and discussion session at Aquinas later this month. This is the third one this year and I have to say they're lots of fun. Contrary to what some of you might think, I actually don't say much -- a shocker I know -- but it's really all about the other photographers sharing their ideas and comments about their own photos.

Besides our involvement with the Alliance Française Grand Rapids chapter -- I maintain their website -- our lives remain rather sedate here in the greater Grand Rapids area.

Lastly, I have been obsessed of late with one of the great French portraitists of the late 18th and early 19th century, Elisabeth-Louise Vigée madame Le Brun. I've put together a short slide show of a sampling of her work -- now maybe you'll be obsessed, too.

High Society in Amsterdam

From March 8 2018 to June 3 2018 the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam featured an exhibition called "High Society," four centuries of glamor by the great masters of the history of art, including Cranach, Veronese, Velázquez, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Sargent, Munch and Manet. Here are just a few examples from that incredible collection, beginning with my personal favorite Giovanni Boldini's luscious Marchesa Luisa Casati with a Greyhound, 1908,

Giovanni Boldini, Marchesa Luisa Casati with a Greyhound, 1908

Rembrandt van Rijn, Oopjen Coppit, 1634

John Singer Sargent, Dr. Samuel Pozzi, 1881

Joshua Reynolds, Jane Fleming, 1778-79

F. Grant, Anne Grant, 1857

Dancers adjusting their shoes by Edgar Degas

Wednesdays with Edgar Degas!

1880-85

1896

1896

Julie daydreaming by Morisot

Tuesdays with Berthe Morisot!

Julie Manet painted by her mother Berthe Morisot.

1894

Irma Brunner by Edouard Manet

Welcome to Mondays with Edouard Manet, Tuesdays with Berthe Morisot and Wednesdays with Edgar Degas. Enjoy the show!

Who was Irma Brunner really? What did she do with her life, who did she love, what did she look like when she made love, who did she hate, was she ever angry, what did she look like when she laughed, was her heart ever broken, did she ever cry, and where is she now?

Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France, c. 1880