Tag: Collection

From the Collection: Pablo Picasso’s The Cock of the Liberation

Post author By Milwaukee Art Museum
Post date September 8, 2015
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Colorful rooster made of different shapes — Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), *The Cock of the Liberation (Le Coq de la Liberation)*, 1944 (detail). Oil on canvas. 39 1/2 × 31 3/4 in. (100.33 × 80.65 cm). Gift of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley M1959.372. Photo credit: Larry Sanders. © 2019 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Many of the artists featured in the special exhibition Van Gogh to Pollock: Modern Rebels, Masterworks from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery are also represented in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum. This is the fifth in a series of blog posts that will highlight Milwaukee’s artworks during the run of the exhibition.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973) is not usually considered a political artist. His favorite artistic subjects were still-lifes, portraits, harlequins, and other seemingly uncontroversial images.

But in some key instances, world events were an important influence on him. We don’t have to look far to find an example: the Milwaukee Art Museum’s The Cock of the Liberation (Le Coq de la Liberation), painted by Picasso in 1944.

Tags Collection, From the Collection, Modern art, Modern Rebels, Pablo Picasso

Art Collection Curatorial European Prints and Drawings

From the Collection–Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

Post author By Milwaukee Art Museum
Post date August 25, 2015
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Many of the artists featured in the special exhibition Van Gogh to Pollock: Modern Rebels, Masterworks from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery are also represented in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum. This is the fourth in a series of blog posts that will highlight Milwaukee’s artworks during the run of the exhibition.

Camille Pissarro (French, 1830–1903), Vegetable Market at Pontoise, 1891. Etching, drypoint, and aquatint. Milwaukee Art Museum, Maurice and Esther Leah Ritz Collection M2004.283. Photo credit: Efraim Lev-er.

A bustling market welcomes the viewer of Impressionist artist Camille Pissarro’s Vegetable Market at Pontoise. We can almost hear the commotion of the rural village where he lived for some time.

Playing the part of both voyeur and companion, we stand behind a woman selling her vegetables. A young woman stops in front of us, deliberating whether or not she would like to buy what is gently offered to her. We can nearly hear their more quiet conversation in the midst of the lively square where all individuals congregate without segregation of rank. There are men with top hats conversing and women in fine dresses strolling, while others are clearly from a more modest upbringing.

Tags 19th Century Art, Camille Pissarro, Collection, European art, From the Collection, Impressionism, Modern Rebels

Art Collection Curatorial Modern

From the Collection: Chaïm Soutine’s Children and Geese

Post author By Emma Fallone
Post date July 28, 2015
1 Comment on From the Collection: Chaïm Soutine’s Children and Geese

Two young children walking in a field — Chaïm Soutine (Russian, 1893–1943, active in France), *Children and Geese*, 1934 (detail). Oil on canvas. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley M1959.375. Photo credit: Efraim Lev-er. ©2010 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.

Many of the artists featured in the special exhibition Van Gogh to Pollock: Modern Rebels, Masterworks from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery are also represented in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum. This is the third in a series of blog posts that will highlight Milwaukee’s artworks during the run of the exhibition.

Comparing the painting by Chaïm Soutine (Russian, 1893–1943, active in France) in the Modern Rebels show (Carcass of Beef) with the one in the Milwaukee Art Museum’s collection (Children and Geese), it is almost difficult to believe that the two works are by the same artist. The former depicts the body of a cow, flayed open from neck to tail, its scarlet inner organs glistening vividly against the shadowed blue background. In contrast, the artwork within Milwaukee’s own collection is a simple rural scene: a young boy and girl walking down a country path, with abstract brushstrokes suggesting a flock of white geese beside them.

A shockingly graphic image of blood and death versus an innocent, bucolic portrayal of childhood. How could these two works have been painted by the same artist?

Tags 20th century art, Chaim Soutine, Collection, European art, From the Collection, Modern art

Ancient Mediterranean Art Art Collection Curatorial

From the Collection: Roman Portrait of a Man

Post author By Milwaukee Art Museum
Post date July 14, 2015
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Marble bust of a man with a beard and short curly hair — Roman, Late Hadrianic (AD 117–138) or Antonine (AD 138–193) Period. *Portrait of a Man*, 2nd century AD. Marble. height: 16 1/2 in. (41.91 cm). Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Suzanne and Richard Pieper M2004.582.

Walk into any home today and you’re likely to see photographs of people. Carefully posed family portraits, snapshots from vacation, and, of course, selfies surround us in our homes. People have an almost innate desire to capture the faces of their friends and family, not to mention themselves.

Two thousand years ago, Ancient Romans didn’t have photography, but they did have the same desire to capture and remember the faces of those they loved. Wealthy Roman homes were filled with portraits of family members both past and present, most often in the form of busts and full-length statues. One such portrait, The Milwaukee Art Museum’s Portrait of a Man, was sculpted during the late Hadrianic (117-138 CE) or Antonine Period (138-193 CE). Based on the size and detail of this marble portrait, it would have likely been placed in a prominent position in a house or garden. Just like today, all portraits weren’t created equal, and sculptures like this one are akin to an expensive portrait you might commission from a professional photographer, rather than a snapshot developed at a convenience store.

Tags Ancient Art, Collection, European art, From the Collection, portraits

Art Collection Curatorial European Exhibitions

From the Collection: St. Dorothy by Antiveduto Gramatica

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date November 25, 2014
1 Comment on From the Collection: St. Dorothy by Antiveduto Gramatica

Antiveduto Gramatica (Italian, 1571–1626), St. Dorothy, late 16th–early 17th century. Oil on canvas. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Alfred Bader M1971.23. Photo credit: John R. Glembin

A number of artists featured in the special exhibition Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums are represented in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum. This is the fourth in a series of blog posts that will highlight Milwaukee’s paintings during the run of the exhibition.

Italian baroque painting can be bold, dramatic—and downright gruesome. Artememsia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes or Caravaggio’s David with the Head of Goliath are two great examples. The theatricality is in part a result of the demands of the Catholic Church, which was reacting to the Protestant movements spreading throughout Europe. Their response was called the Counter-Reformation. In order to encourage a return to Catholicism, the Church commissioned art that would capture the viewer’s attention with drama and emotion.

But not all Italian Baroque paintings are blood and guts. Some can draw in the viewer with a quiet, contemplative air. One such painting is the Milwaukee Art Museum’s St. Dorothy by Antiveduto Gramatica (Italian, 1571-1626).

Tags 17th Century Art, Collection, European art, From the Collection

Art Collection Curatorial European Exhibitions

From the Collection–Andrea Locatelli’s Landscapes

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date October 14, 2014
1 Comment on From the Collection–Andrea Locatelli’s Landscapes

A number of artists featured in the special exhibition Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums are represented in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum. This is the second in a series of blog posts that will highlight Milwaukee’s paintings during the run of the exhibition.

Andrea Locatelli (Italian, 1695–1741), Landscape with a River and a Group of Figures Near A Roman Altar, ca. 1730. Oil on canvas. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William D. Kyle, Sr. M1967.126. Photo credit: John R. Glembin.

Imagine it is the early 18th century. You are an Italian noble and need to decorate your villa. Who do you hire to make some paintings for you?

For many, the answer would have been Andrea Locatelli (Italian, 1695-1741). He’s not a household name today, but during his lifetime, Locatelli was famous. The venerable Colonna family of Rome, who were great art patrons, owned 80 of his paintings!

The Milwaukee Art Museum has a lovely pair of paintings from Locatelli’s late career: Landscape with a River and Group of Figures Near A Roman Altar and Mountainous Landscape with Shepherds and Animals.

Tags 18th Century Art, Andrea Locatelli, Collection, European art, From the Collection, Of Heaven and Earth

Art Collection Curatorial European Exhibitions

From the Collection–Antonio Balestra’s The Meeting of Telemachus and Calypso

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date October 7, 2014
No Comments on From the Collection–Antonio Balestra’s The Meeting of Telemachus and Calypso

A number of artists featured in the special exhibition Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums are represented in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum. This is the first in a series of blog posts that will highlight Milwaukee’s paintings during the run of the exhibition.

Antonio Balestra (Italian, 1666–1740), The Meeting of Telemachus and Calypso, ca. 1700. Oil on canvas. Milwaukee Art Museum, bequest of Eliza Eliot Fitch M1955.3. Photo credit: Larry Sanders.

Active in the very end of the 17th century and the first part of the 18th century, Antonio Balestra was an Italian painter of the “late Baroque.”

What does that mean? Well, it means that he worked during a time of transition between the theatrical narratives and dramatic light and shadow of the high Baroque (think Caravaggio) and the bright, elegant style called Rococo (think Tiepolo).

Tags 18th Century Art, Collection, European art, Exhibitions, Of Heaven and Earth

Art Collection Curatorial European Prints and Drawings

From the Collection–Dancer Holding her Right Foot in her Right Hand by Edgar Degas

Post author By Milwaukee Art Museum
Post date September 23, 2014
No Comments on From the Collection–Dancer Holding her Right Foot in her Right Hand by Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917), Dancer Holding Her Right Foot in Her Right Hand [Danseuse tenant son pied droit dans la main droit], ca. 1904; cast 1919–20. Bronze. Purchase, Bradley Conservation Endowment Fund M1984.70. Photo credit: John R. Glembin.

Though many of his formal principles are similar, Edgar Degas (1834–1917) stands out from the other major Impressionists because of his decision to depict urban spaces and the people that inhabit them, rather than natural landscapes. Arguably Degas’ most famous subject is the Parisian Opéra and its ballet dancers.

Tags 19th Century Art, 20th century art, Collection, Edgar Degas, European art, From the Collection, Women in art

Art Collection Curatorial European

From the Collection–Chestnut Bowl and Stand

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date July 12, 2013
2 Comments on From the Collection–Chestnut Bowl and Stand

Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory (Sèvres, France, established in 1756), painted by Denis Levé (French, active 1754–1805). Covered Chestnut Bowl and Stand (marronière), 1757–58. Soft paste porcelain, vert ground color, polychrome enamels, and gilding
tureen. Bequest of Mrs. Arthur J. Riebs given in memory of her father C.W. George Everhart, and her mother Lillian Boynton Everhart. Photo credit John R. Glembin

What do you know about chestnuts? You might think of the opening lines of The Christmas Song (“chestnuts roasting on an open fire…”). The song is a sure sign that Christmas is coming, but how many of us have actually eaten a chestnut?

For thousands of years, chestnuts have been a nourishing food around the world. They can be eaten raw, dried, boiled, baked, and roasted, or even ground into flour. The ancient Greeks and Romans ate chestnuts. Roasted ones could be found for sale on the streets of Rome in the 1500’s and in America in the early 20th century; you can still find them offered by street vendors in countries such as China, the Philippines, Japan, and Turkey, and in Europe during the winter. (They are less familiar in the United States today because of chestnut blight, a fungus that killed off the chestnut trees in America during the early 20th century.)

But our subject today is the chestnut in France–18th century France, to be specific.

Tags 18th century, 18th century france, chestnut bowl, Collection, marroniere, Milwaukee Art Museum, Rococo, sevres

Art Collection Curatorial European Exhibitions

From the Collection–Biedermeier Settee

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date March 20, 2012
1 Comment on From the Collection–Biedermeier Settee

In 2006, when the Milwaukee Art Museum organized the exhibition Biedermeier: The Invention of Simplicity, it established itself as a center of study for the Beidermeier style that was popular in Central and Northern Europe from about 1815 to 1835.

Building upon the Museum’s strength in German and Austrian art—partly due to the ethnic background of Milwaukee—the exhibition brought to the spotlight to Biedermeier art. This period of art and design history was not only little-known in the United States, but the exhibition also proposed a whole new interpretation of the style that changed scholarship in Europe as well. You can read more about Biedermeier here in this review from the New York Times.

Or better yet, read the exhibition catalogue, available for purchase on the Museum Store site.

Tags 19th Century Art, Biedermeier, Collection, Decorative Arts, European art, From the Collection, Furniture, German Art, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Josef Ulrich Danhauser, Vogel von Vogelstein