Museum Visits

…more artistic musings

WHILE STUDYING THE ART of the 15th and 16th centuries, I came across a female artist of that period that was totally unfamiliar.

Following through on a lead regarding RENAISSANCE artist SOFONISBA ANGULSSOLA (1532-1625) I discovered this female artist had one of her many oil paintings featured at the Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin. The trip to this particular museum would be able to be completed in one day for onsite research along with a leisure viewing.

SOFONISBA Anguissola, The Artist’s Sister Minerva Anguissola, ca.1564

However, after contacting the curator directly, I soon learnt that the portrait had been in storage for the last five years. But, as luck would have it, the oil was scheduled to be re-installed the very next day.

Being able to view the portrait of the artists’ sister first hand became a valuable experience.

Details of the SOFONISBA Anguissola, Sister Minerva Anguissola portrait.

AS I STUMBLED INTO ONE of the museum’s open galleries I originally thought that this janitor was just doing his job. And, I might add that I was not alone with this “distraction” of the maintainance man appearing to lean on the wall.

Duane Hanson, American (1925-1996) JANITOR, 1973 – Polyester, Fiberglass and Mixed-media

…more artist musings

ANTONIO CANOVA (1757-1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor. In 1779 he traveled to Rome to study the ancient and modern sculpture. THE EXHIBIT demonstrates Canova’s step-by-step sculptural production procedure. From initial small terracotta representation “sketches” presented to the client to the completed over sized marble sculptures.

Canova’s early pieces represented heavily dramatic themes, that could be characterized by their agonized facial expressions and contorted human forms as with the Baroque style. The artist favored white Carrara marble so that veining would be avoided if another marble were used.

According to the art historian Giuseppe Pavanello, “Canova’s system of work concentrated on the initial ideas, and on the final carving of the marble”

The artist had an elaborate system of “comparative pointing” so that the workers were able to reproduce the plaster form in the selected block of marble.