Clown figures including Harlequin, Pulcinella and Pierrot are derived from the commedia dell’arte, a favourite of Watteau and other painters.
Watteau
Paintings from Watteauto George Bellows showing this popular fashion accessory, sometimes used for surreptitious communication between lovers.
On the morning of 22 August 1911, he arrived to paint the Mona Lisa, but it had vanished from the wall of the Louvre. Who had stolen it?
Pastellist like Rosalba Carriera led the way in making marks to create the illusion of finely detailed fabrics. This contrasts with smooth and detailed faces.
One of the most brilliant of the first wave of painters in pastels, a founding mother of the Rococo, and one of the greatest of all women painters.
Examples from Wright of Derby, Turner, Millet, van Gogh, Bonnard and others. But how many used the monochrome of scotopic vision?
A trip round the painter’s palette, with outstanding examples of well-known colours in use. Starts with yellow, then to red and finally to blue.
Major paintings from the last four years of his life, including his final visit to the commedia dell’arte, an unusual Judgement of Paris, and a shop sign.
Marking 300 years since the woefully early death of the master of the Rococo. Early paintings show the development of the fête galante, and its zenith in ‘Embarkation for Cythera’.
A look forward to the eclectic collection of painters whose anniversaries I’ll be marking here, and a glimpse of some of the paintings to come. Happy New Year!
The Eclectic Light Company 