It’s baaack, DUers! Time once again for your Friday Afternoon Challenge: Window Treatments!

[CTyankee]

Who did these “treatments”?

And please, no cheating...really, it is not cool here...

1.
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2.
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3.
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4.
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5.
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6.
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[pinboy3niner]

1. You forgot the Bonus Question...

[CTyankee]

3. Now, THAT was a window treatment!

"I saw it in the window and I HAD to have it!"

[lovemydog]

42. One of my favorite comedy skits

ever!

[Aerows]

62. OMG!

That was SO HILARIOUS.

[Scuba]

2. The first on looks M.C. Escherish, but I don't recognize it and I'm pretty familiar with his work.

Hmmmm.

[CTyankee]

6. no, not Escher. wrong century...

[Scuba]

7. So I'm off by hundreds of years. Figures.

[CTyankee]

22. Escher doubtless studied the old masters as so many artists did. So you may have a very good

basis for your guess. Echoes from past artists are very common in modern art...all art, actually...Picasso looked to Delacroix and Manet, etc....

[pinboy3niner]

4. #1: Antonello da Messina - Saint Jerome in his Study

.... Antonello da Messina's 1475 painting of Saint Jerome in his Study epitomises the Renaissance dream. The fact is that the movement later named the Renaissance by historians was not just about art. It began in Italy as a passionate attempt to rediscover and truly understand the works of ancient Greek and Roman authors. Antonello's painting captures the excitement of this intellectual rebirth: it celebrates the life of the mind, as a scholar sits in a fantastic library, thinking calm and beautiful thoughts.

It was said that Antonello travelled to Flanders from southern Italy and learned oil painting directly from Van Eyck. You can certainly see how he shares that almost mystical sense of light. Look into the cloistered depths of Jerome's study and the misty shadows that caress objects make you pinch yourself. What Italian Renaissance art adds is the intellectual ambition to make complex statements about the world: Antonello's painting is a manifesto for books and discovery. As such, it illuminates the culture in which Leonardo – who was apprenticed as an artist in childhood and never went to university – started to compile notebooks stuffed with his research into every aspect of nature.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2011/nov/02/love-leonardo-national-gallery-permanent-collection

[CTyankee]

10. You got the St. Jerome hints in that painting I'll bet...

did you see the lion?

[pinboy3niner]

12. That detail certainly got my attention

I'm not well-versed in the saints, though, so any hints were over my head.

[CTyankee]

14. Me, neither. I benefit from those who grew up in Roman Catholicism and knew the saints and

their attributes very well. So I have to get up to speed in reading commentary about the paintings of saints from (mostly) the Renaissance era.

[CTyankee]

19. The red hat on the bench behind Jerome was another one...

Interesting, St. Jerome, IIRC, was really not a "cardinal." He just somehow magically became one in church lore, then in the art, voila!

[dixiegrrrrl]

34. Lion? that animal in the right side background?

It reminded me of a water spaniel, so I looked it up, and found this:

History of Bichon Frise

By the 1300's, Italy had become a center of trade and commerce and, with the advent of the
Renaissance, began a period of exploration. Now it was the Italian sailors who returned the
Bichon to the continent. In Italy, the Bichon Tenerife attracted the attention of nobility and the
new middle class of merchants. The dog was often groomed in the lion style, which was then
a popular trim, but he should not be confused with the Little Lion Dog (Lowchen). Late in the
1400's, as the French became enamoured of Italian culture, France invaded Italy, and the
Italian influence spread north. Italian artists and scholars went north to serve in the French
courts and, no doubt, carried along favorite pets.

[CTyankee]

35. Interesting! But I think in this painting it had to do with the lion and the thorn that St.Jerome

took out of his paw.

Lions have a really heroic look, so it is no wonder that the Bishon Frise was fashioned after it. It shows how fashion shapes so much stuff...

[Hekate]

5. #1 looks very Escher to me --on edit-- oops ... I guess Escher studied da Messina...

... before he started da messin' with perspective!

[CTyankee]

9. Scuba said the same thing...interesting. As you can see above it's really Early Renaissance.

wow, I've gotta get more into Escher...

[longship]

8. #2 looks Gauguinish. nt

[CTyankee]

11. um, kinda, but...

[kentuck]

13. A couple of them look like Van Gogh?

2 & 5?

[CTyankee]

15. you are half right...

[kentuck]

18. #2?

If I had to choose?

Oops! Wrong again.

[CTyankee]

36. this was a bit hard, tho...don't be too concerned.

[joeybee12]

16. #5 is van Gogh

Can't be anyone else

[CTyankee]

17. Yup, but when I first saw this it made me think of Matisse and the Fauvists...

If it weren't for the fact that I saw it in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, I woulda guessed maybe Derain...

[joeybee12]

21. van gogh was first and only thought...

I've been to that musuem, but I don't recall this piece...it's been quite some time, though.

[CTyankee]

24. dang museums, they loan out the really good stuff all the time. I can't tell you the number of

great paintings I have wanted to see only to find out they are "on loan" elsewhere. it happens ALL the time...

[joeybee12]

29. I know...

And it stinks when you get all the way to Europe and find out what you really wanted to see is elsewhere!

[CTyankee]

30. happened to me in Siracusa, Sicily...I had just finished a Master's degree where I had done an

independent study on Caravaggio and my favorite work of his was "burial of st. lucy" which is in the Siricusa art museum usually, but the damn museum was closed for renovation and the painting had been sent to Florence for restoration...I didn't realize at the time that this was pretty common! Of course, I WAS there at the off season so what should I expect

[joeybee12]

32. I also go off-season...cheaper...but you encounter

problems like you did...it's slow so that's when renovations, etc. are done.

[CTyankee]

41. I know, DUH... but I was just rediscovering travel and so I was a newbie...

now I know, it is just what happens.

Go to the website of the museum you want to visit and see what they will be doing and what might not be available.

Right now, for instance, listen up New York City area folks: Girl with Pearl Earring will be at the Frick in NYC in Oct., 2013! And plan on getting your reservations early! Do NOT plan on seeing it at the Mauritshaus (its permanent home) in the Hague until 2014 as the Mauritshaus will be closed for renovation!

[CTyankee]

37. That Van Gogh Museum is so damn big! Three floors of Van Gogh! It made me literally cry and most

art lovers would, too. It was intense...

[IcyPeas]

20. #2, Pierre Bonnard

I love the colors.

[CTyankee]

23. Ah yes...how nice it is...a lovely Bonnard..was it the face of his wife in the lower right?

She was so prominent in so many of his paintings...in and out of the bathtub (she had an unfortunate skin problem and sought constant baths to soothe it). So we get to know her face so well...sad, really...

[kentuck]

25. Looked like Van Gogh's little room with the bed painting.

[CTyankee]

27. that shade of yellow...

[applegrove]

26. The second one has got to be Matisse.

[CTyankee]

28. no, it is Bonnard...those impressionists, they "did" windows...but so did Matisse!

I can see how you got there...interesting...

[RZM]

31. I would guess #6 is from a Dutch painter. Probably 17th century?

That's all I got

[CTyankee]

38. good guess...

[dixiegrrrrl]

33. last one reminds me of... William Hogarth

Is it part of A Rake's Progress?

[CTyankee]

39. No Hogarth here...

[CTyankee]

40. #s 3, 4 and 6 not guessed! OH NO!

Come on, folks, you can do this!

[pinboy3niner]

43. #6: Jan Steen - Rhetoricians at a Window

In 1945, Sturla Gudlaugsson, a specialist in Dutch seventeenth-century painting and iconography and Director of the Netherlands Institute for Art History and the Mauritshuis in The Hague, wrote The Comedians in the work of Jan Steen and his Contemporaries, which revealed that a major influence on Jan Steen's work was the guild of the Rhetoricians or Rederijkers and their theatrical endeavors.

It is often suggested that Jan Steen’s paintings are a realistic portrayal of Dutch 17th century life. However not everything he did was a purely realistic representation of his day-to-day environment. Many of his scenes contain idyllic and bucolic fantasies and a declamatory emphasis redolent of theater.[3]

Jan Steen's connection to theater is easily verifiable through his connection to the Rederijkers. There are two kinds of evidence for this connection. First, Jan Steen Steen's uncle belonged to the Rhetoricians in Leiden, where Steen was born and lived a substantial part of his life. Second, Jan Steen has portrayed many scenes from the lives of the Rederijkers. An example would be the painting Rhetoricians at a Window of 1662–66 that is now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. What seems to prove Jan Steen’s connection with the Rederijkers is not just that he painted them but rather how he did so. The humanity, humor and optimism of the figures suggest that Jan Steen knew these men well, and wanted to portray them positively.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Steen

[CTyankee]

52. fun, isn't it? I just love this work, it is so lively and full of humor!

I was in Leiden and I must say it was the worst place in the Netherlands I visited...I was told it was because there was a severe housing crisis but it was a downer since the university was there and had been for several centuries...that wasn't good!

Oh, well, the rest of the Netherlands was great and wonderful...

[lovemydog]

44. I got that #2 was Pierre Bonnard

and was going to guess it here, till I read someone beat me to it. I also guessed #5 was Van Gogh, though I wasn't confident enough about it to guess it. I can't guess the others, but will avidly check back, as I love learning art history and these are beautiful paintings.

[CTyankee]

48. Oh, thanks for that! I really want folks to research and learn about art as I have done because

as you have said, it is how we all learn...

The Van Gogh was a real challenge because I also thought it might not be a Van Gogh due to its fauvist coloring. And those stripes made it look more Matisse...what to do?

[NCarolinawoman]

45. Mary Cassatt? #3

Don't know if I spelled that right.

[CTyankee]

54. it is not...it is Camille Monet, painted by her husband. But Cassat was a contemporary so you

have the right era...the Impressionists...

[Aerows]

63. Oh my word

Do you mean to tell me I actually thought about one of them and got it? Wow, this is the first time I've had a guess that was right, and of course, I kept it to myself (though I did come to this thread very late).

It's neat how much I learn from these threads you post, CTyankee - I really enjoy learning from them . Yay, finally!

EDIT: Oh crap, no I didn't LOL. Oh well. I'll try again next week

[CTyankee]

64. The depth and scope of art knowledge here at DU is impressive! I learn a lot too, both from

doing research for each Challenge and from the information given me by DUers who participate every week. I have to read art books constantly to keep up! But since I am retired and I love art, it's a welcome chore! And I meet such nice people!

See you next week...

[countryjake]

46. Is that Camille in the snow #4?

I'll not say further, cause I'm pretty sure I know who painted this (he's one of my favorites).

Love your selections this week!

[CTyankee]

49. Yes, it is lovely isn't it? I love the pose and the window...just a wonderful view...

[countryjake]

51. The prospect of her out in the cold, looking back inside...

fleetingly, is what gets me about this one. Of all the paintings that he did with her image represented by some anonymous woman, hardly identified, this is the one that bears her name. The reasons and analysis of this work are sad, to me.

[CTyankee]

53. It is that look, that disengagement or avoidance of the woman's real experience that caught me.

Monet must have been something of a bastard if this is what he thought of Camille...

[kwassa]

47. Is #4 Monet? #3 seems American to me ...

though I definitely don't recognize the artist it appears to be early 20th century ... very impressionist oriented.

[CTyankee]

50. #4 is Monet and you are correct that #3 is by an American artist...good for you!

[elleng]

55. 6=Franz Hals

Don't know nuttin else, just got here, and HAPPY to see it/you!



OOPS, got it wrong I guess, but anyway!!!

[CTyankee]

56. hey, nice to see you ellen! No, it isn't Hals. It was guessed, as Jan Steen!

Had to be one of those "dutch guys" , right? ...heh heh...

[elleng]

57. Just saw that!

Toldja, just got here!

Yea, one of those 'dutch guys.'

[kath]

58. Here goes -

Typing this up without reading others’ responses (did it as a separate document so I wouldn’t scroll down and see others’ responses). It’s been a VERY long time since I took those 2 quarters of Art History 101 (and fairly long since I’ve been to an art museum), but I’ll give it a shot.
First one looks like Renaissance period, but not sure of the painter. Brunelleschi popped into my head, but he was mostly an architect, no? Then again, it has that Dutch/Flemish Renaissance look about it…

2) Van Gogh?
3)First thought was Renoir or Degas, but something about the colors makes me think of Gauguin…
4)Don’t know – Picasso maybe, or early Van Gogh?
5) Van Gogh?
6) Rembrandt?


That was fun! Thanks for doing this.

[CTyankee]

61. You guessed right on 5. As you can see, 2 is Bonnard, 3 has not been guessed, 4 is Monet

and 6 is Jan Steen.

I see folks are stuck on 3. It is an American artist, not known for interiors. I found the colors unusual, too...not sure what he was trying for...American and I think this was probably New York, one of his two favorite places to paint.

#1 is Early Renaissance. I am fascinated by this interior, the sheer minutiae of it and the perspective of the rooms and windows in the background. And I love the little steps. How much I wonder is this actual and how much the artist's fancy? I don't know anything else by him but this is a real treasure. It is in the National Gallery in London...

[DollarBillHines]

59. These posts always intrigue me.

I split my time between the Bay area and NYC, and I spend a lot of time in museums and galleries. I love art, but I do not care who makes it. There is no singular artist who interests me, in the least.

But I absolutely appreciate the depth of knowledge shown in the replies to your Friday Challenges.

That being said, I can tell the difference between Mississippi Fred McDowell and Son House in a matter of seconds.

Thanks for all of your research and work.
DBH

[kwassa]

60. Same concept

just as every good guitar player has a distinctive sound of their own, every good artist has their distinct artistic look.

[CTyankee]

67. that is an interesting concept and one that bears introspection. So much of art criticism

seems to be focused on how artists were "shaped" by former artists. Is this a worthwhile thing to study? Should we care?

I, for one, LOVE the criticism that will mention forbears, because then I can go back and look at the original and see what they are talking about. I am fascinated by the way the artist found his/her way to their creation from the past. AND I am interested in the social history that tracks both the artists and their time in history. I find it extraordinarily interesting...

[pinboy3niner]

65. #3: Frederick Childe Hassam - Easter Morning Portrait at a New York Window

Whew!

[CTyankee]

66. Yep, I put up the answers earlier today...Hassam it is...guess you didn't see it...

what method did you use to find it?

[pinboy3niner]

68. I was looking at works by American impressionists

And some of his works struck me as similar to #3--and some used a red-haired model (perhaps the same one). So I focused on him and found the painting, which apparently was one of his 'window' series.

I'm glad I didn't see the answers, as it was fun and interesting doing the searches and learning more about Hassam. His wiki page is especially informative. But I did a double-take when I saw this image there:


The Avenue in the Rain by Childe Hassam on the wall of Oval Office, 2009.

It turns out that that painting, one of Hassam's 'Flag' series, has hung in the White House since the Kennedy Administration.


The Avenue in the Rain, oil on canvas, 1917. The White House


Thanks for another great challenge, CTyankee! (And props to Carol Burnett and Bob Mackey for the "Bonus Question." )

[kwassa]

69. I feel better. I was guessing Hassam, too ...

but I then went looking for it and couldn't find it. Saw lots of other Hassam, including the flag picture. Looked at lots of Ashcan school stuff and American impressionists.

[CTyankee]

70. I like Hassam. I've read some critics who don't. I think one of them was John Updike, who

wrote a fair amount of art criticism, for The New Yorker (now in a book of his collected reviews). Now here I hope I am not getting him confused with the current New Yorker art critic, Peter Schjeldahl who also has his columns in a collected work. Something about Hassam's "unfinished" look...

I also love the Ashcan school. I've used a fair amount of it for past Challenges. Really interesting Americana...