Following your bliss is not self-indulgent, but vital; your whole physical system knows that this is the way to be alive in this world and the way to give to the world the very best that you have to offer. There IS a track just waiting for each of us and once on it, doors will open that were not open before and would not open for anyone else. - Joseph Campell

Monday, December 17, 2012

Franz Xaver Winterhalter

Earlier this year my friend Alysoun and I visited the Frye Art Museum, which I posted about at the time.  A few months ago I was clicking around the Frye's website, and saw Franz Xaver Winterhalter's Susanna and the Elders again, which I really like. I started to dig a little deeper into Winterhalter's work, and found a couple of pieces I really love.

Young Italian Girl at the Well

image source unknown

I love this, and had to post this particular version of it because it is so vibrant. Her red sleeves jump right out at you, and her blue apron is so rich.  Throw in my favourite distant periwinkle hills, and I am in love with this painting.  More often than not, I am first drawn to fabric in paintings.  It never ceases to amaze me how artists can not only capture the many forms of fabric, but consistently communicate the tactile feeling of each different texture.  Also, how light plays on texture.  The way the light falls on the puff of her white sleeve, and edge of the neckline detail.  It completely sucks me in, absolutely beautiful.

Study of a Girl


I loved this one too.  Here it is all about her hair.  Not just the way the light follows her curls around, but the edges of her hairline, where it grows thinner. Beautifully done.



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