Posts tagged ‘Corot’

Sep 30

Lady with a Yellow Sleeve (after Corot)

How things change. Having become so accustomed to walking the hallowed halls of London galleries for every changing exhibition, I now tread the sun dappled pavements of Palma de Mallorca and admire the beauty of nature rather than the beauty of paintings which capture it. However on occasion I get the opportunity to return to the London galleries I love, and the other weekend, I had the quick chance of dropping into the National Gallery where I was able to enjoy a temporary exhibition: Painters’ Paintings, which explored the impressive collections of art owned by some of the most renowned artists. Amongst an exhibition including a vast range of works from Titian to Picasso, the one painting which impressed me the most was formerly owned by Lucian Freud and painted in around 1870 by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, The Italian Woman or Woman with Yellow Sleeve.

Woman with a Yellow Sleeve (2016 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, acrylic on canvas)

The original Corot masterpiece (© The National Gallery)

With its striking balance of colours, from the vivid red and blue of the lady’s dress to the yellow sleeve after which the painting is named, all set off against a morbidly dark background, you cannot help but be captivated by the work. No wonder the National Gallery chose to use the work as the poster-piece of their show. And as I approached the work, it was another one of those moments when a painting stirred me and I knew that an abstractive reinterpretation of the work was forming in my head. And here it is!

I would’t normally be overly attracted by a portrait of this kind, not least one where the sitter is gazing inwardly within her own world rather than outwards to the audience. But because of the colours Corot used, the painting moved me, and it is those colours which are allowed to shine in my simplified reinterpretation of the work. I hope you like it!

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacybrown.com

Jan 29

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Corot and Degas – The Castel dell’Ovo in Art History

I’ve spoken before about the novelty of coincidence – when a chain of events leads you to discover things over and over, or when two apparently novel similarities inexplicably collide – and concluded that rather than being mere coincidence, such occurrences are probably the result of becoming cognisant to something you hadn’t noticed before, something which translates into all of the succession of sightings or experiences which follow. It might also be to do with environmental or social factors which all of a sudden affect more people than just yourself. Still, a little piece of me makes me wonder whether such occurrences are in fact the work of fate, and disguise some hidden meaning or key to the future – we will probably never know.

But one little coincidence which happened the other day seemed so relevant to my current string of Naples posts that I felt compelled to share it, not least because it comes with a little art added in for good measure. I didn’t know Naples very well before my most recent visit, and still less the coastal areas of the city which I had never experienced before. It was therefore with some unbridled delight that I recently discovered the stunning seaside promenade, with the beautiful Castel dell’Ovo and its little marina which is surely the centrepiece of the famous curving coastal bay.

The Castel dell’Ovo

Imagine my surprise then when, upon my return, I strolled into London’s National Gallery one lunch time (as I often do) to spend a brief 10 minutes or so amongst some of my favourite Impressionist masterpieces, and discovered a new Degas painting which I hadn’t seen there before. The work, entitled Hélène Rouart in her Father’s Study is a rather striking portrait of the named Hélène – so far no coincidence there. But because Hélène was allegedly the daughter of a rich collector, Monsieur Rouart, what stands out in the work is the array of antiques and fine art which Degas portrays in the background. Amongst them he paints a small little painting, almost indecipherable because of his loose brushstrokes, but nonetheless unmistakably a coastal landscape. Looking at the description to find out more was when the penny dropped – it was a painting of the Castel dell’Ovo by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot!

Hélène Rouart in her Father’s Study (Edgar Degas, 1886)

Allegedly the work had hung in the study of Hélène’s father where the portrait is set, and upon subsequent investigation, I have found an image of the painting in all its glory. It’s the Castel dell’Ovo for sure, looking almost unchanged despite being painted some 200 years ago when, in 1828, the French artist spent some seven weeks in Naples and its surroundings painting some 6 recorded views of the city.

Napoli, Castel dell’Ovo (1828)

And another painting by Corot of the same view

So was it my new acquaintance with the Castel dell’Ovo which made me notice this new Degas, and through it a Corot depiction of the Castel dell’Ovo for the first time or some more fate-led coincidence? Who knows. But what I can conclude is that both paintings make for excellent lunchtime viewing and a perfect interlude to my blog’s adventures in Napoli.