Revisiting Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena

Rodin Sculptures at the Entrance to Norton Simon Museum

Revisiting Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Los Angeles in July 2013.  I vividly remembered the two amazing portraits by Rembrandt - his self portrait and that of his young son Titus and I was really looking forward to studying them again.

What I didn't remember so well were the amazing array of medieval paintings, often on gold ground, depicting the life and death of Jesus and Virgin Mary.  Below are those paintings I liked most, more or less grouped in chronological order:


Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece, 1344, Guariento di Arpo ( c. 1310 -c.1370)


Madonna and Child, c. 1340, Paolo Veneziano (active 1333-1358) & Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece Coronation of the Virgin, 1344, Guariento di Arpo (c.1310-c.1370)


Virgin Annunciate, c 1410-15, Pieto di Giovanni, called Lorenzo Monaco (c. 1370-1414) & Branchini Madonna, 1427, Giovanni di Paolo (1403-1482)




Branchini Madonna (detail), 1427, Giovanni di Paolo (1403-1482)


Baptism of Christ, early 1450s, Giovanni di Paolo (1405-1482) & The Resurrection, c. 1455, Dieric Bouts (1420-1475)


The Crucifixion and Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels, c. 1465-70, Juan Rexach (active 1443-1484)

From Bellini, Memling, the style of the paintings started to have more individual characteristics and became more naturalistic and less ritualistic.  They were still stylish, almost startlingly modern:


Beauregard Madonna, c. 1455, White Carrara marble, Attributed to Desiderio da Settignano (1429-1464) & Portrait of Joerg Fugger, 1474, Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516)


Christ Giving His Blessing, 1478, Hans Memling (c. 1430/40-1494)


Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Catherine of Alexandria, c. 1480-85, Neroccio de 'Landi (1447-1500)


Saints Benedict and Apollonia, c. 1483 & Saints Paul and Frediano, c. 1483, Filippino Lippi (1457-1504) & Fidelity, c. 1485, Fresco transferred to canvas, mounted on wood panel, Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439-1501/02)

Raphael, Giorgione, Cranach the Elder were the standouts amongst the following group of paintings - naturalistic traits further develop yet still with certain medieval manners:


Madonna and Child with Book, c. 1502-03, Raffaello Sanzio, called Raphael (1483-1520) & Head of a Venetian Girl, c. 1509, Zorzo da Castelfranco, called Giorgione (1477/78-1510)


The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, after 1510, Vincenzo Catena (c.1470-1531)


Adam, c. 1530 & Eve, c. 1530, Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553)


Susanna and the Elders, 1564, Jan Massys (c. 1509-1575)

 


Allegory of Nature, 1567, Maerten van Heemskerck (1498-1574)

The following group of paintings, including those by El Greco and Rubens, presented rich offerings of personalities of the sitters and the virtuosity of the artists.  Every piece was memorable:


Portrait of an Elderly Man, c. 1575, Giovanni Battista Moroni (1525-1578)


Portrait of an Old Man with Fur (Manusso Greco?), c. 1590-1600, Domenikos Theotokopoulos, called El Greco (1541-1614)


Mars and Venus, 1599, Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (1562-1638)


Portrait of Sebastian Munster, c. 1597-1600, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)


The Holy Women at the Sepulchre, c. 1611-14, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)


David Slaying Goliath, c. 1616, & St. Ignatius of Loyola, c. 1620-1622, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)


Meleager and Atalanta and the Hunt of the Calydonian Boar, c. 1618-19, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)


Birth of the Virgin, c. 1627, Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664)


Saint Francis in Prayer, c. 1638-1639, Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664)







Now we entered the shrine of those two most remarkable portraits by Rembrandt. The intimate and often humble domestic scenes by Dutch masters contrasted dramatically with catholic painters such as Rubens:


The Liberation of St. Peter, 1618, Hendrick van Steenwijck the Younger (1580-1649)


Landscape with Ruins and Animals, 1624, Roelandt Savery (1576-1639)


Man in Armour Holding a Pike,c. 1630, Jan van Bijlert (1597_98-1671) & Young Man with Red Berret, c. 1629-1630, Jan Lievens (1607-1674)


Self-Portrait, c. 1636-38, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669)


Portrait of a Boy (Artist's son Titus), 1655-60, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669)


Details of Self-Portrait and Portrait of a Boy, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669)


Portrait of a Bearded Man in a Wide Brimmed Hat, 1633, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669)


Portrait of a Young Man, 1650-55, Frans Hals (1582-1666)

Back to the catholic Italy and France, we saw more pageantries again, though in a reduced scale comparing to those from Rubens' era:


Martha Rebuking Mary for Her Vanity, after 1660, Guido Cagnacci (1601-1663)


Louis XIV in Costume, c. 1663, Mlle. de La Vallière in Costume, c. 1663, Joseph Werner (1637-1710)


Reclining Nude, c. 1713-1717, Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)


The Personification of Faith, c. 1725-1730. Francesco Solimena (1657-1747)


Interior with Monks, c. 1725, Alessndro Magnasco (1667-1749)


Interior with Monks (detail), c. 1725, Alessndro Magnasco (1667-1749)




The Triumph of Virtue and Nobility over Ignorance, c. 1740-1750, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770)


View of the Santa Maria della Salute with the Dogana di Mare, c. 1780, Francesco Guardi (1712-1793)

Now, we were in a transition from old school to the new age - starting with French painter Ingres, we entered the realm of modern psyche:


Bacchante Supported by Bacchaus and a Faun, 1795, Terracotta, Claude Michel, called Clodion (1738-1814) & Baron Joseph-Pierre Vialetès de Mortarieu, 1805-06, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)


Doria Francisca Vicenta Chollet y Caballero, 1806, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) & The Abduction of Psyche by Zephyrus to the Palace of Eros, After 1808, probably before 1820, Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (1758-1823)


Chess Set, c. 1850, Ivory pieces, wood board inlaid with ivory, India: Delhi region, 1825-1875

With the advance of Impressionism and its immediate predecessors, such as Corot, Manet and Courbet, the modernists took firm hold of fine art world that their works were the sure bets for museums to stage blockbuster special exhibits, therefore it was almost unimaginable how startlingly revolutionary or "scandalous" they once were.


Still Life with Fish and Shrimp, 1864, Édouard Manet (1832-1883)


The Cicada, 1865-1875, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875) & The Ragpicker, c. 1865-1870, Édouard Manet (1832-1883)


Madame Manet, 1874-1876, Édouard Manet (1832-1883)


Stream of the Puits-Noir at Ornans, c. 1867-1868, Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)


The Stone Breakers, Le Raincy, c. 1882, Georges-Pierre Seurat (1859-1891)

There were several excellent Van Gogh paintings.  His 1885 "Winter (The Vicarage Garden under Snow)" was very interesting due to another painting completely hidden underneath .  Those paintings of his clearly demonstrated his development and the artistic triumph:


Still Life, 1884, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)


Winter (The Vicarage Garden under Snow), 1885, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)


Painting covered by Winter (The Vicarage Garden under Snow), 1885, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)


Head of a Peasant Woman in a White Bonnet, 1885, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)


Portrait of a Peasant (Patience Escalier), August 1888, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)


Portrait of the Artist's Mother, October 1888, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)


The Mulberry Tree, October 1889, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

I didn't remember that there were so many Degas' works in Norton Simon Museum - both sculptures and paintings.  One of the reasons might be that I mistook several of his works depicting lower-class Parisians as painted by Toulouse-Lautrec, who was celebrated for such unflinching depictions.  Now let's see some more innocent sitters for Degas, including his actresses and dancers:

 
Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen, 1878-81, Edgar Degas (1834-1917)


Actress in Her Dressing Room, c. 1879, Edgar Degas (1834-1917)


Woman Ironing, c. 1884, Edgar Degas (1834-1917)


Dancers in the Rotunda at the Paris Opera, 1895, Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

Cézanne pushed modernism further and his cerebral endeavors continued to challenge and delight:


Uncle Dominique, 1866, Paul Cézanne (1839-1906)


Farmhouse and Chestnut Trees at Jas de Bouffan, 1884-1885, Paul Cézanne (1836-1906)


Tulips in a Vase, 1888-1890, Paul Cézanne (1836-1906) (left); Vase of Flowers (After Cézanne) (t), 1896, Odilon Redon (1840-1916), & Vase of Flowers, 1880-1881, Cézanne (1836-1906) (right)

Moving away from the somewhat flinty Cézanne, we were back to the world of women, populated by Morisot, Degas, Renoir, etc. - fashionable, sensuous and a bit anxious:


Woman in a Moorish Costume, 1869, Jean-Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870)


In a Villa at the Seaside, 1874, Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)


Fan: Dancers on the Stage (t), 1879, & Girls Beside the Sea, c. 1875, Edgar Degas (1834-1917)


Waiting, c. 1879-1882, Edgar Degas (1834-1917)


The Laundress, 1873 (t), Woman Combing Her Hair Before a Mirror, c. 1877, Edgar Degas (1834-1917) (left); Nude, c. 1872, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) (right)


Woman Drying Herself after the Bath, 1876-77, Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

Then in a world of caricature, vulgarity and grotesque, personified by figures recorded by Degas, Forrain and Toulouse-Lautrec:


Madame Dietz-Adele Monnin, 1879, Edgar Degas (1834-1917)


Head of a Woman with Veil, c. 1878-1880, Jean-Louis Forain (1852-1931)


At the Cirque Fernando, Rider on a White Horse, 1887-1888, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)


The Streetwalker (formerly Portrait of a Prostitute), 1892-1894, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)

And then the singular, nonpareil Paul Gauguin with his monumental Tahitians:


Tahitian Woman and Boy, 1899, Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)

In Boudin's world, fashionable women were decorates of the gray world, muted and strangely comforting:


Beach at Trouville, 1873, Louis-Eugène Boudin (1824-1898)


Beach at Trouville, 1888 (t), Beach at Trouville, 1880, Louis-Eugène Boudin (1824-1898)

Then, the purely landscape, almost completely devoid of human figures - I particularly loved the landscape paintings by Courbet:


A Courtyard on the rue de la Fontinelle, 1874-1878 (left), The Pont Neuf, Paris, c. 1875-1879, (top right), The Pont de L'Estacade, Paris, c. 1880-1884 (bottom right), Stanislas-Victor-Édouard Lépine (1835-1892)


Marine, c. 1865 -1866 (t), & Cliff at Étretat, the Porte d' Aval, 1869, Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) (left); The Entrance to the Port of Le Havre (formerly The Entrance to the Port of Honfleur) (bottom) c. 1867-1868, Claude Monet (1840-1926) (right)

Now, the distinction between paintings as fine art and as decorative objects started to got blurred with the advance of Émile Bernard and particularly Roussel and Vuillard. These paintings were the excesses of fin-de-siècle; the last grasp of the innocence destined to be marred or destroyed by modern machine time:


Still Life with Flowers, 1887, Émile Bernard (1868-1941)


Brittany Landscape, c. 1888-1889, Émile Bernard (1868-1941)


Still Life with Apples and Violets, 1890-1891, Paul Sérusier (1864-1927)


Reunion des Dames, c. 1893, Ker-Xavier Roussel (1867-1944)


Autumn: The Chestnut Gatherers, 1894, Georges Lacombe (1868-1916)


The Dressmakers Under the Lamp, c. 1891-1892, Édouard Vuillard (1868-1940)


First Fruits, 1899, Édouard Vuillard (1868-1940)


Lucie Hessel, c. 1905 (t), & The Pitch Pine Room (formerly Denise Natanson and Marcelle Aron in the Summer House at Villerville, Normandy, Summer 1910 (b), Édouard Vuillard (1868-1940) (left); Synchromy in Yellow, 1900-1913, or 1915, Paul Sérusier (1864-1927) (right)


Lower Main Street, Murnau, 1910, Gabriele Münter (1877-1962)


Inclined Head of Kneeling Woman, 1911, Wilhelm Lehmbruck (1881-1919)

Picasso was the giant of the twentieth century and his bewilderingly diverse works always awed audiences if not always moved.  His "Bust of a Woman" moved me deeply while his "Woman with a Book" though impressed me greatly but failed to touch me:


Bust of a Woman, 1923, Oil with fixed black chalk on canvas, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)


Woman with Mandolin, 1925, & Woman with a Book, 1932, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

Kandinsky, Feininger and the purely abstract Picasso gave us a hallucinatory world dotted with many human miseries of the new century:


Sketch for Deluge I, 1912, Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944)


Woman with a Guitar, 1913, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) & Near the Palace, 1914-1915, Lyonel Feininger (1871-1956)

Even Modigliani, with his eternal woman as object, actually belonged to the group above.  Abstract anxiety:


Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Jeanne Hebuterne, 1918, Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920)

It was with Matisse, with his interests in Moorish art, that we were back to the saner humane world, though his women's overt nakedness firmly separated themselves from their sisters in Manet and Renoir's sphere. 


The Black Shawl (Lorette VII), 1918, Henri Matisse (1869-1954)


Nude on a Sofa, 1923, Henri Matisse (1869-1954)


Portrait of Leila Claude Anet, 1930, Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947)

With works by Braque, Klee & Feininger, we are back to more clashing abstract world - brooding, violent yet beautiful:


Pitcher, Score, Fruits and Napkin, 1926, Georges Braque (1882-1963)


Artist and Model, 1939, Georges Braque (1882-1963)


Two Heads, 1932, Paul Klee (1879-1940)


The Tug, 1934-1937, Lyonel Feininger (1871-1956)


Tiptoe Down to Art, 1950, Hassel Smith (1915-2007)


Winterscape, 1953, Erneson Woelffer & Horseman, 1947, Marino Marini (1901-1980)


Tall Figure IV, 1960, Alberto Giacometti, with Exotic Landscape, 1910, Henri Rousseau (l), Horseman, 1947, Marino Marini, Artist and Model, 1939, Georges Braque (m), The Flower Vendor (Girl with Lilies), 1941, Diego Rivera (1886-1957) (r)

Norton Simon Museum had several sculptures inside the building, such as the Marini and Giacometti works above; the glory of its sculpture collections were in the front and in its enchanting sculpture garden.  In front of the entrance to the museum, there were several seminal sculptures by Rodin - those monumental bronze bodies danced in the shimmering summer light:


Jean de Fiennes, Vetu, 1884-95, & The Walking Man, 1905, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)


Pierre de Wissant, Nude, 1884-95, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)


Monument to Balzac, 1897, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)


The Burghers of Calais, 1884-95, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

The sculpture garden had many modern sculptures and my favorites were "King and Queen", 1952-53, by Henry Moore and "Sitting Cheetah", 1996, by Gwynn Murrill:


Sculpture Garden, Norton Simon Museum


Sitting Cheetah, 1996, Gwynn Murrill (1942-)


Sitting Cheetah, 1996, Gwynn Murrill (1942-)


River, 1939-43, Aristide Maillol (1861-1944)


Air, 1938, Aristide Maillol (1861-1944)








King and Queen, 1952-53, Henry Moore (1898-1986)

In addition, we saw a bit more of sculptures in a special exhibit titled: Beyond Brancusi, The Space of Sculpture.  My favorite of those modern works, was "Vertical Zag I", 1969, by the great Louise Nevelson:


Beyond Brancusi, The Space of Sculpture


Untitled, 1969, Acrylic on formed Plexiglas, Craig Kauffman (1932-2010)


Vertical Zag I, 1969, Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) & The White Gunas (Abstract Sculpture), 1946, Marble, Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988)


Untitled, 1969, Felt, Robert Morris (b. 1931)


Related posts on Art · 文化 · Kunst: 
- LACMA - Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Getty Villa in Los Angeles (Malibu)
- Urs Fischer Exhibit at MOCA, Los Angeles
- "Prague", St. Stephen's Day, Richard Diebenkorn and James Turrell
- My Favorite De Young Museum Collections
- "Renoir in the 20th Century" - Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- "Up in the Air" and Milling about in the Airport


Label: Los Angeles, Los Angeles Trip 2013