19th and 20th Century Art at the MET

MET has a huge selection of European paintings from the 19th and 20th century, many of them are iconic and it was beyond believe that so many treasures are under the same roof.

The tour of this section started with Ingres and his workshop's Odalisque in Grisaille, which I didn't remember having seen, though the version with full color was trice familiar.  It was very fascinating to see how Ingres employed the technique traced back from Renaissance Old Masters.


Odalisque in Grisaille, c. 1824-34, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Workshop

But Ingres' Opus were almost belong to the previous century and his classical world were soon superseded by those more earthy and in-your-face type of depictions of life, like The Spanish Singer by Manet and The Third-Class Carriage by Honoré Daumier. Yet, they were not manifested from thin air; rather, they carried on the traditions of Goya and Rembrandt, et al.


The Spanish Singer, 1860, Édouard Manet


The Third-Class Carriage, ca. 1862–64, Honoré Daumier

In the same unsettling way, landscape paintings made stride in France.  The best examples are those by Courbet and Corot.  Monet made landscape paintings in this style as well, before he went on to become an "impressionist".  Millet also excelled in country landscape as well.


The Source of the Loue, 1864, Gustave Courbet


The Ferryman (left),Ville-d'Avray, c. 1865, A Woman Gathering Faggots at Ville-d'Avray (right), c. 1871-74, Camille Corot


The Green Wave, after 1865, Claude Monet


Haystacks: Autumn, c. 1874, Jean-François Millet

But these artists didn't neglect the human world, with the exception of Monet, who showed no interest in depicting people but Manet, Millet, Corot, plus later comers Degas, Cézanne, kept unearthing the truth of human conditions. 


Young Lady in 1866, 1866, Édouard Manet


A Woman Reading, 1869 and 1870, Camille Corot


The Dance Class, 1874, Edgar Degas


Boating, 1874, Édouard Manet

Cézanne's portraits, over the years, had evolved so much and one could see the advance of cubism in his Madame Cézanne (née Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in a Red Dress dated 1888-90.


The Card Players, 1890-92, Paul Cézanne


Antoine Dominique Sauveur Aubert (born 1817), the Artist's Uncle, 1866, Paul Cézanne


Madame Cézanne (née Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in a Red Dress, 1888-90, Paul Cézanne

I might have missed portrait and figure paintings by Gauguin but his still life was just as energetic and bold.  Bolder still, we entered Van Gogh's world.  I included a few paintings by him - both still life and portrait, not the most familiar ones but still very well known - beautiful, and slightly edgy and unsettling.


Still Life with Teapot and Fruit, 1896, Paul Gauguin


Roses, 1890, Vincent van Gogh


Sunflowers, 1887, Vincent van Gogh


L'Arlésienne Madame Joseph-Michel Ginoux (née Marie Julien, 1848–1911), 1888-89, Vincent van Gogh

Next giants were Matisse and Picasso.  This 1906 early Matisse below definitely had obvious contrast to those included in the special exhibit at MOMA - "Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917", but the connections even to his later period can be easily identified.


The Sailor II, 1906, Henri Matisse

Picasso created La Coiffure in 1906 as well. It was an exciting period for sure.


La Coiffure, 1906, Pablo Picasso

It was good to see the damaged The Actor had been repaired and were back in the gallery.  The restorers did such a wonderful job that one could not see the damages at all.


The Actor, 1904-05, Pablo Picasso

There were many more wonderful works, all the way down to the end of 20th century.


 The Dark Mountain, Number 1, 1909, Marsden Hartley


Tables for Ladies, 1930, Edward Hopper


Jean Paulhan, 1946, Jean Paulhan


Venice, Night, from Venetian Views, 1995, Howard Hodgkin

The only sculpture I stopped by to study, after many from Greek and Roman section, was a Herakles the Archer, which was dated only as 20th century:


Herakles the Archer, 20th century, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle

>> New York City Report, September 2010, Part XIII: Max Beckmann's Paintings in MOMA and MET
<< New York City Report, September 2010, Part XI: 14th - 18th Century Paintings at the MET

14th - 18th Century Paintings at the MET

After the special exhibit of Doug + Mike Starn, and the Antiquities, I allocated my time to the paintings section, both ancient and in 20th century.

Starting with the end of Gothic period and the beginning of Italian Renaissance, we were greeted with devotional pieces, serene and other worldly.



Below few examples are those in line with Fra Filippo Lippi and Botticelli, who valued line more than shades and volumes.  They might strike someone as old fashioned but its distinctive style can be compared to the modern day mannerism therefore they need no apology and who can deny their beauty?


Madonna and Child with Donors, c. 1365, Giovanni da Milano


Saint Lawrence Enthroned with Saints and Donors, Fra Filippo Lippi


Portrait of a Woman (l), probably 1450s, Master of the Castello Nativity; Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement, c. 1440, Fra Filippo Lippi; Portrait of a Woman (r), 1430s, Attributed to Paolo Uccello


Madonna Adoring the Sleeping Child, early 1460s, Giovanni Bellini


The Birth of the Virgin, 1467, Fra Carnevale (Bartolomeo di Giovanni Corradini)


Saint Justina of Padua, 1490s, Bartolomeo Montagna (Bartolomeo Cincani)


With Titian, El Greco and Caravaggio, we entered a new era definitely.  We now see the works in the height of the Renaissance period and these masters presented highly realistic but not slavish or high stylized dramatic take of daily life or biblical events.


Portrait of a Man, c. 1515, Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)


The Lute Player, probably c. 1597, Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi)


View of Toledo, El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos)


The Vision of Saint John, 1608–14, El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos)

Works by Rubens, Van Dyck always made me a little disoriented timeline-wise.  I often mistakenly place these works in a later period, because the way they handled the subject matters and their fluid techniques. They also possessed certain polish I personally more associate with 18th century paintings.


Portrait of a Woman, Probably Susanna Lunden (née Fourment, 1599–1628), Peter Paul Rubens


Self-portriat, possibly 1620-21, Anthony van Dyck


Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan, 1633, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)

Even some early Rembrandt (above) had such qualities but most of his works drew us to a world which was very realistic but much more earthy.  His characters breathed and sweated.


Man in Oriental Costume (''The Noble Slav''), 1632, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)


Hendrickje Stoffels (1626–1663), mid-1650s,  Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)


Woman with a Pink, c. 1660-64, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)


Minerva, 1635, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)

In contrast, Vermeer's characters posed in their frames calmly and the time was suspended.  We were afraid to disturb the delicate tranquility.  The protestant country's still life genre paintings had same effects as well.


Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, c. 1662, Johannes Vermeer


Still Life with Oysters, a Silver Tazza, and Glassware, 1635, Willem Claesz Heda

Rounding up this century's output, I selected two pieces by Velázquez.  His works in a way were similar to those by Rembrandt but were less robust and little stranger. The modernity of his self-portrait was staggering. 


María Teresa (1638–1683), Infanta of Spain, 1651-54, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez


 Portrait of a Man, c. 1630-35, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez

Goya, though was active in 18th Century, continued Velázquez's effort seamlessly.  The sense of doomed darkness in the most repressive regime during the time was palpable.


Manuel Osorio  Manrique de Zuñiga, possibly 1790s, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes


Majas on a Balcony, Attributed to Francisco de Goya y Lucientes

In the more enlightened sphere, we are in the most delicate theatrical world of Watteau.  Immediately, the delicacy and intrigues of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro resonated. It was poignant to think that such illusion of idyllic world will be shattered half a century later, during the French Revolution (1789–1799).


Mezzetin, c. 1718-20, Jean Antoine Watteau


The French Comedians, 1720-21, Jean Antoine Watteau

In my next post, I'll discuss paintings and a couple sculptures from 19-20th century.

Because the time constraint and because my believe that the MET was not really in the league with, say the Louvre, I failed to plan my visit and didn't bother to consult the floor plan handed to me when I asked for German painting section, and only after having exited at the end of the day, I realized that I had regrettably missed paintings by those titans like Jan van Eyck, Albrecht Dürer, Hans Memling, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Hieronymus Bosch, Hans Holbein the Younger. However, the consolation was that I had seen them in my three previous visits and they will serve as an enticement for me to go back, as if I need any.

>> New York City Report, September 2010, Part XII: 19th and 20th Century Art at the MET  
<< New York City Report, September 2010, Part X: Art from Ancient Worlds at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York