Favorite Paintings

[donnie]

Another interesting one by Jan Steen. This is Beware of Luxury painted 1663 (Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.)

From Wikipedia: "The painting depicts a disorderly household given over to licentious or improper behavior." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beware_of_Luxury

Jan_Steen_004.jpg (382.33 KiB) Viewed 899 times

[Kitty]

The detail is so engaging!

[Kitty]

I saw this on Twitter, and I thought it was funny!! Cat's Nightmare

[donnie]

Looks pretty nightmarish to me! I like the cats' expressions.

[Kitty]

Looks pretty nightmarish to me! I like the cats' expressions.

But owls? Why owls?

[donnie]

But owls? Why owls?

Yes, that's a little odd. You'd expect dogs, maybe?
Beautiful rendering on those owls, though. That took a little time.

[Kitty]

When I saw this one for the first time a few minutes ago, I literally said 'Wow!'

Spirit by George Roux, 1885

[donnie]

Wow! is right. That's a striking painting, indeed.

Look how the dress trails off into nothingness at the bottom and kind of blends in with the flooring. And I love how the main subject is so riveting that it's only a little later you notice the startled face in the lamplight.

Questions: Whose spirit is this? Does she often appear? What is she playing? Who belongs to that startled face? Does he recognize her? Will she ever come back? And what else might be in that darkness??

[donnie]

A striking portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds: Mrs. Froude playing an English guitar or cittern, 1762.

[Kitty]

Love the vibrant colors!