Friday, June 22, 2012

And who do I see at the HIGH?

 Jo Davidson's 1938 bust of a frustrated 70 year old Barcelona man he ran into during the Spanish Civil War. It is called Refugee from Palencia, Old Castile. The civil war was the idealistic cause of the era and Jo was there capturing the major and minor (wannabee) players.

 And Lucas Cranach the Elder's Portrait of Duke Henry the Devout of Saxony, 1528. I see it was a gift to the museum from Mrs. Irma N. Strauss in memoryof her husband, Jesse Isidor Strauss. Hmmm.
Two of my great grandfathers! I don't know if I can describe how humbled I feel to be visiting these works of art as an art teacher. I can see the touch of Jo on his bust. The surface is fairly frenzied with his imprints. Lucas seems only to have painted the face in his painting, and maybe the hands, of the Duke. The rest of the painting, such as the coat's fur collar and the olive background is fairly dead in treatment and most likely were done by assistants.

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