Selected Art

"Captain George kh Coussmaker" - Sir Joshua Reynolds

John Sargent’s “Madame X.” I am amazed every time I see her. The first word that comes to mind when I see her is “elegant” though that hardly does her justice. Notice the technique involved in the placement and orientation of her right hand.

"Aristotle" by Rembrandt. I heard a great lecture at the Met about the philosophic meaning behind this piece. Notice that Aristotle's right hand is on top of the bust of Homer, while his left (inferior hand) is placed lower on the chain with the coin of Achilles.

A portrait by Anthony van Dyck. Notice the skillfully painted hand. You can also tell that the subject is a man of learning by observing the globe on the desk and stencil in his left hand (presumably for cartography). On a larger version you can also see a violin bow indicating an aristocratic artistic training.

"The Calmady Children" by Sir Thomas Lawrence. This is a brilliant piece, and absolutely stunning at the MET. As the story goes, Lawrence was visiting a friend and saw his friend's children. He immediately begged his friend to let him paint a portrait right away, and this is the marvelous result.

One of my new favorites. "The Thinker" - Sir Thomas Lawrence

"The Chess Players" - Thomas Eakins