Diffuse Reflections, Part II

Venus Victorious (1914) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, on view in the Sculpture Garden at the Norton Simon Museum

I had been considering paying a trip to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena to attend a lecture "Human and Divine: Face to Face with Hans Memling's Portraits" by Maryan Ainsworth, curator of European Paintings at the Met, but, whereas I started the day on the fence in this matter, Renoir's birth date settled it. No other Los Angeles area museum has such interesting examples and diversity of his work.

So, it was off to Pasadena for me. And while I was there, discussing the Frick Collection, from where the current exhibit of Memling's Portrait of a Man is on loan, I found out that there was an interesting show of Renoir's work. It looks mighty impressive. If I had the time and money, I'd be on my way to NYC to check it out. ;-)

But I'll content myself with the local treasures and some very cool vids that the Frick has put up on YouTube.

Detail of Bouquet of Lilacs (1875-80) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Beautiful work!!!

Some day, when I'm rich and at leisure, I hope to go on a grand Renoir tour to admire his works at length. ;-)

Reclining Nude (1892) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

And here are some vids in support of the exhibit at the Frick:

"Renoir, Impressionism, and Full-Length Painting"

"Renoir's Dancing Couples"

"Renoir's Umbrellas"

"A Dancer's Story"

"The Promenade: A Look Beneath the Surface"

Enjoy!!!