Splendid and Simple

Detail from Portrait of a Lady in Turkish Fancy Dress (1790) by Jean-Baptiste Greuze


It's been a long while since last we celebrated the birth date of an "old master" type of painter. So, let's take a brief opportunity to appreciate the works of Jean-Baptiste Greuze. He's not the most famous of ancien regime painters, but I like his work nearly just as much as his more famous contemporaries.

And, of course, I'm loco for rococo. ;-)

Rather than focusing on his more popular works, I've posted up some works from the local Los Angeles collections.

Detail from The Laundress (1761) by Jean-Baptiste Greuze

He was born on August 21, 1725. Let's appreciate the conjunction of splendor and "simplicity" within Greuze's aesthetic vision.

Village Lanterne

Blues skies over Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, as I exit CoproGallery

I went all around town today. It was busy, but I had a good time. From Santa Monica to the South Bay, there is a lot of art on display to enjoy.

I'm a bit tired right now. So, here are a few photos. ;-)

Detail of Unknown Planets (2008) by Atsushi Fukui, on view at the Richard Heller Gallery

Visiting the Torrance Art Museum's Opening Night for "Between the Knowing"