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(( and now a final portrait from Sargent to end the row ))
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(( Sargent’s famous Lady Agnew of Lochnaw up next here, truly a masterpiece of portraiture, however the poor Lady herself, in need of sustaining the substantial cost of a celebrity lifestyle, was forced to sell her own portrait to the Edinburgh National Gallery ))
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(( The proclaimed portrait artist Singer Sargent painted this of a peasant in Sicily ))
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(( a personal favourite of mine and another by Hiroshige: a woodblock of the water at Naruto, where some of the strongest currents in the world arise to produce striking, mighty waves and violent whirlpools ))
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(( The famous “Great Wave” by woodblock artist Hokusai is perhaps the most iconic artwork ever to leave Japan. This is just one of a series of 36 woodblocks produced by the artist of Mount Fuji, the summit of which one can spot in the distance, almost swallowed whole by the crashing wave. This piece has it’s very own emoji, of course: 🌊🗻 ))
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(( One of the most famous woodblock prints by the Japanese artist Hiroshige — this caught the eye of Vincent Van Gogh in 1887, when he produced his very own copy himself, see below ))
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(( ...and now for the final of Vincent’s trio of ‘Japonaiseries’: a copy of Hiroshige’s print of a flowering plum tree. After moving to the countryside, he left his collection of almost 500 prints behind, explaining that he needed them no longer: “Your perception changes after a while, you look more as the Japanese do, you experience colour differently” ))
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(( known as ‘The Courtesan’, this is another of Van Gogh’s copies of Japanese artwork — isn’t it just breathtaking to see his bright, bold colours applied in these striking, bold outlines? ))
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(( Van Gogh was an extremely deep admirer of Japanese art: “Their work is as simple as breathing; they make a figure with only a few sure strokes, as if it were as simple as buttoning one’s waistcoat” — here is his very own copy of a woodcut by Hiroshige, with a bright added border and calligraphic characters ))
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(( this series proved to be Monet’s final parting to us all; reflections upon surface waters, with lilies, willows and water-side sunsets))
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(( and additionally, this series was all painted as Monet’s eyesight deteriorated due to age-related cataracts in both his eyes! Terrified of losing his eyesight completely, he refused surgery, but began to struggle to paint like before: “colours no longer have the same intensity for me... ...my painting is getting more and more darkened”. He even had to label his tubes of paint and wear a huge straw hat outside to avoid glare! ))
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(( I must confess... Monet’s iconic water lilies never cease to stun me... were you aware he painted over 200 of these, all in the final thirty years of his life? ))
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(( Van Leyden’s masterpiece: The Last Judgment”. Here the dead rise to be either guided to paradise on the left, or dragged down into hellfire by demons on the right. Take a deep look, there’s so much going on here ) )
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(( those who know the @rijksmuseum well will recognise this grand hall as the so called ‘gallery of honour’ that leads to the crown jewel of the museum’s collection: the night watch ) ) . . . . . #artgallery #artframe #galleryofhonour #hollandart #holland #nightwatch #thenightwatch #dutchart #amsterdam #rijksmuseum #picturesofpaintings #artist #gallery #paintingsailing #Rembrandt #dutchgoldenage #classicalart #rembrandtpainting #famousart #famouspaintings #dutchpainter #dutch
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( ( and now, the most famous of all his masterworks: The Night Watch here on display in the @rijksmuseum, amsterdam, painted at the peak of the dutch golden age, with characters and detail almost life size... I had to wait until ushered out for a chance to encounter this one alone ) )