Well, you know, I just couldn't resist the title! Sorry!!!
We have spent a very nice and relaxed day here in the city. After a leisurely breakfast at our favorite Bakeshop, we did a bit of reading, then walked to a sumptuous lunch at Empire State South. My goal was to make it to the High Museum to see the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit. As you well know, the above was not done by Monsieur Lautrec, but instead by Morris Louis, whose work I admire! He was inspired by the works of Helen Frankenthaler, an all time favorite of mine. The above, Para III, resides at the High, and so I get to see it up close and personal on a very regular basis. It was completed in 1959 and is painted in acrylics on canvas.
Here are a couple of detail shots of this wonderful piece:
Don't you just love it!!!
This was my favorite of those shown by Monsieur Lautrec
The story behind its creation is quite rich: It seems that Monsieur Lautrec was commissioned by Victor Joze to create a poster advertising the latter's new novel, "Reine de Joie". The book is about an affair between a banker and a prostitute. The advertisement became scandalous as many Parisienes felt that Lautrec's lithograph was an unfavorable depiction of the prominent banker, Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, and that it was also anti-semitic. Rothschild attempted to not only stop publication of "Reine de Joie" but also Lautrec's posters. He was unsuccessful. The posters became famous throughout Paris, but were also considered to be "extremely perverse".
Our day was capped off by a video chat with our daughter, son-in-law, and Charlie! It was the most fun, and Charlie was really animated! Now the 2-hour separation from them isn't quite so painful!
PEACE
2 comments:
Sounds like a perfect day- art, good food, and the grandbaby!
Yes, a very happy day for you. I love Lautrec, especially that one. I'll have to investigate Morris Louis and Helen Frankenthaler, nice to learn about new (to me) artists. xxoo
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