and ivy draped gardens like this
But it was really too hot to do much wandering so I stopped into the Musée Granet
to see the Picasso Cezanne exhibit
which I didn't enjoy because I'm not a fan of Picasso. OK, I think that he was a brilliant artist in terms of his technique
but overcome by his own ego and desire for crass commercialization.
Don't judge me.
So after all that Picasso nonsense I walked through the permanent painting collection.
So after all that Picasso nonsense I walked through the permanent painting collection.
Lot's of lovely landscapes and powerful portraits
and then I saw this
I hadn't realized that Mannerist masterpiece, Jupiter and Thetispainted by Ingres when he was only 30 years old
is HUGE.
The canvas takes up an entire wall.
From William Feaver's article Why All Ingres Is Erotic in Art News
Bare-chested, his pink robe draped to one side like a furled curtain, the great big god sits with high, thick clouds wreathing his throne and cushioning his left elbow. He’s in one of his moods. How to arouse him? Thetis the sea nymph is sure she can manage it. Bare-breasted, her sage-green gown elegantly draped around buttock and thigh, she molds herself against the mighty knee and reaches up to twiddle his beard.
I didn't find it particularly erotic, but I did find it absolutely stunning.
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3 comments:
What I love about art is that it is always open to interpretation. Each can view the same item and see it differently.
While it is a spectacular painting and I can appreciate that. I see an unhealthy relationship of a spoiled sulky male and a woman who is caught up in the vacuum of thinking only she can make him happy.
I on the other hand would smack him on the back of the head and tell him to snap out of it LOL!
PS gorgeous pictures of France. I can only dream about places like that.
Sher, your take on the painting is great. Today I was thinking about how we see these painting through a21st Century view rather than an early 19th Century view, especially in terms of the place of women in society. This painting had have been to be shocking in its time because it shows the woman as the sexual agressor rather than man.
I adore big broad masculine chests. My most favorite feature I suppose. I don't find it particulary erotic either...only because of her subservient posturing. I tend to be a bit more aggresive. Afterall, sex is a sport for two...mostly
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