continued Art Institute of Chicago

After a rather unsatisfying late lunch at the second floor eatery (basically a hallway with tables and a kiosk) I found the beautiful "Child's Bath" by Mary Cassatt.

The Child's Bath by Mary Cassatt

I lingered in front of this painting, noting the vibrant color, the patterns and the lovely pose.  The composition is wonderful - the pitcher brings you in, the stripes pull you towards the child and her bent elbow brings you further back to the drawers.  The vertical handles bring the eyes across towards the mother's head and the stripes bring us down her arm to the hand, the child's feet, leg and upwards again to the mother's hand that is wrapping around the child lovingly.

This image of "the White Bridge" does not come close to the vibrancy of the colors in real life.

The White Bridge by John Henry Twachtman

Icebound by John Henry Twachtman

Still another Twachtman that is amazing to see in person -  I almost didn't include this image because the computer image is nothing compared to the real thing.  You cannot see the built up layers of paint and the subtle interactions between colors.



Have you ever seen a painting more profoundly sad than this one?
It is quite a large painting and the clown is looking at the viewer.

Clown with Drum by Walt Kuhn

And no trip to the Art Institute of Chicago is complete without a visit to "Nighthawks" (note: I did pay my respects to Van Gogh too by the way),  and to American Gothic.

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper

American Gothic by Grant Wood

The work was painted meticulously.

An abstracted landscape that had an otherworldly-ness to it was by George Innes

Home of the Heron by George Innes

Again, you had to be there to see how magnificient this was.

Hanging Head Dragonfly Shade Tiffany Lamp
attributed to Clara Pierce Wolcott Driscoll

I usually don't look at objects other than paintings but this Tiffany Lamp was stunning.

Basket of Apples by Paul Cezanne

Every inch of a Cezanne painting is interesting.  Sigh.....I can't get enough of Cezanne.

Again, we see in this Pissaro painting, the use of stripes to help guide our eyes around the painting.  

Woman Sewing by Camille Pisarro

Young Peasant Woman Drinking her Cafe au Lait by Camille Pissaro

I have in my notes "WOW colors" and then I scribbled the colors ultramarine blue, sap green with yellow, pinks, yellow ochre and burnt umber.


Ultramarine blue and burnt umber for the hair, cadium red and ultramarine blue in the shirt with a green reflection on the shirt.  Green in the shadow of the face.

Odion Redon could make anything look sweet, even a cyclops but here is an example of his still life.  Really quite lovely and sweet.

The Drinkers by Vincent van Gogh

Here is a lively, funny painting where even the child is partaking in the drinking.  Back in those days, I heard that drinking beer was safer than drinking the water hence the hospitals used to serve a weaker version of beer to their young patients.

The Bedroom by Vincent van Gogh

And of course, one must pay respects to "the Bedroom".  The colors are very vibrant and the beautiful green highlight on the wood floor makes it glow.

 And eventhough "The Drinkers" and "The Bedroom" have a cartoon-y quality, his self portrait does not.  It is intense, serious, and sensitive.  His face has depth and the constrast in colors make it really pop.  He effectively uses green in the red beard.

This was a surprise van Gogh with it's subdued colors.

Peasant Woman Digging in Front of her Cottage by Vincent van Gogh

And lastly, in the Folk Art wing, portraits of people with either very large heads or very small bodies by  William Bonnell.

Mrs. William Bonham by Willaim Bonnell

J. Ellis Bonham by William Bonnell