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T.F. Chen Cultural Center Post-Van Gogh Retrospective: Beautiful Morning Light
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| Vermeer:
"Young Woman with a Water Jar,"(c.1665), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Van Gogh: "Olive Trees,"(1889), The Minneapolis of Arts Cezanne: "Still Life in Front of a Chest,"(1883-87), Neue Pinakothek, Munich "Vase of Tulips and Fruits,"(1890-94), Art Institude of Chicago Composition a la Mondrian |
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| Previous Art Work 14 of 53 Next About the center About the artist |
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Jan Vemeer (1632-1675), master from Delft, contemporary of Rembrant van Rijn, presented an aspect of the exqusite, cahrming world of Holland in his small canvanses. He depiceted the bourguois society of his time, properous and serene, content with their political independence and abundance of wealth. In Vemeer's modest paintings, we see the most ordinary activities of daily life, presented in common settings with familiar furniture. A young lady reads or writes a letter, perhaps she plays the clavacine or tries on a necklace; a maid works in the kitchen, or some friends gather to play music. Vemeer transforms these everyday realities into the most beautiful spectacles. Vemeer's masterpiece capturing of light bestows a glad and serene rhythm to the composition. Warm sunshine penetrates the interiors through the windows, bringing out rich luminousity where "the illuminative accordance of colors, balanced structure of the space; all lines and surfaces are acting together in a concert of geometry." the abosolute rigor of form and space are submerged in a bath of natural light, which impalpably yet visibly fills the vast space which separates the objects in the painting. Vemeer always depicted a limited space, a room or a salon for example, reducing the lighting of the interior to the luminous source of the window. He rendered the personage as well as the objects in the room in a delicate richness of color and light,which microscopic nuances of light and shadow, evoking the marvelous quality of a jewel! In Dr. T.F. Chen's "Beautiful Morning Light," Vemeer's "Young Womam with a Water Jug" (c.1665) rests intact in compostion. The neatly dressed Dutch lady opens a window slightly. The window is designed and framed a la Piet Mondrian, another Dutch master of the 20th century. The lady might still be holding a jug to water the tulips upon the table but her hand is hidden from the viewer by Paul Cezanne's "Vase of Tulips" (1890-94) and a plate of apples from Cezanne's "Still Life in Front of a Chest" (1883-87) which sits atop a table. Behind the lady, the original geographical map has been replaced by Vincent van Gogh's "Olive Trees" (1889). The lady and all of the objects in the room emerge from a wall freshly- painted in a sky blue, which reflects the beautiful morning light beaming through the window. As the golden sun in Van Gogh's " olive Trees" suggests, a truly wonderful day is ahead.
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