Category: Tumblr

War

Henri Rousseau (French, 1844-1910). War: The Ride of Discord (La Guerre: La chevauchée de la Discorde), 1894. Oil on Canvas. 1.14 x 1.95 m. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.

Some day I am going to write a novel based on this painting.

(This is another one that I saw at the Musée d’Orsay’s travelling post-impressionism exhibition at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, California.)

“La guerre ; elle passe effrayante laissant partout le désespoir, les pleurs, la ruine.”

Froztmix 2: Sailing

Sailing

1. Christopher Cross – Sailing
2. Radiohead – Bloom
3. Bon Iver – Lump Sum
4. James Blake – The Wilhelm Scream
5. Beach House – 10 Mile Stereo
6. America – Ventura Highway
7. Beck – New Round
8. Bjork – Sun In My Mouth
9. Deerhunter – Sailing
10. Baths – You’re My Excuse To Travel
11. Baths – Rain Smell

Starry Night Over the Rhône

Vincent Van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890). Starry Night Over the Rhône (La nuit étoilée), 1888. Oil on canvas. 0.73 x 0.92 m. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.

As a teenager, Van Gogh was my gateway into the world of art, and he remains my favorite painter. This particular painting quickly became one of my favorite paintings by my favorite painter. I think my need to champion the underdog and embrace the-lesser-known made me champion this work over the other super-famous, neck-tie-and-coffee-mug-adorning, but nonetheless completely awesome Starry Night that Van Gogh painted a year later.

Last October, we visited my wife’s awesome aunt who lives in the Oakland Bay area, and she took us to the De Young Museum in San Francisco to see the exhibition Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond: Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay. As we entered the gallery where the Van Goghs were displayed, lo, here was one of my most longtime favorite paintings, something I thought I would have travel to Europe someday to see. I didn’t even know I was going to get to see it on my little California trip, so that made the experience even better. In my opinion, seeing a Van Gogh in person totally lives up to the hype, and is unlike anything else, even the paintings of other great artists. Still, I couldn’t resist trying in vain to capture and commoditize the magic, so I bought a small print of the painting and it is propped up on a bookshelf in our living room right now, where I look at it all the time.

The Starry Night

Vincent Van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890). The Starry Night, 1889. Oil on canvas. 73.7 x 92.1 cm. Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.

It’s becoming clear to me that I take a great liking to paintings with stars, and it all probably comes from Van Gogh, so I might as well get his three great star-infused paintings out of the way right now.

Young Astronomer

Brian Kershisnik (American, 1962-). Young Astronomer, 2009.  Oil on canvas, 66 x 84 in.

Here’s a painting that pretty much depicts where my mind is at right now.  I saw this painting a year or two ago at one of Kershisnik’s shows at Dave Ericson Fine Art, an art gallery in an old house in downtown Salt Lake City.  I’ve been to these shows two or three times, and every time there seems to be one or two impressively large paintings that serve as the centerpiece of the show.  This was one of those paintings, and it has entered my imagination and been amongst my most favorite pieces ever since.  I assume someone purchased this painting at the show; at any rate I have no idea where it now resides.  Maybe this should go without saying, as it is true of most art, but this small digital image does little justice to the almost mural-sized original oil painting.  I should also mention that the last time I wrote about Brian Kershisnik on this website a few years ago it led to me meeting my wife, so his art is pretty special to our family.

You can see much more of Brian Kershisnik’s art and learn more about him at his website.