Cezanne at the Kimbell Art Museum

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth TX is a relatively small museum with a relatively small collection. Yet it has great quality examples from Old Masters through Modern art painting. I remember that I posted one of each, a Fra Angelico 1429-1430 small painting The Apostle Saint James the Greater Freeing the Magician Hermogenes, and a late Henri Matisse from 1946, titled Asia. Both were featured in my post of December 31, 2008.

Today I'm going with one of two Paul Cezanne paintings I particularly enjoyed at the Kimbell. This Cezanne painting from 1895, Maison Maria With A View of the Chateau Noir, seems much like many of his others, yet the colors were brighter and the brushwork more impressionistic than his prototypical landscapes with their squarish blocks of color. See how you like it. https://www.kimbellart.org/Collections/Collections-Detail.aspx?prov=false&cons=false&cid=8645

You can see some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.

Cezanne Still Life

There are a number of fine Cezanne still life paintings at the Barnes Foundation where I visited last Friday. Here's one called Compotier, Pitcher and Fruit painted in 1872-1874. I particularly like this one for its profusion of fruit. Of course, the color and composition are typically Cezanne.

You can view some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.

Cezanne "Bathers at Rest" at Barnes

Each time I go to the Barnes Foundation, as I did yesterday, I am almost overwhelmed by the Cezanne paintings (also by the Renoirs, the Matisses, the Picassos, the Rousseaus, the Van Goghs, the El Grecos, even the Glackens', etc.). There are so many Cezannes, and they span his career so there are different styles, that I come away awestruck again. Deja vu as they say.

Cezanne painted many subjects, landscapes, still life, portraits, and nudes (often bathers). Each type of subject has its own charms and contribution to his style. Today I am featuring a fairly well-known painting from 1875-1876 called Bathers at Rest. The male bathers lounging around a pond with Mont Sainte-Victoire, a frequent subject of Cezanne's landscapes, in the background, was groundbreaking in composition, color, and paint-handling when it was shown at the Third Impressionist Exhibition in 1877. It's one to be seen in person.

You can see some of my 3-D mixed media paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.

Barnes Foundation - Picasso, Renoir, Matisse, and Cezanne

Today I'm at the Barnes Foundation in Merion PA. It's a great way to celebrate my birthday! I love being at the Barnes. I feel so good, and inspired too. In case you don't know, the collection included the largest number of Matisse paintings in any collection in the world, 59. I believe it also has the largest number of Cezanne paintings in any collection in the world at 69. The Barnes also has by far the largest number of Renoir paintings in any collection in the world at an astounding 181.

Almost missed in the excitement over Renoir, Cezanne, and Matisse is the large number of significant Picasso paintings, 46. That's a huge number by any standard. There are also paintings by El Greco, Titian, Rubens, Degas, Van Gogh, Rousseau, Seurat, Soutine, Modigliani, Manet, Monet, and American Horace Pippin of West Chester PA. Here is the Barnes Foundation website: http://www.barnesfoundation.org/

I've featured one of my favorites, Matisse's Le Bonheur de Vivre (The Joy of Life) several times in the past, so today I'll show Modigliani's Reclining Nude From The Back, painted in 1917.

You can view some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.

Paul Cezanne

Jay Rolfe saw a very good "Self Portrait" by Paul Cezanne painted in 1878-1880 at the Phillips Collection in Washington DC. This photo looks a little more yellow than the actual painting because of the reflections from the surrounding yellow wall.

Paul Cezanne holds a special affinity for Jay Rolfe because they both gave up law for art. Rolfe is happy he has more hair than Cezanne does in this painting. Cezanne's "Self Portrait" is the photo of the day.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Pierre Bonnard "The Open Window"

Another painting by Pierre Bonnard in the Phillips Collection in Washington DC that artist Jay Rolfe liked is "The Open Window" painted in 1921. It is as much an interior as a landscape, so it wasn't included with the three large landscapes. It is a subject Henri Matisse often painted, an open window and the inside and outside of it. It also has many patterns in the interior in the style of Matisse. The color palette is a little different from Matisse. Still, it's a beautiful painting, and our photo of the day for today.

Artist Jay Rolfe has a special respect for Pierre Bonnard because Bonnard, like Jay Rolfe, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Cezanne, gave up law to pursue art.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Pierre Bonnard "The Terrace"

Pierre Bonnard was a famous painter (from the post-imprerssionist era) who gave up law to pursue art, just like Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Cezanne, and Jay Rolfe.

The third of the large Pierre Bonnard landscapes that artist Jay Rolfe saw at the Phillips Collection in Washington DC last weekend is "The Terrace" painted in 1918. It's a beautiful painting when seen in person. The photo of the day is "The Terrace" by Bonnard.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Pierre Bonnard "The Palm"

Artist Jay Rolfe posts the second of the three large landscapes by Pierre Bonnard he liked at the Phillips Collection in Washington DC. It is titled "The Palm" and was painted in 1926. Bonnard was a post-impressionist painter who gave up law to pursue art, just like Jay Rolfe, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Cezanne.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Pierre Bonnard "The Riviera"

One of the revelations of the Phillips Collection for artist Jay Rolfe was the three large Pierre Bonnard landscapes. Rolfe was familiar with smallish interior scenes, sometimes with people, that Bonnard painted in almost pastel colors. Bonnard's large, lavish landscapes were a revelation. Rolfe found them beautiful. Jay Rolfe has a special feeling for Pierre Bonnard as he, like Rolfe, Matisse, Cezanne, and Kandinsky, is one of those artists who gave up law to pursue art.

Today's photo of the day is Bonnard's "The Riviera" painted in 1923. In person, the canvas is large and the colors are beautiful.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

More Barnes Foundation

Today artist Jay Rolfe is going to an opening reception for an art exhibit. Today's photo is another from The Barnes Foundation which we visited yesterday, Paul Cezanne's "Card Players." It's amazing, and I prefer it to a similar one at MoMA. What a world class museum Barnes is! Wonderful paintings, and lots of them. Billions of dollars worth.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.