Looking at paintings: French impressionists from the Clark

Théodore Rousseau, Farm in Les Landes, 1844–67

Perhaps the last time I went to an art museum was in 2007 during a visit to Atlanta.  An old friend took my wife and I, as well as some Thai friends then studying in Savannah, to the Atlanta High for the Annie Leibovitz exhibit, A Photographer's Life.  It wasn't long after that I began studying in Nepal, and thereafter moved to the UAE.

But here I am in Japan.  My wife is on a two-day whirlwind visit to Kyushu, and the in-laws felt obliged to show me a good time.  There isn't a whole lot to see or do in Kobe, but fortunately a special collection was on at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum.

Jun. 8 (Sat.) − Sep. 1 (Sun.)
This exhibition showcases masterpieces of French painting of the 19th century stored in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, which boasts one of the largest collections of Impressionist paintings in the United States. Including 22 pieces by Renoir, whom the Clarks were especially committed to, 59 works are presented for the first time in Japan from the Impressionist school (Monet, Degas) and Barbizon school (Corot, Millet). Adding works of Academic art and Post-Impressionism, a total of 73 pieces appear in this miraculous exhibition.

It took only an hour to see them all, but it was quite an interesting experience after a year of serious photographic practice.  I found myself unintentionally looking at the images in terms of subject, composition, color, and technique.  I don't quite remember a museum visit like this one. 

Alfred Stevens, The Duchess, 1866

The three primary subjects of this collection seemed to be landscapes, portraits, and still lives.  The landscapes were pastoral, though two I recall featured an isolated factory on a riverbank.  With the exception of one snowy landscape, all featured spring or summer scenes.  Many included water in which were painted reflections of the surrounding landscape. About half the collection was of Renoir's, and most of these were portraits of well-to-do young ladies in their finery.  Similar portraits from other painters were also featured, one of my favorites being the Dutchess, which I found attractive for the dress.  Still lives included bowls of grapes, apples, and a table of onions, but as I recall no dead pheasants, rabbits, or venison. The paintings seemed conservative in composition, with subjects typically located in the center. In landscapes the sky was about 1/3 of the composition and people and animals were rather tiny elements in symmetrically balanced scenes.  A close look at the paintings showed not only brush strokes, but in one Monet a hair (whether that from a brush or the framer, I know not).  

Now I'm looking forward to my next museum visit.

Edgar Degas, Dancers in the Classroom, 1880

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