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Questions from the Met
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Is there a Smile in a Particular Painting that you like the most?
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I love this question! I didn't know there were so many different smiles in so many different paintings, but of course! Why wouldn't there be! There are that many different people! I had a great time finding all of these and I could go on and on even further than this! I will post some that I found here:
Bored, Seductive, Aloof
Seductive, Disinterested, Aloof, Haughty
Seductive, Proud, Haughty, Bored
Haughty, Mischievous, Arrogant
This has several women in it. The one on the far left looking at the viewer looks a bit humored. She seems almost to be smirking at us. She is enjoying herself on her walk and wondering what we're looking at. The little girl is interested also in the viewers, she looks questioningly at us but with an innocent look on her face. The lady holding the umbrella looking down is obviously smiling seeming to be enjoying herself and to be oblivious to anyone else watching. And there is the man to the very far left. He isn't looking at the viewers at all but to something beyond the outside of the painting. Maybe another woman? Something that is piquing his interest, striking his fancy. He is amused and inquisitive.
Mistrustful, Irritated
Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne
Modigliani
There's a painting in the Rijksmuseum by Frans Hals of a prosperous young couple relaxing together. I've seen he woman's face in other Dutch 17th c. paintings(or one other at least). They both have beautiful smiles and look very happy. It's a pretty famous painting ...
Heather wrote: "Bored, Seductive, Aloof"Anyone out there know the name of that model? She's in several famous paintings of the period ...
Chris wrote: "There's a painting in the Rijksmuseum by Frans Hals of a prosperous young couple relaxing together. I've seen he woman's face in other Dutch 17th c. paintings(or one other at least). They both have..."
Is this the one you're talking about?
If so it says "Marriage Portrait of Isaac Massa en Beatrix van der Laen, Married Couple in a Garden"...
"Frans Hals painted many double portraits of married couples between 1620 and 1640. He painted them separately, on two panels, the man on the left and his wife on the right. It was only in Double Portrait of a Couple that Hals portrayed the couple, Isaac Massa and his wife on a single canvas.Isaac Massa was a powerful trade merchant and diplomat during the Dutch Golden Age, who had traveled the world. Beatrix was the daughter of a wealthy regent and both came from affluent families in Haarlem.
The couple commissioned to Hals paint this canvas to commemorate their wedding in 1622 and it' thought that Hals executed the work on one of Massa's estates in Lisse.
There is a great deal of symbolism in this image regarding marriage in Dutch culture in the 17th century. The couple is not depicted indoors in formal poses but rather they are shown intimately and relaxed. The couple seems completely at ease with each other and Beatrix reinforces their new union in marriage by resting her arm upon her husband's shoulder displaying her wedding ring. Isaac holds his wife's right hand over his heart - a sign of love and loyalty.
Smiling faces were uncommon at this time and Hals was one of only a few portrait painters to picture smiling people. The couple's clothes also demonstrate their wealth.
The couple sits beneath a thistle tree, which symbolizes fidelity. In addition, the extending ivy tendrils curling around a branch between the couple represents committment, faithfulness and fertility.
Hals has included another couple in the background who pose in a much more formal manner. He also inserts a pair of exotic birds behind them which evokes a sense of paradise and 'garden of love' atmosphere.
Frans Hals employed artist Pieter de Molijn to paint the background of the Dutch flatlands on the right due to the fact that Hal himself did not specialize in landscape painting."
https://www.artble.com/artists/frans_...
Heather wrote: "Chris wrote: "There's a painting in the Rijksmuseum by Frans Hals of a prosperous young couple relaxing together. I've seen he woman's face in other Dutch 17th c. paintings(or one other at least). ..."That's the one. Good job ...
Chris wrote: "Heather wrote: "Bored, Seductive, Aloof"Anyone out there know the name of that model? She's in several famous paintings of the period ..."
The one who posed for Olympia? I have no idea
Heather wrote: ""Frans Hals painted many double portraits of married couples between 1620 and 1640. He painted them separately, on two panels, the man on the left and his wife on the right. It was only in Double P..."Thanks for the info. I love that painting.
Chris wrote: "Thanks for the info. I love that painting. "No problem. It is nice, thank you for introducing it!
Ruth wrote: ""That's an interesting one, Ruth... I like it! I'm actually glad you posted that.
Oops. Forgot to label it. I’m sure you know though, that Gs part of deKooning’s Woman series.
Right, but did you want to say something about the smile? You don't have to, only if you have some reason you put it up there...
Just as a bit of an antidote to to the previous paintings.
Ruth wrote: "Just as a bit of an antidote to to the previous paintings."Nice! (Insert big smiley icon here) pun intended
Chris wrote: "Heather wrote: "Bored, Seductive, Aloof"Anyone out there know the name of that model? She's in several famous paintings of the period ..."
Victorine Meurent,she was a painter herself..
Theres a page on wikipedia for her ,as well as for the painting Olympia..
Wow! Thank you for finding that, good job!
Indeed, now I remember her. There was a public uproar because people thought Manet used a real prostitute as model as in fact she was an artist herself.Manet used her as model for half a dozen paintings, the most famous being Olympia and Déjeuner sur l'Herbe.
She seems very sparse with her smile: only in Déjeuner she smiles a little ;-)
Heather wrote: "How well do we know our art, the paintings that smile at us? Of those pieces with people who smile (or smirk, or don't smile), which do you like the best? Why? And we all can't say the Mona Lisa!"
I dislike the Mona Lisa's smile and read an article that said her jaw is actually broken and that is why she looks like that! Do you suppose its true?
Wow, I’ve never read that. Does anyone else know if that is true?
All speculation I think.If you Google it, you find an old article from Newsweek (1993)
A dentist who thinks her jaw was broken and another who thinks she's missing her front teeth...
Fact is she keeps on fascinating people. Last time I was in the Louvre there as very large crowd before the painting.
There is always such a huge crowd in front of the painting that it’s not even worth going to see except to tell people that you’ve seen it.Pictures on the computer screen are better than a shot at the real thing at the Louvre! Haha
Dirk wrote: "All speculation I think.If you Google it, you find an old article from Newsweek (1993)
A dentist who thinks her jaw was broken and another who thinks she's missing her front teeth...
Fact is she k..."
I agree with you that it is speculation but was interesting to me when I read it. Another article after that said that the Mona Lisa is really a Leonardo as a woman which I found to be even more interesting.
Heather wrote: "There is always such a huge crowd in front of the painting that it’s not even worth going to see except to tell people that you’ve seen it.Pictures on the computer screen are better than a shot at..."
Glad to hear that since I will never get there.
Of those pieces with people who smile (or smirk, or don't smile), which do you like the best? Why? And we all can't say the Mona Lisa!