Don’t know about you, but I love paintings with people in them.
My husband loves landscapes and most of the paintings he produces, are indeed, landscapes; we’ll look at them another time.
For me, I find I connect with the human form over scapes. Having said that, I am not keen on bust portraits. I like to see a fuller context and narrative.
So, when my daughter and I delighted ourselves at the Tate a few weekends ago, it was no surprise to me, that paintings about women grabbed my eye more than others. And, as I type this, I am only now, consciously registering, that it is art work of women, that I have predominantly purchased in the past.
While hitch-hiking in Egypt back in the 80’s I bought a small papyrus of ancient Egyptian women working in a field. Sadly, I no longer have it. This image will have to remind us of the style…
It was a print of The Little Shepherdess by Aldophe William Bouguereau – 1891, that I bought for the lounge in our villa in Gisborne, NZ, in the 90’s.
…And it was for the same home around the same time, that we hired the print, The storm, by Pierre Auguste Cot – 1880.
It had caught my eye while at the library with my four small daughters for story-time by Children’s storyteller Andy Wright also known as ‘the Shah of Blah’; world famous in New Zealand!
This library had quite a few originals and large prints; This one hung in our bedroom over the fire place.
More recently in 2013, my husband bought me this wonderful inspiring original watercolour for our Auckland city apartment. Its title and the artist’s name is on the tip of my tongue, but just won’t come. Grrr!
And last year, I picked up this print, Flaming June, by Sir Frederic Leighton, – 1895, …
…to dress the front room, temporarily turned into a bedroom for my visiting parents.
Two of my favourite paintings exhibited at the Tate, that we were able to see on the three floors we took in, are British artists Meredith Frampton 1894 – 1984, Portrait of a Young Woman – 1935.
And Dod Proctor 1892 – 1972, Morning – 1926
I was very excited to recognise and study Picasso’s Weeping Woman – 1937. Which clearly, blew my thought, that bust portraits do not have enough context and narrative!!!
However, it is not a favourite, but it reminded me of an art book of his works that I was presented with at my school prize-giving, when I was eleven. I had forgotten, until seeing the painting in the flesh, sort-of-speak, that I had been awarded the book.
I wasn’t that marvellous at painting, but my sketches were encouraging and promising for my age; it was my creations in clay that were jolly marvellous, even if I say it myself!
What are your most favourite paintings of women?
I know, hard to choose; right?
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