Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
I was back at the Met this week to see the current Chinese exhibit, Another World Lies Beyond: Chinese Art and the Divine. It was very enjoyable. On the way home I stopped in the P.A. to buy bus tickets. When I told the woman behind the counter I wanted senior fare, she looked at me and said quizzically, you’re a senior? How old are you? Stopping to think I finally said 68. She said I didn’t look it. I laughed and said it was a long time since someone had said that. But she was serious. She said I had a young face and didn’t look old, a little scraggly maybe, (that made me laugh as well) but not old. As I’ve been getting senior admission at the museums since I was in my early 50’s and have a head of white hair I got a real kick out this. I thanked her for making my day. Much nicer than getting on the bus and being called Pop by the driver.
Much of the exhibit concerned Luohans, a Chinese term for an arhat, one of the historical disciples of the Buddha.
Below are some things I saw.
Wu Bin - The Sixteen Luohans – This is a very long scroll, approximately 13” x 13 ½ ft. If you click on the link you can see other sections. I liked this one as it shows a Luohan who has meditated for so long a tree grew around him.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/48948 Luohan, after a set attributed to Guanxiu, stone carved in 1757; rubbing 18th or 19th century? - There are 16 of these and each is rather large, approximately 2ft x 4ft. I chose this one because it looks like he is holding the Ninth Century version of an IPAD. Below is the essay from the website.
Of the many luohan painters throughout Chinese history, none was more influential than the Buddhist monk Guanxiu (832–912), whose wild caricatures inspired generations of artists to depict luohans as exotic, superhuman beings. Guanxiu’s paintings were already considered rare in 1757, when the Qianlong emperor encountered what he believed to be an authentic set in a monastery in Hangzhou. To preserve their appearance, the emperor commissioned copies and had them carved in stone so that rubbings like these could be made. The original paintings are now lost, making these copies some of the most important surviving evidence of Guanxiu’s style.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/64009 Portrait of Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki) – He is the Chinese founder of the Ōbaku school of Zen Buddhism in Japan. Very colorful hanging scroll which is unusual as Zen lifestyle is considered austere.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/663886 Dragon,14th century – I had to step back to actually take in what I was looking at but when I finally comprehended it I was thoroughly taken with the eyes.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/36431 Marshal Wang – There is a lot to see in this hanging scroll and I’ll just copy the essay from the website which describes it.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/41474 According to Daoist scripture, this figure, the Li Star of the Southern Dipper, was granted the honorific title "Master Thunder" (Lei Gong) by the Jade Emperor, who also bestowed upon him a gold ball and chain. He often wears a plaque—seen here hanging across his right shoulder—that describes his merits: "compassionate, loyal, and virtuous." His official duties include protecting people, safeguarding the laws, and dispelling all manner of evil spirits. Accordingly, he is depicted riding on a flaming wheel and subduing a roiling sea of serpents as other Daoist deities offer spiritual reinforcement.
An inscription written in gold at the upper right states that this image was "painted by order of the imperial concubine née Shen at dawn on the first day of the fourth lunar month in the renyin year of the Jiajing era [May 6, 1542]." Executed by an anonymous court artist attached to the inner palace, the painting may have been commissioned for a ceremony that sought to cure the patron of a disease or other affliction.
Zheng Zhong - Searching the Mountains for Demons,17th century – This is another very long scroll, 10 ½” x 27 ft. The first link is to a specific section while the second link is to the website where you can see other sections. These are fantastical, grotesque creatures and it’s hard to tell the demons from the hunters.
https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/44630/161964/main-image https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/44630 Guan Yu – Another colorful hanging scroll of a third century warrior.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/62002 Guanyin as the Nine-Lotus Bodhisattva – This is a celebratory hanging scroll commemorating an omen that the Empress Dowager Cisheng would be reincarnated as Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/41472 Guanyin the Bringer of Sons – Guanyin was also the provider of male offspring, something greatly hoped for by parents in China.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/41475 Luohans – There are 18 pictures in this folio, each painted on the spade-shaped leaves of a type of ficus tree, the Tree of Enlightenment revered by Buddhists. The first link is to this picture while the second link goes to the website with all the leaves.
https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/38822/152755/main-image https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38822 In other art news.
I thought this article about the conspiracists on the Internet was interesting. I recently posted an article on the rivalry of the O’Keeffe sisters and this article concerns the unique spelling of their name. Apparently there is nothing so trivial to some people that they can’t see something dark in it. The danger about relying on information from the Internet is there is a wealth of misinformation. A friend quoted Churchill in an email and I remembered it differently, so I Googled my version and found it. Then I Googled her version and found it. And numerous other variations so you really need to consider the source.
The Spelling of Georgia O’Keeffe’s Name Is Now the Subject of an Internet Conspiracy Theory About Parallel Universes
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/georgia-okeeffe-mandela-effect-1570156 I thought this was a neat story. The great-granddaughter of the French Impressionist Gustave Caillebotte’s butler bequeathed to the Musee D’Orsay five paintings that had been in her family since he had painted them. They were of the butler, the butler’s son and the residence they all lived in. The second link is to an article which I’ve translated from the French that includes images of all five paintings.
Rare Impressionist Paintings Owned by the Butler of Artist Gustave Caillebotte Have Re-Emerged in a Paris Show
https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/gustave-caillebotte-orsay-1640947The fabulous destiny of 5 works by Gustave Caillebotte bequeathed to the Musée d'Orsay
https://tinyurl.com/y2ch9b6c I speak of conspiracists above and I thought this an Interesting article debunking the theory that Van Gogh was murdered rather than a suicide.
Van Gogh committed suicide: ten reasons why the murder story is a myth
All the evidence suggests it was the artist who fired the fatal shot
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/blog/van-gogh-committed-suicide-the-murder-story-is-a-myth An interesting article on the place I visit the most.
Here Are 10 Amazing Secrets About the Metropolitan Museum of Art, From Its Florist-in-Residence to Its Hippo Mascot
Discover the greatest little-known facts about the famous museum.
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/secrets-of-the-metropolitan-museum-1645864Below are three short videos, under five minutes each, from Sotheby’s. Ambroise Vollard was an art dealer and friend to the Impressionists and Post Impressionists. The first video discusses a groundbreaking published collection of prints he issued at the end of the 19th Century. Many great paintings passed through his hands, the Met had an exhibit in 2006 which brought together 100 of them in celebration of his fame and it was spectacular.
Lucian Freud is a 20th Century artist who passed away in 2011. He mostly painted portraits of family and friends. He was a terrible womanizer and had numerous children, Wikipedia says, “Fourteen children have been identified, two from Freud's first marriage and 12 by various mistresses.” Clearly he didn’t spend all his time painting.
I would guess Leonardo needs no introduction.
Munch’s First Colour Print Stars in Ground-Breaking Vollard Portfolio
https://tinyurl.com/yxkts3lw A Look at Lucian Freud’s Etchings with David Dawson
https://tinyurl.com/yyb5ap89 Leonardo da Vinci’s 'The Lady with an Ermine,' a Beguiling Portrait of Elegant Mystique
https://tinyurl.com/y2g5oj3x And now let’s Flickr along.
Andy G.
Ribbed or fruit flavoured ?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stephsdressingservice/48265078032/I'm afraid I'm doing poorly in my job, I always end up being punished
https://www.flickr.com/photos/161596142@N07/48088694063/(355)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124772931@N03/48093197471/Best of Vegas trip
https://www.flickr.com/photos/joannajonescd/23260853152/Evolution - Happy birthday to me!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/madeleinelabelle/48460537061/ tumblr_oftcj5ykNt1v9z94do1_1280
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gaby_s/48697715066/10 years later
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexisraemoon/32916259268/Another blast from the past
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118612276@N08/48324057071/Legendary "All the Vogue": Iconic photographer Cecil Beaton pictured in 1925 by photographer Dorothy Wilding
https://www.flickr.com/photos/trannilicious2011/48179222311/064218-112118
https://www.flickr.com/photos/167027157@N06/46021750592/
Topic: Are we ready for the Summer Flickr? Yes! (Read 14356 times)
