Tuesday, August 24, 2004
"Bonjour Monsieur Courbet" at the Clark Gallery
by M. C. Dobelis
This is such an intriguing title, and the story is so charming that our family decided to take the long drive (four hours from NYC) to Williams College in the rolling hills of the Berkshires to view the 70 paintings and sculptures on loan from the Musee Fabre in Montpelier, in the Provence.
Assembled by the not overly wealthy son of a local banker, Alfred Bruyas (1823-77), who cultivated all the painters of his day, the collection has a remarkable range of Academic as well as Romantic and Realist canvasses. Bruyas was a patron of Gustave Courbet (1818-77), whom he invited IN 1854 to stay in Montpelier as his guest for six months, in return asking that the works our artist painted be available only to Bruyas. Courbet, a largely self-taught painter who introduced Realism in French painting and was accepted by the Academy's Salon in 1844, produced several remarkable pieces, particularly the title painting, formally known as "The Meeting", portraying the country gentleman Bruyas, accompanied by his dog and a servant, opening his arms to greet the painter, who had been hiking. Now an icon of the era, the painting had been greeted with some snickers when exhibited, and became known by the popular title, much to Bruyas's dismay. The provincial collector was fond of having his portrait painted, in fact, the talented realist Octave Tassaert (1800-74) not only pained him as an honored guest in the artist's studio but also included him as in the magnificent large spread called Heaven and Hell, where nude maidens portraying sloth, drunkenness and, particularly, lust were trying to lure into their underworld some recently deceased souls on their way to Heaven, while angels were waving them on, upwards. The bearded Bruyas was of course one of the successful escapees from the pleasures of wickedness.
The exhibit has at least six portraits of the melancholy redbeard on show, including one by the romantic painter Delacroix (1798-1863), another favorite painter, represented in the exhibition with seven canvasses, several of exotic Algerian women and scenes. Alexandre Cabanel had more, ten canvasses, including portraits of Italian men and women representing virtue, love and agriculture. These are the cheerful subjects, along with the seven works by Courbet and four by Jules Laurens, the balance of the exhibit consists of mostly dark pieces of academic art, with dreary themes and brown trees in dark landscapes, not much different from what Ruisdael and Hobbema painted in the 17th century. Bruyas's chosen artists included such major names of the mid-19th century as Boulanger, Court, Delaroche, Isabey, Huet, and Guericault, Millet and Corot (one piece), most not well remembered, except for the last three. The School of Barbizon paintings (four pieces by Theodore Rousseau and more by others) are the perfect examples of the art that the Impressionists (hardly on the scene when Bruyas collected) revolted against. In fact, the elegant permanent collection of the Institute, collected by Sterling and Francine Clark in the 1920s, stands in complete contrast to the Bruyas exhibit. Here brilliant Pisarro and Renoir canvases dominate, the latter almost to an excess, with more ordinary Monet pieces in support. Most shining are the Sisley and Boudin sea- and beachscapes, and even a large Bouguereau nude, a Barbizon masterpiece, fits right well. There are some good paintings by artists who we see represented in the Montpelier collection by works of lesser quality. One feels sorry for Bruyas, who wanted to collect all that was good in contemporary painting in the mid-19th century, but could not afford too many masterpieces. The 70-odd pieces in the exhibit represent 29 painters of an era that was doomed by the arrival of the Impressionists who struck back at academic art with their Salon des Refusees exhibit in 1878. Had the enthusiastic Bruyas lived long enough, he might have assembled the Impressionist cache for the centuries.
The Montpelier exhibit was organized by the Musee Fabre, in conjunction with the Virginia Museum of fine Arts of Richmond, VA and the Clark Institute, The DALLAS Museum of Art and the Fine Arts museums of San Francisco. The Williamstown session will close on September 6.
This is such an intriguing title, and the story is so charming that our family decided to take the long drive (four hours from NYC) to Williams College in the rolling hills of the Berkshires to view the 70 paintings and sculptures on loan from the Musee Fabre in Montpelier, in the Provence.
Assembled by the not overly wealthy son of a local banker, Alfred Bruyas (1823-77), who cultivated all the painters of his day, the collection has a remarkable range of Academic as well as Romantic and Realist canvasses. Bruyas was a patron of Gustave Courbet (1818-77), whom he invited IN 1854 to stay in Montpelier as his guest for six months, in return asking that the works our artist painted be available only to Bruyas. Courbet, a largely self-taught painter who introduced Realism in French painting and was accepted by the Academy's Salon in 1844, produced several remarkable pieces, particularly the title painting, formally known as "The Meeting", portraying the country gentleman Bruyas, accompanied by his dog and a servant, opening his arms to greet the painter, who had been hiking. Now an icon of the era, the painting had been greeted with some snickers when exhibited, and became known by the popular title, much to Bruyas's dismay. The provincial collector was fond of having his portrait painted, in fact, the talented realist Octave Tassaert (1800-74) not only pained him as an honored guest in the artist's studio but also included him as in the magnificent large spread called Heaven and Hell, where nude maidens portraying sloth, drunkenness and, particularly, lust were trying to lure into their underworld some recently deceased souls on their way to Heaven, while angels were waving them on, upwards. The bearded Bruyas was of course one of the successful escapees from the pleasures of wickedness.
The exhibit has at least six portraits of the melancholy redbeard on show, including one by the romantic painter Delacroix (1798-1863), another favorite painter, represented in the exhibition with seven canvasses, several of exotic Algerian women and scenes. Alexandre Cabanel had more, ten canvasses, including portraits of Italian men and women representing virtue, love and agriculture. These are the cheerful subjects, along with the seven works by Courbet and four by Jules Laurens, the balance of the exhibit consists of mostly dark pieces of academic art, with dreary themes and brown trees in dark landscapes, not much different from what Ruisdael and Hobbema painted in the 17th century. Bruyas's chosen artists included such major names of the mid-19th century as Boulanger, Court, Delaroche, Isabey, Huet, and Guericault, Millet and Corot (one piece), most not well remembered, except for the last three. The School of Barbizon paintings (four pieces by Theodore Rousseau and more by others) are the perfect examples of the art that the Impressionists (hardly on the scene when Bruyas collected) revolted against. In fact, the elegant permanent collection of the Institute, collected by Sterling and Francine Clark in the 1920s, stands in complete contrast to the Bruyas exhibit. Here brilliant Pisarro and Renoir canvases dominate, the latter almost to an excess, with more ordinary Monet pieces in support. Most shining are the Sisley and Boudin sea- and beachscapes, and even a large Bouguereau nude, a Barbizon masterpiece, fits right well. There are some good paintings by artists who we see represented in the Montpelier collection by works of lesser quality. One feels sorry for Bruyas, who wanted to collect all that was good in contemporary painting in the mid-19th century, but could not afford too many masterpieces. The 70-odd pieces in the exhibit represent 29 painters of an era that was doomed by the arrival of the Impressionists who struck back at academic art with their Salon des Refusees exhibit in 1878. Had the enthusiastic Bruyas lived long enough, he might have assembled the Impressionist cache for the centuries.
The Montpelier exhibit was organized by the Musee Fabre, in conjunction with the Virginia Museum of fine Arts of Richmond, VA and the Clark Institute, The DALLAS Museum of Art and the Fine Arts museums of San Francisco. The Williamstown session will close on September 6.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 2:52 PM 
