I guess you can say I like my museums. 😅

This is my own take on van Gogh’s spectacular painting The Mulberry Tree. I used Faber-Castell Gelatos to mimic the thick paint of the original. This is the first van Gogh painting that I fell in love with, and I am so fortunate to be able to see it in person whenever I want. It’s one of those paintings that brightens my soul whenever I see it in person.

This 2018 entry is another one of my favorites because I like how the dress turned out. 🙂

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Alexei Jawlensky Russian I864-I94I “Black Tree-Bordighera” I9I4 Oil on cardboard Photo is taken by: @robertpuffjr The Mediterranean resort of Bordighera, famous for its sunshine and palm trees, had already been portrayed many times by the Impressionists Monet and Renoir when Jawlensky traveled there on holiday in March I9I4. Painted on the back of this sheet is a sunny interior with an open window, perhaps the artist's hotel room. Though a bright green spray of palm fronds occupies the center foreground of the recto composition, more somber colors -for stone pines, rooftops, and the sea- predominate. A Russian citizen, Jawlensky had settled in Munich in 1896 and begun exhibiting with the Expressionist Blue Reiter (Blue Rider) group there in 1912; he was expelled from Germany a few months after painting this picture, upon the outbreak of World War I. (This writeup is taken from the description at museum.) Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, USA #jawlensky #nortonsimon #nortonsimonmuseum #historyofart #arthistory #greatworksofart #artmuseum #art #artist #masterpiece #painting #museumvisit #artlover #artists #artblogger (at Norton Simon Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf77LNirAje/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Rembrandt van Rijn Dutch 1606-1669 “Portrait of a Bearded Man in a Wide-Brimmed Hat” 1633 Oil on panel Photo is taken by: @robertpuffjr To his left, an inscription states that the sitter, possibly Pieter Sijen, a merchant and member of the Mennonite congregation in Amsterdam, is 41 years old. Dressed in sober black attire and presented close-up, the sitter embodies the ideals of sobriety and modesty valued by the Dutch middle class. However, Rembrandt transcended the customary limitations of the genre to compose an engaging portrait in which the vivid description of facial features, warm diagonal light and tangible brushwork impart a sense of the sitter's spirit. Sijen's pose, with his head gently turned toward us, suggests movement and alertness. The sense of animation continues in the undulating folds of his beautifully rendered ruff and the lively contours of his wide-brimmed hat. The lifelike description, and psychological depth, that Rembrandt brought to bear in likenesses such as this earned him a position as one of the most sought-after portraitists in Holland during the I630s. (This writeup is taken from the description at museum.) Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, USA #rembrandtvanrijn #rembrandt #nortonsimon #nortonsimonmuseum #historyofart #arthistory #greatworksofart #artmuseum #art #artist #masterpiece #painting #museumvisit #artlover #artists #artblogger (at Norton Simon Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf5W11SLHU7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Edgar Degas French 1834-19I7 “Dancers in the Rotunda at the Paris Opera” I875-78; reworked c. 1894 Oil on canvas Photo is taken by: @robertpuffjr This view of the main rehearsal studio at the Paris opera house (known as the Palais Garner) demonstrates Degas's tendency to revisit and reimagine pictures, sometimes many years after he first painted them. He began work on this canvas around 1875, when the Palais Garner had just opened. X-rays suggest that the original composition included a spiral staircase at left and a different pose for the dancer at right, but the most dramatic alterations Degas made when he returned to the painting nearly twenty years later have to do with the texture of its surface and the use of color. Thin, overlapping veils of pigment- often applied with fingertips, rather than a brush- create a dreamy, opalescent effect far removed from the crisp naturalism of Degas's early career. (This writeup is taken from the description at museum.) Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, USA #edgardegas #degas #nortonsimonmuseum #historyofart #arthistory #greatworksofart #artmuseum #art #artist #masterpiece #painting #museumvisit #artlover #artists #artblogger (at Norton Simon Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfVQVLULP6T/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Édouard Vuillard French I868-1940 “The Pitch Pine Room” 19I0 Oil on canvas Photo is taken by: @robertpuffjr This modern pine-paneled room belonged to a country house in Normandy rented by Lucie and Jos Hessel in the summer of 1910. Madame Hessel was Vuillard's most frequent model at the time; Monsieur Hessel was the artist's primary dealer. Vuillard was on terms of intimate friendship with his patrons in the Parisian Jewish haute bourgeoisie, often painting them in relaxed domestic surroundings. Unmarried and childless, he was especially fascinated by the intergenerational relationships in and between such families. The little girl pictured here in red is Denise Natanson, the youngest member of the Natanson clan, Vuillard's first patrons and close friends. Her companion is Marcelle Aron, a cousin of the Hessels. (This writeup is taken from the description at museum.) Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, USA #édouard #vuillard #edouardvuillard #nortonsimon #nortonsimonmuseum #historyofart #arthistory #greatworksofart #artmuseum #art #artist #masterpiece #painting #museumvisit #artlover #artists #artblogger (at Norton Simon Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfLF4dprWA3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=