Artist Feature: Léon Bonvin b.1834 Paris, d.1866 Meudon, France

 Still Life with Wine, Water, Fruit and Nuts
Léon Bonvin  French, 1864 

Bare Tree and a Plowman
Léon Bonvin  French,  1864    

 Léon Bonvin, Farm Building c.1864

Léon Bonvin  French, 1865,  Still Life on Kitchen Table with Celery, Parsley, Bowl and Cruets 

As you know if you've been following l&l for awhile, I have a penchant for still life paintings, particularly the work of Luis Meléndez.  I became enamored of his style upon seeing him in the Prado Museum several years ago and have sought him out ever since.  

See previous posts: {Luis Meléndez, Master of the Spanish Still Life} & 

{Night at the Museum: Luis Meléndez & Audry Hepburn} 

The composition and tone of the still life paintings of Léon Bonvin speak to me in much the same way.  I am equally enamored of Bonvin's moody landscapes, particularly those with the finely detailed tree branches as those I've selected to show you here.

"Highly detailed and original, Léon bonvin's watercolors of flowers, landscapes and moon lit scenes represent a distinctive contribution to the realist movement in mid-19th century France.  Bonvin's luminous paintings reflect the humble surroundings accessible to the artist, a self-taught innkeeper on the outskirts of Paris." —excerpt, press release for the 2012 exhibition, Walters Art Museum  

For more on Léon Bonvin's life and works, 

please visit:

The Blue Lantern 

"ARTS JOURNALISM FOR THE LOVE OF IT"

by Jane Librizzi

Jane's posts on the artist:

Léon Bonvin
Transcendental Transparency

The Yearning Landscapes of Léon Bonvin

You might also like the book: 

Capturing Nature's Beauty 
Three Centuries of French Landscapes 

Purchase links by country:

the emporium (us)

the emporium  (fr)

the emporium (ca)

the emporium (uk)

the emporium (de)

Amazon (it)

Amazon (es)

Léon Bonvin, Plowing at Dusk, 1865

and available in the U.S. (via used book sources) -
The Drawings and Water Colors of Léon Bonvin
A "Themes in Art" book by Gabriel P. Weisberg

Léon Bonvin, Rural Scene, 1865

Léon Bonvin, Country Scene, 1865

  If you had to choose just one, could you?

Images 1 and 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10  via  The Walters Art Museum

Image 2:  The Getty Museum

Image 6: (book cover) Amazon

linen & lavender

Léon Bonvin  French  c.1864, Moonlit Scene with Houses in Background

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www.linenlavenderlife.com

Luis Meléndez Current Showing, Madrid Spain: 
{Exhibition at the Prado: June 22-September 23, 2012}

A Night at the Museum: Luis Meléndez and Audrey Hepburn

I promised to report back after visiting LACMA to see the current exhibition entitled: "Luis Meléndez:  Master of the Spanish Still Life."   —It's wonderful!   Especially of interest to me were the works from the private collections that have never been seen by the public.   

The realism he achieved is amazing to me and I love that he most often chose to paint everyday objects such as ceramic pitchers and plates with loaves of crusty bread in simple compositions against a plain, dark background.  The most austere of his paintings really speak to me the most.

The exhibition only lasts through January 3, 2010 so make plans to get there soon!  If you have already been to this exhibition or have seen these works elsewhere, I'd really enjoy hearing from you.

I've been twice already but the second trip I just stopped by for a brief visit when we arrived early one night to LACMA's film series "Then, Now and Forever" - a tribute to Audrey Hepburn.  One of her best films, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was the movie we were fortunate enough to attend that evening.  Although I've seen it a number of times, it's always fun to see an old movie on a big screen surrounded by other fans reacting to their favorite parts.  (The biggest laugh of the night was at ourselves...following our collective "Ahhh" at the heart-wrenching moment when the cat was dropped off in the rain.)  

A bonus that evening was that the producer of the film, Richard Shepherd (now 82) was in attendance and stood up to share several tid-bits of interesting trivia about the film including the fact that some of his associates said Audrey singing "Moon River" should be cut from the film.  —Luckily, Mr. Shepherd thought otherwise or this very charming rendition of the song may never have been heard.

If you haven't done so already, I suggest signing up for your local musems' newsletters.  We are lucky to have several wonderful museums here in Los Angeles and all have year-round special events and programs such as this film series, theatre group performances and various concert series you may not learn of otherwise.   It's a great way to support your local museum while enjoying something a little "off the beaten path."  —And that's always a good thing in my opinion! 

linen & lavender

"Master of the Spanish Still Life"

(further reading)

see our new site:

www.linenlavenderlife.com