linenandlavender.blogspot.com: artist feature

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

Léon Bonvin French, 1864 Still Life with Wine, Water, Fruit, Nuts as seen on linen & lavender (l&l)

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

Léon Bonvin French, Bare Tree and a Plowman via Getty Museum as seen on linen & lavender (l&l)

Bare Tree and a Plowman
Léon Bonvin French, 1864

Léon Bonvin French, 1864, Farm Building as seen on l&l (linen & lavender)

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

Léon Bonvin Still Life- Glass On A Table before 1866 Louvre Museum-Paris via The Blue Lantern as seen on linen & lavender (l&l)

Jane's posts on the artist:

Léon Bonvin
Transcendental Transparency

The Yearning Landscapes of Léon Bonvin

Is this what we might call...

...the skull-inary arts? (!)

Artist's Statement:

{Currently, I use ceramics as my material in my method of expression, incorporating various decorative styles, patterns, and symbolic forms as my principal axis in creating my works. The decorative styles and forms I allude to and incorporate in my works each contain a story based on historical backgrounds and ideas, myths, and allegories.　Their existence in the present age makes us feel many things,; adoration, some sort of romantic emotions, a sense of unfruitfulness and languor from their excessiveness and vulgarity.And on the other hand, they make us feel tranquility and awe that can almost be described as religious, as well as an image as an object of worship.By citing such images, I feel I am able to express an - atmosphere- that is a part of the complex world in this age.In fact, the several decorative styles and forms I cite simultaneously hold divine and vulgar meaning in the present age, having an irrational quality that contradict each other, which I feel express an important aspect in the contemporary age in which we live.Also, the technique of ceramics has a tradition that has been a part of the history of decoration over a long time, and I feel the delicateness and fragile tension of the substantial material well express my concept. -Katsuyo Aoki}

Visit:

Katsuyo Aoki

to view other extraordinary works by the artist.

Amazing!

visit our new site:

www.linenlavenderlife.com

Kiss Me Again

I got my wish. Just when I was missing my beloved Italy, I had the opportunity to travel there last night...Well, amend that to --I was taken there courtesy of the silver screen.

"Cinema Italian Style 2010" produced by Cinecittà Luce and The American Cinematheque* is currently running at the Egyptian (Hollywood) and Aero (Santa Monica) Theatres.

Fortunately for me, Alex had the foresight and initiative and had purchased our tickets in advance. Both of us, however, had completely forgotten it was the night we were to go. We were out and about running errands when she suddenly remembered and we rushed home to get ready.

Traffic was light and we actually ended up arriving early which was a good thing as it turned out. The theatre was filled to capacity shortly after we were seated. Conversations in Italian were happening all around us and I sat blissfully amidst it all feeling like I had been transported abroad even before the film began. The fact that it started some 15 minutes later than scheduled only added to the illusion that I was indeed ensconced in a theatre somewhere in Italia.

It was the Los Angeles premiere of Baciami Ancora (Kiss Me Again), written and directed by Gabriele Muccino and for the next 139 minutes, I was whisked away to Rome for an intimate look into the lives of five friends and their wives, children, girlfriends and lovers.

Gabriele Muccino is well-known for directing The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds here in the States. He also wrote and directed the prequel to Baciami Ancora/Kiss Me Again called L'Ultimo Bacio (The Last Kiss.) (Not to be confused with the American version of the same title.)

Though they assured us you can enjoy Kiss Me Again without having seen The Last Kiss, I liked having the perspective of first meeting these characters earlier in their lives. It was interesting to see how each character had evolved and was dealing with another stage of life and relationships some 10 years later.

We stayed for a discussion following the film with Gabriele Muccino and actor Pierfrancesco Favino. Gabriele sometimes struggled to find the words he was seeking in English, but his wit and artistic sensibility came through clearly nonetheless. It was especially interesting to me to have him verify and expand on the symbolism we had seen woven throughout the film.

I found Pierfrancesco funny and charming. His English is almost perfect and both he and Gabriele appeared gracious, humble and untainted by fame or ego. Very nice to see.

Kiss Me Again is not yet available in the format compatible for most DVD players in the U.S. and Canada. --so if you haven't seen The Last Kiss, you have time to get all primed and up-to-speed while you wait for its release. Baci!~

linen & lavender

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