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Video: Wangechi Mutu, This You Call Civilization?
March 5th, 2010
Wangechi Mutu’s work boldly explores the contradictions of female and cultural identity, drawing the viewer into conversations about beauty, consumerism, colonialism, race, and gender. Her representations of the human form are disturbing and transfixing, at once utterly complex and strikingly direct.
Rembrandt/Freud: Etchings from Life Videos
March 4th, 2010
Five experts share personal insights about the etchings of Rembrandt and Lucian Freud. Featuring artists David Blackwood, Murray Laufer and Libby Hague; Globe and Mail writer Ian Brown; and corporate curator and AGO volunteer Ed Phillips.
David’s Notes: Where Are All The Women?
February 16th, 2010
Where are all the women?
The Art Gallery of Ontario’s European collection has only a handful of works by women created prior to 1900. Here’s why:
Before the 1870s, women were discouraged from studying art. For many years, Mary Alabaster’s mother prevented her from pursuing her love of art.
Until recently, the Art Gallery of Ontario didn’t acknowledge the role women have played in the making of art over the last 400 years. Fortunately, times have changed. Women are well represented in the Gallery’s contemporary collection.
Mary Ann Rebecca Alabaster
(British, 1805-1880)
The Artist’s Painting-Room
1830
oil on canvas
84.5 x 70.4 cm
Art Gallery of Ontario,
Promised gift from Carol and Morton Rapp.
© 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario
David’s Notes: The Artist’s Beret
February 11th, 2010
All sorts of little revelations are coming out of the current Rembrandt/Freud exhibition. For example, I’ve always associated berets with artists, but I’ve only recently found out where the association comes from.
Rembrandt, as it turns out, sported a beret in many of his self-portraits, I think for several reasons. Firstly, he was crazy about fancy dress and the way it could evoke far away times and places. Secondly, he usually wore a specific hat – German in origin, which had gone out of style almost 100 years before. This might have been a way for him to show his connection to the long tradition of northern European painting he felt heir to. Finally, the large floppy hat casts a shadow over the face, creating the mystery and ambiguity that he loved.
His students picked up on the hat idea and soon it had become a key part of an artist’s ‘uniform’.
Rembrandt van Rijn
(Dutch, 1606-1669)
Self-Portrait with Saskia
1638
etching on laid paper
9.8 x 9.5 cm
Art Gallery of Ontario,
Gift of Esther and Sam Sarick, 2006.
© 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario
Rembrandt and Freud: Conversations in Etching
January 29th, 2010
by Brenda Rix, Assistant Curator, Prints and Drawings
The exhibition REMBRANDT / FREUD: Etchings from Life opens Saturday, January 30.
“With etching there is an element of danger and mystery. You don’t know how it’s going to come out. What’s black is white. What’s left is right.”
— Lucian Freud, March 2007
More than three hundred years separate the lives of Rembrandt van Rijn and Lucian Freud, two great masters of the human form. Both artists made printmaking an integral part of their art practice, and both have created extraordinary images using the etching process. Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1663), better known today for his paintings, was hailed in the seventeenth century as “a great virtuoso” for the astonishing range and variety of his work in the etching medium. Contemporary artist Lucian Freud is the grandson of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. He was born in Berlin in 1922 but has lived in England since 1933. Celebrated internationally as both a painter and a printmaker, he has been called the “Rembrandt of our times.”
Now, a provocative exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario juxtaposes the etchings of Rembrandt and Freud, encouraging visitors to make new connections between these two influential artists. Rembrandt / Freud: Etchings from Life showcases remarkable and uncompromising images of the human face and the human body. These are powerful works of art that go beyond surface appearances to reveal the inner life of their subjects. The exhibition includes self-portraits, nudes and portraits of family, friends, animals and landscapes.
The AGO has an extensive collection of Rembrandt etchings, thanks to a major gift in 2006 from Esther and Sam Sarick. The Mira Godard Gallery, the McMaster Museum of Art and several private collectors have generously loaned Freud etchings to this exhibition.
Top: Lucian Freud, Before the Fourth 2004, 34.3 x 42.9, etching on paper, signed, edition of 46, Courtesy of Mira Godard Gallery © Lucian Freud; Bottom: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669), Negress Lying Down 1658, 8.1 x 15.8, etching, drypoint and burin on laid paper, Gift of Esther and Sam Sarick, 2006 © Art Gallery of Ontario
David’s Notes: Portrait of a Young Girl with Carnation
January 20th, 2010
Could this be an engagement portrait of a Dutch girl aged four? Her ring, the carnations, the fan, and the peacock all refer to love and marriage. Only upper class marriages were arranged at such a tender age and this girl, with her expensive silk clothes and jewelry, was clearly from a well to do family.
In the 1600s, rich Dutch girls attended school to learn reading, writing, religion, music, dance and French. Instead of going to university – which was forbidden – they went to Paris to absorb fashionable French culture first hand. At an early age, poor girls stopped school to work full time.
Jan Albertsz Rotius
(Dutch, 1624–1666)
Portrait of a Young Girl with Carnations
1663
oil on canvas
118.1 x 96.5 cm
Art Gallery of Ontario,
Gift of Miss L. Aileen Larkin 1945
© 2007 Art Gallery of Ontario
David’s Notes: Étretat: L’Aiguille and the Porte d’Aval
January 14th, 2010
Hang onto your hats! It’s hard to imagine a windier place than the artist’s vantage point for this landscape – a chalk cliff one hundred metres above the English Channel.
Impressionist Claude Monet painted many views of these popular rocks near the fishing village of Étretat on France’s Normandy Coast. He became especially adept at painting the shimmering effects of light on water.
Why is this landscape such an unusual shape? Monet painted it on an armoire door supplied by his hotel manager as partial payment of the bill. Lucky manager, who sold the painting in the 1920s!
Claude Monet
(French, 1840-1926)
Étretat: L’Aiguille and the Porte d’Aval
1885-86
oil on wood
85.4 x 44.2 cm (framed)
Art Gallery of Ontario, Anonymous bequest, 1991
© 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario
David’s Notes: The Crucified Christ (Corpus)
January 6th, 2010
Time to stop playing the field and settle down? Bernini was the most famous sculptor in 17th century Europe. Yet his personal life was a scandal.
At age 42, the bachelor’s tumultous love affairs came to an abrupt end when patron Pope Urban VIII forced him to repent and marry. In his search for forgiveness, Bernini became deeply pious.
He cast this sculpture of the dying Christ three times – for the king of Spain, the king of France, and one for himself. His suffering Christ – naturalistic and emotional, offered the artist hope for eternal salvation.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
(Italian, 1598-1680)
Corpus
c1655
bronze
h: 174.0 cm
Art Gallery of Ontario,
Gift of the Murray Frum family, 2006
© 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario
Excerpt from As It Happens: Rembrandt/Freud: Etchings from Life (Audio)
December 24th, 2009
CBC’s Carol Off speaks with AGO Assistant Curator Brenda Rix about the upcoming exhibition Rembrandt/Freud: Etchings from Life. An excerpt from As It Happens on CBC Radio One.
Duration: 6:29 min
Image: Left: Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn. Dutch 1606-1669. Self Portrait in a Velvet Cap with Plume, 1638. Etching on paper. Gift of Esther and Sam Sarick, 2006. 2006/229. Right: Lucian Freud. British b.1922. Self Portrait: Reflection, 1996. Etching on paper. Signed, ed. 46. On loan from Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto. ©Lucian Freud
David’s Notes: Isaak Abrahamsz Massa
December 23rd, 2009
Dressed for success? Meet a busy networker from 400 years ago – extrovert Dutch businessman Isaak Massa, with his fashionable moustache and goatee.
Like today, black clothes were definitely ‘in’. Black was the most expensive dye available – so were broad collars and felt hats made from Canadian beaver pelts. Dutch businessmen traded around the world and got rich from it. They invented globalization, the stock market, and paying with cheques.
No one knows for sure the meaning of the holly branch the sitter holds. It may symbolize Massa’s faithfulness to his wife when he was away on business.
Frans Hals (Dutch, 1582/3-1666)
Isaak Abrahamsz Massa
1626
oil on canvas
79.7 x 65.1cm
Art Gallery of Ontario, Bequest of Frank P. Wood 1955
© 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario
Featured Content
AGO Podcasts
Features recordings of AGO events, discussion with artists, analysis of works and exhibitions, and original material created exclusively for this podcast. Subscribe today!
Tut With Us!
The King Tut exhibition makes us want to get up and dance. But not just any dance ... we want to Tut! And we want you to join us!
The Anubis Photo Challenge
Dress the Anubis for a chance to win 2 tickets to King Tut! Use your favourite photo editing software to give Anubis some clothes.
King Tut: Memories of '79
AGO members and friends everywhere to share their memories of the 1979 King Tut exhibition.
What's On at the AGO
A playlist highlighting recent and upcoming events at the Gallery.
Art, Artists and Ideas
A playlist featuring artists, curators and other encounters with Art.
King Tut Podcast
Discover objects from King Tut, the Golden King and Great Pharaoh with David Silverman, Curator of the exhibition
Edward Steichen Exhibition Microsite
This online exhibition features galleries of high-quality images, audio guides, and in-depth analysis.
Image: Actress Joan Bennett, 1928 (detail). Gelatin silver print. Courtesy Condé Nast Archive, New York. © 1928 Condé Nast Publications.
Beautiful Fictions Audio Tour
See the late 1960s to the present through the lens of 60 Canadian and international photographers. Bring this podcast along on your next AGO visit!
Image: Axel Hutte, Audubon Swamp, 2005, chromogenic print. © Axel Hutte and Schirmer/Mosel, 2009
The Thomson Collection of Ship Models Audio Tour
Join Simon Stephens, curator at the National Maritime Museum in London, England, as he guides listeners through the world of British ship models spanning 350 years.
Image: Troop Landing Craft, Georgian Model; made in Great Britain; around 1755 - 1760; wood, painted and varnished; metal (including iron and copper), painted; 16.0 x 36.0 x 42.0 cm; The Thomson Collection © Art Gallery of Ontario
Director's Highlights Audio Tour
Join Matthew Teitelbaum as he talks about the art and architecture that he finds the most interesting and engaging.
Image: AGO Photographer Sean Weaver © 2008 Art Gallery of Ontario
Collection X: Indian Church
This online exhibition examines the Indian Church as a symbol for the rapid encroachment of Western modernity on First Nations.
Image: Arthur Renwick, Canadian, born 1965, Nlaka'pamux BC (left), Git'ksan BC (right), 2005, archival inkjet print, edition 1/5, Collection of the artist, courtesy of Leo Kamen Gallery © 2007 Arthur Renwick
Collection X: Come Away With Me: Japan, China and Hong Kong, 1890s
Through this selection of images, you will encounter a typical travel album of its day, at a particular moment of cultural upheaval and exchange.
Unknown photographer (active China, 1890s), From the album Views of Japan, China and Hong Kong, 1870s–1890s, albumen print, 21.3 x 26.5 cm, [2007/275.46], Art Gallery of Ontario, Gift of Neil B. Cole, 2007, © 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario
Collection X: Come Away With Me: European Travels
This exhibition explores a personal travel album, which charts a trip through several European cities during the spring and summer of 1936.
German photographer, Album: European Travels (detail), around 1936, 16 gelatin silver prints in a 48-page cloth- and paper-bound album, album: 12.7 x 15.8 x 2.3 cm; prints: 8.8 x 11.8 cm, [103545.a03], Art Gallery of Ontario, Gift of David Moore and Ross Winter / Camera Lucida, 2007 © 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario
Collection X: The Art of Collection Building
This exhibition explores the evolution of the print and drawing collection through the personalities, artworks and stories that make it unique.
Image: François Boucher (French, 1703 - 1770), Young Country Girl Dancing (Detail), c1765 - 70, black, red and white chalks and stump on buff laid paper, 46.2 x 29.2 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario, Purchased as a gift of The Salamander Foundation and the Marvin Gelber Fund with a generous grant from the Department of canadian heritage on the recommendation of the canadian Cultural property Export review Board under the terms of the Cultural property Export and Import Act, 1998 © 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario
Slideshow: Isaak Massa - A Man of the World
Isaak Massa ( 1586–1643) was a self-made businessman, diplomat, map-maker and author from the Netherlands. Massa commissioned three portraits from Frans Hals, who was a close friend.
Slideshow: Childhood to Old Age
Could this young girl of four already be engaged? Her ring, the little statue (symbol of fertility), the carnations, the fan and the peacock (symbol of Juno, goddess of child- birth) all refer to love and marriage.
Recent comments on Sunday Concert: Pianist Connie Kim-Sheng:
“I have seen your photo on the web, and your piano performances; wish you the very best. Your Mom and Brother must be really proud of you. My Best Wishes for continued success. My Regards, Bill Davisson”
— Bill Davisson
“Is there some video of Connie performing solo?”
— Robert Smith
Recent comments on Memories of King Tut: “I saw this when…”:
“Went with grade 4 class in 1979, and will be going this month. Still have my souvenir t-shirt, obviously it doesn’t fit. Oh well! Fun for show and tell.”
— Anne Waller
Recent comments on Memories of King Tut: Nieces and Nephews:
“The over all experience of visiting this exhibit was very poor. The exhibits themselves are excellent but the staging of the exhibit and the flow of traffic was atrocious. Right from the start it is ill conceived. 50 or so attendees crammed together listening to a superfluous video preamble by Harrison Ford simply served to create a bottle neck wave of jostling viewers and created an atmosphere akin to P. T. Barnum’s museum of oddities. Allowing...”
— George Countryman
“I was at the exhibit 30 years ago when I was only 8 and I still remember it vividly. So now I am bringing my 3 children to see it so they can have a memory that will last a lifetime.”
— Frank Dos Santos