TOULOUSE-LAUTREC IN THE DALE COLLECTION

Oops! I left out one artist predominate in the Chester Dale collection: Henri de  Toulouse-Lautrec. Chester Dale purchased a total of 25 works by this artist.

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's work was intimately connected to the life of Montmartre from the start of his professional career. His work featured the singers, dancers, and patrons of the nightclubs like the Moulin Rouge, and the cafés and brothels that dotted the slopes of the Montmartre hillside.

Isolation due to physical handicaps and genetic deformities, (perhaps due to too many family marriages of cousin to cousin) helped Toulouse-Lautrec sympathize with those who frequented the seedy places of Montmartre. He was a master at focusing on one person in the middle of a crowd scene.

Maxime Dethomas (1896)

Rue des Moulins (1894)

 




A Corner of the Moulin de la Galette (1892)

Quadrille at the Moulin Rouge (1892)

Alfred la Guigne (1894)

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is known along with Cezanne, Van Gogh, and Gauguin as one of the greatest painters of the Post-Impressionist period.  He mastered the new medium of color lithography and produced an impressive body of posters and printed illustrations.  Throughout his career, which spanned less than 20 years (he was only 37 when he died), Toulouse-Lautrec created 737 canvases, 275 watercolors, 363 prints and posters and 5,084 drawings. 

The National Gallery of Art is located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets along Constitution Avenue.

• Admission is always FREE.
• Open Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Open Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Closed on December 25 and January 1. 

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during my visit in September, 2013.

CÉZANNE IN THE DALE COLLECTION

One of the most influential artists in the history of painting was Paul Cézanne. He inspired generations of modern artists. Generally categorized as a Post-Impressionist, his unique use of color and his analytical approach to nature influenced the art of Cubists, Fauvists and future generations of artists.

Cézanne's early paintings show a dark palette which he finally exchanged for brilliant tones and began painting en plein air (outdoors), encouraged by his good mentor and friend, Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro.

These four masterpieces are part of the amazing Chester Dale collection:
  

Landscape near Paris (1876)

House of Père Lacroix (1873)

Louis Guillaume (1882)

The Artist's Son, Paul (1885/1890)

In my next blog post, I will show how Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon Bruce continued their father's vision by donating several masterpieces to the museum.

The National Gallery of Art is located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets along Constitution Avenue.

• Admission is always FREE.
• Open Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Open Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Closed on December 25 and January 1. 

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during my visit in September, 2013.

FRENCH IMPRESSIONISTS IN THE DALE COLLECTION

When Chester Dale bequeathed the remainder of his collection to the National Gallery in 1962, the museum's French collection increased nearly threefold. Many of the donated paintings are some of the most spectacular and beloved paintings by the French Impressionists Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot and Pierre Auguste Renoir.

The Houses of Parliament, Sunset (1903) by Claude Monet

Palazzo da Mula, Venice (1908) by Claude Monet

Rouen Cathedral, West Façade (1894) by Claude Monet

Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight (1894) by Claude Monet

 

Waterloo Bridge, Gray Day (1903) by Claude Monet

Banks of the Seine, Vétheuil (1880) by Claude Monet

The Mother and Sister of the Artist (1869/1870) by Berthe Morisot

If you are a follower of my blog, you know that Berthe Morisot is my favorite artist.

Below is one of the museum's most beloved paintings:

A Girl with a Watering Can (1876) by Pierre Auguste Renoir

Girl with a Hoop (1885) by Pierre Auguste Renoir

Boulevard des Italiens, Morning Sunlight (1897) by Camille Pissarro

I will continue to show more of the spectacular Dale collection in my next blog post, specifically the Cézanne paintings.

The National Gallery of Art is located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets along Constitution Avenue.

• Admission is always FREE.
• Open Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Open Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Closed on December 25 and January 1. 

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during my visit in September, 2013.