Two more of Johannes Vermeer that I particularly like: The Milk Maid (the light is just perfect and makes the scenery hyper-realistic) The Little Street (almost like a photograph - the technique is mindboggling)
Thank you. You have no idea, or perhaps you do, how it makes for a good day to be told something one did not know. I am a smart dumb-ass, "A Whole Lot of Rosie," of course, but I am sincere in this statement as I am enthralled by what an image can invoke, less by what they can provoke.
Glad I made your day! And she sure was "A Whole Lot of Rosie" weighing 28o pounds. I totally get the association. What I most like about this painting, except its superb execution, is the critique on our fat-shaming society. This was painted in 1984. By the way, I got the title all wrong (that happens when you quickly look things up). It's called "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping". My bad.
I couldn’t possibly choose one...I don’t think that I could even choose ten. But, I’ve recently gotten interested in the work of Edward Hopper and love this one...even more than the more famous “Nighthawks” “Chop Suey”
Jacques-Louis David - La Mort De Marat (The Death of Marat) - 1793 Taken at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels.
Jacques Louis David died today, Dec 29, 1825. I like that portrait of Madame Recamier. Madame Récamier | Louvre Museum | Paris
I had no idea that David was so in deep with the participants and events of the Revolution and Terror. To the extent I've considered him historically, I've always thought he was a sort of well-off dispassionate observer of the turbulent events of the time. In my teenage years his 'Alpine' portrait of Napoleon helped -along with Emil Ludwig's book-to instill within me an admiration for the Corsican.
I'm assuming the purple patch near the top of the painting is a reflection of the gallery lights on the ceiling. (I don't remember any purple when I viewed the painting, many years ago.)
I've never seen the painting but based on the image above, it looks painted on. I did a reverse image lookup and most don't have that purple bit but there's a couple that do. Apparently, his students painted copies, many of which survive (got that from Google searches).