Rembrandt Exhibit in Oman Will Be the First of Its Kind in the Middle East

MUSCAT, OMAN / OmanObserver.com — Al Salmi Library will present Rembrandt in Oman, a grand exhibition of 100 original Rembrandt prints from the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam.

“This will be the first time the works of Rembrandt will be on public display not only in Oman but also in the entire Middle East and North African region,” said Stefan van Wersch, Ambassador of the Netherlands.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was the first to develop etching as a true artistic medium by using the scribbling strokes to produce extraordinary and expressive lines. He used a variety of subjects in his etchings that include portraits, landscapes and scenes from everyday life, said Abdullah Salem al Salmi, chairman, Al Salmi Library. The grand exhibition is going to illustrate the full range of subjects including scenes from the Bible, mythology and other classical sources.

Rembrandt in Oman will be on view at the Grand Hyatt Muscat from August 19 to September 19.

Read the full article >>

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Related Links:

• The Rembrandt House Museum www.rembrandthuis.nl
• To learn more about Rembrandt, visit Park West Gallery’s new website dedicated to the master rembrandt.parkwestgallery.com
• Read recent postings about Rembrant parkwestgallery.wordpress.com
• View selections of Rembrandt artworks from the Park West Gallery collection sales.parkwestgallery.com

Artist Peter Nixon’s Goddesses of the Moon

Written for Park West Gallery by Artist PETER NIXON

MY RECENT PAINTINGS, The Moon Triptych, were originally inspired by a book I read some time ago; Moondust by Andrew Smith - a poignant account of the NASA mission, containing moving interviews with all the astronauts. I was reminded of the book recently - on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the moon landing in 2009 -  and decided to produce a triptych to celebrate the magical and momentous memory from my childhood.

Many of the subjects of my paintings are taken from Greek and Roman myths so I decided to paint the goddesses representing three phases of the moon. Their Greek/Roman names are Selene/Luna, Artemis/Diana and Hecate/Trivia – and they correspond to the crescent, harvest and full moons respectively. As a connecting element in the paintings, I dramatically silhouetted the three goddess figures against a full moon.

In Selene/Luna (shown below), the picture has insets with depictions of the goddess from ancient illustrations - a horse’s head symbolizing her chariot, the torch she traditionally carried and an astronaut’s footprint from the surface of the moon. There is also a quote from a painting by the German artist Caspar David Friedrich showing two figures gazing at the moon.

In Diana/Artemis (shown below), the goddess stands dramatically flexing her bow as this lunar phase was also known as the “Hunter’s Moon.” In addition to the depiction of an astronaut, there are also insets with representations of her from Greek vases and Roman statues, and a painting by the romantic English artist Samuel Palmer, who was famous for his moonlit landscapes.

In Hecate/Trivia (shown below) there are insets showing the Lunar Module and ancient portrayals of the three-faced goddess, who was also associated with crossroads and another dreamy Samuel Palmer landscape. This picture presented a problem in that I had used the full moon as a backdrop in the other two paintings whereas Hecate/Trivia characterizes the phase of the moon when it is below the horizon. I resolved this by placing the horizon high up in the picture as a line of buildings.

Across the top of each painting are the four phases of the moon. However, as there only three goddesses, as a visual joke I placed a silhouetted self-portrait against the fourth moon.

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Park West Gallery would like to thank Peter Nixon for sharing this wonderful glimpse into his creative process and for describing so prolifically the inspiration for his recent artworks. We certainly look forward to reading more from the artist in the future!

Related Links:

• Learn more about the artist Peter Nixon bio.parkwestgallery.com
• View selections of Peter Nixon’s artwork available at Park West Gallery sales.parkwestgallery.com

Looking Forward to the Next Park West Cruise Art Auction at Sea

“Just a quick note to say how much we enjoyed Bruce’s auctions on our last cruise with Holland America. Bruce was most helpful and professional on each occasion that my wife and I dealt with him.

This was the second time we purchased art from Park West while at sea – we really look forward to the art auctions. It has been a pleasure to deal with Bruce and I am sure on our next cruise we will again be attending auctions and adding to our collection through your many wonderful works of art.”

Phil S.
St. John’s, Newfoundland
Canada

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Related Links:

• Learn more about artist Anatoly Metlan (artwork shown above)
• View selections from the Park West Gallery – Anatoly Metlan collection
• Read more Park West customer testimonials

Have you been to a Park West art auction at sea? Leave a comment & share your experience with us!

The Posters of Toulouse-Lautrec at Les Arts Décoratifs

PARIS, FRANCE — Le Musée des Arts Décoratifs, housed in the Louvre Palace, pays homage to the posters of Toulouse-Lautrec in its latest exhibition. The show is a nostalgic celebration of the legendary Belle Epoque, when Montmartre and the Chat Noir were the artistic and entertainment center of the world.

The curators have organised twenty-six of the artist’s thirty-one posters – designed between 1891 and 1900 – under the theme Nouveau Salon des Cent. The posters are placed within the context of new works by one hundred contemporary artists from twenty-four countries, whose pieces were created in 2001 on the occasion of the centenary of Toulouse Lautrec’s death.

Hommages à Toulouse-Lautrec affichiste is currently on view until January 3, 2010.

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Related Links:

• For more information about the exhibit, visit www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr
• Learn more about artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec www.parkwestgallery.com/artists/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec
• View selections from the Lautrec artwork collection available at Park West Gallery sales.parkwestgallery.com

Artist Birthdays, July 28: MARCEL DUCHAMP, JIM DAVIS

MARCEL DUCHAMP (July 28, 1887 – October 2, 1968)

• Nationality: French
• Field: Painting, sculpture
• Art Movement: Dadaism, Surrealism, Cubism
• ARTiFact: Was obsessed with the game of chess - a fascination which distressed his first wife so much that she glued his chess pieces to the board while he was asleep.
• Artist Quote: “Art may be bad, good or indifferent, but, whatever adjective is used, we must call it art, and bad art is still art in the same way as a bad emotion is still an emotion.”
• Important Artwork (shown below): Fountain, 1917.

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JIM DAVIS (July 28, 1945 – )

• Nationality: American
• Field: Cartooning
• ARTiFact: His comic strip Garfield  – a character named after his grandfather James A. “Garfield” Davis and based on the 25 cats he grew up with on the family farm - made its debut in newspapers in 1978.
• Artist Quote: “Way down deep, we’re all motivated by the same urges. Cats have the courage to live by them.”
• Important Artwork (shown below): The first Garfield comic, 1978.

 

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Related Links:

• Further reading about Marcel Duchamp www.marcelduchamp.net
• Interactive timeline of Marcel Duchamp’s life http://www.understandingduchamp.com
• View selections of Garfield animation art available at Park West Gallery sales.parkwestgallery.com
• The official website of Garfield and Friends www.garfield.com