Jan Breughel II (a.k.a.: "the Younger") was a busy man in the mid-1620s. He'd been called back to Antwerp (after his father, Jan I, died of cholera) from a trip to Sicily with his old friend Anthony Van Dyck. Literally overnight, he found himself in charge of his father's studio and a slew of half-finished works. As if this weren't challenge enough, he also promptly married and began the work of siring eleven children.
Though he enjoyed moderate success because of his father's reputation, Jan the Younger was not in the same artistic league. Neither did he share Jan I's ability to create innovative themes. Throughout the latter 1620s, Jan II embarked on series after series of allegories: the Elements, the Seasons, "Abundance" and, of course, the Senses. Are you waiting for a happy ending? There wasn't one, at least not in his lifetime. Prices quickly hit a slippery downward slope from which they never recovered. The day when even one of his Five Senses would command a collector's ransom was centuries in the future.
Even so, here we have Sight separated from her four sisters. She is meant to be visually observing all of the many objects in the busy setting: statuary, Ruben-esque paintings, a globe, engravings, a resplendent chandelier, a small dog and Cupid (whom one could hardly ignore). For some unknown reason, the wearing of clothing would have interfered with this important sensual process.
This painting is hung with Georges Seurat's Les Poseuses (1888) and Pablo Picasso's Quatre Baigneuses (1921) in the exhibition Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein. Points to ponder: all three paintings have been executed with meticulous restraint and, quite obviously, contain central nude figures (though these are found in three very different settings, to three ends of various degrees of mystery).
About the Exhibition:
"Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is on view from April 8 through September 24, 2006 at the Experience Music Project, 325 5th Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109 (on the Seattle Center Campus; Telephone 206.367.5483 or 1.877.367.5483). The EMP is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Friday through Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Extended summer hours (effective Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend) are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM every day. "Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is a ticketed exhibition. Information on pricing and online purchasing of tickets is available here.
Though he enjoyed moderate success because of his father's reputation, Jan the Younger was not in the same artistic league. Neither did he share Jan I's ability to create innovative themes. Throughout the latter 1620s, Jan II embarked on series after series of allegories: the Elements, the Seasons, "Abundance" and, of course, the Senses. Are you waiting for a happy ending? There wasn't one, at least not in his lifetime. Prices quickly hit a slippery downward slope from which they never recovered. The day when even one of his Five Senses would command a collector's ransom was centuries in the future.
Even so, here we have Sight separated from her four sisters. She is meant to be visually observing all of the many objects in the busy setting: statuary, Ruben-esque paintings, a globe, engravings, a resplendent chandelier, a small dog and Cupid (whom one could hardly ignore). For some unknown reason, the wearing of clothing would have interfered with this important sensual process.
This painting is hung with Georges Seurat's Les Poseuses (1888) and Pablo Picasso's Quatre Baigneuses (1921) in the exhibition Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein. Points to ponder: all three paintings have been executed with meticulous restraint and, quite obviously, contain central nude figures (though these are found in three very different settings, to three ends of various degrees of mystery).
About the Exhibition:
"Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is on view from April 8 through September 24, 2006 at the Experience Music Project, 325 5th Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109 (on the Seattle Center Campus; Telephone 206.367.5483 or 1.877.367.5483). The EMP is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Friday through Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Extended summer hours (effective Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend) are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM every day. "Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is a ticketed exhibition. Information on pricing and online purchasing of tickets is available here.