Thursday, April 1, 2010

It's Good Friday, I have dinner for 16 to plan for on Sunday, and I've done absolutely nothing beyond making a list and pulling a few weeds in the yard. So I think it might be wise to simply post a few of these portraits by not-so-heralded Cecilia Beaux, contemporary of Sargent and just imagine some of these folks are on their way.

At left is Sita and Sirita, (1893). Who does she look like? I think the answer is Emily Blunt, at least around the eyes. Here's a close-up:













This is Ernesta (Child with Nurse) 1894:

Here below is the Last Days of Infancy (1883-85). The subjects are her sister and her nephew. If you do not have guests coming and/or are have a much tidier house, you might want to click on this Last Days link to read more about how this painting was entered in the Paris salon exhibition and led to the beginning of Beaux' international fame. (Doesn't Cassatt have a similarly posed portrait? Found it - see at the very bottom, it's Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, 1878.)


An entirely different approach with Cassatt - maybe this is the after Easter relaxation pose:


3 comments:

  1. Thanks for introducing me to Cecilia Beaux, whom I'd never heard of. Sita and Sirita look awfully familiar, though; something tells me they adorned the cover of a Penguin paperback (or should have).

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  2. You're welcome. Although she was pretty well known in her time, I guess she never had nearly the fame of Cassatt or J.S.Sargent. You're probably right about that Penguin cover. BTW, I need to figure out how to translate that Chinese comment. Any programs you know of?

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  3. I'm not aware of any Chinese translation programs, but I have a feeling the message says CLICK HERE FOR BODACIOUS ASIAN BABES, or words to that effect.

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