On the Road: Getty Museum, Santa Monica

Yesterday, spent most of the day at the Getty Museum. These three paintings are among my favorites in the collection. The first is by Belgian painter Fernand Khnopff (1858-1921). This portrait of the daughter of one of the painter's friends (her name is Jeanne Kéfer) is from 1885. I love the limited range of colors and the odd juxtaposition of the tiny figure and the adult-sized world around her that is evocative of Alice in Wonderland--not to suggest that that was intended. Khnopff was one of the Belgian Symbolists. I realize now (writing this having prompted me to do a little research) that that odd painting of the sphinx called The Caresses is by Khnopff, a connection I hadn't made before.

The woman with the musical score is not identified. The painting is attributed to Francesco Ubertini (known as Bacchiacca; 1494-1557). It was painted in the 1540s, but it looks as if the artist might have put down his brushes yesterday. The label suggests this owes a great deal to the influence of Bronzino. I find that interesting because some of my favorite Italian portraits are by Bronzino. 

The man in the red hat is a halberdier (one who wields a halberd), probably Francesco Guardi. The portrait dates from 1528-1530. It is by Jacopo Carucci (known as Pontormo; 1494-1557). I love the way the red of the hat and the red at the bottom of the painting frame the man and contrast with the green background. I love the texture of the shirt, the man's confident but languid gaze.

I saw a very interesting show of photographs by Paul Outerbridge Jr., a photographer I had heard of but knew little about. The highlights were color nudes made using the carbro process (three-color separation prints using highly permanent carbon-based pigments). Ironically, photography was not allowed in the photography galleries, so I can't show any examples here.

I very much liked this portrait bust by Jean-Antoine Houdon. It's a bust of Marie-Sébastien-Charles-François Fontaine de Biré (quite a mouthful) from 1785. Houdon is probably best known for his busts of political figures, pholosophers, and inventors--perhaps most notably George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Napoleon. This sitter, according to the label, was a financial minister of some sort. I know nothing about the man. I just liked the very expressive face.