Top
Like Us!

Follow Us!
Worth Watching
  • Empires - The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
    Empires - The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
    A fascinating and highly entertaining look at one of the most important families of the Renaissance era--the Medici.
  • Sister Wendy - The Complete Collection (Story of Painting / Grand Tour / Odyssey / Pains of Glass)
    Sister Wendy - The Complete Collection (Story of Painting / Grand Tour / Odyssey / Pains of Glass)

    “Sister Wendy Beckett has transformed public appreciation of art through her astonishing knowledge, insight and passion for painting and painters.” This set includes Sister Wendy's Story of Painting, Sister Wendy's Odyssey, and Sister Wendy's Grand Tour. Simultaneously delightful and scholarly--this is a must have for anyone interested in art history.

  • Exit Through the Gift Shop
    Exit Through the Gift Shop
    When British stencil artist Banksy traveled to Los Angeles to work, he came across obscure French filmmaker Thierry Guetta and his badly organized collection of videotapes involving the activities of graffiti artists. Inspired, Banksy assembled them with new footage to create this talked-about documentary, and the result is a mind-boggling and odd film (so strange as to be thought a hoax by some) about outsider artists and the definition of art itself.
  • The Impressionists
    The Impressionists
    A dramatization of the Impressionist movement as seen through the eyes of Claude Monet. Highly entertaining and informative.
  • The Impressionists: The Other French Revolution
    The Impressionists: The Other French Revolution
    A very personal and revealing look at the personalities that created Impressionism.
« Winold Reiss: A Unique Understanding of America | Main | Did You Know? »
Friday
Jul062018

Romaine Brooks - An Intensely Contradictory Nature  

DateFriday, July 6, 2018 at 8:00AM

Romaine Brooks - Self-Portrait - 1923 - Oil on canvas - Smithsonian American Art MuseumRomaine Brooks (born Beatrice Romaine Goddard 1874-1970) was an American painter who worked primarily in Paris and Capri. Specializing in portraiture, she used a subdued tonal palette keyed to the color gray. 

Brooks ignored contemporary artistic trends such as Cubism and Fauvism, drawing, instead, on her own original aesthetic. Her subjects ranged from anonymous models to titled aristocrats. She is best known for her images of women in androgynous or masculine dress, which directly challenged conventional ideas about how women should look and behave”. The self-portrait featured here exemplifies her approach to both life and art. It is her most widely reproduced work.

Brooks survived a devastating childhood. The memories of the cruelty and insanity she endured haunted her throughout her life. This particular work embodies her “intensely contradictory nature”.

AuthorJill | CommentPost a Comment |

Reader Comments

There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.

My response is on my own website »
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>

Notify me of follow-up comments via email.