Jesse Locker

@jessemlocker

Professor of art history at Portland State University. Author of Artemisia Gentileschi: The Language of Painting (Yale University Press) and some other stuff. 2 parts Weltschmerz, 1 part vermouth

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Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· 25d

Wait, the statue of Venus that inspired Botticelli's painting died of a tumor??

Stupid article that I refuse to link to whose headline reads: "Study of Botticelli paintings reveals muse behind 'Venus' died of tumour
Chiara Zampiva"

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· 25d

At the beach near Valencia and thinking of Sorolla

Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, (Valencia, 1863 - Cercedilla, Madrid, 1923). Corriendo por la playa, Valencia, 1908 (Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias). A luminous painting of children running along the beach

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· 27d

Detail of so-called Head of Seneca, attributed to Guido Reni, terracotta (Museo di Palazzo Venezia, Rome), a rare work in clay by the Bolognese painter

A detail of an eye, nose, and wrinkled brow a terracotta model of a bald old man

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· 28d

Francesco Villamena, Street fight between the French and Spanish factions in Rome, 1601, engraving (British Museum)

"The composition was designed and engraved by Villamena, and dedicated by him to the great patron of the arts Ciriaco Mattei (1542-1614). It shows a street fight between the so-called 'Bruttobuono' in support of the Spanish, and stone-throwing, pro-French thugs. Fights between supporters of the Spanish and French factions in Rome were endemic at this period (Camiz, 1994, p.510). Behind the figures there is a view of the Caelian Hill with the Villa Mattei; visible among the trees are the obelisk and the 4 towers of the Casino di San Sisto on the South terrace" https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1926-0511-44

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· 28d

It’s common in early modern wills to leave money for masses to be said for one's soul, but this is the first time I’ve come across receipts for them. These are from the churches of S. Prassede, S. Gregorio, and S. Lorenzo in Rome for masses said on behalf of one Catarina Olivieri Vivente

Receipt for masses at the privileged altar of the cemetery of S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura in Rome

Receipt for masses at the chapel of the Column of the Flagellation at S. Prassede in Rome

Receipt for masses at the church of S. Gregorio in Rome

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· 29d

Giving myself a headache in the archives

An extremely thick volume of documents that’s seems to only contain half of what I was looking for

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jul 13

Alessandro Algardi, Study for the Head of Saint Paul, 1634-1635, terracotta; 10.5 x 8 cm. (Museo nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia, Rome) A sensitive little clay sketch of the saint willingly facing the executioner's sword, for a much larger ensemble in the church of San Paolo Maggiore in Bologna

A small clay head of St. Paul, with an expression of resignation and calm

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jul 12

A terracotta bozzetto (sculptural model) for the head of Bernini’s St. Teresa of Avila in the Cornaro Chapel (Museo nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia, Rome)

a terracotta model of the face of St. Teresa of Avila with heavily lidded eyes and open mouth

a terracotta model of the face of St. Teresa of Avila with heavily lidded eyes and open mouth and a small crack visible

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jul 12

Guido Reni, Banner of the Confraternity of the Sacred Stigmata (1610), showing St. Francis and hooded members of the Confraternity of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis from the town of Campagnano Romano (Museo di Roma). The work was recently restored after a tourist tripped and tore it.

St. Francis standing and holding a cross surrounded by hooded kneeling confraternity members

Detail showing hooded kneeling confraternity member in prayer

Detail showing arm of St Francis and hooded confraternity members kneeling in prayer

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jul 11

Laurent Pêcheux, Marchioness Margherita Sparapani Gentili Boccapadule in her natural history cabinet, 1777 (Museo di Roma, Palazzo Braschi)

“On 1777 Laurent Pécheux portrayed the Marquise Margherita Sparapani Gentili in her Natural History Cabinet. Dressed in a refined gown à l’anglaise, the noblewoman points with one hand toward the butterfly collection, while with the other she holds a mulberry branch on which a small caterpillar is moving. The Egyptian-style furnishings and the furniture with decorations derived from ancient models—likely designed by Piranesi—along with the two ancient statues of the Silenus and the Cestiarius, the machine for electrical experiments and the other for creating a vacuum, all combine to create a “museum-like” setting in which every detail speaks to the noblewoman’s interests and outlines her intellectual personality—certainly unusual among Roman women of the late 18th century.” https://www.museodiroma.it/it/infopage/leggera-ma-non-troppo

detail showing collection of corals, shells, and vases

detail showing shells and electrical machine

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jul 11

Rome

A fruit stand overflowing with beautiful produce

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jul 9

Artemisia Gentileschi's "Annunication," signed and dated 1630--a painting I've always thought was an underrated masterpiece--will be on display at the Museo Diocesano Carlo Maria Martini in Milan beginning in October www.finestresullarte.info/en/exhibitio...

Artemisia Gentileschi, The Annunciation, 1630, oil on canvas, 257 x 179 cm (Naples, Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte)

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jul 6

Mudlarking on the Thames

A view of Canary Wharf from the other side of the Thames

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jul 4

Random impressions of the V&A

"The Dacre Gryphon and The Dacre Bull form part of a group which, together with ram and dolphin, are known as the Dacre Beasts. The banner bears the medieval arms of Lord Dacre and his armorial crest, which are represented by three scallop shells. The Dacre Beasts are rare survivors of a tradition of heraldic ornament. They represent one of the most powerful families in Northern England and are a unique survivors of free standing, large-scale wooden heraldic sculpture from the English Renaissance."

Self-portrait of Simon Bening, aged 75 in 1558, Portrait Miniature

Venus and Adonis
About 1750
"Here Venus begs her lover Adonis not to go hunting, but he pulls himself away from her desperate embrace. Later Adonis is gored by a wild boar and dies. This group shows how the sculptor built up numerous pieces of wood to create the mass from which he carved the composition. The sculpture probably formed part of a series of mythological scenes set into niches.
Southern Germany
Limewood; the original paint is lost"

"The Cast Courts are dominated by this massive reproduction of Trajan's Column in two parts. The Roman Emperor Trajan commissioned the original monumental structure to commemorate his conquest of Dacia, now Romania. The column took seven years to complete and has stood in Rome ever since, surviving for nearly 2000 years.

In the early 1860s, Napoleon III ordered a mould to be made of the column. A metal copy, or electrotype, was made in pieces from this mould, and then sets of plaster cast copies were produced from the electrotype. In 1864, the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) bought one of these sets.

Measuring 35 metres high, the column copy was too tall to be constructed at full height within the Museum building at the time. So in 1873, the Museum built the Architectural Courts to house its growing collection of monumental copies. These are the galleries in which you are standing today. The height of the Courts was determined by Trajan's Column, but even then they could only be built high enough to display the column in two sections, assembled around inner brick chimneys."

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jul 3

Lisbon, 8 July: lecture by Carmen Ripollés, “Beyond Portugal: Josefa de Óbidos in European and North American Collections,” presenting the first monograph in English on the artist. Museu Medeiros e Almeida. Lecture in English. Free but registration required: portugal@societyhistorycollecting.org

THE SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF COLLECTING
- PORTUGUESE CHAPTER
PARA ALÉM DE PORTUGAL:
JOSEFA DE ÓBIDOS
EM COLEÇÕES
EUROPEIAS E NORTE-AMERICANAS
APRESENTAÇÃO DE LIVRO E PALESTRA
CARMEN RIPOLLÉS
08 JUL - 18:30
MUSEU MEDEIROS E ALMEIDA
INSCRIÇÕES: PORTUGAL@SOCIETYHISTORYCOLLECTING.ORG

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jul 3

Josefa de Ôbidos conference at the National Gallery

Carmen Ripollés speaking at the National Gallery in front of a slide of Josefa de Óbidos

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jul 1

Workshop of Maso Finiguerra, Youth Drawing, late 15th century.Pen and ink with wash on paper. 7 5/8 × 4 1/2 in.(British Museum, London)

A drawing of a a young man wearing a robe and a cap sitting with his foot up on a bench as he draws

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 29

Fixin' to travel.

John Gutmann. Tourist Travel Bureau. 1936. Gelatin silver print, Overall, Primary Support: 7 15/16 x 9 15/16 in. (20.1 x 25.2 cm); Image: 6 7/8 x 9 1/2 in. (17.5 x 24.1 cm). Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 28

Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, Aminta's Lament, 1614-15, Oil on canvas, 83 x 107 cm (Private collection). The has been identified as "Dolor che si crucii," a madrigal by Erasmo Marotta (1600), based on Torquato Tasso's beloved pastoral drama "Aminta"

A half-length painting of two musicians in rustic costume, one playing a reed flute, the other with a tambourine and a viol, surrounded by grapes and an open volume with a pastoral madrigal by Erasmo Marotta (1600)

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 27

Sometimes a work of art, especially one that’s meant to be funny, reminds how utterly foreign the past is. [Filippo Napoletano, Seller of Snails, 1622, Oil on copper, 18 x 13 cm, Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence]

"The small painting on copper, often referred to as 'The Snail Seller', depicts a young man seated at a table with rustic and improvised table settings.

On the table we recognise a morsel of bread, a trifurcated root (perhaps a mandrake), a stuffed wine flask, a conical goblet filled with wine, a small knife and a small box that could be a salt shaker. In the centre, a ceramic plate contains snails, small molluscs whose antennae protrude from their shells. The young man, turned three-quarters, raised his hands in the scaramantic and well-wishing gesture of the horns.

This motif is amplified and repeated in the many details of the curious painting: the forked shape of the snails' antennae scattered on the plate and on the boy's back, the laces that tie the red jacket to the sleeves, the unusual decoration with the shell on the felt hat, the root on the bare wooden table all recall the sign. Even the protagonist's stubble is forked, insisting on the horn motif. On the right, in the shadows of the background, a cat can be glimpsed, also a symbol of magic and esotericism." https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/snail-seller

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 26

Truly the strangest allegory of the Four Seasons I've even seen: like some mad scientist broad an Arcimboldo to life to prey on ladies of the court. [Unknown Artist Italian, Four Seasons series, 18th century, oil on canvas (Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis, Porto)]

Unknown Artist Italian, Four Seasons series: Summer, 18th century, oil on canvas (Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis, Porto). A collection of melons, peaches, pears and other summer fruit in the form of a human standing menacingly next to a woman dressed in fancy attire in a landscape

Unknown Artist Italian, Four Seasons series: Summer, 18th century, oil on canvas (Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis, Porto). A collection of pomegranates, apples and other autumn fruit in the form of a human standing eating a bunch of grapes and standing next to a woman dressed in fancy attire in a landscape

Unknown Artist Italian, Four Seasons series: Summer, 18th century, oil on canvas (Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis, Porto). A collection of lemons, oranges, greens and other winter produce in the form of an extremely sinister looking human standing menacingly next to a woman dressed in fancy attire in a landscape

Unknown Artist Italian, Four Seasons series: Summer, 18th century, oil on canvas (Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis, Porto). A collection of flowers and spring fruit in the form of a human standing menacingly next to a woman dressed in fancy attire in a landscape

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 25

Jehan Georges Vibert, The Marvelous Sauce, ca. 1890, oil on wood panel 25 3/16 x 31 15/16 in (Buffalo AKG Art Museum)

"Jehan Georges Vibert is best known for his satirical depictions of ecclesiastical life. The Marvelous Sauce—a perennial favorite of museum visitors—portrays a Cardinal-turned-cook who astonishes a chef with his culinary endeavors. The Cardinal is recognizable from his distinctive scarlet regalia, but an apron partially sheaths it. Vibert often used such vibrant reds in his compositions to give them a sense of veracity. The wealth of the household and its owner, the Cardinal, is reflected in the large iron stove to the right, which is covered by a decorative hood with an aristocratic coat of arms, as well as the kitchen’s numerous brass cooking pots, abundance of food, and its elaborate, patterned floor. When considered in a broader historical context, the cheerfulness with a hint of cunning revealed in Vibert’s characters distinguishes his work as part of a growing democratization of France. This painting was created during a time when artists and writers alike sought to expose government corruption and the hypocrisies of upper-level clergy members, many of whom lived rather opulent lifestyles." https://buffaloakg.org/artworks/1899314-marvelous-sauce

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 25

Ercole Ferrata, The Stoning of St. Emerentiana (lesser-known half-sister of St. Agnes), bozzetto (clay model) for the altarpiece in the church of Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navona, Rome, 1660, 71 x 52 cm (Birmingham Museums)

A detail of an exuberant baroque clay model of a saint being stoned alive with all the figures in twisting, dynamic poses

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 24

So. Many. Slivers. [Anonymous French painter, The Christian Soul accepts the Cross, c. 1630 (Museo del Prado, Madrid)]

"Totally surrounded by crosses, Christ accepts his penitence. He is followed by a young woman in the same pose wearing a wreath of flowers and identified as the Christian Soul. While this work is undoubtedly by a French artist, no convincing suggestion as to its attribution has been made to date." https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-christian-soul-accepts-the-cross/7e85486d-ad0c-415f-882e-0b91a964a86a

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 22

Jan van der Heyden, Cross-section of an Amsterdam house on fire, illustrating a kind of water pump that the artist himself had invented, which drew water from canals, c. 1690 (British Museum)

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 22

A bakery built right into the Forum of Nerva, Rome, late 19th century, and the structure as it appears today

A sepia photograph of the Forum of Nerva as it appeared in the 19th century, with a bakery built into it and a sign reading "ANTICO FORNO - CASARECCHIA"

A modern view of the Forum of Nerva. Construction started under Domitian (81-96 AD) and was completed under Nerva (96-98 AD).

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 20

Pierre Bonnard, The White Cat, 1894, oil on paper 51.9 x 33.5 cm. (Musée d'Orsay, Paris)

"Here, Bonnard uses distortion to create a humorous image of this cat arching its back. A strange animal, exaggeratedly arched on its paws, with its head drawn down into its shoulders, eyes like slits and a cunning expression. It seems both tame and wild." https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/artworks/le-chat-blanc-8019

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 19

As a historian and a homeowner, for me this meme is evergreen

Armwrestling meme with the text "YEAH I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LAST GUY DID BUT HE WAS AN IDIOT." and figures labeled HISTORIOGRAPHY SECTIONS and HOME REPAIR GUYS

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 19

Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, View of Rome in the Morning, 1782-84, Oil on paper laid on board, 18 x 25 cm (Musée du Louvre, Paris)

A roughly painted view of a hazy morning in Rome with a done and other buildings visible

Jesse Locker@jessemlocker· Jun 18

Waiter race, Via Taranto, Rome, 1951, with the cathedral S. Giovanni in Laterano in the background (author unknown)