Tuesday, May 19, 2009

A Hundred Posts. A Hundred Years. A Gallery of Blue Kimonos.

William Merritt Chase, The Girl in the Blue Kimono (1888) 

Chase was one of the primary American Impressionist painters and renowned as well as a teacher. He is considered one of the first of a “wave of European-trained American talent” in the visual arts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

gabriellebyalfredmaurerfradanacollection

Alfred Maurer, Gabrielle ca. 1900

Maurer is considered one of the first great American modernists. This painting is part of the collection of Fra Dana, the American artist (and wife of a Montana cattleman) about whom I wrote here.  Maurer and Dana were both students of William Merritt Chase, above. 

Blue_Kimono_Rose400Guy Rose, The Blue Kimono (1909) 

Rose was an American Impressionist painter originally from California, who like the painters above studied for a time in Paris, where Orientalism was influential.  Claude Monet was one of his mentors. 

(All the paintings here are indicative of the influence of “Orientalism” on the American painting establishment at the turn of the twentieth century.  Not surprisingly, this movement in the U.S. has been criticized for its colonialist overtones.  Which begs—or maybe answers—the question, “why do all these women appear to be of Northern European descent?”)  

Robert Henri, The Blue Kimono (1909).  

Henri was one of the “Ashcan School” of artists that came to prominence in the U.S. in the early 20th century—depicting scenes of real street life.  Edward Hopper was one of Henri’s students.  This painting seems to be a departure from the gritty scenes Henri often painted.  And why is it called The Blue Kimono? 

Wmchasebluekimono1915  William Merritt Chase, The Blue Kimono (1915)

 josephdecampthebluekimono1922

Joseph DeCamp, The Blue Mandarin Coat (The Blue Kimono) (1922). 

DeCamp was a founding member of The Ten American painters—a group of mostly Impressionists who broke away from the establishment Society of American Artists in 1897.  He was originally a landscape painter, and sadly lost hundreds of works in a fire when he was forty-six. 

thank you to all my blog friends for giving me reasons to do a hundred posts!  SM ♥

21 comments:

LenoreNeverM♡re said...

wow...losing the works in the fire is so heart breaking! ...I love collecting vintage obi~ Great post!

Saz said...

Its been great. Informative, funny and delightful....bring them on!!

FFF x

Zuzana said...

Congratulations on your 100 posts! Your blog is very inspiring, looking forward to the next 100.;))
Blue is such a lovely colour and it was wonderful to read all about blue kimonos.;))

La Belette Rouge said...

A gorgeous collection of blue kimonos and the paintings aren't bad either. Congratulations on 100 posts! I look forward to 100 more. And, hey, maybe you should get a new blue kimono to celebrate your achievement!
xoxo

Stephanie N. said...

As I was reading this, I was also wondering why the subjects seemed to be of "Northern European descent." Actually, the exact words in my head were "Dude, I wonder why these are all white chicks?" Because I think really sophisticatedly, eh.

And at the same time, I was thinking: "Dude, I want me a blue kimono." Thanks for sharing the inspiration.

Happy 100th Blogiversary, Sallymandy!

The WalMart Vegan said...

Absolutely gorgeous!

Seeker said...

Congratulations darling on your 100th post.

And stunning choices of kimonos.

xoxo

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Lovely kimonos, all!
And congratulations on your 100th!
I'm happy to have found you!

Ingrid Mida said...

What gorgeous paintings of blue kimonos. I'm only familiar with the Chase painting so it is a delight to see the others. Thanks so much!
Congratulations on your 100th post.

darla said...

Congrats on hitting the 100 mark. I really enjoyed looking at all the paintings and appreciate the info you provided.

Darla (been reading my not posting much)

ceecee said...

Congratulations friend! You've created a marvelous little world here. I love the kimono paintings. It is so interesting to see them grouped together. Looking forward to many more visits with one of my favorite blog gals!
Love to you,
Catherine

Patsy said...

I would so love a deep sapphire blue kimono!!!! Thank you for this post!!!!


~Lorna

Eleonora Baldwin said...

Congratulations on your blogging 100th post, I'm getting there too.

I had no idea the blue kimono was such an extensive theme! This was educating and entertaining at the same time: edutainment of the purest kind.

Thank you Sallymandy for sharing your knowledge and your infinite taste. We all improve and are enriched by it.

Ciao

Imogen Lamport, AICI CIP said...

Congratulations Sallymandy!

drollgirl said...

i consider all of these beautiful blue kimonos a tribute to YOU! fabulous. and i had no idea about them, and i always sort of wondered how you came up with your blog name!

Maria Killam said...

What a great way you chose to celebrate 100! it's a milestone cause it means you are a professional blogger! (that's my interpretation anyway :)

sallymandy said...

Thanks, Lenore. I have a couple vintage obi as well. I'm fascinated with kimonos.

FFF: Thanks, dear. You were one of my earliest blog-pals and I appreciate your support and help.

Same to you, Protege!! love, SM

Belette: I think that's a good idea! Thanks...

That's funny, Stephanie. Sometimes I do launch into dry academic-speak, but my original thought was way closer to yours.

Modest, Seeker, and Pamela: Thanks, all. ♥

Thank you, Ingrid. I didn't know Chase before I started my blog, and now I find links to him through much of what catches my eye. It's a teeny little world.

Thanks for visiting, Darla. I'm glad you liked it.

TCH: thank you, dear. I do escape into my blog every evening, and I appreciate your words. Glad you're back!

Lorna: me, too. Belette had a great idea. Maybe we need to start a club.

Thank you, Lola dear. I didn't know any of these paintings six months ago either. "Edutainment"--that's right, we get so much of that from our friends' blogs!

Thanks, Imogen!

Droll: Thank you, so much. That's very kind of you--guess what? I didn't name my blog for any of these. I made up the name and then later discovered the art. Go figure.

Thanks, Maria. I remember reading your 100th post, and learning a lot about blogging from it.

A Woman Of No Importance said...

If you could be in any way responsible for bringing the darling blue kimono back into fashion, I shall dance like a loon (I find it easy enough to do) at your next wedding/party, SM! I particularly love the Guy Rose painting and kimono - Stunning, as are you, on your 100th post, and for always! Just lovely, and so much more - Thank you! xox

Relyn Lawson said...

Congratulations on your 100 posts!

Unknown said...

Congratulations on your 100th post! Just love this paintings. Wish I could own just one :)

Anonymous said...

Kimono paintings like these are, apparently, a precious find. Thank you for sharing.