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Subject: My choice of the best pastel of all time

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Muckleskate

Posts:107

06/07/2007 3:40 AM	Alert
At the Getty Museum in Los Angeles is the pastel painting of Maria Frederike van Reede-Athlone at Seven by Swiss artist Jean-Étienne Liotard. It was painted in 1756 on vellulm. The colors are as vibrant now as on the day it was completed. View online at http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=833 To truly appreciate this piece, it must be viewed in person. Only then can you see the delicate skin tones and the vibrant cobalt blue of the velvet cape. It will truly take your breath away.

Sandy Signatures Gallery Brookings Harbor, OR www.signaturesgallery.com

Diane

Posts:130

06/08/2007 12:46 PM	Alert
This is pretty amazing viewed here. I can only imagine how awesome it must be in person.

Diane

tequi
Posts:51

06/08/2007 3:36 PM	Alert
Ironically it was a woman who took pastels from sketching to a serious painting medium, when the popular 16th century portrait painter, Rosalba Carriera, began covering her painting surface with layers of pastels. It has been estimated that by the late 1700s there were at least 1500 pastel artists in Paris alone. Work in pastel has come a long way since then, although it was "on the shelf" for a very long time. I've seen photos of Carriera's work, which reflects amazing attention to detail, and also brings out the luminous "pastel" in pastel. And the pastels that she and Liotard used are undoubtedly Sennelier. However, while I am in awe of Carriera and her contemporaries' representational handling of pastel, which was typical for the times, these are probably not my favorite pieces or pastel artists. In fact, to name a favorite would be like asking me, "what is your favorite star in the sky?"There is so much good work out there , which has taken pastel to a maximum expression, that it can boggle the mind. SL Sorensen

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