2013: musée du Louvre #158
Still Life with Carp
Abraham van BEYEREN
The Hague, 1620-21 - Overschie, 1690
H. 0.73 m; W. 0.61 m
Abraham van Beyeren specialized in paintings of fish, notably during his earliest period. This picture is a fine example, painted when Van Beyeren was a young artist, circa 1645-1650, under the influence of Pieter de Putter.
Later in his career, he extended his subject-matter to include sumptuous banqueting-tables, and ornate still-lifes featuring virtuoso depictions of abundant, luxurious foodstuffs and objects.
A massive rustic table, probably a kitchen worktable, supports a deceptively haphazard pile of fish – a pike, lying diagonally across the front of the composition, with its stomach cut open; a bream (or perhaps another carp) with its head sticking out over the left-hand side of the tabletop; three small perch with faint stripes along their backs, and red fins; two roach with orange-colored eyes, and a chub lying on its back, apparently emerging from a sort of net. This pile of freshwater fish has apparently been freshly caught. Their gleaming, silvery scales look disconcertingly alive. The fish are arranged in a clever composition of criss-crossing diagonals, with a subtle, almost monochrome palette of colors. The interplay of delicate tones and fleeting reflections bathes the picture in a strange, almost aquatic light.
www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/still-life-carp
"The Musée du Louvre, or officially Grand Louvre — in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre — is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet).
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are still visible. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of antique sculpture.
The museum opened on 10 August 1793 (the first anniversary of the monarchy's demise) with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The size of the collection increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed the Musée Napoléon. After the defeat of Napoléon at Waterloo, many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts since the Third Republic, except during the two World Wars. As of 2008, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.
By 1874, the Louvre Palace had achieved its present form of an almost rectangular structure with the Sully Wing to the east containing the square Cour Carrée and the oldest parts of the Louvre; and two wings which wrap the Cour Napoléon, the Richelieu Wing to the north and the Denon Wing, which borders the Seine to the south. In 1983, French President François Mitterrand proposed the Grand Louvre plan to renovate the building and relocate the Finance Ministry, allowing displays throughout the building. Architect I. M. Pei was awarded the project and proposed a glass pyramid to stand over a new entrance in the main court, the Cour Napoléon. The pyramid and its underground lobby were inaugurated on 15 October 1988. The second phase of the Grand Louvre plan, La Pyramide Inversée (The Inverted Pyramid), was completed in 1993."
The Louvre Pyramid (Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass and metal pyramid, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. Completed in 1989, it has become a landmark of the city of Paris.
Visitors entering through the pyramid descend into the spacious lobby then re-ascend into the main Louvre buildings. The Louvre museum states that the finished pyramid contains 673 glass panes (603 rhombi and 70 triangles)."
Wikipedia
2013: musée du Louvre #158
Still Life with Carp
Abraham van BEYEREN
The Hague, 1620-21 - Overschie, 1690
H. 0.73 m; W. 0.61 m
Abraham van Beyeren specialized in paintings of fish, notably during his earliest period. This picture is a fine example, painted when Van Beyeren was a young artist, circa 1645-1650, under the influence of Pieter de Putter.
Later in his career, he extended his subject-matter to include sumptuous banqueting-tables, and ornate still-lifes featuring virtuoso depictions of abundant, luxurious foodstuffs and objects.
A massive rustic table, probably a kitchen worktable, supports a deceptively haphazard pile of fish – a pike, lying diagonally across the front of the composition, with its stomach cut open; a bream (or perhaps another carp) with its head sticking out over the left-hand side of the tabletop; three small perch with faint stripes along their backs, and red fins; two roach with orange-colored eyes, and a chub lying on its back, apparently emerging from a sort of net. This pile of freshwater fish has apparently been freshly caught. Their gleaming, silvery scales look disconcertingly alive. The fish are arranged in a clever composition of criss-crossing diagonals, with a subtle, almost monochrome palette of colors. The interplay of delicate tones and fleeting reflections bathes the picture in a strange, almost aquatic light.
www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/still-life-carp
"The Musée du Louvre, or officially Grand Louvre — in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre — is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet).
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are still visible. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of antique sculpture.
The museum opened on 10 August 1793 (the first anniversary of the monarchy's demise) with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The size of the collection increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed the Musée Napoléon. After the defeat of Napoléon at Waterloo, many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts since the Third Republic, except during the two World Wars. As of 2008, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.
By 1874, the Louvre Palace had achieved its present form of an almost rectangular structure with the Sully Wing to the east containing the square Cour Carrée and the oldest parts of the Louvre; and two wings which wrap the Cour Napoléon, the Richelieu Wing to the north and the Denon Wing, which borders the Seine to the south. In 1983, French President François Mitterrand proposed the Grand Louvre plan to renovate the building and relocate the Finance Ministry, allowing displays throughout the building. Architect I. M. Pei was awarded the project and proposed a glass pyramid to stand over a new entrance in the main court, the Cour Napoléon. The pyramid and its underground lobby were inaugurated on 15 October 1988. The second phase of the Grand Louvre plan, La Pyramide Inversée (The Inverted Pyramid), was completed in 1993."
The Louvre Pyramid (Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass and metal pyramid, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. Completed in 1989, it has become a landmark of the city of Paris.
Visitors entering through the pyramid descend into the spacious lobby then re-ascend into the main Louvre buildings. The Louvre museum states that the finished pyramid contains 673 glass panes (603 rhombi and 70 triangles)."
Wikipedia