Making Sense of the Fantastic

Where: National Gallery of Art, West Building

When: through December 3, 2017

Jean Honore Fragonard was a well-known French painter of the 1700s, and his "fantasy figures" have been long admired.  Full of color and exuberantly painted, they're fun art - when the world is getting you down, these portraits will let you forget your cares for a while.  And anything that can lighten the mood in 2017 is worth seeing.

Uncertainty surrounded these paintings for many years until a sketch of 18 portraits turned up for auction in 2012.  Identified with names (presumably of the sitters or the commissioners of the work), the sketch answered the question, "Are these real people, or pure imagination?"

In addition, a painting of a young woman reading a book (my favorite of the group) has been scanned as part of a two-year investigation.  It turns out, the original work had the woman's face turned towards the viewer; the final painting shows her in profile.  Why the change?  It's possible the sitter didn't care for the work, and Fragonard had to re-purpose it.  Whatever the reason, I like it as it is.  We, the viewers, observe the woman reading, but we do not disturb her concentration.

Verdict: A fun escape into colorful costuming; a one-room show easily managed in a lunch hour.

Worshipping Color

Munch self-portrait

Where: National Gallery of Art, West Building, Ground Floor

When: through January 28 2018

If you're like me, you know that Edvard Munch was a Norwegian artist who painted "The Scream."   Turns out, he was much more than that.  He was also someone who believed that colors had certain powers and could see auras around people.  Oh my.

This small show (two rooms, about 20 works) shows several familiar Munch works, with discussion of the meaning of the colors he used.  The one pictured, which I remembered from another Munch show I'd seen some time ago, is a self-portrait, most noticeable for a lack of color.  That, and the skeleton arm at the bottom, that's pretty noticeable as well.

Interesting that at the same time that science was making advances, spiritualism should also enjoy a vogue.  Truly, the 19th century was one of contradictions.

I find Munch's work a bit hard to relate to, our shared Norwegian background notwithstanding.  The fact that he seems to have been a bit of a nut doesn't make it any easier.

Where: National Gallery of Art, West Building, Concourse Gallery

When: through December 13, 2017

On the same day that I saw the Munch display, I also saw an installation of works by Matthias Mansen called "Configurations."  It's tucked away in that small room by one of the elevators, just as you leave the West Building and enter the concourse to go to the East Building.  They do nothing to direct your attention to the space; if you didn't know you needed to look in here, you'd figure it was just a small elevator lobby.  They need to put up a sign directing people to look in here.

I couldn't really relate to this show either.  It's large scale woodcuts, so it dovetails nicely with the Library display I blogged about last week.  I'm just not sure what it is, or what it's supposed to represent.  I think the set of nine similar pieces are meant to be self-portraits, but I'm not sure.  I have not even a guess about the others.

Verdict: If you're a fan of Munch, the show of his works is worth seeing.  Otherwise, you can skip it; many of the pieces have been exhibited before. As for the Mansen, if you like woodcuts, you should check this out on your way to see the Library display.