Monsieur Boileau by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

This painting, Monsieur Boileau by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, was completed in 1893, and belongs to the Museum of Modern Art in Cleveland, Ohio. Its location surprises me a little since that is not necessarily what comes to mind when I think of modern art. I tend to picture an image with some blobs of paint and then a title of what it was supposed to be. Needless to say, I don't picture the image to be what the title says. This painting, though, definitely looks like it could be Monsieur Boileau.

Regardless of its strange placement, I like this painting. It seems to capture a little moment of daily life in... wherever that is.The only thing that has me concerned is the suspiciously green substance in the glass on the edge of a table. I don't recall seeing a beverage that was that bright a green. On second though, I have, but I doubt they had Starbucks blended tea beverages in the late 1800s.

I also wonder: what are the little black things laying on the table? I wish artists would sometimes label otherwise unidentifiable objects. It would help so much.

Georges Pierre Seurat's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte"

This is one of Georges Pierre Seurat's most famous paintings, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte. It took the artist 2 years to complete the painting; he worked on it from 1884-1886.

Even though it might not be visible in a small version of the painting, it consists of many small dots that, when viewed from a distance, all blend together to make one picture. This is an example of pointillism. Knowing this, it's no surprise that the painter took 2 years to complete the painting, which is approximately 7 feet by 10 feet in size.

What I like about this painting is that it's a scene from real life. No posing, no models (I think). On the other hand, last time I checked, having a monkey that you're walking in the park isn't part of most people's daily routine. But then again, maybe that's what rich people did in the late 19th century. No TV, no internet, monkeys!

It's quite interesting how all of the people are dressed in very formal attire, and the women have their incredibly long dresses, and that's what they wore to the park. Obviously, they didn't have jeans and t-shirts, but I would think that at least the women would get shorter dresses that don't trail on the grass. You can't wash a dress like that too easily, can you?

This painting seems to capture a snapshot of daily life on a wonderful sunny day. If only our weather could be like this right now...