July 2013 - Ben Lustenhouwer

29 July 2013

Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan. Diego Velazquez.

This weekend we were in Madrid. For The Concert of course, but also to renew passports at the Dutch embassy and we enjoyed some very pleasant days with our daughter and son in law. Sunday my wife and I, we went separated our tour. Helma to see an exhibition of her favorite sculptor Giaccometti and I, of course as always, to the Prado. (Visiting a museum I prefer to be on myself.)

I had the idea screening first Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan of Velazquez. Viewing paintings is such as birdwatching. You know the images almost by heart. You have seen them dozens of times but always you discover something new. Apollo in the Forge. This time I had planned to take a close look at the composition of this dramatic story telling painting. I was early on the spot and not many visitors who stood in my way. See the painting in detail here. Besides the swirling lines of the composition see how simple and refined Velazquez handles the colour contrast. Note the blue-turquoise of the footwear opposite the golden yellow of the mantle of the Apollo figure, contained in the overall dark, sober setting.

After an hour I had to take a brake, to get some fresh air. I went to see the Sorolla´s and the Sala´s, the Madrazo´s and Degrain´s. But I came back to the Velazquez section to end my visit. A delicious art sandwich to appease my hunger a little bit.

Continue reading “Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan. Diego Velazquez.”

29 July 2013

Mark Knopfler, sweet memories

In 1996 my daughter and I went to a concert of singer Laura Pausini. At the time, a popular teen idol. It was a birthday gift when she became 12 years old. Father & daughter going out to the Velodrome in Valencia. We really enjoyed the concert (together!), I remember it very well.

For last Friday night she was alble to get two tickets for the concert of Mark Knopfler in Madrid, in Las Ventas. For my 62nd birthday. Again father & daughter on the scene. She could not do me no greater pleasure. The music of Knopfler has accompanied me a big part of my life. During the hours that I was working behind my easel and during the long hours driving my car when I was bound once more for the Netherlands. My daughter knows my music taste like no other. And I know hers. Pausini then and Knopfler now. During the concert I mused on what happened in the intervening years. Sweet memories of the past times during a fantastic concert next to my dear daughter. Beautiful!

21 July 2013

Cecilia Beaux “The man with the cat”

Every so often I need to get a good look at this portrait of Cecilia Beaux “Henry Sturgis Drinker” or “Man with the cat”.
There is so much to see! The great composition, the chiaroscuro, the fantastic cool-warm contrast, that great abstract vertical planes behind the sitter´s head, the bold, swirling brushwork. The rhythm of the three dark folds in the right arm, that black in the chair… I can not get enough of it. Go to this website and see the portrait into detail.

On this site is written:

Cecilia Beaux’s portrait of Henry Sturgis Drinker is an interesting pairing of artist and sitter. Drinker was Beaux’s brother-in-law, a railroad executive who later became president of Lehigh University. In the 1890s, men such as Drinker were at the pinnacle of East Coast society, and their tastes shaped public life for decades.

Beaux was a fiercely independent woman who lived well, kept handsome lovers, and had a will of iron. At a time when few women could, she carved out a career for herself as a portraitist, and was thought to rival John Singer Sargent. Drinker’s mutton-chop whiskers, linen suit, and casual pose convey immense self-assurance, but his steady, almost wary gaze suggests that he recognized in the artist a personality as strong as his own.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006

14 July 2013

Being a portrait painting art teacher

When you teach art, people believe that you know where its all about. And all you say is the truth and nothing but the truth. During my portrait painting classes from time to time I tell my students “Please don’t believe what I say, find your own truth”! OK, I help people to get along with technical issues, I tell them about the chiaroscuro, the values, the colour balance, the composition and all that. I have realized I know something and that is why I want to share this knowledge. BUT…

Every now and then when I see for instance a portrait by Velazquez I am deeply aware that I know very little. Especially this portrait of Juan de Pareja makes me realize my own nothingness.

13 July 2013

Paella competition in Chelva

As you may know Paella is one of the main dishes in Spain. When we arrived here twenty-five years ago the Dutch consul said to me: “Ben, if you want to integrate in this country you need to know exactly when to talk about soccer and when about paella“.

The paella-recipe is simple. It starts with frying meat in oil. Then add water and vegetables. Cook the rice in this soup for about twenty minutes. And all that in the well known large, flat pan whether or not on wood fire. Like no other nation Spaniards can talk about food and a discussion on how to make a good paella often degenerates into a heated, semi-fundamentalist debate. “There should only be chicken and rabbit in! No, only fish! You should never do with bell peppers! In particular with bell peppers!” All this of course with a glass of wine in hand.

Last night in our village Chelva we had a Paella Competition. At the Plaza Mayor some twenty wood fires were burning with, on the low tripod, that big iron pan. The whole village smelled to fire and fried meat. The paella of our friends has won any prize but for me he was the world’s best. An we really had a good time till early in the morning.