lorette and her coffee

This is one of my favorite paintings at The Art Institute of Chicago--Henri Matisse's Lorette With Cup of Coffee. Lorette or Laurette was an Italian woman who posed as Matisse's model for a series of paintings, coming along at a time when Matisse was ready for a change in style and method (1916-1917). I like the shapes and earthy tones of the painting, and I also like how there always seems to be someone quietly looking at Lorette at The Art Institute itself. It's not a prominently displayed or big crowd-drawing work, but certain people gravitate toward that corner. And then they may subconsciously want to get some coffee--I usually do, especially after wandering around the museum for a while then seeing that nice little saucer, spoon and cup.

what's in a hopper

This is a great link from The Museum of Fine Arts-Boston to an interactive feature on painter Edward Hopper. People have interesting reactions to Hopper, sometimes loving his work or sometimes finding him a bit hollow and depressing. There's a deliberate emptiness to his style, but just like with any kind of existing space, how it affects you depends upon what you project into it. The painting pictured here, Room in Brooklyn, may seem really spare and like the woman facing the windows might be lonely, but I see it as beautifully uncluttered and an escape from the city, and that she's finally got a chance to sit quietly and clear her mind. Hopper's famous Nighthawks painting is also thought-provoking, making us wonder what's going on with the film noir-ish trio at the counter and how does the clerk kid feel in their presence, but his Office at Night has more tension to me, with the guy at the desk pretending not to notice his shapely most-likely secretary or file clerk Miss Whoever as darkness falls around them....