{"id":292,"date":"2012-11-02T16:51:39","date_gmt":"2012-11-02T20:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=292"},"modified":"2012-12-12T12:56:30","modified_gmt":"2012-12-12T17:56:30","slug":"thumbs-up-thumbs-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/thumbs-up-thumbs-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Thumbs-up: van Ruisdael; Thumbs-down: Renoir"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve loved art as far back as I can remember.  During the summer before First Grade we moved to a farm, and while exploring the barn loft (true story), I was thrilled to discover a bunch of painting gear—half-empty paint cans, rags, and stiff brushes.  I loved it!  I loved the smell of turpentine! That was ‘my smell’ I told everyone.  The smell of turpentine was already familiar to me.  How that was possible, I still don’t know.<\/p>\n

I’ve had favorite artists ever since.  I studied artists’ biographies with the same intensity I studied fighter pilots’ and baseball players’.  My first favorites?  Renoir, Monet, van Gogh, and Titian.  How did the latter get on an elementary-school student’s list of favorite artists?  That’s a tale for another time.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>Cleveland Museum of Art Opens Renovations<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Artists’ reputations have waxed and waned for me since then.  How do some of them fare today?<\/p>\n

Thumbs Down: Renoir<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>In the Studio Oct. 14 2012<\/span><\/a><\/div>

I thought about creating this post while viewing the current Marry Cassatt exhibition<\/a> at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which includes a Renoir pastel.  The Cassatt exhibition is an extremely small one (which I review here<\/a>) comprised of drawings and prints from the museum’s permanent collection.<\/p>\n

Poor Renoir.  Renoir went through a mid-life crisis—a conversion on the road to Damascus, so to say—when he decided that his drawing was deficient.  He changed direction mid-career in order to correct it.  One guesses that while he was young and producing the paintings for which he is remembered, he was satisfied with his discoveries and assumed his path could take him wherever he pleased.  At some point he determined his technique was insufficient for his changing vision.  I salute him for his honesty.  A lesser man would have been satisfied to rest on his laurels.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>Stephen Pentak at Bonfoey<\/span><\/a><\/div>

I largely agree with his self-assessment.  Renoir comes off poorly in this exhibition when stacked against his luminous contemporaries, many of whom were master draughtsman—artists such as Degas and Lautrec.  Renoir is ‘merely’ an accomplished draughtsman.  Early in his career he had a quick eye and sweet method.  His later works, by contrast, are labored and the sweetness devolves to sentimentality.  Part of my assessment (reached well before this particular exhibition), I am sure, is a reflection of how highly I initially rated him.<\/p>\n

Finally, Renoir reminds me of the poet\/songwriter Bob Dylan.  Both were inspired to brilliant works when young.  Both subsequently lost the fount of inspiration and struggled to find their way.  I think Renoir did a much better job later on than Dylan, and I also think Renoir is much the better artist.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>Cleveland Museum of Art Staff Exhibition<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Thumbs Up: Jacob van Ruisdael<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once upon a time, I did not care for the “Little Dutch Landscape Painters.”  Their works reminded me of the flat landscape of my native Ohio, and so were always low on my priority list whenever visiting a museum.  But since I started my regular visits to the Cleveland Museum last year, I’ve had a chance to study several of Jacob van Ruisdael’s paintings and I’ve completely changed my mind about him.  What a clever, master artist!<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>In the Studio—10\/28\/12<\/span><\/a><\/div>

The museum’s examples (4) are fairly typical of the artist: domestic landscapes that seem vaguely familiar.  A painting like Landscape with a Church by a Torrent<\/a> can easily be identified as a van Ruisdael by even the casual museum-goer.<\/p>\n

Opening oneself to any of his paintings provides tremendous reward.  The familiar passes and gives way to the mysterious.  The artist’s spirit is playful and delights in teasing the viewer.  The common—trees and rocks—are dignified and given dramatic personas, yet the particulars fit smoothly into a harmonious whole, producing intense delight.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>Hurricane Sandy<\/span><\/a><\/div>

I like all of the museum’s examples, but my favorite is  Landscape with a Windmill<\/a>.  The reproduction is poor and one suspects that the paint surface has suffered at the hands of the restorer.  Be that as it may, this work is a feast for the eyes.  The color, as in most of his work, is subdued.  The windmill is silhouetted by waning afternoon light.  The painting perfectly captures that most melancholy time of day.  A masterful painting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve loved art as far back as I can remember.  During the summer before First Grade we moved to a farm, and while exploring the barn loft (true story), I was thrilled to discover a bunch of painting gear—half-empty paint cans, rags, and stiff brushes.  I loved it!  I loved the smell of turpentine! That […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,5,46,87,1],"tags":[61,59,58,62,65,57,60,64,63],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-museum","category-artists","category-reviews","category-thumbs-up-down","category-uncategorized","tag-bob-dylan","tag-cleveland-museum-of-art","tag-jacob-van-ruisdael","tag-mary-cassatt","tag-monet","tag-renoir","tag-reviews-2","tag-titian","tag-van-gogh"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13953,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2025\/06\/video-jacob-van-ruisdael\/","url_meta":{"origin":292,"position":0},"title":"Video: Jacob van Ruisdael","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"June 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"My new video about Jacob van Ruisdael is up on my YouTube channel, Turpentine Diaries.","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/landscape-windmill-thumb.jpg?fit=998%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/landscape-windmill-thumb.jpg?fit=998%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/landscape-windmill-thumb.jpg?fit=998%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/landscape-windmill-thumb.jpg?fit=998%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11238,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2022\/09\/next-youtube-video-jacob-van-ruisdael\/","url_meta":{"origin":292,"position":1},"title":"Next YouTube video, Jacob van Ruisdael","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"September 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I enjoyed preparing my last video so much, I am charged-up to do another. In my last video about Jan van Goyen, I mentioned his fellow Dutch Golden Ager, van Ruisdael. I've got a lot of material about this artist so I've already started the next video. One benefit of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art history"","block_context":{"text":"Art history","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/landscape-windmill.jpg?fit=998%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/landscape-windmill.jpg?fit=998%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/landscape-windmill.jpg?fit=998%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/landscape-windmill.jpg?fit=998%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":466,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/12\/thumbs-up-bonnard-thumbs-sidewaysvuillard\/","url_meta":{"origin":292,"position":2},"title":"Thumbs-up: Bonnard; Thumbs-sideways:Vuillard","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"December 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Vuillard Have you dated someone whose online profile scored highly, only to be\u00a0disappointed\u00a0upon\u00a0meeting her\/him? \u00a0I've never used an online dating service (my wife has strong opinions on this subject), but my relationship with Vuillard feels like a\u00a0disappointing\u00a0blind date. \u00a0At different times I've studied him closely. \u00a0He has a beguiling profile\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vuillard: White Room","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/the-white-room.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/the-white-room.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/the-white-room.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5499,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2015\/10\/god-hates-renoir\/","url_meta":{"origin":292,"position":3},"title":"God Hates Renoir","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"October 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I had to laugh when I read this article in the Independent. \u00a0The story is about the group calling themselves\u00a0Renoir Sucks\u00a0protesting in front of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Renoir Sucks'\u00a0main tenant is, well, that Renoir sucks. The group\u00a0maintains that they are tired of the 'irredeemable treacle of Pierre-Auguste Renoir\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "aesthetics"","block_context":{"text":"aesthetics","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/aesthetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/diana.jpg?fit=463%2C698&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3322,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/03\/van-gogh-repetitions\/","url_meta":{"origin":292,"position":4},"title":"van Gogh Repetitions","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"March 26, 2014","format":"status","excerpt":"I plan on visiting the Cleveland Museum of Art's exhibition\u00a0van Gogh Repetitions\u00a0later today. It will be my third visit to see it. The show has a number of first rate van Gogh's and the theme--the artist copying himself--is interesting. I will write more about it later.","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10782,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2022\/07\/protectors\/","url_meta":{"origin":292,"position":5},"title":"Protectors","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"July 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Some artists have goals similar to my own. Among these artists are some I find especially sympathetic--my protectors. My protectors are the artists from whom I learn the most. My protector list is different from the artists that influenced me when I was young. My youthful influences include Rodin, Monet,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "aesthetics"","block_context":{"text":"aesthetics","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/aesthetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/dav-2.jpg?fit=679%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/dav-2.jpg?fit=679%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/dav-2.jpg?fit=679%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Gw6F-4I","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}