Ikea Hackers: Small Space Big Ideas

The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

A young woman most likely a maid, as the title suggests, pouring milk and breaking bread with the warm wash of morning sun reflecting on her and the few items in the room. At the far right the light source is identified as the natural sunlight shines through the small panes of an unadorned window. A simple black picture frame, a wicker basket and a copper container are the only items on the wall. This emphasizes the functionality of the room. In the forefront a simple table is covered with cloth and the basket of bread which has been painted with extra dots of white paint to give the elusion of the reflection of light make the texture and surface nearly photographic to life.

            The woman’s strong, sturdy build, a reference to her working class, is accentuated in the contrast of the bare cream wall behind. She wears a traditional Dutch crisp linen cap, vibrant yellow dress and a flowing blue apron; her sleeves are pushed up from her strong thick forearms. The woman’s gaze is directed downward and her lips pursed as in deep concentration. Her exact reason for concentration is not inherently obvious: whether focused on the task at hand, pouring the milk into the large mouthed basin, thinking about the man she loves, as referenced by the blue and white Delft tile featuring Cupid, or a deeper divine thought.  Her gaze could reference a deeper moral meaning, one that invokes spirituality in the seemingly menial daily task. This idea is echoed in the broken bread and fresh pouring milk reminiscent of the Holy Eucharist.

            Continued debate between historians has credited Vermeer’s photographic quality of painting to the use of the camera obscura, an optical device that predates the photographic camera. While it is probable he may have used a lens for his observation and composition, it is more likely that his observation of natural light reflection and his ability to recreate the light and perspective effects in paint provide this photographic quality. Whether Vermeer used this technology or not is an ongoing debate, yet the innovative compositional and painting techniques he employed have become a staple in Baroque art and a major influence on later artists.

 

The Three Trees by Rembrandt

The Three Trees, depicts a dramatically lit countryside with rich buttery clouds floating above an idealized pastoral scene of people. One set of lovers hidden in the dark bushes of the foreground and another pair leisurely conversing as the man fishes in the pond are other examples of the garden of love theme found throughout northern Europe.

The Scholar in His Study by Rembrandt

(sorry for the quality of the image, this one is hard to find a good image of online)

This monochrome etching depicts an aged man surrounded by the objects of intellectual study. His attention is lost in the supernatural light of an inscribed disk hovering in front of him. At the far right the strong forms of the globe, haphazardly-stacked books and wooden desk help vertically balance the composition by providing objects which the viewer can relate. As the focus moves toward the floating disk the viewer, like the scholar becomes awestruck by the oddity.

            The disk contains a series of letters all seemingly meaningless except for the four most central, “INRI” a known monogram of Jesus Christ.  Supernatural light emanates from the floating disk and is made even brighter as Rembrandt’s careful hand clearly differentiates this light from the natural light that pours in the intricately paned window. The veiled reference to Christ in contrast to the objects of earthly studies is evidence of Rembrandt’s desire to continue to produce works with moral meaning and religious undertone. 

            While Rembrandt excelled in the traditional medium of oil painting, The Scholar is a demonstration of the effort and pictorial effects Rembrandt discovered that distinguished him from all other etchers throughout history. Part of the greatness of Rembrandt is his ability to take a medium widely regarded throughout Europe for its graphic technique, used to produce multiple copies of simple stylized images and to achieve the same effects of chiaroscuro to in capturing specific lighting and tonal qualities employed in his paintings.

Ikea Hackers Mantle Clock

The Garden of Love by Peter Paul Rubens

In this painting a gathering of aristocratic-like lovers are overseen by Venus, goddess of love, beauty and fertility to celebrate his recent wedding. The garden, a common theme in Northern European art is an allegory of the Virgin Mary and motifs within the garden generally include lush foliage and fresh fruit. On the far left a grounded putto, presumably Cupid, pushes the new couple, Rubens and his young bride Helena, into a fairytale-like garden inhabited by a group of people who, like Helena and Rubens, are lavishly dressed in vibrantly colored, texturally rich, ornate costumes.  Their faces are supple hues of soft pinks with white to highlight surface quality of the flesh. The viewer is captivated by the typical Rubensesque overt plumpness of each lover giving them a proud bearing and healthy physique.  The group forms a diagonal hierarchy across the composition.  The viewer follows a spiral pattern of classically-posed figures that have come to life through Rubens’s voluptuously free-flowing brushstrokes, ultimately culminating with a fountain statue of Venus as Rubens references both his quotation of antiquity in the Venus Pudica and an embodiment of the love he feels toward his wife. Two putti continue the spiraling movement to another group of lovers within the architectural archways and stone columns of a Venetian-inspired grotto, overseen by a statue of the Three Graces representing chastity, beauty and love.  Beyond the stone structure Rubens paints an ideal countryside and cool colored sky in the distance.  The vibrant primary color of the lovers’ costumes and the strength of the composition give clarity and simplicity to what would otherwise be a disorganized scene reminiscent of kermis, or peasant paintings of the Bruegel tradition.

The Death of Germanicus by Nicholas Poussin

This painting depicts a group of Roman soldiers in a wide range of emotions regarding the unjust death of their heroic captain. On the far left a soldier turns his muscular back toward the viewer and raises his hand to his face as though hiding his despair. With this contrast of the outward physical strength and the real human emotion, the realism of the surface of the flesh makes the viewer more aware of what is happening, introspectively to the character.  Next to him another soldier rests his head in his palm and closes his eye in a desolate manner to suggest his reflection of the moment.

 The group of soldiers is embodied by the two foremost soldiers: one is wearing a vibrant red cloak and shimmering helmet, his contrapposto pose suggests he has just arrived, while the other key soldier stands solid, resembling a marble statue. He is wearing golden armor and stands closest to Germanicus with his hand raised heavenward to display his level of allegiance. Poussin draws the viewer’s eye to the crisp white forms of Germanicus’s cloak. The essential moral link in the painting is the V shape created by angles of the statuesque soldier together with the form of the grieving wife Agrippina and son, the future Emperor Caligula. In this void lies the dying Germanicus, who is honored for his virtue and piety by the broad-shouldered soldiers and a loving family alike.

            Germanicus is a testimony to Poussin’s study of ancient Roman history and archaeology.  The work is reminiscent of a Roman frieze: the horizontal lines, the row of figures and the blue drapery above the bed bring order of movement close to the viewer and create intimacy in the scene. Fortunately Poussin moves past the relief-like qualities in his creation of depth in the space. The backgrond is complete with pilasters, roundels, keystones and spacious archways, allowing the architecture to echo the narrative in the scene. Poussin’s display of a controlled freedom of the brush, intricate detail, diverse use of bold forms and figures helps to portray a wide variety of moral meaning. This work shows the wide range of emotion and thematic detail, including comradeship and a dignified manner in which all should meet and reverence life and death, which Poussin was able to portray in his paintings.

The Barcelona Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe

 Plate glass, chrome steel and polished marble, it was not meant to be lived in but to display a new form of pure architecture, new kind of modern space.
 The Barcelona Pavilion to me is the culmination of the work of the Bauhaus.

Molding form, function, exploratory thinking and industrial visual culture in to one great whole, the Barcelona Pavilion is a sleek modern representation of what Walter Gropius would call the “Modern Ideal.”

Who ever thought you could make an Ikea Lack table look so good?

Sommarnöjen by Anders Zorn

Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the ashes of Germanicus by Benjamin West

Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the ashes of Germanicus  Agrippina was the wife of the Roman general Germanicus, who nobility led his troops and eventually was murdered in his sacrifice to protect Rome.

The Marriage Contract by Greuze

The Marriage Contract depicts the contractual exchange of a dowry between the father of the potential bride and the potential husband. Like many of works by Greuze the viewer find a large working class family in their humble pre-Revolution home. The group stands in a semi circular composition to allow the viewer access to every character in the narrative. At the center stand the impending bride and groom. They show no emotion toward each other their love is expressed, though minimally, in their linked arms. Both cast their gaze to the ground with a look of uncertainty for their future. Other members of the household listen intently to the words of the wise ageing father, his arms outstretched and powerful affixed on the daughter he is allowing to mature and become married. A man in the far right is dress in a black suit with his back toward the viewer and his face only seen in profile view. He too is anxiously engaged as the impending contract is completed. Greuze paints the children on the house in the background; each face is wrought with emotion. Some bored, some inquisitive and some oblivious to the contract being exchanged. These children help emphasize the passing of the generations and the naturalness of life’s changes that no one is ever really ready to accept. One little girl stands in the lower left corner, she hold up her apron which is full of grain to feed the chicken and chicks on the rough wooden floorboards below the feet of the bride and groom. One of the chicks has ventured away from the parent to find a bowl of water to quench its thirst. With this simple gesture Greuze reinforces the narrative of the scene between the father and daughter. Though the authoritative figure of bother the father and the chicken are physically close at hand the possibility for great change has become a realization in the minds of the youth.

Jean-Antoine Watteau’s Venetian Pleasures

Jean-Antoine Watteau’s Venetian Pleasures. depicts an unrealistic dreamlike landscape where a group of well dressed aristocrats gather to enjoy the leisure of social pleasures. The people gossip, chat and even flirt as one couple takes to the forest for in dance.  Through his fête galantes works Watteau created a new genre of paintings that depict nobles, exquisite landscape, and architecture with no clear narrative.

A Reading ofA Reading from Molière by Jean François de Troy

​A Reading of Molière by Jean François de Troy depicts a group of finely dressed aristocrats in an equally exquisitely decorated Rococo interior salon setting. An older gentleman sits in the center of the group reading to the others from a book which has been presumed to be Molière. Some of the characters seem to be interested in the reading. The woman dark green dress with gold embroidery for instance leans over toward the reader so as to read the words for herself. Not all the characters are as interested by the reading. A younger man with a white wig, dark suit and ruffled white sleeves leans on one of the chair backs. He is distracted from the lecture by the young woman who’s back is toward the viewer and wears a red shawl. Two other women are also uninterested in the reading, the woman in the vibrant blue cloak seated at the far right and the woman just above the reader. Both look directly to the audience.

Greuze's Filial Piety

In Filial Piety Greuze depicts a working-class family gathered around their father in their humble underground home. In the center of the work Greuze uses diagonal lines and bright light to give emphasis to the body, face and hands of the dying patriarch. The diagonal lines created by the staircase create visual interest and help ground the viewer. The cloth that is draped over the handrail is reminiscent of classic dramatic scenes like Nicolas Poussin’s The Death of Germanicus. The gaze of every family member, including the dog is set on the dying father. Greuze paints most of the details of the scene on the bottom half of the picture plane leaving only some vague architecture on the top half.

Ozondah Mercantile

These are just a few of the great items I have for sale right now.

 This beautiful Vintage look “Palazzo” Natural Bone Picture Frame is in great condition.  Stand 4 inches by 4 inches.  This frame retails for around $50!

SOLD

This eye-catching Vintage look Hand blown Emerald Glass  GreenVase stand about 6 inches tall  $10

 Vintage Thermopolis WY 7up Bottle is from 1939.  $5

 This handsome Vintage Chopin Bust stands about 3 ½ inches tall.  It is made from hard plastic.  $5

 This beautiful Vintage Look Antiqued Tin Picture Frame is a bout 8 inches wide.  It features what look to be hand stamped floral design. $10

This is a beautiful Vintage Westinghouse Silver Creamer Pitcher. It stands about 6 inches tall and features the Westinghouse Silver stamp on the reverse. $10

If you would like to purchase any of these items you and contact me or purchase them through my eBay store.

Fall is in the Air- Persimmon