November, 2019 - Of Art and Wine

Wine Tasting Portraits and Le Beaujolais Nouveau

Tasting the Wine 19th Century British School

Well, there he is a connoisseur of some sort eyeing a lovely little glass of wine. Now I won’t claim that he is tasting the Beaujolais Nouveau, though the wine color is not far off. However, I do think that the cheery expression on his face is in keeping with celebrating this special harvest time wine holiday, now celebrated around the world as a nice little pick-me-up in the dreary days of November. The comedic joy on his face fits perfectly with the satirical art of Britain’s 19th century in which such depictions were used to poke fun of the foibles of the wealthy, of politicians, and other notables. This fellow seems settled in for an evening of enjoyable drink, his comfortable chair and his lap robe sporting the same warm color of the wine. Having decanted a full bottle of wine, he appreciates that color, his mouth already watering in anticipation of the first sip. He seems to be alone, so this may be a sort of guilty pleasure. His focus is so clearly on the wine and his eye so full of glee over the drink he is about to have that surely no one else is present to see him revel in this moment.

Caricatures go back to the 16th and 17th centuries in Britain, when it became popular to create a portrait that exaggerated some significant feature of a person’s face, say a long nose, or an oddly shaped mouth. When combined with a moral message, they became satires. Such images developed as a way to criticize without having to use words. The beginning of the 18th century saw this form of expression growing particularly popular with the work of William Hogarth (1697-1764). By the 19th century it hit its heyday with the creation of Punch Magazine (1820) which specialized in these caricature pieces which it dubbed “cartoons.” All before this, cartoons were designs, painted pictures, used for the making of tapestries. Such famous artists as Francisco Goya got started as a painter of tapestry cartoons. Suddenly after Punch, the word took on a whole new meaning, one close to what we think of today. Print shops had windows filled with the latest satirical cartoons that allowed people to stop, wander from one printed scene to another and gain a laugh or two in the process. George Cruikshank (1792-1878) was another British master of these satirical pieces, and the French were not to be left out as Honoré Daumier (1808-1879) mastered the art and was particularly well seen during the Second Empire of Napoleon III.

FROM THE DIVINE TO THE EARTHY: CARAVAGGIO

Of course, the pleasures of wine have been around for thousands of years. In fact, the Romans first cultivated the Beaujolais region along the Saone River in what was then Gaul. The production of wine spread throughout the provinces of the Roman Empire as it followed the trade routes that supplied the Roman world. Understanding from experience the folly that wine can produce, the Romans put it in the domain of the Roman god Bacchus, a half man, half goat creature who ruled madness, ecstasy, and wine, and had a fondness for playing the flute. Bacchus has been the subject of many sculptures from ancient times right down to Michelangelo. However, the piece that captures the essence best is this painting by Caravaggio from 1596.

The Young Bacchus by Michelangelo Merisi Caravaggio, 1596

Here the God, himself, offers the viewer drink. How divine, or is it? We see the perfect youth, with a headdress of grape leaves (how celebratory), his perfect young body, pale against the sheets, which in fact are a rather dingy gray. He temptingly lifts a huge glass of wine out to the viewer in a hand with dirty fingernails. The fruit in front of us is not entirely fresh, and the “god’s” ruddy face and hands indicate that he probably works outside for a living. Some of the contradictions were certainly intentional. The fruit on its way to rot was a typical Baroque image of vanitas, those symbols of earthly delights that were fleeting in nature like human existence itself. The model, probably Mario Minniti, who appears in several Caravaggio pieces from this period, was a beautiful youth from a hardscrabble background, and while the setting that Caravaggio arranged for this scene makes for a beautiful painting, it also creates the rather earthy, grubby quality that appears upon closer inspection. Cardinal Del Monte, Caravaggio’s patron and the man who commissioned this painting was certainly well pleased with the work., and perhaps Caravaggio was amused that his grungy little setting had created such a vision of classical divinity.

THE SORROWS OF WINE

Of course, there are dangers in all of this revelry. Whether the English gentleman indulging in an evening of wine tasting/drinking in privacy, or someone imbibing a huge glass as offered by a latter day Bacchus, there comes a reckoning and that is as old as wine itself. For that, here is a scene from the 14th century, Tacuinum Sanitatis, a medical book showing common ailments and other problems, like what happens when you drink too much.

Man vomiting after too much wine from the Tacuinum Sanitatis, 14th century.

So with the idea of keeping all things in moderation, we can turn to the one day per year when now all the world celebrates wine. It is the third Thursday in November, the day, as originally announced by winemaker, George DuBoeuf, when:

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrivé!

It officially starts at 12:01 a.m. on that third Thursday in November, this year the 21st. Originally, it was not quite so well organized as there were breakneck races among vintners to be the first to get the Beaujolais Nouveau to Paris, as soon as their wine was ready. The whole thing began to be organized in about 1951 when it was decided to name a special day for celebration, then the 15th of November. This did not always work well with harvest times (Nature is funny that way), so a slightly later date was chosen, and slyly it was placed on Thursday. Why? Well, Thursday is just before Friday, and if you take off Friday to “faire le pont” or make the bridge to the weekend, you can have a really good time over a four-day weekend. Tout est permis! (Everything is allowed!)

Celebrants during the arrival of the Beaujolais Nouveau.

Beaujolais is a region north of Lyon and just south of Burgundy in eastern France. The grapes grown there are Gamay grapes, a dark red grape that produces several varieties of Beaujolais. Beaujolais Superieur is made from high quality grapes that are sweet producers of alcohol, 10.5%, which is a half percent higher than the Beaujolais Villages. Those wines are made from grapes grown in the fields of the many villages in the region. It is also of a higher quality than Beaujolais Nouveau, and both Villages and the Superieur can be kept for more than two years. These are the ones to get to go with your Thanksgiving turkey, or perhaps a Beaujolais Villages Blanc, which is a white wine from the same region made with Chardonnay grapes.

The one that is celebrated every year is the Beaujolais Nouveau, and it is a primeur wine, meaning that it must be drunk young. Normally in France it is drunk between the end of November and Christmas. It is a light red wine that has a fruity taste of berries, and is easy to drink as it is light-bodied, low in tannins, and high in acidity. It is best served chilled and consumed right away, as it loses its charm rather quickly with age. It pairs easily with most foods from roast turkey and smoked chicken to salmon to quiche and vegetables like mashed potatoes, as well it is inexpensive, which can add to the enjoyment.

Japanese celebrants in a Beaujolais Nouveau wine bath.

As I said before, tout est permis! I was quite surprised during my first long stay in Paris to go wandering down to the Montorgueil market to do my daily food shopping only to find the street festooned with banners announcing the arrival of the new Beaujolais. The mood was particularly festive, and of course, the French do love a good party. I stopped by a favorite café of mine, Le Café du Centre, where the first lunchtime arrivals were seating themselves in anticipation of the first taste of the new wine. Waiters were all wearing plastic pins made like huge clusters of deep purple grapes as the zipped from one table to another pouring wine furiously. The room was filled with the clinking of glasses, comments and laughter and various expressions indicating that the wine was “pas mal” (not bad – which in the usual, understated, Parisian “we’ve seen it all” attitude, means pretty good!).

So if you live where you can enjoy a Beaujolais Nouveau celebration, by all means attend and profitez bien (take good advantage of it). You’ll be glad you did!

The Beaujolais Nouveau comes to Wall St. from the New York Times.

For your other wine interests, you might think of joining a wine club. Click on Cellars Wine Club under Of Art and Wine Pages on your left to see the various ways to get into some very good wine from the U.S. and from around the world, including wines in the 90+ category. As well you can indicate which of a number of vetted charities you want Cellars to donate to. cellarswineclub.com

Paintings are in public domain.

Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.

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©marjorie vernelle 2019

Coming Soon on Of Art and Wine: Let It Snow! Snow Paintings and Mulled Wine

The Road to Giverny in Winter by Claude Monet, 1885.

Winter is on its way, but that never stopped artists from braving the elements to capture the beauty of the snow. It also means it is time for hot drinks to fight off the chill. So come see some wonderful snow paintings and get a few good recipes for good drinks made with hot wine.

The Hazy Light of Corot and the Light Smoke of Pouilly Fumé.

The Bridge at Mantes by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, 1968-1870 Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, Portugal.

It was 1996 in the autumn, and the first time I had spent an extended stay in France. One of the first things I found out about French culture was how the French never forget to venerate their great artists. That year was the 200th anniversary of the birth of Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875), and Corot was everywhere. There were art shows all over the country; his work was prominently displayed at the Louvre; and posters and postcards were part tout. Now I had seen Corot’s work in some survey of art history course in my undergrad years, but nothing about his work had yet really sunk in, even though I do landscape painting myself. The hammer came down on my head when I visited a museum in Reims, where I sat alone, one rainy afternoon, surrounded by some 25-30 Corot landscapes.

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot was born in Paris in 1796 to a prosperous family. His father was a successful draper and naturally expected his son to follow in his footsteps. That, however, did not happen, as the young Corot’s only success in business was being an errand boy. He managed to take some classes in life drawing from the Academie Suisse, later commenting that knowing how to draw the human figure was the basis for doing good landscape. Finally when he reached his mid-twenties still showing no signs of being adept at his father’s business, his family gave him a small stipend, which freed him to paint. .

From every angle came a beautiful scene, each with his unique mix of the distinct and the indistinct. For example, in the Bridge at Mantes (above), the light colors of the bridge and its structure are quite solid, but they are seen through the feathery quality of the last leaves of autumn clinging to the nearly naked trees. The sky is rather overcast, with a cloud or two barely visible, and the water of the river below is a smooth, placid reflection of the sky with no rapids or ripples. The painting is a perfect reflection of a slight autumn haze, a calm before the storms of winter. I left the museum that day with my head full of those Corots. When I took the train back to Paris in the late afternoon, the rain had gone, and the golden light of a sun low in the sky shone hazily through the autumn leaves of the trees in the countryside. Every scene that passed the windows of the train was a perfect reflection of Corot’s vision; it was overwhelming.

Corot loved being in nature as opposed to the studio, and while he studied with one or two more famous artists, he seemed to only take from them that which fitted the temperament of his own work. His work had a poetic quality to it, an effect of his focus on the soft light of early morning or approaching evening. In 1829 he went to Barbizon, a small town near Fontainebleau, where a group of painters, later to be known as the Barbizon School, painted in the forests and gardens near the famous royal chateau. Corot traveled to France and Italy, sketching, and sometimes even selling the sketches, which was unusual in a time when finished paintings were preferred. His finished works were often met with derision, as he did not fill his paintings with the antique ruins and other historical sites that the market demanded at that time. His works were thought to be too pale, sometimes unfinished in their look, even naive. He struggled with acceptance at the Salon; however, his works were admired by other painters, even though the public had not found him yet. In 1845 Baudelaire quite forcefully called Corot the leader of the modern school of landscape, saying Corot was more of a harmonist that a colorist. That support began to turn the tide for the painter. His works began to sell, and he is now looked upon as one of the forerunners of Impressionism. In fact, one of the great discoveries in 1918 when Edgar Degas’ private collection of paintings was examined was that Degas was a collector of Corot.

Ville d’Avray by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, 1865.

This lovely piece is a perfect example of what the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. calls Corot’s “landscape poetry…full of diaphanous trees and crepuscular skies.” Here again one sees a perfect match up of the sky and the water, with a hint of cloud in the sky, and a small ripple running through the watery reflection of the building. The leaves on the trees are just fuzz, as are the tops of the grasses along the banks of the river. The figures are indistinct, as is appropriate for commonplace fixtures in a landscape of that time. The main focus is the harmony of the greens and the pale blues and white, along with the soft haziness that comes from how the eye blends those color harmonies.

Orpheus leading Eurydice from the Underworld by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot. Museum of Fine Art Houston.

What could be more ethereal, dreamlike and smokey in atmosphere than a path leading out of hell? Corot, who was also a great lover of music, shows Orpheus here with his lyre held high, showing the power of music. The atmosphere is both appropriate to the realm of the spirits and to the sad ending of the story. Orpheus could not resist turning to look back at Eurydice before they actually escaped, so his love was taken back to dwell among those shadowing entities of the type seen in the background of the painting. Corot’s work was beloved for its poetry and the way that it could blend the elements of realism into something rather unreal, yet very pleasing. Claude Monet gets the last word at this point, as he famously said, “There is only one master here: Corot.”

Paintings are in Public Domain.

Pouilly Fumé: Tones of Flint and Matchstick.

Here it is the central growing region in the France’s Loire Valley where one finds Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé, Pouilly-sur-Loire, and a number of other notable wines. Courtesy of Vins-Centre-Loire.com

Pouilly Fumé is an off-gold color, has notes of apricot, heather, green grass, white flowers, and yes, a hint of a”gunflint smoky aroma.” (see vins-centre-loire.com/appellations ). First, let’s not mistake this wonderful confluence of flavors made with Sauvignon Blanc grapes with a similarly named wine, Pouilly Fuissé, which is made from Chardonnay grapes in southern Burgundy. Nor is it Pouilly-sur-Loire, which is made from Chasselas grapes, though both Pouilly Fumé and Pouilly-sur-Loire have that same slightly smoky quality. That flinty quality comes from the minerals in the shale rock under the limestone and clay in the Loire Valley.

Though it is often seen to be in the shadow of Sancerre, this dry white wine holds its own with both Sancerre and Vouvray, another Loire Valley white wine. As in most wines in the Loire, the vintners make much over the soil that the grapes are grown in, and in the case of Pouilly Fumé, it’s the flint that counts, even though it has other lovely notes of fruit and grass. Sancerre seems to have become the bistro wine of choice and certainly, when it became popular in America, that had to do with how easily it paired with so many foods. It was an easy and perfect dry white wine one could serve with assurance, while Pouilly Fumé was considered more sophisticated, more “chic.” However, as Sancerre becomes more and more expensive, why not look at Pouilly Fumé? A good way to get to sample all of these wines from the Loire is to become a member of a wine club that deals in international wines. Cellars International Wine Club is a club that does just that and allows you to specify which of a number of vetted charities Cellars will donate a percentage of your purchase to – good wine and good works. See the Cellars Wine Club page under Of Art and Wine Pages or click here www.cellarswineclub.com

It is said that Pouilly Fumé is food friendly. Like Sancerre it goes marvelously with shellfish, salmon, white fish, scallops, grilled chicken (how about with some Panko crumbs for topping on that chicken?), and if you are really into smoke, try it with that wonder of French cooking, smoked chicken. Veal is also a good choice, as is a foie gras terrine. Don’t forget the cheeses, triple cream, Brie, goat cheeses, in fact, all soft cheeses are a good bet here.

Of course, Pouilly Fumé works wonderfully well just as an aperitif or with a quick snack like a tartine (an small open-faced sandwich). My favorite tartine is a lightly toasted slice from a round loaf of French bread or Sour Dough bread spread with a black olive tapenade, which must be mixed with some garlic and capers and maybe a touch of cognac, and finally you must put some sun-dried tomatoes along the top. Heat it quickly in the oven and eat it all warmed up. A bit crunchy and delicious, it is great with a wonderful glass of chilled (46 degrees F.) Pouilly Fumé. Then you dream of your favorite Corot painting of some golden twilight filtering through a haze of autumn leaves overlooking a placid pale blue stream and a matching slightly overcast sky. Divine!

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Coming soon: Wine Tasting Portraits and Le Beaujolais Nouveau!

Now admittedly this English gentleman may not have been tasting the Beaujolais Nouveau, but he has the right spirit, and when the new Beaujolais arrives, it is a world-wide celebration, England and America included. This year it is on November 21st, as that is the third Thursday of November, the official date when Le Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrivé. So go to a wine tasting and come to OfArtandWine.com to look at painted images of wine tasting and find out about the yearly celebrations for this primeur wine.