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The Great Vedutisti of Venice and Pinot Grigio Venezia.

Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice, by Canaletto, 1730. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX.
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Well, we have all seen them on any trip to a fine arts museum. You know, THEM, those romantic scenes of the Venice of by gone times, full of gondolas maneuvering their way along the canals. Yes, by-gone times, the 1700s to be precise, where the largest boats were fishing vessels not gigantic cruise liners carrying 5,000 passengers. Ah, those were the days. They certainly were for Giovanni Antonio Canal, known to us as Canaletto (1697-1768). Somewhere around 1726 as the British Grand Tour became all the rage, Venice was one of the favorite places to stop. Its beauty was something these tourists wanted to remember, hence a sudden market for beautifully painted scenes of the city, known as vedute. Canaletto made a fortuitous connection with the British ambassador, Joseph Smith, who not only bought the young painter’s work but talked it up to all those wealthy British travelers. Canaletto was amenable to moving his painting style more toward the tastes of those refined Brits and their ideas of British Rationalism. His superb skills in composition were put to good use, as was his camera obscura (see information below), as he moved his painting toward the pristine, clearly defined, and romanticized scenes his patrons loved to proudly display as they bragged about their grand voyage.

Canaletto had a great sense of drama, as he grew up originally following in his father’s footsteps as a painter of stage scenery. While he used that fine sense of composition in his vedute that so pleased his English clients, one can see by his early painting that the sense of drama was quite present in his work. The painting below has much more of it than his later vedute, which tend toward a perfected clarity and luminousity that can seem a bit static. In the painting below we see movement in the clouds and the darkened skies which tell the viewer that not every day in Venice is a sunny one. Canaletto, however, did find an outlet for his dramatic flair, which will be looked at later.

San Cristoforo, San Michele, and Murano from the Fondamenta Nuove by Canaletto, 1722 Dallas Museum of Art, collections.dma.org

The idea of painting lovely scenes of Venice had gotten started before the British tourist boom. One of the first vedutisti, as the painters of these scenes were called, was Gaspar van Wittel. He was a native of a town in the far north of Europe near Ultrecht where the climate was quite a bit different than that of Venice. He arrived in Venice around 1695 and started painting iconic scenes of the city around 1697. Luca Carlevarijs published in 1703 a book of prints of 103 scenic views of Venice, which became a sort of guide for other painters of scenes. He also did oil paintings of these views and was active when Canaletto began his career as a vedutista.

And there were other rivals to Canaletto, like Michele Marieschi and Bernardo Bellotto, but his primary rival was a man who came from a family of not well-known painters, Francesco Guardi. Guardi and his brother Gian Antonio picked up what work they could. Not much of what they produced together was remarkable, and in fact Guardi had a hard life financially right up to his death in 1793. However, after his brother’s death in 1760, Guardi began to enter the field of painting vedute. When Canaletto died in 1768, there was more room for Guardi who began turning out his own brand of Venetian views. In his painting below, the skies are less formulaic and more natural to the changing moods of Venetian weather than the standard Canaletto. While there is traffic on the canal, it is not the flurry of every kind of vessel we see in Canaletto’s view. Rather we see gondolas peacefully ferrying people about on the placid surface of the canal. The buildings are not as starkly detailed, and the whole piece has a softer feeling to it.

The Grand Canal with the churches San Simeone and Santa Lucia by Francesco Guardi c. 1780 Philadelphia Museum of Art philamuseum.org

Guardi was not opposed to showing the gloomier side of Venice’s waters and mists. In The Gondola on the Lagoon (1765-70), we see a Venice that is far in the distance, shrouded in the beige/gray mists of a sky that is only distinquished from the sea by the strip of whitish buildings that is the city. The gondola in the foreground seems to be heading off to somewhere other than Venice, as if moving into the unknown. This painting has a great mystery about it, and some speculate that Guardi was still mourning the death of the older brother who had raised him from the age of five after their father died. Gian Antonio, the brother, had also taught Francesco to paint; however, it was after Gian Antonio’s death when Francesco’s painting began to really develop. The painting below is certainly not the usual veduta, but it shows a deep sensitivity and an awareness of space relationships and color in creating a mood.

The Gondola on the Lagoon by Francesco Guardi, 1765-1770 (wikiart.org)

The Capriccios (Caprices)

While the majority of the tourist market for vedute was for the classic scenes of Venice and its Grand Canal, the artists as always found ways to let their creative energies exhibit themselves. In 18th century Venice that came about with the Capriccios, or fantasy paintings of a ruined city still fully populated with people and what were supposed to be once famous landmarks. Here the artists let their minds roam free to create these imagined scenes full of arches and columns that stood alone after whatever building they’d been a part of had collapsed. Weeds grow out of the cracks and across the tops of these structures. The humans who inhabit the buildings of these fantasy-scapes seem always to be preoccupied with whatever their daily needs and duties are while living calmly among the ruins. Below a Canaletto, Caprice with Ruins, 1742, Guardi’s Caprice (1732), and Bernardo Bellotto’s Caprice with a House on the Lagoon, c. 1745.

Canaletto Caprice with Ruins, 1742; Guardi Caprice, c.1778; Bernardo Bellotto Caprice House on the Lagoon, c. 1745.

The Magic Camera (Obscura)

One question that always comes up is this: How did they get so much precision when doing those complicated pieces of architecture? Well, as they say, it is all done with mirrors. The camera obscura used a lens and a slanted mirror pointed at the scene that one wished to replicate. The lens and mirror were mounted inside a box. The box sat above a structure with heavy dark cloth around it to block out light. The whole thing sat on a table where the artist could sit and draw the outlines of the projected image on the canvas. The pictures below come from a lovely little book, Venise au temps de Canaletto, which was published in 2012 to go with the Canaletto Guardi les deux maitres de Venise (Two Masters of Venice) exposition in Paris.

To find out more about how the camera obscura works, look at this video, The Art of Photography – the Camera Obscura, youtube.com.

Finally, we shall leave Venice with its current wonder – clear water in the canals! Yes, with the fight against COVID-19, the lack of traffic on the waterways of the city has allowed the dolphins to return. Viva Venezia!

A little lesson in Italian: Veduta is one painting of Venice; vedute is more than one. Vedutista is a painter of Venetian scenes; vedustisti are painters of Venetian scenes.

Paintings are in public domain but links are given to their museum locations. The three caprices are photos taken by me from the catalog Canaletto Guardi, les deux maitres de Venise, 2012 and used in accordance with Fair Use policy.

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.

Pinon Grigio Venezia

Sommelier pours pinot grigio wine in glasses for degustation (iStockphotos)

In Venice one way to escape the hustle and bustle in a city always busy with commerce, whether shipping or tourism, is to stop at a favorite cafe for a small snack and a refreshing glass of one of Venice’s favorite wines, a Pinot Grigio Venezia DOC. (DOC means the wine is certified to originate in the Veneto.) Add a bit of conversation with the barman, the restaurant owner, or a friend who happens to be passing by, and you have a nice respite from the stresses of daily life.

Pinot Grigio first arrived in the Veneto in the early 19th century and hailed from France and Germany. The grape is a genetic variation on the Pinot Noir grape which produces one of the most drinkable wines, lauded in both text and film (Sideways, 2004). In France it is known as Pinot Gris, but apart from the differences in soil, Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are rather the French and Italian versions of the same thing.

Pinot Grigio Venezia tends to be a golden yellow, though it can come in forms that are very, very pale. It can have hints of pineapple and pear William and a slight floral aroma. Like springtime, it is a young wine, fresh and meant to be drunk and not aged (though under certain conditions it can be aged some). Pinot Grigio does differentiate itself from the French Pinot Gris by being drier in taste, with a touch of the mineral. The French version tends to be fruitier. Another version of wine from the same grape comes from Alsace and is quite sweet. For a “deep dive,” as Madeline Puckette of Wine Folly says, go to “The 3 Types of Pinot Grigio” winefolly.com. If you want a short video of an actual tasting of a good Pinot Grigio, click on this video from Santavinea youtube.com.

Food, Glorious Food…

Just the basics: Cooked Shrimp Photo credit Maria Labada from unsplash.com

As we know, Venice sits on the water, its buildings resting on a forest of enormous wooden pilings driven into the ground below the surface of the sea. The sea surrounds it and runs through it, so what kind of foods might one eat with a Pinot Grigio Venezia? Seafood! Right! But that is not all. It goes marvelously with a basic, like a good slice of bread and some raw ham. In fact various meat dishes, from roast pork to fried chicken, can be had with a nice glass of Pinot Grigio. To get the low down on some of the wonderful possibilities see “12 Recipes that Go Gaga for Pinot Grigio” by Carl Hansen on allrecipes.com

Finally should you want a 3.5 minute virtual vacation, I send you to Oliver Astrologo’s video on Venice. youtube.com

Should you want to taste wines from around the world, try Cellars Wine Club’s International Wine Club. You can click this link cellarswineclub.com or investigate by looking at the Cellars Wine Club page in the righthand column on this page.

Photos of food and wine are from free photo sites or live-linked to web sources.

Of Art and Wine affiliates with Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.

©marjorie vernelle 2020

Coming Soon on Of Art and Wine: Carel Fabritius’ Goldfinch and Netherlands Wines.

This little painting of a lonely, little bird chained to its perch is a small masterpiece by Carel Fabritius done in 1654. Some of its current fame comes from Donna Tartt’s novel by the same name, a wonderful read by the way. However, one real mystery surrounding the painting is about whether Fabritius taught Vermeer, making him the link in art history between Rembrandt and Vermeer. Here, on Of Art and Wine, of course, we add an additional element of surprise – Netherlands Wine!

Picasso, Matisse, and Tibouren (Antibois) Wine.

Guitar by Pablo Picasso, 1912 and Dance by Henri Matisse, 1909-1910

Here we have works by two of the 20th century’s greatest artists, and as in their friendship (and rivalry), the works play off of one another, with perhaps Matisse’s dance being done to the music of Picasso’s guitar. Henri Matisse (1869-1954) is the most prominent of the adherents of a short-lived movement called Fauvism (c. 1903-1908). The word comes from the French, fauve, meaning wild beast. Now what was so wild about Fauvism? Well, just think back to the painting of the 19th century. Often it consisted of very well formulated representational work. Even the Impressionists did paintings where one could still see recognizable realistic images of people and landscapes. The Fauves did not adhere to that. They used colors that had no relationship to the objects they painted; their work often looked flat and without much dimension; and they painted the moods and emotions of the artist rather than an external image. Wild!

Woman with a Hat (Mme. Matisse 1905) came as quite a shock to the established ideas of what a painting was supposed to look like. Though Van Gogh and Gaugain had already started the process, Matisse took it to the next level. While the works of the Fauves set the Paris art world on its heels, there were some very smart American art collectors interested in this work, especially the work of Matisse. They were the Steins: Michael, Leo, and Gertrude.

It was Gertrude Stein who introduced Matisse, a conservative man born into a bourgeois family who were in the flower trade, to Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), a younger painter from Malaga, Spain, who was, in words written later by Françoise Gilot, “A foreigner, who benefited from a romantic aura that transformed his irrational and erratic declarations into seducing enigmas.” Matisse, who gathered other artists about him for intellectual discussions on art, was also known to keep his bourgeois distance from the more bohemian art set that went to the same café, Le Dome, in Montparnasse. He would sit in the café “…with a vague and distant look, lost in his thoughts, with a severe and distant demeanor: a real sphinx” (Gilot). Stein introduced the two artists to see what fireworks might happen.

Well, it can’t be said that there were never fireworks. Matisse was particularly upset when Picasso lured André Derain and Georges Braque away from the Fauves to a new movement of which Picasso was the leading adherent, Cubism. The Guitar shown above is an example of one of Picasso’s early cubist paintings. However, that did not stop Matisse from recommending that one of his collectors, Russian businessman Sergei Shchukin, look also at Picasso’s work. Shchukin over the years would come to purchase 50 works by Picasso, while continuing to collect Matisse as well.

Polar Opposites

From the way they spoke, Matisse’s speech being described as a precise, well-pronounced stream of words with the flow of an indolent river, and Picasso’s speech being a French that was far from “au courant” (up to speed or commonly understood), right down to the way they worked, the two artists were polar opposites. Matisse’s studio was filled with objects of interest that could be used in his paintings. Though he knew the structure of the female body well, he still used live models. As for Picasso, while he does have portraits of the women he loved and others like the young French model, Sylvette (see Picasso’s Muse Sylvette, youtube.com), most of his work came from images in his head. His chairs, guitars, pots, fruits, females, etc. were all from memory and imagination.

Odalisque by Henri Matiss, 1923 Expressionist style painting.

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon by Pablo Picasso, 1907

In looking at these two examples, it is clear to see how Matisse dealt with the female form to capture the mood of this woman, unconcious while she naps, surrounding her with lush colors, perhaps reminiscent of the flowers his family traded in. Picasso’s demoiselles, who perhaps not so oddly all look like him, are presented almost as specters of a somewhat demented dream. Their styles of painting differed as well. Matisse washed down the painting he had done at the end of the day, only to begin again the next day with a more refined version. Picasso simply overpainted his canvases until he arrived at what he finally wanted, leaving sometimes as many as thirty versions of the painting in layers underneath the final version. (Gilot)

Neither of the artists left France during World War II. Matisse moved about Nice, from near the sea on the Cours Saleya (in the yellow building at the far eastern end) to the pristine elegance of the Regina, an superb former hotel where Queen Victoria had stayed high up in the hills of Cimiez, and then to Vence. Picasso stayed self-sequestered in his studio in Paris, where he painted alone but in the socially distant company of several paintings by Matisse. Picasso, in fact, purchased at least 10 Matisse paintings during his lifetime. Matisse never purchased a Picasso, though the painters sometimes traded paintings.

When Matisse died, Picasso did a series of Odalisque paintings perhaps in tribute to his long-time friend (and friendly rival). Some say that Matisse, who was always generous to Picasso, was a type of father-figure. Picasso at times certainly acted like a rebellious son. Yet each knew to look seriously at the work of the other to contemplate and understand it. Even though criticisms would be made, it was a valuable dialogue between these greats who contributed so much to how we see art now. Both are, of course, now gone, so only their work remains to talk to us. However, as always, the river of art flows on, so we will see what comes up around the next bend.

Francoise Gilot’s wonderful book Matisse and Picasso, a Friendship in Art, was first published in the U.S. in 1990. She was the artist-companion of Picasso when he moved to the south of France and bore him two children. The version I have is in French, and the translations above are my own.

The art works discussed are in public domain in the U.S.

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

A Tricky Grape named for Antibes but best known as Tibouren.

A montage of images from Clos Cibonne, a premier vintner of Tibouren rosé. Photos from demaisondeselections.com

So where are we exactly when we talk about Côtes de Provence. Well, it is in southeastern France along the Mediterranean coast. It starts roughly near Marseilles and extends east through the Var and into the Maritime Alps. While the region produces both red and white wines, its speciality is rosé, in particular some of the palest pink wines anywhere.

However, a full-bodied rosé is produced there as well, and the grape that produces it bears a name that refers to the lovely seaside town I once lived in, Antibes. The grape is a dark grape with a black skin that may have originally come from the middle east via the Greeks who first settled the coast of Provence along what is now the French Riviera. They founded the cities of Marseille (Massilia), Nice (Nikea) and Antibes (Antipolis). The grape often called Tibouren is also known as Antibois, which means “from Antibes.” And as always there is a bit of local rivalry involved between Nice (Nikea, the larger city the Greeks founded) and its smaller counterpart across the Bay of Angels, Antibes (Antipolis, meaning the other city). This rivalry comes in the form of another name for wine made from this Antibois grape, which is Bianco di Nizza (White Wine of Nice).

Local rivalries aside, there is not a great quantity of this grape grown or wine produced because of certain difficulties caused by the local spring weather. Spring on the Côte d’Azur can be tricky, sometimes cold and rainy or the opposite, high out-of-season temperatures. This seasonal variance can cause the vines not to pollinate or to “shatter,” hence no grapes. (The French word for this misfortune is coulure.)

When things go well, the bunches may be irregular in shape with grapes ranging in color from dark purple to light pink. The wine has the taste of herbs and is quite aromatic, though rather dry. In terms of food pairings, well, my favorite is magret de canard a l’orange (duck breast with orange sauce) along with a salad of fresh greens with some asparagus tips sprinkled in and tossed with a bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice and olive oil. The salad is pretty easy, but for a good recipe for magret de canard a l’orange, I send you to Laura Tobin, at yourguardianchef.com. She is an Italian living in France, so you are sure to get the best of two great culinary traditions.

All I can do now is leave you a picture of my old “home town” in France (well, one of my old home towns in France but always my sentimental favorite). And when you go there, make sure to taste Tibouren or Antibois rosé. It will make you feel right at home.

Vieil Antibes (Old Town Antibes) and the famous ramparts with the Grimaldi Chateau and the Saracen Tower .

While you may not be on your way to Antibes soon, there is another way to taste good wines. Try Cellars Wine Club’s International Wine Club. The selection comes from the best vintners; there is a “no bad bottle” return policy; and shipping is free. Click here cellarswineclub.com or go to the Cellars Wine Club page on the right side of this screen.

Photos above are free stock photos or live-linked to specific websites.

Of Art and Wine affiliates with Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.

©marjorie vernelle 2020

Coming soon on Of Art and Wine, The Great Vedutisti of Venice, and Pinot Grigio Venezia.

Venice, Italy and the famous Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal.

Now we take photos of Venice, but in the 18th century it was the painters who captured the unforgettable beauty of Venice. While Canaletto is the most famous, there were others who also became known as “vedutisti” or painters of Venetian scenes, like Francesco Guardi. Comparing the work of Canaletto, Guardi and the other vedusiti shows slightly different versions of the same city. Some views are more perfectly static and the others more granularly alive. How much of this was the city and how much was the artist’s temperament is fun to speculate upon.

Did Juan de Pareja lead a double life? Tempranillo!

Portrait of Juan de Pareja by Diego Rodriquez de Silva y Velázquez, 1650. The Metropolitan Museum, New York. metmuseum.org

Above you see the portrait of Juan de Pareja (1606 or 1610-1670). Look at him carefully. What do you see? Certainly his light cinnamon-colored skin and his full, unevenly shaped hair point to his Moorish heritage. He wears a white lace collar, slightly rumbled, over very ordinary, dark, well-worn clothing – no satins or silks. He looks out at the viewer with his eyes cast to his right, yet they still meet the viewer with sensitivity and intelligence. He is a person of quiet dignity, one who demands and deserves basic respect for his humanity. Juan de Pareja referred to himself as Velázquez’ “assistant.” By law, however, Juan de Pareja was a slave.

This is a self-portrait of Diego Rodriquez de Silva y Velázquez, painted in 1645. He is dressed as any fine Spanish gentleman of the time would have wanted himself to be seen. His clothing is dark as was the style, though one can detect a sleeve with the glimmer of a costly fabric and traces of silver here ad there. One hand is gloved and the other bare but curled back and resting on his hip (a painter would love to show off by painting that). He, too, looks to his right with one sharply focused eye while the other side of his face is in shadow. And yes, he also has a head of full, rather fluffy hair.

Velázquez came to Madrid from his home in Seville in 1622 and began making a name for himself. By 1624, the new king, Phillip IV, had moved the painter and his family permanently to Madrid. Veláquez became particularly famous for his portraits and ultimately became the favorite painter of King Phillip IV’s royal court. The culmination of that sojourn as court painter is Las Meninas (1656), his painting of the Spanish princess, Margarita Teresa, and various courtiers, with the indication from a mirror view of the King and Queen coming to visit the studio.

Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez. 1656 the Prado Museum in Madrid museodelprado.es

Velázquez was so in love with showing off his mastery that on one of his sojourns in Italy, on a visit to the Pope in 1650, he decided to do a quick portrait of his slave, Juan de Pareja. The portrait (see above) was of such quality and expression that when it was put on display “…in the opinion of all the painters of different nations, everything else seemed like painting but this alone like truth” (see metmuseum.org). There are some who say that the strength of the expression captured in this painting and its great acclaim led to Velázquez’ decision to free Juan de Pareja in 1650. So there it is, all wrapped up in a tidy package, a lovely story short enough for any online mini-biography. However, a deeper dive indicates something that might have been quite a bit different.

“Ni el mar tiene narajas, ni Sevilla tiene amor.”

“There are no oranges in the sea, nor is there love in Seville.” (my translation)

Velázquez was from Seville. However, he had an aunt who lived some 80 miles away in Antequera in the Province of Malaga. It was there in 1606 or perhaps 1610, about three years before (or one year after) the Moors were expulsed from the city, that Juan de Pareja was born to a Moorish slave named Zulema and a Spanish father named Juan. Zulema worked in the household of Velázquez’ aunt, but Zulema died when Juan was 5 years old, leaving him as a household slave. He was known in his lifetime as a sensitive, perceptive, and literate person. All of that must have begun in that household.

Here is where it gets interesting. Slaves were not allowed to become painters. In fact, during all the years that Juan worked in Velázquez’ studio, beginning in 1630, he was not allowed to paint by order of Velázquez, as slaves were not deemed capable of doing the kind of work the master painter could do. Velázquez was not necessarily evil for that, for he like others adhered to what was the societal norm. The thing is, of course, that it was self-serving as it helped eliminte competition and boosted the ego at the expense of someone else. Yet, before arrival in Madrid to work with Velázquez, Juan de Pareja had gone to Seville, and had passed the examination to be designated offically as a painter. In fact in 1630, the year he moved to Madrid after Velazquez’ aunt died and left her nephew all her property, de Pareja got permission from a high official in Seville to move to Madrid to further his studies in painting. These documents are referred to by those who question that Juan de Pareja was really a slave. Yet in 1650, the manumission documents issued by Velazquez to free Juan are also on record.

Did Juan de Pareja lead a double life?

Princess Margarita Teresa by Velazquez, 1656, and Portrait of a Girl by Juan de Pareja, date unknown

Here is my theory. Juan de Pareja, obviously went off to Seville, a city where he was not known as a slave and passed the exam that allowed him to become a painter. He also got formal permission for that move to Madrid most likely percipitated by the death of Velázquez’ aunt and her nephew’s taking over of her estate. However, the reason he gave in Seville was that he wanted to further his studies in painting. This would be in alignment with his status in Seville as a painter. It is said that Velázquez forbade Juan from painting, yet de Pareja painted in secret.

This leads to the most commonly told version of how he officially got emancipated in Spain. In 1654 King Phillip IV came for an official visit to Velázquez’ studio. Juan was to set up the display of paintings. In doing so, he put his own paintings up to be seen first. When the king arrived and marvelled at the wonderful work, de Pareja prostrated himself before the king and asked to become known as a painter. When Velzquez arrives to greet the king, his majesty says in shock that a man who paints like this cannot be a slave! Oops! Velázquez got the message and freed Juan. (There are manumission documents in Rome in 1650 showing that Velazquez freed de Pareja, so perhaps it had to be done in Spain, too.)

However, in an interesting turn about that probably hints at the long relationship of de Pareja and the Velázquez family, Juan de Pareja, who had worked with Velázquez for 24 years at that point, continued to work in his studio until Velázquez’ death in 1660. At that point, however, he worked openly as a painter. Juan continued to live and work in Madrid until his own death in 1670. There are at least nine of his paintings that hang in museums around the world, including in the Prado in Madrid, at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, and several museums in the U.S.A. A full list of his paintings and the museums are given here en.wikipidia.org

In a way, art was Juan de Pareja’s personl burden and frustration, yet it may also have been his lifeline and ultimately his doorway to freedom. When I look at his famous portrait, I see not only dignity but also a quiet courage, the courage it took to be who he really was, a talented painter, even in a society that said he could not be that. For another perspective on this story and on the painting of Juan de Parejo, visit the Artist Project piece by Julie Mehretu on youtube.com.

For more on Juan de Pareja check these articles: “The Soul of Juan de Pareja” by Terence Clarke, huffpost.com; “Juan de Pareja” by Robert Fikes, blackpast.org; “A Closer Look at Diego Velázquez’ Portrait of Juan de Pareja – ONSTAGE” onstage.goodmantheatre.org; and for a scholarly article on Pareja’s life as a painter, there is “The Fall into Oblivion of the Works of the Slave Painter, Juan de Pareja” by Carmen Fracchia of the University of London on researchgate.net

In an update to the list of references above is a new article (04/09/23) in the New York Times “A Familiar Face at the Met, Now in His Own Light” nytimes.com

The paintings used here are in Public Domain.

The Wines of La Rioja, Olé!

The history of La Rioja as a wine producing area is long. In the 11th century B.C., the Phoenicians were present in the area and making wine. A thousand years later, the Romans were cultivating grapes there. In the Middle Ages the pilgrims to Santiago de Campostela passed through the area and reported on the wonderful quality of the wines. (What? Wine while on a holy pilgrimage! Why not?). One of the keys to the region’s success is a grape that is native to the area, the Tempranillo.

Tempranillo is a grape that ripens a bit earlier than other varieties, hence its name which is a diminutive of “temprano” or early in Spanish. It has a fruity taste of plums and cherries, as its deep color would indicate. With aging it might take on the aromas of tobacco, leather, clove, or vanilla. It has a medium range in terms of tannin and in acidity as well with a ABV of 13.5-14%. This is a grape that makes a full-bodied red wine that is a dream pairing with meats. Check out the recipes in the link below to the Last Bottle website.

Rosemary braised lamb shanks. Photo from the Last Bottle
http://blog.lastbottlewines.com/learn-wine/tempranillo/

Tempranillo is used in blends made in Rioja that are a good and less expensive alternative to French Bordeaux. There is another French connection and that came about in the 19th century during the phylloxera epidemic that destroyed many of France’s vineyards. With the devastation in France, French vintners came to Spain to invest in wine-growing areas and along with them came aging the wine up to 13-18 months in French Oak. This process gives the wines subtle notes of spice and allows some Tempranillo wines to have a flavor between that of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.

However, French Oak is expensive, so the Spanish growers sought out a more economical oak barrel and found it in America. American oak can be called “expressive” (how very American) and adds flavors of dill, vanilla, and even coconut. It is American oak that is used in the production of Vina Real Rioja Blanco, a white wine that pairs wonderfully with seafood and paella.

La Rioja has some 14,800 wine growers whose wines are present in 130 countries around the globe. It is Spain’s best wine-growing region and to quote a comment in VinePair.com, “La Rioja is Spain in a glass of red wine.” With so much going on there in terms of wine production made with Tempranillo and blends of it with other grapes like the Graciano, it is no wonder that the area is primed for wine tourism.

Haro is the epicenter of wine tasting in the general area and holds its own wine festival every year to celebrate St. Peter’s Day in late June where they party hearty. However, November 12th is specifically Tempranillo Day and internationally celebrated not unlike the French Beaujolais Nouveau at the end of November.

Ayngelina Brogan presents a little taste of what it is like to visit the bodegas (wine cellars) of Haro in her video “Where to Drink Wine in Haro” youtube.com For a more substantial tour, try “The Wines of Rioja and Ribera del Duero” youtube.com

The Tempranillo grape has found new homes around the world in South Africa, Argentina and of course, California which has the perfect cool nights and hot days that bring out the best in the grape. However, Spain is still its heart, producing a wide variety of wines either made of only Tempranillo grapes or ones in which the grape is blended with others. Age is important in things other than oak barrels, as Baron de Chivel wine proves by producing its dark cherry and spice-like aromas from 100 year old vines.

So there is no reason not to try this wonderful competitor to Bordeaux or other international wines. One way is to join a wine club like Cellars Wine Club which has an International Wine Club. See this link cellarswineclub.com or look at the Cellars Wine Club page in the right column under Pages.

Photos are either free stock photos or are live-linked to specific websites.

Of Art and Wine affiliates with Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.

©marjorie vernelle 2020

Coming Next on Of Art and Wine: Picasso and Matisse, plus Tibouren (Antibois) Wine

How wonderful! Matisse’s Dance being done to the strains of Picasso’s Guitar. Oh, had only their relationship always been as harmonious. Two of the greatest artists of the 20th century, two different temperaments, a great friendship, and a great rivalry all happened along the French Riviera. Perhaps a bit more of the wonderful light wines grown along the Côte d’Azur might have helped.

The Portrait, Ancient to Modern, and Sémillon Wine.

Queen Nefertari, Queen, 1st Royal Wife, Consort, and Favorite, the One for Whom the Sun Shines. Egypt c. 1250 B.C.E., Reign of Ramses II.

Humans all long to be seen, to be known, to be remembered in some way. That was true even of the caveman who, when finished painting wild and wonderful animals, purposedly left his handprint on the grotto wall he had just painted. Unfortunately for most of us throughout our many earthly lives (reincarnation, anyone?), it took being someone very important to have our image captured for posterity. The lady above was one such person. Her name was Nefertari, or “Beautiful Companion,” which is what she was to one of Ancient Egypt’s most powerful rulers, Ramses II. He provided one of the most elaborate tombs in the Valley of the Queens (QV66) for her, his Queen for some 25 years. The tomb is filled with images of the gods and Nefertari. British archeologist Joanne Fletcher seems to think that Nefertari made the tomb about herself after living so long with an ego-maniac like Ramses. However, others point out that it was Ramses who had the tomb constructed and decorated. That might indicate that his focus was on preserving the memory of his beautiful companion and not for once on his own image.

When considering the images of the queen as art, the rules of Ancient Egyptian art were rather strict. The body was shown with the upper body facing forward, while the lower body was in profile. The shoulders twisted so that the arms were in profile, and most importantly the face was shown in profile, but with the eye as though seen face on. Naturally queens were dressed always in the finest gowns and headdresses, and that is no different here. What is a bit different is how the artists of the time distinquished Nefertari from other queens and even representations of the goddess Hathor. The differences are subtle, but in her facial portraits, Nefertari’s nose has a slight downward turn to it. Her neck shows a few creases, and most often she is wearing what appears to be a white earring. It was their artists’ way of representing silver, a rarity in Egypt, a land of gold. Ramses built his queen a House of Eternity filled with portraits of her to forever keep her memory, and the artists made those little allowable distinctions so that one would always recognize her.

Fun adventure: An international group of artists and art historians have created a special project: The Tomb of Nefertari 3d-Reconstruction. You can click here to take the virtual visit youtube.com

Justinian and Theodora, rulers of the Byzantine Empire. Mosaic portraits from the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy, c. 547 A.D.

Unlike the Egyptians who made painted portraits, the Romans established the tradition of “saying it in stone,” which meant mosaic. That carried forward into their eastern empire known as Byzantium. These mosaic portraits, though, show a stylization that one does not see in ancient sculpted portraits which strove for realism (Roman) or idealism (Greek). There are individual characteristics, like Justinian’s moustache and double chin, but the stylistic traits are dominant. The figures are fully frontal and the faces have exceptionally large eyes. Interestingly, Justinian’s eyes stare out at us in a stern, firm gaze. He is the Emperor after all. Theodora on the other hand has eyes that seem a bit unfocused as though she is dreaming or scheming. Of course, it was one of her schemes that saved his skin and his throne, but I will let you all look that one up.

In terms of the Middle Ages, suffice it to say that the portraits of the kings all looked alike. They wore a hair bob that ended at the chin with a roll of curls on either side. One knows it is a king because they all wear a generic crown. Simply put, it was “This is the king. Got it?” The fellow represented here is King Jean II of France, known as Jean le Bon (John the Good). He spent a lot of time in captivity in England which might account for his scruffy look, though this painting was done c. 1350 at the beginning of his reign. It is considered to be the first attempt at portraying a realistic portrait of a European monarch.

Certainly when we look at the scraggly beard and the rather unkempt hair, he does not look particularly kingly, even though he does have a rather dominant nose, not unknown among the French. Oh well, the Hundred Years War was tough on everyone. Notice here the profile once again. Many paintings from this time and into the Renaissance were done from profiles of the monarch or ruler as seen on coinage. Such for example was Pontormo’s 16th century portrait of Cosimo de Medici, the Elder, who died in 1464. The portrait was done all those years later from a profile on a coin minted in Florence during Cosimo’s time in power.

However, time marches on and so does painting and portraiture. Below are three great pieces of portraiture done in the 15th century, 16th century and 17th century.

Van Eyck Man in Red Turban, 1433 da Vinci Mona Lisa c. 1503-1519, Vermeer Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1665

What happened? Well, the first painting is the product of what is known as the Northern Renaissance. The artist is Jan Van Eyck, yes, he of the Ghent Altarpiece, and this may actually be a self-portrait. The wonderful realism comes from his great talent, his use of oil paints, and quite possibly the use of lenses to project and magnify. The paintings of the Flemish painters of this time are remarkable for their realism and prefigure the High Renaissance in Italy because of the use of oil paints, which arrived in Italy through Venice around 1475.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa may have been the portrait of the wife of a rich merchant named Giogonda or an image of the idealized mother painted for a scion of the Medici family whose illegitimate son’s mother had died in childbirth. The father wanted Leonardo to create a mother image for the child to gaze upon. Whatever the story, Leonardo never delivered the painting, but carried it with him to France, where it now resides in the Louvre, under heavy protection. While there is much to do about her smile, when one looks at the real painting (I have been lucky enough to stand within a few feet of it before the new security came into place), one is impressed with the softness of the hands which look like you could touch them and feel their warmth.

Finally Vermeer’s famous Girl with a Pearl Earring, which is fast becoming the new Mona Lisa, seems almost photographic as it catches the girl in mid-movement. The pose is one of a natural movement of the body; her lips are slightly parted as if about to speak; and the black background brings her forward into our space as we wait to hear what she is going to say.

One thing to note about those portraits is the democratization of portraiture. None of those beautiful pieces is of a king or queen. The girl in Vermeer’s piece might even have been a servant if not one of his daughters. Yet the focus is clearly on capturing the image, especially in those days before photography.

Then along came Picasso. Well, not immediately, but we have to move along. While one at once thinks of frighteningly deconstructed images of women with eyes, ears, mouth and nose not in any normal place, the old man had a bit of poetry in his soul. (He was in his 60s when he met Françoise Gilot pictured here, 1946.) He could capture the wistfulness in her expression amplified by the Medusa-like swirls of the strands of her curly hair.

In the fine tradition of Van Eyck’s red-turbaned man with the penetrating eyes and Vermeer’s mysterious girl, capturing expression comes to the fore, especially after photography arrives. It was no longer just about making the likeness of the sitter and their fine and distinquished clothing, jewels, etc. The sitters were no longer just nobility or wealthy patrons. The ordinary person could be posed in any setting and attention to expression made up for the regal poses and the details of fancy clothes.

The portrait below is of an artists’ model, Sarie. Take a good look at her, and tell me, if you can, what she is concentrating on. What object or activity has caught the flicker of light in her eye? What would be her determination about what she sees? And what would make her smile?

The artist, Rita Scafidi, in rapid strokes of oil paint, captures a view of the model’s face from an angle that she, the artist, chose to view the general pose. That choice emphasizes the role of compostion in the creation of a fascinating image. Scafidi uses a limited palette of browns, rose-pink, violet, pale blue, and the white of the canvas. She works the color combinations to play off of one another. The structure of the face is formed by the mixture of pink, violet and a touch of brown to provide the appropriate shadows and definition. The white of the canvas remains in strategic places, indicating the bright light shown on the face which lightens the forehead and the nose, and softly allows the right side of the face to fade into that light. What remains is the right eye, which, though softer in appearance than the left eye, is no less focused.

The side of the face that disappears is bordered in a soft way by the pinkish background, a color relating to the shadow side of the face. The dark hair provides a contrast and leads us once again to the eyes and brows. The tiny dash of pink at the top of the nose matches one on the lower lip, helping the eye move down the face. Masterfully, the pale blue that is in the left corner of the background appears also as a tiny touch in the corner of the left eye, and the hair has a few bits of that rosy violet found in the shadows of the cheek. Tiny things, but each one works in coordination with the others to make the portrait emerge from the pale background.

Rita Scafidi works her wonders in paint weekly in life drawing studios. But that is not all. She is also dedicated to helping people learn to draw, saying to her students that everyone can draw. For more of her lessons just go to her youtube channel, handily named Rita, youtube.com.

Paintings are either in Public Domain, or used in accordance with Fair Use Policy for purposes of review and critique. Scafidi’s work is used with her permission.

Sémillon, a grape of unclear origins and delicious wine.

Sémillon grapes on the vine. Photo from Vin de Bordeaux from www.bordeaux.com

Okay, so you have never heard of Sémillon grapes or the wines made from them. Don’t feel bad. They are something of an insiders’ variety, even though the grapes are grown and wines made in France, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, South Africa and Washington State. Sémillon is France’s third most popular white wine. That alone tells us it is time to get to know about this luscious golden grape.

True its origins are unclear. It seems genetically related to the Sauvignon Blanc grape, one that it is frequently mixed with to make various blends of Bordeaux. However, it cannot be said that the two grapes come from the same source. There is a wild tale of it being related to the Merwah grape, a reddish purple grape which comes from Lebanon. However, no one knows how that one would have gotten to southwestern France (the Crusades?), nor why its genetics don’t match as well as do the ones from Sauvignon Blanc. The final verdict is that the 72% of these grapes are grown in France near the Gironde river in the area known as Bordeaux. It is suspected that the name comes from a quick pronunciation of Saint Emillion, a town in the area.

Glass of Sémillon Note the golden color.

The most celebrated ones are grown in cool climates like Bordeaux, the Hunter Valley in Australia, and Washington State. Those areas produce a wine that is crisp and fresh like Sauvignon Blanc. However, if it is oaked, the flavor is more creamy or buttery, with hints of apple, pear, and lemon. The oaking brings out a flavor more like an oaked Chardonnay. The fact that is has a medium to full body makes it a good blending ingredient in the making of Bordeaux wines, especially White Bordeaux (by the way, that goes swell with sushi).

Ah yes, food. Sémillon is rather food friendly. It goes quite well with a lovely cheese platter like the one pictured here. It works well also with white meats, and all types of fish, including shellfish. It compliments and stands up well to lightly spiced Indian and Asian food, as well as grilled or roasted vegetables. For those of you who have a soft spot for fois gras, the sweet dessert versions of Sémillon are a perfect match.

Pourriture Noble, ah the French have a name for everything.

When speaking of dessert wines, Sémillon comes into its own. It is a primary ingredient in many Sauternes and often carries that taste of apple, pear and lemon as hints of candied fruits. With age, it can have notes of spice, dried fruits, and honey. Why this grape is so useful in making dessert wines comes from its tendency to get a type of rot, botrytis, which comes from a fungus. Vintners over the centuries of course learn to use every iteration of the grape, and here that rot has taken on the poetic name pourriture noble or “noble rot.” It is that rot that adds to the sweetness of the grape, making it perfect for a dessert wine.

So now you know about a different wine, one not too commonly spoken of. If you want more detailed information, I turn you over to Jancis Robinson at www.jancisrobinson.com, who can take you through a more complete look at this grape. In terms of tasting the wine, you might want to try a wine club like Cellars Wine Club’s West Coast Wine Club, which has selections from Washington state, where Sémillon is produced here in the U.S. You can look that up on the page in the right hand column or go directly to cellarswineclub.com.

So now you can go to Rita Scafidi’s youtube channel and take a painting lesson while you treat your taste buds to a glass of Sémillon or even Sémillon-Sauvignon. An embarrassment of riches, indeed.

Paintings used are in public domain, except for the portrait by Scafidi which is used with the artist’s permission. Photos of wine are from free stock photos or linked to a specific website.

Of Art and Wine affiliates with Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.

©marjorie vernelle 2020

Coming next on Of Art and Wine:Did Juan de Pareja lead a double life? Tempranillo!

Self portrait of Diego Velazquez from Las Meninas, 1656, and Velazquez’ portrati of Juan de Pareja, 1650.

Diego Rodriquez de Silva y Vélasquez (1599 – 1660) is one of Spain’s most famous painters. His self-portrait above is from his masterpiece Las Meninas (1656), a painting of the young Princess Marguerita and members of the court. It is probably his most well-known painting. However, the portrait he did of his slave, Juan de Pareja (1650) was deemed to be beyond painting, rather more a portrait of truth. Such was the acclaim that in 1654, Vélasquez emancipated Juan de Pareja, who lived on in Madrid as a painter, himself. Come find out about this interesting tale and about the famous Spanish wine-producting region, La Rioja.

Still Life, Chardin, and Merlot

**Still Life with Plums by Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin, 1730**

“I must forget everything I have seen and even forget the way such objects have been treated by others.” Chardin

Sometimes, heroism comes in almost undetected ways. The 18th century was known for its over-the-top, heavily designed, and embellished work in a rather aristocratic style known as Rococo. Serious paintings in that day were only supposed to concern themselves with great, classical, historical events. Genre scenes and little still life paintings were actually considered “craft” by the tastes of the period. However, Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin, a son of bourgeois artisan cabinet makers, held to his interest in the small, the everyday, the commonly beautiful things of life and to seeing them anew, fresh, and unique. In doing so, he continued the long human tradition of painting objects, or still life, as we call it, and became one of the great masters of it.

Still life paintings go back a long way, with the first ones appearing in the tombs of Ancient Egypt. The Greeks and Romans improved on the rather flat representations of fruits, meats, and fish that the Egyptians had done by adding some depth. In the example here, from Herculaneum (c.50 A.D.), we see peaches on shelves along with a wonderful rendering of a glass jar with liquid in it.

Still life paintings show up in the Middle Ages often as decorative borders in illuminated manuscripts. As Europe moved into the Renaissance, paintings sometimes had small lovely still life compositions as part of the general setting of a larger work. Below we can see an example from Van Eyke’s The Arnolfini Marriage Portrait, 1434, where there is a casual representation of items indicating domesticity, like the fruit on the window sill and the table. Of course in the 17th century, painters like Pieter Claesz did banquet pieces showing huge glasses of wine. One also has the little wonders found in works done by Vermeer, like the white wine jar in The Glass of Wine, 1660.

**Fruit on table by Jan Van Eyke, a roemer by Pieter Claesz, and a wine pot by Vermeer**

A bit earlier, 1428, Robert Campin’s Merode Altarpiece has perhaps the most elegant drifting smoke ever painted. (The pot, the flowers and the book aren’t bad either.)

Detail of Merode Altarpiece by Robert Campin, 1428

“Who says one paints with colors? One employs colors; one paints with feelings.” Chardin

The Ray by Chardin, 1727, in the Lourve Museum, Paris.

While Chardin also painted genre paintings of daily life, his real mastery was in the still life paintings. His most famous one, The Ray, 1728, which now hangs in the Louvre, shows a table above which a dead ray fish is hanging. He adds in a bit of a narrative with the cat that is obviously interested in those oysters. It shows the rather brutal reality of life, which includes the death of the things we eat. It is not a lovely sight, but it is a real one and not done in the soft light of many of his other still life paintings, like for instance The Seville Orange, Silver Goblet, Apples, Pear, and Two Bottles, 1750. (See below)

**The Seville Orange, Silver Goblet, Apples, Pear, and Two Bottles, 1750 by Chardin**

Here unlike the jumble of items on the table in The Ray, the setting is simple with the items each in their own space. The stand out, literally because of its position, is the Seville orange. It is pushed to the edge of the table almost like an offering. We see the roughness of the orange peel as opposed to the smooth surfaces of the apples. It’s an exotic creature, different from the northern fruits. As proof, it still bears a leaf and long stem from the tree which bore it somewhere in the southern reaches of Spain, the land where the Moors first introduced citrus fruits to Europe (along with sugarcane). The painting balances the warm colors of the orange, the apples, and pear with the cool blue glass of one of the bottles and the shiny silver of the goblet. The shine on that goblet even allows for a tiny mirror image still life. All of the items sit upon what looks like a stone ledge and are posed against a bluish/gray background that itself has hints of beige/brown shadows. This works as a way to tie it into that ledge and the one bottle of brownish liquid in order to balance the color scheme of the painting. But what about the feeling? To me this seems the story of a visual conversation with each item speaking in its own voice, perhaps to welcome that exotic stranger from Seville that sits a bit apart from them.

Chardin liked telling stories. His genre scenes once again are of the ordinary and the common place, but with attention to the beauty of simple things. Here we have children playing, with one blowing soap bubbles. The soapy water sits to one side, its white leading the eye to the bright forehead of the youngster and the highlights on the bubble. The delicacy of that bubble and the perfect roundness the young bubble blower is so carefully creating are as fragile as life itself, yet they are all in a day’s amusement.

And the beat goes on...

Still life painting remains with us even in this age of abstraction, color field painting, and deconstructed images. One very fine painter of still life that can both show the appreciation of individual objects, use colors and also tell a story is Ed McKay.

“Tea for Two” is an original 16×20 inch oil painting by G. Edward McKay. The painting depicts two ravens disruping a tea service with lemons.

In the oil painting above, he, like Chardin, employs colors beautifully but paints with feelings. Each object in the painting is balanced against the others. The yellow in the dish of herbs takes the eye to the warm yellows of the teapot handle, echoed by the rich yellow of the lemons. That trail of yellows takes the eye all the way across the canvas. The ravens come into play as well, as the raven in the foreground picks at a yellow almond cookie, while the raven on the tea chest sports some yellow head feathers. That use of yellow moves the eye from the bottom of the painting to the top. The contrast of the rich browns and grayish blues provide a sense of dimension and are sparked by those yellows. The alignment of the dish, cups, and teapot move in a diagonal echoed by the body of the raven in the foreground and offset by the diagonal body of the raven on the tea container.

Those diagonals give us the idea of action and tell us that those ravens are up to something. The highlights on the backs of the birds share the same pale blue as the teacups they have disturbed. One bird has claimed the Asian tea chest while his companion inspects an almond cookie. Both act as though they have been invited, though we know and they know that they have not. An interesting tale unfolds here on the table, which the viewer can interpret as he or she likes, making it all the more magical.

You can find more of Ed McKay’s fascinating work here at edmckayart.com and at Squash Blossom Gallery in Old Colorado City (Colorado Springs, CO. squashblossom.com). An article on the painter, “Ed McKay: An Artist’s Journey” can be found at vernellestudio.com

Note: The art works used here are in public domain, except that of Ed Mckay’s painting. It is used with the permission of the artist.

Who says they are not drinking any (expletive) Merlot?

Yes, there was such a thing as the Sideways effect. Sideways, the 2004 film focused on the power of wine, has a number of quotable lines, but the one that concerns us here is what was said about merlot. It really doesn’t taste like “the back of a (expletive) L.A. school bus.”

Merlot comes from a perfectly fine grape, though it seems to have become overused in wine making in the 1990s to the point where comments like the one that Paul Giamatti’s character makes in the film rang a bell with some wine drinkers. As reported in “The Sideways Effect”(npr.org), production using merlot was already sliding when the movie came out, because of over planting in not the best soil. However, after the film, the sales of merlot dropped while sales of pinot noir (the wine the film favored) gained some 16%.

However, the days of kicking merlot to the curb are over, because there really are things about a good merlot to be appreciated and valued. First of all the name is rather wonderful. Merlot is the French for blackbird, and the wine has a deep red color touched with the dark blue of the grape. That color helped it at the beginning of its comeback, as merlot, the color, was a fall fashion color for 2016. By 2017, Bloomberg News even announced that “The Sideways curse has lifted: Merlot is having a comeback.” More recently Marissa Ross on bonappetit.com officially declared that “Merlot is Back” and not in the sense of the TV people from Poltergeist.

Come on, who can stay mad at a grape like this? Certainly not those who are health and diet conscious. Merlot wine, which is dry, fits well with the Keto diet. A 5 oz glass of merlot has only about 4 grams of carbs (anything under 7 grams can be called low carb). If you prefer 3 grams of carbs, then a white merlot works nicely. White merlot is created by limiting the time the grape juices are allowed to be in contact with the dark skin of the grape. One.9 is a brand of merlot with only 1.9 grams. Best of all, you only take in 122 calories in that one 5 oz serving.

And now comes the best part: the food!

Grilled Lamb Chops with Merlot Photo from AlwaysRavenous.com

Lamb chops aren’t the only delicious idea for food pairings with merlot. Always Ravenous also presents a kale and butternut squash salad for the vegetable conscious among us and gives the complete recipe, along with several other yummy ideas (alwaysravenous.com). Beyond that there are always old standbys like filet mignon with mushroom sauce or other meats like pork or veal. It easily accompanies an appetizer plate of cold cuts and cheeses. Even mac and cheese goes well with merlot. How can we dismiss such a versatile wine? So let’s get back to some good basics and get a bottle of good merlot, and watch our weight with something that has a smooth taste with a hint of cherries and plums. Hmm, plums – makes me think of Chardin’s painting at the top of this page.

California is one of the best merlot growing areas on the planet. It is grown in both the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Here is where trying out a selection makes joining a wine club a handy thing to do. Cellars Wine Club has the West Coast Wine Club with excellent selections, a “no bad bottle” return policy and free shipping. Take a look here cellarswineclub.com or go to the page on Cellars Wine Club on the right of this page.

Of Art and Wine affiliates with Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.

©marjorie vernelle 2020

COMING SOON ON OF ART AND WINE: THE PORTRAIT, ANCIENT TO MODERN, AND SEMILLON WINE.

Queen Nefertari, c. 1250 B.C. , The Mona Lisa 1503-1519 , Sarie by Rita Scafidi, 2019.

Everyone wants to be known. Everyone wants to be remembered. Everyone wants to be seen. Since the first man polished a piece of copper so that it reflected his image, we have all been captives of the image. Some have had their images captured in what we came to know as portraits. Portraiture has a long history, and as with all human activity, it has changed as we have changed. Come scan that history and learn about a grape that has been around for a long time as well, Sémillon, and the wines and blends made from it.

Bronzino’s Allegory of Love and A Valentine for the Heart, Cabernet.

Allegory of Love or Allegory with Venus and Cupid by Agnolo Bronzino, c.1545. National Gallery, London Click on picture to magnify.

This masterpiece is by Agnolo Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo Toni or di Cosimo Mariano, 1503-1572). It was done for Cosimo I, Duke of Tuscany to be sent as a gift to Francis I, King of France. It features both Cupid, who lets fly his arrows without any conscious purpose, and his mother Venus, the Goddess of Love. Around them are a cast of characters, all of whom are significant in this allegory. Since allegories tell stories with a moral, or sometimes a hidden meaning, it is important to look at these figures to see what role they might be playing. However, the academic debate over what is happening here and the real reasons for which the painting was done remain unresolved. Let’s just start with the painting style.

“La Bella Maniera” or Mannerism

In the 16th century, European art was still in the Renaissance, where allegories featuring classical Greek and Roman deities were in fashion, especially among the well-educated noble and royal classes. The symbolic meanings were coded messages which were difficult if almost impossible for the general pubic to understand. Some art historians even think that this period was the first real “avant garde” movement in Western art because the artists took a lot of liberties. Some of the art almost approaches 19th century styles of art. The Cathoic Church decided by the end of the 16th century to pull all this back down to recognizable figures, with stories that regular people were familiar with, which fit in with its counter-reformation moves to oppose Protestantism. That art became the hallmark of the Baroque period, which started in the 17th century.

While on the topic of Bella Maniera, a thing to note besides the classical themes and hidden messages is the bold use of colors, especially pastels. One excellent example comes from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, which when first cleaned some years ago shocked the art world with is beautiful light pastel colors. Another example from that period is the painting here of biblical figures taking the body of Christ off the cross (The Deposition, 1528) by Pontormo (born Jacopo Carucci, 1494-1557), who was Bronzino’s teacher.

In Bronzino’s painting, the rich color tones are in the background and contrast with the white, almost marble-like bodies of the mythical characters of Venus, Cupid, and the small putti (angel) who carries rose petals to shower on the couple. Other aspects of Mannerism are exaggerated postures and curious images, all of which are seen here.

Now, of course, you are thinking, but wait Venus and Cupid are mother and son. What is this? So here is where the allegoical part comes in. Cupid is an unconscious being; love and lust is all he is about. He is pure id – if it feels good, do it. You will note that a word for sexual licentiousness is cupidity. Here Venus looks like a good enough partner (hints of the old Greek tale of Oedipus who through the working of fate married his own mother). However, though Cupid kisses and embraces Venus, it is Venus who holds Cupid’s arrow, meaning she is in control. (I will let you all think further on that one yourselves.) The little putti is along for the fun with no thought to anything else, hence why he is called Folly. Folly would certainly describe the actions of Cupid.

Now come the characters in the background. The old man with the extremely long arm is Father Time (see the hourglass on his shoulder). He is attempting to pull back the blue satin curtain to reveal the truth, while his blind daughter, Oblivion, wishes to pull it down over the whole scene. What truth about this activity lies behind that curtain? On the floor to the right are masks that have been tossed aside. What is being unmasked here? And on the left in the corner is one lone turtle dove, as opposed to the normal pair of love birds. All of these are signs that things are amiss.

This figure with the beautiful face and the honeycomb in her hand is called Fraud or Deceit. While her face captures the attention and her gift seems well-meaning, when one follows the green dress, one sees that she is a monster underneath. Part reptile, part wild beast, she is not to be trusted. Bronzino positioned her against that beautiful blue satin which draws attention to her pretty face. It takes a bit of looking at the details to see the rest of her story. So not unlike reading the fine print in a contract, the Devil is in the details. When the concept is applied to love, we can easily think of the deception of beautiful looks and attractive images that can turn out to be not beautiful at all.

So even though there is dispute about what some of these images are, one thing is clear. It is a painting about indiscretion and inappropriate lust. It may also be about the consequences of unbridled passions, a sort of 16th century health warning. For more on that, I will send you to this article from the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) The article looks in particular at the head of the screaming figure of a man (just to the left of Cupid’s back). Art historians say that this figure is Jealousy and that he is screaming in a jealous rage. Perhaps, but the doctors say he is screaming about something else.

This painting is itself a bit deceptive, not in the sense of fraud, but in the sense of veiled mockery. It is a skillful, beautiful masterpiece of a painting done by one of the period’s great painters. As such it was an appropriate gift from one important ruler to another, but did it serve another purpose? Francis I was a very cultured man, educated in the Humanist traditions and familiar with the classics. He was also quite the womanizer. Was Duke Cosimo mocking Francis for his licentiousness by reminding him of the consequences? When this painting arrived, Francis I was already very ill with the disease that would kill him a few years later, syphillis. So the real purpose of this painting may have been quite different from what some assume.

This painting is in Public Domain.

A Valentine for the Heart, Cabernet

Well, we have all heard of the French Paradox. You know, how French people fill themselves with cheeses, rich sauces, and creamy desserts, only to never gain much weight and not be bothered very much with heart disease. And there is the Mediterranean diet, which focuses on fresh fruits and vegetables but allows you to enjoy life by eating other things in moderate proportions. It is considered a very healthy choice. So what do these two have in common? It seems to be wine, and red wine in particular, with the wine suspected of being the secret ingredient in regard to heart health.

Now before continuing, let me make it clear that health professionals and I, as someone who follows their guidelines, do not suggest that people just take up drinking wine for its proported health benefits. Wine should be consumed in moderation and along with a healthy meal. Moderation means one 5 oz. glass for a woman and perhaps 2 of same for men under 65 (one glass for men over 65). Beyond that comes the question of what red wine does or does not do for the health of your heart.

The key ingredient in red wine may be something called resveratrol, which may be responsible for lower risk of inflammation and blood clots. However, there are also many anti-oxidents present in the wine which increase levels of HDL, or good cholesterol. However, the debate still rages, not unlike those in art history, about what the effects really are, whether there are other aspects in the lives of the study participants that affect their health, and even if any wine or alcohol might be just as efficient as red. Case in point, the Japanese seem to have lower risk for heart disease and they drink beers more than wines. Of course, they also eat a lot of fish and not much red meat.

However, since the jury is still out, and since Valentine’s Day is coming, let’s take a look at the wonders of the King of Red Wines, cabernet. (The title is mine, so it is unofficial, except here on my blog). In particular, let’s look at and compare cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon.

One thing that cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon have in common is the southwestern region of France in and around Bordeaux. The famous Bordeaux blends can be made up by mixing cabernet franc grapes and merlot or cabernet sauvignon grapes with merlot. The cabernet sauvignon grape in fact came into being when some cabernet franc fields got mixed with fields of sauvignon blanc around the 16th century, and nature did its thing. U.C. Davis found out what nature had been up to when in 1996 it genetically linked (a plant-based paternity test?) this combination of grapes as the origin of the cabernet sauvignon grape. The cabernet franc produces a red wine that is lighter in color than the cabernet sauvignon, dry to the taste, and highly acidic. That means it goes well with goat cheeses, burgers, stews, wild game and anything with a tomato base. For a deep dive into cabernet franc, I will send you to www.winefolly.com

Cabernet sauvignon grapes seem to travel well, as they have invaded vineyards all over the world to the great delight of vintners and consumers around the globe. The Napa Valley and the Santa Cruz Mountains of California produce excellent cabernet sauvignon wines with the taste of dark berries, spice, and vanilla, with aromas of leather and tobacco. The high tannin levels allow the wine to spend time in oak barrels which brings out its flavors, such as vanilla. These California cabernet sauvignon wines came to the fore as some of the best in the world in 1996. The alcohol content is high, 14.5% and even 15%. It is definitely best to drink them while consuming food, so that they don’t overwhelm you. However, cabernet sauvignon is a food-friendly wine, so think of roast meats, BBQ, vegetables with savory sauces, Asian food, and on and on.

Both of these cabernets fit into the low carb category, with a glass having as low a carb count as 0.45 grams and going up to 3.8 grams of carbs. Calorie counts range from 99 to 125 per 5 oz. glass. They are Keto-diet friendly. The more expensive ones, definitely over $30, are appropriate for aging, with one being able to keep them, in proper conditions of course, for up to 10 years. So while the verdict is still out on all the possible benefits of red wine for the heart, you can certainly have a glass of this wonderful red for Valentine’s Day and dedicate it to your heart or your sweetheart.

Now, since California produces wonderful cabernets, you need to have a way to try them. A good wine club can give you that opportunity, so try Cellars Wine Club’s West Coast Wine Club. Look at the information in the Cellars Wine Club page on the right side of the screen or go directly through this link www.cellarswineclub.com. Cellars offers free delivery, a “no bad bottle” return policy, and allows you to donate part of your purchase to one of number of vetted charities in the Give Back Program.

Of Art and Wine affiliates with Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.

©marjorie vernelle 2020

Coming Soon on Of Art and Wine: Still Life, Chardin, and Merlot.

Still Life with Plums by Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin, 1730. Click on the picture to magnify.

Chardin (1699 – 1779) was a master of the still life and of gentle domestic genre scenes. His use of diffused light as well as a variety of textures on the surface of his paintings earned him great fame during his lifetime. Though a painter in the period known as Rococo, he never went too far in representing objects, preferring to let their natural beauty take center stage. Here we have a group of plums, plums which seem to be the flavor often associated with Merlot. Ah, Chardin and Merlot, a perfect pairing.

Are Rembrandt’s Self-Portraits Like Fine Aged Wines?

Self-portrait of Rembrandt, 1658 The Frick Collection in New York City.
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1658 was not among the best years for Rembrandt (1606-1669). In fact, from 1642, the date of his painting The Night Watch and the date of the death of his beloved wife, Saskia, the artist had suffered a continual slide into financial difficulties. In 1656, he had to declare bankruptcy, a near mortal sin in the righteous and prosperous Protestant society of 17th century Amsterdam. The list of all the treasures he had to sell off did come in handy centuries later when the Rembrandt Museum used it to find period pieces to reinstall in his former home as displays in the museum. However, the original sale was a very painful experience. As bad as all that loss was for the artist, the worst was that the artists’ guild forbade him from selling his work directly, as his state of financial disarray made him appear disreputable. Rembrandt had to have his then common-law wife, Hendrickje Stoffels, and his son, Titus, form a company that dealt in art, where they as art dealers could sell his work.

Yet, despite all of this hardship, Rembrandt turned to one of his favorite forms, the self-portrait, as a handy way to boost his own ego and create an effective piece of personal propaganda. In the self-portrait above, we see him dressed to the nines, holding a walking stick (symbol of a refined gentleman) and looking out at us with an unwavering gaze. This painting is a reminder that he was the same person who had once been so favored by everyone. He stares us down as if to say, “I am still Rembrandt.”

Rembrandt is currently referred to as the original master of the “selfie.” His life can be cataloged in terms of his self-portraits. Of course in his day, they were normally done as etchings or paintings. He started creating these when a young artist in Leiden, his birthplace. It seems that he would pose himself and copy the mirror image. His variety of expressions seem to be what he used instead of models, whom he would have had to pay. In the etchings below, we see him making faces. On occasion he would then use them on different bodies to create dramatic characters, like the pauper seen below.

**Rembrandt etchings of his own face with different expressions. The last is his portrait on the body of a poor person on the street. All are from 1630 before his move to Amsterdam.**

This Laughing Rembrandt, now in the Getty Museum comes from 1628. One of the things about it that Rembrandt was often criticized for by some of his patrons was that the verisimilitude of the face was not quite right. In other words, he did not always capture the likeness of those whom he drew and painted. Yet Rembrandt was more about the essence, and here we see a happy young man who might probably over spend on his pleasures.

Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam in 1631, after having had the patronage of a statesman, Constantign Huygens, who got him some prestigious portrait commissions among those close to the court in The Hague. For example, Prince Frederick Hendrik was a faithful patron of Rembrandt until 1645. Once in Amsterdam, the young artist’s work was represented by the art dealer Hendrick Uylenburgh from whom Rembrandt rented a studio and living space. It was there that, Rembrandt met Uylenburgh’s cousin, Saskia. With commissions coming in, he joined the painters’ guild, The Guild of St. Luke, married Saskia, and ultimately moved into the heavily mortgaged home he was to lose years later.

The Prodigal Son in the Tavern by Rembrandt Van Rijn, 1635. Click picture to magnify.

The painting above from that period shows Rembrandt posed with his wife, Saskia, ostensibly in the fun part of a religious scene based on the biblical story of The Prodigal Son. However, in some ways, since Rembrandt led a rather flamboyant public life, it was something that stuck in the craw of the black and white glad, Calvinistic Protestants of that day. The citizens of The Dutch Republic raked in treasure from around the world with their trading companies, but the dictates of their religion preached that they must remain humble, quite a feat to accomplish. For more on that period and the real formation of The Dutch Republic, which became the Netherlands, read Simon Schama’s, An Embarrassment of Riches, on the Dutch Golden Age. (Don’t miss the part where the city fathers decided to take away the doll-like Christmas cookies and candies because they were “idolatrous,” only to cause a children’s riot.)

Although we see here Rembrandt’s powerful painting of The Return of the Prodigal Son (1663-1669), his own public redemption was far off. Though this is not one of his “selfies,” in a way it is, for it is done in those last years of his life when his fortunes continued to slide. Living as he did in and around the Jewish quarter, he often talked with rabbis about religious topics, as he continued to paint religious subjects. One of his most famous pieces from that time is The Jewish Bride (1665-1669). Perhaps he took comfort in that possibility of redemption, as the prodigal took comfort in his father’s embrace.

**Close up of the Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt, 1663-1669. Now in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia.**

The close up above shows how refined Rembrandt’s use of light and shadow had become over the years. He knew just where to have spots of light and how to fade other details into shadowy background. Once again we see the influence of what he learned in those early self-portraits. For instance, in the pieces below, he uses shadow on one side of the face. The head is turned toward us though the body faces a bit away from the viewer. In some ways it is reminiscent of Titian’s work in the previous century, in which he would have the body face-on but the head turned to the side and often partially in shadow. The use of shadow in these portraits works to create appeal. In the first one, we wonder who is this young man in the feathered cap? What is he about? In the last of these three, we see a sensitive face with the slightly furrowed brow and direct eye contact that would indicate a serious young man. However, there is mystery, as we do not see his full face and the shadows are quite deep. The middle face shows vulnerability with all but the pupils of the eyes hidden by the shadow of his unkempt hair. His mouth opens as if in surprise that we have caught him.

These self-portraits of Rembrandt all date from around 1629 when the artist was 23 years old.

Regardless of his financial status, Rembrandt knew his talents and continued to expand them until his dying day. Though he died a pauper, not unlike another great genius, Mozart, Rembrandt is now considered to be the greatest of the Dutch painters of the 17th century. His work The Night Watch, though some scholars speculate it marked the beginning of his troubles as some of the men pictured may not have liked their portraits, has become the Dutch National Painting and resides in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The streets were lined with people to see the crated painting moved by a team of men pulling it on rollers to the newly renovated museum. Take a look at this segment of Andrew Graham Dixon’s A Night at the Rijksmuseum video, start around minute 5:12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9oyL9oyUWE.

So yes, in the final analysis, Rembrandt is still Rembrandt for us all to enjoy. Perhaps, if we look carefully at his life’s work of self-portraits, we can learn a lot from him and the story those selfies tell. Just look into his eyes.

**Rembrandt Self-Portrait, 1659** Click painting to magnify.

Rembrandt is not the only artist to show us his own personal image. The first artist self portrait done in highly realistic fashion was that of Jan Van Eyck in 1433. However many painters have done their portraits,and just as in the case of the Rembrandt portrait above, a look into the artist’s eyes can tell a lot about who they are. Click through the webstory, “The Eyes of the Artists in Self-Portraits.” See if you can name the artist just by the eyes. https://ofartandwine.com/web-stories/the-eyes-of-artists/

Images of Rembrandt’s paintings are in public domain.

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

Fine Aged Wines

The first question asked about aged wine is this: What is it? Well, the simple definition is wine stored in a cool, dark place for a number of years. Then comes the matter of what that does to the wine. Well, it creates flavors and aromas otherwise not achieved. But the big question comes next. Why?

The why of aged wines is a matter of poetry. Wines carry the flavors of the soil the grapes grow in, and that soil is affected by climate conditions from year to year. That likewise has an effect on the grapes. Beyond that comes the inventiveness of the particular vintner. Take someone like Eternal Wines’ vintner, Brad Binko, who likes to change the production process some every year “to be true to the grapes,” as he puts it. So as with poetry, you have the elements you must deal with (soil or words) and then the magic touch of the vintner or the poet to make a worthy creation. Of course, in wine making these elements are present in every year’s creation, but some years are exceptional as are the wines created. When this happens, those few premium wines may wind up being aged to preserve and enrich that special something that happened in a particular year.

So that is the story from the vintners’ point of view, but how about the consumer? Well, consumers can be poets, too. Some people love feeling that they are tasting a bit of the past. This is especially true if, for instance, something special happened to them in a certain year, perhaps a marriage or the birth of a child. Other people want to have a wine from the year of their own birth. In fact in 2020, there is a Clos Rene Red, bottled in 1960, that is being marketed for those who wish to celebrate their sixtieth by tasting something that came into being the same year that they did. That bottle only costs $247.00.

However, one need not spend a fortune. If 1989 is your special year, you can get a Juffer Riesling Auslese (late harvest) for a mere $37.94. In fact, there are a number of aged wines that are approachable financially, like the 2015 Il Borro Rosso for $52. On the other hand, we know that the very special aged wines cost a fortune, such as Lafite Rothschild Bordeaux, $20,000 or the Chateau Mouton Rothchild Pauillac, $33,000. Expensive I know, but there is always Lotto.

Of course, the reality is that most wine is not meant to be aged. The rule of thumb is not to even contemplate it for anything under $30.00. Those are ones you drink now. If they cost more than that, you might keep them for up to 5 years – not 50 mind you, but 5 years. Really only premium wines should be candidates for any kind of aging and then under strict conditions. Red wines are normally the ones aged, as the process lets heavy tannins settle and makes the taste smoother. As for whites, they turn a rather amber color and may even seem oily. However, some types age better than others. Riesling and Semillon are good candidates, but the best may be oak-aged Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. In terms of how long to keep a wine after the bottle has been opened, white wine should be drunk within a few days and red wines may last for up to three weeks.

Since premium wines are the only ones suggested for aging, should you want to get involved in that, you might try finding your favorite premium wines through a wine club like Cellars Wine Club. The Premium Wine Club has selections starting at $42. and Cellars has a “no bad bottle” return policy and free shipping. You can check them out here by going to the Cellars Wine Club page (right hand side of this page) or directly to cellarswineclub.com

So since aging is something we all do, let’s try to make it as comfortable, rewarding, and enjoyable as possible. Cheers!

Photos of wine images from free stock photos at Pixabay.com

Of Art and Wine affiliates with Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.

Coming soon on Of Art and Wine: Bronzino’s The Allegory of Love and A Valentine for the Heart, Cabernet.

Agnolo Bronzino’s Allegory of Love, 1545. National Gallery, London. Click picture to magnify.

Love is a complicated affair, as we all know. However, Agnolo Bronzino took it a big step further in this allegorical painting (1545) done for Duke Cosimo the First of Tuscany as a gift for King Francis I of France. From lust to folly, from truth to fraud and the unveiling of all things by Father Time, Bronzino covers it all. If the painting and its story make your heart race, fear not. Just calm down with a nice little glass of Cabernet; it’s healthy for your heart. Happy Valentine’s Day to all from Of Art and Wine.

Titian and the Wines of the Veneto.

Portrait of Pietro Aretino by Titian, 1545. Palantine Gallery of the Pitti Palace, Florence, Italy. Click picture to magnify.

One of the main things that Titian’s portraits did was to capture not only the physical likeness of the subject, but also to capture something of the essence of the personality. So what or whom do we see here? To say that Pietro Aretino (1492-1556) was bigger than life would be an understatement, and as we see here, his body takes up 75% of the picture’s surface. His deep burgundy coat has the simmer of a satin finish; his hands are gloved; and he wears a golden chain given to him, it is said, by King Francis I of France. He wears a sage’s beard, and his head and eyes are turned in the direction of someone who might be the target of his acerbic wit. That wit garnered him the moniker, “the scourge of princes,” as Aretino was famous for pointing out their foibles with a charming wit that did not cross the fine lines of courtly courtesy. His wit earned him quite a healthy living as people sometimes paid him to verbally assassinate a rival, while others paid him not to verbally demolish them. He was a literary figure, art collector, bon vivant, promoter and publicist. Looking at this portrait, one can image how he might dominate a room with his physical presence and light it up with his intellect and his wicked tongue.

This is the self-portrait of Titian (1567), born Tiziano de Vecellio in 1490, who became Venice’s most famous painter of the 16th century (though he had stiff competition from Tintoretto and Veronese). He was well known among the princely courts of Europe and became the first major painter with a huge international clientele.

Titian got his start working in the early 1500s with the then hot new bad boy painter, Giorgione. Though Titian gained a lot from working with this handsome, talented and popular painter, whom the Venetians nick named, Zorzon, it did not stop Titian from striving to outshine the man he worked for when they were painting the exterior of the Palazzo Fondaco dei Tedeschi. When Giorgione died suddenly in 1510 during an outbreak of plague, it was Titian who finished some of Giorgione’s work, leaving the provenance of some of the works, like The Sleeping Venus, unclear.

Man with the Blue Quilted Sleeve by Titian 1510. Presumed portrait of Gerolamo Barbarigo now in the National Gallery in London.

In the portrait above, we can see some of the hallmarks of the early 1500s, such as having the half-figure leaning an arm on a ledge or window sill. The style of the face shows the influence of Giogione in that it allows for a certain mystery. However, Titian’s own style is coming to the fore. The rich detail of the silken fabric, its shine, and brilliant color are all elements that one can see throughout Titian’s work. The composition was common for that time (see work by Giovanni Bellini); however, there was a bit of a difference. It has to do with how Titian poses the sitter’s head. It is not looking directly at us nor is it a strict profile. It is a three quarters view, with the left side of the face fading into the darkness of the background. Yet, the eye that looks toward the viewer is direct and engaging in its gaze. One wonders what kind of conversation one might have with such a gentleman. The movement from the head down around the sleeve is a spiral motion, but there is also a diagonal made by the placement of the arm and mimicked by the turn of the head. The use of diagonals is something that Titian became known for, and using diagonals in a painting is rather tricky, as they can create a sense of imbalance. Titian, however, used them to add dynamism to the portrait. For a better example to show how that works, look at the painting below.

Portrait of Jacopo Strada by Titian, 1568. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Click on the picture to magnify.

Just in looking at the items found in this painting, one can see that this person is quite prosperous (coins on the table, rich clothing including furs), and is probably someone who deals in art and antiquities. And yes, we are right. Jacopo Strada was the chief artist, architect, and antiquarian for three of the Holy Roman Emperors. In this painting he seems to be presenting an antique statue of Venus to someone just outside of this picture. His head is turned in the direction of this person. Perhaps he is about to hand over the statue to a buyer or perhaps about to try to sell it also to the someone who produced the coins already on the table. Unlike most portraits where the subject sits in still perfection, there is action in this portrait, created by the series of diagonal lines coming from the tilt of the statue and the turn in Strada’s shoulders and head, emphasized by the line of the fur cloak. The position of the arms form diagonals in the opposite direction. These alignments give motion to the subject. Something is happening here. The business of art is in progress, and to be a proven part of the action, Titian has his name on the letter on the table. Interesting way to sign a painting, don’t you think?

These are just a few of the many works of Venice’s most famous artist of that period. They are rich, complex, subtle, and fascinating to experience. Those words are apt descriptions of the wines that come from the region commonly called the Veneto, which runs west, a bit north, and a bit south of Venice itself. So let’s do take a look at what goes on there in terms of good wines to drink while enjoying our art.

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.

The Wines of the Veneto

The Vineyards of the Treviso Hills in the Veneto. Photo from Pixabay.

When we think of Italian wines, we often think of Tusany, Puglia or Sicily. However, since the 1990s, an area smaller in size than the three just mentioned has outproduced them all. Yes, the vineyards of the Veneto. Now it is no surprise that this area outside of Venice should produce wines. After all, Venice ruled the Adriatic Sea and the trade routes to the Orient for about a thousand years (7th to 18th centuries) and was known to have every kind of luxury, including fine wines. Yet, it has only been in the last 30 years that the Veneto has pushed the envelop to produce some spectacularly high quality and popular wines.

Everyone has heard of and some of us have tried pronouncing fluently the name of this wine producing area: Valpolicella. It means “valley of the wine cellars” and in those cellars are housed red wines that are second only to Chianti. The dry Amarone, cherry spiced Ripasso and the easy to pair with foods, Valpolicella, all bear the Bandolino DOC, marking the area from where they come.

Okay, let’s stop for a moment to understand what DOC and its companion, DOCG, mean. Wine growing regions in Italy had certain quality controls placed upon them in the 196os. Like the French AOC/AOP, these control the types of grapes used to make the wine, the area from where they come, the maximum proportions of the grapes used, the alcohol content, and the vinification and maturation techniques used. In Italian the DOC means Denominazore di Origine Controlatta. In 1980 the DOCG was added to put e Garantita (guaranteed) to some of the wines. (The French ones have similar meanings and are the following: Appellation d’Origin Controlée and Appellation d’Origin Controlée et Protegée.)

This is a picture of a fine glass of Soave, which comes from the area east of Verona. It is one of Italy’s most popular wines. It bears the name of the area, but the grape it comes from is the Garganega. It has notes of lemon zest, which give it a certain acidity modified by hints of almond.

The area that rests partially in the Veneto and partially in Lombardy is where you will find wines with the Lugana DOC labels. This area is particularly interesting because of the clay and limestone chalk of its terrain and the fact that a grape unique to the area is grown there, the Trebbiano di Lugana. The white wines produced there (in fact only white wines are produced there) have a gentle acidic quality, with a hint of the floral and of peach. Since the area has many small fishing villages, the wine is a wonderful one to pair with fish and seafood dishes.

Lastly, we have the bubbly. Yes, Prosecco. No matter whether it is Brut, Extra Dry, Dry or Demi-sec, it is easy to pair with foods. My favorite suggestion is prosciutto wrapped around cantaloupe. You can create your own drinks, like mimosas or change things up by just adding a strawberry or two. For more on Prosecco, take a look at the “Maso di Banco, Giorgio di Chirico, and Prosecco” post (December 31, 2019) on this weblog.

Of course all of these fine wines can be tasted here in the U.S., and one easy way to get started is to join a wine club. Cellars Wine Club, in fact, has a club for International Wines, see cellarswineclub.com or go to the Cellars Wine Club page on the right side of this page. There is a “No Bad Bottle” return policy, free shipping, and the opportunity to have 15% of your purchase donated to any one of the vetted charities that you choose.

Of Art and Wine affiliates with Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.

However, it is time to leave the Veneto and the canals and intrigues of Venice to go north to Holland to look at one of its master painters, Rembrandt.

Coming Soon on Of Art and Wine: Are Rembrandt’s Self Portraits Like Fine Aged Wines?

There he sits in all his glory, showing the world who he is. This comes after the loss of his wife, of his property, and some of his reputation. Yet this painting says, “I am still Rembrandt.”

Rain Paintings and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest

Rain-auvers by Vincent Van Gogh, 1890. National Museum of Art, Cardiff, Wales.

Who hasn’t been entranced by how falling rain changes the look of any familiar scene into something still recognizable, yet other than normal? Van Gogh tramped the fields around his last home, the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, commenting in his letters to his brother, Theo, on how beautiful those fields were. They inspired some 70 paintings in the brief time that he lived there, making residents comment on the frenetic pace at which he created. Unfortunately as the spring of 1890 passed, Van Gogh became increasingly despondent. I have not found any specific month for the painting above, nor do I want to claim that the artist painted this beautiful piece while in despair. However, it does come from the time he spent in Auvers and is one in which his beloved fields, normally full of sun, are being drenched in rain.

Yet, how exciting it must have been to see that difference from his usual view of those fields. Van Gogh seems to focus the painting on the contrast between the normally golden rolling fields with the stands of trees and the blue-violent curtain of falling rain. Those distant trees and rocks that run through the center of the picture are consumed by the blue-violet. Beyond that strip of colorful blues, the next field of golden grain is being pelted by this strong rain. I say strong because of the forceful, sharp downward strokes of violet that he uses to show that falling rain. Beyond that golden field, we see the sky as a thin strip of blue-violet strokes. The whole picture evokes the change that rain makes in any scene, heightened by that wonderful choice of color, a blue-violet that compliments and transforms the yellow-gold of the fields. Rather symbolically, at least for us now who know so much of Van Gogh’s life and struggles, one lone black crow, in defiance of the storm, flies low over the fields.

Van Gogh like many of the artists in the late 19th century were much influenced by the woodblock prints that were coming out of Japan. Claude Monet had a living room full of them, made by famous Japanese print makers. In fact, on any visit to Monet’s home in Giverny, there might be a tour bus of Japanese tourists who have come to see the prints made by their master print makers, which can now only be seen in Monet’s home. One thing for sure, there is a lot of rain in Japan, and their artists took note of how to represent it.

Summer Shower on Shin-Ohasi Bridge by Utagawa Hiroshige, 1857.

We see here those strong strokes indicating the hard falling rain that influenced Van Gogh’s work. The storm cloud is a threatening bundle of boiling black, and the suddenness of the storm is shown by those who may have had only a hat or the bundle they were carrying with which to cover themselves. Hiroshige uses an assortment of blues, like a deep violet/navy that fades to a sky blue to indicate the depth of the waters and the shadows under the bridge. The waters then spread out into a bay of light jade green, where we find one lone boatman guiding his craft, and without the protection of cover, getting thoroughly soaked. The bridge itself is a bright golden yellow which draws our attention to it. Yet the thing that is most intriguing is the disequilibrium caused by the curve in that bridge that runs at a diagonal across the bottom of the print and the opposing diagonal of the shoreline that runs across the top. Diagonal lines disrupt. Here it is as if the distorted views of people hunched over and scurrying as they try to avoid the pelting rain has unbalanced the view of the land and the familiar landmark of the bridge. The feeling is one of topsy turvy, hurry scurry.

When visiting the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. people are often surprised by the number of his paintings that were influenced by Japanese prints. He has blossoms, gardens, and other oriental themes. Here we see Van Gogh’s Bridge in the Rain after Hiroshige, 1887. We see that he kept the same dizzying composition, though his choice of blues and greens and even the yellow of the bridge are different.

No one can say for sure that those prints of rain from Japan were the influence that prompted him to do his rain painting in Auvers. However, one can imagine that when he saw the beautiful fields near Auvers in a downpour, those Japanese scenes may have passed through his mind. Whatever the inspiration, it leaves us with an enchanting reminder that not every day has to be a sunny day in order to be beautiful.

Rain by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889. This is the only rain painting by Van Gogh made in the south of France. It is now in the Philadelphia Art Museum. www.philamuseum.org

Paintings by Van Gogh are in Public Domain

The Wineries of the Rain-swept Pacific Northwest.

Red Willow Vineyard in Washington. Photo by Mike Sauer www.winemag.com

Okay, let’s get clear on one thing: it doesn’t rain all the time everywhere in the Pacific Northwest – just most of the time. No! Just kidding. In fact eastern Washington is quite arid and known for its warm days and cool nights, good for producing a riper fruitier taste in wine. The Columbia River snakes down from Canada and curves its way through east central Washington before dividing Washington from Oregon on its way to the sea. The Columbia River Valley has helped make Washington State the second largest wine growing state. It all got started when the Columbia Basin Project began to irrigate some two million acres of land around 1952. That attracted a number of farmers including those who grew grapes for wine. It has allowed Washington to be more diverse in varieties of grapes than its neighbor, Oregon. It was also a rather profitable venture for many of those vintners, as Washington State laws let licensed distributors sell wine directly to the public (no need for the Liquor Control Board) if the wine was made from grapes grown in Washington State. So let’s see where that takes us.

Chateau Ste Michelle winery in Woodinville, Washington.

In Washington one name always stands out, and that is Chateau Ste. Michelle. Started as the American Wine Company in 1954, it has morphed into a wine and cultural phenomenon. Not only does its produce high quality red wines (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah) but also fine whites (Chardonnay, Riesling, and Gewurtztraminer ). Located on 82 acres in Woodinville (near Seattle), it maintains a lovely French style Chateau and has applied itself not only to fine wine, but also to cultural events. Every summer it has a popular concert series, where one may picnic on the lawn while enjoying jazz, for instance. As well, the Chateau has an events calendar full of wine tasting opportunities throughout the year. www.ste-michelle.com

However, the Chateau is not the only valuable player in Washington wines. Out along Highway 82 near Paterson, Washington, in the celebrated Horse Heaven Hills area, one finds Columbia Crest Winery. Producing a variety of grapes, it uses old world craftsmanship to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon that has a 95+ score and was Wine of the Year in the Wine Spectator, 2005. It also has a Merlot that was listed in the top 100 wines in 2007,#16 in fact. www.columbiacrest.com

If you are looking for unique, then you must go to Walla Walla, Washington to Eternal Wines. They make a variety of blends, like Rocketman Red, but for those who love a rich deep red wine, Eternal makes single vineyard Syrah wines. Single vineyard wines are literally made from grapes from one single premium vineyard.

The vintner, Brad Binko, says that he wants to make wines that are true to the place. He makes them differently every year in order to honor the variations that come from one year to another and “to be true to the grapes.” All of those wines have names that start with Eternal. I have not yet tasted them, but Eternal Bliss made with Grenache grapes sounds refreshingly divine, though I am devilishly tempted by Eternal Darkness – a fantasy from Syrah grapes. www.eternalwine.com

Of course, one need not travel in order to enjoy the fine wines of the region and of the world. In 1999 Mark and Holly Ihrig began partnering with local and international wine makers to present wines for sale through a digital storefront. Using the format of a wine club, they have created a series of clubs specializing in everything from West Coast Wines, International Wines, Sparkling Wines to just Red Wines. Not only do they offer an excellent selection of wines, but they have a “No Bad Bottle” return policy, free shipping, and the possibility to have 15% of your purchase donated to a vetted charity. You can take a look at information on Cellars Wine Club by clicking on that page in the right-hand column or go to www.cellarswineclub.com

Must Washington Take All the Glory?

Oregon Vineyards from OregonWineCountry.org

Of course not, because just to the south is Oregon. While Washington has lots of varieties, Oregon has become known as a “monograpist” region, specializing in Pinot Noir, that wonderful, food friendly, easily drinkable red that comes from the Pinot Noir grape. The Willamette Valley proved to be a perfect growing area for that grape, and the rest is history. Mostly on the western side of the I-5 Interstate from Portland to Cottage Grove, wineries abound, see www.oregonwinecountry.org for the map and the names of the wineries.

“French Soul, Oregon Soil” yes, that is the motto of Domaine Drouhin, where they produce their wines with the same methods they use to produce their wines in France (Burgundy to be precise). Located in the Dundee Hills that overlook the Willamette Valley near Dayton, Oregon, the Drouhin family creates some of the finest Pinot Noir and a top notch Chardonnay. www.domainedrouhin.com

But what is wine without food? Well, Willamette Valley Vineyards in Turner, Oregon, is of the opinion that wine must be complimented by culinary delights. The winery has a complete kitchen to go with their wine tasting rooms, and for those who wish to soak in the atmosphere, there are also two guest suites for those who may wish to stay in the vineyards proper. However, for those who are just stopping by, there are daily wine and food pairings, and everything is made with local ingredients. www.wvv.com

One of the most unusual wine producers is André Hueston Mack, of whom I wrote in the Of Art and Wine post “Red Wine in Summer: Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party” (September, 2019). The story of his Maison Mouton Noir wines gets more and more interesting. Mack does not own vineyards, but instead works with a variety of Willamette Valley growers to select the grapes for his wines which bear names like Knock On Wood (Chardonnay), Love Drunk (Rosé), and Other People’s Pinot (Noir). Mack is an absolute original and also a very experienced sommelier, recognized in France by the Chaine des Rotisseurs, a gastronomic society. But don’t let that make you think he is stuffy. Oh no, his desire is to bring hip-hop culture to wine making. For insight into how he developed his life as a Mouton Noir (Black Sheep), his talk at TEDxMarthas Vineyard is fun and inspirational https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOsjFC9D76g or go to his website www.andremack.com

So just because it rains often in the Northwest, it does not mean that everything is soggy and every day dark and miserable. Oh no, there are lots of good drinkable things being produced there. It’s definitely an area to consider for an extensive wine tour. So in the words of one of André Mack’s wines, Bottoms Up!

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Coming Soon on Of Art and Wine: Titian and the Wines of the Veneto.

Just like Titian became celebrated for the rich textures and elaborate details in his paintings, so these wines are known for their many special qualities, including smooth rich taste. Both are products of the Veneto, those lands leading to the former Republic of Venice, also famously called La Serenissima.

Painting is of Jacopo Strata, a Minister of Antiquities, 1568.

Maso di Banco, Giorgio di Chirico, and Prosecco

St. Sylvester and the Dragon or Pope Sylvester’s Miracle by Maso di Banco, 1340

The Play’s The Thing or Is It The Perspective?

In looking at this piece, do you perhaps feel that you are looking at a stage setting with a drama in progress? The partially crumbled buildings lead your eye into the scene and in a certain way past the action. The combination of these colored structures stacked one behind the other have odd plays of bright light, with darker items in the background and a backdrop of dark blue/black that descends like a curtain. When the eye starts on the front left of this “stage” and travels across the picture plane to the broken light cream-colored wall, then on to the darker cream wall with windows and its broken side wall in almost bright white, one has the sense of also going deeper into the picture. These half broken structures surround the action that is taking place among its ruins. This begs the question, “What is the “play” about?”

Well, it’s about how Pope Sylvester 1 (285-335 C.E.) became St. Sylvester by calming a raging dragon (on the left side of the picture in a hole) when the Emperor Constantine’s magicians could not. They are the ones lying flat on their backs in apoplexy, though we see the continuation of the story with Sylvester about to raise them once again. For all these good deeds, Pope Sylvester I ultimately wound up being made a saint with his day celebrated on December 31st – New Year’s Eve or “Sylvester” as it is sometimes known in Europe.

In some ways it is no wonder that he might be working in such a way, as he was a pupil of Giotto di Bondone, the early 14th century painter of whom the artists of the Renaissance said, “It all began with Giotto.” In the picture here, we see the illusion of a chamber on the other side of an open arch. This painting and its companion were Giotto’s way of creating visual space within the narrow confines of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua (1305) and an early example of excellent trompe l’oeil (trick the eye) painting.

However, let’s get back to that “stage” set. When the eye moves behind this scene of depth, things go flat again with a solid wall of a crenelated fortress and a tower oddly lit as if by moonlight. Beyond that is the bluish black of the night. The flatness in the rear of this painting is what one normally associates with the late Middle Ages, when backgrounds were sometimes solid colors or even solid gold leaf. However, Maso di Banco is doing something else here, something that is headed toward real perspective, that elemental illusion that makes two dimensions into three.

Maso di Banco’s work is in alignment with his master’s but with the added touch of creative use of color to move the eye through the painting. His pastel colors are reminiscent of those used in Sienese painting at that time, though not quite as fanciful. The column is an important element in that it reminds us as we enter the picture that there is a hole just beyond and in that hole a great activity is happening. Now in most painting of the late Middle Ages, and even into the Renaissance, the stories of holy figures and their miracles are told in blocks with dividing lines in between – yes, like in modern graphic novels. Here di Banco uses that column as a vestige of the normal system of dividing the story into parts. The viewer sees the activity that laid the court magicians low happening in that hole where Pope Sylvester ministers to the dragon and tames him. That happens to the left of the column.

We can see Sylvester, then, emerging from that hole on the right side of the column. We know it is he, as he wears the same cloak and mitre (?). So the story continues with the court of the Emperor looking on as Sylvester brings the magicians back to consciousness. We see one in an orange robe, reverently on his knees before the Pope who is making a gesture over him. One expects, of course, that the story continues with the raising of the other two magicians, but at this point we’ve got the picture. And the picture is quite something not just because of the story, but of how it is framed in this setting of half destroyed buildings with an odd lighting that we know not the origins of.

That odd lighting, however, is the use of color to help create the idea of perspective. The technique is actually known as chromatic perspective, a way of moving the eye along by having it follow similar colors. Here one notices how the use of those creams and whites moves the eye from up front on the left all the way over to the right of the painting. That color scheme moves the eye from in front of the human activity to areas behind that activity and by that, suggesting depth, since things placed one behind another indicate space which goes back into the scene.

Maso di Banco’s work in the Chapel of the Holy Confessors in Santa Croce in Florence, where the painting above exists, is considered his major body of work. This is known because of Lorenzo Ghiberti’s I Commentari, the autobiography of the man who created the Gates of Paradise for the Baptistry near Florence’s Duomo, in which he credited Maso di Banco with painting that chapel. Although di Banco was a key follower of Giotto and a very successful artist in his own right, he did not seem to have others who followed him. His working career is dated from 1335 to 1350 with nothing much else known about his life. The 1350 cut off date for his work is significant as the first instance of the Great Plague hit Europe in 1347 and lasted for about 5 years, carrying off 1/2 of the population of Florence and as much if not more of Siena. There such great Sienese painters as Pietro and Ambrosio Lorenzetti were affected, with Ambrosio making out his last will and testament, commenting that he, too, would probably die of the disease. He did. Perhaps the same happened to Maso di Banco.

But Wait! Everything Old Is New Again.

So along comes the 20th century some 600 years later, long after the rules of perspective had been securely figured out with many Renaissance works proving that the concept had been mastered and actual realism had been achieved by the end of the 1400s. However, it seems that there are certain landscapes of the mind, dreams and misty memories of by gone times and places that need a means of expression. Giorgio di Chirico (1888-1978), an Italian, born and raised in Greece, thus a visual inheritor of two classical cultures, came along founding his Scuola Metafisica in 1915, which touched off the Surrealist Movement. Surrealism is rather other worldly and cannot be expressed properly within the confines of ordinary reality, but what about that odd almost real representations of someone like Maso di Banco?

Piazza d’Italia by Giorgio di Chirico, 1913

We see here in di Chirico’s Piazza d’Italia the arches of buildings with odd lighting. They follow the rules of perspective generally but the coloring gives a sense of dreamlike irreality. The stone sculpture in the center is of Ariadne, the princess who helped her lover, Theseus, find his way out of the labyrinth after he killed the Minotaur by having given him a spool of thread that he could use to mark his path going in and find his way out again. He later abandoned her on the island of Naxos. So this painting like di Banco’s tells a story. The recumbent statue seems consumed in woe, and its shadow casts a long and sorrowful trail of darkness, almost as though it pours out of the statue of the weeping woman. The odd acid-like colors, the two men shaking hands as if making a deal, and the exploding volcano in the distance on the right, all add tension to this surrealistic dream.

Giorgio di Chirico’s metaphysical and surrealist works were among his most popular, so much so that when a collector lamented not being able to buy one of his works, Les Muses Inquietanti (The Disquieting Muses, 1918), from the new owner, di Chirico just made a copy of it to sell to the collector. In fact, he got into the habit of copying his own works. He called these works verifalsi or true fakes, and thus struck a victory for the intellectual property of artists. We now have copyright laws that protect the images that artists create for certain periods of time so that the artist and his or her estate benefit from usage, regardless of who owns the original painting. However, works published before 1925, like the di Chirico above, are now in public domain, so we can enjoy it here.

Giorgio di Chirico was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, touching the work of such great painters as Edward Hopper, film directors like Alfred Hitchcock, and the poet Sylvia Plath, who wrote a poem called “The Disquieting Muses.” He was a writer of poetry and a surrealist novel as well. For more on that, Stefania Heim has a great article in Paris Review on his poetry called “Giorgio di Chirico’s Italian Poetry” (click on this link www.theparisreview.org ) Fortunately for everyone, di Chirico had a wonderful knowledge of art and art history and the genius to bring things from the past forward into a new age. So Maso di Banco did have at least one follower of sorts after all.

Paintings are in Public Domain.

St. Sylvester’s is December 31st. Time for Some Prosecco!

This photo is of my very favorite glass of Prosecco, chilled to perfection, served on the outer terrace of a lovely restaurant (Dimna’s), and drunk while watching the city of Toronto’s chic stroll the boutiques of Yorkville. All that after I had spent a delightful summer afternoon checking out the art galleries that the area is so famous for. Unfortunately, in my reverie, I did not note down the name of the vintner. All I can say is that I still known where to go for a good glass of bubbly on a hot summer day in the big city. But you ask why Prosecco and not Champagne?

Well, first, I was in an Italian restaurant, and Prosecco comes from the Veneto, that lovely area of Italy that leads one to Venice, La Serenissima. Since the French were the discoverers of sparkling wine made from those tiny, pale, crystalline green grapes from Champagne, they patented the name for themselves, leaving others who signed that agreement to create their own names for their sparkling wines. This one takes on the name of a town, Prosecco, in the Veneto, though the grape it is primarily made from is now called the Glera and no longer much referred to as the Prosecco.

So What’s the Difference Anyway?

It is all in the process. As opposed to the French methode champenoise, Prosecco is made by a quicker, less expensive process called the “tank method.” Basically that means that everything is created inside a huge tank with a high pressure CO2 mechanism to make the bubbles. As I said, it is quicker and cheaper, which unfortunately has led to the creation of such a thing as bad Prosecco, caused not by the quality of the grapes, but by the cheap production methods. The bad ones are to be avoided like the plague unless you favor horrid headaches. It is best to look for DOC or DOCG markings for assured quality or the names Valdobbiadene or Conegliano.

Prosecco comes in a range from Brut, to Extra Dry, to Dry and finally Demi-Sec, representing levels from very dry to semi-sweet. One of the favorites of mine in La Marca Prosecco, which has a crisp taste with touches of fruit like peach and apple. A 5 oz glass has 80 calories, and a bottle ranges in price from $12.50 to $15.00. While Prosecco makes a wonderful celebratory toast, it is also great for making mimosas and spritzers. In terms of food pairings, it is called a “food-friendly” wine, so depending on how dry or sweet the bottle is, you can pair it with salty items like prosciutto, perhaps wrapped around a piece of melon for a sucré/salée treat, or seafood, fried foods, creamy sauces, Asian foods, and even popcorn!

So there is no excuse not to celebrate Sylvester, with this charming, tasty sparkler. Who knows? As the New Year rings in, you might meet a dragon who can be tamed by a glass of bubbly.

Here is another way to get into sparkling wines: join a sparkling wine club. You can take a look at the Cellars Wine Club information on the right, under Of Art and Wine Pages, or click here cellarswineclub.com. While you are looking, take note of their Give Back Program of vetted charities that wine club members can have Cellars donate to on their behalf. And remember with Cellars, there is a “No bad bottle” return policy.

Of Art and Wine affiliates with Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.

Coming next on Of Art and Wine: Rain Paintings and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest.

Rain-auvers by Vincent Van Gogh, 1890. National Museum of Wales.

Inclement weather may seem to be a surprising subject, but capturing the beauty of falling rain has fascinated many artists, including Van Gogh. In terms of wine and rain, one’s mind goes immediately to the Pacific Northwest, famous for its rains and now for its cool climate wines. Come along for the virtual tour of some famous rain paintings and wines from the rain swept Northwest Pacific Coast.