Henri Fantin-Latour, Roses in a glass vase, ca. 1890
Conversation
John Singer Sargent
Daffodils in a Vase, 1891-94
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Édouard Manet, Moss Roses in a Vase, 1882, Oil on canvas
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David Hockney, Fresh Flowers and Vase at Sunrise (Fresh Flowers Series), 2010, iPad drawing.
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Hans Hofmann - Untitled (Flower Vase) - ca.1940
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Moise Kisling
Mimosas, 1938
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Van Gogh, Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, August 1888. Oil on canvas, 93 x 73 cm
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Why is this such a famous painting? I've seen it at the National gallery in London and still didn't get it - it's nice but what makes it exceptional??
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All I can tell you is I have seen it a couple of times and each time it blows me away. There are many "famous" paintings that do nothing for me, though.
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Ok, thank you for the reply. I'd love to know why but nope, for me it does nothing. Then again of course I've been astounded at people who didn't get wonderful great art, right in front of them in the past - Kandinsky springs to mind!
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Replying to
Exactly. I once saw a Kandinsky retrospective at the Guggenheim in NYC. I thought it was astounding, both historically and intellectually, but I wasn't really moved by many of the paintings. Art is a relationship between painter, painting, and viewer. It hardly ever stands alone.
Replying to
So it works like colour - it's not simply in the object, where it doesn't reside. It requires light too, and an eye that can be receptive. Colour is somewhere between these three things. So is art. Hey this is a good thought! Not original I'm sure, but original to me now.
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So art once in a while stands alone, free of subjectivity? I think that could be true. I think the only contenders would be the great cave paintings.

