LITTLE GENTLEMEN INSIDE THE PAINTINGSÂ - AN ART REVIEW BY TAKEMIYA KEIKO (1982)
Here's Takemiya Vienna travel blog entry from issue #6 of Grapefruit (1982 October). Thank you @plats-chat for dropping these magazine scans on my lap.
You can read her article on works of art in Vienna under the cut, and I'd appreciate if you signaled anything wrong with my references. Thank you.
TOSHI-CHAN (1) AT A VIENNESE STREET CORNER
When I told my friend who lives in Germany that the new Tanokin (2) movie for the New Yearâs was set in Vienna, she responded by letting out a hysterical squeal.
She said that it could have worked for a metropol like Paris or New York, but in a small âcountrysideâ city (in a good sense) like Vienna, the curiosity of the locals and their conservative opposition would make things difficult. She also said âPlease, spare me the sight of Toshi-chan singing in front of the Vienne Boysâ Choir!â This second remark gave me a good laugh, too.
Sure enough, I had seen the very Wienerisch (Viennese) reactions of old gentlemen frowning and looking the other way, of old ladies not feeling the need to hide their displeasure, and of people covering their ears with their hands as they walked past while Toshi-chan was belting out âNinjin Musumeâ when I watched the news reports on their Vienna shoot on TV. Apparently, the shooting was fully endorsed by The Vienna Tourist Board, so everything went smoothly.
As strange as it may sound, even when I turn my bias filter off, Toshi-chan and Vienna fit each other perfectly. In particular, the suit in deep grass green, which is commonly used in the traditional menâs clothing in the region, looked amazing on his white skin. If Toshi-chan were to transfer to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna as âIkushima Rei (3),â no one would question it.
Anyway, I was just itching to go to Vienna (I hadnât been there in two years. I used to go every year, too.). When you think of Viennaâs famous landmarks, St. Stephanâs Church or Johann Strauss monument in the Stadtpark come to mind, but I always ride the tram to Belvedere Palace.
It is embarrassing to admit, but for the longest time, I thought Belvedere Place was another shiny palace from a bygone century like SchönbrunnâŻPalace just outside the city center. However, it is a building that is still actively used as a museum and an art gallery. Belvedere is really easy to get to from the city center of Vienna, which is called âThe Ring,â by tram, and once you pass through its imposing gates, you find yourself in its vast gardens. As for the building itself, you can still see the traces of the palace it once had been. When you enter the building, you are greeted by paintings from the Biedermeier period. There are so many that your neck might start hurting if you look at every painting hanging on the walls. Once past the entrance, you arrive at the room where the paintings of the much renown Klimt are displayed. He is a famous Viennese artist hailed as the master of the fin-de-siĂšcle eroticism. He is not someone who needs a re-introduction from me, but I would still like to say that Iâm not a big fan of his.
Gentle and warm portraits of Viennese boys
Although the common consensus is that they are too commonplace and donât hold much artistic value, but I really enjoy looking at Biedermeier Era paintings that have nothing special in them. A huge number of them are displayed in the museum. I liked the portraits of a couple of boys so much that if they were on sale, I would have definitely bought them.
One of them was the portrait of a young boy reading in the middle of dimly lit room, titled âBoy Reading a Book.â
Johann Baptist Reiter, Lesender Knabe (c. 1860)
Another one was a âfamily portraitâ that was not really one. There is a boy sitting by his fatherâs feet. You canât really make out his expression, but is a very warm image of a family.
Friedrich von Amerling, Der Textilfabrikant Rudolf von Arthaber (1795-1867) und seine Kinder Rudolf, Emilie und Gustav (1837)
The collection is not definitely as vast as or as overwhelming as the Louvreâs, but if you are ever in Vienna, I suggest you wander a little further on your strolls, and let your feet carry you to Belvedere Palace.
The same (probably) goes for the "Vienna Museum of Art History" famous for its Brueghel paintings. I say âprobably,â because no matter how many times Iâve been there to admire the paintings, Iâve never noticed his.
I have a postcard of a very strange work, Parmigianinoâs self-portrait.
Parmigianino, Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (c.â1524)
My friend who lives in Vienna said that they got it because he looked so much like a very young Augu. I find it strange, because itâs the reflection of a young boy in a convex mirror. If you shift the focus a little bit, everything becomes twisted and unappealing. It reflects how uncertain and fleeting the beauty of a young boy is â thatâs how Professor Takahashi Yasunari once explained it on TV. Even before that postcard came to be in my possession, I knew of the existence of this portrait.
Of course, you could easily find fascinating images of young boys among the works of famous painters and sculptors (especially ones with mythological subjects). But if I had to choose, rather than portraits of boys everyone knows, Iâd say I like works that make people go âOh, something like that exists?â more. Amerlingâs "Emperor Franz Joseph as a boy." is one example. Portraits of princes are always too austere.
Friedrich von Amerling, Archduke Franz Joseph at age 8 (1838)
Or take Prince of Lichtenstein and how sharp and great he looks when he was 14 (although it's an image of him from a postage stamp). When I go to Europe next time, I will go as far as Lichtenstein, and buy myself a copy.
The boy at the center of Thomas Lawrenceâs âThe Children of Sir Samuel Fludyerâ is also very nice. This painting was also displayed in Japan, so I believe many must have seen it.
Thomas Lawrence, Sir Samuel Fludyerâs Children (1806)
Likewise, when Kisling Exhibition was inaugurated in Japan, there were many people who couldnât take their eyes off of âBoy with A Striped Sweaterâ. In Kisling's works, you can feel a boyish coldness even from female subjects.
Moise Kisling, Young Blond Boy (1937)
Cold yet beautiful boys in Kislingâs paintings
âBoy with A Striped Sweaterâ makes you feel like a story is about to unfold, in the very classic Kisling fashion.
Painting of a youth hugging his knees is another my favorites, and one you can see in every postcard shop in Vienna. I do not know where it is currently displayed. A certain magazine featured it as âThe portrait of Narcissus.â I wonder if that was true.
Works of Jean Baptiste Greuze, which include âBoyâ and âBoy with an Apple,â features many charming little boys. But I think his painting I saw in an art museum in Paris remains as the painting by Greuze in my head.
Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Boy in a Red Waistcoat (1775) and A Child with An Apple (late 18th century)
One of my fans who was in England on a student exchange program sent me a postcard of âA Boy and A Girl,â which I also like a lot. Their old-fashioned clothes are absolutely lovely.
Agnes Gardner King, Children with Canary
I hear that âBoy Blowing Bubblesâ was painted for a soap commercial. I see that one a lot. I love the balance between his curly blond hair and green outfit.
John Everett Millais, Bubbles (1886)
I collect lots of cute postcards when I travel to Europe. Allow me to share a few of them with you. First is a postcard of a young man, rather than a boy, cheerfully playing an instrument. I bought it from Stockholm. It caught my eye because he looks like a water sprite. I put it up in front of my desk for a while.
Ernst Josephson, Strömkarlen (1884)
The postcard of the boys offering flowers is just as cute.
Postcard by Irenco Robert Bier AB
Another beautiful one is two little kids sharing an innocent kiss. I cannot tell if they are boys or girls. I donât know how, but I found lots of cute postcards in Stockholm!
I could only find a trace of this image on Postcrossing
I invite those of you who think âWhoâd go all that trouble?â to go to a bookstore (I mean, bookstores in Japan that sell Western books) and look for albums of old photographs. If you are lucky, you might even come across an album of old photographs of boys!
Of course, âoldâ doesnât always mean âgoodâ. The most important thing is whether it clicks with your own sense of aesthetics and how satisfied tit makes you feel. Personally, whether itâs the details or the back silhouette of a person, as long as it gives me any kind of inspiration, I can come up with a new work on the spot.
I believe if I hadnât seen Milletâs Daphnis and Chloe at the Barbizon School Exhibition held in Japan, Kaze to Ki no Uta would have never existed. Some readers who had seen that painting even sent me letters voicing their doubts and protests with questions like âHow Kaze to Ki no Uta and that thing share something in common?â However, itâs not simple to explain.
In European art museums, and particularly inconspicuous ones in smaller towns that are not being flocked by tourists, you can come across paintings that runs a shiver down your spine when you least expect it. I love it when it happens to me. Which is why although Iâve been to Paris many times, I havenât visited Parisian museums that much. Itâs a big city where you will be able to find what youâre looking for if you dig deep enough. But it's different from New York, which has become recently popular. Maybe I should ask my dear friend Y, who lives in Germany but seldom travels abroad, to come along with and spend some time with me in Paris. Compared to when I got my first âold boy photography,â the prices must have gone seven, eight times higher. Many of my favorite Kislingâs works are owned by individuals, and finding little museums going by their addresses is extremely hard. But that is precisely why sitting face to face with paintings in deserted halls with zero tourist presence, without a care in the world, has its unique charm. I really hate museums in Japan where it looks like you are constantly being pushed and swept by crowds.
There will be no end of it if I start talking about all the little charming boys in Donatello's sculptures or famous paintings like âThe Death of Balder.â Nevertheless, I tried making a compilation with some rather pleasing images here. If there are paintings of boys that I am unaware of, dear readers, please do let me know. If there is beauty that must be seen, I can fly to Paris or Rome. You name it. Now I get the feeling that Mr. Horvath Macek (4) might just be on a similar journey.
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