In the spirit of our current Los Angeles exhibition, "Place Setting," we explored the art historical themes that lend to the inspiration behind some of the show's concepts. Through this exhibition, we are excited to showcase diverse perspectives on collaboration with local landscapes, cultural memories, and figures. Each piece in the exhibition transports viewers to a specific setting reminiscent of Los Angeles, its surrounding scenery, and the industries that dominate this major world stage.
"Place Setting" also serves as a double entendre, nodding to the dinner party—a form of intimate community engagement that strengthens connections and has recently provided a source of comfort and interaction in our post-pandemic lives.
This group show draws inspiration from the everyday, exploring subjects from curated stage sets to expansive landscapes. Each artist has developed a unique style, some of them influenced by renowned still-life traditions. In this blog we explore the historical significance of the place setting, showcasing iconic still lifes and sculptures that continue to inspire and resonate today.
Jacob Van Es (c. 1596- 1666)
Jacob Van Es, a Flemish Baroque painter, known for his still lifes mainly of food and occasionally flower paintings. Jacob Van Es, born in the Circa 1596 (1) Jacob Foppens van Es painted mainly still lifes and in particular still lifes of food. His still lifes typically depict a variety of foods such as fruit, fish, lobster, oysters, mussels, cheese, ham, bread, olives, lemons, and oranges, alongside objects like glassware, pitchers, and silver. Occasionally, his compositions include animals such as butterflies, birds, or squirrels, or a flower. These still lifes often present a seemingly random accumulation of unrelated objects on a sharply inclined table, with the principal focus being the realization of rich color.
Jacob Van Es: Still life with a lobster, fruit and a gilded tazza, 1653. Image courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Willem Claeszoon Heda (1593/1593- 168-/1682)
Willem Claeszoon Heda was a Dutch Golden Age artist from the city of Haarlem, renowned for his exceptional still-life paintings (2). He is particularly known for his innovation in the late breakfast genre of still-life painting. Although he occasionally painted portraits and figural compositions, Heda specialized in still lifes and is widely regarded as one of the greatest masters of this genre. His early vanitas still lifes are a testament to his skill, and his breakfast pieces—tabletop still lifes featuring an array of food, such as cheese, fruit, and bread—evolved from the Haarlem still-life tradition of the early seventeenth century. Over time, Heda’s work progressed from additive compositions to monumental, monochrome breakfast and banquet pieces, executed with delicate brushwork that vividly conveyed a wide range of materials and textures.
Willem Claesz Heda: Breakfast Table with Blackberry Pie, 1635. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.
Pierre- Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a leading figure in the Impressionist movement, celebrated for his ability to capture beauty, particularly feminine sensuality. As a French artist, Renoir developed a technique of broken brushstrokes and bold combinations of pure complementary colors to convey the light and movement in his landscapes and figure subjects (3). After a visit to Italy in 1881, his style became more linear and classical. One of his most famous works, Luncheon of the Boating Party, is a quintessential depiction of an alfresco lunch outing. Set in a café overlooking the Seine, the painting captures a joyous moment among friends and remains one of the most iconic images in art history (4).
Pierre Auguste Renoir: Luncheon of the Boating party 1881. Image courtesy of the Philips Collection
Henri Matisse (1869-1954)
Celebrated as both an orchestrator of tonal harmonies and a master draftsman, he skillfully united color and line in his work. Known for his vibrant use of color and fluid, original draftsmanship, he excelled as a painter, draftsman, printmaker, and sculptor (5). His mastery of the expressive language of color and drawing, displayed in a body of work spanning over half a century, established him as a leading figure in modern art. The Dessert: Harmony in Red (The Red Room), 1908, is considered by many art historians to be Matisse's masterpiece. Greatly influenced by Post-Impressionists such as Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Cézanne, Matisse was also an ardent admirer of Japanese art and motifs (6). He developed his style using flat, brilliant, often unnatural colors, and outlined his forms in a manner similar to Van Gogh. This Fauvist painting, like those of Impressionist Claude Monet, lacks a central focal point. Originally ordered as Harmony in Blue, Matisse was dissatisfied with the result and painted it over with his preferred red.
Henri Matisse: The Dessert: Harmony in Red (The Red Room) 1908. Image courtesy of Obselik Art History.
Judy Chicago (born 1939)
Judy Chicago is an American feminist artist, art educator, and writer renowned for her large-scale collaborative art installations that explore themes of birth, creation, and the role of women in history and culture. In the 1970s, Chicago founded the first feminist art program in the United States at California State University, Fresno, which became a catalyst for feminist art and art education during that era (7). Her influence is evident from her inclusion in numerous publications worldwide, highlighting her impact on the global art community. Perhaps Chicago’s most iconic piece, The Dinner Party, 1974-1979, a work of 1970s feminist art and a milestone in twentieth-century art. This massive ceremonial banquet is arranged on a triangular table with thirty-nine place settings, each honoring an important woman from history. The settings include embroidered runners, gold chalices and utensils, and china-painted porcelain plates with motifs inspired by vulvar and butterfly forms. Additionally, the names of another 999 women are inscribed in gold on the white tile floor below the table (8).
Judy Chicago: The Dinner Party 1974-1979. Image courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum.
Sources
(1) https://artvee.com/artist/jacob-foppens-van-es/
(2) https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.32.html#biography
(3) https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/augu/hd_augu.htm
(4) https://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/luncheon-boating-party
(5) https://www.moma.org/artists/3832
(6) https://www.henrimatisse.org/the-dessert-harmony-in-red.jsp
(7) https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/judy-chicago-20484
(8) https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party
Written by Nalani Bouillon
Add a comment