dinsdag 28 mei 2013

I'm back!

The month of May was spent with some seriously needed DIY on our house, and with a holiday afterwards. We've spent two weeks in green Switzerland. I've been going there for about 30 years now and I never went to see the Museum of Art in Sion. So this was number one on my list!

 Sion is the capital city of the canton Valais and situated in the south of Switzerland. It has a small old centre with little alleys and a lovely cathedral with a small square in front of it. The museum is situated in an old castle and is worth a visit. They showed works of local painters:


I love this painting but cannot remember the name of the painter... A lot is happening in this painting which makes it nice to look at, but what struck me the most is how he painted the light. The light in the front is bright which is often the case in Valais where there are a lot of sunny days, and the light in the back is the softly matted light which is so typical of the mountains. I love this!



 All three works above are from one painting by the painter Raphy Delleves (1878-1940). He was known for his portraits of local Valais women. These three women were painted while doing the laundry. The details on their costumes are so refined, I think it would have taken him a lot of time and patience.

This is a detail of the painting Mother and Child by Ernest Bieler (1863-1948), his style was going towards Art Nouveau. This is made with gouache, watercolour and pencil on paper.

What would I be painting if I concentrated myself on local women...? It would be so different.