Back Among the Ruins and the Forest Passage (Part 2)

Death of Alcestis (ca. 1814) by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin (1774–1833).
For me, this was the highlight of the Focus on the Figure installation

Our recent visit to the Morgan Library and Museum in Midtown Manhattan last week was so uplifting and enjoyable that we had to go back and lose ourselves again in the stately halls and ongoing exhibits. This time I’ll spare the reader my contempt for the city and the art world and simply share some of the remarkable works on display. As is usually the case, I enjoyed the installations much more the second time around.

Part Two: The Exhibitions

Sketching Among the Ruins

October 25, 2022 through November 12, 2023

Roman Theater in Taormina, Sicily; 1825; oil on paper, mounted on board;
by Louise-Joséphine Sarazin de Belmont (1790-1870)

(L) Temple of Venus, Rome; ca. 1824-27; oil on paper, mounted on canvas;
by Alphonse-Henri Périn (1798-1874). (R) Top: The Basilica of Constantine,
Rome; 1821; oil on paper, mounted on cardboard; by Johann Adam Klein
(1792-1895). Bottom: The Basilica of Constantine, Rome;, 1830; oil
on paper, mounted on canvas; by Michael Neher (1798-1876)

A Focus on the Figure: Selections from the Karen B. Cohen Gift
June 6 through October 22, 2023

(L) Two Robed Figures Standing in a Landscape, 1865, charcoal and black chalk with overall fixative, by Odilon Redon (1840-1916). (R) Between the Focus on the Figure and Sketching Among the Ruins exhibits hangs the Portrait of Mrs. J.P. Morgan, Jr. (nee Jane "Jessie" Norton Grew, 1868-1925), ca. 1905,
oil on canvas, by John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)

Into the Woods: French Drawings and Photographs from the Karen B. Cohen Gift

June 16 through October 22, 2023

Study for "Forest of Fontainebleau: Hunters," 1866, black chalk, brown and gray wash, opaque lead white watercolor on blue paper, by Paul Huet (1803-1869)

(L) Fisherwoman Holding Nets, ca. 1865-67, black chalk on blue-gray laid paper, by Jules Breton (1827-1906). (R) Woman Churning Butter, ca. 1855-58, black conté crayon, by Jean-François Millet (1814-1875)

Wooded Landscape with a Screen of Trees Sheltering a Cottage,
ca. 1856-57, graphite with smudging, pastel and white chalk
on green paper by Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867)

(L) Moonlit Landscape, 1862, charcoal, stumped and scratched, with white chalk and fixative on light brown paper, by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875). (R) Sun-Dappled Trees on a Stream, late 1640s, black and gray washes over black chalk, by Jacob Van Ruisdael (1628/29-1682)

River Landscape, 1865-72, charcoal with smudging and locally applies fixative, by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Carot (1796-1875)

Landscape with Three Gabled Cottages beside a Road, 1650, etching and drypoint, by Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn (1606-1669)

Landscape with Two Trees, 1874, charcoal and black chalk,
by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875)

Study for "The Forest in Winter at Sunset," ca. 1846, oil, over charcoal,
with white heightening, on paper, mounted to canvas,
by Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867)

The Village of Becquigny in Picardy, ca. 1857-64, oil on canvas,
by Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867)

Interior of the Gare du Nord, Paris, digitized Sketchbook, ca. 1847, graphite, with 47 drawings on 94 pages, by Charles François Daubigny (1817-1878)

Also see:
• Back Among the Ruins and the Forest Passage (Part 1)
• Among the Ruins and the Forest Passage
• Briganti Field Trip: Maker of Middle-Earth Exhibit at the Morgan Library & Museum