Lady and the Unicorn (Musee de Cluny, Paris, 2015)

Tapestry weaving expanded during the 14th Century in Brussels, Antwerp, Tournai, and Arras, towns in the Low Countries of Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxemburg. Tapestries were extremely expensive; they were commissioned only by the very wealthy. Tapestries were hung on the stone walls of rooms to provide warmth, but also to decorate the room. At the time they were the only means to decorate walls. Designs were woven according to the instructions of the family. The designs (cartoons) for tapestries were drawn in Paris by one of the distinguished artists or workshops of the time.

The Le Viste family, Jean IV Le Viste or his relative Antoine II Le Viste, both important figures in the Courts of Charles VII and VIII of France, commissioned the six Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. Their coat of arms is prominently displayed in the six tapestries. The theme is courtly love and is based on codes of conduct for knights and married ladies developed in 11th Century France. The knight on holy crusade was honorable, courteous, and brave, and he worshipped his chosen lady as if she were the Virgin Mary. In each of the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries the characters of a virgin, lion, and unicorn are depicted. Themes of the individual tapestries represent the five senses: “Touch,” “Taste,” “Smell,” “Hearing,” and “Sight.” The sixth tapestry, “A mon seul desir,” causes the viewer to contemplate the direction of their life.

The tapestries were woven of wool and silk, with gilded threads; the background was mille-fleurs (thousand flowers) design, the popular style of the time. It was intended to represent a lush paradise garden, where all flowers grew regardless of the season, and grew in such profusion they covered the dark green grass. The background is the color rose madder. In order to teach its unschooled members, the Roman Catholic Church assigned Christian meaning to earthly objects. In the Lady and the Unicorn series, each of the animals and plants added meaning to the tapestry. 

“Touch”

 In “Touch” (10.3’x11.7’), both the unicorn and the lion represent Christ. The unicorn represents innocence and power. It was thought to be a gentle animal with inner strength and wisdom, but it was a fierce protector of those it loved. The horn had healing powers. A unicorn only could be captured by a virgin. The lion has a long history as a symbol of great power, bravery, and dignity. In the Old Testament, the tribe of Judah was led by King David; Christ was the heir of David, and He was called the Lion of Judah. 

The blond-haired lady wears an elaborate dark blue gown with a gold brocade inset. The hem, sleeves, and bodice are decorated with gemstones and pearls set in gold.  She wears a gem encrusted crown, and around her neck an elegant gold pendant necklace. The lion smiles at the viewer. He bears a shield with the insignia of the Le Viste family, and the lady holds onto a pole bearing the Le Viste pennant. She touches the horn of the unicorn, also wearing the Le Viste shield. The unicorn looks up adoringly at the lady. 

To lady looks to her left at a small brown monkey, chained to a weight and unable to move. Another monkey, just behind her head, wears a belt locked around its waist. Is it a chastity belt? Among other things, monkeys represented base instincts, deceit, and betrayal. Several rabbits, birds, and other animals also are present. The four trees in the four corners of the tapestry are pine (top left), orange (bottom left), holly (top right), and oak (bottom right).

Taste

“Taste” (12.3’x15.1’) depicts the lady sampling sweets from a dish held by her maidservant. The lion and the unicorn stand on their hind legs; they wear cloaks with the Le Viste half-moon insignia, and their front paws and legs support pennants on poles. The unicorn looks at the viewer. The lady’s gown is a rich gold fabric with a black brocade border. She wears the same necklace as in “Touch,” but with a simpler crown. Sitting on the train of her gown, a small white Maltese dog looks up at her. A green and yellow bird perches on her hand. The small brown monkey is unchained. The larger brown monkey sits at the lady’s feet, enjoying a sweet she has given it. Baby rabbits run around the scene. A white goat sits behind the lady’s head, a white lamb and white dog are at her left. A brown fox sits at the right side of the tapestry.  

“Smell”

“Smell” (12’x10’) presents the lady holding a white carnation that she has taken from the tray of flowers presented by her maidservant.  The white carnation is a symbol of purity and love. When the Virgin Mary saw Christ crucified, she cried, and white carnations grew where her tears fell. Carnations also represent fidelity to one’s destiny and in paintings the Christ Child can often be seen holding carnations. Behind her on a bench, the monkey also enjoys smelling the flowers. The lion and unicorn balance on their hind legs wearing the shields and holding the pennants. The long-legged white and gray bird above the lady is a heron, a symbol of elegance and sociability. Zeus said the heron had super human strengths, and in Christianity it represents Christ because it eats eels and snakes, symbols of Satan.

The oak tree, at the top left of the tapestry is one of the four trees repeated in the six tapestries. The oak tree has a long symbolic history. It is tall, strong, and stable, a symbol of longevity and endurance. It also represents power and justice. The tree below is an orange tree, symbolic of prosperity, luxury, and happiness. Orange trees are evergreen and live long. The fruit is the color of the sun; it is sweet and the scent is beautiful. The orange tree bears fruit and flowers at the same time, symbolic of the Virgin Mary who remained a virgin although she also was a mother.

‘Hearing”

“Hearing” (12.1’x9.5’) portrays the lady playing an organ placed on a table that is covered by an oriental rug. Her maidservant pumps the bellows. The lion and unicorn are at her side, resting on the ground with their backs to her. Both hold the poles with the pennants and listen to the music. The four trees are included, but with altered positions. The holly tree, with its red berries and sharp leaves is placed behind the lion. The sharp leaves represent the crown of thorns worn by Christ, and the red berries represent His blood. Hollies are evergreen and therefore represent eternal life. The abundance of the berries also represents fertility. The sharp leaves were believed to ward off evil spirits, witches, and bad luck.

At the top right the pine tree can be identified by its numerous pine cones.  “The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.” (Isaiah 60:13)

“Sight” 

The fifth tapestry “Sight” (10.2’x10.8’) finds the lady seated and holding a gilded mirror. The unicorn sits next to her, its feet on her lap. She caresses the unicorn’s neck while it admires itself in the mirror. Smiling, the lion holds the pole and standard of the Le Viste family. The oak tree and the holly tree, the rabbits, dogs, and birds fill the scene.

“A mon seul desir”

The sixth tapestry “A mon seul desir” (12.3’x15.5’) takes its title from the motto embroidered across the top of the elegant circular pavilion at the center of the composition. The rich blue fabric contains a flame design that may be a symbolic reference to passion.

The pavilion is surrounded by the trees, animals, and flowers that populate the other tapestries. The Maltese dog, seen on the train of the lady’s gown in “Taste,” sits upon the pillow on top of a simple wood table. The Maltese was a popular breed in the 15th Century. Symbolic of affection and devotion, dogs form protective relationships with their humans.

The lion and the unicorn hold the poles and pennants. They also hold the flaps of the pavilion, perhaps anticipating the entrance of the lady. The maidservant holds an open chest into which the lady may be placing the gold necklace she wore in each of the tapestries. She no longer wears a jeweled crown. 

Some of the possible English translations of the motto “A mon seul desir” (e.g. “to my only/sole desire,” “by my own free will,” “love desires only”) suggest the lady is faced with, or perhaps has made her choice between the life of sensuality and a life of virtue. In each of the first five tapestries, her facial expression suggests she is contemplating these sensual experiences. In the last tapestry, she smiles for the first time. We are left to speculate about her choice.

The Virgin and the Unicorn tapestries were rediscovered in a storeroom in1841. The writer George Sand (Aurore Dupin) saw them in 1844, and she wrote about them in her novel Jeanne. However, they were not rescued from the damp, mold, and gnawing rats until 1882, when Edmond Du Sommerand, curator of the Musee de Cluny, purchased them for 25,500 francs. Restored to their original beauty, they now hang in a new (2015) installation in the Cluny Museum in Paris.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

The Entombment” (1633-35)

(1606-1669) was born in Leiden, Netherlands, to a prosperous middle class Dutch family during what is called the Dutch Golden Age (1588-1672). His mother was a Roman Catholic and his father was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. He was educated in Latin School, attended Leiden University, and received training as an artist from several contemporary artists including Pieter Lastman. Rembrandt had several patrons, among them Prince Frederick Henry of Orange, a celebrated war hero, statesman, and politician.

“The Raising of the Cross” (1633)

Prince Frederick Henry commissioned a series of paintings of the Passion of Christ that Rembrandt painted between 1632 and 1646. “The Raising of the Cross” (1633) (38’’x28.5’’) was painted in the baroque style that followed the Italian tradition set by Caravaggio (1571-1610). The composition represents an effective use of chiaroscuro: specific portions of the composition are illuminated, leaving much in semi-darkness in order to heighten emotional impact. The foot of the cross is in the foreground. The cross is placed on a diagonal that also creates emotion and makes the viewer a witness to the event. The entire length of Christ’s body is illuminated by an unseen light source. The nails in Christ’s feet and hands are prominent, and blood runs from the wounds. Christ looks up to heaven. Above his head is the superscription, INRI, Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews. The Gospel of John (19:20) states it was written in three languages: Greek, Hebrew, and Latin.

At Christ’s feet, dressed in blue with a painter’s beret, Rembrandt assists with the elevation of the cross.  Light shines on the helmet and cuirass (breast plate and back plate fastened together) of the Roman soldier who kneels at the base of the cross. Two barely visible figures beneath the cross are helping. One man steadies the cross, his hands grasping the wood. The other man stands, his body at an opposing diagonal, and he strains under the weight of the cross. On horseback, a third figure wearing a white turban and gold brocade gown and holding a mace supervises the execution.  At the left of the cross, four Pharisees, who wanted Christ to be crucified, look on from the shadows. At the right, the two thieves, one standing and one bent over, await their crucifixion. The wooden handle of the shovel used to dig the hole for the cross can be seen in the light.

“The Raising of the Cross” (1633)

Rembrandt’s preparatory drawing (23.2’’x18.7’’) (black chalk and India ink wash) for “The Raising of the Cross” (1633) shows his drafting skills.  The shovel is placed in the foreground. 

“The Deposition” (1632-33)

Light from an unseen source illuminates the group of figures who remove Christ from the cross in “The Deposition” (1632-33) (35”x25.6”).  The elderly man in the turban and brocade gown is Joseph of Arimathea. A rich man and disciple of Jesus, he asked Pilate’s permission to remove and bury the body. Each of the four Gospels records this event. The Gospel of John (19:38-42) records that “another man named Nicodemus” helped Joseph. The younger red-haired man wearing gold and supporting Christ’s legs is most likely Nicodemus. Rembrandt may again include himself as the man in the blue suit, but this time the viewer does not see his face. Three other figures participate in this event; a brown-haired man stands just behind Nicodemus, an older, balding man holds onto Christ’s shoulder, and the third figure leans over the top of the cross and holds onto the linen cloth. The wooden arm of the cross and the post are covered with Christ’s blood. The night sky is moonless. The silhouette of a building at the right and tall trees at the left close off the background, keeping the viewer close to the event. A few other figures, mostly hidden in the shadows, stay to mourn.

Rembrandt’s oil sketch for “The Entombment” (1633-35) (12.6”x15.8”) places the event in a large cave with many people in attendance, an unusual concept. The location of the tomb is not specified in the Gospels, and artists have represented it in many ways. It is thought Joseph of Arimathea lent his own tomb for Christ’s burial.  

In the finished painting of “The Entombment” (1633-39) (36.4’’x27.6’’), Rembrandt placed Christ near the entrance of the cave. Two lanterns, one at the far right and another at the far left, illuminate the scene. Several figures, both male and female, are present. Christ’s body rests upon a stone coffin. The three Marie’s, the Virgin Mary in the black robe, Mary Magdalene, and Mary Cleofas huddle at the foot of the coffin. Rembrandt deviated from the accepted story that the Marie’s came the next morning to anoint Christ’s body and found an empty tomb. In another unique compositional element, Rembrandt depicts the entrance to the tomb as an arched opening through which Calvary Hill and the crosses can be seen.

‘The Ressurection” (1636-39)

“The Resurrection” (1636-39) (36”x26”) is another unique Rembrandt painting. A larger than usual group of soldiers guard the tomb, and are awake when the angel appears. They grab their swords, hold up their shields for protection, and are in general disarray. Glowing with a heavenly light that is the light source for the painting, the Angel hovers above the tomb. The soldier who was sitting upon the tomb is thrown off as the angel lifts the lid. Christ sits upright in the coffin. At the lower corner on the right, the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene marvel at the miraculous event.

”The Ascension” (1636)

In the Easter story, forty days after the Resurrection, Christ called his eleven disciples to go to Bethany, a village on the Mount of Olives, to witness His ascension. Judas is not included. In “The Ascension” (1636) (36”x27”) the disciples are placed in a semi-circular composition in the lower half of the painting. Peter, with white hair and beard and wearing a dark blue robe, kneels among the group. His hands are clasped in prayer and his face is turned toward Christ. John the Evangelist, the youngest of the disciples, with long blond hair and wearing white, is positioned in the foreground. His arms spread apart in wonder, and his face looks up in amazement. Next to John, a disciple dressed in orange also spreads his arms. The two figures form a semi-circle in the lower part of the composition. 

Cherubs encircle the cloud that supports the ascending Christ. Christ radiates light, as does the heaven above Him. Arms out-stretched, He looks up to the Dove of the Holy Spirit that radiates a circle of light. Christ’s arms and the folds of His robe repeat the half-circles of the composition. The trunk of a palm tree rises in the foreground at the left to enclose the composition, and its curved branches echo the bank of clouds at the right.

During his career, Rembrandt painted and made prints of numerous Old and New Testament subjects. His ability to translate a story into a work of art that touched viewers was remarkable. Little is known about his personal religious beliefs, but with a Catholic mother and a Dutch Reformed father, he was able to experience both religious traditions. Although he avoided commitment to one, he did have his children baptized. He was exceedingly popular throughout his career, although occasionally controversial. He did not die in poverty, even though he was a spendthrift. Near the end of his life, the artistic style of his era changed and his work became less popular. 

Rembrandt was a man who loved art and amassed a huge collection. He also acquired items he wanted to paint, such as the turban used in these paintings. He and his wife lived in the Jewish section of Amsterdam, and he constantly looked there for the faces of people who would best represent the religious figures that appeared in his works. Gerard de Lairesse, a Dutch painter, art theorist, musician, and poet met Rembrandt in 1665. His description of Rembrandt in1707 praises the artist: “Everything that art and the brush can achieve was possible for him, and he was the greatest painter of the time and is still unsurpassed. For, they say, was there ever a painter who by means of color came as close to nature by his beautiful light, lovely harmony, and unique, unusual thoughts.” 

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1798-1858) was a master of the Japanese Ukiyo-e wood cut print. The English translation of Ukiyo-e is pictures of the floating world: uki (floating) yo (world) e (pictures). The Tokugawa shogunate (Edo period, 1603-1867) brought peace, prosperity, and economic stability to Japan. Japanese culture included elaborate tea houses, Kabuki theater, geishas, and puppet shows. Ukiyo-e wood block prints flourished. Ukiyo-e prints reflected the sensuous pleasure of life in an ever-changing world. Typical subjects of the prints were beautiful women, popular Kabuki actors, and scenes of the pleasure districts. They were sold at low prices in shops and on the street by vendors. They became enormously popular with ordinary citizens.

Hiroshige was born in Edo, modern day Tokyo, into a samurai family. His father was a fire warden at the Edo Castle. When Hiroshige was 12, his mother died, and his father died later that year. He inherited his father’s duties as fire marshal in 1809. The job afforded him a lot of spare time, and he started the learn the art of printmaking. His artistic skills were of such high quality that in that same year he was authorized to sign his work. When his son reached the age of 12, Hiroshige turned over the fire warden duties to him and worked solely as an artist. 

“Cherry Blossoms” (1830s)

Hiroshige began his career by making bird and flower prints. Cherry blossoms hold a special place in Japanese cultural history. The cherry blossom (Sakura) is symbolic of spring; flowers bloom sometime between late March and mid-April. Hiroshige’s “Cherry Blossoms” (1830s) print contains five colors, printed on white paper. Each color, blue, light pink, darker pink, and black, were cut from separate wood blocks. The printmaker cuts away the section of the block not included in the print, leaving the section to be printed above the surface. Each block is then painted or inked with one color and pressed/printed onto the paper. A system called registering, marked alignment guides, was necessary to make sure each color block lined up every time. Each color block needed to be re-inked for each new print. Hiroshige signed by hand the early prints for the western market. Individual stamps (chop marks) were the common and easy way to sign documents and art. Each work could be printed many times until the raised wood image wore down. The size of Ukiyo-e prints ranged from 6 to10 inches by 10 to15 inches. 

“White Cheeked Bird and Double Cherry Blossom” (1830s)

In the Edo period publishing of prints was flourishing. Publishers looked for new subjects beyond the geisha and courtesan. “White Cheeked Bird and Double Cherry Blossom” (1830s) depicts the double cherry blossom, white and pink, developed in the Edo period. The Japanese cultivated and produced over 200 varieties during this time. They were planted on the banks of rivers, in Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, and the daimyo gardens of powerful warrior bands in Edo. Everyone could enjoy them.

Ukiyo-e artists used mineral-based pigments and natural dyes produced from plants and insects, including leaves, roots, petals, buds, dried fruit, grass, heartwood, and bark. Safflower produced the pale pink to red dye used to color the double cherry blossom. Hiroshige had approximately 20 colors to pick from. In this print, he had the newly available and popular Prussian blue to create the sky. The color was stable under light, had a wide range of hues, and was vibrant. Hiroshige and his contemporary Hokusai used the technique known as bokashi: applying the paint to the block and spreading the color with a brush.

“Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom at Goten-Yama” (1838-44)

Hanami, flower viewing, is a custom that dates to the 8th Century in Japan. “Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom at Goten-Yama” (1838-44) (approximately 9’’ x 14’’) depicts Japanese people celebrating Hanami. Cherry blossoms represented good fortune, new beginnings, and renewal. Cherry trees bloom for only two weeks. While they bloomed, they produced an enticing fragrance and a brilliant display of color. The trees were so full of blossoms they were thought of as clouds in the sky. Families and friends made this time an annual festival, eating, drinking, and dancing under the gorgeous cherry trees. The cherry blossom were considered to be the home of the souls of ancestors; therefore, looking at the flowers was a way to remember ancestors. During Hanami, schools and offices held open houses, encouraging people to make new friends. 

Hiroshige used Prussian blue that gave a vibrant blue color to the water. Boats sail peacefully on the harbor. The viewer looks down at the roofs of houses along the water’s edge. The town of Goten-Yama stretches out in the background. Green trees behind the houses contrast with the red sunset. Above, a very dark edge of Prussian blue sky is blended slowly down from the top of the print. Red lead, red ochre, safflower, or another dye produced the red of the blankets and the sky at sunset. The color green was achieved by mixing Orpiment, a yellow mineral, with the blue of either indigo or dayflower. Hiroshige was one of the few artists who over printed certain areas with second or third color blocks, achieving subtle shadings and colors. 

“Cherry Blossoms at Sage” (1854)

Hiroshige’s “Cherry Blossoms at Sage” (1854) (uchiwa, rigid-fan) (13.5’’ x 9.5’’) is an example of his advancement in technique and the development of new subject matter. “Cherry Blossoms at Sage” tell part of the story of Prince Genji, from the very popular Tales of Genji (1000-1008), written by Lady Murasaki Shikibu, a noblewoman and lady-in-waiting at the imperial court during the Heian period (794-1185). Prince Genji and one of his lady loves are dressed in exquisite silk robes of the imperial Heian period. The variety of fabrics, the knife in his belt, two sets of tassels on her gown, the markings on the boat, the mooring rope in the bow, and the small nest of four houses on the distant bank of the river all flow together in complete harmony.  The cherry trees are the only pink in the scene. The complexity of the design is typical of Hiroshige’s later work. Considering the small scale of the print, 8.5” x 11.4,” as in all ukiyo-e prints, they are remarkable. 

Genji and his lady are boating on the Hozu River with the Tonase waterfall in the background, and the town of Nakanoshima behind them. Tourism increased during the Edo period, and travel guides depicting meisho, famous places, were very popular. Hiroshige was invited to join an official procession to Kyoto from Edo in 1832. His first wife sold some of her clothing and combs to help him finance the trip. Hiroshige’s Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido road, a 300-mile trip, was produced from 1833 until1834. He included the location, date, and stories told by fellow travelers on the journey. The series was so popular that Hiroshige issued it three times. Other series by Hiroshige include: Ten Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (1831), The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kise Kaido (1835-42), and One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, created from1848 until near the time of his death.

Evening viewing of cherry blossoms also was a popular and romantic activity. Hanami at night was called yozakura. “Moon Over Cherry Trees” (1830’s) (the 58th scene of Edo) does not show couples enjoying the special beauty of the evening. A full moon shines over Mt. Yoshino. It is a superb example of the intimate yet remarkable power of Hiroshige’s work.

Cherry blossoms exemplify the world view of Japanese Buddhism:  life, like the cherry blossom, is beautiful but impermanent. When they bloom, they are vibrant, but their life is fleeting. 

Hiroshige retired from printmaking in 1856 and became a Buddhist monk. He was working on the 100 views of Edo when Japan suffered a major cholera epidemic. Whether or not that was the cause of his death in 1858 is unknown. In 1867, Japanese trade with the West was opened, and Paris was flooded with Ukiyo-e prints. The effect on young French artists was overwhelming. Among the artists who were inspired by Hiroshige’s prints were Manet, Monet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Van Gogh. The pictures of the floating world changed art in Europe forever.  At his death, Hiroshige left a short poem:  

I leave my brush in the East,
And set forth on my journey.
I shall see the famous places in the Western Land.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

We’re halfway through the EGOT season now. EGOT, of course, stands for the top four performing arts prizes. T.V.’s Emmys aren’t awarded until September. Of local interest, the recent Grammys included a triumph for Michael Repper, music director of Easton and Delmarva’s Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. The Oscar presentations passed without a major incident. So that leaves the Tony Awards with the top prize of Best Musical. It will be announced on May 2, with the awards show on Sunday, June 11.

If you haven’t already, you can catch up on the big winner from the 2022 Tonys.

“Hadestown,” with music, lyrics, and book by Anais Mitchell, inspired by one of Greek mythology’s greatest hits, “Orpheus and Eurydice.” It tells the story of a hungry girl who seeks nourishment by working in Hell’s underworld, from which her equally impoverished lover tries to rescue her; his ardor expressed in moving songs and ensuing dancing. It’s a love story burnished in Hades. Whether you believe in Hell or not, it’s a damn good tale and has been for a thousand years.

You can still catch the reigning Best Musical Tony winner at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre. But the national tour arrives closer to home – downtown Baltimore – with eight performances April 11-16, starting at 8 Tuesday through Saturday, plus a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee and shows at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday at France-Merrick Performing Arts Center’s Hippodrome Theatre.

france-merrickpac.com

***

“In the face of severe economic dislocation, widespread civil disorder, and Prime Minister [Margaret] Thatcher’s controversial policies, these artists declared: ‘This is Britain!’”

That’s the concluding statement posted at the entrance to the National Gallery of Art’s photography exhibition, which takes its title from a generation of artists’ symbolic declaration. These are images from the “Iron Lady” period – 1975-1900 – when Thatcher served first as leader of Britain’s Conservative party (the Tories) and, beginning in 1979, as the U.K.’s first female prime minister and its longest-serving PM of either gender in the 20th century. But today, these still images bring to mind current news videos we see from France. 

The National Gallery photos are primarily of people coping with poverty, discrimination, but also resentment by a white working class against immigrants of color or neighbors of a different race or religion and even women of their own kind or sons and daughters who don’t believe in love, marriage, and a baby carriage. Sound familiar? 

The Thatcher era covered the Catholic v. Protestant “Troubles” in Northern Ireland, record unemployment due to parliamentary cancellation of the “welfare state,” along with mining closures, nuclear power plants, and urban riots. These profound changes inspired such artistic responses as punk rock and a photographic revolution advancing free speech through visual expressions that cannot be censored this side of pornography.

Examples: Vanley Burke’s 1970 black-and-white “Boy with Flag” shot in Handsworth Park, Birmingham, England, site of hellfire riots 15 years later. He’s a black male child sporting a Union Jack on his bike. He could even be one of those pictured strolling down the street in Birmingham with a white friend, passing an overturned burning truck as if it were an everyday occurrence. Apparently, it was in this 1985 shot by Pogus Caesar. Meanwhile, life goes on amid chaos, as suggested in Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen’s “Young Couple in a Backyard on a Summer’s Day.” A naked man approaches a woman known to him who appears apprehensive, perhaps because a child standing next to them tries to look away.

Other images are accompanied by long titles that give away the photographer’s intent, such as a black-and-white image of a man of privilege seated disconsolately in an exclusive members club with a news rag in his lap. It’s Karen Knorr’s 1981 “Newspapers are no longer ironed. Coins are no longer boiled. So far have Standards Fallen.” 

Moving on to color photography, Sunil Gupta’s 1988 “Untitled #1” presents a gay couple posing across the Thames from Parliament. Text imposed in a break separating part of the image states: “I call you my love though you are not my love, and it breaks my heart to tell you.” Guess which guy is thinking that to himself. I say the one on the right.

My favorite photo commentary on the Thatcher rule is Chris Steele-Perkins’ color sight gag titled “Hypnosis Demonstration: Cambridge University Ball,” 1989. All those gathered look like standing-dead zombies. Speaking of the truly dead, the most evocative of the wasted lives from “The Troubles” is Pogus Caesar’s 1985 “Belfast Mourners & Press at the Funeral of 3 Republican Servicemen,” a black-and-white of a casket being lowered into a grave. For what? Christians at war with one another? No different, we suppose, than Muslim Shiites and Sunnis.

May France fare better in its current “troubles.”

“This Is Britain: Photographs from the 1970s and 1980s” through June 11, National Gallery of Art’s West Building, Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C., nga.gov

                                                                                                             ***

April will bloom with premieres and major concerts, digital and live, for most of the national and regional classical music orchestras near home or within relatively easy driving distance.

* The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra wraps up its 2022-23 season with three concerts beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 27, at Chesapeake College’s Todd Performing Arts Center on the Wye Mills campus, followed at the same hour on April 29 at Cape Henlopen High in Lewes, Delaware, and 3 p.m. on April 30 at Ocean City Performing Arts Center. The program for all three concerts opens with Grammy-winning music director Repper conducting Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major with solo cellist Dominique de Williencourt. Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 from “The New World” follows intermission.  

midatlanticsymphony.org

 
* The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Masterworks’ subscription season resumes at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 31 and April 1 at Maryland Hall in the capital city, and 2 p.m. April 2 at North Bethesda’s Music Center at Strathmore. The “Two Romantics” concert features guest violinist Esther Yoo performing Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Opus 19, followed by Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Opus 73.

annapolissymphony.org

* The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presents blockbuster concerts promoted as “Joshua Bell Plays Mendelssohn,” owing to the superstar violinist’s highly deserved reputation for eloquent interpretation of the 19th-century German composer’s poetic concerto. The concerts – 8 p.m. Friday, April 21, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 23, at Baltimore’s Meyerhoff Hall, and at the BSO’s second home, the Strathmore, at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 22. Russian-born conductor Anna Rakitina leads the orchestra in a program that opens with “When the World as You Know It Doesn’t Exist” by Pulitzer-prize winner Ellen Reid who, at 40, is young for such an accomplished composer. Next, Bell performs the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto ahead of the concert finale: Elgar’s “Enigma,” Variations on an Original Theme.

bsomusic.org

* The National Symphony Orchestra presents a special family concert: the world premiere of “This Is the Rope: A Story From the Great Migration” at 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday, April 2, at Washington’s Kennedy Center. Written and narrated by Jacqueline Woodson on commission by the NSO, it’s the story of a little African-American girl who finds a rope under a tree in South Carolina before the family migrates north. She later learns the history behind the rope that will be handed down from generation to generation.

kennedy-center.org/nso

* In a concert that could not be closer to home, the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra performs Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece “Pathetique” (also known as his Symphony No. 6). Nathalie Stutzmann conducts the program that opens with another Tchaikovsky, Polonaise from his “Eugene Onegin” opera. The concert – recorded at the 2022 Bravo! Vail Music Festival in Colorado is offered on the orchestra’s Digital Stage. Streaming starts at 8 and 11 p.m. Wednesday, April 12 through April 19.
phil.orch.org

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For an altogether different musical vibe, Easton’s Avalon Theatre brings award-winning blues and soul artist Shemekia Copeland to its main stage at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 8. Winner of the 2021 B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Blues Music Award, Copeland is up for four 2023 Blues Music nominations, including Album of the Year for her Grammy-nominated “Done Come to Far.” Hailed as her generation’s “Queen of the Blues,” Copeland’s 2019-22 album trilogy, culminating with “Done Come to Far,” was preceded by “America’s Child” and “Uncivil War.” In them, she tackles sobering human rights issues while mixing in bits of enlightened humor and a sense of hope. The 44th annual Blues Music Awards will be presented on May 11 in Memphis. 

avalonfoundation.org

Steve Parks is a retired New York arts writer and editor now living in Easton.

Camille Claudel (1864-1943) was born in the Aisne region of northern France into a family of priests, farmers, and the gentry. Her father was a banker. From 1869 until 1876, Claudel was educated at the school run by of Sisters of Christian Doctrine. The family moved to Paris when Claudel was seventeen years old. She showed a strong interest in art, but her mother disapproved of her “unladylike desire to become an artist.” Her father was more encouraging and showed her work to the sculptor Alfred Boucher, who said she was talented and should be encouraged.

Camille Claudel (L), Jessie Lipscomb (R) (188s)

Claudel began to study with Boucher in 1881 at the Academie Colarossi, a progressive school. Female students were accepted and even allowed to work from nude male models. In 1882 Claudel rented a studio with Jessie Lipscomb and two other women sculptors. Boucher won the Prix de Rome, an Academy prize that allowed the winner to study in Italy for a number of years. Before leaving he asked fellow sculptor August Rodin to look at Claudel’s work. She began working in his studio in 1883; she was his student, his model, his muse, and eventually became his lover, although he had a life-long partner Rose Beuret.

Claudel and Rodin had a passionate love affair from 1883 until 1891, when their relationship began to deteriorate. Claudel’s family disapproval of her life style, and she was forced to leave the family. Claudel had an abortion in 1892. She ended the affair and moved into her own studio. Claudel and Rodin continued to work together and to see each other until 1898. He famously claimed, “I have shown her where to find the gold in art, but the gold she has found was in herself.”

“The Waltz” (1905)

Claudel was successful as a sculptor, and in 1891 she was selected to be a jurist at the National Society of Fine Arts. Her first plaster model of “The Waltz” was reviewed in 1892 by art critic Armond Dayot, who was working as an inspector for the French Ministry of Beaux-Arts. The figures were originally two nudes, and Dayot found the movement and modeling praiseworthy. However, he found it not appropriate for public display.

Claudel reworked “The Waltz” (1893) by draping the lower torso of the female with an elegant flowing skirt. Dayot described the additions as “a gracious intertwining of superb shapes balanced in a harmonious rhythm among swirling drapes.” He stated that Claudel had great talent. However, when “The Waltz” was presented to the 1893 Salon of the Société National des Beaux-Arts, the authorities criticized its “violent sense of reality” and dismissed it. Claudel made several adjustments to the model over many years. The man once kissed the neck of his partner, but in this piece he gently kisses her cheek.

“The Waltz” (1905) (detail)

“The Waltz” (1905) is considered by art historians to be one of Claudel’s most personal works. Like most of Claudel’s sculptures, the work was not cast into bronze until 1905. However, the subject was influenced by her relationship and possible affair with the composer Claude Debussy. The two shared several interests in common, and music historians often speculate which of Debussy’s musical works were directly influenced by the relationship. After Claudel ended the relationship, Debussy wrote: “I weep for the disappearance of the Dream of his (the male figure) Dream.” Debussy kept a small model of “The Waltz” on his piano until his death. 

“The Wave” (1897)

Claudel and Debussy both admired the work of Degas and of the Japanese Ukiyo printmaker Hokusai. “The Wave” by Hokusai inspired Claudel’s “The Wave” (1897) (onyx, bronze, marble) (24.5’’ x22.2’’). In her work three female figures, cast in bronze, hold onto each other as the wave, carved from onyx, is about to crash over them. Not often employed by sculptors, the use of multiple media adds color to the work. The yellows, greens, and browns of the onyx also reference the colors in Hokusai’s print. The work may speak to the dark destiny of drowning; however, it may also be seen as women frolicking in the waves. Combined with ”The Gossips” (1897), a multimedia work of similar design and composition, the subject matter is lighter.  Her use of multimedia may be inspired by the sculptures of Charles Cordier, a popular contemporary sculptor, who used multicolored marbles.

Claudel with model of “Perseus and the Gorgon” (1897)

The plaster model for “Perseus and the Gorgon” (1897) (77’’x 43.7’’ x 35.4’’) was exhibited in the Salon de la Société National des Beaux-Arts in 1899. Rodin continued to aid Claudel financially, and he negotiated with the director of the Société to allow Claudel to show this piece in the 1899 Salon. Claudel hoped the model would lead to a commission. The Countess Arthur de Maigret commissioned a marble copy for her mansion in Paris. The work took four years to complete. Claudel was assisted by Francois Pompon who worked in their studio from 1890-1895. The marble sculpture was presented at the 1902 Salon. Unfortunately, the commission for the marble sculpture had been cancelled as a result of Rodin’s withdrawal of support because he was angered at seeing Claudel’s sculpture “The Age of Maturity.”

“Perseus and the Gorgon” (1905)

Claudel’s selection of a subject from Greek mythology, rather than a theme of her own creation, was likely a result of her financial struggles. Perseus and the Gorgon was typically an Academy subject. The young Perseus was tasked with bringing back the head of Medusa, the monster whose hair was made of snakes and who instantly turned anyone who looked upon her to stone. He was assisted in this task by several of the Olympian gods; Athena gave him a shield, Hermes gave him winged sandals so he could fly a long distance to find her, Hades gave him a cloak of invisibility, and Hephaestus gave him a sword. Claudel depicts Perseus looking into the mirrored surface of the shield to see Medusa, rather than looking directly at her and being turned to stone.  The dead body of Medusa lies at Perseus’s feet. From her severed neck were born two miraculous animals.  One was the winged horse Pegasus whose wings Claudel depicts as the horse is being formed.

“The Age of Maturity” (1893-1900) (Rodin Museum)

Dating any of Claudel’s sculpture is difficult, as many were conceived and altered over her working lifetime. Claudel started all in plaster, and made copies in marble and bronze. Others were cast in bronze by Eugene Blot in 1905. “The Age of Maturity” (1893-1900) shocked and angered Rodin when he viewed it in 1899. Claudel wrote, “One day when Rodin was visiting me, he suddenly stood still in front of this portrait, contemplating it, gently caressing the metal and weeping…” There are several ways to interpret the entire work. Some believe the first two figures represented a middle-aged man wrestling with the figure of old age, fighting against destiny. Is the young female, originally a separate work titled “The Implorer” (1898), pleading with old age to let the younger man go? Or is this a highly personal representation of their tempestuous love affair? Or, is old age not represented by a male but a female, specifically Rose Beuret, who Rodin chose over Claudel? Or does it have others meanings?

“The Age of Maturity” (1902) (Musee D’Orsay)

“The Age of Maturity” is full of passion, no matter the interpretation, and Claudel’s modeling of the surface is superb. The ripeness and softness of the young woman’s skin is an immediate contrast to the stretched neck tendons, sagging skin, and blood vessels and bones of the middle-aged man’s chest and hand. The face of the old man is a mask of death. This Claudel masterpiece was cast in bronze in 1902, and can be seen in a life-size model in the vast turbine hall of the Musee D’Orsay (first two figures 64’’ tall, single female figure 45” tall). From 1894 until 1898, Claudel had the single female, “The Implorer” (1898) cast into an edition of 59 copies.

Claudel exhibited at the 1903 Salon d’Autumne, an exhibition at the Salon des Artistes Francais. However, she was seen wandering the town, prowling around Rodin’s villa, disappearing for long periods of time, and showing signs of paranoia and schizophrenia. Claudel destroyed many of her works. By 1906, she was living in seclusion in her studio. Her family had never approved her behavior, but her father had always supported her. When he died in March 1913, she was not told of his death. Eight days later, her younger brother Paul admitted her to a psychiatric hospital. If she was able to work, she was fine according to hospital records. She wrote, “I have fallen into an abyss. I live in a world so curious, so strange. Of the dream that was my life, this is my nightmare.” The Paris press, calling her a sculptor of genius, tried in vain to help her.

During the German advance on Paris, Claudel was transferred to another mental asylum farther from Paris. The admittance certificate, dated September 22, 1914, stated she suffered “from a systematic persecution delirium mostly based upon false interpretations and imagination.” Claudel’s mother prevented her from receiving any mail, except from her brother. On several occasions doctors encouraged her mother to have Claudel released. Her mother refused. Over the 30 years of her confinement, her brother Paul visited her just seven times. Her sister Louise visited once. Her mother, who died in 1929, never visited. Fellow sculptor and friend Jessie Lipscomb visited, insisting Claudel was not insane. Camille Claudel died on of an apoplectic stroke on October 19, 1943. She was buried in a communal grave with the bones of destitute persons. The location of her gravesite remains unknown. 

The Camille Claudel Museum in Nogent-sur-Seine was opened in 2017. Approximately 90 statues, sketches, and drawings survive. Twenty additional works from the private collection of Claudel’s sister Louise were sold for $4.1 million in 2017. Rodin and Rose Beuret had a relationship from 1864 until February 1917, when they married. They had one child. Rose died two weeks later. Rodin died on November 17, 1917.

Two of Claudel’s contemporaries, Octave Mirabeau and Louis Vauxcelles, both respected art critics, praised Claudel’s work. Mirabeau called her “a revolt against nature: a woman genius.” Vauxcelles described her as “the only sculptress on whose forehead shone the sign of genius, more virile than many of her male colleagues.”  

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

Martin Johnson Heade (b.1819, Bucks County, PA) is a unique American landscape and flower painter. His family ran the Lumberville Store and Post Office. Heade’s first art teacher was Edward Hicks, a folk artist and Quaker minister.  Heade traveled abroad in 1838 to study art and lived in Rome for two years. When he returned to Pennsylvania, he showed his portraits at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and at the New York Academy of Design in 1841. He began exhibiting regularly in 1848. An itinerant portrait painter, he traveled along the East coast. He began to do more landscapes starting in the1850s. Heade settled in New York City in 1859 and worked at the Tenth Street Studio, where many of the Hudson River artists worked. Heade painted seascapes, salt marshes, and small horizontal landscapes, concentrating on lighting effects and atmosphere. He became friends with Kensett, Bierstadt, Gifford, and Frederick Edwin Church, whose “Heart of the Andes” (1857) (66’’ x130’’) he saw at the Metropolitan Museum. Heade made his first trip to Brazil in 1863.

“The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro” (1864)

Church had visited Brazil two times and created large panoramic landscapes that excited New York art buyers. He advised Heade to do the same. Heade went with a different idea in mind. “The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro” (1864) (19.2’’ x 43.1’’), like all Heade’s paintings, was small and intimate. At sunset, the harbor stretches across the canvas with a few sailboats, a sandy shore with tropical plants in the foreground, and the City spread out below the magnificent mountains. It is quiet and peaceful. The Emperor of Brazil, Don Pedro II, liked Heade’s painting so much he made him a Knight in the Order of the Rose, an imperial order established in 1829. 

“Cattleya Orchid and Three Brazilian Hummingbirds” (1871)

Heade went to Brazil with the naturalist Reverend J. C. Fletcher who proposed to use Heade’s illustrations for his book Fletcher’s Study of South American Hummingbirds.  Heade made 20 small paintings titled “The Gems of Brazil” for the book. More than 50 people bought subscriptions, but 200 were needed. The book was never published; however, Heade remained fascinated by orchids and hummingbirds, and he painted dozens of them, all different. “Cattleya Orchid and Three Brazilian Hummingbirds” (1871) (13.7’’ x 17.9’’) (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.) illustrates Heade’s attention to the smallest detail, his knowledge of his subject, and his remarkable ability to capture the atmosphere of the Brazilian jungle. 

The Cattleya orchid, called the “Queen of Orchids,” was first discovered in Brazil in 1817, and it was named for English horticulturist and collector William Cattleya. Heade depicts a purple Cattleya orchid in all its splendor. It is one of the largest orchids and grows high in the jungle. Heade depicts the light green leaves necessary for the orchid to bloom. Dark green leaves do not support blooms. Victorian England loved orchids and attributed meanings to most flowers. Purple orchids were the symbol of dignity and authority. Giving a purple orchid to someone showed love and respect. 

The hummingbird closest to the orchid is a ruby-throated hummingbird. The birds fly around their nest which is built on a slender branch, frequently in the fork. They build their small nests high above the ground where they are hard to see. The nests are often mistaken for a knot of wood. Hummingbirds have been popular over the ages and with many cultures. They represent good luck, joy, and love. Christians consider them messengers from God and a reminder to trust in Him.

A Boston Transcript article (August 1863) reported on Heade’s trip to Brazil: “It is his [Heade’s] intention in Brazil to depict the richest and most brilliant of the hummingbird family–about which he is so great an enthusiast–to prepare in London or Paris a large and elegant Album on these wonderful little creatures…He is only fulfilling a dream of his boyhood in doing so.” Brazil has 81 species of hummingbirds.

“Passion Flowers and Hummingbirds” (c.1870-83)

“Passion Flowers and Hummingbirds” (c.1870-83) (15.1’’ x21.58’’) (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) depicts black and white snow-capped hummingbirds. The iridescent green birds have white throats and bellies, separated by broad green collars, and white snow-caps. They are particularly attracted to passion flowers. Spanish Christian missionaries named the flowers “passion flowers” because they associated specific parts of the flower with the scourging, crowing with thorns, and crucifixion of Christ. The 10 red petals represented the 10 apostles, excluding Judas, and Peter who denied Christ three times. The corona rising from the center of the petals represents the crown of thorns. The styles coming from the center of the corona look like large-headed nails.  

Heade supported Darwin’s theory of evolution explained in his book The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilization in the Vegetable Kingdom (1876). Darwin specifically mentions that hummingbird beaks were adapted specifically to fertilize passion flowers. Heade was the first artist to paint several works paring the two. 

“View from Fern Tree Walk, Jamaica” (1887)

Heade married Elisabeth Smith in 1883, and they settled in St. Augustine, Florida. From 1883 until his death, Heade painted over 150 works.  “View from Fern Tree Walk, Jamaica” (1887) is one of Heade’s largest paintings, measuring four feet by seven feet. It was commissioned by real estate developer Henry Morrison Flagler, also partner of John D. Rockefeller in the Standard Oil Company. Flagler wanted to make St. Augustine the “Newport of the South.” He commissioned Heade to make two paintings, “View from Fern Tree Walk, Jamaica” (1887) and “The Great Florida Sunset” (1887), to hang in the upper rotunda of his Hotel Ponce de Leon. The hotel included seven artists’ studios, one of which Flagler gave to Heade. 

In “View from Fern Tree Walk, Jamaica” Heade returned to painting horizontal landscapes, having painted so many early in his career. The sun shines across the foreground highlighting giant palm fronds and tropical plants. A path at the center of the composition leads down to the water. Tall palm trees, blue skies with white clouds, and a welcoming calm landscape are characteristics of Heade’s work.

“The Great Florida Sunset” (1887)

“The Great Florida Sunset” (1887) (54.25” x96’’) is the companion piece to “View from Fern Tree Walk, Jamaica.”  Heade’s love of each landscape he painted is obvious. He knew the shore reeds, the water plants, the variety of Florida palms, white lilies, exotic birds, and brilliant clouds at sunset. “View from Fern Tree Walk, Jamaica” was purchased in the 1950s by a Californian. “The Great Florida Sunset” was sold in 1988. In 2015 the Marine Art Museum in Winona, Minnesota, paid $9.5 million for “The Great Florida Sunset” at a Sotheby’s auction, more than twice the price of other Heade paintings. The Museum previously had purchased “View from Fern Tree Walk, Jamaica.” The two paintings once again hang together. 

“Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth” (1890)

  After Heade moved to Florida, he developed an interest in native flowers. He created paintings of Cherokee roses, orange blossoms, apple blossoms, and roses, to name a few. Of special interest to Heade was the white magnolia which appealed to him because of his interest in natural history and the artistic beauty of the flower.  He placed white magnolia blossoms on velvet cloth of a variety of colors to compare textures and elegant contours. “Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth” (1890) (15.1’’ x24.2’’) was purchased by the National Gallery of Art, Washington. D.C., in 1982. 

Magnolia trees have a long symbolic history. They were a staple in southern gardens. They represented stability and longevity because of their long life. The white blossoms represent nobility and purity, and they are used in medicines. The fragrance and beauty of the large blossoms can withstand changes in weather conditions, representing endurance and fortitude. 

Heade’s paintings are considered unique in American art as no other American artist created such a large collection of still lifes and landscapes. His still life paintings are considered by scholars to be among the most original paintings of the 19th Century. “Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth” is considered to be one of the finest still life paintings of the time. In 2004, the United States Postal Service selected this painting for the 37-cent stamp.

Heade’s paintings did not bring him a large income during his lifetime. When he died in St Augustine in 1904, he was largely unknown, although from 1800 to 1904, he wrote over 100 letters and articles on hummingbirds and tropical plants for Forest and Stream magazine. Attention was paid to Heade in the 1940s when art historians and artists rediscovered his work. His reputation was restored, and he is recognized today as one of the most important artists of his generation.

 “A few years after my first appearance in this breathtaking world [1863], I was attacked by the all-absorbing hummingbird craze, and it has never left me since.” (Martin Johnson Heade)

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

It’s not much of a stretch to say that Janet Hendricks was the Academy Art Museum was she first joined the museum in the early 1990s. While the AAM today has all the making of a robust regional museum and school, it was much more a “ma and pa” structure in Janet’s early days. The museum director at the time, Chris Brownawell, was in the role of art curator and financial manager, but almost everything else was on Janet’s plate, from the scheduling of classes, setting up lectures, creating music programs, and designing the AAM Magazine.

Janet remembers that era with fondness but has been overjoyed that, over time, the Academy has added key staff positions to help with this important side of the museum’s mission. And while she officially retired late last year, it’s still pretty likely one will still see quite a bit of her, and she continues to help the AAM on a few of their programs.

Nonetheless, after 30 years of dedication to the Academy, the Spy thought it was a perfect time to talk to Janet and her tenure as she saw her beloved institution grow and grow.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about the Academy Art Museum please go here.

It was an evening for celebrating winners and also of remembrance at the opener of the penultimate concert series of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra’s (MSO) 2022-23 season.

Chief among the winners in Easton Thursday evening was Michael Repper. Repper was making his first appearance conducting the MSO since being awarded the Grammy for Best Orchestral Performance last month for the album he recorded with fellow Grammy winners – New York Youth Symphony (NYYS) musicians.

Featured on this opening night was Elizabeth Song, the 13-year-old New Jersey violinist who won first prize in MSO’s Elizabeth Loker Concerto Competition in January. The three concerts Song performs with the orchestra through Saturday, March 11, are part of her prize, along with a $2,000 cash award.

First up in Thursday’s concert was Brahms’ circa 1880 Tragic Overture, a stand-alone symphonic movement, somber in sharp contrast to another he composed near the same time – the high-spirited Academic Festival Overture. This Brahms piece opened with a bombastic D minor temperament urged on by an animated Repper dressed all in black. Intermittent F major passages were more flowing, with an emphasis on strings led by concertmaster Kimberly McCollum, punctuated by clarion calls with Mark Hughes and others in the brass section taking the lead.

Elizabeth Song

Repper next introduced violinist Song by her preferred nickname, Poppy. Song performed the same concerto she played in the competition finals on January 12 at Easton’s Avalon Theater. But this time, she was making her debut with a full orchestra instead of piano accompaniment. Belgian composer Henri Vieuxtemps’ Violin Concerto No. 5, published in 1861, was all but forgotten until rediscovered by 20th-century orchestras and solo musicians. It has become a favorite in competitions because of the technically challenging and listener-friendly phrasing that gives violinists ample opportunities to show off their virtuosity.

After peering back at the orchestra during its celebratory opening, Song took every advantage of her opportunity, deftly diving in and out of rapid changes in pace and mood, from sweet to urgent. During a tumbling stretch of demands on her prodigious skill, she mastered the vicissitudes of the concerto as if it were child’s play. From attack mode to lullaby, she induced weeping-for-joy-or-sorrow glides of emotion while wielding see-saw strokes up and down – almost making her instrument chatter with excitement. Astonishingly, Song has improved on her winning performance just two months ago, though credit must also go to the maestro and the 38 orchestral musicians who made her debut such a smash.

MSO’s concerto competition was named in memory of Elizabeth Loker before the inaugural event in 2019-20. What was to be the second annual competition was delayed three years by COVID. Loker, better known to friends, colleagues, and loved ones as Beth, died of cancer in 2015. Retired from the Washington Post as vice president of publishing technology, Loker moved to Royal Oak and became a board member of both the MSO and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Next year’s competition will accommodate three finalists, who will each get to perform with the orchestra.

Song’s performance was a tough act to follow. But after intermission, Repper conducted the MSO in Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1, which won the previous Best Orchestral Performance Grammy for its recording by the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The four-movement symphony begins with a modest passage drawing from African folk tunes, quickly building to a strings-and-percussion crescendo before settling into a hymn-like gospel pastoral. The second movement features a melody inspired or borrowed from Dvorak’s New World Symphony, with horns and reeds joined by strings and drums for a gratifying conclusion. Movement three breaks out in a party mood to a cowboy theme not out of place on “Yellowstone.” Trumpets, led by Josh Carr, declare that it’s time to dance and have fun. The final movement enlists every corner of the orchestra toward a frenzied but disciplined race to the finish.

Price has become a programing favorite of American orchestras – long after her 1953 death – in both February’s Black History Month and March’s Women’s History Month. As the first African-American woman to have her classical music composition performed by a major orchestra – Chicago Symphony in 1933 – Price’s works, most recently discovered in what was once her summer home, deserve attention in both months and all the other 10. That first-ever piece was her Symphony No. 1.

This year’s Grammy-winning album, with Repper conducting the NYYS, includes two other Price compositions – “Ethiopia’s Shadow in America” and her Piano Concerto in One Movement – as well as pieces by Valerie Coleman and Jessie Montgomery, two living African-American female composers.

Personally, I look forward to the day when neither black nor women’s history needs a special recognition month but are broadly recognized throughout the year.

Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra’s March Concerts
Opening date in the series was Thursday night, March 9, Easton Church of God
7:30 p.m., Friday, March 10, Community Church, Ocean Pines
3 p.m. Saturday, March 11, Epworth United Methodist Church, Rehoboth Beach
midatlanticsymphony.org

Steve Parks is a retired New York arts critic now living in Easton.