Alexandre Cabanel - The Birth of Venus

The Birth of Venus – 1863
Musée d'Orsay

Musee d’Orsay
Cabanel's erotic imagery, cloaked in historicism, appealed to the propriety of the higher levels of society. The painting was purchased by Louis Napoleon for 15,000 francs. Because of the controversy over its erotic nature and the sale to Napoleon, it was the most popular painting at the Paris Salon de Refusé 1863. Ten years later a slightly smaller version was commissioned and now hangs in the Met.  To see the original: http://bit.ly/2gU4shv

Pierre-Auguste Renoir – Dance at Bougival

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Dance at Bougival – 1883
Museum of Fine Art, Boston

One of three dance paintings (Dance in the City and Dance in the Country), this is considered the best. Despite the desire to capture the spontaneous outdoor life, these dance paintings were staged with Renoir’s total control down to the clothes that they wore. In Bogival his model was Suzanne Valadon who was his lover and fellow artist. The male figure in this paintings looks like Renoir. Maybe this image was from some dream sequence.To see the original: http://bit.ly/2ftWb73

Caravaggio's Light

Caravaggio – Supper at Emmaus - 1601 - National Gallery London

Light, for me as a photographer, is one of the most important and interesting things to play with. For example, in the Caravaggio the light on the hand is one of the things that art critics have told me is absolutely perfect. From the shadow of the index finger onto the shadow on the secondary finger, is exactly what is going on in the painting and has an amazing sense of the light. For that reason, it's one of my favorites. As I go on, I’ve been taking Santa further into the textures and tone of the paintings, and away from the realism of photography.

Henri Rousseau - The Sleeping Gypsy

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Henri Rousseau - The Sleeping Gypsy - 1897
MOMA
Rousseau’s primitive style lead to the early modernists who began to flatten and simplify the visual plain. The painting has served as inspiration for poetry and music, and has been altered and parodied by various artists often with the lion replaced by a dog or other animal. In the Simpsons episode "Mom and Pop Art" Homer dreams of waking up in the artwork with the lion licking his head. A print of the work appears in the movie "The Apartment" above the comatose Fran Kubelik. To see the original: The Sleeping Gypsy.

Johannes Vermeer – The Milkmaid

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Johannes Vermeer – The Milkmaid – 1657-58
Rijksmuseum
Many of Vermeers painting which illude to amorous involvement, but this one is a little more subtle. The Kitchen maid (here misnamed the milkmaid), represented the available woman. In the back the delft tiles include cupids and the foot warmer suggested female desire in Dutch genre paintings. The pitcher tilted forward is also suggestive of the female anatomy. This and other paintings by Vermeer lead us to wonder if he was a bit of a lothario. To see original : The Milkmaid