tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2939913243601569607.post1884905372807295618..comments2024-03-28T17:18:12.368+13:00Comments on Willowbrook Park: The Boys of Summer...Lord Cowellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022567039394790375noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2939913243601569607.post-21803805991852360592013-11-24T06:17:58.589+13:002013-11-24T06:17:58.589+13:00"Intelectually challenging they are not"..."Intelectually challenging they are not"<br /><br />I beg to differ, it is an image. The technique is there, you only need bring your own intellect. Tuke's "Bather" is one of the most beautiful paintings ever created.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2939913243601569607.post-91503283538236888922010-12-02T09:42:42.655+13:002010-12-02T09:42:42.655+13:00I concede that as works of art, intellectually cha...I concede that as works of art, intellectually challenging they are not. But, they do represent the naturalist movement of many artists of that era. At a time when society accepted nude mythological characters in paintings, but prudishly rejected the naked body in and of itself, many painters, such as Henry Scott Tuke, John Singer Sargent, Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, and Anders Zorn, openly challenged people's hypocrisy by painting the nude in naturalistic poses and settings, bringing the nude out of its safe, distanced classical context and into a more confrontational place.<br /><br />Many people focus mainly on Tuke's paintings of the adolescent male form, and ignore his landscapes and seascapes; and because of many artists' struggles with their sexuality, like Eakins or Sargent, I'm sure more emphasis is placed on the possible homoerotic subtext retrospectively than was ever meant contemporaneously.<br /><br />For me with summer looming and all the work I have ahead of me, they are pleasant reminders of teen-aged summers past when I had no responsibility and could muck about at the beach with friends, never concerned about deadlines looming, nor about being body conscious like One is now.Lord Cowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08022567039394790375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2939913243601569607.post-63113749434534598302010-12-01T20:14:39.823+13:002010-12-01T20:14:39.823+13:00I dunno, it's hard for me to be objective here...I dunno, it's hard for me to be objective here. Most of this looks a bit cheesy, with the work of the first artist verging on soft porn. On the other hand, Eakins is in another league and was an artistic genius--albeit a tortured one. His conflicted sexuality is explored in a newly-issued book, the name of which escapes me at the moment, that I look forward to reading at some point.Reggie Darlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04044215790585354363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2939913243601569607.post-32230170529724760052010-12-01T11:30:27.698+13:002010-12-01T11:30:27.698+13:00I have a coffee table book of Thomas Eakins art I ...I have a coffee table book of Thomas Eakins art I think he was one of the worlds best artist.<br />This was so enlighting.<br />yvonneLa Petite Galleryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09553902574516930172noreply@blogger.com