The Penitent Magdalen by Georges de La Tour

This handsome coffee table book contains forty-eight color plates of Georges de La Tour (1593-1652) paintings and a highly informative twelve page essay on the artist’s life and times along with observations on his specific paintings. Below are quotes from the Christopher Wright essay coupled with my own comments:

““The Newborn” is the hieratic world of the middle-ages, of Gothic sculpture, of the superstitious image, except that the paraphernalia of religion for the illiterate has been removed. The Virgin appears almost Buddha-like as she watches over the Christ Child wrapped in the swaddling cloth.” ----------- For me, this painting expands beyond the borders of religion and symbol, geography and culture, portraying an archetype, a universal, of a mother peering down at her newborn child, one of the principal ties in what makes us human, accentuated by the artist’s use of light, especially the manor in which the light highlights the faces, warm, peaceful, tender, inviting us to linger and share the mother’s heartfelt feelings.


“La Tour’s images are life-size, increasing the impression of reality. So brilliant is the technique that the spectator can almost hear the cacophony created by the noisy instrument and the wheezy voice of the old man.” ----------- I love the sounds of a hurdy-gurdy with the cranking of the handle activating the melody strings that can be played like piano keys, the drone sounding like the drone of a bagpipe, and the buzzing bridge making a sound somewhat akin to a barking dog. Viewing this vibrant painting (I've included a closeup to underscore just how vibrant), it is so easy for us to imagine the old man’s cracking voice in concert with all those sounds augmenting the painting’s exquisite detail - to my eye, a combination of superb painterly technique conjoined with breathtaking artistic inspiration.



A Hurdy-Gurdy Player by Georges de La Tour

“It is easy to see what makes La Tour so very special for present-day taste. He combined a down-to-earth, analytical approach with a lofty detachment. His pictures also have great impact.” ---------- How serious is this brawl? Take a look at the knife in the right hand of the beggar to the left. No wonder the old woman expresses shock at the outbreak of violence and appears to be imploring God to spare any bloodshed. Meanwhile, one man takes advantage of the situation to steal a wind instrument from a back pocket of the combatant on the right while the other fellow, as if playing the part of a simpleton, flashes a goofy, toothy grin at the viewer. This painting powerfully portrays how a simple scuffle can trigger an enormous range of human emotion.

The Beggars' Brawl by Georges de La Tour

“The painting “Fortune Teller” presents a world of sideways glances, of prostitution, of blatant cheating.” ---------- Each face, each gesture tells a story. Above all else, I enjoy the young lady with the pale face who uses a two handed technique to pilfer the young man’s gold. Excluding those side-glancing eyes, she has such a cool, innocent expression. Change the scene from one of thievery to religion and she could easily slide into the role of a Madonna or saint.

The Fortune Teller - Georges de La Tour ( )

The Penitent Magdalen by Georges de La Tour

This handsome coffee table book contains forty-eight color plates of Georges de La Tour (1593-1652) paintings and a highly informative twelve page essay on the artist’s life and times along with observations on his specific paintings. Below are quotes from the Christopher Wright essay coupled with my own comments:

““The Newborn” is the hieratic world of the middle-ages, of Gothic sculpture, of the superstitious image, except that the paraphernalia of religion for the illiterate has been removed. The Virgin appears almost Buddha-like as she watches over the Christ Child wrapped in the swaddling cloth.” ----------- For me, this painting expands beyond the borders of religion and symbol, geography and culture, portraying an archetype, a universal, of a mother peering down at her newborn child, one of the principal ties in what makes us human, accentuated by the artist’s use of light, especially the manor in which the light highlights the faces, warm, peaceful, tender, inviting us to linger and share the mother’s heartfelt feelings.


“La Tour’s images are life-size, increasing the impression of reality. So brilliant is the technique that the spectator can almost hear the cacophony created by the noisy instrument and the wheezy voice of the old man.” ----------- I love the sounds of a hurdy-gurdy with the cranking of the handle activating the melody strings that can be played like piano keys, the drone sounding like the drone of a bagpipe, and the buzzing bridge making a sound somewhat akin to a barking dog. Viewing this vibrant painting (I've included a closeup to underscore just how vibrant), it is so easy for us to imagine the old man’s cracking voice in concert with all those sounds augmenting the painting’s exquisite detail - to my eye, a combination of superb painterly technique conjoined with breathtaking artistic inspiration.



A Hurdy-Gurdy Player by Georges de La Tour

“It is easy to see what makes La Tour so very special for present-day taste. He combined a down-to-earth, analytical approach with a lofty detachment. His pictures also have great impact.” ---------- How serious is this brawl? Take a look at the knife in the right hand of the beggar to the left. No wonder the old woman expresses shock at the outbreak of violence and appears to be imploring God to spare any bloodshed. Meanwhile, one man takes advantage of the situation to steal a wind instrument from a back pocket of the combatant on the right while the other fellow, as if playing the part of a simpleton, flashes a goofy, toothy grin at the viewer. This painting powerfully portrays how a simple scuffle can trigger an enormous range of human emotion.

The Beggars' Brawl by Georges de La Tour

“The painting “Fortune Teller” presents a world of sideways glances, of prostitution, of blatant cheating.” ---------- Each face, each gesture tells a story. Above all else, I enjoy the young lady with the pale face who uses a two handed technique to pilfer the young man’s gold. Excluding those side-glancing eyes, she has such a cool, innocent expression. Change the scene from one of thievery to religion and she could easily slide into the role of a Madonna or saint.

The Fortune Teller - Georges de La Tour ( )