Autumn

I believe that the turning of the wheel of the year brings a profound sense of comfort to those of us who care to pay attention.  Whether it's the slow, welcome melting of winter into spring; the joyful and heady sparkle of spring into summer; the brilliant transition of summer into autumn; or the abrupt darkening of autumn into winter, we have evidence all around us that change is not only unstoppable, but that it is good, and in fact, it is beautiful.

Autumn is so very welcome in places where the sun burns bright and hot.  As the weeks go by, the colors of the leaves become more and more ridiculous in their loveliness.  I don't think there are many artists (or poets, or writers, or dancers, or dreamers or anyone else for that matter) who has failed to be moved by this season of mellow, melancholy, decaying gorgeousness.

And on top of all that, we have Hallowe'en!  But more on that in an upcoming post.  :)   Here are some autumn pieces I particularly like.

I like the murkiness of Fantin-Latour's fallen Apples, with just that hint of red on the fruit in the foreground and that deep shadow on the left, suggesting that we're seeing them touched by moonlight.  Fantin-Latour was an absolute master of the still-life, and Parisians bought his pictures as quickly as he could paint them. 

Apples (1876), Henri Fantin-Latour

Alson Clark was an American impressionist, and for most of his life he lived and painted in the area of Pasadena, California.  Who wouldn't want to live in a perfect little white cottage under a stand of quaking aspen trees?

Autumn Blaze (1922), Alson Skinner Clark

This is what surely must be one of Tiffany's greatest masterpieces of leaded favrile glass, commissioned by a wealthy Bostonian and now owned by the Met.  The river of life is seen winding it's way through a brilliant forest glade.  The Tiffany studio pulled out all the stops, using every known stained glass technique for this piece.

Autumn Landscape (1923), Louis Comfort Tiffany

It was all about the curvilinear forms and the nuances of color for Georgia O'Keeffe.  Her husband, Alfred Stieglitz, owned  a vacation home at Lake George, New York, where O'Keeffe painted several studies of leaves like this one.  I like the sense of moving forward from the bloody deep red in the background to the pale yellow of the leaf on the top.  There is a sense of intimacy in her paintings that I enjoy.

Autumn Leaves (1915), Georgia O'Keeffe

I'm convinced that Grimshaw had a sort of fetish for autumnal colors in his palette, because he made quite a few pictures with this theme.  He also liked mist and moonlight.  I always think of Jane Eyre when I see this one.

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Autumn Morning (1864), John Atkinson Grimshaw

Although this painting by Pollock is titled Autumn Rhythm, he probably wasn't thinking of the season in a representational way when he dripped/flung/whipped/drizzled it.  Still, I think it brings to mind a sense of autumn in his use of color and the flow of the lines.  There is something captivating about it...it makes me think, and not of spring.

Autumn Rhythm, Number 30 (1950), Jackson Pollock

 Here is a portrait by Mary Cassatt of her only sister, Lydia.  Lydia was Mary's model for many of her paintings, and this is a particular poignant one, as two years later Lydia died of Bright's disease, a kidney ailment.  The bright hues of autumn are all centered on the subject, rather than on nature.

Autumn (1880), Mary Cassatt

Birch trees hold special meaning for me, and I've loved them since my childhood.  This painting by Klimt reminds me of stories of the sacred groves of birches that stand  in the Tir na nOg, the Gaelic land of the faeries, the dead and the immortal. 

Birkenwald (Birch Forest) (1903), Gustav Klimt

This amazing photograph is by the American nature photographer, Eliot Porter.  There is something unsettling about his photo.  In fact, I find it hard to look at it too long, because it's so damn creepy.  Nevertheless, I love it.

 

Frostbitten Apples, Tesuque, New Mexico, November 21 (1966), Eliot Porter

Just for fun, I have to include this hat by the great Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli.  It makes me smile, and I think that's what she was aiming for.

Hat, Fall/Winter Collection (1939), Elsa Schiaparelli