Wreath of Flowers
1866http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=14204oil on canvas24 x 13 in. (61.1 x 33.1 cm)Smithsonian American Art MuseumGift of John Gellatly1929.6.68Smithsonian American Art Museum
2nd Floor, East WingAccording to one critic, “However beautiful to the eye, La Farge's subjects present a still more subtle beauty to the mind, which finds in it a relationship of spirit as well as matter.” Here, the Greek inscription—“As summer was just beginning”—in the company of a wreath suggests that this weathered stucco wall bears a complex symbolic message. In ancient Greece, hopeful suitors posted wreaths on walls as tokens of their affection. Estranged from his wife at the time, La Farge may have been drawn to the phrase's hopeful connotations. The wreath, however, also suggests the funerary, marking life's fragility during a period in which La Farge battled serious illness and mourned the death of his infant son.
2nd Floor, East WingAccording to one critic, “However beautiful to the eye, La Farge's subjects present a still more subtle beauty to the mind, which finds in it a relationship of spirit as well as matter.” Here, the Greek inscription—“As summer was just beginning”—in the company of a wreath suggests that this weathered stucco wall bears a complex symbolic message. In ancient Greece, hopeful suitors posted wreaths on walls as tokens of their affection. Estranged from his wife at the time, La Farge may have been drawn to the phrase's hopeful connotations. The wreath, however, also suggests the funerary, marking life's fragility during a period in which La Farge battled serious illness and mourned the death of his infant son.
Apollo with Cupids
1880-1882John La Farge (Designer)Augustus Saint-Gaudens (Modeler)http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=31992banded African mahogany, repoussé bronze, colored marbles, mother-of-pearl, abalone shell, and ivory relief27 3/4 x 63 1/2 in. (70.5 x 161.3 cm)Smithsonian American Art MuseumGift of James Maroney and museum purchase1990.106Smithsonian American Art Museum
2nd Floor, East WingCornelius Vanderbilt II hired John La Farge and Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create the interiors for his Manhattan mansion. The enormous fortunes of the nation's leading industrialists had brought about an American Renaissance of public and private architecture, and Vanderbilt's empire of railroads and steamships bought him a home of staggering opulence. Allegorical panels of jewels, glass, and mother-of-pearl spanned the forty-foot ceiling of the dining room. This relief of Apollo appeared in the ensemble, and was based on Byzantine and Pompeian art reproduced in books owned by La Farge. Gilt bronze relief portraits of the Vanderbilts on the surrounding walls further associated the Gilded Age family with the splendors of antiquity.
This intricate panel incorporates the style of the classical past and that of the Italian Renaissance, both of which were touchstones of taste for the Gilded Age. Originally, it was one of several panels for the lavish dining room ceiling in the New York mansion of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. John La Farge designed the interior of the house, including this panel. Augustus Saint-Gaudens carved the figures and made the central head of Apollo, which was cast in La Farge's New York studio.
2nd Floor, East WingCornelius Vanderbilt II hired John La Farge and Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create the interiors for his Manhattan mansion. The enormous fortunes of the nation's leading industrialists had brought about an American Renaissance of public and private architecture, and Vanderbilt's empire of railroads and steamships bought him a home of staggering opulence. Allegorical panels of jewels, glass, and mother-of-pearl spanned the forty-foot ceiling of the dining room. This relief of Apollo appeared in the ensemble, and was based on Byzantine and Pompeian art reproduced in books owned by La Farge. Gilt bronze relief portraits of the Vanderbilts on the surrounding walls further associated the Gilded Age family with the splendors of antiquity.
This intricate panel incorporates the style of the classical past and that of the Italian Renaissance, both of which were touchstones of taste for the Gilded Age. Originally, it was one of several panels for the lavish dining room ceiling in the New York mansion of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. John La Farge designed the interior of the house, including this panel. Augustus Saint-Gaudens carved the figures and made the central head of Apollo, which was cast in La Farge's New York studio.
Peacocks and Peonies I and II
1882http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=14198http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=14199stained glass windowframe: 112 x 51 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. (284.5 x 130.3 x 16.5 cm)Smithsonian American Art MuseumGift of Henry A. La Farge1936.12.1Smithsonian American Art Museum
2nd Floor, East Wing
2nd Floor, East Wing
La Farge's stained-glass windows reflect the Gilded Age fascination with medieval art and craftsmanship. The industrial revolution had made inexpensive, mass-produced glass available to anyone, but art glass remained an emblem of wealth and good taste. These windows were commissioned by Frederick Lothrop Ames, a railroad magnate who had them installed in the vast, baronial hall of his Boston house.
The tail feathers of the peacocks are made of bits of glass in the "broken jewel" technique; each peony blossom is a single piece of glass molded to catch the light differently through the day. La Farge layered his colored glass as a painter would build glazes of colors to achieve the right shade. For the composition, he borrowed from many cultures: the central panels with the bird and flower motif evoke Chinese and Japanese screens; the lower panels emulate Pompeian architecture; and the transoms above recall the tympanum above the door to a Romanesque cathedral.
Explore this masterful stained glass window using the Zoomify tool!
John La Farge was already an accomplished painter when he turned his considerable talents to reviving the art of stained glass in 1875. His many innovations included his 1880 patent for opalescent glass—a cloudy, marbled glass with subtle coloring like an opal. La Farge often sculpted his opalescent glass so that it gives a sense of volume and offers varied effects when viewed under different light conditions.
Look closely at the inner panels to see how skillfully La Farge manipulated glass in Peacocks and Peonies II. The peacocks' tails consist of tiny clear-colored glass, in a technique developed by La Farge, which he called "broken jewel." The peony blossoms are each made of a single piece of opalescent glass cast from a sculptured mold, so that light striking at certain angles delicately highlights the edge of petals. The rippled glass used for the deep blues of the background gives vibrancy to the setting.
See more artworks works by John La Farge in our collection search and in the online exhibitions The Gilded Age: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Graphic Masters: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Water Lily in Sunlight
ca. 1883http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=14203watercolor on papersheet: 8 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. (21.0 x 20.8 cm)Smithsonian American Art MuseumGift of John Gellatly1929.6.70Not currently on viewLa Farge took advantage of the ease and fluidity of the watercolor medium to loosen his brushstrokes and suggest, rather than describe, the subtleties of nature. The contrasting densities of pigment reveal his mastery of the watercolor technique and suggest the pleasure he took in the medium's physical properties. Shortly after this work was completed, a critic remarked: "It is on these modest water-colors that his fame, in the future, promises to rest."
For a complete view of La Farge collection at the Smithsonian:http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/results/page=1&num=10&image=0&view=0&name=&title=&keywords=&type=&subject=&number=&id=2760
Please note that La Farge painted a Nicodemus, just like Tanner. Read notes about it on Tanner' Study of Christ and Nicodemus on Rooftop.Nicodemus only appears in the Gospel of John. Thanks.
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=14202
For a complete view of La Farge collection at the Smithsonian:http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/results/page=1&num=10&image=0&view=0&name=&title=&keywords=&type=&subject=&number=&id=2760
Please note that La Farge painted a Nicodemus, just like Tanner. Read notes about it on Tanner' Study of Christ and Nicodemus on Rooftop.Nicodemus only appears in the Gospel of John. Thanks.
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=14202
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