DMA Project
- 1. Edouard Vuillard, The Little Restaurant (Le petit restaurant), 1894. Impressionism. Oil on paper board panel, Overall: 19 x 16 1/2 x 3 in. (48.26 x 41.91 x 7.62 cm). Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas. Context : Vuillard, largely interested in drawing the interiors of petit-bourgeois Paris, portrays a delightful everyday scene of a small family out for a meal at a restaurant. It is presumably Sunday afternoon, since the light floods from the large windows, and both mother and father are at leisure. The family dog is waiting for the baby to drop some food. When Vuillard painted this work, he was twenty-six years old, and still lived with his mother. Though having no children, he loved his one niece and painting children. The overall atmosphere of the work is warm, affectionate, and calm. It was an exception among Vuillard’s works in the 1890s for the setting is a public rather than a private place. However, its focus is on a rather private moment of a family at a restaurant. Mother holding her baby Father Little daughter The signature of the artist The subject of this small painting is modest as well; a young family members dining together.
- 2. Portrait of an Arhat (Rakan), Japan: Edo period (1615-1868), 17th century, Wood with gesso decoration, lacquer, and gold. The Roberta Cock Camp Fund and Lillian B. Clark, 1991.381 Realism: It follows the style of religious sculptures of Ming dynasty – the exaggerated realism. This style was transmitted to Japan in the 17th century with a new sect of Zen Buddhism. Context: Arhat were Buddhist disciples who reached a level of enligtenment equal to that of the Buddha, but who delayed buddha –hood to remain connected to the mundane world. This sculpture was one of 500 arhats in a sculptural set, made for a temple in Edo (now Tokyo). Zhen Buddhism (aka. Obaku Zen in Japan): Arhat figures were frequently produced for veneration in special chapels, usually in sets of 16, 18, 100, or 500. Portraitlike portryal: common in arhat figures in this period The figure sits in a casual pose, with the left leg folded under and the right knee raised. staring thoughtfully at a small lotus blossom in his left hand A Mature man, beardless and head shaven Lotus: a red-flowered Asian lily. The lotus blossom symbolizes the casualty of the spiritual life. The sculptor is unknown.
- 3. Bibilography • "Dallas Museum of Art - Collections." Dallas Museum of Art - Collections. 29 Sept. 2013 <http://dma.org/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/2154/156/title-desc?t:state:flow=458684c9-8f6b-4e66-a2ff-51f5a02ef0dc>. • "Document.write(wraptext("Portrait of an Arhat",40));." DMA CONNECT. 29 Sept. 2013 <http://dmaconnect.org/CONNECT/dma_406383>. • "The Lotus Blossom." The Lotus Blossom. 29 Sept. 2013 <http://www.tientai.net/teachings/pundarika/renge.htm>. • "View Media." View Media. 29 Sept. 2013 <http://dma.org/emuseum/media/view/Objects/5214370/1686?t:state:flow=99d380e6-7b15-4a73-9224-ec33e9a054cf>.