Erdmann Hummel - The Granite Dish in the Berlin Lustgarten [1831]

Erdmann Hummel - The Granite Dish in the Berlin Lustgarten [1831], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

There are two levels of meaning to the painting of the granite dish as seen in 1831 on a slightly raised podium in the Lustgarten. At first sight Hummel, a Biedermeier painter who was often known as “Perspective Hummel,” is simply chronicling the temporary erection of the massively heavy, highly polished dish from the factory of the industrialist Cantian, thereby proudly depicting an outstanding technical achievement of his day. And yet at the same time Hummel is parodying the age of the Industrial Revolution he admired so much, showing Cantian representing industry and an uhlan cavalryman representing the state, small and distorted, upside down on the underside of the dish, while the rest of the populace of Berlin are literally standing on their heads, from petit-bourgeois to grand lady in a poke bonnet.

[Oil on canvas, 66 x 89 cm]

Henri Martin - The Port of Collioure [c.1920]

Henri Martin - The Port of Collioure [c.1920], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

[Oil on canvas, 90.2 x 110.5 cm]

Alfred Stevens - In the Studio [1888]

Alfred Stevens - In the Studio [1888], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

A female artist and her model take a break from a painting session to welcome a visitor to the studio. On the easel is Stevens's version of Salomé, which is based on Regnault's famous painting of 1870 (hanging nearby). The setting is thought to be Stevens's studio, which was admired for its stylish arrangement of the exotic and luxurious objects that he collected. With the open portfolio, picture-within-the-picture, and mirror (reflecting a mundane coal stove), this work presents an elaborate play on the relationship between art and reality.

[Oil on canvas, 106.7 x 135.9 cm]

Edouard Manet - Corner of a Cafe-Concert [c.1878-80]

Edouard Manet - Corner of a Cafe-Concert [c.1878-80], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

This work was originally the right half of a painting of the Brasserie de Reichshoffen, begun in about 1878 and cut in two by Manet before he completed it. This half was then enlarged on the right and a new background was added. The left half of the composition is in the Oskar Reinhart Collection, Winterthur. The Brasserie de Reichshoffen was in the Boulevard Rochechouart, Paris. At the time, brasseries with waitresses were fairly new in the city.

[Oil on canvas, 97.1 x 77.5 cm]

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William M Paxton - The Figurine [1921]

William M Paxton - The Figurine [1921], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

William M. Paxton (Baltimore, Maryland, 1869 - Newton, Massachusetts, 1941) was an American artist.

[Oil on canvas, 45.9 x 38.2 cm]

Joseph Mallord William Turner - The Evening Star [c.1830]

Joseph Mallord William Turner - The Evening Star [c.1830], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

The title is not Turner's own, but is taken from some lines of Turner's verse scribbled in a sketchbook used in 1829-30. Turner was deeply interested in such transitional moments in nature: the evening star first appears in daylight and is soon supplanted by the stronger light of the moon. Here the pale point of the star is barely discernible in the sky, but is reflected clearly in the sea; in both places the star consists of thickly applied white paint. In the foreground is a boy with a shrimping net and a small leaping dog. The painting is generally regarded as a study of the effects of light and atmosphere, rather than a finished work.

[Oil on canvas, 91.1 x 122.6 cm]