November 28, 2009

An Interesting Discovery & Jeremiah Goodman

 

I really want to be talking Christmas.  But, since I haven’t managed to get any one area of Blue Creek Home completely decorated, I am going to share an interesting thing that I stumbled upon recently.

Last Friday, I was at my hair salon - under the dryer- sporting a head full of tin foil - reading glasses propped up only by the tip of my nose, the ear pieces resting ever so lightly against my forehead – speed reading all the good magazines that I don’t get… when I came across an article in the Dec/Jan issue of “House Beautiful”.  The “Spotlight” segment featured 87 year old artist, Jeremiah Goodman.  He is a renowned painter of interiors. “Oh, it’s the drama.  That’s what attracted me to painting interiors in the first place.  I look for individuality-organization, disarray, a sense of culture-something that makes it not just another room,” says Goodman in the article.

I quickly scanned the photographs of the featured paintings. One looked very familiar.  I have that painting!  I thought maybe I was just seeing things, after all my glasses were cocked rather oddly on my face, distorting my vision somewhat.  I dog eared the page and held on to the magazine until I was rinsed and back in the stylist’s chair with my glasses on straight.

I realized that I did have a very similar painting.  There were some obvious differences that I recognized immediately, but there was no mistaking that the room in my painting was the same room as the one in the magazine.

The colors in mine are strong while this one is done in sepia tones.  Turns out that it is a photograph of a painting by Goodman of “Carlos de Beistegul, Dining Room, Paris, 1960”. 

The first thing that drew me to my painting was the deep blue, velvet draped table and the tobacco tones and the shape of the French chairs.  The crystal chandelier and the long crimson drapes cinched my decision to buy it.  I purchased it from an art vendor at a local antique mall.

I picked up a copy of the House Beautiful issue a few days later.  It was fun comparing the original with mine.  I knew that copyright laws required a certain number of obvious changes to be made.  And yes, there are lots.  But, but I am pretty sure that a photograph of Goodman’s painting of  Beistegul Dining Room was sitting next to the easel of the artist who painted mine.

I’m still lovin’ my oil painting four years later.  And I love  that this room really exists in Paris.  How very romantic!!!

 

 

My painting

 

 

 

I love the table and chairs.  

 

 

 

The incredible work of Jeremiah Goodman.   Having them so close really shows the differences.  

 

 

 

Tweaking mine makes it look a bit more like the original.

 

I am getting into full blown Christmas decorating mode.  Hopefully, I will have some areas camera ready in a few days.

Rhonda

6 comments:

  1. Wow! That is a great story Rhonda and I just love that painting. The frame alone is to "dye" for.....chirp, chirp. Ha!
    Kim

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  2. Oh how interesting...and I love the paintings too!

    No Christmas decor yet at my casa either.....waiting until Tuesday.

    Suzanne

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  3. That's a beautiful painting! How funny that you recognized it in the magazine, too.

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  4. What a fun discovery! But you know, I believe I like your painting much better.

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  5. What an interesting find, and I agree with Lisa I like yours much better!

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  6. Bonjour! Love this great story and how lucky you are to have such a lovely painting!

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