Morse: Gallery of the Louvre (Day 64 of the 365 Days of ART)

Samuel F. B. Morse (bio here) – went to Europe in 1829 and from 1831- to 1833 he painted the amazing masterpiece called Gallery of the Louvre.

It is a large piece, 6 x 9 feet, and depicts forty (imaginary) artworks being displayed at the Louvre in Paris. This piece is owned by the Terra Foundation who all it to travel so the world can enjoy this piece and see it in person.

This painting highlighted Morse’s skill as an artist, but he did not wow people right away.  Not at all.  Many folks thought it was “over the head” of the average person and considered it to be a little too much.  (People can be so harsh at times – and they often mean well – but I think this painting’s initial reception is a reminder to not base our view on what others fail to see – sometimes we go with our gut and stay patient...)  Do you like this piece? When Morse showed it in the States.  Someone referred to it as “caviar”- saying it was too intellectual for the average person to understand and grasp.  Morse sold the piece in 1834 for $1,300 (half of what he wanted) and in the 1880s, Syracuse University acquired the piece and had it for almost one hundred years. It is now owned by the Terra Foundation and they loan it out for people to enjoy it… they paid $3.25 million for it.

 

One of Morse’s aims was to help more Americans learn about art.  He noted that most were unrefined and it was his goal to help change that – which is why there is emphasis on the student here. So when people criticized this as being too advanced or too much – well that shows Morse was likely right on with his aim.  Morse studied in the same way he shows us these students drawing and painting at the Louvre. There is a theme here of “copying – and learning in order to create” – reminding us that this is how we find our original voice – we need exposures and we need to learn.  We borrow, copy, and share ideas – and learn to then later express originality. The vibe created by Morse is that with the essence of art curation – and also has both men and women participating.  Further, we have cross-cultural richness (the paintings are Spanish, French, Italian, and Flemish).

Go HERE for the free pdf (sample of it is below) and to see some videos about the restoration process of Morse’s Gallery of the Louvre piece.

 

Thought this was interesting in the back of the Smithsonian magazine last October

And yes, this is the same Morse that is more noted for being the scientist and inventor. Morse co-invented Morse code, which is the system of communicating with series of on and off tones and it is still in use today. Did you know that Morse was also referred to as the father of American photography? Morse had many talents, but he was poor most of his life (which sometimes is exactly what some folks need – sometimes wealth and fame “changes” the output for the worse – not always, but for some people….) but Morse died a wealthy man.

A rug made with a Morse Code design: Credit: Google images

 

 

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