When we set out to design this blog, we looked at irises—lots of them. We asked curators and members of the blog team to pick favorite irises, both literal and metaphorical.
There were camera irises, like those in the cache of historic cameras in the photographs collection. There were flowers and fleur-de-lis. There were systems and signs, such as Alberti’s Renaissance diagrams on perspective and Alvarez Bravo’s optical parable.
Antiquities often have haunting eyes. Some ward off evil. Others are majestically blank, with no irises at all—a reminder of the paint that once adorned them.
We spent days gathering images from the collection. Portraits were inexhaustible: the deep-set eyes of a Romano-Egyptian matron, the dark glance of Cezanne’s melancholy young woman, Warhol’s self-portrait in drag. And—babies, horses, even birds with distinctive irises of their own.
But in the end, we chose the eyes you see here—youthful, alert, maybe a little sly.
Can you name those eyes? Leave a comment below with your guess, and tell us if you have your own favorite artistic eyes.
The prize? Irises, naturally: a copy of the book Irises: Vincent van Gogh in the Garden by Jennifer Helvey, published by the J. Paul Getty Museum.
25 Comments
Degas!
(I like Rembrandt’s eyes best. Especially his later self-portraits; so much sadness in them.)
Hi Tyson — You are correct, the (printed) irises are yours! These are Degas’s young eyes from his Self-Portrait of the late 1850s.
I agree about the Rembrandt portraits — we looked at ones such as An Old Man in Military Costume for the blog design too.
I think the name of this painting should be “EYES THAT SEARCH WITH SORROW”.
For me, the most beautiful eye is the EYE OF HORUS that is depicted on several egyptian walls inside pyramids and temples.
Degas, and a wonderful example of the artist’s gaze. For another pair of unforgettable eyes, see the Van Gogh portrait of Patience Escalier at Norton Simon Museum.
Anne
Degas , I remember when I saw that painting for the first time!.
Those are very much the eyes of Degas. I recognized them immediately
Congratulations to Tyson! Ms Stephen,I really enjoyed reading this blog and learning about the action behind the scenes. I am looking forward to your next chapter.
Degas, of course.
Tony Matos’ irises, just kidding. Those are Degas’ eyes. I have that image on a post card on my fridge. Favorite artistic eyes? Antoni Gaudi, his inclusion of textures and lines from nature in his architecture is a beautiful example of thinking outside of the box. Something good must be in that Barcelona water!
Edgar Degas
Self Portrait
Favorite eyes:The Bronze eyes in the collection of the Antiquities Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
I prefer the eyes of the Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer.
Edgar Degas. Self-Portrait. c.1855. Oil on canvas. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France. I did a color resurch from this paiter and foreacasted colors.
Mastaneh oskovei
Hi Mastaneh — You are right, almost! The Degas Self-Portrait in the Muséee d’Orsay is similar, but the one shown here is in the Getty Museum’s collection. The Musée d’Orsay portrait was painted a couple of years earlier.
A young Degas.
Jan Vermeer
Girl with a Red Hat
Reminds me of his Girl with Pearl Earings
But don’t they look a bit like Paul McCartney? Heh…heh
These eyes are those of Rembrandt at a very young age.
I think the eyes are Vermeer’s the girl with the pearl earring.
It is Degas. Painted 1957-1858
This is a self portrait by Edgar Degas. If not the same painting, it is one of those rendered by the artist in the West Pavilion. Mary Costas
I recognized those eyes immediately as Degas’ self portrait in the museum’s collection – but didn’t see the blog until a few days later. Fun game though, but a little easy for these art savvy readers.
Those are the eyes of Raphael. They are also seen in the painting, The School of Athens.
Edgar Degas, Self Portrait.
He should’ve been about 22 when he painted this one.
Raphael?
Is not anyone thinking of how amazing Mona Lisa’s eyes are?
I’m thinking Raphael.