La Maison de Poupées

20in x 16in | 50.8cm x 40.6cm
Oil on mahogany board
Collection of Sharon Verlander
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For the story behind the painting, scroll down or click here

Available for Purchase

Awards

The white bears are a testimony that two time Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020) has given more than her time as a lay reader on Christmas and Easter for the American Cathedral, the Episcopal church I belong to in Paris. For their capital campaign in 1996, Miss Havilland generously donated her collection of teddy bears that had been given to her over the years by her co-star Ida Lupino in “Devotion”, in which they respectively played the writers Charlotte and Emily Bronté (in my teens, I read “Wuthering Heights” three times and “Jane Eyre” twice and was delighted to discover that they were equally important to Henri). The moving circumstances of their friendship were shared with the parishioners, making the bears priceless in our eyes. During the auction, I saw the two bears with pink and blue markings, sewn together in a hug and I knew they belonged to us. Thus, we became the happy owner of a pair of Olivia de Havilland / Ida Lupino bears. These bears also denote Paris for me, both in the closeness they depict, plus the kindness of a gracious lady and world famous actress.

On the other side of the “get well” bear is a bear I purchased while traveling with some friends. When I returned to the hotel, The Lodge in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, I tossed the bear on a chair in the corner of my hotel room and went to dinner. Upon my return to the room, I found the bed turned down, and instead of the usual mints, there was the bear, gently tucked into the bed: his head on the pillow, the covers pulled up to his neck and his paws resting on top. The remembrance of another dear friend long far away, the chambermaid’s sense of humor, plus the bear’s fat tummy guaranteed this stuffed toy’s placement in the painting.

In planning my composition, I have again utilized the classical triangular composition of the Old Masters, though inverted: the broad red sign, through the red neck ribbon on the left bear and close to the red sweater on the right bear on the top level, to the red velvet lining in the music box and ending in the children’s red outfit. The motif is repeated in white with the lace curtains, through the rabbit on the left and the seated doll’s white dress on the right, then to the leather coat and the toy rat, culminating in the bright white stockings (the shine on the leather boots is de-emphasized by the heavy shadowing). You can even extend the white themed inverted triangle to the cream letting in the sign.

The use of two upside down triangles in such a bold fashion normally would result in a top heavy atmosphere threatening to tilt the composition forward, but I’ve balanced it by literally grounding it with the dark sidewalk and pulling the eye back upwards with the contrasting light rock and mortar wall. Notice that the light straight horizontal and vertical lines of the wood further hold the composition firmly in place.

I have once again skewed perspective slightly, as did the Old Masters (Veronese and The Wedding at Cana) to eliminate a slight feeling of a fishbowl look. Because the composition is so near but tall, I have utilized two eye level lines, one for the window (at the doll’s eye level) and another lower one for the sidewalk (at the young woman’s shoulder).

Great consideration was given to the placement of all the toys and the participants so that the eye would continue to move throughout the image without becoming fixated and stopping on one spot, like the intricate lace curtains. The middle doll looking directly at the young woman was the key, forming a tight long traditional triangle with her and the child. Observe that traditional focus is slightly off center (as is the window), to create more interest (perfectly bisected compositions are more boring to the eye). Without mentioning each toy, note the angle of placement always moving inwards or maintaining the middle position to keep the eye moving inside the imagery. See also the teddy bear almost caressing the child’s head, with the dog and rat also gravitating to the young girl. This is a gentle nod to my love of animals from an early age…having had cats, rats, gerbils, birds, dogs, horses, even a crippled chicken, etc. in my youth…but at present with only one cockatiel, Cleo, sharing my tiny Parisian apartment and studio.

For those who search for “meaning” in art, not to worry…it is in the composition. The typical French school girl looks at and dreams of owning the doll; the doll looks at and dreams of becoming the young woman; the young woman looks at my bears and dreams of love, art and Paris. The child resembles a young me (though I collected horse figurines and books rather than dolls) and the red outfit is significant to a story of my toddler days (referenced in Behind the Art for The Marionette Theatre). The young woman bears a passing resemblance to me in my long-haired youth, thus the painting signifies the beginning but not the ending, of my dreams realized.