The Reves Collection

The Reves Collection Camille Pissarro, Self-Portrait, 1897-1898; Oil on canvas; 20 7/8 x 12 in. (53 x 31 cm); Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.44 AT THE DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART Teaching Materials prepared by Ken Kelsey, Gail Davitt, Carolyn Johnson, Cecilia Leach, Diane McClure, and Catherine Proctor Major underwriting of the exhibition is provided by Merrill Lynch and The Dallas Morning News. American Airlines is the official carrier for the exhibition. © 1995 Dallas Museum of Art. All rights reserved. Use with permission. Page 1 of 36 DEAR TEACHER: The Reves Collection is a resource guide for viewing art at the elementary and secondary student level. The materials are written in the form of dialogues, and are planned to aid both teacher and student as they explore individual objects and build a more personal connection to the decorative and fine artworks in the Reves Collection at the Dallas Museum of Art. This packet includes: 1. 13 ARTWORKS 2. A BIOGRAPHY of the Collectors, Wendy and Emery Reves 3. An INTRODUCTION 4. 13 OBJECT SHEETS (1 for each ARTWORK) 5. ACTIVITIES for Art, Language Arts, Social Studies, & Math/Science 6. A GLOSSARY 7. A BIBLIOGRAPHY 8. List of TEKS Addressed in these Teaching Materials 9. Two EVALUATION SHEETS (1 for this Teaching Packet & 1 for the Tour). _________________________________________________________ The printing in these materials has been manipulated in several ways. • The titles of individual artworks are italicized and bolded. For example, the title of the first artwork/object sheet is set of casters. Foreign words are in plain italics. • A pronunciation guide for selected names and words is marked by bolded parentheses. For example, Claude Monet (klohd moan-AY). • Certain questions and sentences are bolded for emphasis. For example, in the first object sheet on the set of casters, these statements are made: 5. You have investigated the casters. Why would a 19th-century person want these casters on his or her table? (The casters could be used to serve expensive spices and sugar at important dinners. The silver casters would show guests that the person could afford costly things. Since the casters are special objects from the past, they could tell something about the owner's tastes or values.) • A variety of possible student/reader responses to the questions asked in the text have been placed in regular parentheses. • The first mention of a GLOSSARY word during the discussion and questions is underlined. For example, during the discussion of the set of casters, the special term Britannia standard silver is underlined because it is also listed in the GLOSSARY. These changes were made to call visual attention to certain parts of the text. It is hoped the result will be helpful. Please share your reaction on the EVALUATION SHEET. Page 2 of 36 BIOGRAPHY OF THE COLLECTORS Page 1 of 2 Emery Reves As Collector Emery Reves (1904-1981) began collecting important paintings for the series of hotel suites in which he lived before the acquisition of Villa La Pausa in 1953. As a multilingual eastern European, Reves was as cosmopolitan as any European of his generation. He was fluent in English, French, and German and could function in a half-dozen other languages. His quick mind, interest in people, and thorough research skills, derived from rigorous German university training, enabled him single-handedly to develop a network of journalists and experts that led to the creation in 1930 of the first viable wire service in Europe, the Cooperation Press Service. Reves believed passionately in the importance of high culture and was keenly interested in and knowledgeable about the visual arts. Unlike many collectors of the mid-20th century, he developed a major research library and consulted scores of important scholars and dealers in his search for significant works of art. Once works were acquired, Reves continually sought new information on his acquisitions and typically lent them to important exhibitions to promote scholarship. With the assistance of Wendy Reves, Emery Reves assembled an exceptional array of paintings, drawings, and sculpture. There are, of course, the masterpieces--the Renoirs, the Gauguins, the Vlaminck, the late Manet still lifes, the Degas pastels, and the great works on paper by Cézanne, van Gogh, and Toulouse-Lautrec. And in the midst of these glories--works that would be hung in any museum in the world--there are wonderful discoveries that show that the Reveses were interested in a whole range of artworks: in drawings as well as paintings, in the perfectly resolved painting that is not quite typical of the artist, and in the unusual painting that sums up an artist. Page 3 of 36 BIOGRAPHY OF THE COLLECTORS Page 2 of 2 Wendy Russell Reves As Collector Born in Marshall, Texas, Wendy Russell became famous as a fashion model in the 1940s. By the time she met Emery Reves in 1945, Russell had built a financially successful fashion rental firm called Wardrobe Service. Although she had always appreciated art, her drive and ambition were initially directed toward her career in fashion. This changed in 1949, when Russell traveled to Europe on modeling assignments. Through her own contacts and those of Emery Reves,Wendy Russell was exposed to the highest levels of Western art and culture. Ever inquisitive, she learned everything she could about this new world. By the time the couple purchased Villa La Pausa in 1953, Wendy Russell was well versed in fine arts and was developing a growing appreciation for the decorative arts. In the years following, she became a connoisseur in various fields. Working with her husband, she brought to Villa La Pausa important decorative arts collections, including significant examples of European picture frames and glass, Spanish rugs, French fans and furniture, Chinese export porcelain, and English silver. The works shown in these galleries are examples of the finest decorative art objects in the Reves Collection. Page 4 of 36 INTRODUCTION Vincent van Gogh, Sheaves of Wheat, 1890; Oil on canvas; 19 7/8 x 39 3/4 in. (50.5 x 101 cm); Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.80 The Reves Collection These teaching materials accompany the special exhibition Impressions from the Riviera: Masterpieces from the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, which focuses on decorative and fine art objects that are part of the permanent Reves Collection at the Dallas Museum of Art. The special exhibition is an opportunity to take a closer look at the masterpieces from this spectacular collection. After the special exhibition ends, all of the works of art will return to their permanent home in the DMA's re-creation of Villa La Pausa, the Riviera home of Wendy and Emery Reves. Therefore, these teaching materials can be used not only at the time of this special exhibition, but also at any time that students and viewers wish to investigate the rich legacy of the Reves Collection. The Reves Collection brings together impressionist paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet, sculptures by Auguste Rodin and Paul Gauguin, and post-impressionist works by Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh. These great works of art were all made during the last part of the 19th century in France. The fine arts are accompanied by outstanding examples of decorative arts, including silver objects, Chinese export porcelain, Spanish carpets, and elaborate French furniture. Most of these decorative arts objects were made in the 17th and 18th centuries; however, they were objects that 19th- century Europeans treasured and collected. Together, this collection of fine and decorative arts makes it possible to experience at first hand objects that played such an important role in the intellectual, artistic, and social lives of 19th-century Europeans. The 19th century was an extremely significant period in history. It was a time of political, economic, social, and industrial revolutions. The changes that occurred during these decades brought about a transformation from the centuries-old world of religious-based monarchies that were closely tied to agricultural production into the modern world of heavily populated urban areas, industrial production, mechanized transportation, and scientific thought. In short, the transformations that so radically altered 19th-century life gave birth to our own contemporary world. Although this period of change is very important, the 19th century grows increasingly unfamiliar for people today as they contemplate the beginning of the 21st century. Fortunately, important objects, such as those found in the Reves Collection, can connect us to 19th-century goals, values, life, and people. Page 5 of 36 Page 2 How can works of art inform us about other times? In the first place, the drawings and paintings in the Reves Collection show us 19th-century people and places. As we investigate Claude Monet's The Pont Neuf, we see umbrella-holding pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages, and we begin to experience what a rainy day in a bustling Paris of the 1870s might be like. On one level, these works of art show us clothing, body language, activities, objects, and settings that tell us a great deal about 19th-century European life. On another level, these same works of art connect us to feelings and values and move us with their beauty. Works of art inform us on many levels. The works of art in this collection can tell us about the sophisticated life of European cities, especially Paris. This city changed radically between 1850 and 1870; and in many ways, the changes in the city of Paris illustrate the changes of the 19th century. At the charge of Napoleon III, the ruler of Second Empire France (lasting from 1852 to 1870), Baron Georges Haussmann transformed the city by improving sanitation facilities, public utilities, and city transportation.

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