6.23.2006
Pretensions of the Times
I'd never heard of French Enlightenment painter Jean-Étienne Liotard before I read this NY Times article (reg.req.), but apparently no one else has either. In contrast with many other more conventional paintings from his time, the slideshow of his work hints at just how jarringly honest his realism was. Liotard's work can in no way be classified as "shitart" like some of the other artists' featured on wordcrush today.
I also love the way that the accompanying article is, in true NYT fashion, shamelessly and unapologetically pompous: "his kind of realism was veracity, not verismo." Well played old chap! Touché! Even when they're trying to talk about a gritty, stripped-down guy who rebellled against the pretentions of his times, they make it clear that they, themselves are miles above such behaviour.
