Seraphic Secret

Robert J. Avrech: Emmy Award winning screenwriter. Movie fanatic. Helplessly and hopelessly in love with my wife since age nine.

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

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“I learned at a very early age that life is a battle. My family was poor, my neighborhood was poor. The only way that I could get away from the awfulness of life, at that time, was at the movies. There I decided that my big aim was to make money. And it was there that I became a very determined woman.” —Susan Hayward
“I learned at a very early age that life is a battle. My family was poor, my neighborhood was poor. The only way that I could get away from the awfulness of life, at that time, was at the movies. There I decided that my big aim was to make money. And it was there that I became a very determined woman.”
—Susan Hayward

Portrait of a young woman in red, A.D. 90–120. Egyptian
Portrait of a young woman in red, A.D. 90–120. Egyptian

 

Andrea Verrocchio, Head of a Woman, 1475.
Andrea Verrocchio, Head of a Woman, 1475.

 

Erwin Olaf, Ymre Stiekema for Vogue Netherlands, 2013.
Erwin Olaf, Ymre Stiekema for Vogue Netherlands, 2013.

 

James Nares, Cumulus Nimbus
James Nares, Cumulus Nimbus

 

Domenico Ghirlandaio Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni, 1488.
Domenico Ghirlandaio Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni, 1488.

 

Photo by Francesca Woodman
Photo by Francesca Woodman

 

Rogier van der Weyden, c. 1460
Rogier van der Weyden, Portrait of a Lady, c. 1460

 

Rachel Papo, Praying after lunch during the first all-day shooting practice, Nitzanim, Israel, 2005 (#29)
Rachel Papo, Praying after lunch during the first all-day shooting practice, Nitzanim, Israel, 2005 (#29)

 

“Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.” —Marilyn Monroe
“Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.”
—Marilyn Monroe

 

Ed Ruscha, Hollywood is a Verb
Ed Ruscha, Hollywood is a Verb

 

Leonardo da Vinci, Woman's Head
Leonardo da Vinci, Woman’s Head

 

Willem de Kooning: Untitled XXI, 1985
Willem de Kooning: Untitled XXI, 1985

 

Photo by William Eggleston
Photo by William Eggleston

 

Sandro Botticelli, Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci as a nymph
Sandro Botticelli, Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci as a nymph, 1480-1485

 

Julia Margaret Cameron, The Dream, 1869, albumen print from wet collodion.
Julia Margaret Cameron, The Dream, 1869, albumen print from wet collodion.

 

Robert Capa, Collaborator, Chartres, 1944
Robert Capa, Collaborator, Chartres, 1944

 

Brice Marden, The Muses, 1993
Brice Marden, The Muses, 1993

 

“There is a God, even in Hollywood.” —Jean Harlow
“There is a God, even in Hollywood.”
—Jean Harlow

 

Andrea del Sarto, Lucrezia di Baccio del Fede, the Artist's Wife, 1514.
Andrea del Sarto, Lucrezia di Baccio del Fede, the Artist’s Wife, 1514.

 

Jeanne Hébuterne (6 April 1898 – 25 January 1920) was a French artist, best known as the frequent subject and common-law wife of the artist Amedeo Modigliani.
Jeanne Hébuterne (6 April 1898 – 25 January 1920) was a French artist, best known as the frequent subject and common-law wife of the artist Amedeo Modigliani.

 

Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne in a large hat, 1917 Amedeo Modigliani.
Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne in a large hat, 1917 Amedeo Modigliani.

 

Irving Penn, Jean Patchett, New York, 1949
Irving Penn, Jean Patchett, New York, 1949

 

Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still 21, 1978 Gelatin silver print 8 x 10 inches
Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still 21, 1978
Gelatin silver print
8 x 10 inches

 

Pablo Picasso, Jacqueline with Flowers, 1954.
Pablo Picasso, Jacqueline with Flowers, 1954.

 

Mark Rothko, Blue and Grey, 1962.
Mark Rothko, Blue and Grey, 1962.

 

August Sander, Young Girl in Circus Caravan, 1932.
August Sander, Young Girl in Circus Caravan, 1932.

 

Vilhelm Hammershøi, Interior From Strandgade With Sunlight on the Floor, 1901
Vilhelm Hammershøi, Interior From Strandgade With Sunlight on the Floor, 1901

 

"Chayla in Shul," by Laura Pannack, winner of the National Portrait Gallery's 2014 John Kobal Award.
“Chayla in Shul,” by Laura Pannack, winner of the National Portrait Gallery’s 2014 John Kobal Award.

 

Mayan Ariel wishes all our friends and relatives a joyous and inspirational Shabbat.
Mayan Ariel wishes all our friends and relatives a joyous and inspirational Shabbat.

 

Ed Ruscha, THE END #40 2003
Ed Ruscha, THE END #40 2003

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Well, the Egyptian painting is a surprise! If the Egyptians could paint that way, what’s with all the sideways people on the crypt walls?

    Modigliani’s painting of his wife is neither a very accurate nor a very flattering rendering. She cannot have been too pleased.

    The picture of the collaborator being shamed in France evokes bitter thoughts. So many Frenchmen were collaborators in the killing of their Jews. They were not paraded through the streets in shame. It’s likely this young woman’s crime – consorting with German soldiers – was far less than theirs.

    The Muses — an interesting tangle.

    I don’t get the big deal of Chayala davening in shul, but that’s probably b/c to me, it’s an utterly familiar and unremarkable sight. Although I do appreciate the way the color of her hair matches that of the benches.

    • Egypt had one of the most long-lived civilizations the world has ever known. The painting of the woman came from quite late in Egyptian civilization; the heiroglyphics were from much earlier.

      One could as easily wonder why, if our civilization could paint something like the Sistine Chapel, what’s with the Jackson Pollock paintings?

      • One could as easily wonder why, if our civilization could paint something like the Sistine Chapel, what’s with the Jackson Pollock paintings?

        Point taken, but the comparison is not really apt. The sideways people demonstrate that they lacked the skill of depicting three-dimensional figures on a two-dimensional medium, which the later portrait does. Jackson Pollock is just another style of art; the Sistine Chapel does not call it into question or vice versa.

        In any case, my comment was intended merely as a lighthearted jest, not as a serious question or contradiction.

  3. Nares’s “Cumulus Nimbus” and Monroe’s hairstyle. Love it!

    Prophet Joe, the way I see it, the aged paint is peeling off the wall and off the nude. Both are bare and yet both in the process of denuding.

    Also, Prophet Joe, agreed about Powell regarding Harlow.

    Susan Hayward died too young. Miserable “Conquerer” killed too many.

  4. Moving pictures as always Robert. I am with Joe on Picasso – in the Jackson Pollock category for me. Like the Harlow picture and such a sad end.

    In Robert Capa’s picture I can see all of the pent-up anger being released. France’s dirty little secret is that there were many collaborators.

  5. Wunderbar… as usual!

    I’ve never seen such a stunning photo of Susan Hayward before. Her eyes, her lips — excellent photo.

    Love the Nares painting. You’ve really opened my (our) eyes to his talents. It’s all about the color and texture of his works.

    Can you explain to me what we’re seeing in the Woodman photo? It almost looks like the print is ripped over the subject’s body… ?

    Hollywood is a verb. As my English friends would say, “brilliant!”

    Each time I look at the woman’s head in the da Vinci sketch, I see something new and more detailed than the last time I looked at it. Incredible talent.

    de Kooning’s painting just makes me happy. I look at it and I see a circus of colors. Brice Marden’s painting as well. Color me happy 🙂

    I’d love to know the context of the Eggleston and Capa photos. The former looks annoyed at being photographed with rollers in her hair and I assume the latter is a Nazi collaborator (with the baby?) being led away to her “just rewards”.

    Jean Harlow was a beautiful woman, but whenever I look at her, I think of William Powell and how heartbroken he was by her untimely death.

    I’ll admit, I’ve never heard of Jeanne Hébuterne, but I see she died quite young. Was it related to the Spanish Flu epidemic (1920 seems too late for that…) or something else. I will have to consult Mr. Google. (edit: what a tragic ending to her life!)

    Many people (your reader excluded, obviously) probably don’t know what a circus caravan is. It’s hard to imagine people living that lifestyle during my father’s lifetime.

    As for Pablo Picasso, I’ve yet to see one of his works and thought “I wish I owned that” I never quite understood why he is viewed as such a master. I feel like he surely failed at drawing the human form in art school! Yet the critics respond with “So Revolutionary!!” I don’t get it…

    Have a wonderful weekend and a joyous Shabbat, Robert.

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