Details Puzzle 2017 Answers

When I put up the 2017 Puzzle last month, I thought I should write to Tom Lubbock's widow, Marion Coutts, not least because I wanted to be sure that she was content with the charity that I had identified. This charity was included for anyone to consider in  memory of Tom Lubbock, the creator of the Details Competitions in the Independent on Sunday.

I received a kind reply giving details about the preparations for the Christmas Competition that Tom used to set. Marion Coutts told me that traces of the work still exist in the art books which he used, containing Post-It notes, etc. Marion Coutts also confirmed that the first charity that I had identified had been supported and also that the family continued to support the Royal Trinity Hospice.

https://www.royaltrinityhospice.london/

I amended the original blog post and added this to the first charity I cited, the Brain Tumour Charity.

https://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/understanding-brain-tumours/types-of-brain-tumour-adult/glioblastoma/

I was very pleased to hear from Marion Coutts who was delighted with the idea of an ongoing blog in memory of Tom Lubbock's Competition.

I still read Tom Lubbock's critical work, particularly the posthumous collection "Great Works - 50 paintings explored"*. It was always brilliantly original and challenging. For example, in the first review of "Boy Lighting a Candle" by El Greco, Tom Lubbock starts his discussion as follows,

"Imagine three short films."

First he asks us to imagine a film of a kitchen sink. There follows a paragraph about the imaginary kitchen sink and your perception of it.

The next paragraph begins by asking us to imagine a film of a man in mid-air, falling. The detail of the falling man is given, its duration and your possible response to it.

The third paragraph starts by asking us to imagine a film of a man on a bicycle. We are told it is a stationary bike and the man's action and the lighting in the room(?) are described and your train of thought is imagined by the writer.

The fourth paragraph asks us to imagine these three films turned into still images and how that might affect us. Then Tom Lubbock asks us to imagine the three effects in a single picture. Only then does he turn to the picture which he is discussing.

This essay is a perfect example of his originality and creativity as a writer about art, a profound critic who should be read by anyone who wants to explore visual art. He will change your perception, understanding and enjoyment of well known works of art, however erudite you might imagine yourself to be. At least that's what I think, based on my own experience of reading his work.

* Great Works: 50 Paintings Explored copyright Frances Lincoln Limited 2011 Text copyright Tom Lubbock 2011

The answers to this year's Puzzle and the Winners  

The Puzzle that I set brought several emails from previous competition entrants who were looking forward to studying it over the Christmas and New Year. There were, in the end, two entries by the deadline. Neither of these identified all the details. However, the winner was David Rutledge.

David identified 24 of the 32 details. David Rutledge won the Details Competition many times. David gets the gold medal this year.

The runner up was Maggie who identified 15 details, with one near miss - correct artist, but wrong title. Maggie receives the silver medal.

To all those who had a go, but did not manage an entry, I hope you enjoyed it..

Both Maggie and David appreciated the competition, with Maggie stating that, "it gave me hours of joy." David said "I'm getting rusty now, sadly".

The details that eluded both David and Maggie were as follows,

Number 7      Jan Steen's Adoration of the Shepherds
Number 21    John Singer Sargeant - The Boit Daughters
Number 22    Jacopo Bassano - The Good Samaritan
Number 23    Taddeo Gaddi - The Annunciation to the Shepherds
Number 27    David Teniers the Younger - An Old Peasant caresses a Kitchen Maid in the Stable
Number 30    Francesco Furini - Lot and his Daughters

I was concerned that I had not made some of the details sufficiently clear, or that they were too small. I think of the ones that were not found, the last one, the Francesco Furini, probably suffers most from a lack of definition.

Of the above, I was surprised that the John Singer Sargeant proved elusive. Possibly the size of the vase has something to do with it.

Overall, I think there were too many details to find in the puzzle.

I shall not make promises about next Christmas. I hope that I was able to create a little of the old magic. Any comments about this year's puzzle would be welcome.

I could put up a weekly puzzle if there is demand for it?

I am sorry there are no prizes to award.

Best wishes to all for the New Year.


Details Puzzle 2017  Answers


1. Henri Rousseau - Flowers in a Vase - 1909 - Albright-Knox Art Gallery, New York

2. Hugo van Der Goes - Adoration of the Shepherds -The Portinari Altarpiece (central panel) - Uffizi, Florence

3. Fra Lippo Lippi - Annunciation - 1440s - San Lorenzo, Florence

4. Titian - Sacred and Profane Love  -1514 - Galleria Borghese, Rome

5. Paul Cezanne - The Lady with a Coffee Pot  - 1890-1894 - Musee d'Orsay, Paris

6. William Holman Hunt - Isabella and the Pot of Basil - 1867 - Delaware Art Museum, USA

7. Jan Steen - The Adoration of the Shepherds - Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

8. Thomas Cole - The Giant's Chalice - 1833 - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 

9. Peter Paul Rubens - The Union of Earth and Water - 1618- Hermitage - St Petersburg

10. James Abbot McNeill Whistler - Purple and Rose: The The Lange Leizen of the six Marks - 1864 - Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia

11. Philippe de Champaigne - Le Songe d'Elié 1655 - Museé de Tessé, Le Mans

12. Albrecht Durer - Erasme de Rotterdam - 1526 - Cabinet Edmond de Rothschild, Musée de Louvre, Paris

13. Nicolas Poussin - Eliezer et Rebecca - 1648 - Musée de Louvre, Paris

14. Camille Pisarro - bouquet de fleurs dans un vase chinois - National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

15. J B S Chardin - Le Garcon Cabaretier - University of Glasgow - Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery

16. Jean-Edouard Vuillard - Vase de Fleurs - 1903 - Private Collection

17. Vincent Van Gogh - Still Life with Coffee Mill, Pipe Case and Jug - 1884 - Rijksmuseum, Knoller-Mitter

18. Claude Monet - The Luncheon - 1873 - Musée d'Orsay, Paris

19. Gustave Caillebotte - In a Cafe - 1880 - Musée des Beaux Arts, Rouen

20.  Paul Signac - Breakfast/The Dining Room - 1886 - Rijksmuseum - Knoller-Mitter

21. John Singer Sargeant - The Boit Daughters - 1882 - Boston Museum of Fine Arts

22. Jacopo Bassano - The Good Samaritan - 1550-1570 - National Gallery, London

23   Taddeo Gaddi - The Annunciation to the Shepherds - (fresco) Baroncelli Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence 

24.  Paul Gauguin - The Meal - 1891 - Musée d'Orsay, Paris

25. Laurent de la Hyre - Allegorical Figure of Grammar - 1650 - National Gallery, London

26. Luis Melendez - Still Life with salmon, a Lemon and Three Vessels - 1772 - Museo del Prado, Madrid

27. David Teniers the Younger - An Old Peasant caresses a Kitchen Maid in the Stable - 1650 - National Gallery, London

28. Edgar Degas - The Tub - 1886 - Musée d'Orsay, Paris

29.  Mary Cassatt - Lady at the Tea Table - 1885 - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 

30.  Francesco Furini - Lot and his Daughters - Museo del Prado, Madrid  

31. Diego Velasquez - The Water Seller of Seville - 1621 - Fondatione Contini, Bonacossi, Florence 

32. Johann Erdmann Hummel - The Granite Dish in the Berlin Lustgarten - 1831 - National Gallery, Berlin

Christmas Details 2017 - Pots and Pans, bowls and jugs, cups and saucers, vessels and vases

Last year, in haste, I cobbled together some details of paintings on Christmas day morning for a "details" competition in memory of the late Tom Lubbock. Two people found all the answers. I made a half definite promise to make a better competition for 2017. This week someone asked on this blog if I would be putting one together this year. This gave me an impetus and I have spent a day or so putting one together.

Once again, I am setting this puzzle in memory of Tom Lubbock who gave us all so much happiness with his weekly Details Competitions over two decades in the Independent on Sunday and the much anticipated enlarged Christmas Details Competition. For me, personally, it enhanced the Christmas holiday in an unique way. Other members of my family may have a different perspective.

So if there are lovers of art puzzles still out there, or old Details contestants, here is an edition for 2017. If it helps you to celebrate this break at the darkest time of the year, all to the good.

There are more details than usual. I am no website professional, nor master of image manipulation, so apologise in advance if there is some fraying  at the edges.

Nearly all the artists are well known - I think I'd regard only one or two as obscure. However, I am not sure how difficult this puzzle will turn out to be. I apologize if it proves to be too tough. I am conscious of copyright, so virtually all the pictures were created over 100 years ago.

If, by the deadline, anyone wants to send in her/his set of answers, however incomplete, I shall be happy to look at them and post up a list of those who achieved.

I think Tom Lubbock's traditional deadline was sometime in the New Year, usually a Friday, so I'll say midnight on Friday, 5th January.

Send entries to detailspuzzle@yahoo.com

After the deadline, I shall look at any entries as promptly as I can, but I am not fixing a firm date for publishing the winner(s).

I shall publish the answers and the name of each of the three entrants who has the highest number of correct answers, provided she/he confirms approval when sending in the answers. There are no prizes, just prestige!

It occurred to me that a donation to a relevant charity might be worth considering because Tom Lubbock tragically died from a brain tumour. The hospice which cared for Tom Lubbock was the Royal Trinity Hospice

https://www.royaltrinityhospice.london/

Another possible recipient would be The Brain Tumour Charity,

https://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/understanding-brain-tumours/types-of-brain-tumour-adult/glioblastoma/

Please note I have no connection with either of these organisations.

Finally, looking at the preview of this blog, I feel a sense of the old excitement which arose when I opened the Magazine Section of the old Independent on Sunday before each Christmas and saw the set of images arrayed with a different theme every year. It was truly magical.

For those who do not know about the old Competition, the objective is to find the name of the artist and title of the picture for each of the details. Titles vary, so any known version is acceptable.

Please accept that this is not a formal competition and I can only do my best when looking at entries. Tom Lubbock always insisted on refusing to enter into correspondence during the competition, so I shall do the same. I hope you enjoy this and don't take it too seriously.

Christmas Puzzle 2016 - Recollections of our Absent Friend, Tom Lubbock - Answers

Below are the answers to this year's Christmas Details puzzle. First, I'd like to apologize for putting up a very hasty set of details. My explanation is that it was scrambled together on Christmas morning. The selection was too narrow and unlike Tom Lubbock's selections, there was no theme. Finally, the some of the details were too small, I think.

Having said all that, I received two entries, each correctly identifying each painting. According to tradition, alternative titles were accepted provided the correct painting had been identified. It's remarkable and inspiring that there are still people out there willing to struggle with details just for the satisfaction of finding them. The congratulations and plaudits in 2017 must therefore go to,

David Rutledge
Francesca Cassano

To my knowledge, David Rutledge won the Details competition more than a few times.

Possibly next Christmas I shall prepare better and give a wider selection of details, even decide on a theme.

Please note that I shall be removing the yahoo email address which I posted up with the competition, as they are susceptible to being picked up and create spam for me and anyone on my address list. Any further correspondence can be taken forward by posting a comment on this Blog to which I shall respond.

Best wishes to all for 2017, though I do not find the political climate to be encouraging to put it mildly.





1.

1. St Luke painting the Virgin - Derick Baegert  

2.  Glatz Madonna - Master of the Glatz Madonna

3. St Nicholas and the Three Gold Balls - Gentile da Fabriano

4. Camera degli Sposi - Andrea Mantegna 

5. St Jerome - Workshop of Jan van Eyck (Dated the year after van Eyck's death)

 6. The Birth of St John the Baptist - Domenico Ghirlandaio

7. The Visitation with St Nicholas and Anthony Abbot - Piero di Cosimo

8. The Nativity - Piero della Francesca

9. The Archangel Gabriel - Masolino da Panicale