Diaghilev show at the National Gallery

This weekend I saw a museum show I adored so much I bought the exhibition book, something I am usually to cheap to do, but there was so much there I wanted to remember and find out more about.This show is at the National Gallery in Washington DC and it doesn't close until September 2nd, so if you are traveling to DC or live near by, I highly recommend it. 
Diaghilev was a ballet impresario for the Ballet Russes in the early 20th century. He brought together the greatest artists of the time such as dancers (Nijinsky and Alicia Markova), composers (Stravinsky), artists (Picasso, Matisse) and choreographers (Balanchine) who created really famous pieces such as "The Rite of Spring"  Click this for a link to the National Gallery page about this show. Alas, there are  no images of the show on their website, so you have to go to see it, or buy the book HERE. And the book is very good.

AND, there is a second terrific show on the same floor. This is a very large exihibit of art by Albrecht Durer.  I don't know why, but the National Gallery website doesn't have a page for this show, although they have a number of images of his artwork to view on line HERE. 
Durer was the greatest German Renaissance artist.  There is work he did as a teenager that is so excellent.  The exhibit is quite large and shows a few pages of a book of detailed human anatomy that I never knew he made until this last weekend. So that explains why his nudes are always so good. I took a really fabulous photo of a drawing that shows the front and back of a woman's gown before (honestly) I saw the "no photos" sign. I feel a tiny bit guilty, but I can't delete it ... LOOK!

I think Simplicity needs a new high waisted Renaissance pattern ... if you do too, please write in!

And, as in any art gallery or museum, I have to check some of the permanent collection.  So, I spent some time in the rooms called "small French paintings"  Here are some paintings I liked.

A 1895 painting by Edouard Vuillard, one of my favorite painters. This is the height of the Leg-o-mutton sleeve and this is a beautiful image of that.

As I said in an earlier post, I love to see the back of people. This is a painting by Carolus-Duran done in 1887.

This green baby by van Gogh always makes me smile.

Here's a neat street scene from 1882. The activities look so modern, but in 19th C clothes. I like the fact that there are advertisements all over the scaffolding like there would be today. This is by Jean Beraud.

As I was leaving this exhibit a couple of interesting paintings caught my eye.  Look a the back of the garment in the first painting.  I could not figure out what was holding up the top point of that back bodice until I saw the second painting done by the same painter in the same year.
Interesting ...

"The Artist's Studio" 1868 by Jean-Baptiste-Camille-Corot

"Young Girl Reading" 1868 by Jean-Baptiste-Camille-Corot

I zoomed and cropped both of these so you could see better.  It looks like some kind of cord that connects the top edges of the front bodice to the back.  Strange top, in my opinion, but interesting.

Hope some of you can see these shows.