When I was young, there was a well-advertised brand of cigars around New York called Dutch Masters. A slice of The Night Watch was on the box. I was aware of the product but no one in my family smoked cigars and I hadn't yet been to The Met. I had no idea what the brand name meant. Maybe it was just odd marketing. Over the years, I came to associate black backgrounds with Dutch/Flemish painting (except for maybe Caravaggio). I'm not sure how this floral arrangement interprets the nearby paintings but the effect is dramatic.
I gotta get back out on the street and find some new stuff. Getting my back worked on tomorrow at the mighty Washington University Medical Center and hoping for more mobility.
I hope your back problems can be fixed. I still remember visiting, and photographing a house where a cigar smoker lived for half a Century. It had to be demolished.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it great that we learn about good art with publicity of completely diverse things? Love this photo with black background! Rather unusual for a display at the museum. Good wishes for your back improvement!
ReplyDeleteDutch Masters cigars sponsored the Ernie Kovacs TV show in the late 50s/early 60s. He did a lot of the commercials and they were very funny. One of them featured the Dutch Masters, posed completely still with live actors, until Kovacs takes a big drag off his cigar -
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