Courtauld Institute – Claude Monet Antibes Silk Pillow

• This beautiful silk pillow inspired by the art of the famous impressionist painter Edgar Degas.
• 100% hand-screen printed Silk Twill front with 100% Poly insert.
• Solid Dark Blue Silk/Rayon Velvet back and piping
• Removable cover with invisible zipper.
• Measures 17″ X 17″ and is Dry Clean only!

Product Description
When Monet was 34 years old, he exhibited a landscape called Impression: Sunrise (1872) in a show. This patchily-textured work caused one critic to skeptically call the entire show impressionist, which gave the movement its name and established Monet as one of its leaders.He influenced art by trying to paint his personal, spontaneous response to outdoor scenes or events. Monet was the most important of the artists who first allowed their initial impressions of scenes to stand as complete works. He was especially concerned with the effects of outdoor light and atmosphere.Monet worked in Antibes in early 1888, and on his return to Paris exhibited ten paintings of the area at the gallery of the dealers Boussod & Valadon, run by Theo van Gogh, brother of the painter. Antibes was probably one of these.When painting the Mediterranean coast, Monet was faced with the problem of capturing the intensity of the southern light and colour. In a letter to his partner Alice Hoschedé, he commented: “What I bring back from here will be Sweetness itself, white, pink and blue, all enveloped in this magical air.” Monet evoked the effect of the southern light by heightening his colours and co-ordinating the colour relationships throughout the picture into clear sequences of contrasts.The composition of Antibes, which is replicated on this silk pillow, reflects, with its silhouetted tree and open sides, Monet’s interest in Japanese woodblock prints, of which he was an avid collector. In the 1880s he travelled widely, exploring subjects which showed the most extreme natural effects, and his knowledge of Japanese art helped him to find ways of formulating these scenes in pictorial terms.This beautiful silk pillow, with its solid silk/rayon velvet back, will add elegance and beauty to your home.

Washington National Cathedral, Washington DC – Jerusalem Cross, Silk Pillow

• Let this beautiful silk pillow remind you that the spirit of Christ is always with us.
• 100% hand-screen printed Silk Twill front with 100% Poly insert.
• Solid Pale Green Silk/Rayon Velvet back and piping
• Removable cover with invisible zipper.
• Measures 17″ X 17″ and is Dry Clean only!

Product Description
The inlaid marble floor at the Cathedral’s great crossing bears its emblem, the Jerusalem Cross. It was designed by Philip Hubert Frohman and installed in 1958. At the east arm of the cross, the hand coming from a cloud represents God the Father. In the center, the sacred monogram “IHS,” an abbreviation for the word “Jesus” in Greek, represents God the Son. The flying dove represents God the Holy Spirit. The Greek cross with crossed keys represents St. Peter, and the open book with a sword represents St. Paul, the cathedral’s patron saints. The Jerusalem cross was the emblem of Templar Crusaders; its four arms are at equal distances, symbolizing the four directions and the belief that Jerusalem was the spiritual center of the earth. Washington National Cathedral, known formally as the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, was built as a “National House of Prayer for all People.” It is a truly national church in which people of all faiths can come together to celebrate, contemplate and pray about the events that shape a nation. Chartered by Congress in 1893, the Gothic-style cathedral was completed in 1990. It is a timeless statement of faith.

Courtauld Institute – Edgar Degas Two Dancers Silk Pillow

• This beautiful silk pillow inspired by the art of the famous impressionist painter Edgar Degas.
• 100% hand-screen printed Silk Twill front with 100% Poly insert.
• Solid Dark Blue Silk/Rayon Velvet back and piping
• Removable cover with invisible zipper.
• Measures 17″ X 17″ and is Dry Clean only!

Product Description
Edgar Degas, one of the world’s most renowned Impressionist painters, was born in Paris of wealthy parents. From 1854 to 1859, he spent time in Italy studying the great Italian Renaissance painters to perfect his draftsmanship and style. Degas intended to become a painter of historical scenes, but he abandoned this idea because he felt a need to paint modern subjects and began to paint scenes from everyday life. He especially enjoyed painting pictures of race-track and theatrical life. Degas emphasized composition, drawing and form.The painting replicated on this silk pillow shows dancers rehearsing on a stage. Degas has concentrated on the two figures without indicating whether we are watching a performance or a rehearsal. Our attention is focused on their poses,as seen from the unexpected angle of a box virtually above the edge of the stage, but the viewer is given no clue as to the narrative being enacted.There is a paradoxical relationship between the humble working-class girls who made up the corps de ballet, and the finesse that the discipline of classical ballet imposed on them, and Degas always presented the ballet in ways which revealed its artificiality.During the 1870s Degas attempted to study the visible world from many angles which had not been sanctioned in previous art, but which seemed to him characteristic of the ways in which everyday life appeared in the modern city.This painting makes an interesting contrast to the bold colour and brushwork with which the Impressionist group is usually associated. The stageflats in Two Dancers on a Stage are treated in free dabs of colour, but the figures are modelled with comparative delicacy. The overall colour scheme is quite subdued, with vivid points of pink, yellow and green on the figures’ shoes, flowers, bodices and head-dresses.This beautiful silk pillow, with its solid silk/rayon velvet back will add elegance and beauty to your home.

First Presbyterian – Tiffany Holy Spirit Window, Silk Pillow

• Bring Spirit into your home with this gorgeous silk wall hanging.
• Inspired by the window designed by the famous stained glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany.
• 100% hand-screen printed Silk Twill front. Solid Black Silk/Rayon Velvet back and piping
• Removable cover with invisible zipper.
• Measures 18″ X 18″ and is Dry Clean only!

Product Description
The shimmering Tiffany Dove Window that inspired this silk is also referred to as the Holy Spirit Window. In the mid-1890s, it was made and installed in the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, Illinois, with whose congregation Abraham Lincoln worshipped for many years. The brilliance and iridescence of the Dove Window typify Louis Comfort Tiffany’s now-legendary stained glass technique, in which he duplicated glass colors produced in ancient Troy and Cyprus. The myriad of jewel-toned colors along the border of this silk almost radiate light. The Dove at each corner reflects Spirit and beauty. The First Presbyterian Church of Springfield draws visitors from around the world because of its connection with Abraham Lincoln and his family. Far beyond this relationship, however, the church has made its mark on the city’s history, politics and culture.