Daily Artist

Cypress Trees and Absentee Bloggers

2011-06-01T21:47:00.001-04:00

Two Cypresses

Vincent van Gogh

1889

As a quick explanation of my absence, there are a large number of issues that I'm currently facing, such as moving and starting a new job, which are keeping me unbearably busy. Normal posting (i.e., every day) may not resume for a little bit, but I'll keep you posted on all events, and very soon all will be normal again. Thus spoke Zarathustra.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525 – September 9, 1569)

2011-05-31T05:01:00.000-04:00

The Fall of the Rebel Angels

1562

I'm back! The lack of updates over the past few days had to do with me running off for Memorial Weekend. I usually try to inform you when I'm going to be taking some time off, but that's not quite been the most accurate system. Oh well! On to the post.

Bruegel the Elder was a fabulous painter who created a lot of the imagery that surrounds our conception of biblical stories. His The Tower of Babel, see below, is an image that transformed my view of that Genesis tale in my childhood years. As for Bruegel's style, his descent from Bosch is very evident, especially in works, such as the one above, where the swirling of demons and symbols echoes Bosch beautifully. There is also so much, not only in the myriad characters in his works, but also in his beautiful landscapes, which often go unnoticed, but held so much of the soul of his paintings.

The Hunters in the Snow (January)

1565

The Peasant and the Birdnester

1568

The Tower of Babel

1563

The Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind

1568

Big Fishes Eat Little Fishes

c. 1556

Christ and the Woman taken in Adultery

1565

Herbert Draper (1863 – September 22, 1920)

2011-05-27T05:58:00.001-04:00

The Lament for Icarus

1898

Draper was a magnificent painter, who like so many Classicists was completely forgotten. That Draper had amazing technique and great sense of composition, unfortunately, mattered little to those who necessitated an at least Impressionistic style, progressively speaking; but I love Draper and the Classicists, nonetheless.

Potpourri

1897

Clyties of the Mist

Ariadne Deserted by Theseus

1898

Portrait of Miss Barbara de Selincourt

The Water Nymph

1898

The Pearls of Aphrodite

Jean Delville (January 19, 1867 – January 19, 1953)

2011-05-26T05:45:00.001-04:00

The Idol of Perversity

1891

Delville, for me, exudes the early 20th century unlike any other artist; and, incredibly, he began to do so from the anachronistic perch of the 19th. But it's not just a representation of a zeitgeist, presaged or not, that makes Delville great, but its his absolutely unique style that I could only define as one of hyper-sensuality (he was a Theosophist, though I never understood by that group was so lascivious in their arts). And it should go without saying that Delville died unappreciated, and has only recently undergone a revival, reevaluation, recognition or whatever you'd like to call the perverse act of recognizing an artist after the comfort of a half-century's repose, at which time an artist's corpse can hardly restrain its excitement from all of the accolades.

Satan's Treasures

1895

Orpheus

1893

The School of Silence

1929

Parsifal

1890

The Love of Souls

1900

Mysteriosa or Portrait of Mrs. Stuart Merrill

1892

Gustave Caillebotte (August 19, 1848 – February 21, 1894)

2011-05-25T05:02:00.000-04:00

Woman at a Dressing Table

c. 1873

Caillebotte was a wonderful artist with a great grasp on representing soft emotions, though he is remembered far more, rather unfortunately, for his patronage of the arts, specifically the Impressionists. Patrons are littered throughout the arts, either out of the fondness or necessity of the painter; and they certainly aren't frivolous characters in history; but certainly the value of the patron isn't above the artist; so what should we make of an artist who is remembered more fondly as a patron? (Did you notice how many semicolons I used?) Personally, I think he's a great artist, and all else is secondary.

Fruit Displayed on a Stand

c. 1882

Paris Street

1877

Chrysanthemums, Garden at Petit Gennevilliers

1893

Floor Strippers

1875

The Yerres, Rain

1875

Naked Woman Lying on a Couch

1873

Display of Chickens and Game Birds

1882

Rising Road

1881

Self-Portrait

c. 1892

Peter McArdle (December 17, 1965)

2011-05-24T05:47:00.000-04:00

Artist and Model

McArdle was one of the founders, and now an expat, of the Stuckist movement. Stuckism is the reaction of a group of British painters to Conceptual Art, which the painters viewed as a charlatan affair; in turn, they proposed figurative painting as a superior alternative. While Stuckists share a set of ideological similarities, their styles radically differ; for example, McArdle is a Surrealist with American Realist overtones, others are Expressionists, Pop Artists, etcetera; but all of them despise Conceptual Art. Whatever you may think of Conceptual Art, you can't say the Stuckists lack an ethos. And McArdle's one of my favorites from the movement. He has a Myspace account (people still use Myspace?), which you should visit if you want to see more examples of his art.

Venice 2

Woman Reading

He Is Dancing

Seated Figure 10am

Silence Between

Strange Love

An Annunciation

Nude - Head and Shoulder

Giovanni Baglione (1566 – December 30, 1643)

2011-05-23T05:46:00.010-04:00

Divine Love

1602

Baglione was a very able painter, but it's his interaction with one particular contemporary of his that I find to be the most interesting aspect of his life. As you can tell, there are two versions of Baglione's Divine Love in this post. The second version, which is above, was created to be in competition with Caravaggio's Love Conquers All, though both were created for the same patron, Cardinal Giustiniani. The devil in the the second version is widely believed to be based on Caravaggio himself (and, by symbolic implication, some historians see this as bearing a charge of sodomy against Caravaggio). Following the track of these historians, this representation caused Caravaggio to write and circulate a defamatory poem about Baglione soon after the painting's completion. In turn, the poem so outraged Baglione that, in 1603, he filed libel charges against Caravaggio. Baglione won the case, and Caravaggio was sent to jail for a couple of weeks. The strange story culminated, ironically, with Baglione becoming Caravaggio's first biographer (though certainly not his most sympathetic). In terms of artistic merit, I think the feud was easily settled on the side of Caravaggio; in terms of character, I'd have to second the last sentiment. What do you think?

Divine Love

1602

The Virgin and the Child with Angels

The Ecstasy of Saint Francis

1601

Saint Sebastian Healed by an Angel

1603

Self-Portrait with Vanitas Symbols

Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905 – July 4, 1970)

2011-05-22T11:14:00.002-04:00

Achilles

1952

I often feel that talking at length about Minimalism is somewhat contradictory to any sort of strong attempt at defining it (though this could be more semantics than metaphysics at play). Also, since I don't quite know how long my weak internet connection will last today, it might be better to let the Minimalist of the post to speak on my, or rather his, behalf; "What is the explanation of the seemingly insane drive of man to be painter and poet if it is not an act of defiance against man's fall and an assertion that he return to the Garden of Eden? For the artists are the first men."

Now II

1984

Yellow Painting

1949

Adam

1952

Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue?

1966

Jericho

1968-1969

Dosso Dossi (c. 1487 – 1542)

2011-05-21T10:22:00.000-04:00

Jupiter, Mercury and the Virtue

1515-1518

Hey guys and gals! I'm posting this entry while in transit, so you don't have to go a day without something new. But, I may not be able to post Sunday, so that day's still way up in the air.

Dossi was a great High Renaissance painter. Though you can't claim he was revolutionary in style or subject, he always was able to convey something emotionally well. And I think in art so much hinges on the ability to somehow imprint your emotions onto the canvas, that success is often solely defined by this quality. Of course I'm not implying that Dossi was stylistically deficient, as his style was quite good, but, rather, that his legacy has lain in an emotional mark on the characters and environments. Or, perhaps, I'm completely wrong.

Portrait of a Man

Saints John and Bartholomew with Donors

1527

Portrait of a Warrior

1530

The Virgin Appearing to Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist

1520

Marc Chagall (July 6, 1887 – 28 March 28, 1985)

2011-05-20T16:17:00.003-04:00

Bella with White Collar

1917

As a quick note, I'm leaving the city for a couple of days and, while I can usually post from away, this time I'll be in a desolate forested area, which will almost certainly have no reception. So, until the end of the weekend keep your expectations low for new posts.

Now, to Chagall. The influence and stature of Chagall in the artistic community is tremendous, and even those in the artistic community who take no pleasure in his work recognize him as a great painter. While there is a lot to laud in terms of Chagall's content,–the noted symbolism of which, he claimed to be unintentional and merely a viewer's subjective experience–it his use of color that he is best known for: a development from the Fauvist movement. It's perhaps a viable argument that, aside from Kandinsky, Chagall had the best sense of color in the 20th century. I'll round out this text with one of my favorite quotes by Chagall; "My name is Marc, my emotional life is sensitive and my purse is empty, but they say I have talent."

The Concert

1957

The Praying Jew

1914

Red Nude Sitting Up

1908

Cemetery Gates

1917

Paris Through the Window

1913

The Sun of Paris

1975

The Old Jew

1912

The Comedians

1968

Self-Portrait with White Collar

1914

Paul Ranson (March 29, 1864 – February 20, 1909)

2011-05-19T05:31:00.003-04:00

Nabi Landscape

1890

Ranson was one of the central Nabi painters. In fact, he started the Académie Ranson with his wife, Marie-France Ranson; the school espoused the Nabi cause, and served as a haunt for famous Nabi painters to congregate, teach and attend. Though Ranson was intimately linked with the Nabi, a great portion of his style was derived from Japanese influences, with the two forms joining into something that appears nearly to be a part of the Art Nouveau movement. A very central and strange artist.

Three Beeches

c. 1905

Foxgloves

1899

The Bathing Place or Lotus

1906

Vines

c. 1902

The Clearing or Edge of the Wood

c. 1895

Three Bathers Among the Irises

c. 1900

Piero della Francesca (c. 1412 – October 12, 1492)

2011-05-18T05:53:00.000-04:00

The Madonna Della Misericordia

c. 1460

Piero was a mathematician as well as an artist. It might seem like an odd mixture, but artists were often carried into strange professions; Kandinsky, for example, was an economist and lawyer. And while it might be tempting to fly into Piero's works with an expectation of geometrical and mathematical accents, the works rest much more on the emotional depictions of their characters and symbolism of their themes. More so, Piero somehow transcended that rigidity of position and expression common in the men and women in Early Renaissance paintings through subtle articulations.

Nativity

1470

Polyptych of St. Augustine

1460-1470

Burial of the Wood

1455

St. Benedict of Nursia

1445-1462

The Torture of the Jew

1452-1466

Stigmatization of St. Francis

1487

The Resurrection

c. 1450

John Bauer (June 4, 1882 – November 20, 1918)

2011-05-17T05:28:00.002-04:00

Into the Wide World

1907

John Bauer is an amazing illustrator, though he's, unfortunately, not as well known outside of Scandinavia. Also, Bauer died at a rather young age (he'd booked a steamer instead of a train on his way back to Stockholm, after news reached him of a recent train crash; the steamer suffered shipwreck and Bauer, along with his wife and their two-year-old son, died), so his life's output was cut bitterly short. But what we have left is wondrous and intricate and full of a grand romanticism, all enveloping the myths of Scandinavia. (As an aside, Norse mythology is wildly strange and fascinating and if these images peak your interest, I would recommend reading Snorri Sturluson's The Prose Edda (I can't vouch for this translation, but it's free), which I believe is the earliest surviving prose account of certain myths, though I could be mistaken.)

Tuvstarr Looking for Her Heart

1913

The Child and the Stone Troll

Tyr and Fenrir

1910

Linda-Gold and the Old King

He Found Her in a Tree

Julbocken

1912

She Kissed the Bear on the Nose

c. 1910

The Fairy Princess

1905

Freya

1910

Paul Delaroche (July 17, 1797 – November 4, 1856)

2011-05-16T05:47:00.001-04:00

Young Christian Martyr

1855

Paul (or Hippolyte) Delaroche was one of the more respected Academic Painters, who, as I've expressed before, are an unfairly maligned group; and it was his Romanticism which led to his greater acclaim. It's not surprising that there are strong, often overwhelming, Romantic elements in his paintings, as he closely associated with Romantic painters, such as Delacroix. There is something very soft about many of his works, a particular blending of idealism with realist details, that I find very appealing; to point, his piece, Young Christian Martyr, when compared to the similar, in period and concept, Ophelia of the Pre-Raphaelite Millais, while not as great a technical achievement, has for me a much greater soul.

Napoleon Crossing the Alps

1850

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey

1834

Marquis de Pastoret

1829

Joan of Arc in Prison

1824

Portrait of Henrietta Sontag

1872

Joan Miró (April 20, 1893 – December 25, 1983)

2011-05-15T08:27:00.001-04:00

Standing Nude

1918

Miró is the best known Surrealist after Dalí (interestingly both were Catalan), though some supposed him to be the best. Personally, his most famous periods, which tended towards Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism, are not as interesting to me as his earlier ones. The piece above, which is Fauvist, is absolutely my favorite on this post; I should come clean that I love Fauvism in general, so it tilts my objectivity. As for his Surrealism, I've never heard a better explanation than his; "The spectacle of the sky overwhelms me. I'm overwhelmed when I see, in an immense sky, the crescent of the moon, or the sun. There, in my pictures, tiny forms in huge empty spaces. Empty spaces, empty horizons, empty plains – everything which is bare has always greatly impressed me."

The Tilled Field

1923-1924

Dancer Listening to the Organ Playing in a Gothic Cathedral

1945

The Lane

Man and Woman in Front of a Pile of Excrement

1936

Danger

1925

Self-Portrait

1919

Robert Henri (25 June 1865 – 12 July 1929)

2011-05-14T07:13:00.002-04:00

Street Scene with Snow

1902

I'm back! Where was I? Nowhere; if you didn't hear, Blogger controls shut down for a couple of days, so I was unable to push any posts through. Luckily everything is working well again, so I can get back to posting.

In terms of figurative painting, no one has had a stronger influence on the American art scene than Henri. And Henri is the foundation of American Realism. Hopper and du Bois were both influenced strongly by the his presence; and comparing the styles of the three painters, you can note many traits borrowed from Henri by the two younger artists. There is an occasional question that is asked, which is "If not towards abstraction, where?" And Henri and his disciples answered, though for quite a while few were interested in receiving that answer. As a final note, I always wonder about the heritability of artistic genius, so whenever I find out that artists are related I think it fascinating; in that vein, Henri was a distant cousin of Cassatt.

Betalo, Nude

1916

Letecia

1925

Street Corner in Paris

1896

Dutch Soldier

1907

Early Morning, Venice

1891

Salome

1909

Far Rockaway

1902

Portrait of Mrs. Edward H. (Catherine) Bennett

Cafe du Dome (or On the Boulevard Montparnasse)

1892

Nicolas de Largillière (October 10, 1656 – March 20, 1746)

2011-05-11T05:26:00.001-04:00

Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Rousseau

1710

There is a perception that the Rococo period was an overly-extravagant era of Art, but that doesn't quite stand up to certain examples, such as de Largillière. In many of his pieces, though not all, there is an evident restraint that, while maintaining a Rococo-ish style, created a much less idealized and sharper overall work than would commonly be supposed a Rococo piece. There is often an attack on the Rococo art, much like a large swathe of Academic art, is often attacked as inferior. But I can't understand the arguments against these works, unless one is to say that skill and novelty aren't important if there is some detection of perceived sentimentality. Then again, this is starting to seem like a personal gripe.

Family Portrait

c. 1710

Philip of Orleans, Regent of France

1715

A Young Man with His Tutor

1685

Portrait of Elisabeth-Marguerite, the Artist's Daughter

The Countess of Montsoreau and Her Sister as Diana and an Attendant

1714

Portrait of a Man in a Purple Robe

c. 1700

La Belle Strasbourgeoise

1703

George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894)

2011-05-10T05:30:00.001-04:00

Christmas Eve or Winter Moonlight

1866

"Late on the afternoon of August 3 he suggested to my mother that they take a drive, and that while she was dressing he would stroll about and look at the sunset. He went out to a point where he could best see the flaming sky, which was unusually beautiful that evening. A sunset had always moved him to the deepest emotions, and as he gazed he was filled with an ecstasy too profound, a pain too exquisite, for the frail earthly body. Just as the big red ball went down below the horizon he threw his hands into the air and exclaimed, "My God! oh, how beautiful!" and fell stricken to the ground.

A lad who was standing near by rushed to him and said:

"Are ye in liquor, mon?"

"No," gasped my father; "I am dying. Take me up-stairs to my wife." In a few moments he passed away in the arms of the woman he loved [...]" - George Inness, Jr., Life, art, and letters of George Inness

Niagara

1889

Sunset

1860-1865

A Bit of Roman Aqueduct

c. 1852

Home at Montclair

1892

Early Autumn, Montclair

1891

The Trout Brook

1891

Passing Clouds

1876

Winter, Close of Day

1866

The Coming Storm

c. 1879

Cornelis Cornelisz of Haarlem (1562 - November 11, 1638)

2011-05-09T05:08:00.001-04:00

The Fall of Lucifer

1588

Haarlem was a superb Mannerist painter, who often treated subjects in a very satirical fashion, as he does in the painting below. But, though a wonderful painter of figures, there was often something lacking in his treatment of environments. The deficiency is somewhat explained in the fact that there was a long continuation of Mannerism in the North, when the Baroque period was already in full swing (compare, for instance, his near contemporary's work, Rubens', with Haarlem's). But, despite a slight anachronism, he was able to create massive and wonderful paintings.

The Monk and the Nun

1591

Massacre of the Innocents

1591

Bathsheba

1594

Massacre of the Innocents

1590

The Fall of Man

1592

After the Deluge

1588

Henry Fuseli (February 7, 1741 – April 17, 1825)

2011-05-08T08:18:00.002-04:00

The Nightmare

1781

Fuseli created one of the most recognizable paintings of the Romanticist movement: the above featured The Nightmare. It's a famous piece, or rather one version of it, that neatly sums up the whole of Romanticism on one canvas. Fuseli, of course, created many memorable works, though none that have reached the level of cultural ubiquity that The Nightmare has (though that could also be said of many great artists' complete portfolios). His influence was vast, affecting such geniuses as Blake.

Thor, in the boat of Hymir, battering the Midgard Serpent

1790

Lady Macbeth

1784

The Night-Hag Visiting the Lapland Witches

1796

Silence

1799-1801

The Shepherd's Dream

1793

The Debutante

1807

Edward Burne-Jones (August 28, 1833 – June 17, 1898)

2011-05-07T08:42:00.003-04:00

Pan and Psyche

1872-1874

It is perhaps a wrongheaded approach to evaluating Pre-Raphaelites, but I always seem to judge the artists by how they represent women in their works. Obviously these paintings are for more than just their female characters, but those characters are so representational to me of the romantic concept of England that I cannot divorce myself from this approach. And Burne-Jones was able to translate that sort of beautiful English romanticism into subjects not only Arthurian, but Greco-Roman, more beautifully, I would wager, than most of his contemporaries.

Lancelot at the Chapel of the Holy Grail

1896

The Annunciation

1876-1879

The Baleful Head

1886-1887

King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid

1883

The Birth of Pegasus and Chrysaor from the Blood of Medusa

1876-1885

The Wheel of Fortune

1888

The Perseus Series: The Doom Fulfilled

1884-1885

Pablo Picasso (October 25, 1881 – April 8, 1973) II

2011-05-06T05:33:00.000-04:00

Portrait of the Artist's Father

1896

Following in the wake of my last Picasso post (only his Rose Period), I've decided to continue onto his Blue Period. The period began, according to Picasso, with the death of his friend in 1901; "I started painting in blue when I learned of Casagemas's death." But I think that was a retroactive romanticization. Picasso's periods bled into each other as did his paints. The two works at the top and bottom of this post illustrate a pre-1901 proclivity towards blueness. And several of the paintings here presage his Rose Period. For me, there's something so inhuman about the lot of them, but especially his self-portrait.

Self-Portrait

1901

Woman on the Stage

1901

The Gourmet

1901

Madonna with Garland

1904

Child with a Dove

1901

Still-Life with Flowers

1901

Pierrot and Dancer

1900

Mark Tobey (December 11, 1890 – April 24, 1976)

2011-05-05T07:28:00.000-04:00

Orange Leaves

1965

Tobey may not be the first person you think of when you muse on Abstraction (it's probably Pollock), but, in my view, Tobey enthused a great deal more spirituality into his works than his contemporaries. In fact, Pollock was somewhat influenced, and not surprisingly when you view his works, by Tobey. Of course, Tobey was one of the eldest Abstractionists about, having been born in the 19th century (thinking about Tobey, I'm a bit reminded of Pissarro, who was the old man of the Impressionist clique, or, if you prefer the Beat Generation writer William Burroughs). I think there's something extremely interesting about those long-lived elder artists that form artistic circles around themselves, because they always tend to have a deep amount of reflection in their works, while working in very modern styles; certainly Tobey seems, to me, to be such an artist.

Untitled

1957

Untitled

Edge of August

1953

Untitled

1966

Composition with Yellow Spots

1965

Head

1952

Untitled

1968

Henri Martin (August 5, 1860 - November 12, 1943)

2011-05-04T21:55:00.000-04:00

Olive Trees by the Sea

The posts a bit late today, but better late than never. Anyway: Martin: Martin was never one to create a revolution in the art world, but he was a painter that consistently created wonderful pieces. It seems almost condescending to say of Martin that he was a capable artist, because capability isn't enough to make art, but, among greats such as Gauguin and van Gogh, he doesn't quite stand out. Yet there is a wonderful beauty to a great many of his works; a beauty, which was recognized among his fellow artists, but never quite in an uproar.

Ducks on the Vert

Laborers Prepare the Vines in Quercy

Vase of Flowers

c. 1910

Silence

1894-1897

Self-Portrait

1912

Rogier van der Weyden (1399/1400 – June 18, 1464)

2011-05-03T05:12:00.001-04:00

Portrait of a Lady

c. 1455

Weyden was a tremendous force in the art world during his lifetime. He was so famous that he was even able to eclipse his contemporary van Eyck, an eclipse that has lasted into modern times. (Personally, I don't quite agree with the common assessment, as van Eyck's style always seemed the sharpest and most spiritual out of all the Northern Renaissance painters.) Weyden often imbued a great mystery into his paintings, as in a Portrait of a Lady, which carries obvious parallels in the softness of the character's impression to da Vinci's Mona Lisa. And Weyden is an excellent illustration of the wonderfulness of the Northern Renaissance, which I think has been rather unfairly seen as secondary relative to the advancements of the Italian masters.

Deposition

c. 1435

Annunciation Triptych

c. 1440

Portrait of a Woman

c. 1464

Miraflores Altarpiece

c. 1440

Lady Wearing a Gauze Headdress

1435

Bladelin Triptych

1445-1450

Mario Sironi (May 12, 1885 – August 13, 1961)

2011-05-02T15:13:00.002-04:00

Futurist Head

1913

Sironi was a grand follower of Futurism, who produced some of the most somber works of the movement, echoing his own human condition, which from his early years often dipped into deep depressions. During the rise of Mussolini, Sironi was a strong supporter of the dictator and Fascism, so, with little surprise, following the end of World War II, Sironi's reputation was mostly destroyed, sending him into obscurity for the rest of his life. In his later years, he produced wonderful Expressionist pieces, whose reputations are smaller than what is due to them.

Portrait of Brother Ettore

1910

Composition (San Martino)

1930

The Truck

1914-1915

Model

1958

Cyclist

1916-1920

The Family

1933-1934

Ballerina

1918-1919

Self-Portrait

1910-1911

Melchior Broederlam (c. 1355 – 1411)

2011-05-01T11:30:00.000-04:00

The Dijon Altarpiece

1393-1399

Broederlam was an extremely influential artist from the Gothic Art period, but, unfortunately, only one extant work can be cleanly attributed to him. His influence though has been long surviving, including the influence he had on the fabulous van Eyck. As for the piece, the panels are full of wonderful details, especially the crimson seraphim swarming around a blowing figure that I'm not sure the identity of. Does anyone know who it is?

The Dijon Altarpiece [Detail]

1393-1399

The Dijon Altarpiece [Detail 2]

1393-1399

The Dijon Altarpiece [Detail 3]

1393-1399

The Dijon Altarpiece [Detail 4]

1393-1399

The Dijon Altarpiece [Detail 5]

1393-1399

Georges de Feure (September 6, 1868 – November 26, 1943)

2011-04-30T13:40:00.000-04:00

The Voice of Evil

1895

Feure was a wonderful artist of the Art Nouveau style, who crafted soft, romantic works. Also he was, most probably, influenced by Beardsley, especially in certain of his pieces (see Swan Lake below). And Feure in his life rejected academic teachings, finding them useless in his respect, and pursued his own unique art, which led to a death in poverty and without notice. Now I'm afraid it's a bright Saturday, and I had a long night, so this'll have to be a short post. Enjoy the day.

Joan of Arc

1896-1900

Modern Interior

1900

The Botanist

1894

Swan Lake

1897

Color Study

1901

Visit

1901

Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (February 27, 1863 – August 10, 1923)

2011-04-29T05:07:00.000-04:00

Promenade on the Beach

1907

For me, Sorolla y Bastida stands among the greatest Impressionists, holding himself ably even in the company of Monet. I can recall once walking tiredly through the Met, and finding myself shocked at one of Sorolla's paintings of a beach, especially shocked at never having heard of Sorolla before. And, unfortunately, I'm not the exception, as he's not the sort of name to slip off of the tongues of young artists today. Though I shouldn't make it seem as if I dug him out of the cellars of history, because Sorolla is present, but in a rather set-aside way, which I think him wholly undeserving of. What do you think of him?

Children on the Beach

1910

The Siesta

1912

Kissing the Relic

1893

The Queen's Bath, Valsain

1907

Resting Bacchante

1887

Self-Portrait

1911

Annibale Carracci (November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609)

2011-04-28T06:14:00.000-04:00

The Cyclops Polyphemus

1595-1605

Carracci is one of the great painters of the Baroque period, though not as well remembered as certain of his contemporaries such as Caravaggio and Rembrandt, yet many of those same contemporaries were admirers of his work, including the wonderful Rubens. What I like most about Carracci is his amazing ability to show the emotion of his characters, which is a quality especially evident in his religious pieces (e.g. Mocking of Christ).

Self-Portrait in Profile

c. 1590 - c. 1600

Dead Christ

Butcher's Shop

c. 1580

Hercules at the Crossroads

1595-1597

Virgin with Child

Mocking of Christ

c. 1596

Self-Portrait

c. 1604

Albert Joseph Moore (September 4, 1841 – September 25, 1893)

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Azaleas

1867-1868

Women in respite is a nearly constant theme throughout Moore's work. And the theme and the style he used created that soft languishment that makes for a very particular type of beauty. Also Moore in much of his art did not try to relay a message, so much as he tried to express his conception of a particular subject's beauty, which is not necessarily something you can say about certain of his fellow Classicists, such as Leighton.

Apples

1875

Seagulls

1870-1871

Dancing Girl Resting

1863-1864

Silver

1886

A Garden

1869

Man Ray (August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976)

2011-04-26T06:05:00.002-04:00

Regatta

1924

For this post I'll let Man Ray speak; "The yachts skimming along the sea had given me an idea - I'd interpret the regatta against the blazing sun, realize my desire to paint a picture more or less from the scene before me. Taking a bus back to the hotel I set to work at once. Without brushes, painting directly with the tubes, I sketched in the boats, the sails black against the sky, and the sun in swirls of pure colours behind them. It was very impressionistic, joyful yet sombre; it might have been traced back to that unhappy Van Gogh whose colours expressed so much tragedy. However my monochromatic effect was more austere - there could be no mistake about my intention to avoid making a pretty picture."

Symphony Orchestra

1916

Imaginary Portrait of DAF de Sade

1938

Jazz

1910

Still-Life with Red Tea Kettle

1913

The Rope Dancer Accompanies Herself with Her Shadows

1916

Ando Hiroshige (1797 – October 12, 1858)

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Kyobashi Takegashi (The Bamboo wharf at Kyobashi)

1856-1858

Ando Hiroshige (or Utagawa Hiroshige or Ichiyusai Hiroshige) is one of the greatest Japanese painters. And his life is rather fascinating, including the fact that he was a firefighter until 1823 and a Buddhist monk in his last two years. As for his legacy, he had a profound influence on following artists, including such faraway painters as van Gogh, who copied some of Hiroshige's works. And I love Hiroshige who at his best produces a uniquely soft romanticism that's difficult to resist.

Bird on a Camellia Branch

1832

A Shrine Among Trees on a Moor

1837-1838

Akasaka

1854

A Bridge in a Snowy Landscape

1842-1843

Travelers Surprised by a Sudden Rain

1831-1834

Ejiri

1854

Wild Sea Breaking on the Rocks

1853-1856

Tsuchiyama

1854

Théo van Rysselberghe (November 23, 1862 - December 14, 1926)

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The Burnished Hour

1897

Van Rysselberghe was a monumental figure during his lifetime, constantly recreating his style as new influences came within reach. It would be an exhausting exercise to list his influences and friends, suffice it to say that nearly every group he was contemporary with, excluding his last decade or so, was very fond of having his acquaintance (in his last years he looked down on the art of figures such as Picasso). His work is some of the most vivacious of his period, especially his final nudes, which have a strong quality of life.

Madame Theo van Rysselberghe

1907

Encampment near a Moroccan Village

c. 1888

Dario de Regoyos Playing the Guitar

1882

Figures near a Well in Morocco

1882-1883

Man at the Rudder

1892

Portrait of Marguerite van Mons

1886

In the Shade of the Pines

c. 1905

The Model's Siesta

1920

Chaim Soutine (January 13, 1893 – August 9, 1943)

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Boy in Blue

1924

Soutine was a wonderful painter, whose works were of a very unique style of Expressionism. But it's a bit difficult to track his influences, as he really was a classicist when it came to his favorite artists, such as Rembrandt (though there is one self-portrait of Rembrandt's–follow the link–that certainly could have prompted Soutine down this stylistic road). Also Soutine was most likely influenced by his dear friend Modigliani, though the extent of the influence in his work is somewhat limited. Soutine prematurely died at 50 from an ulcer, which was aggravated by his evasion of the Nazis during the Second World War.

Chartres Cathedral

1934

Alley of Trees

1935

Butcher Boy

1919-1920

Two Children on a Tree Trunk

1942-1943

Landscape of Montmartre

1919

Girl with Ducks

1935-1936

Landscape at Céret

1920

Correggio (August 1489 – March 5, 1534)

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The Martyrdom of Four Saints

c. 1523

Antonio Allegri da Correggio was not extremely well-known or influential in his lifetime, but after his death his works began to percolate through the art world and influence painters. Correggio did not simply draw in one way throughout his life or tend towards one theme, but rather experimented successfully with all sorts of wonderful ideas and forms. I'm especially fond of his Portrait of a Young Man, which bears many of the characteristics that would later be adopted by the Realists.

Portrait of a Young Man

c. 1525

Ganymede

1531-1532

Antiope

1528

Venus with Mercury and Cupid

Allegory of Vice

c. 1532-1523

Allegory of Virtue

c. 1532-1523

Roger de la Fresnaye (July 11, 1885 - November 27, 1925)

2011-04-21T05:58:00.000-04:00

Conjugal Life

1913

Fresnaya was a soft combination of Cubism and Fauvism; I say soft, because the Fauvist aspects were rather lightly applied. But perhaps "soft" can be carried over to the overall character of his works, which, even though they contained harsh lines representing naturally smooth objects, still somehow retained a very gentle overall character. And ultimately Fresnaya himself was a soft character, whose health declined rapidly after his service in WWI, culminating in a very untimely death.

The Factory Chimney, Meulan Landscape

1912

Man with a Red Kerchief

1922

The Allée des Acacias in the Bois de Boulogne

1908

The Conquest of the Air

1913

Ilya Repin (August 5, 1844 – September 29, 1930)

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A Shy Peasant

1877

There is a very special quality in the paintings of Repin. It's difficult for me to define that quality, and I want to say rather simply that it's magically beautiful, but that's not a cogent analysis. Still, Repin has survived with an intact reputation since his first entry into wide-acclaim. Perhaps that part of his work that most speaks out is a very goodly reflection of Russian spirituality (something reflected brilliantly in the words of writers such as Dostoevsky and Chekhov).

Leo Tolstoy in the Forest

1891

Hunchback

1880

Sadko

1876

Fisher-Girl

1874

Eugène Boudin (July 12, 1824 – August 8, 1898)

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Sky

c. 1860-1865

The sky is a capricious subject, which artists have long strained to capture. And it is a subject that has a great deal of meaning for Man; inevitably all sorts of emotions and ideas have been collected into that great something known, long ago, as Ouranos. And Boudin, out of a tremendous and grand group of artists, is often considered the greatest sky-painter. Even the fantastic Corot had said to Boudin, after gazing at his works, "You are the master of the sky." And it is no small additional note that Monet found pleasure and profit in studying at Boudin's studio. But, what do you think: the master of the sky?

Sky at Sunset

c. 1890

Cherbourg, the Port

1883

Cows in the Pasture

1888

A Squall from Northwest

1895

Boats at Anchor Along the Shore

c. 1880-1885

The Effect of Moonlight or St. Valery Canal

1891

Jean-Léon Gérôme (May 11, 1824 – January 10, 1904)

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Arabs Crossing the Desert

1870

One of the great Academic artists, Gérôme is best known for his Orientalist-oriented works (Orientalism is really a more thematic rather than stylistic label, which is why I've not included it among the other labels on this blog). And, out of a great many artists, Gérôme always seemed to me to be one of the most capable storytellers, imbuing a canvas with a wide amount of kineticism and detail all circling around one theme. One interesting note is that he taught Redon (Redon was one of many famous students of this famous teacher). Redon, of course, learned nothing from him and left his studio rather abruptly; and one can hardly imagine a more stylistically separated pupil.

Pollice Verso

1872

Mufti Reading in His Prayer Stool

c. 1900

Phryné Before the Areopagus

1861

The Negro Master of the Hounds

Duel after a Masquerade Ball

1857

Summer Afternoon on a Lake

c. 1895

Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991)

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Beside the Sea No. 22

1962

Motherwell was an important voice, as well as hand, in the Abstract Expressionist movement. He was well-known and well-received, and saw himself as a member of an elite group of artists that included Pollock, Rothko and de Kooning. I'll leave you with an interesting quote of his: "The public history of modern art is the story of conventional people not knowing what they are dealing with."

Iberia No. 2

1958

Mallarme's Swan

1944

Cantata No. 13

1960

The Homely Protestant

1948

Lyric Suite

1965

ln Plato's Cave No. 1

1972

Bartolomeo Veneto (c. 1480 – 1531)

2011-04-16T18:01:00.001-04:00

Portrait of a Woman

Not much is known about Veneto's life other than a few sparse notes. One of the important notes we do know is that he studied under Gentile Bellini, the son of Jacopo Bellini (though how much of his style he adopted is questionable). Nonetheless, the artistic community is intensely interested in his portraits, which have a soft symbolism that has translated well through the years. I especially love his Portrait of a Woman, which has a very strange, beautiful look to it.

Portrait of a Man

1525-1530

Woman Playing a Lute

1520

Portrait of a Bearded Gentleman

1508-1510

Portrait of a Gentleman

1512

Peter Blake (June 25, 1932)

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ABC Minors

1955

Blake is one of the most recognized Pop Artists in the UK. His recognition stems largely from the work he did with the Beatles (he created, with his former wife Jann Haworth, the cover art for the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band). And his work has many characteristics borrowed from former styles, most obviously New Objectivity, but also, often in a more muted fashion, Color Field. He's a very synthetic and talented artist, and I hope you like him.

Tarzan and his Family at the Roxy Cinema, New York

1965-1966

Bo Diddley

1963

Tuesday

1961

Bedouin

1964-1965

Self-Portrait

1949

Francisco de Goya (30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828)

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El Tio Paquete

1819-1820

Goya is an absolutely strange artist, presaging a great many later periods (a sort of early visionary in line with El Greco). In his works there is often a great weight, with the observer given little opportunity to rest her eyes and mind as she peruses a piece. And, for some people, Goya's works are too somber in all aspects to elicit devotion, but for me the works are perfectly relentless. Even his early works, such as The Adoration of the Name of the Lord, which are at times considered Rococo (though for the piece below that's quite a stretch), his unnerving symbolism is present, is wonderful.

The Adoration of the Name of the Lord

1772

Colossus

c. 1810-1827

The Devil's Lamp

1797-1798

Saturn Devouring His Sons

c. 1819-1823

The Repentant St. Peter

c. 1820-1824

Self-Portrait

1815

Édouard Vuillard (November 11, 1868 – June 21, 1940)

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Claude Bernheim de Villers

1906

Vuillard was a great artist, whose a tiny bit obscure, but still very well respected. He is known best as a member of Les Nabis, something he was introduced to by Bonnard. Yet he painted in many sorts of Post-Impressionist styles, often somewhat approaching abstraction and coming extremely close to Expressionism. I've tried to display his variety as best as I could in a single post, and I love almost all of his experiments.

The Ferryman

1897

Interior with Madame Vuillard

c. 1897

Still-Life with Flowers

1921

Arthur Fontaine

1906

Breakfast at Villerville

1910

Nude on an Orange Rug

1909

The Seamstress

1891

Self-Portrait

1889

Charles Sheeler (July 16, 1883 – May 7, 1965)

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American Landscape

1930

The Precisionism of Sheeler often, as can be seen in some of these pieces, closely approached Photorealism. But that quality in Sheeler's work was not so much a precursor to Photorealism, as one of the natural evolutions of Futurism, which simply had set aside some of the more Cubist elements of that movement, while it still kept close to the love of angular subjects. Sheeler was certainly a very interesting artist.

Church Street

1920

Windows

1952

Classic Landscape

1931

Suspended Power

1939

View of New York

1931

River Rouge Plant

1932

Guy Pène du Bois (January 4, 1884 – July 18, 1958)

2011-04-11T05:50:00.001-04:00

Opera Box

1926

I often talk about artists that are generally neglected, but Bois is a particularly egregious case of neglect in today's art circles. In his lifetime, Bois was a well-known painter and art critic, who championed the Ashcan School of art, which had produced him and contributed to his early style, as well as other prominent artists, many themselves somehow evolved from that wonderful Ashcan style, such as Bois's dear friend Hopper. Furthermore, Bois was to some extent a wonderful culmination of many important artists in the American pantheon, such as Robert Henri and Childe Hassam; and, beyond being a simple summation, his art also took on many novel aspects. But where is Bois? Bois is forgotten.

The Reception

c. 1916

Woman Playing Accordion

1924

Dining Out

1919

Singer with Fan

1912

Waiting for the Train

1917

Hans Holbein the Younger (1497 — 1543)

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Portrait of Charles de Solier, Lord of Morette

1534-1535

Holbein is commonly considered one of the greatest portraitists in art history, and that's not a fluff sentiment. As many Northern Renaissance painters, Holbein was able to combine the austerity of the Gothic and Early Renaissance styles with the revolutions of the High Renaissance and Mannerism. Holbein was particularly able at capturing a tremendous amount of life in his characters, especially in their facial features, despite an overwhelming sense of calm among them. A simply grand artist.

The Artist's Family

1528

The Passion [Detail]

1524-1525

Portrait of Catherine Howard

1540-1541

The Ambassadors

1533

Darmstadt Madonna

c. 1526-1528

George Frederic Watts (February 23, 1817 – July 1, 1904)

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Choosing

1864

Watts is a great artist who doesn't quite fit into any single group in the 19th century. Certainly his art was often very much in the style of the Pre-Raphaelites, influenced strongly by Rossetti. Yet many of his pieces displayed a strong–ultimately dominating–character of Symbolism. It is in fact as a Symbolist that he had the greatest impact, being one of the first artists to experiment in that mode. Just look at The Minotaur, and see how much longing and realism is put into a beast that has almost constantly been displayed as a sinewy monster. What strange and great art.

The Dweller in the Innermost

1885-1886

The Infancy of Zeus

1896

Hope

1885-1886

Endymion

c. 1870

The Minotaur

1877-1886

Maurice De Vlaminck (April 4, 1876 – October 11, 1958

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The Circus

1906

One of the most important Fauvists, Vlaminick was extremely unique and experimental, though he occasionally wore his influences on his sleeve. To that last point, it's not surprising that van Gogh had a major impact on the artist; Vlaminick went so far as to say, on first seeing van Gogh, "I was so moved, I wanted to cry with joy and despair. On that day I loved van Gogh more than my own father." And, while I love his bright and lively Fauvist pieces, I adore his gloomier works, which seem everlastingly foreboding.

Landscape with Red Roofs

1907

The Bar

1900

Restaurant at Marly-le-Roi

1905

Poplars

c. 1908

Flowers (Symphony in Colors)

1907

Max Beckmann (February 12, 1884 – December 28, 1950)

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Self-Portrait with Raised Hand

1908

Beckmann is a wonderful artist who, like many of his New Objectivitist compatriots, suffered rather ignominiously under the Third Reich. But before the rise of Nazism, Beckmann was an extremely well-received painter, viewed as a leading figure in the Weimar Republic's art scene. As for his works, while it was not uncommon for New Objectivists to deal broadly and jarringly with taboos, Beckmann did so with a softness and uniqueness, such as in Brother and Sister, that characterized his art with a romanticism absent from his circles. And his life's portfolio, as this small sample somewhat illustrates, was extremely dynamic, though almost always based in figurative representation.

Brother and Sister

1933

Birds' Hell

1938

Quappi in Rose

1932-1934

The Iron Footbridge

1922

Small Deathbed Scene

1906

Jacopo Bellini (c. 1400 – c. 1470)

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Madonna with Child

c. 1465

Bellini, most of whose works unfortunately have not survived the centuries, was one of the most influential artists, who helped bridge the Gothic and Early Renaissance styles. Now, it would be unfair to note that there were Early Renaissance painters who existed well before Bellini's birth, such as Giotto; still, it would be too simple to dismiss Bellini chronologically as his art illustrates a very strong movements towards what I could only simply term as a cleaner version of the Early Renaissance, which was not popularized until after his death (I think Madonna with Child most strikingly illustrates Bellini's revolution).

Crucifixion

St. Anthony Abbot and St. Bernardino of Siena

1459-1460

St. John the Evangelist

1430-1435

The Apostle Peter

1430-1435

The Virgin and Child Adored by Lionello d'Este

c.1450