Wassily Kandinsky (December 16, 1866 – December 13, 1944) II

Almost Submerged

1930

"Painting is an art, and art is not vague production, transitory
and isolated, but a power which must be directed to the
improvement and refinement of the human soul–to, in fact, the
raising of the spiritual triangle.

If art refrains from doing this work, a chasm remains unbridged,
for no other power can take the place of art in this activity.
And at times when the human soul is gaining greater strength, art
will also grow in power, for the two are inextricably connected
and complementary one to the other. Conversely, at those times
when the soul tends to be choked by material disbelief, art
becomes purposeless and talk is heard that art exists for art's
sake alone."

– Wassily Kandinsky

Park of St. Cloud with Horseman

1906

Park St. Cloud in Autumn

1906 

White Sound

1908 

Binz on Rügen

1901

Kochel - Lady Seated by the Lakeside

1902 

Shallow-Deep

1930 

Moonlit Night

1907 

Kochel Waterfall II

1902 

Elihu Vedder (February 26, 1836 – January 29, 1923)

Head of Minerva

1896

Vedder was a talented and interesting Symbolist painter with strong Pre-Raphaelite influences, yet he was also, I think, a bit generic. Still, there is a sort of excellence in his genercism, as he often seems to approach novelty, in theme or style, though never quite reaching it. I would write more about Vedder, but, frankly, his life, as far as I know it, was not filled with many noteworthy moments, outside of mentioning that he was also a poet (honestly, not a very good one). But, while Vedder may have had an uneventful life and produced somewhat generic art, there is a quality that transcends the plain in his works, and makes him an artist of worth–and perhaps it is that which I find so interesting about him. 

The Questioner of the Sphinx

1863

Japanese Still-Life

1879 

Fisherman and Mermaid

1888-1889

Roman Model Posing

1881 

The Last Man

1891

The Cup of Death

1885 

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

                                                                                                                                 

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

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

                                                                                                                     

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

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

                                                                                                            

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

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

                                                                                                    

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

Gustave Moreau (April 6, 1826 – April 18, 1898)

                                                                                                            

Saint George

1890

Moreau was one of the most influential and highly regarded Symbolists during his lifetime. And he's never quite fallen out of the public's appreciation. It's difficult to define his works under the aegis of a couple of characteristics, but I will say that my favorite paintings of his are full of those florid details that often characterize Symbolist works, such as in Galatea, which, by the way, is based off of one of my favorite myths of the love of Polyphemus (the Cyclops from the Odyssey) for the water nymph Galatea; you can read Theocritus' excellent poem on it here (can't vouch for the translation). And I would be remiss if I didn't add that Moreau at one point taught Matisse. 

Goddess on the Rocks

c.1890

Phaethon

1878

Galatea

c. 1896

Thracian Girl Carrying the Head of Orpheus on His Lyre

1865

Evening Voices

c. 1885

Elmer Bischoff (July 9, 1916 – March 2, 1991)

                                                                                                    

Boat and Clouds

1967

Here we have another somewhat obscure 20th century artist. I love Bischoff, but there is something somewhat derivative about his art; and, unfortunately, its most likely this second-hand quality that automatically obscures people's appreciation of the novelty and romantic strangeness of Bischoff's art. I've heard him referred to as a lesser Munch, but I'm not quite sure if this is accurate. I think he takes much more after Redon, but I wouldn't call him a lesser Redon for it–why should similarity be the death knell of artistic expression? 

Figure and Red Wall

1955

Europa

1957

Figure at Window with Boat

1964

Two Figures at the Seashore

1957

Untitled

1937 

Blue Clouds

1963

And to cap this post off, I've posted some of Bischoff's Abstract works. 

#51

1980

The Day of the Trifolds 

1962