I find this unfortunate, because Louderback was successful in his day and painted in a thick, direct style that I am fond of: Many of his illustrations from the 1920s and early 30s remind me of those by Dean Cornwell, Saul Tepper and Mead Schaeffer.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Walt Louderback: Painterly Illustrator
Walt Louderback (1887-1941) "mailed it in" during much of the 1920s and 1930s when he was living in France and his publisher customers were in the United States. Very little in the way of biographical information regarding Louderback seems to be on the Internet other than here along with this snippet on the Kelly Collection site.
I find this unfortunate, because Louderback was successful in his day and painted in a thick, direct style that I am fond of: Many of his illustrations from the 1920s and early 30s remind me of those by Dean Cornwell, Saul Tepper and Mead Schaeffer.
Gallery
A magazine illustration of a casino scene, probably from the 1930s.
More of a poster style such as Cornwell began to take up towards 1930.
Shades of John Singer Sargent's El Jaleo!
This reminds me of Schaeffer's Count of Monte Cristo illustration style.
I wish I had more information on this one, because I can't reconcile the long hair and the otherwise circa-1930 painting style.
From the Kelly Collection, a book cover illustration.
The Homecoming.
This last image shows a modernist style Louderback tried near the end of his career.
I find this unfortunate, because Louderback was successful in his day and painted in a thick, direct style that I am fond of: Many of his illustrations from the 1920s and early 30s remind me of those by Dean Cornwell, Saul Tepper and Mead Schaeffer.
Friday, December 13, 2013
4711 Eau de Cologne Advertising Art
The original Eau de Cologne (Cologne water) perfume was indeed developed in Cologne, Germany -- in 1709, as is explained here. The company associated with the early years of the product and still in existence is No. 4711 or simply 4711 Kölnisch Wasser (again, Cologne water, but auf deutsch); for more on this, read here.
Advertising 4711 for many years featured scenes of elegance that to me offer some false nostalgia for a departed time. Many of the examples I found on the Web were for pressed metal plaques similar to those found in the USA for old Coca-Cola poster art.
I make no claims for artistic merit, just thinking that you might enjoy viewing the illustrations.
Gallery
The headline proclaims it "The wonder water from Cologne."
"Always Spring fresh" where "spring" is the season, not the source.
Lady posing with the Cologne Cathedral.
An artist's model.
A product variation. This reminds me of the classic Revlon "Fire and Ice" ads of the 1950s.
And another.
"Their realm is the world" is the slogan for this Roaring Twenties scene.
Advertising 4711 for many years featured scenes of elegance that to me offer some false nostalgia for a departed time. Many of the examples I found on the Web were for pressed metal plaques similar to those found in the USA for old Coca-Cola poster art.
I make no claims for artistic merit, just thinking that you might enjoy viewing the illustrations.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret
Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret (1852-1929) trained under Gérôme, painted religious subjects for part of his career, and otherwise painted realist (in terms of subject matter) scenes using Academic techniques. Plus, he was an early user of photographic reference material. No wonder he was a non-person (non-artist?) back when I took a year-long art history class in college.
Wikipedia has a short entry on Dagnan here, but you will find much more about him here and here.
Dagnan is one of those artists whose work can be difficult to find in person. The images below that I found here and there on the Internet suggest that he had a good deal of talent and skill. Better yet, he used his abilities to make some paintings that retain their appeal more than a century after they were painted. That said, these judgments are provisional until I finally encounter some of his works in person.
Gallery
+-+1880.jpg)
Bouderie (Gustave Courtois in His Studio) - 1880
The year before, Dagnan married Courtois' cousin Anne-Marie. I do not know if she is the woman in the painting or if someone else is depicted.
Hamlet es les fossoyeurs - 1884
+-+1886+-+Met.jpg)
The Pardon in Brittany (pilgimage) - 1886
This painting is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, but not currently on view, according to their Web site.
Bretons Praying
Brittany Girl
Woman painting
Drummer
Princess O.V. Paley
Dagnan devoted much of his later career to portraiture.
Marguerite au Sabbat - c.1912
This, and several of the paintings shown above are in private collections.
Wikipedia has a short entry on Dagnan here, but you will find much more about him here and here.
Dagnan is one of those artists whose work can be difficult to find in person. The images below that I found here and there on the Internet suggest that he had a good deal of talent and skill. Better yet, he used his abilities to make some paintings that retain their appeal more than a century after they were painted. That said, these judgments are provisional until I finally encounter some of his works in person.
+-+1880.jpg)
The year before, Dagnan married Courtois' cousin Anne-Marie. I do not know if she is the woman in the painting or if someone else is depicted.
+-+1886+-+Met.jpg)
This painting is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, but not currently on view, according to their Web site.
Dagnan devoted much of his later career to portraiture.
This, and several of the paintings shown above are in private collections.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Léon Bakst's Fine Arts Work
Léon Bakst (1866-1924) is best known for his stage and costume design work. But he also managed to do some Fine Art painting, the subject of this post.
Biographical information on Bakst can be found here and here. An image search on the Internet will turn up mostly the theater related images he created, so take a look if you're not familiar with this.
As can be seen below, Bakst was both talented and versatile. His style tended to have a whiff of Modernism in that some (but not much) simplification and sketchiness are introduced. But some of his paintings are traditional in both spirit and technique: note the Countess Keller portrait below. The most Modernist work is the Lido scene that was auctioned for around half a million pounds. The auction site considered it either a study or an unfinished painting, so it is possible that Bakst planned to add more detail at some point.
The painting that intrigues me the most is the portrait of Rachel Strong, at the bottom. The composition is unconventional in that she is placed left of center and, furthermore, is gazing off the the left side of the painting. This is balanced by the tree trunks bending to the right which make the composition more or less work.
Gallery
Dmitry Filosof - 1897
Alexander Benois - 1898
Countess M. Keller - 1902
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The Luncheon (The Supper) - 1902
Sergei Diaghilev and his Nanny - 1905
Bathers at the Lido - c.1911
Willa Cather - 1923
+-1924.jpg)
Rachel Strong (future Comtess Henri de Boisgelin) - 1924
Biographical information on Bakst can be found here and here. An image search on the Internet will turn up mostly the theater related images he created, so take a look if you're not familiar with this.
As can be seen below, Bakst was both talented and versatile. His style tended to have a whiff of Modernism in that some (but not much) simplification and sketchiness are introduced. But some of his paintings are traditional in both spirit and technique: note the Countess Keller portrait below. The most Modernist work is the Lido scene that was auctioned for around half a million pounds. The auction site considered it either a study or an unfinished painting, so it is possible that Bakst planned to add more detail at some point.
The painting that intrigues me the most is the portrait of Rachel Strong, at the bottom. The composition is unconventional in that she is placed left of center and, furthermore, is gazing off the the left side of the painting. This is balanced by the tree trunks bending to the right which make the composition more or less work.
+-+1902.jpg)
+-1924.jpg)
Friday, December 6, 2013
Wallace Herndon Smith: 1930s Semi-Modernist
Wallace Herndon Smith (1901-1990) lived much of his life in St. Louis, Missouri, but managed to attend all the right schools (Lawrenceville School, Princeton University, École des Beaux-Arts) and have a career in architecture (for a while) and (mostly) painting. Better yet, his artistic life involved no desperate existential struggles. That was because he was born to riches. A biographical sketch is here and a link to a published biography is here.
Apparently Smith is a subject of some regard in his native St. Louis, but not elsewhere. I suspect that is because he wasn't a very good artist.
I wrote a book that focused on the painting scene between the world wars (see link in the panel to the right). Basically that era was one of confusion and indecision. Avant-garde artists had almost completely exhausted the possibilities of anti-traditional painting, whereas many other artists felt they had to come to terms with Modernism, but usually were not sure how best to do this. The result tended to be sketchy paintings with distorted subjects and perspective, often using flat areas of sometimes distorted color.
Smith took up painting in the late 1920s, going along with this halfhearted Modernist approach. The results were generic works that I find lacking in skill and personality. In closing, I need to confess that I don't like paintings of this kind by more acclaimed painters. It's to some degree a matter of my personal taste regarding style. Anyway, below are many of the few examples of Smith's works that I could find on the Internet.
Gallery
Street Scene, France
Venice Scene
Landscape with Factory
Harbour Springs, Michigan
Paris, Early Morning - 1950s
Guanajuato - early 1970s
Apparently Smith is a subject of some regard in his native St. Louis, but not elsewhere. I suspect that is because he wasn't a very good artist.
I wrote a book that focused on the painting scene between the world wars (see link in the panel to the right). Basically that era was one of confusion and indecision. Avant-garde artists had almost completely exhausted the possibilities of anti-traditional painting, whereas many other artists felt they had to come to terms with Modernism, but usually were not sure how best to do this. The result tended to be sketchy paintings with distorted subjects and perspective, often using flat areas of sometimes distorted color.
Smith took up painting in the late 1920s, going along with this halfhearted Modernist approach. The results were generic works that I find lacking in skill and personality. In closing, I need to confess that I don't like paintings of this kind by more acclaimed painters. It's to some degree a matter of my personal taste regarding style. Anyway, below are many of the few examples of Smith's works that I could find on the Internet.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Louis Anquetin: Post-Impressionist Shooting Star
Louis Anquetin (1861-1932) seems to have had access to money for much or all of his life, and turned away from modernism and perhaps a potentially greater degree of notoriety in the Art Establishment historical timeline wherein modernism trumps all else. In any case, his career as an exhibiting painter was largely over by 1900.
As this Wikipedia entry and this biographical sketch (with some odd spellings of some names) indicate, Anquetin was in the thick of Post-Impressionism, knowing van Gogh and Lautrec well and helping launch Cloisonnisme, a style featuring dark outlines surrounding areas of flat or nearly flat colors.
As the second link mentions, Anquetin never developed a consistent personal style, something I've been noting with regard to some other painters. But some of his paintings and pastels are very good, which accounts for a renewal of interest in his work -- one of his paintings was even on display at the Musée d'Orsay when I was last there. Let's see what he was up to.
Gallery
Femme dans la rue
This was on display at the d'Orsay. A ghostly image not typical of Anquetin.
Dans la rue - 1891
Another street scene. He seems to have painted a lot of these: more follow below.
Femme aux Champs-Élysée, la nuit - c.1891
Promenade - 1892
Deux Élégants - 1889
+-+1890.jpg)
Juliette, ou Femme au chapeau - 1890
Au Moulin Rouge - 1893
As mentioned, Anquetin and Toulouse-Lautrec were good friends and haunted the same sites. This is Anquetin's take on dancing at the Moulin Rouge -- similar to Lautrec's, but less sketchy.
Avenue de Clichy a cinq heurs du soir - 1887
I haven't seen this in person. But based on reproductions, it's my favorite Anquetin work.
Lili Garnier - 1929
The only example I could find on the web of a late painting.
As this Wikipedia entry and this biographical sketch (with some odd spellings of some names) indicate, Anquetin was in the thick of Post-Impressionism, knowing van Gogh and Lautrec well and helping launch Cloisonnisme, a style featuring dark outlines surrounding areas of flat or nearly flat colors.
As the second link mentions, Anquetin never developed a consistent personal style, something I've been noting with regard to some other painters. But some of his paintings and pastels are very good, which accounts for a renewal of interest in his work -- one of his paintings was even on display at the Musée d'Orsay when I was last there. Let's see what he was up to.
This was on display at the d'Orsay. A ghostly image not typical of Anquetin.
Another street scene. He seems to have painted a lot of these: more follow below.
+-+1890.jpg)
As mentioned, Anquetin and Toulouse-Lautrec were good friends and haunted the same sites. This is Anquetin's take on dancing at the Moulin Rouge -- similar to Lautrec's, but less sketchy.
I haven't seen this in person. But based on reproductions, it's my favorite Anquetin work.
The only example I could find on the web of a late painting.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Anders Zorn in San Francisco
I've been wanting to see paintings by the great Swedish artist Anders Zorn (1860-1920) for several years, but only came across a few of them here and there. In fact, I'd pretty well resigned myself to hoping that I'd finally get to visit Sweden and then convince my wife that we seriously had to rent a car and drive up to Zorn's home town of Mora, which has a museum devoted to him.
The wheels of artistic justice grind slowly but truly, so a Zorn exhibit took place in Boston earlier this year (which I missed). Then another exhibit opened in San Francisco in November, which I was able to visit. It runs through 2 February 2014, and I strongly urge you to see it if you are going to be in the Bay Area before then.
I wrote about Zorn's non-portrait painting here, so now I'll mostly cover the portrait work I saw at the exhibit (which includes a good cross-section of his etchings, watercolors, outdoor nudes and other examples from his prolific career).
One thing I noticed when finally seeing some of his most famous paintings in person: Zorn often painted freely -- or gave that impression. Actually, his brush strokes were carefully pondered, but the final effect is free. Few lines are present. Instead, he used areas of color to form images. He also softened many edges, this providing some contrast to stronger, more visible brushwork.
These effects are present on his subjects' faces, the part of the portrait that usually is reserved for the most crisp painting. In fact, Zorn's portraits usually don't sharpen up until the viewer is standing about 12 feet (4 m) away or else is looking at comparatively small reproductions such as on a computer screen or in a book.
Gallery
Self-Portrait - 1896
This shows him with his famous "Zorn Palette" of four colors. Most of his paintings I saw were in good condition, but I noticed some cracking in this one, especially in the dark area above Zorn's head.
Self-Portrait - 1915
Midsummer Dance - 1897
Not a portrait, this is one of Zorn's most famous paintings. I was especially pleased to be able to see it in person.
Reveille, Boulevard Clichy - 1892
This is a watercolor painting.
Omnibus - first version - 1891-92
The link to my previous Zorn post has both versions of "Omnibus." This one seems to be more of a study than the second version, because it seems pretty sketchy even though it's fairly large.
Isabella Stewart Gardner in Venice - 1894
Another well-known Zorn painting. This reproduction looks much sharper than the actual painting, an effect I mentioned above.
Elizabeth Sherman Cameron - 1900
Zorn's handling of the gown is very free: reminds me of some of John Singer Sargent's portraits.
Grover Cleveland - 1899
The former President of the United States. Those books near his right hand are indicated by just a few broad brush strokes, but look convincing here (or if standing 12 feet away from the painting).
Mrs Potter Palmer - 1893
The background in the original painting is slightly darker than in this reproduction, making the effect even more smashing. This impact is enhanced because the painting is large: 101 inches (258 cm) high. You really need to see this one in person to appreciate it.
The wheels of artistic justice grind slowly but truly, so a Zorn exhibit took place in Boston earlier this year (which I missed). Then another exhibit opened in San Francisco in November, which I was able to visit. It runs through 2 February 2014, and I strongly urge you to see it if you are going to be in the Bay Area before then.
I wrote about Zorn's non-portrait painting here, so now I'll mostly cover the portrait work I saw at the exhibit (which includes a good cross-section of his etchings, watercolors, outdoor nudes and other examples from his prolific career).
One thing I noticed when finally seeing some of his most famous paintings in person: Zorn often painted freely -- or gave that impression. Actually, his brush strokes were carefully pondered, but the final effect is free. Few lines are present. Instead, he used areas of color to form images. He also softened many edges, this providing some contrast to stronger, more visible brushwork.
These effects are present on his subjects' faces, the part of the portrait that usually is reserved for the most crisp painting. In fact, Zorn's portraits usually don't sharpen up until the viewer is standing about 12 feet (4 m) away or else is looking at comparatively small reproductions such as on a computer screen or in a book.
This shows him with his famous "Zorn Palette" of four colors. Most of his paintings I saw were in good condition, but I noticed some cracking in this one, especially in the dark area above Zorn's head.
Not a portrait, this is one of Zorn's most famous paintings. I was especially pleased to be able to see it in person.
This is a watercolor painting.
The link to my previous Zorn post has both versions of "Omnibus." This one seems to be more of a study than the second version, because it seems pretty sketchy even though it's fairly large.
Another well-known Zorn painting. This reproduction looks much sharper than the actual painting, an effect I mentioned above.
Zorn's handling of the gown is very free: reminds me of some of John Singer Sargent's portraits.
The former President of the United States. Those books near his right hand are indicated by just a few broad brush strokes, but look convincing here (or if standing 12 feet away from the painting).
The background in the original painting is slightly darker than in this reproduction, making the effect even more smashing. This impact is enhanced because the painting is large: 101 inches (258 cm) high. You really need to see this one in person to appreciate it.
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