Unknown Print (of an Unknown Sculpture) by Unknown Artist

Nationality: French?


Another myserious work that I've had in my files for a long time.  I just like the fact that her chariot is pulled by squirrels!

Jean-Marc Nattier's "Thalia, Muse of Comedy" and "Terpsichore, Muse of Music and Dance"

Nationality: French
Born-Died: 1869-1895


Creation Date: 1739
Size: 53.5 x 49 in (135.9 x 124.5 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas 
Location: The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California, USA

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres' "Oedipus and the Sphinx"

Nationality: French

Born-Died: 1780-1867
Creation Date: 1805

Media: Oil on canvas

Herbert James Draper's "Gates of Dawn"

Nationality: English

Born-Died: 1617-1694
Creation Date: 1900

Size: 78 x 40 in (198 x 100 cm)

Media: Oil on canvas

Location: The Drapers' Company Collection, London, UK

Great news, art lovers!  This blog has a new store where you can buy prints of your favorite works from 1OAOotD!   Draper's "Gates of Dawn" is now for sale for only $9.99!  Check it out.

This Print + Your Wall = Awesome

Starting the Year with Johannes Vermeer: "Diana and Her Companions"

Nationality: Dutch
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: c.1653-1556
Size: 38.8 × 41 inch (98.5 × 105 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands

Authorship of this painting has been disputed over the centuries, but many art historians now believe it was painted by Vermeer.  The original signature read "J.V. Meer" which would seem to indicate Johannes Vermeer (when he was younger he would sometimes sign his name "van der Meer.") Johannes was not the only painter named "Vermeer" in Delft, which has fueled the flame of mystery, but it is considered likely to be by Johannes Vermeer. 

Unfortunately, this painting has been manipulated a great deal since it's creation: portions of it have been re-painted and it has been cropped.  Manipulation of paintings is more common than you might think.

Peter Paul Rubens' "Venus Frigida"

Nationality: Flemish
Born/Died: 1577-1640

Creation Date: 1614
Size: 72.4 x 55.9 in. (183.89.5 x 141.98 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: Koninklijk Museum Voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, Belegium

Just yesterday I participated in a life-drawing session which was based on this painting.  We projected the painting behind the model and posed her in this manner.  It was fun.

Peter Paul Rubens' "Perseus and Andromeda"

Nationality: Flemish
Born/Died: 1577-1640

Creation Date: 1639-1640
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Prado, Madrid, Spain

Randolph Rogers' "Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii"

Nationality: American
Born/Died: 1825-1892

Creation Date: 1859
Size: 54 x 25.25 x 37 in. (137.2 x 64.1 x 94 cm)
Media: Marble
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, USA

Photos by me.

Bartholomaeus Spranger's "Venus and Adonis"

Nationality: Flemish
Born/Died: 1546-1611
Creation Date: 1597
Size: 64.2 x 40.9 in. (163 x 104 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Vienna, Austria

Unknown Sculpture by Unknown Scottish Artist

Nationality: Scottish
Size: 88 in. (224 cm)
Media: Sandstone
Location: Edinburgh, UK

I saw this nice example of architectural decoration while walking around Edinburgh. It's made of the red sandstone that is used all over Edinburgh, and unfortunately that type of stone doesn't seem to hold up too well. Any fine detail work this piece may have had is obviously long gone. The torso is nicely sculpted but the hands are awkward, so maybe it did not have much detail to loose. Although I don't always like this kind of decorative choice, being from a country where representational architectural decorations are rare I though it was interesting to see.

Atul Kapur's Pick: Louis Hersent's "Daphnis and Chloe"

A special thanks to Atul Kapur for hosting this blog for a day. If you there is a work of art that you would like to share here, feel free to drop me a line.

Nationality: French
Born/Died: 1777-1860

Creation Date: 1817
Size: 55.1 x 68.9 in. (140 x 175 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Louvre, Paris, France



Why I like Daphnis and Chloe:

One of my favorite paintings is "Daphnis and Chloe" by a 19th century French painter Louis Hersent.

I like the painting for its depiction of a passionate couple engaged in a life-affirming moment. Let me define that moment by briefly describing the painting as we see it (i.e. without any reference to the story that it's based upon).

William Henry Rinehart's "Clytie"

Nationality: American
Born/Died: 1825–1874
Creation Date: 1869-1870
Size: 62.5 x 18.5 x 21.25 in. (158.8 x 47 x 54 cm)
Media: Marble
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, USA

Photos by me.

William Henry Rinehart's "Hero"

Nationality: American
Born/Died: 1825–1874
Creation Date: 1871
Size: h:34 in. (h: 86.4 cm)
Media: Marble
Location: The Peabody Art Collection, Peabody Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Although I like this sculpture, it pales in comparison to the heroism of the characters of Ayn Rand and Victor Hugo!

Leochares' "Apollo Belvedere"

Nationality: Greek (original bronze)
Born/Died: 4th century BC
Creation Date: c. 350-325 BC
Size: 88 in. (224 cm)
Media: Marble
Location: The Vatican Museums, Vatican City, Italy

This is a photo I took of this sculpture in Italy and below is a superior image of the same sculpture. It should be noted that Leochares did not sculpt this piece of marble--it is a Roman copy made after a Greek bronze.

I think this sculpture is absolutely fantastic, but unlike many artists from previous centuries I do not worship it. While I admit that I am not privy to all the academic study about the proportions of this piece, I am not a believer in "magic-bullet" mathematical proportion studies that equate beautiful art--theories which are the basis for the aforementioned worship. I will articulate my reasons at some future date but to sum it up I will say this: to appreciate this sculpture because of the mathematics of it's dimensions would be like laughing at a joke because of the number of vowels it contains--certainly missing the point!

Bouguereau x 2 Week - "The Oreades" and "The Harvester"

On this Day in the History of Art: Jacob Jordaens born (1593), Nathaniel Hawthorne died (1864), Oscar Wilde released from prison (1893)

This is the last day for Bouguereau week--apologies for the delays in posting! Today I am posting two images of Bouguereau’s work, one piece that I don't like and one that I do.

Nationality: French
Born-Died: 1825-1905



The Oreades
Creation Date: 1902
Media: Oil on canvas

To me, this painting is an absurd farce and almost all of these figures look like they were painted from sketches of women that were lying down. Once again, this is a cheap trick available to painters that is difficult to swing without making the figures appear stiff. The figure at the very top of the floating wave of bodies is not anatomically correct and I suspect this is what happened when Bouguereau momentarily abandoned his camera lucida. The subject here is intended to be part of a ring of fairies, which I imagine was a mildly entertaining fantastical idea that was popular at the time.

Bouguereau x 2 Week - "Nymphs and Satyr " and "Lost Pleiad"

On this Day in the History of Art: Jean-Léon Gérôme born (1824), Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux born (1827), Walter Goodman born (1838), Salvador Dalí born (1904)

This week I'm going to post two images per day of Bouguereau’s work--one piece that I like and one that I don't.

Nationality: French
Born-Died: 1825-1905



Nymphs and Satyr
Creation Date: 1873
Size: 102.4 x 70.9 in. (260 x 180 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA

Although I will never hang a reproduction of this painting on my wall, there are things I enjoy and respect about it. It has brilliant lighting with a wonderful and inviting warm cast. Although only one large beam lights the scene, through clever artistry, Bouguereau painted each figure with a different overall lighting scheme from the others. The reflected light that bounces off the environment and the pale figures onto other figures is handled with superb sensitivity to both stylistic effect and realism. The same can be said for the clever use of the background tonalities, which range from having high value contrast on the left to more unified tonalities on the right. Despite the sharp clarity with which the figures are represented they do not appear unnaturally stiff.

Guillaume Coustou the Younger's "Vulcain"

On this Day in the History of Art: Hitler rids world of self (1945), International Dance Day founded (1982)

Nationality: French
Born-Died: 1716 - 1777
Creation Date: c. 1741-1742
Size: 27.2 (h) x 19.7 (w) x 16.1 (d) in. (69 [h] x 50 [w] x 41 [d] cm)
Media: Marble
Location: The Louvre, Paris, France

Atlas Week: The Athena Painter's "Hercules and Atlas"

On this Day in the History of Art: Ludovido Carracci born (1555), Charlotte Brontë born (1815)

Because the Atlas Shrugged movie just came out I thought it would be fun to post a week of images of Atlas by various artists.

Nationality: Greek

Creation Date: c. 490-480 BC
Media: Terracotta
Location: National Archeological Museum, Athens, Greece

This vase, painted by an unknown Greek given the name "the Athena Painter," depicts Hercules temporarily taking over Atlas' job, which according to mythology, is something he did. In a bizarre twist of modern-day expectations, the earth and heavens depicted here are flat!

Atlas Week: Atlas from the Doge's Palace in Venice

On this Day in the History of Art: The sun dog phenomena is painted (“Vädersolstavlan”) (1535), Franz Xavier Winterhalter born (1805), Daniel Chester French born (1850), Bram Stoker died (1912)

Because the Atlas Shrugged movie came out recently I thought it would be fun to post a week of images of Atlas by various artists from history.

Nationality: Italian
Creation Date: 1646
Media: Stone and plaster (?)
Location: Doge's Palace, Venice, Itlay

A nice feature of this sculpture is the way Atlas' legs are posed as if he is moving forward or balancing on his platform.

Atlas Week: William Cunningham's "Atlas with an Armillary"

On this Day in the History of Art: Paolo Veronese died (1588), Lord Byron died (1824)

Because the Atlas Shrugged movie came out recently I thought it would be fun to post a week of images of Atlas by various artists from history.

Nationality: English

Creation Date: 1559
Media: Engraving ink on paper (?)
Location: London, UK

This engraving is unusual because instead of depicting Atlas supporting the heavens and earth he is shown supporting an armillary sphere--a model of the earth and heavens. This image was the frontispiece for an English scientific text called The Cosmographicall Glasse from 1559 and this image reflects many ideas about the cosmos that were held during the Renaissance(1)--a time when scientific observation and religious belief were often blended.

I suspect that the text "primum mobile" refers to God as the "first cause" and that the text on the next layer, "cristalline firmament," refers to the substance known as "the ether" which was believed to fill the space beyond the terrestrial plane. According to Christian mythology, this was the location of heaven. (2) Next comes fire and air, then "ye earth" (here shortened to "yearth") and water reside at the center. It is also noteworthy that there are ten rings which separate the earth from the heavens, which may be an allusion to the ten-ringed worlds of Dante's Divine Comedy.

Atlas' ribbon-like label reads "Atlas supporting the heavens," and strangely Atlas is crowned. I think this comes from his mythology because in The Aeneid he is described as "with piny forests crown'd" although I'm sure that refers to forests held above his head. Perhaps he is made out to be a king with his castle in the background or perhaps kings were seen as Atlas-like.

I am told that the Latin text at the bottom refers to the following lines from The Aeneid: