Gustav Igler's "The Newborn"

Nationality: German

Born-Died: 1842-1908

Size: 29.33 × 34.6 in. (74.5 × 88 cm)

Creation Date: 1872

Media: Oil on canvas 

Location: Private collection

I don't recall ever seeing it before but it was in my files so I must have seen it.  When I saw it this morning, I though, "Wow, that's beautiful."  I was really struck by the color, the value contrast (meaning light and dark, not philosophical values), the gestures of the figures and the overall arrangement of the shapes.  Then, I started noticing the various narrative elements such as the cat NOT playing with the ball of string and instead staring at the boy drinking milk.  The little girl is lovingly gazing into the face of her new sibling and it seems as if the maid(?) is trying to return the child to the mother.  However, the mother isn't looking so good--she is quite shadowy.  The more I look at this image, the more questions I have.  What is the significance, if any, of the clock's time?  What is the basket above the bed?  Is the mother going to die?  I'm going to look at it a while longer.

Sir Joshua Reynolds' "Portrait of British General John Burgoyne"

Seven works of art I would like to see at the Frick

I recently visited New York and seeing the Frick was part of my plans, but due to time constraints I couldn't do it.  Anyway, in an effort to turn lemons into lemonade, I'm going to post seven works of art from the Frick that I wish I could have seen.  

Nationality: English

Born-Died: 1723-1792

Creation Date: c. 1766

Media: Oil on canvas 

Location: The Frick Collection, New York City, New York, USA

It may be obvious to people who follow this blog but this is my favorite kind of painting--"grand manner" portraiture.  


This is an image of a hero--an image of a man that embodies virtue.  In terms of art, it makes no difference if that actual sitter for this painting was virtuous or not.  The value of art is that the scene is it's own world reflecting what is important in our world, not that it is a journalistic recreation of the particulars of this world.  


The overall statement of this painting is positive, but the world he lives in is not world made out of Nerf and candy.  He has carved out a place for himself in it and it doesn't look like it was a cake walk.  It reminds me of Howard Roark.  Roark suffered tremendously in his world, but in the end his triumph was so great that it far overshadowed the trials he passed through.

Art I Hate and Why: "The Politician: A Toy" by Billie Lawless

Nationality: American
Born-Died: Don't know, don't care
Creation Date: 1996
Size: Huge
Media: A bunch of crap glued together
Location: Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

The only thing positive that I can say about this sculpture is that it was funded by private money.  Let fools throw their own money away, in my opinion.

For many years I drove past this artistic horror daily where it instilled in me the feeling that I had just seen a tragic accident involving clown cars. From these firsthand experiences, I can assure you that this sculpture is as asinine in real life as it is in these two photographs and that nothing significant is lost in the translation.  Although the photographs don't show the way the thing moves--its mouth mechanically opens and closes in what is supposed to be a statement about politicians--I would not call that any loss. It is a parody of a child's toy, but it certainly has less visual appeal than one as it was designed with less sensitivity and less wit.  If an artist is going to shamelessly rip off Picasso, they should at least rip off the good aspects of his work--the sensitivity to composition--not merely the cubist trappings.

The garbage art as I will always remember it.

The first picture here perfectly summarizes the way I always experienced this sculpture: like a long joke that wasn't funny amidst the rotted-out background of Cleveland's gray Chester Avenue.*  Because sometimes stains refuse to be scrubbed away, this sculpture has recently been moved from Dunham Tavern to Cleveland State University where it will, no doubt, blight the campus.  When students look at it, I expect it will affect their minds in the manner of huffed lighter fluid, perhaps taking away their will to live a little more each day.  

Luc Travers' Pick: Jules Bastien-LePage's "Sarah Bernhardt"

Nationality: French

Born-Died: 1848-1884

Creation Date: 1879

Size: 43.125 x 32.25 in (109.7 x 82 cm)

Media: Oil on canvas

Location: Private Collection

Today's post is brought to you by a very special guest: art historian, Luc Travers.  If you enjoy this selection and what he has to say, I would encourage you to check out Luc's website which has information about upcoming museum tours, information about his book Touching the Art, videos and more!  It's definitely worth visiting.

"The elegantly dressed woman sits staring at an object in her hand. The object is a statuette, seemingly ancient, of a lyre player raising his head in song. 

The woman tenderly holds the memento, her lowered eyes affectionately gaze upon it, and her mouth is parted--almost a sigh, perhaps singing. Maybe she's just realized something about the object's significance to her, or maybe she is singing in response to the statuette's quiet melodies.

Her name is Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress of the 19th century. As for the possible meaning of the statuette to her: theatre was born in Ancient Greece from musician-poets playing the lyre.

In her portrait, Madame Bernhardt communes with a symbol of her craft and passion. What would you tenderly hold and passionately look upon in your portrait?"

- Luc Travers

Sarah Bernhardt by Jules Bastien-LePage

The Cult of Beauty exhibit at the Legion of Honor, San Francisco

For more of my favorites from the "Cult of Beauty" exhibit, please visit: http://www.luctravers.com/cult-of-beauty-exhibit.html

To learn how to make art more personally powerful check out the book, Touching The Art.

Unkown Artist's Crucifixion Tapestry

Nationality: Flemish
Creation Date: c. 1500-1525

Size: 71.7 x 76 in (182 x 193 cm)

Media: tapestry in wool, silk, silver-gilt thread

This tapestry is interesting to me in that it is a wonderful example of visually concretized values. The first image below looks patchy because I used Photoshop to piece together the detail images that were available--unfortunately, I don't know where this tapestry is located or who made it.  In any case, flanking Jesus are the two thieves, one good, one evil.  Their body language is quite different as they hang from their crosses making it easy to guess which thief is which. 

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

Gunnie Moberg's "Duncan McLean and Irvine Welsh"

Nationality: Scottish

Born-Died: 1941-2007
Creation Date: 1993

Size: 9.8 x 15.2 inch (25 x 38.5 cm)

Media: Color photograph

Location: The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, UK

It is not often we have the opportunity to see a true masterpiece on this blog. 

Unless you have been living under a rock, you are probably aware that today’s work of Art finds it’s home in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, where it continues to draw spectators from all over the world, year after year.  I have often wondered if it is indeed possible to mine the depths of this seemingly impenetrable image which appears to us so complex and yet so simple as it holds us (as subject) in it’s uninhibitedly profound gaze. 

Often called "Moberg's Masterpiece" Duel Portrait of McLean and Welsh

Seven Paintings by Suzanne Eisendieck

Nationality: German

Born-Died: 1908-1998

Eisendieck is an artist that most people have never heard of and a great many people will not like.  I like some of them.  I just discovered her name and work very recently despite the fact that I had the first painting here in my “Unknown Artist” file for many years.   I kept it until I could properly identify it because I thought it had something interesting to it.  I was shocked to discover that she died in the 1990's, and not in the 1920's.

For the most part I appreciate her unique approach to impressionism—it seems to me like she used the impressionist method for expressive ends, not merely for the sake of “capturing the transient nature of light” or something like that, which is artistically pointless.  However, her approach seems like merely a good start.  I think a superior artist could have taken her style and developed it into something that was much more compelling.

Despite all this, her work seems to have elements that many young artists would want to adapt and I am surprised that more contemporary art students don’t admire her work.

The first two paintings here are the ones I like best.

Frederic Edwin Church's "Niagara Falls from the American Side"

Nationality: American

Born-Died: 1826-1900

Creation Date: 1867
Size: 101.3 x 89.5 inch (257.5 x 227.3 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas

Location: The National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK

This is one of two incredible paintings of Niagara Falls painted by Frederic Church.  I will post the second painting tomorrow.  When I was in Scotland I was fortunate to see this painting regularly.  I was surprised to discover how painterly it is, particularly in the rocks near the bottom. 

I'm posting this painting because my wife and I just saw visited Niagara Falls yesterday.  Although I didn't have a copy of this painting with me, I briefly tried to find the spot Church took this view from, but I don't think that location is accessible anymore.  In any case, below are some of our photos of the falls.  If I have a chance, I'll try to get a better photo and perhaps I can find Church's spot. 

20 Unusual Depictions of Clouds by Ferdinand Hodler

Nationality: Swiss

Born-Died: 1853-1918

Media: Oil on canvas

I am not really a fan of Ferdinand Hodler.  When I briefly traveled in Switzerland I was extremely eager to skip his paintings in the museums.  I still do not like his color sensibilities at all.  I don't like the lackluster brushwork, the semi-volumetric nature of the forms, the intermittent use of line in otherwise tonal paintings and the (often) lack of middle and dark tones in his work, which leaves them looking chalky, dry and weak looking.  

However, when he didn't fall into these errors, some of his paintings are actually quite nice.  I do appreciate some of his stylizations, which I think can be interesting and clever.   I like that he wasn't afraid to boldly stylize reality to suit his expressive ends. 

This selection of images focuses on his confident use of form when depicting clouds as a subject.  As an artist, I personally wouldn't have painted these clouds in quite these ways, but I respect some of his innovative choices.  I am always interested in observations and in observing natural phenomenon such as unusual cloud formations, so I appreciate it when another artist makes use of such phenomenon. 

Jewel Kilcher's "The Walmart Song"

Nationality: American

Born-Died: 1974-

Creation Date: 2012

Size: 00:03:05

Media: Music

Is this a good song?  Well, it's cute, but it's not for me.  However, I'm posting it today because I find it absolutely incredible that 1.) Jewel sang a song about Walmart and 2.) a celebrity dared to depict Walmart in a positive light.  What a bizarre occurrence!  I'm sure this is going to open up a huge can of worms for whatever remains of Jewel's career, but I applaud her performance because I don't have any problem with Walmart.  And I'm not ignorant of many of the criticisms.  I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if the celebrities that criticize capitalism and corporations like Walmart have their products sold there.  However, I wouldn't be surprised if Jewel herself had anti-capitalist leanings in that I saw the nigh-socialist Green Party of America once used a quote by her on their home page. 

Sadly, I can already see that an unusually large number of people "disliked" this peppy little song.  

White Artists Painting 25 Beautiful Skin Tones

This post is a response to recent controversies involving the racist professor, Derrick Bell, and numerous discussions I have had with artist-friends of mine regarding the topic of race.  There is a horrible and utterly ignorant view in the minds of many that all white people are automatically racist.  Some even hold that all members of all races are automatically racist--that we are all tainted with the "original sin" of racism from birth.  These are views that only racists can hold and there is no excusing such views under any circumstances.  Lack of education does not make such views "okay" and neither do PhD's.  These days, anti-white views are unfortunately all-too-common in the arts industry.  Such views reveal an ominously "concrete-bound" mentality in a group that prides itself on independent, rational thinking.  I would like to draw attention to this disconnect.

Racism is a concept, and as such it's meaning is communicable and it's application can be appropriate in many contexts independent of historical, cultural and economic factors.  The concept "racist" is appropriately applied to anyone of any race independent of any other factors about his own race.

To contrast the false views above I am posting 25 details of paintings all made by white artists that show an incredible appreciation for--and even love for--skin tone variety.  Many of these paintings are well over 100 years old. The oldest is about 400 years old.

It is more than okay to appreciate these skin tones.  It is more than okay to think, "I love the look of this very dark skin" or "I love the look of this very pale skin" and everything in between.  It is no more necessary to criticize pale skin as "pasty" or "blindingly white" than it is to criticize some other skin-tone for being it's shade. 

I can only hope that this post will help combat those hurtful, irrational and indefensible ideas.

I hope you enjoy these beautiful skin-tones as much as I do!

All the best,
- Justin 

Justin Wisniewski's "Autumn and Winter"

Nationality: All American

Born-Died: 1978-

Creation Date: 2012

Size: 7 x 5 inch (17.8 x 12.7 cm)

Media: Oil on panel

Location: My studio

Little self-portrait (without glasses.)  I tried to paint the meeting of two seasons.  Also, the colored elements are supposed to be Japanese maple leaves, not flowers.

St. Giles Cathedral, Day 1: Sculpture

Nationality: Scottish
Media: Stone
Location: St. Giles Church, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

This week I'm going to post images from St. Giles Cathedral* located in the old town of Edinburgh.

It was quite dark in there and I was hesitant to use a flash, so pardon the blurriness and darkness of these images.  I did my best to photoshop them into a recognizable state.

* it's technically not a cathedral.

Osman Hamdi Bey's "The Tortoise Trainer"

Nationality: Turkish
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: 1906Size: 87.2 × 47.2 inch (221.5 x 120 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Pera Museum, Istanbul, Turkey

This wonderful painting seems to have some kind of message and I wish I knew what it was.

Johannes Vermeer's "Lady Seated at a Virginal"

Nationality: Dutch
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: c. 1670-1672
Size: 20.2 × 17.9 inch (51.5 × 45.5 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The National Gallery, London, UK

Today's post is the last of Vermeer's paintings.  There is one more disputed work, but it looks so different I wouldn't know why people think it is by Vermeer, so I decided not to include it.  There are also a number of relatively famous forgeries which are fascinating to analyze, but I'll save that for another time.  Whatever I post tomorrow I promise that it won't be Dutch! 

I hope that you enjoyed seeing all of Vermeer's works and found the little bit of commentary and information interesting. 

Johannes Vermeer's "Lady Standing at a Virginal"

Nationality: Dutch
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: c. 1670-1672
Size: 20.3 × 17.8 inch (51.7 × 45.2 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The National Gallery, London, UK
Seeing this painting in such detail is amazing.

Johannes Vermeer's "The Guitar Player"

Nationality: Dutch
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: c. 1672
Size: 20.8 × 18.2 inch (53 × 46.3 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: Kenwood House, London, UK

This was another Vermeer painting that was at one time stolen.  The thieves held the painting "hostage" demanding that two convicted IRA bombers be moved from an English prison to an Irish one.  They even cut off a strip of the painting and sent it to the police with a letter criticising capitalism, threatening to burn the painting.  However, it was later discovered in a churchyard, unsinged and wrapped in a newspaper.  Apparently the thieves demands were not met either.  What idiotic, loser bastards.

Johannes Vermeer's "An Allegory of Faith"

Nationality: Dutch
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: c. 1670-72
Size: 45 × 35 inch (114.3 × 88.9 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, USA

I recently read some criticism of this painting that said Vermeer's departure from his usually intimate, introspective imagery in favor of this semi-bombastic depiction of religious passion falls flat.  I agree.  This ode to faith doesn't appeal to me in terms of content, but it also doesn't interest me in the way it's presented.  I'm not a fan of artistic "symbol adding" where a scene is loaded with pre-established symbols for different things, all of which add up to a grand statement.  Apparently, it is not known why Vermeer decided to paint such an image as he was not particularly passionate about religion throughout his life.

Johannes Vermeer's "Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid"

Nationality: Dutch
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: c. 1670-71
Size: 28.4 × 23.4 inch (72.2× 59.5 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
I confess that I have never seen this painting before.