A Week of Winsor McCay's Editorial Cartoons for Objectivists, Day 1

Nationality: American
Born-Died: 1869-1934


I found these in two books called "Winsor McCay: Early Works III" and "IX" and they are really great.  I think other Objectivists will enjoy them.  Looking through his work I am very impressed by how  he supported the free market, industry, science, freedom and how anti-religion and superstition he was.  His work is not above criticism however.  He very often cast wealth, money and greed in a negative light while glorifying immoralities such as public education.  In any case, his drawings are fantastic and many of the ideas are too.  I hope you enjoy them as I do!


This first one is AMAZING.

László Tóth's "Mind"

Nationality: Hungarian
Born-Died: 1869-1895
Creation Date: c. 1883
Size: 93.9 x 47.7 in (238.5 x 12.5 cm)*
Media: Oil on canvas 
Location: The Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, Hungary*

* This information might be wrong.

This painting is part of a series called "Beauty, Money, Mind" and I only found it by stumbling across it in the Wikimedia commons.  I like the idea of this painting, but the execution isn't anything special in my opinion.  The reproduction isn't great which doesn't help.  In any case, I like the idea.  

Johannes Vermeer's "The Astronomer"

Nationality: Dutch
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: c. 1668
Size: 20 × 18 inch (51 × 45 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

This is one of my favorite Vermeer paintings.  The character here reminds me of Howard Roark or Equality 7-2521.

Like "The Art of Painting" this painting was at one time owned by the Nazis.  I recently read that they stamped a swastika on the back and I am dying to know if it is still there.  I'm sure it would have been small, but that is still strange.

Unknown Printmaker's "The Planet of Herschel"

Nationality: FrenchCreation Date: c. 1781-1850
Size: 1.25 x 2.25 inch (3.2 x 5.7 cm)Media: Engraving (?) on paper
Location: My collection

This is an old print that I am proud to own.  It is a depiction of William Herscehl looking through a telescope, presumably discovering the planet which later became known as Uranus.  I think the star with the beams coming out of it is supposed to be the planet.  It's not a great work of art by any stretch of the imagination, but I still like it.  

 

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.

Jacques-Louis David’s “Portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and his wife”

This wonderful painting is a depiction of a scientist and his wife. In addition to being very well rendered the pose of the man is very expressive, yet natural. He has just stopped his work to glance up at his wife as if he isn’t sure why she has come to lean on him. The woman’s hands are posed in such a way that she appears graceful and delicate.

Joseph Wright of Derby's "An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump"