Joseph Severn: Fine Artist; Fine Friend

 The Bond of Friendship

I recognized the pen & ink portrait of John Keats straight away, but had not known anything about the artist, Joseph Severn (1793-1879; the anniversary of his death 3rd August). An accomplished artist, he was awarded The Royal Academy's Gold Medal, which had not been awarded to anyone in 8 years. This was where Keats & Severn met. Although they did not know each other well, Severn was the only one to agree to accompany Keats to Italy, to seek a cure, or respite, for his failing health. Severn's father was so enraged by this decision, he knocked his son out cold, and they never saw each other again. But, Severn was faithful in nursing his friend until his dying day.

Above: 'Jan 28th 3 o'clock in the morning - drawn to keep me awake, a deadly sweat was on him all this night' - pen & ink drawing of Keats a month before he died. Below: The Brigand's Family, 1825

He stayed in Italy after, and became a great success painting portraits, pastorals, Biblical and mythological themes; alter-pieces and frescoes. Not so valued on returning to England, where he eventually had to flee his mounting debts. He was well acquainted with death throughout his life, losing his 11 year old, illegitimate son, just a month before they were due to meet; his 1st wife died at the age of 32 from measles; his son by his 2nd wife died in a cot accident, and his most famous close, lingering proximity with Death during his friend's sickness; his letters home whilst in Italy with Keats, are the primary source for Keats's biographers (L) Scene from Alexander Pope's Eloisa to Abelard Below: The Abdication of Mary Queen of Scots,1850

The two are buried side by side, with baby Arthur in between. Art sustains; helps process pain; lifts spirits, and if you're lucky, pays the rent and puts food on the table. Good to honour his efforts here today.

Arthur Garfield Dove: Abstract Love

Abstract Impact 

I got such a thrill discovering American Abstract artist Arthur Garfield Dove (1880-1946, born on this day); I'd never heard of him! I absolutely love his assemblages, made with whatever he had to hand while living on his houseboat, Mona, between 1923-27; a mad mixture of materials (reminding me of my time in the studio of a foundation course with things I'd found in the street & skips, whilst surrounded by 'proper artists' with paints & easels. I learned the term 'assemblage' there, and that it's possible to be 'painterly' with anything!) He made a series of collages in the 20s, incorporating real objects; like visual poems, crafting colour & rhythm in a pleasing composition. Below (R): Goin' Fishin', 1925, includes: bamboo, denim; buttons; wood panel (l) The Intellectual, 1925

His began working life as a magazine illustrator (1903); working for Harper's Magazine, and Saturday Evening Post until 1930, when he was able to make painting his main focus.

(L) The Critic, 1925 I love artwork that uses text, or newsprint.

He moved to Paris in 1907; exhibiting at the Salon d'Antonne in 1908 & the following year. He met and hung out with other American Avant Garde artists, befriended Max Weber. It was here he saw paintings by Matisse, which influenced him.

(R) Nature Symbolized, or Reefs, 1924. Below: Red Sun 1935

Below: Clouds and Water, 1930

The urge to create is so strong, that even after his stroke and heart attack, which left him partially paralyzed, he continued to paint, with his wife guiding his hand. I Love the work I found, and will continue to seek out.

Below (L) Untitled, 1940; (R) Serial, 1942

Isobel Lilian Gloag: Artist-Found

Lost in History

Well! I'd never heard of English Artist Isobel Lilian Gloag (1865-1917) whose birth-date is today. But then, 5 pages of Google showed anyone referring to her lifted their info straight from Wiki, all saying she was 'known for her romantic paintings and stained glass-work'; although, I'm pretty sure not really that known. I was resigned to being intrigued, but perplexed - until I came across a Facebook page dedicated to Women Artists: the Open Sesame of Isobel's work and references that influenced her; check out: https://www.facebook.com/female.artists.in.history for a fantastic collection of tributes honouring women artists (possible to search for an artist of choice), & - if the following link works, to Isobel's work: https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/onthisday

- a treasure trove, thanks to its creator/curator Christa Zaat.

It's clear Gloag was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, and several of her pieces are prompted by poetry e.g. Isabella and the Pot of Basil (R), by John Keats.

She managed to keep up her art studies, whether at established Schools, or by private tuition, when the ill-health that dogged her life dictated. She steadily worked her way to success, showing several pieces at the Royal Academy of Arts, before her death, aged 51.

Below: Four Corners to My Bed:

Women's Work

One blog-writer despaired at the lack of information about her. I would add to that, to make it more accurate, the lack of recognition of women artists in history.

Happy, for all that, to celebrate her life-work here today. Enjoy!

(L) Pair of Angels, diptych, c.1900

Jean Dubuffet: Raw Art

 If at first you don't succeed...

I love it when I see an artist with really varied kinds of work; a sign of experimentation; learning; process and not settling when something 'works' or proves commercially successful. Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985 birth-date 31st July) had 3 goes at establishing his art practice: leaving his Paris Art School in 1918, put off by the academic approach & wanting to study independently, then 'getting a proper job' starting a wine business in 1925, then Art again, in 1934, then back to the business, until finally, Art yet again in 1942. 

Artist in his Vincennes Studio, France, 1972

(L) Algerian Landscape, 1920 (R) Fear, 1924

(L) Moonrise in Ghosts, 1951 (R) The Beautiful Horned, 1954 

I'm glad he made it - eventually; throwing all he had into his art - which sometimes included grit; coal dust; sand; straw; tar- his 'Hautes Pates' - or as one critic put it: 'scraping the dustbin'. He favoured 'low art', establishing the Art Brut movement, and accumulating a vast collection of such work.

Being included in a Pierre Matisse Exhibition alongside Picasso, Braque, Rouault & others in 1944 sealed the deal. A long, hard, slog, with the need to earn money to support a family, and German occupation of France thrown in. 

View of Paris Small Business, 1944

I loved it when I came across the picture of the black & white enamel-like 'playground', or 'jardin d'email', which I had walked about on at the Kroller Muller Museum on an Art Field trip when I was 20. I hadn't realized it was by him, and it was a great reminder of an amazing Art venture. One man with several Art Movements encapsulated in his working life; better than staying in the wine trade for 'security'. Enjoy! 

Giorgio Vasari: Father of Art History

 Who's The Daddy? 

So, today, 30th July, is the birth-date of Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), known as the 'Father of Art History'! I love his belief that 'As long as Art lives never can I accept that men are really dead'; doing all he could to make Artists of his time come alive, producing: 'The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors & Architects', 1st published in 1550, with several editions. Considered the foundation of art history, it includes anecdotes, biographies, and techniques used by artists such as: Leonardo da Vinci; Raphael; Titian; Botticelli, and Michelangelo, who befriended him. I had to get to grips with the language used to describe art movements of that time: Mannerism; (Late/High) Late Renaissance - stylized work.

It made me think again about Art History, how it needs to be refined, or redefined, in how it's taught in schools and university, rather than being phased out. There's so much I realize I don't know, in spite of loving lessons at school so much the content lingered long after. It's not even just about the style of any given Movement, there's a need for a broader overview, I think, beyond the focus on Europe, and more on how to 'read' a painting. Art was considered the 'soft' option at school - mad! Forget the official labels, I loved that we were taught 'Art Appreciation' even with much teenage resistance & scorn, it got through, eventually. It would be a great loss to the curriculum; a kind of leprosy, if an important part of our body of learning dropped off - almost unnoticed.

The work is a little strange, but powerful too. I love the flat, impossibly squished together 'frieze' of 6 Tuscan Poets in deep conversation: (seated): Dante Aligheri (1265-1321) 'Divine Comedy' & Guido Cavalcanti (1255-1300) love sonnets; (standing, in clerical garb): Humanist & Classical Scholar, Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-75) & Francesco Petrarch (1304-74) 'Decameron'; far left: Humanist/Man of Letters, Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) & Platonic philosopher, Cristofaro Landino (1424-15040) Their laurel leaves symbolize Literary Achievement.

Great to see the sketch that preceded the finished painting of the Nativity. Vasari was fortunate in being employed by various members of the Medici family; which is the other thing - how do artists survive? Financially. Spiritually. Pleased to have 'found' him and his work - still very much alive to this day.                                                                                                                     The Medici's: Lorenzo the Magnificent (1533/4) & Alessandro, Resting 1537 (R)

A very clean and tidy style. The Garden of Gethsemane (1570) betrays none of the horror of sweating blood through extreme anguish, focusing on the glory. Other themes covered address the gruesome nature of some Biblical stories: the beheaded giant, Goliath; Judith about to behead her target; the stoning of St. Stephen, but all 'tastefully' rendered. Entombment, 1532,

Here's an opportunity to view more of his work - a fantastic range, in just a couple of minutes:

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky: Master Seascape Artist

 I Must Go Down to The Sea Again!

I think it's a little bit obvious I love a good art obsession, but Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1817-1900), really knew how to obsess and excel at his chosen genre of Seascapes in the Romantic style, dedicating his 60 year career to around 6,000 canvases, with about 20,000 attributed to him! And I'd never heard of him!

Born on this day, 29th July, in the Crimea, of Armenian heritage, he collected medals and accolades throughout his life, travelling extensively in the process.

Bay of Naples in Moonlight, 1842

He clocked up 55 solo exhibitions all around the world, including: Berlin; New York; Paris; San Francisco and London! He stuck with what he knew and what he was good at, even when the Art Movement turned from Romanticism to Realism. His home became a Museum of Art in 1880, and still is, housing over 400 of his works. The most astounding thing I learned from someone who knew his art practice, was that he always worked from memory! Able to retain in his mind's eye, every nuance of the sea in all its moods, whether by day, or moonlight.

                        

Black Sea at Night (L) Pushkin's Farewell to the Black Sea, 1877 (R)

Aivazovsky met Russia's National Poet, Pushkin, in September, 1837

The Ninth Wave, 1850, (his most famous painting)

Stormy Sea at Night

His love for Armenia grew stronger, and was further enhanced by his marrying an Armenian widow. It seems his beloved country returned the compliment by celebrating him on the obverse of a 2,000 dram banknote in 2018:

I had absolutely no trouble tracking down a virtual gallery of his paintings, more a matter of which backing music was preferable. So, if you'd like a quick riffle through some of his output, there's this:

Enjoy! 

Stefan Filipkiewicz: Artist-Hero

Landscape Lover

I'd like to introduce Polish Artist, Stefan Filipkiewicz (1879-1944), who I've just discovered, on the anniversary of his birth, 28th July.

No great drama in his work, just the quiet, steady passion of a man for his art and sense of place; especially the Tatra Mountains; a passion that was recognized on being awarded the Gold Medal at the Universal Exhibition in Poznan, 1929.

Tatra Mountains seen from Olcza, 1924, above,

The Art of Caring

Painting; teaching art; contributing to a literary salon in Krakow, life ticked along nicely. Until 1939, when Poland was invaded, forcing Stefan to flee with his family to Hungary. Life took on a different shape and focus; he became the secretary of the Citizen's Committee for the Care of Polish Refugees, organizing assistance to military & civilians in need.

Laka, 1904                                                                                 Cottage in the Sun, 1904 (R)    

Forest Stream in Winter

Landscape of Escape

The committee also provided false documents and new identities for many of the Poles of Jewish descent. Around 30,000 Polish refugees were rescued, and 5,000 Jews saved. Sad to see the document, signed by Heinrich Himmler, ordering the execution of 13 of those committee members, at Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, on August 23rd, 1944, including Stefan Filipkiewicz, who had helped save so many.

Gallery

There's a wonderful opportunity to share in the love he had for the landscape of his home-land throughout the seasons, just two minutes, and a wealth of artwork in this virtual presentation: