To learn the laws of nature . . .

Today is the birthday of Pierre-Auguste Renoir (February 25, 1841–December 3, 1919), French painter, printer and sculptor associated with the Impressionist movement.  He is known for his vibrant use of color and often referred to as the Happy Painter.

By the Water
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Art Institue of Chicago

"Why shouldn't art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world." - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

"The only way to understand painting is to go and look at it. And if out of a million visitors there is even one to whom art means something, that is enough to justify museums." - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

"To be an artist you must learn the laws of nature." - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

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To connect with the creative spirit . . .

Today we send a birthday salute to Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984), photographer and environmentalist.

Ansel Adams
Evening, MacDonald LakeGlacier National Park
1942

"Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs." - Ansel Adams

“Simply look with perceptive eyes at the world about you, and trust to your own reactions and convictions. Ask yourself: "Does this subject move me to feel, think and dream? Can I visualize a print - my own personal statement of what I feel and want to convey - from the subject before me?” - Ansel Adams

“Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.” - Ansel Adams

“The only things in my life that compatibly exist with this grand universe are the creative works of the human spirit.” - Ansel Adams

So why study art . . . perhaps, to connect with the creative spirit.

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To seek the divine . . .

Today is the birthday of Leon Battista Alberti (February 18, 1404 – April 20, 1472), a polymath, the true Renaissance man. He was an author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer.

His well known literary contribution to art is his treatise, De pictura (On Painting, 1435), which contained the first scientific study of perspective.

"A man can do all things if he but wills them." - Leon Battista Alberti

"Let no one doubt, that the man who does not perfectly understand what he is attempting to do when painting, will never be a good painter. It is useless to draw the bow, unless you have a target to aim to arrow at." - Leon Battista Alberti from On Painting

"When I investigate and when I discover that the forces of the heavens and the planets are within ourselves, then truly I seem to be living among the gods." - Leon Battista Alberti

"all steps of learning should be sought from nature." - Leon Battista Alberti

"Painting is possessed of divine power, for not only does it make the absent present, but also makes the dead almost alive." - Leon Battista Alberti

So why study art . . . perhaps to seek the divine.

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To enjoy nature . . .

Charles-François Daubigny (Paris, February 15, 1817 – February 19, 1878 in Paris), French landscape painter of the Barbizon school. One of the earliest advocates of painting directly from nature, Daubigny is considered the link between mid-19th-century naturalism and Impressionism. He so loved nature that in 1857 he turned the boat 'Le Botin' in Auvers-sur-Oise into a floating studio and traveled along the rivers Seine and Oise to paint.


Boote auf der OiseCharles-François DaubignyMusée du Louvre

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A Valentine Surprise . . .

What a wonderful Valentine's Day Surprise - an invitation to my friend Jyl Bonaguro's Solo Exhibition.  If you are in Chicago area stop by The Evanston Atelier to see her work.

A solo exhibition of

the Trees of Life

will be held at the Evanston Atelier 

February 21 - March 7, 2009

Opening Reception:

February 21, 2009 from 7 to 9 pm

The Evanston Atelier is located at
716 Main Street, Evanston, IL 60202
www.evanstonatelier.com

To preview some of the paintings visit:
www.jylbonaguro.com

Questions ??
jyl@jylbonaguro.com

Thanks, Jyl.

Reflections of ourselves . . .

Today is the birthday of Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891 – February 12, 1942), an American painter, best known for his painting American Gothic.  The painting is one of the most famous paintings in the history of American art.

American GothicThe Institute of Chicago

Grant Wood was one of the founders of the Stone City Art Colony in 1932/3.  The colony was formed to help artists get through the Great Depression.

“All the good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow . . .” - Grant Wood

Note:  It is felt that the popularity of Grant Wood's painting  American Gothic  is due to the fact, that very often people see something in it that reminds them of themselves.

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Art makes us human . . .

The Rape of Europa (1562) is an oil painting by Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio, (born 1473/1490 - died August 27, 1576) better known as Titian, which was admired and copied by Peter Paul Rubens (June 28, 1577 – May 30, 1640).

Rape of Europa (Titian)

Rape of Europa (Rubens)

It is also the title of an award winning documentary film of the theft of approximately one-fifth of all the known significant works of art in Europe during World War II.

I finally had the opportunity to see the film The Rape of Europa.  It was shown at the Avon Theater, here in Stamford, CT (USA) to a full house.  After seeing the film, I cannot find the words to express my experience - it is a rather haunting and disturbing feeling that lingers round my heart. 

I guess like most, I wonder what would have happened if Hitler had been accepted at the Art School instead of rejected. I seriously question should soldiers' lives be risked to save historic sites and artwork.  I am in awe at the great lengths that people took to preserve and protect the art works of Europe. I learned about the phenomenal Rose Valland and realize the importance of the art registry. I now, wonder if a culture can survive if its art is wiped out.

The one idea that struck my mind and heart is "Art makes us human", so let's study art.

Tizian image source (1)
Rubens image source (1)

Where is my plein air kit?

I have been informed that today, February 10th, is Umbrella Day.

My immediate mental flash was of Gustave Caillebotte's painting Paris Street, a Rainy Day.  

If you are in Chicago take the time to see Paris Street, a Rainy Day at The Art Institute of Chicago to feel the full visual impact of an artwork that size.  The museum is famous for its collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art.

Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street; Rainy Day
is an oil on canvas (83-1/2 x 108-3/4 inches)
 The Art Institute of Chicago.

And, of course, there is the painting, Umbrellas by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.  The National Gallery of London featured it as the painting of the month on their website in February 2007. 

"Why shouldn't art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world." - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Thanks to the Impressionists we have the popularity of painting en plein air and of course, there is an umbrella in a truly useful plein air kit.

So, why study art?  Perhaps, so there will be less unpleasant things in the world and more beauty.

I dream therefore I paint . . .

Perhaps, we study art to rid our minds of nightmarish images via canvas . . .

Today is the birthday of Henry Fuseli (February 7, 1741 – April 17, 1825), painter, draughtsman, and writer on art.


The Nightmare
As a painter, Fuseli favoured the supernatural. Sleep and dreams were common subjects for Henry Fuseli.  His best known work is the 1781 oil painting  The Nightmare.  Due to its fame, Fuseli painted at least three other versions.

And for my mother's love of nature . . .

"Truly, art is embedded in nature;

he who can extract it, has it." - Albrecht Dürer

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To paint life as I would like it to be . . .

"I paint life as I would like it to be." - Norman Rockwell

Today we celebrate the birthday of Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978), American painter, best known as an illustrator of the Saturday Evening Post. He published over 300 original covers for the magazine. 

Norman Rockwell was a very prolific artist creating over 4,000 original works of art; nevertheless, his work was dismissed by serious art critics in his lifetime, referring to him as an "illustrator" instead of an "artist". This led to the creation of the descriptive word Rockwellesque which referred to something characteristic of Norman Rockwell, particularly his idealistic and sentimentalized portrayals of American life.

If you are Stockbridge, Massachusetts (USA) between May and November 2nd, plan to visit Norman Rockwell’s studio on the grounds of the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Naure lovers . . .

Today we give a birthday salute to Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 - February 11, 1848), American painter regarded as the founder of the mid-19th century art movement referred to as the Hudson River School.  The Hudson River School paintings are romanticized pastoral settings, where human beings and nature coexist peacefully.

Thomas Cole discovered the beauty of nature at an early age. Later in life, he became very concerned with the negative impact of industrial development upon his beloved Catskill landscapes - the very landscapes that served as his inspiration for painting.  One might consider him an early member of the Green Movement.

One of the largest collections of paintings by artists of the Hudson River School is at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut.  If you are in the Catskills, New York (USA) area visit Cedar Grove and be sure to take the Art Trail.

The love of nature brings me back to my mother (which is the journey of this blog's quest).  She left her art studies but she will never leave her love of nature.  She is one of the few women I know that gets upset with a bouquet of roses (it saddens her to see cut flowers in a vase, knowing they will die).  She gets it fair, her side of the family have been farmers in America since the 1700s and I remember all her family in the city kept Victory Gardens.  She still gets a twinkle in her eye and a lightness to her step when she goes to check on her garden. It has taken me many a year to understand her joy, but I still do not know how she could simply walk away from her art work.  I do know that Nature holds many secrets and my mother loves to discover them.  I still wonder why she did not seek those secrets with her art.