Pyle was considered the dean of American illustration. In 1894, he began teaching illus-tration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry (now Drexel University). He left there to open his own school, the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art This was in Wilmington, Delaware where he had spent most of his life. Artists came from all over to be part of this studio. NC Wyeth was from Massachusetts, but gravitated to Pyle in Delaware. He sent Pyle a portfolio and was accepted. Pyle did not charge his students, but he only accepted the ones he felt were truly talented.He influenced so many artists, and told them "Throw your heart into the picture and then jump in after it."
Historians at that time were not sure what pirates actually looked like. In his many pirate books, he created their clothes straight from his imagination, giving them a style akin to gypsies. His works became so well known, that what Pyle painted is now what the general public thinks pirates looked like. The creators of “Pirates of the Caribbean” with Johnny Depp, acquired a number of his pirate illustrations and modeled the characters in the movie after them. Many of his pirates wore a big red sash and bandana, a style that was not from history, but manufactured by Pyle. In this painting the hat and the coat at the pirate’s feet are those of a naval officer. Probably garnered from a high seas skirmish.In his stories, there was a pirate’s code, which if broken brought on punishment. One possible punishment was, marooning. The pirate would be left on a desert island and given a knife or pistol with which to commit suicide. This poor sole hangs his head and contemplates his end. To see original: https://bit.ly/3Yduocp
Sandro Botticelli - Primavera
Inspired by: Sandro Botticelli , Primavera
Many believe this painting was commissioned by Medicis as a gift on the occasion of a family wedding. Though the ceremony took place in July, the nuptial was originally scheduled for May, making spring an appropriate subject matter. In the painting, nine mythological figures appear in an orange grove (a reference to the Medicis). All around them, sprout hundreds of flowers in bloom. There are almost 500 blossoms, representing about 200 different species of which 130 have been specifically identified. The characters in the painting are intended to be identified in order from right to left to suggest the progression of the Spring season. Zephyrus god of March, followed by Venus, the goddess of April, and Mercury, the god of May. Mercury uses his caduceus to disperse the wisps of clouds in preparation for the oncoming summer. The caduceus is Mercury’s magic wand entwined by two serpents. It became a symbol of the medical profession. To see original: https://bit.ly/2FC6z83
Young Omahaw, War Eagle, Little Missouri and Pawnees - Charles Bird King
Inspired by - Charles Bird King - Young Omahaw, War Eagle, Little Missouri and Pawnees
Between 1820 and 1842 Charles King painted some 143 of the most famous paintings of American Indian chiefs. This was when they were still at the peak of their glory and reflected the full flowering of their people's culture. The portraits were commissioned by Thomas McKenney, the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. King would paint the chiefs in his downtown studio, when they came to Washington to do business with the department.
Chief War Eagle wears a Jefferson Indian Peace Medal. This was a sign of great status for an Indian and worn at all formal events. Americans as well as Europeans gave out peace metals as far back as the 1600’s. The Jefferson Indian Peace Medal was the first medal to bear the image of an American president. Thomas Jefferson was depicted in profile on the obverse of the medal, with the inscription: "TH. JEFFERSON PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. A.D. 1801." The inscription on the reverse, "PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP," was symbolized by the image of clasped hands and a crossed tomahawk and peace pipe. Federal officials distributed medals when traveling through Indian territories. Lewis and Clark gave out about 87 metals on their expedition. In 1804, a dozen Osage chiefs arrived in Washington City. They were the first to make the long trip at the invitation of Captains Lewis and Clark. They were the first Native chiefs that Jefferson would meet and present with this metal. See original: bit.ly/3fXSerk
Caspar David Friederich - Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog
Inspired by Caspar David Friederich - Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog
If you Google Romantcism this painting is one of the first that will appear in the images. Romanticism was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe, and was in its peak in the early 1800’s. Standing on a high dark rock, while foggy mist swarms over the distant valleys and mountains beyond, a lone figure contemplates his place in the universe,
At the age of 13 Kasper was skating on the Baltic with his brother. He fell through the ice, and hisis brother came to his rescue. Caspar lived but his brother died. This emotional experience haunted him for most of life. He attempted suicide in his adulthood. It may be the reason for the somber feeling in his early paintings. He painted the Wanderer at the age 34. That was also the year he married Caroline Baumar. After his marriage, his paintings became lighter, adding more color and people. Although his people were usually looking away from the painter.
To see original - https://bit.ly/3Q5qn4u
Thomas Eakins - Between Rounds
Inspired by: Thomas Eakins Between Rounds - 1898-99
Most of Eakins's sporting paintings: rowing, baseball and swimming are from the 1870’s and 80’s. But, he painted three boxing scenes in the late 90’s. These he began after attending professional matches at the Philadelphia Arena, then located diagonally across the street from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He asked several of the participants to pose for him, along with his friends and family who portrayed officials and spectators. Here we find boxer “Turkey Point” Billy Smith in his corner. Billy lost more fights than he won, and in the depicted bout he was knocked out in the third round.
Eakins sports paintings frequently expressed the muscular system of the nude male. He stands as the first American artist to base his art on the close and exacting analysis of the body. He felt it so important that he even studied anatomy at Jefferson Medical College. He began teaching at PAFA (his almamater) in 1876, While there, discontent arose concerning his teaching methods, His insistence on the study of the nude in mixed-sex classes and his frequent use of pupils as models did not please Victorian Philadelphia. While lecturing about the pelvis to a class that included female students, Eakins removed a loincloth from a male model so that he could trace the course of a muscle. Angry protests by parents and students forced him to resign at the request of the Academy board. To see original: https://bit.ly/3z6ufh4
Edgar Degas - Waiting
Inspired by Edgar Degas - Waiting
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas affected disdain toward the improvised outdoor landscape studies for which many of the Impressionists became known. He clung to the habit of drawing on location in preparation for his pictures and insisted on finishing in the studio routinely with models. Degas considered himself a Realist painter. He attempted to paint things as they were, versus how he perceived them to be. Still, the art world considers him an Impressionist artist as he adopted their loose strokes and play on light.
Degas and the ballet are virtually synonymous. Dancers, shown in every phase of their complex and demanding art form, make up more than fifty percent of his abundant output. He created approximately 1,500 paintings, monotypes and drawings.
He was aware, from an early point in his studies, of the exhaustion of the ballerinas, and the extent to which they pushed the limits of their bodies. He was further conscious of the brevity of a dancer’s career. Here the chaperone’s face still displays youthful features, yet she is more than likely an ex-dancer. The younger woman represents what her forlorn looking companion once was.
To see original: bit.ly/3o4o32n
Édouard Manet - The Balcony
Inspired by Édouard Manet - The Balcony
All the models are friends or relatives of Manet. Painter Berthe Morisot is the lady sitting on the left. Standing in the back is another painter Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemet. On the right is the violinist Fanny Claus (no kidding). The fourth figure, partially obscured in the interior's background, is possibly Léon Leenhoff, Manet's son. Berthe Morisot was one of the three important female Impressionists. She was one of Manet’s favorite models. This was the first portrait Manet did of her. Then he painted her 11 more times. She would become the wife of his brother, Eugène.
There were many iterations of this painting. It was inspired by Majas on the Balcony by Francisco Goya. Which was very similar, and which Manet gave attribution. This painting was just a redo. and it took Manet a couple of shots at to get it right. In his first version there were two women on a balcony. The name of that painting is Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus (no kidding). In the first version Fanny is seated in the chair and Berthe is standing, back to painter. In this version he added two more characters and made Berthe sit and Fanny stand. Oh, and he threw in a dog with a bow in its hair beneath Morrisot’s chair. Then Surrealist René Magritte painted Perspective II: Manet's Balcony in 1950, a commentary on this work. In Magritte’s version there are four coffins (one "seated") in place of the four people. Magritte said "For me the setting of The Balcony offered a suitable place to put coffins. The 'mechanism' at work here might form the object of a learned explanation, which I am unable to provide.”
The painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1869, and then kept by Manet until his death in 1883.
To see original: https://bit.ly/3rtj39s
Georges de La Tour – The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds
Inspired by Georges de La Tour - The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds
The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds - 1635
Musée du Louvre, Paris
De la Tour created two versions of this painting. One is in the Louvre and the other is in the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth Texas. The only difference being the clothes and especially the cheat card. In this painting that card is an ace of diamonds and in the other it is an ace of clubs. You can probably guess the name of the Kimbell version. Like so many paintings from the 17th century, this one is loaded with a moral message from the church. Many artists wished to remind their audiences that sinners were barred from Heaven. As far as sins go this painting includes the three biggies: gambling, drunkenness and lust. The choice of the cheat cards is no accident. The diamond evokes money and commerce of the flesh, while the club symbolizes ill fortune.
De la tour was a very successful painter in the 1600’s, but quickly fell out of favor after his death. His star would not rise again until this painting appeared in a 1934 exhibition at the Louvre. It was the first time his work had been exhibited in almost 300 years. This sparked a growing craze for the artist and his work started popping up everywhere. Despite this new stardom, Pierre Landry, a Paris art dealer, spent 15 years trying to get the Louvre to buy this painting. They finally completed the acquisition in 1972. Maybe he was just asking for too much money.
To see original: bit.ly/3Cx2aiB