November 20, 2008
November 19, 2008
Oluf Braren's Faces
Oluf Braren, Home Wedding on the Island of Fohr (detail)
"Oluf Braren (1787 - 1839) was a painter of naïve art from the north Frisian island of Föhr." (Föhr is the second-largest North Sea island of Germany.)
I discovered Braren's unintentionally disturbing painting in Masters of Naive Art by Oto Bihalji-Merin. I can't find the entire painting, just this detail (any help?).
The caption says: "This North Frisian teacher and earliest lay painter in Germany has created a picture representing marriage symbolically as a bond and a bridge. The nuptials are a solemn cermony in which the bridal couple and the pastor form the focus, though in this detail they are not shown [thanks asshole]. The guests in their old-fashioned and precisely rendered costumes are looking on with astonishment."
Astonishment? This village of the damned clearly has something on its collective face, and I'm getting a little freaked out trying to name it.
Here's the rest of the caption: "The plasticity of his drawing and the crystalline glow of his colors intensify the individuality and self-sufficiency of the figures. There is something of the bleak silence of insular life in this definition of reality, which at the same time has an effect that is realistic, naive, and poetic."
I discovered Braren's unintentionally disturbing painting in Masters of Naive Art by Oto Bihalji-Merin. I can't find the entire painting, just this detail (any help?).
The caption says: "This North Frisian teacher and earliest lay painter in Germany has created a picture representing marriage symbolically as a bond and a bridge. The nuptials are a solemn cermony in which the bridal couple and the pastor form the focus, though in this detail they are not shown [thanks asshole]. The guests in their old-fashioned and precisely rendered costumes are looking on with astonishment."
Astonishment? This village of the damned clearly has something on its collective face, and I'm getting a little freaked out trying to name it.
Here's the rest of the caption: "The plasticity of his drawing and the crystalline glow of his colors intensify the individuality and self-sufficiency of the figures. There is something of the bleak silence of insular life in this definition of reality, which at the same time has an effect that is realistic, naive, and poetic."
November 14, 2008
November 13, 2008
November 7, 2008
November 6, 2008
November 1, 2008
October 31, 2008
October 30, 2008
October 26, 2008
October 25, 2008
A European Hillbilly and Bats Blaming Each Other
Azechi Umetaro, A European Hillbilly
Somehow I wound up digging around on sites with Japanese prints today. These could be incredibly common images, but they are all new to me. The authority on such things is lotusgreen and her incredible blog Japonisme, so go there for more, and visit her links.
Azechi Umetaro, A Mountaineer with Ice Ax over Shoulder, 1980
Azechi Umetaro, Mountain Man and Deer
Gountei SADAHIDE (1807-1873), young devil child
Gountei SADAHIDE (1807-1873)
Kaoru Kawano (1916-65), girl with red mask, 50s
Kaoru Kawano (1916-65), girl with flowers and butterflies, 60s
Ichiyusai KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861) skeleton
Ichiyusai KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861), figures with bizarre heads
Last three: Ichiyusai KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861),
Bats Blaming Each Other
Other places I was surfing:
http://www.ohmigallery.com
http://woodblockprint.com.au
http://www.japaneseprints-london.com
http://shogungallery.com
http://www.ukiyoe-gallery.com
October 22, 2008
Victor Hugo, Shadows of a Hand
Victor Hugo, Marine Terrace with initials, 1855
Victor Hugo, Abstract composition (monstrous animal), ca. 1856
Victor Hugo, 'Planet' taches, ca. 1853-55
Victor Hugo, The cellist, ca. 1856
As promised, here some more of Hugo's drawings. I hadn't realized Shadows of a Hand: The Drawings of Victor Hugo was still available (reasonably priced too!) from the Drawing Center, so do yourself a favor and buy it before it's gone. Click on the image below to go to the Drawing Center site.
Previously:
--The Octopus Bearing the Initials V.H.
--Luc Sante, Victor Hugo, Andre Breton (scroll past Jules Renard [but actually, don't scroll past him])
Coming next:
--Three-Way Rorschach Test (Victor Hugo, Hans Christian Andersen, and Bruce Conner)
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