Ephraim Mose Lilien

Illustration to Gensis 1:1-6 in Die Bucher der Bibel, Berlin and Vienna 1908.

I was facinated by this book page and had to post it. Love the layout and swirling stars and night sky in this illustration. Lilien was much inspired by English book illustrations.

"Lilien was a Polish painter, graphic artist, and illustrator. After an apprenticeship as a signpainter, he studied under the history painter Jan Matejko (1838-93) at the Krakow School of Art. In 1894 he won an honorary diploma in a competition in his hometown. He founded the Jewish Press in Berlin and was also the editor, publisher and illustrator. He followed in the footsteps of English Art Nouveau, but his work was a bit "tighter". He was one of the great Jewish artists." (Gabriele Fahr-Becker)

Gabriel Metsu

The Letter Reader (1665) Gabriel Metsu

This artist was born in Leiden, Holland (1629-67) and later lived and worked in Amsterdam. He is most known for his striking similarity to Vermeer and for his genre scenes.

"This is one of Metsu's finest paintings and is also a reflection on the place of art in 17th century Dutch society. The servant who has delivered the letter pulls back a curtain covering a picture (they were often hung like this) so that she may
examine it. Paintings were indeed so abundant in 17th century Holland that they could be enjoyed by all levels of society rather than being the preserve of the rich
and privileged. (John Julius Norwich)

Femmage

Anatomy of a Kimono (section) 1976. Fabric and acrylic on canvas, 6'8" x 11'11".
A kind of feminist sewn collage made by Miriam Schapiro in which she assembles fabrics, quilts, buttons, sequins, lace trim, and rick-rack to explor hidden metaphors for womanhood, using techniques historically associated with women's crafts (techniques and media not elevatd to the status of fine art). (Gardner)

Miriam Schapiro was born in 1923. She has a history of being an Abstract painter but later formed a feminist art program in California. She became facinated with fabrics and fibers while doing a project involving decoration of a dollhouse.

Alfred Stevens

The Bath, 1867 Oil on canvas, Musee D'Orsay, Paris

There is something about a bath that draws me in... if only I had a clawfoot tub and that golden swan spicket, what a lovely bath it would be...but why is she wearing her underthings??

"The Belgian Stevens ceased painting political themes after 1855, becoming a very succssful painter of bourgeois genre scenes. Here, the watch in the soap dish may mean that this respite is stolen from domestic responsibilities and social rounds. The roses may be a trac of another, also stolen, private moment." (Alexandra Bonfante-Warren)

Hypostyle Hall

Hypostyle Hall, Temple of Amen-Re, Karnak, Dynasty XIX, 1275-1225 B.C.
Hypostyle Hall: "In Egyptian architecture, a hall with a roof supported by columns." (Gardner)

This style of hall is the original "light at the end of the tunnel". In the architectural world, it's known that people like to have light to walk towards... as humans, we are attracted to light. In an elongated hallway like this one, it demonstrates the notion of the horizontal and vertical narrowing as a person walks through the hall. It is lit only by a clerestory and openings in it allow light to enter. This is an ingenius design, as light has always been tricky in a large (or small) structure. Roman and Medieval architects used this design, as we still do in the modern world.

Alice Neel

Mildred 1937, Oil on Canvas

Alice Neel is one of my favorite figure painters. It's so hard to choose a painting of hers to post, I highly recommend seeking her out in a library or bookshop, you need time to pour over her paintings.

Ms. Neel was born in Pennsylvania in 1900. She had a tumultuous personal life by the 1930s and spent some time in psych hospitals. She was a mother, wife, Divorcee and all the while was painting, primarily portraits. She began doing a lot of children's portraits upon the arrival of her 1st grandchild, Olivia in the mid 1960s. She painted many nudes and pregnant women. She is now deceased.

The Fortune Teller - detail

Georges de La Tour, 1630 French (Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC)

Oh how I love La Tour's faces, especially the women! Look at how pale and fresh-faced she is. Don't you want to see her hair? I'll bet she is blonde or maybe with a hint of red... long, wavy locks, who knows? She seems as though she could be a woman of today's time. I'm sorry to say, I have not seen a lot of La Tour paintings, but I can't help mentioning the movie, Le Divorce, starring Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson. It is based on the Diane Johnson novel and the story is partly about who is entitled to possessing a family painting thought to be by La Tour... great movie if you like Paris and a slice of French living. Enough rambling, here is a proper short history of Georges:

'La Tour, Georges de 1593-1652. French painter, active in Lorraine. He was patronized by the duke of Lorraine, Richelieu, and perhaps also by Louis XIII. Many of his pictures are illuminated by a single source of light, with deep contrasts of light and shade, as in Joseph the Carpenter about 1645 (Louvre, Paris). Theye range from religious paintings to domestic genre scenes.' (Brockhampton)