Art & Design.

Laid down like wine to settle and improve with age. Tuck in.

Augustus Leopold Egg’s 1858 “Past & Present” triptych. A melodramatic, moralizing Victorian masterpiece made to illustrate the dire consequences of adultery.

Augustus Leopold Egg RA (1816 – 1863), was a Victorian artist best known for one thing. An incredible symbol-laden, epic triptych called Past and Present (1858), which chronicled the disintegration of a middle-class Victorian family. Egg was born to Joseph and Ann Egg, in London. He had an elder brother, George... Read on > > >
Art & Design

John Martin’s sister was murdered by a neighbour, one brother was a “perfectly cracked” eccentric philosopher/inventor & the other an insane religious firestarter. Perhaps it’s no surprise John became the ultimate harbinger of The Apocolypse.

John Martin painted various apocolypses. Over and over and over. He was an Apocolyptian painter. Perhaps, it was a kind of escapism. It makes a kind of sense; a man born in a claustrophobic one bedroom cottage in Northumberland, England, who grew up to paint vast open expanses. It could be... Read on > > >
Art & DesignCrime

“The hungry lion throws itself on the antelope, devours him. . . Birds of prey have each torn a strip of flesh from the poor animal that is shedding a tear! The sun sets.” Henri Rousseau.

The French poet Apollinaire once described how his friend Rousseau would quite genuinely become frightened by his own creations. He would tremble and rush away from his easel to open a studio window. For him, the images he was making took on a real life of their own. He once said... Read on > > >
Art & DesignNature

In the aftermath of the First World War, one Frenchman created his own vision of woman. Art Deco eye candy manufacturer & self proclaimed “creator of the pin-up”, Jean-Gabriel Domergue (1889 – 1962).

When the French painter, Jean-Gabriel Domergue claimed he was “the creator of the pin-up,” he wasn’t lying. His Parisian women are unmistakably, idiosyncratically his. They were also way ahead of their time. Oozing with a sultry, wide-eyed, slender-necked, unpretentious sensuality and something more vital than simply elegance, Domergue’s 1920s eye candy... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Self professed “creator of the pin-up” & he man who supplied Paris with Art Deco eye candy in the wake of WW1 – Jean-Gabriel Domergue also painted fabulous nudes.

The French painter, Jean-Gabriel Domergue wasn’t simply, as he claims “the creator of the pin-up.” As well as redefining the look and attitude of a new, liberated “la belle Parisienne”, in the aftermath of The Great War, the ridiculously prolific artist also found time to design for fashion houses, organise huge... Read on > > >
Art & Design

World trapped in glass discovered decaying in remote Romanian cowshed. The haunting lost & now found archives of photographer Costică Acsinte & his village studio, Foto Splendid Slobozia.

Somewhere in the early 2000s, the Ialomita County Museum, a small regional museum in a small Romanian regional town was handed an authentic Pandora’s Box by a curious member of the Acsinte family. Several wooden crates that had lain, in a farm cowshed for decades, slowly deteriorating. The crates held boxes... Read on > > >
Art & DesignHistory

Original Outsider artist, Adolf Wölfli, (or St. Adolf II as he called himself in his 25,000 page psychiatric ward art, words & music epic) liked to play his art on a paper trumpet.

Adolf Wölfli, born in Bowil (Switzerland) in 1894, had a rough childhood : his father, a stone sculptor who drank away all of his paycheques, abandoned his family in 1872. Adolf and his mother were sent to farms as labourers, but she died shortly thereafter. From then on, the young boy wandered... Read on > > >
Art & Design

A man, a goat & a very dark beer.

If you were from Bavaria, as many American immigrants were in the mid 1800s, it wouldn’t be at all strange if when you thought of goats you thought of beer. And vice versa.  First brewed in the dark ages of 14th century Germany in the town of Einbeck, Bock beer was a... Read on > > >
Art & DesignTravel

PHOTOCHROM GUIDE TO : Dresden, Germany, c. 1890-1900.

These Photochrome images of Dresden by Photocrome of Zurich, were made shortly after the company invented the process in the 1880s. The Photocrome process was an old school process for colourizing black-and-white negatives via the direct photographic transfer of a negative onto lo-fi lithographic printing plates made of stobe. The process... Read on > > >
Art & DesignTravel

History, mythology, Orientalism, portraiture, Jean-Léon Gérôme’s paintings had it all, & importantly many had a not so subtle dash of rampant sexuality thrown in. His glossy fantasy world was endlessly reproduced. No wonder Jean-Léon Gérôme was “arguably the world’s most famous living artist by 1880.”

Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824 – 1904) knew the power of a nude. It is, of course, blatantly obvious that sexuality played a huge role in his success. His imagery is riddled with sex. Nudes parade nonchalantly around the environments in his canvases. He was delivering a fantasy Orient up to the masses. In... Read on > > >
Art & Design

They don’t get more obscure or rare than L. Lu Vonago of Krasnoyarsk, a small town in the Russian Republic of Khakassia. His entire known output consists of just 23 pictures. He shot 2 hotel fires and one monomictic Lake resort in the early 1900s.

We don’t know who he or she was. We just have photographs, just a handful, in one of the collections held at the Krasnoyarsk Krai Museum of Regional History and Folklife at Dubrovinskogo St., 84, Krasnoyarsk in Russia. 2 of the photographs are separate hotel fires. The majority of the rest... Read on > > >
Art & DesignObscurityTravel

Less is underrated & just a little can mean a lot more in the hands of a master. The understated power of the Swiss painter Niklaus Stoecklin.

An early exponent of the Neue Sachlichkeit, “New Objectivity” movement, the Swiss painter Niklaus Stoecklin (1896–1982) was interested in what the figure, inanimate objects (still life), and landscapes could to to help him convey emotional states. He developed a unique ability to produce objects with a clean precise meaning & personality.... Read on > > >
Art & Design

The Siberian art expeditions to the Sel’Kupy tribes in the 1910s & 20s. The sketchbooks, watercolours & oils of Andrei Prokof’evich Lekarenko.

Andrei Prokofievich Lekarenko (1895-1974) is one of three well-known Krasnoiarsk artists, (the other 2 being Dmitri Innokent’evich Karatanov & A. G. Vargin) who undertook several expeditions into Siberia during the 1910s and 1920s. Lekarenko studied under Karatanov and V. A. Favorskii, and was one of the founders of “New Siberia.” He... Read on > > >
Art & DesignNature

Variations on a theme : Ganzen spel, Goose board or “The game of the geese.” The 16th century game you’ve likely played and the City of Cheese that made it theirs.

The “Game of the Goose” or “Goose game” is a board game where two or more players move pieces around a track by rolling a die or two dice. The track often seems to be a spiral of some description. The game originated around the 16th century, and the Dutch loved it. They couldn’t seem to get enough of that goose... Read on > > >
Art & DesignTravel

PHOTOCHROM GUIDE TO : American Indians. c. 1890.

Invented 140 years ago in 1880s Zurich, Photochrom, a.k.a. Fotochrom, Photochrome or Aäc process, is an old school process for colourizing black-and-white negatives via the direct photographic transfer of a negative onto lithographic printing plates. The process is a photographic variant of chromolithography (color lithography). Creatively choosing colour & then using a... Read on > > >
Art & DesignTravel

PHOTOCHROM GUIDE TO : Dresden, Germany, c. 1890-1900.

These Photochrome images of Dresden by Photocrome of Zurich, were made shortly after the company invented the process in the 1880s. The Photocrome process was an old school process for colourizing black-and-white negatives via the direct photographic transfer of a negative onto lo-fi lithographic printing plates made of stobe. The process... Read on > > >
Art & DesignTravel

PHOTOCHROM GUIDE TO : Spitsbergen, Norway, 1900.

Invented 140 years ago in 1880s Zurich, Photochrom, a.k.a. Fotochrom, Photochrome or Aäc process, is an old school process for colourizing black-and-white negatives via the direct photographic transfer of a negative onto lithographic printing plates. The process is a photographic variant of chromolithography (color lithography). Imaginatively selecting & mechanically colouring a black... Read on > > >
Art & Design

“If the origin of my work is scandalous, it is because for me, the world is a scandal.” It’s 1933, Hitler has just come to power & a man named Hans Bellmer begins his surreal experiment with dolls. He never stopped.

Contains adult content. The first doll Hans Bellmer produced is long since lost. It’s assemblage can nevertheless be correctly described thanks to approximately two dozen photographs Bellmer took at the time of its construction, in Berlin in 1933. Standing about fifty-six inches tall, the doll consisted of a lovingly modeled torso... Read on > > >
Art & DesignObscurity

David Park.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Life class vibes through the ages.

So much to see here. This photo was taken sometime in the mid 1890s and shows the a teacher with his students at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. It’s a surreal, faintly unsettling image. The huddle of students on the floor, squashed, awkward and seemingly confused & unready; the teacher Borglum... Read on > > >
Art & DesignObscurity

Oh, Evelyn.

At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita... Read on > > >
Art & DesignHistory

More anomymous & inadvertent. Forgotten photography from nameless employees of Historic American Buildings Survey in 1930s San Francisco, California.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & DesignTravel

Antoon Molkenboer (1872-1960).

Antoon’s mother had fourteen children. Of the ten that didn’t die early, he would be the one that shone. Recently 2 or 3 of his childhood drawings appeared in the Netherlands. These clarify (if any clarification is needed) that from as young as 12 it must have been abundantly clear that... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Mathieu Lauweriks.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Antiquity manifest : Laurens Alma Tadema.

Laurens Alma Tadema (1836-1912) was the son of a public notary in the village of Dronrijp in Friesland. At sixteen he enrolled at the art academy in Antwerp. On a trip to Pompeii in 1863, Alma Tadema developed a love of Classical art and architecture which meshed seamlessly in both style... Read on > > >
Art & DesignTravel

Félix Bracquemond.

Félix Henri Bracquemond (1833-1914) was a French painter and etcher who played a key role in the revival of printmaking, encouraging artists such as Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro to use the technique. Unusually for a prominent artist of this period, he also designed pottery for a number of French... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Giovanni Battista Piranesi.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Ohara Koson.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & DesignNature

Jean François Janinet.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Johan Conrad Greive.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & DesignNature

Issac Israels.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Rik Wouters.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Karl Blossfeldt.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & DesignNature

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Theo van Hoytema.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Utagawa. The Plum Garden at Kameido Shrine.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & Design

Landscapes of lightness.

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione... Read on > > >
Art & DesignNature

Egypt & Nubia Volume 1.

From Drawings Made On The Spot By David Roberts and Lithographed by Louis Haghe. David Roberts (1796 – 1864) was a Scottish painter who started his career with a seven year apprenticeship as a house painter and decorator. The printmaker, painter & draughtsman, Louis Haghe was born in Belgium and trained there... Read on > > >
Art & DesignTravel

Introducing Mr. Josephus Augustus Knip. His life was a complicated saga pre-destined for total darkness. His one year in Italy however, was uniquely splendid in its lightness.

Artistic blood flows pure and fast in the Knip veins. Born into creativity in Tilburg, the Netherlands in 1877, Josephus Augustus Knip was the son of a decorative painter named Nicolaas Frederik. Knip’s father was his first teacher.  The family moved to the nearby city of s-Hertogenbosch when Josephus was 11.... Read on > > >
Art & DesignTravel

John Singer Sargeant totally owns the Swiss Alps at just 14 years old in “The Splendid Mountain Sketchbook.”

The “Splendid Mountain Sketchbook” is a collection of watercolours & sketches that John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) produced, in 1870 whilst on a summer excursion to Switzerland’s Bernese Alps in the Berner Oberland. The sketchbook contains 60 leaves, including 14 watercolors and 47 crayon or graphite studies of mountains, landscapes and people he encountered while traveling... Read on > > >
Art & DesignNatureTravelUncategorized

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