Russell's Corners

From George Ault (1891-1958).  Russell's Corners is in Woodstock NY but it reminds me of scenes I've encountered in the Midwest.  The artist, born into a wealthy family,. lived a very troubled life.

 

Moonlight At Wharfedale

Another painting by an artist I discovered only a couple of years ago, John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-93).  Wharfedale is one of the Yorkshire Dales and is north of Leeds.  A master at capturing light in the evening.

 

Monument

 From 1935 by artist Kwase Hasui.  Via Alexander's Cartographer. 

 

Kwase Hasui (1883-1957) was considered Japan's leading printmaker and became very popular in the United States during the 1930s.  Some other examples of his work, from Wikipedia.

 

Sun On A House

Sun On A House, Dieppe (1937) by Scottish painter James Proudfoot (1908-71) I really find his use of light here captivating.  However, unlike a couple of other artists I've come across recently, John Atkinson Grimshaw and Joseph Wright, I've not found any of Proudfoot's other work appealing.

 

Rainbow Effect

Landscape with a Rainbow Effect is one of the last paintings of Joseph Wright (1734-1797).  I enjoy the use of light and contrast.  Wright lived in Derby and among his patrons were some of the early manufacturers of the Industrial Revolution, which he also depicted in his art.

 

The View

 I like Edward Hopper paintings.  This one, from 1930, is called Cobbs Barn and Distant Houses.

  This, from a decade later, is simply called Gas.

November

Yes, that's about right when it comes to my New England days.

John Atkinson Grimshaw: 'November,' 1879. #Leeds pic.twitter.com/O3En7nYTNU

— Darrell Epp (@DarrellEpp) November 1, 2024

This is last night in Phoenix metro.

Empire Of Light

The image is unsettling, contrasting a sunlight bright sky with the darkness below, in turn illuminated by the light standing next next to the house with its upper windows lit.  By Rene Magritte (1954).  We appear to be observing from a lawn with a tree between us and the house.

The View

Casper van Wittel, born and trained as a painter in the Netherlands in 1652, emigrated to Italy in the late 1670s where he remained until his death in 1736.  Known for his landscapes, van Wittel was a popular artist of the times and his paintings provide a record of how Rome looked before its transformation, beginning in the late 19th century into the metropolis it is today. I've written before about van Wittel. Of note, it was only around 1900 that Rome regained the same population it had in the second century AD.  For more on what happened between those times read Belisarius Enters Rome.

This painting depicts the Colosseum, built in the 70s AD and the area around it.  It is a bucolic scene.  In other paintings of the amphitheater, van Wittel depicts sheep grazing next to the remains of the monumental structure.  On the right is the Arch of Constantine, constructed 315-20.  In front of it is the mysterious, and stubby, Meta Sudans which existed until it was destroyed during Mussolini's dictatorship in the 1930s.  In the far distance behind the arch to the extreme right is the aqueduct that brought water to the Palatine Hill where the emperor's palace was located.  The severing of the aqueduct in the 6th century meant the abandonment of the Palatine.

The perspective of the painting is from the lower part of the Esquiline, one of the seven hills of Rome.  To the left of the artist would be the ruins of Trajan's Baths.  In the Meta Sudans post there is an 1890 photo showing some of this area.  Looking to the right of the Arch and aqueduct, this 1850 photo, taken from the Colosseum provides a view of the Palatine which would have been very similar to what van Wittel would have seen a 150 years previously.

The Spring House

By NC Wyeth, a year before he passed in 1945.  This work draws me in.  It is mesmerizing and subtlety moving the longer I look.

The Hay Wain

  Painted by John Constable (1776-1837) in 1821.  The large canvas (4 x 6 feet) portrays a hay wagon crossing the River Stour on the border of Essex and Suffolk.  The building on the left is Willy Lott's Cottage, the subject of another Constable painting.  William Lott (1761-1849) was a tenant farmer who lived in the cottage his entire life, spending only four nights away.  The cottage still stands.

Constable's skill and the pastoral setting have consistently made it voted one of the most popular paintings displayed in England.  It's been in the National Gallery since 1886.  In July 2022, two barbarians from Just Stop Oil glued themselves to the painting causing minor damage to the surface varnish and frame.

Geese In The Creek

 Claude Monet from 1874.  Think I'll just imagine myself here.

Tofanelli

Via Olga Tuleninova, I came across Italian painter Alessandro Tofanelli, and was very intrigued by his imagery.  A few samples below.

  And here.

Meadow

After one of her paintings won acclaim at the 1884 Paris Salon, demand grew for Anna Billing's work.  I enjoy the perspective and feel of this.

Anna Billing (1849-1927): 'Meadow,' 1885. #Sweden pic.twitter.com/MkwFg7JcV7

— Darrell Epp (@DarrellEpp) July 3, 2023

Hopper Along

Someone made this lovely video of Edward Hopper's paintings from 1935 to 1941.  All are set in New York or the surrounding area (some look very much like the Connecticut shoreline).

 

A friend sent this to me, knowing I like the paintings of Edward Hopper. I don't know who made this video, but I enjoyed it: the ambient music was perfect. pic.twitter.com/CXb6a93SYl

— Laocoon of Troy (@LaocoonofTroy) February 10, 2023

Tuleninova

I have no idea who Olga Tuleninova is, or whether she or he exists, but enjoy the twitter account which features 19th and 20th century art, often by artists of whom I know little and lesser known paintings by more famous artists.  Some recent ones:

James Proudfoot,
( Scottish, 1908–1971)
"Sun on a House, Dieppe,"
1937
Oil on canvas
64.1 x 76.8 cm
Estate of James Proudfoot
Perth Art Gallery, Scotland pic.twitter.com/W9yBQOV1bv

— Olga Tuleninova 🦋 (@olgatuleninova) February 23, 2023

Igor Dubovoy (Russian, b. 1972) - On the Hill, oil on canvas, n/d pic.twitter.com/8Q5TufWJap

— Olga Tuleninova 🦋 (@olgatuleninova) February 23, 2023

Camille Pissarro pic.twitter.com/UIIdVI41yS

— Olga Tuleninova 🦋 (@olgatuleninova) February 23, 2023

Marsden Hartley (American, 1877-1943).
“Fishermen's Last Supper, Nova Scotia”, 1940-41, Oil on canvas, Neuberger Museum of Art, New York. pic.twitter.com/piGNYrnv06

— Olga Tuleninova 🦋 (@olgatuleninova) February 23, 2023

Moonlight On The Lake

I first encountered the work of English artist John Atkinson Grimshaw via the twitter account of Darrell Epp, which is full of fascinating and interesting cultural tidbits.  I so enjoy his use of light.

Sunset At Aqua Claudia

 

By Hermann Corrodi, an Italian painter; done sometime in the 1870s.  The remnants of a vanished world.  

The Aqua Claudia was one of the largest capacity aqueducts supplying water to Rome.  Started under Emperor Caligula (37-41 AD) and completed in the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD), it eventually extended to most of the districts of Rome, including the Imperial Palace on the Palatine Hill.  Most of its 43 mile length was underground until it emerged on the plains outside Rome from where it was carried on arches the last few miles into the city.   The cutting of Aqua Claudia and the other aqueducts during the 6th century siege of Rome by the Goths accelerated the decline of the classical city, prompting the abandonment of the Palatine Hill, and migration of the city's remaining population to other locations in Italy or closer to the Tiber River.

From Wikipedia, this is a current view of the largest remaining section of the aqueduct.

 

California Scene Painting

California Scene Painting is defined in Wikipedia as "a form of American regionalist art depicting landscapes, places, and people of California. It flourished from the 1920s to the 1960s."

One of its leading practitioners was Emil Kosa Jr, whose paintings are featured in this post.  Born in 1903 in Paris, his family moved to the U.S. and then to Czechoslovakia in 1912.  Returning to the U.S. in 1921, Kosa moved to California where, in 1933, he joined the newly formed special effects department at 20th Century Fox where he was soon named art director, a position he held until his death in 1968.

In 1964, Kosa won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on Cleopatra and is credited with designing the famous logo of 20th Century Fox.

A Moonlit Lane

  By John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-93).  Until recent years, the English artist had languished in obscurity as his reputation declined after the Victorian era.  Today he is regarded as one of the finest nightscape and townscape painters.

Saturday night, on the Clyde in Glasgow