Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Delphic Sibyl

(click to enlarge)
Edward Burne-Jones
(British, 1833-1898)
Sibylla Delphica (Delphic Sibyl), 1868
Oil on canvas

The Delphic Sibyl was a priestess of Apollo who presided over the Oracle at Delphi, where she wrote prophecies on bay leaves.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Pale Complexion of True Love

(click to enlarge)
Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale
(English, 1871-1945)
The Pale Complexion of True Love, 1899
Watercolor and bodycolor

The title is taken from Shakespeare's As You Like It, Act III, when Corin speaks of Silvius' unrequired love for Phebe as
a pageant truly play'd,
Between the pale complexion of true love
And the red glow of scorn and proud disdain
  (Info from Pre Raphaelite Art blog.)

Monday, June 28, 2010

The Cameo Brooch

(click to enlarge)
George Lawrence Bulleid
(French, 1858-1933)
The Cameo Brooch, ????
Watercolor

Sunday, June 27, 2010

The Attack

 (click to enlarge)
Arthur Wardle
(English, 1864-1949)
The Attack, ????
Oil on canvas

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Portrait of a Girl (Sophie Gray)

(click to enlarge) 
John Everett Millais
(English, 1829-1896)
Portrait of a Girl (Sophie Gray), 1857
Oil on paper

Friday, June 25, 2010

A Comforting Friend

 (click to enlarge)
Arthur Wardle
(English, 1864-1949)
A Comforting Friend, ????
Oil on canvas

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Love Triumphant

(click to enlarge)
George Frederick Watts
(English, 1817-1904)
Love Triumphant, 1885
Oil on canvas

Caption from The Victorian Web:
Time and Death having traveled together through the ages, have run their course and are at length overthrown. Love alone arises on immortal wings, triumphantly, with outspread arms to the eternal skies.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

A Fairy Tale

 (click to enlarge)
Arthur Wardle
(English, 1864-1949)
A Fairy Tale, 1895
Oil on canvas

This rather odd painting depicts a scene from The Bridal of Triermain by Sir Walter Scott:
All seem'd to sleep – the timid hare
On form, the stag upon his lair,
The eagle in her eyrie fair
               Between the earth and sky.
But what of pictured rich and rare
Could win De Vaux's eye-glance, where,
Deep slumbering in the fatal chair,
               He saw King Arthur's child!
Doubt, and anger, and dismay,
From her brow had pass'd away,
Forgot was that fell tourney-day,
               For, as she slept, she smiled:
It seem'd, that the repentant Seer
Her sleep of many a hundred year
               With gentle dreams beguiled.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Feeding the Rabbit

(click to enlarge)
Kate Perugini
(English, 1839-1929)
Portrait of Agnes Pheobe Burra (or Feeding the Rabbit), ????
Oil on canvas

Monday, June 21, 2010

The Flower Merchant

(click to enlarge)
Kate Perugini
(English, 1839-1929)
The Flower Merchant, ????
Oil on canvas

Kate Perugini was not only the wife of one of my favorite artists, she was also the daughter of Charles Dickens, and modeled for one of my favorite paintings! You can read more about this interesting lady here.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

The Meeting of Sir Thomas More With His Daughter After His Sentence to Death

(click to enlarge)
William Frederick Yeames
(English, 1835-1918)
The Meeting of Sir Thomas More With His Daughter After His Sentence to Death, 1863
Oil on canvas
After the reading of his sentence, the constable escorted More to an awaiting barge, which carried him the short ways down the Thames toward the Tower of London.  The party disembarked the barge at Old Swan Stairs.  An armed guard led More, dressed in a coarse woolen gown, up Old Swan Lane and down Thames Street.  As More and his guards approached the Tower, his daughter Margaret knelt to receive his blessing, then embraced and kissed him.  More then was escorted through the large crowd back to his cell, where he would spend the last six days of his life.
Account found here.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Picking Poppies, Sora

(click to enlarge)
Viggo Christian Frederick Pedersen
(Danish, 1854-1926)
Picking Poppies, Sora, 1884
Oil on canvas

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Reluctant Pianist

(click to enlarge)
William A. Breakspeare
(English, 1855-1914)
The Reluctant Pianist, ????
Oil on canvas

I don't know what's going on, but it's a gorgeous painting! Any ideas?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Haunted House

(click to enlarge)
John Atkinson Grimshaw
(English, 1836-1893)
The Haunted House, 1874
Oil on canvas

I love mysterious landscapes.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

If Music Be the Food of Love

(click to enlarge)
William A. Breakspeare
(English, 1855-1914)
If Music Be the Food of Love, ????
Oil on canvas

The title is taken from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night:
If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
 I wonder if the whole quote is supposed to apply to the painting. I'm still not sure of the expression on the girl's face, but she seems rather sad. And the man just looks evil. But it's a gorgeous and very interesting painting, so enlarge it and check it out!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Profile Portrait of Ellen Smith

(click to enlarge)
George Price Boyce
(English, 1826-1897)
Profile Portrait of Ellen Smith, ????
Oil on panel

 Ellen Smith was a popular model in the 1860s, sitting not only to Boyce but Rossetti and Burne-Jones amongst many others.

Monday, June 14, 2010

A Day's Outing

(click to enlarge)
Federico Andreotti
(Italian, 1847-1930)
A Day's Outing, ????
Oil on canvas

Happy French people, yay!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

An Angel Playing a Flageolot

(click to enlarge)
Edward Burne-Jones
(British, 1833-1898)
An Angel Playing a Flageolot, 1878
Tempera and gold paint on paper

You can zoom in on this painting and all its glory here.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

At the Window

(click to enlarge)
Winslow Homer
(American, 1836-1910)
At the Window, 1872
Oil on canvas

Friday, June 11, 2010

The New Novel

(click to enlarge)
Winslow Homer
(American, 1836-1910)
The New Novel, 1877
Watercolor on paper

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Oh Swallow, Swallow

(click to enlarge)
John Melhuish Strudwick
(English, 1849-1937)
Oh Swallow, Swallow, 1894
Oil on canvas

The National Museums Liverpool website has great information on this painting:
This painting was inspired by lines from Tennyson’s ‘The Princess’ about a swallow flying south with a message from the poet to his beloved. She sits in a richly painted, intricately decorated interior awaiting the message from the bird, which is seen through the open window.
 Can you see the bird in the window? I doubt it, because the picture is so blurry. But fear not! You can see the painting and zoom in on all it's awesome details here at the museum's site! Definitely check it out! Not only can you see the bird in the window, you can also see every petal on the roses, the words on the pages of the open book, the design on her dress, and the decorations on her harp! I hope to post more paintings like this soon!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Portrait of Andre Gid

(click to enlarge)
Jaques Emile Blanche
(French, 1861-1942)
Portrait of Andre Gide, 1908
Oil on canvas

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

In Poppyland

(click to enlarge)
John Ottis Adams
(American, 1851-1927)
In Poppyland, 1901
Oil on canvas

I love that this painting is titled "In Poppyland," instead of some generic "Field of Poppies on a Sunny Day" kind of title. :)

Monday, June 7, 2010

St. Francis in Prayer

(click to enlarge)
Caravaggio
(Italian, 1571-1610)
St. Francis in Prayer, 1606
Oil on canvas

Sunday, June 6, 2010

The Poppy field

(click to enlarge)
Ignac Ujvary
(Hungarian, 1880-1927)
The Poppy Field, ????
Oil on canvas

Saturday, June 5, 2010

The Madness of Sir Tristram

(click to enlarge)
Edward Burne-Jones
(British, 1833-1898)
The Madness of Sir Tristram, 1862
Watercolor and bodycolor

I've summed up the story of Tristan and Isolde in past posts, but I can't find any information on the part of the story this painting depicts! It's such an interesting painting and I'd love to know the story, so if anyone knows what's going on, let me know! Anyway, give this painting a good look. I love how graceful the poses are.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Love's Messenger

(click to enlarge)
Marie Spartali Stillman
(English, 1844-1927)
Love's Messenger, 1885
Oil on canvas

Look closely at this painting, it's simple but delightfully detailed!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

A Basket of Roses on a Ledge

(click to enlarge)
Johann Laurentz Jensen
(Danish, 1800-1856)
A Basket of Roses on a Ledge, ????
Oil on canvas

Such bright, warm colors! And speaking of bright warm colors, I updated my old posting of The Orange Gatherers with a better photo.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Rome - View from the Farnese Gardens, Morning

(click to enlarge)
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
(French, 1796-1875)
Rome - View from the Farnese Gardens, Morning, 1826
Oil on paper

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Sisters

(click to enlarge)
Leonard Campbell Taylor
(French, 1874-1969)
Sisters, 1908
Oil on canvas

Love the colors and the peacocks!