Heavy snow and visitors to the Shiba Jingu Palace - Ichiryusai Hiroshige

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Inspired by: Ichiryusai Hiroshige - Heavy snow and visitors to the Shiba Jingu Palace – 1858

Hiroshige was one of the last great ukiyo-e artists. He was a member of the Utagawa school, which was one of the four major schools and stood at the forefront of this 19th century movement. Since Japanese artists often took on the name of their school, for part of his life he was known as Utagawa Hiroshiga.

During Hiroshige’s time, the print industry was booming. Tourism was also on the rise, and these prints became the equivalent of travel postcards for the Japanese. This print was published 1858, the year of Hiroshige’s death. It is part of One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, an illustrated guidebook to the city now called Tokyo.

Ukyo-e first appeared in the West after Japan began trading with the Dutch in 1609. At that time the prints were only used to wrap parcels for shipping. They didn’t gain real attention until they appeared at the Paris world’s Fair of 1855. There, they caught the attention of the Impressionists, who went nuts over them. They were all over the walls in Monet’s home in Givernny. Van Gogh also covered his walls, and made several direct copies of Hiroshige's work.

Jacques-Louis David - The Intervention of the Sabine Women

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Inspired by Jacques-Louis David - The Intervention of the Sabine Women

In the 8th century BC, the Romans abducted the Sabine women to increase their child bearing population. They abducted 30 women, including the princess Hersilia, who became the wife of Romulus the Roman leader. Years later the Sabines returned to Rome to get revenge. In the ensuing battle Hersilia, the Sabine women and all their kids intervened to stop the bloodshed. Hersilia is standing between her father Tatius, King of the Sabines and her husband Romulus first king of Rome. In the end the two tribes sued for peace and formed a joint government.

The children in the foreground seem to be oblivious to the battle going on around them. Two of the children are having a wrestling match. The one attacks his brother like they were in a schoolyard brawl. In the middle of all this mayhem, the baby between Romulus’ feet casually sucks his thumb.

Go here for original photo: bit.ly/3vyNqAN

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema A Reading from Homer

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Inspired by - Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema - A Reading from Homer

Lawrence Alma-Tadema was one of the principal classical-subject painters of the nineteenth century. He became famous for his depictions of the luxury and decadence of the Greek and Roman Empire, with languorous figures set in fabulous marbled interiors. He was born in the Netherlands as Laurens Tadema, but he emigrated to England in 1870. When he tried to make his niche in the art world, he changed the spelling of his first name to the more English “Lawrence”. He included his middle name “Alma” as part of his surname, so he would be listed amongst the “A’s” in exhibi-tion catalogues.

His meticulous archaeological research into Roman architecture, led to his paintings being used as source material by Hollywood directors in such films as: “Ben Hur”, “Cleopatra” and “Gladiator”. For “The Ten Commandments” Cecil B. DeMille would customarily spread out prints of Alma-Tadema paintings to indicate to his set designers the look he wanted to achieve.

He became one of the wealthiest painters of the 19th century. He was even knighted in 1899. But like so many great painters his work was mostly ignored after his death. His painterly prowess was not reestablished until fifty years later. One of his most celebrated paintings “the Finding of Moses” was sold in 1960 for $400, the same painting sold for $36,000,000 at Sotheby’s in 2010. If you bought $400 of Apple stock in 1980 it would only be worth $280,000 today.

To see original: https://bit.ly/43oEUiH

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema - A Reading from Homer

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Inspired by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema - A Reading from Homer

Lawrence Alma-Tadema was one of the principal classical-subject painters of the nineteenth century. He became famous for his depictions of the luxury and decadence of the Greek and Roman Empire, with languorous figures set in fabulous marbled interiors. He was born in the Netherlands as Laurens Tadema, but he emigrated to England in 1870. When he tried to make his niche in the art world, he changed the spelling of his first name to the more English “Lawrence”. He included his middle name “Alma” as part of his surname, so he would be listed amongst the “A’s” in exhibition catalogues.
His meticulous archaeological research into Roman architecture, led to his paintings being used as source material by Hollywood directors in such films as: “Ben Hur”, “Cleopatra” and “Gladiator”. For “The Ten Commandments” Cecil B. DeMille would customarily spread out prints of Alma-Tadema paintings to indicate to his set designers the look he wanted to achieve.
He became one of the wealthiest painters of the 19th century. He was even knighted in 1899. But like so many great painters his work was mostly ignored after his death. His painterly prowess was not reestablished until fifty years later. One of his most celebrated paintings “the Finding of Moses” was sold in 1960 for $400, the same painting sold for $36,000,000 at Sotheby’s in 2010. If you bought $400 of Apple stock in 1980 it would only be worth $280,000 today.

To see the original: https://bit.ly/42t2Ylf

Thomas Eakins - Between Rounds

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Inspired by: Thomas Eakins Between Rounds - 1898-99

Most of Eakins's sporting paintings: rowing, baseball and swimming are from the 1870’s and 80’s. But, he painted three boxing scenes in the late 90’s. These he began after attending professional matches at the Philadelphia Arena, then located diagonally across the street from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He asked several of the participants to pose for him, along with his friends and family who portrayed officials and spectators. Here we find boxer “Turkey Point” Billy Smith in his corner. Billy lost more fights than he won, and in the depicted bout he was knocked out in the third round.

Eakins sports paintings frequently expressed the muscular system of the nude male. He stands as the first American artist to base his art on the close and exacting analysis of the body. He felt it so important that he even studied anatomy at Jefferson Medical College. He began teaching at PAFA (his almamater) in 1876, While there, discontent arose concerning his teaching methods, His insistence on the study of the nude in mixed-sex classes and his frequent use of pupils as models did not please Victorian Philadelphia. While lecturing about the pelvis to a class that included female students, Eakins removed a loincloth from a male model so that he could trace the course of a muscle. Angry protests by parents and students forced him to resign at the request of the Academy board. To see original: https://bit.ly/3z6ufh4

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - At the Moulin Rouge: The Dance

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Inspired by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - At the Moulin Rouge: The Dance

A penciled inscription, in the artist's hand, on the back of this famous painting reads: "The instruction of the new ones by Valentine the Boneless." A nickname given a nimble dancer who instructed the Moulin Rouge rookies in the can-can. Many of the inhabitants of the scene are well-known members of Lautrec's demimonde of prostitutes and artists. At the far right the Irish poet William Butler Yeats leans on the bar. The owner of the Moulin Rouge liked the painting so much he hung it over the bar.

Lautrec was born with serious congenital health condition which could be attributed to aristocratic inbreeding. Even his parents, the Comte and Comtesse, were first cousins. At the age of thirteen, Henri fractured both his femurs. Neither of the breaks healed properly, because of a brittle bone genetic disorder called pycnodysostosis (try and pronounce that!) which is frequently called Toulouse-Lautrec syndrome today. The injuries permanently halted the growth of his legs causing him to develop a full adult torso, while his legs remained child sized.

Lautrec popularized the cocktail. He was known for getting drunk off “earthquake cocktails”, which were a strong mixture of absinthe and cognac. He even hollowed out his cane, so that he could fill it with liquor. One of his drinking buddies was van Gogh, who he painted sipping a glass of absinthe. One evening they were so drunk that Lautrec offered to duel on Van Gogh's behalf, following a dispute with an equally drunken Belgian who had disrespected his Netherlandish friend. The vagaries of this lifestyle caught up with him, and he succumbed to the effects of alcoholism at the age of 36. https://bit.ly/3rgIT1c

Jean-François Millet - The Gleaners

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Inspired by - Jean-François Millet - The Gleaners

Jean-François Millet
The Gleaners - 1857 - Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Santa Classics - 2015
Millet once said, ’’The human side of art is what touches me most." In The Gleaners, he depicts poor women collecting grain from the fields after the harvest. Millet first hung The Gleaners at the Salon in 1857. It immediately drew negative criticism from the upper classes. Having recently gone through the revolution of 1848, it was viewed with trepidation. Critics said this Image glorified the working class. To them it was a reminder that French society was built on the shoulders of the working masses. They associated the representation with the growing movement of socialism. Also, this large size was usually reserved for religious or mythological subjects. But here was used to represent the plight of the poor. Because of this criticism, after the exhibition the painting was sold for 3,000 francs well below Millet’s asking price of 4,000 francs. Twenty years later, when Millet’s popularity was on the rise, it was sold for 300,000 francs.
Gleaning was the collecting of edible leftover’s, after the crop had been harvested. In France, this had been permitted by law since 1554 and remains on the books today. The reasoning for this stems from the Old Testament. “When you’re harvesting your field, if you forget a sheaf, don’t go back into the field to get it. Let the foreigners, orphans and widows take it. If you do this, the Eternal your God will bless everything you do.” Maybe this was not generosity, but the farmer’s hope for continued good harvests. To see original: https://bit.ly/3uYf19u