What a trip to revisit all these artists I/You have loved through the
years, from our childhood and adolescense -and as adults (ooohh-No!),
and the new artists we have been discovering . Our compilation is not
complete by any means, there are so many we love. This could have gone
on for weeks, so keep checking back for new additions.
I
have added a few Victorian artists and masters and our favorite Surrealist.
who have gifted us with their paintings of sensual mythology and abstract
surreal lunacy, I consider them visionary artists, I always have. I
do hope you will agree.
Like
music, all art to us is eternal, and carry's that eternal vibration-what
was beautiful 2000 years ago is still beautiful now.
The World of Michael Parkes, 2007
Calendar (Calendar)
by Michael Parkes (Author)
The World of Michael Parkes Boxed Notecards (Cards)
by Michael Parkes
The World of Michael Parkes (Hardcover)
by Maria Sedoff (Author), John Russell Taylor (Introduction)
This book is a great collection of some of his best works.
The best thing about this book is that it is up-to-date with the latest
paintings as of 1998!
Each painting comes with some words to help get a better understanding
of it.
It's not a wordy book, which puts the focus on the paintings where it
belongs.
If you have liked Parkes' artwork and you are trying to find an up-to-date
collection of his paintings,
then this is the right book for you and it is well preserved in hard
cover! -Cali-
Sacred
Mirrors: The Visionary Art of Alex Grey
by Alex Grey, Ken Wilber, Carlo McCormick
"The majority of Grey's recent work depict spiritual/energetic
systems--the sacred and esoteric symbolism of the body and the forces
that define its living field of energy."
The
Mission of Art
by Ken Wilber (Foreword), Alex Grey
In this Technicolor manifesto calling for a renewed spiritual content
in modern art, Grey argues that contemporary artists have lost touch
with the search for transcendence that infused the work of such masters
as Michelangelo, van Gogh, Pollock and Kahlo. In a freewheeling narrative,
Grey compares what he sees as the materialism and moral irresponsibility
of most contemporaryart to his own creative endeavors, which draw
on meditation, visualization, shamanic drumming, Taoism, yoga and
Tibetan Buddhism. The book is bursting with his own mystical paintings
and drawings, depicting floating cosmic eyes, the soul leaving the
body of a dying person, haloed skulls, metaphysical thought-diagrams,
human torsos lit from within by chakras or psychic energy centers.
If this sounds reminiscent of the psychedelic 1960s, that may be because,
as Grey freely admits, "sacramental" hallucinogens like
LSD and mescaline have been a source of inspiration for him since
the mid-1970s. He's found equal inspiration, however, in the works
of Blake, Kandinsky and the drawings he made of Michelangelo's sculptures
and paintings during a 1994 trip to Italy. Grey acknowledges a big
debt to transpersonal psychology, the study of manifold dimensions
of human consciousness, a science whose leading philosopher, Wilber,
contributes the hyperbolic foreword ("Alex Grey might be the
most significant artist alive"). As a hodgepodge of art-historical
analysis, social commentary and spiritual philosophizing, the book
is so idiosyncratic, and sometimes so preachy, that many readers will
find it difficult to penetrate. But Grey's insistence that art should
be a revelatory and healing force in our culture should resonate with
artists in virtually any discipline.
Transfigurations
by Alex Grey
This lovely volume presents a rich tour of Grey's work. Unlike Sacred
Mirrors, it gives several pages to involved discussion of Grey's mixed
media and sculpture work. Unlike Sacred Mirrors (which I still treasure!),
this one provides some very nice details of these non-paintings.
Nonetheless, Mr. Grey's paintings are well represented in this volume
- as intense and spiritually challenging as ever.
Visions
by Alex Grey
This volume is adirect invitation to recognize and realize a deeper
dimension of our very own being.
"(his paintings) vibrate, radiate, and touch a core of understanding
about humanity that resonates deeply."
Artmind
- The Healing Power of Sacred Art with Alex Grey DVD
During the course of this exquisite mind expanding DVD, renowned teacher
and visionary artist Alex Grey discusses his artistic vision, life
experiences, metaphysical journeys, sacred teachings, and painters
that have influenced his work . While exploring the sacred art of
spiritual traditions from around the world, he offers insight into
the power of sacred art to assist us in revitalizing our health and
sense of well-being so that we may open the doors of our perception
into the luminous nature of reality, and discover our divine potential.
Included are scores of his paintings and sculptures going back over
twenty years of creation.
Is it possible that art has the power to heal? Could it be that the
sacred paintings, sculptures and monuments from ancient civilizations
around the work were created to evoke more than just beauty alone?
Do they also have the power to heal and enlighten us, expand our visionary
capacity and bring us face to face with divine reality? Join Alex
Grey as he takes us on an amazing transformative journey into his
unique artistic and spiritual vision.
This DVD also includes the Alex Grey Gallery Special Feature!
Night Flight
In pursuit of the Unknowable, the swan princess is encouraged by the
swans to fly. Until ultimately, like Casteneda's leaping from the
cliff, she will learn to shift from matter to spirit and back again
as we all must do eventually.
The
World of Michael Parkes
by John Russell Taylor (Introduction), Maria Sedoff
This is a magnificent book. The large illustrations and text that
accompany them are beautiful to look at and insightful. We all interpret
his work in our own way, it's nice to see how the artist himself interprets
his work. I have several of his books and like them all, but this
is my favorite.
The
World of Michael Parkes Boxed Notecards
by Michael Parkes
Michael Parkes is an American born painter and sculptor with an international
following. His style involves meticulous and imaginative renderings
of his rich inner life. His paintings are realistic in their presentation,
but his themes are often magical and otherwordly. The term Magical
Realism is often used to describe his work. Michael lives and works
in Spain.
Michael
Parkes: Stone Lithographs-Bronze Sculptures 1982-1996
by John Russell Taylor (Introduction)
Beautiful, imaginative, surreal? Michael Parkes has a lot of influence
from master artists such as Klimt, but has created a world which is
uniquely his own. Lovely winged maidens (often with mechanical wings)
pose with elegant grace along with animals and mythological creatures.
Men wear elegant masks, looking like sensual harlequins. What makes
Parkes so fascinating is his ability to draw off many sources of classical
myth and complie them into one image, it is not unusual in his world
to see a Grecian style angel being visited by an egypian style feline,
and yet it all works very harmoniously together. This book is wonderful
eyecandy for all those drawn to imaginative, sensual mythology.
Parkes:
Drawings and stone lithographs
by Michael Parkes
This book has an intriguing interview between Parkes and Suzanne Graham.
This wonderful interview, and Parkes' own description of his part
of the Stone Lithograph process, provide a wonderful insight into
the hows and whys of Parkes works. There are, of course, more of his
amazing Stone Lithos. Anyone interested in Parkes as an artist in
addition to the artwork itself must have this book.
Michael
Parkes
by Frans Duister (Introduction)
Paperback approx. 9"x12" high, glossy pictorial cover. Paintings
and lithographs by American artist Michael Parkes. Text is in English
and Dutch.
The
Art of Frank Howell
by Michael French
Frank Howell's paintings dazzle the viewer with their luminous colors
and haunting images. A unique chronicler of the native
people and natural beauty of the Southwest, Howell pulls us into a
spiritually charged world resonant with multiple meanings. Whether
he's painting a pair of hands, a bird in flight or the face of an
old woman, Howell can look upon the familiar and see something no
one else sees. His sense of wonder and his passion make
his often solitary figures enormously expressive; they inhabit a physically
spare but spiritually rich universe that Howell reveals through his
extraordinary artistry.
This stunning overview of Frank Howell's work includes full-color
reproductions of almost eighty paintings, many exclusive to this collection,
as well as black-and-white photographs of the artist at work. Michael
French's account of Howell's personal and professional development,
based on extensive interviews, offers intriguing insights into the
man behind the work. In addition, Frank Howell shares his
thoughts on many of his paintings, affording a unique glimpse into
a special universe, which this contemporary shaman evokes with power,
passion and profound beauty.
SHAMAN'S
CIRCLE
by Nancy Wood
Shaman's Circle by Nancy Wood, illus. by Frank Howell, takes its inspiration
from the lives and cosmology of the Pueblo Indians to meditate upon
our connections to nature. A typically wordy and didactic stanza reads,
"Daylight is nighttime's other face, the one that preceded/ creation
and formed a universal vision long before/ human eyes recognized the
lessons of leaves and lions." Mystical paintings-e.g., of heads
floating in cosmic space-complete the Spiritual appeal.
Spirit
Walker
by Nancy Wood
The courage, determination, and powerful spiritual faith of native
Americans are celebrated in this remarkable collection. Nancy Wood's
eloquent poems reveal the unique wisdom and vision of a people who
have been her friends and teachers for more than thirty years.frank
Howell's magnificent paintings evoke the beauty and vitality of their
ancient culture. Poetry and paintings together creata a haunting portrait
of a proud and enduring people whose great love and respect for the
earth are valuable examples for us all.
DANCING
MOONS
by Nancy Wood
Her deep wisdom and clarity are more likely to be more fully appreciated
by adults. This is a wonderful gift book for transitions times: graduations,
marriage, death of a loved one, etc. Her poems are liking looking
deep into a Medicine Lake where one sees the very fabric of life and
all the its intricate connections. Frank Howell's paintings will fill
you with awe and haunt your dreams.
Maxfield
Parrish
by Coy Ludwig
This book is very lavishly illustrated, as any book about an illustrator
should be. As usual with books about visual artists, however, it blasts
right through the process of rejection, exploitation and acceptance
by which visual artists go from obscurity to prosperity. Also, it
would have been interesting to contrast Parrish with his younger and
much-better known imitator, Norman Rockwell.
Maxfield
Parrish: The Masterworks
by Alma Gilbert
Now in its third edition, THE MASTERWORKS stands as the authoritative
collection of Parrish’s best works. Compiled by long-time Parrish
expert and curator Alma Gilbert, THE MASTERWORKS brings together the
most popular, most important, and most fanciful of Parrish’s
paintings. Here you’ll find the glorious Dinkey Bird, the extensive
Florentine Fete murals, the amazing Interlude, and the sublime Daybreak,
which sold for a record $4.25 million at a Sotheby’s auction
in 1996. Also included are some of Parrish’s lesser-known works,
through which we see the development of the artist’s style and
technique. Through historical analysis, contemporary news clippings,
and letters from the artist himself, we get to know the genius behind
the artwork. Updated with all the current Parrish scholarship, this
new edition of THE MASTERWORKS continues the grand tradition of celebrating
Parrish’s work and bringing his oeuvre to the public.
Maxfield
Parrish: A Retrospective
by Laurence S. Cutler, Judy Goffman Cutler, Maxfield Parrish
It was estimated in the 1920s that one out of four homes in America
had one of Parrish's make-believe illustrations on the wall, and he
remains one of our best-loved illustrators. This unique work, a celebration
of "Parrish Blue" water and skies, hued hills, and young
women draped in classical garments, is the result of a 1995 traveling
exhibit, "Maxfield Parrish: A Retrospective." The Cutlers,
he an architect and she a gallery owner, were instrumental in working
with the Parrish Family Trust to put together that international exhibit
to commemorate the artist's 125th birthday. The Cutlers were able
to locate numerous items in private collections for the exhibit. Many
of the 130 color plates are of these works, never reproduced before,
while better-known pieces are lavishly reproduced from the original
paintings rather than prints. The Parrish family offered rare photos
for the biographical text, which is supplemented with a reminiscence
by granddaughter Joanna Maxfield Parrish. Highly recommended for all
collections.
The
Art of Maxfield Parrish (CD-ROM)
by John Goodspeed Stuart
This catalogue raisonne' references virtually every known Parrish
image. Over 900 illustrations; more than 600 in color. Over 1000 entries
indexed both alphabetically and numerically.
Cross-referenced by various common titles of Parrish images. Reference
to various print sizes and year of publication. Includes a Bibliography.
Works on PC and MAC.
The perfect companion for the collector and student of the Art of
Maxfield Parrish.
Maxfield
Parrish: 1870-1966
by Sylvia Yount
Parrish is finally receiving his due with this truly intelligent,
fascinating book. It is the catalog to a traveling exhibition organized
by the author, Sylvia Yount, the curator of collections at the Museum
of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia--Parrish's
alma mater and hometown, respectively. With Mark F. Bockrather, a
conservator who elucidates Parrish's formidable craftsmanship, Yount
has done a fine job of resurrecting Parrish yet again. She offers
a sensitive analysis of the place his pastoral, idyllic, storybook
innocence played in a world that Freud, the Great War, the Depression,
and yet another world war inexorably tore to shreds.
Maxfield
Parrish and the Illustrators of the Golden Age
by Margaret E. Wagner, Maxfield Parrish
Part lively Parrish biography and part lucid historical analysis of
a unique epoch in American art, Maxfield Parrish and the Illustrators
of the Golden Age draws upon the archives of the American Illustrators
Gallery (New York City) and other resources to present works by Parrish,
Pyle, Wyeth, Smith, Green, Schoonover, and their contemporaries Alice
Barber Stephens, Anna Wheelen Betts, Ethel Franklin Betts, and Mead
Shaeffer. Parrish's paintings are reproduced by authorization of the
Maxfield Parrish Family Trust. Text by Margaret Wagner.
128 pages, 70 full color reproductions; 12 black-and-white illustrations,
casebound, with dust jacket.
Salvador
Dali: The Catalogue Raisonne of Etchings and Mixed-Media Prints, 1924-1980
by Salvador Dali, Lutz W. Loepsinger, Ralf Michler (Editor)
The format of the book is an introductory discussion of Dali's print-making
history and the evolution of his signature and choice of paper. (Interestingly,
there is an illuminating discussion of a couple of his most important
print editions, especially the 'Chants de Maldoror' that any serious
collector must become familiar with). Then there is more than 100
pps of color plates that highlight a lot of his prints.
This is an excellent resource and also a beautiful, well-made art
book even with the tiny demerit for less than perfect reproduction
values, and a worthwhile purchase for people who collect prints, enjoy
prints, and enjoy Dali's work in that order.
The
Secret Life of Salvador Dali
by Salvador Dali
This early autobiography, which takes Dalí through his late
thirties, is as startling and unpredictable as his art. On its first
publication, the reviewer of Books observed: "It is impossible
not to admire this painter as writer . . . (Dalí) succeeds
in doing exactly what he sets out to do . . . communicates the snobbishness,
self-adoration, comedy, seriousness, fanaticism, in short the concept
of life and the total picture of himself he sets out to portray."
Superbly illustrated with over 80 photographs of Dalí and his
works, and scores of Dalí drawings and sketches.
Dali:
The Salvador Dali Museum Collection
by Robert S. Lubar
The painting collection of the Salvador Dal! Museum in St. Petersburg,
FL, is reproduced here and accompanied by a text from New York University
fine arts professor Lubar. The essay breaks little new ground but
does a good job of compiling and summarizing information from earlier
publications, most notably Ian Gibson's The Shameful Life of Salvador
Dal! (LJ 1/99), Dal!'s The Secret Life of Salvador Dal! (1942), and
The Collected Writings of Salvador Dal! (Cambridge Univ., 1999). The
book is most notable for the 94 full-color illustrations encompassing
new acquisitions and other notable holdings. Included are several
of Dal!'s best-known works and a large number of early canvasses from
the 1920s. Given Dal!'s continuing popularity, this can be recommended
for public and academic libraries.
Salvador
Dali's Dream of Venus: The Surrealist Funhouse from the 1939 World's
Fair
by Ingrid Schaffner, Eric Schaal (Photographer)
Life Magazine wrote that one funhouse at the 1939 World's Fair stood
out among the others:
"Dalí's Dream of Venus, the creation of famed Surrealist
painter Salvador Dalí, is the most recent addition to the still-growing
list of amusement-area girl shows and easily the most amazing. Weird
building contains a dry tank and a wet tank. In the wet tank girls
swim under water, milk a bandaged-up cow, tap typewriter keys which
float like seaweed. Keyboard of piano is painted on the recumbent
female figure made of rubber. In dry tank...a sleeping Venus reclines
in 36-foot bed, covered with white and red satin, flowers, and leaves.
Scattered about the bed are lobsters frying on beds of hot coals and
bottles of champagne....All this is most amusing and interesting."
The building's modern, expressionistic exterior, with an entrance
framed by a woman's legs, and shocking interior, including the bare-breasted
"living liquid ladies" who occupied the tanks, caused quite
a stir. The funhouse was so successful that it reopened for a second
season, but once torn down it faded from memory and its outlandishness
became the stuff of urban myth. Now, more than 60 years later, a collection
of photographs of the Dream of Venus by Eric Schaal has been discovered.
In stunning black-and-white and early Kodachrome, they show both the
construction and the completion of the funhouse-from Dalí painting
a melting clock to showgirls parading for their audience. Salvador
Dalí's Dream of Venus reveals not only an eccentric work of
architecture, but also a one-of-a-kind creation by one of the most
fertile imaginations of the 20th century.
Dali
(Mallard Fine Art Series)
by Paul Moorhouse, Salvador Dali
You will not be disappointed with this book and I think you'll agree
that the quality is excellent, with a solid binding and beautiful
reproductions of all of his paintings in chronological order. There
are also a great deal of photographs (and paintings) that I've never
seen before, and I thought I was a huge fan of Salvador Dali.
William
Blake
(1757-1827)
"I
must create my own system or be enslaved by another man's. I will
not reason and compare. My business is to create..." The
World of William Blake
The
Complete Poetry & Prose of William Blake
by William Blake, David V. Erdman (Commentary), Harold Bloom (Editor),
William Golding
Since its first publication in 1965, this edition has been widely
hailed as the best available text of Blake's poetry and prose. Now
revised, if includes up-to-date work on variants, chronology of poems
and critical commentary by Harold Bloom.
William
Blake: The Complete Illuminated Books
by David Bindman (Introduction), William Blake
This book brings the words and images of Blake to brilliant life.
The volume is gorgeous, and the colors extremely rich. Having read
Blake's poetry in un-illuminated format before, I now am even more
appreciative of the value of seeing the work as Blake originally intended.
Blake is a marvelous poet and artist, and this collection of his illuminated
work is a marvelous book.
William
Blake
by Peter Ackroyd, Robin Hamlyn, Marilyn Butler, Michael Phillips
The works of Blake are represented here on wonderful gloss paper with
large images to fully appreciate the artistic genius of William Blake.
This book is also intersperesed with essays that explain his life,
his writing, and his art. through his various images you can see his
complex and troubled life come into view. A must have for anyone who
loves Blake and Extremely helpful for anyone who wants to know him
and his work.
Blake,
Jung, and the Collective Unconscious: The Conflict Between Reason
and Imagination
by June Singer, Esther Harding (Introduction)
In this thoughtful discussion of Blake's well-known Marriage of Heaven
and Hell, Singer shows us that Blake was actually tapping into the
collective unconscious and giving form and voice to primordial psychological
energies, or archetypes, that he experienced in his inner and outer
world. With clarity and wisdom, Singer examines the images and words
in each plate of Blake's work, applying in her analysis the concepts
that Jung brought forth in his psychological theories. Originally
published as The Unholy Bible. Index. Bibliography. 24 plates. Part
of the Jung on the Hudson Book Series.
Fearful
Symmetry
by Northrop Frye
Blake sets us in the middle of a rich mythological structure. This
is the best book for explaining what that structure is and how Blake
will come to an element and illuminate sometimes inconsistent characteristics
of that element if viewed in a limited selection. And yet when Blake's
work is examined as a whole an encompassing structure is revealed
where each part has been carefully delineated and accurately described
throughout. Since Blake's collected works are rather massive it is
very helpful to have an overview of Blake's view of man when examining
how any one particular image is dealt with in a poem. Else, one might
think that Blake's portrayals are incongruent from poem to poem, while
his vision
is actually quite cohesive.
A
Blake Dictionary: The Ideas and Symbols of William Blake
by S. Foster Damon, Morris Eaves
Prophet? Madman? Or philosopher? The mythological characters in William
Blake's prophetic poetry present a conundrum for the reader who confronts
these characters with the traditional literary expectations of a symbolic
reading. Indeed, the vanguard of contemporary criticism would argue
that the very complexity of Blake's mythology Damon's meticulously
cross-referenced dictionary is an essential reference work for anyone
who dares delve into Blake's complex mythology.
"Each
day I go to my studio full of joy; in the evening when obliged to
stop because of darkness I can scarcely wait for the morning to come...My
work is not only a pleasure, it has become a necessity. No matter
how many other things I have in my life, ifI cannot give myself to
my dear painting I am miserable."
Bouguereau
by Fronia E. Wissman
Fronia Wissman's Bouguereau offers astute and illuminating insights
into his art, career, and family life of the French artist Adolphe-William
Bouguereau (1825-1905) whose evocative visions of a better, purer
time and place earned him a passionate following during his lifetime
down through the present. 60 full color reproductions and 15 black
& white illustrations perfectly exemplify Bouguereau's prodigious
talent in creating works of sensual, emotional, and intellectual appeal.
By the time of his death in 1905, Bouguereau was scorned by progressive
painters and critics who saw in his works all that was wrong with
the official French world of art, but he was also a favorite of collectors,
who found in his paintings of bathers, nymphs, and shepherdesses a
realm of eternal beauty far from contemporary life. Bouguereau displayed
his talent for drawing at a very early age, became educated at the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, was a highly successful portraitist,
was exhibited at the Salon to an enthusiastic public, and had his
work recognized and awarded at various European expositions during
his life. Bouguereau is a beautiful tribute to an artist and would
grace any art school, community, or personal art library!
J.W.
Waterhouse
by Peter Trippi
John William Waterhouse is among the most popular Victorian artists,
and many of his paintings, such as The Lady of Shalott, Hylas and
the Nymphs and Ophelia, have become icons of femininity recognized
the world over. With their compelling composition, glowing colour
and Impressionist-inflected technique, these paintings are admired
for their beauty, yet at the same time they have the power to transport
the viewer into a romantic world of myth and legend.
Waterhouse’s depictions of female beauty reflect his age’s
complex and ambivalent attitudes towards women, in which Victorian
ideals of sentiment and duty commingled with less noble undercurrents
of erotic desire and misogyny. In this fresh and innovative study
of the artist, Peter Trippi presents a new analysis of Waterhouse’s
seductresses, martyrs and nymphs, together with a lively discussion
of the cultural and historical circumstances in which these images
were painted.
This authoritative volume utilizes new research to provide an accessible
biography of the artist and to assess his place in the late Victorian
art world. Themes explored include Waterhouse’s passion for Italy,
literature and the classical world, his participation in England’s
Royal Academy, his stylistic influences and studio practices, and
the collectors, dealers, critics and curators who helped make him
famous in his day.
Like other Victorian artists, Waterhouse was neglected through much
of the twentieth century, but as critical inhibitions have fallen
away the revival of his fortune has been dramatic. Today he is again
acknowledged as a master painter. Peter Trippi’s monograph provides
a timely re-evaluation that combines a close reading of Waterhouse’s
imagery with a candid appraisal of his unique talent.
J
W Waterhouse
by Anthony Hobson
Waterhouse is the greatest of the late 19th-century British painters.
His women are full of life. He was a master at capturing the slightest
expression to convey the personalities of his models. His compositions
are superb. Paintings such as the 1888 "The Lady of Shalott"
and the 1894 treatment of the same subject are as powerful as they
are beautiful.
Hobson makes his admiration of Waterhouse's paintings obvious. This
makes the book a very enjoyable read. It is a wonderful introduction
to Waterhouse's work. Hobson spends a lot of time discussing paintings--this
is something that is too often forgotten in art history texts. He
identifies aspects of Waterhouse's compositions that help make his
paintings outstanding. He describes the literary sources of Waterhouse's
subjects. He mentions the artists who influenced Waterhouse's style.
The essays are clear and well-organized. Anyone who is interested
in Waterhouse's work should read this book.
Myth
and Romance : Notecards
by J.W. Waterhouse
A selection of 16 beautiful greeting cards featuring some of the world’s
best-loved and most iconic Victorian paintings.
The labels on our 60s & Further Brand
Incense have JW Waterhouse images.
The
Art of Lord Leighton
by Christopher Newall
Lord Frederic Leighton stands at the top of the pinnacle of British
art of the late nineteenth century. Though his images of dramatic,
cloaked figures are easily recognizable, few art collectors or even
museum visitors recognize the name of Lord Leighton. Now, with the
resurgence of interest in this school of painting his name will certainly
become more of a household word.
This slim though fine monograph is strong on images and less successful
on information: Christopher Newell is a fine writer, he just wasn't
given enough space to tell us much about the artist. Divided into
sections - 'Outsider 1855 - 1864', 'Academician 1864 - 1878', and
'President of the Royal Academy 1878 - 1896' - Newell outlines the
rise of this figurative artist and gives some insights as to his subject
matter and influences.
But the beauty of this book is in the fine reproductions of his dramatic,
grand, elaborate renderings of both historic and literary subjects.
Frederic
Lord Leighton
by Richard Ormond
Lush, sensual figures clothed in draperies, mythical tales, exotic
locales, narrative paintings, and more are part of this catalog, published
for the centenary exhibition held at the Royal Academy in London earlier
this year. Much more than a catalog of works, however, this volume
is also a scholarly exposition of the role played in the Victorian
art world by this most intriguing and accomplished man. Skillful prose
explores the mind and the methods behind the works. The individual
entries are splendid examples of their kind, and the illustrations
superbly capture the depth of color and shadow. The subject matter
and style of this fascinating study may not fit current taste, but
the sensibility and depth, the color and form never fail to capture
the imagination of the viewer. Highly recommended.Paula Frosch, Metropolitan
Museum of Art Lib., New York
Lawrence
Alma-Tadema
by Rosemary J. Barrow
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, was one of the finest and most distinctive
of the Victorian painters. Dutch-born, he moved to London in 1870
and became famous for his depictions of the luxury and decadence of
the Roman Empire, set in fabulous marbled interiors or against a backdrop
of dazzling blue Mediterranean sea and sky. In this original study,
Rosemary Barrow presents an absorbing and often amusing portrait of
an exuberant personality who carved out a brilliant career for himself
at the heart of London's artistic and cultural elite. But above all
she subjects the paintings to a fresh scrutiny, and reveals that Alma-Tadema,
a knowledgeable student of antiquity, repeatedly used literary and
archaeological allusions in his paintings to play a game of interpretation
with his viewers. Time and again the seeming innocence of the scenes
he depicts is subverted by a mischievously placed inscription or statue,
suggesting to the initiated a darker and usually risque meaning. Neglected
after his death, Alma-Tadema's paintings are once again admired for
their beauty and their remarkable mastery of light, colour and texture.
With its intriguing insights into his personality and intentions,
this book should provide a challenging reassessment of a major artist.
Sir
Lawrence Alma Tadema
by Russell Ash
The Victorian painters are enjoying a posthumous comeback and one
of the more famous of these elegant painters was Sir Lawrence Alma
Tadema. Exceedingly popular in his time, the modern, reductionist
movements of the post-Freud 20th Century brushed his work under the
rug - except for those collectors and lovers of the human figure who
refused to allow the body to be cubed, flattened, distorted, and abstracted.
Now with the return of the appreciation of the human form Alma Tadema's
paintings are enjoying a resurgence of popularity. Russell Ash certainly
gives us reason to see why in this lavishly illustrated, beautiful
book filled to overflowing with complete paintings and fragments or
details of perfect ladies languishing in flora and classical vistas.
Paintings that once were labeled as 'corny' are now being appreciated
as suggestions of what made the Victorian Era unique.
Ash writes well and thoughtfully minimizes written word space for
the flow of the pictorial value of the book. This is simply a lovely
volume honoring a misunderstood and in the past under appreciated
artist.
Burne-Jones:
The Life and Works of Sir Edward Burne-Jones
by Christopher Wood
(No
review--but who needs one?)
Sir
Edward Burne Jones
by Russell Ash
Usually identified with the Pre-Raphaelites, Burne-Jones (1833-98)
was actually a latecomer to the Brotherhood. As Ash ( Sir Lawrence
Alma-Tadema , Abrams, 1990) maintains here, he was finally regarded
as the leader of the subsequent Aesthetic movement, a percursor of
Symbolism. Described as the "first monograph in 20 years"
on Burne-Jones, this work is art publishing at its most sumptuous.
In the 40 oversize plates (14" 11"), Burne-Jones's dark
woods and dreaming maidens appear at their most compelling. Each plate
includes the exact size of the original, narrative on the subject
matter, and current location. Highly recommended.
Edward
Burne-Jones, Victorian Artist-Dreamer
by Stephen Wildman
As a schoolboy in Birmingham, England, Burne-Jones was already signing
his name "Edouard de Bymyngham"--an early romantic impulse
borne out by the life and work of this second-generation Pre-Raphaelite
and leader of the aesthetic movement, whose massive output of watercolor
and oil paintings, intricate pencil drawings, tapestries, stained-glass
windows and other decorative objects are gathered this summer at a
Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit in New York City. In this richly
illustrated monograph, Wood, a Victorianist and London gallery owner,
provides a sometimes cursory but fervent portrait of the artist, whose
often murky technique and sentimental narrative proclivities (Arthurian
legend and fairy tales figure hugely) have had a checkered critical
history. Although he was the first artist to be given a memorial service
at Westminster Abbey, Burne-Jones's reputation eroded during the "darkest
days of modernism," writes Wood. But Wood's enthusiasm, bolstered
by the thoughtful testimony of Burne-Jones champion Henry James and
the liberally quoted words of the artist himself, who is revealed
as appealingly self-conscious and extremely adroit with language,
is infectious. Wood perhaps overidealizes the lifelong friendship
and collaboration with William Morris, begun at Oxford, but his retelling
is moving all the same when, upon Morris's death in 1896, Burne-Jones
writes that "the things that in thought are most of me, most
dear and necessary, are dear and necessary to no one except Morris
only." There are 80 full-color and 120 b&w images, though
the lack of comparative illustrations (especially by Burne-Jones's
mentor Dante Gabriel Rossetti) impedes Wood's art-historical analysis
considerably. (Aug.) FYI: Edward Burne-Jones: Victorian Artist-Dreamer,
the official exhibition catalogue, is published by the Metroplitan
Museum and distributed by Abrams. It offers more biographical detail,
more illustrations and accessible, often illuminating, catalogue entries,
with essays by Alan Crawford, Stephen Wildman and other critics and
curators.
Johfra
described his works as; "Surrealism based on studies of psychology,
religion, the Bible, astrology, antiquity, magic, witchcraft, mythology
and occultism".
Sorry no books YET
on the art of Johfra--strange-indeed-very strange!
Art
of theVisionary " Traditionally,
Visionary art tends towards the beautiful, spiritual and sublime
in its subject matter. Perhaps because the artists themselves
have practised meditation, pursued their visions, and created
art with the aim in mind of higher spiritual attainment.
Nevertheless, if Visionary art is
concerned with visions that spontaneously arise in an altered
state of consciousness, then erotic and even pornographic visions
must be included in the genre. Indeed, many artists who have used
sacred symbols in their works have also, at times, found themselves
on a track leading to images of the sexual."
-By
Laurence Caruana-
Also
Please Visit Laurence Caruana's Guest Art Gallery-HERE!
