The Importance of Composition in Art

As you are probably aware, still life paintings have changed significantly throughout history; although much of their subject matter has remained the same, composition and style has changed. The term composition refers the combination of all elements in the artwork, including; visual elements, mood, light, shadow and in some cases emotional elements. On the other hand the term composition can simply just refer to how the subject matter of the painting, photograph or drawing is arranged.

Charles Thomas Bale – Still Life of Pears, Apples, Grapes and a Chinese Jar

Composition Effects

The point of a composition is to pull the eye of the viewer across the painting, taking in individual elements to finally focus on the main feature or focus of the painting – this could be anything from subject matter to emotional effects. Compositions are created by the artist. More often than not, the artist will try out several versions of the final painting in sketch form before settling on the most visually pleasing to both the artist and hopefully to the viewer.

Stephen Rose – Cherries in a Foil Container with Glass

The composition provides a structure to the painting and can alter how the subject matter is presented and the whole aesthetic effect of the artwork. A well-thought out composition will control or at least suggest where the eye of the viewer should look, encouraging them to take in everything that the painting has to offer before settling on the focal point.

Compositional Elements

Denys George Wells – Still Life with Teapot, Oranges and Goblets

There are many compositional elements that artists cleverly use to alter the outcome of their painting, including:

Symmetry – Symmetrical compositions create a balanced atmosphere, adding a sense of tranquillity and calm to the painting. Unbalanced or asymmetrical compositions on the other hand can work to create a sense of unease, awkwardness and even nervousness – this technique was used more in the surrealist movement and when tackling uncanny subject matter.

Unity – To some artists it is important that everything belongs together; for example in still life paintings, the arrangement has been placed together by the artist, however it should still appear to be natural as opposed to awkwardly out of place – unless this is an artistic aesthetic that the artist favours.

Proportion – In the past, paintings were very realistic; photography hadn’t been invented or was very expensive, therefore, true representation was exceptionally important. Of course, to get this right the proportion had to be correct. This element refers to how objects in the painting stick together; for example closer objects will be larger than those situated farther away from the ‘viewer’s eye’.

Light Contrast – Light is an exceptionally important part of composition, it helps to give the painting depth and drama. Strong contrasts can help to provide a more dimensional look, which adds to the overall effect of the painting.

Focal Point – Last but not least we have the focal point; this can basically be described as the most import part of the painting where the artist desires the viewer’s eye to rest. This is so that the visual message or aesthetic effect is strongly felt, and the viewer can view the painting as a whole.

Composition is important, especially in realist paintings. It is a huge part of drawing, painting, photography and any other art medium. Even in abstract painting where composition may not seem hugely important, it still has to be considered. Of course, like everything in art, there isn’t just one rule, but composition has and still continues to be a huge part of painting.

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Still Life Mediums & Their Aesthetic Qualities

When many of us think of the term ‘still life painting’, what usually comes to mind is a traditional, incredibly realistic painting, which of course is a very generic image. Still life art is not restricted to the oil medium, in fact, still life art has been created with many different artistic media; even Oldenburg’s large post-modern food sculptures can be considered to be forms of still life art.

You could be forgiven for thinking that still life paintings are simplistic, as they are basically paintings of inanimate objects; however, these paintings vary substantially in subject matter, colour, techniques and style. Although there are many forms of still life paintings we’re going to compare oil still life paintings and watercolour paintings to see their aesthetic differences.

Oil

After Carl SchuchAn Arrangement With Apples

Oil paintings have such a refined quality; they have a depth that cannot be achieved with any other art medium. The process of oil painting is a lengthy one; first the artist begins with a base coat, adding abstract shapes of the chosen subject matter, then more and more detail is added.  Oil paintings are often dark with a glossy finish, for example the painting above, and despite the stillness and fixed qualities of still life, this helps to add an essence of drama to the painting.

Light is hugely important to the still life painting – the contrast between light and shadow is what gives the painted image its’ depth and 3 dimensional qualities. This is much easier to achieve with oil paintings, simply due to the qualities of oil paint itself.

Watercolour

 William Henry HuntA Cut Melon

Watercolour is a much more fluid medium; you will usually find that still life watercolour paintings are much lighter than their oil counterparts. However, like oil paintings watercolours are built up with layers and finer details are added towards the end of the painting. Often watercolours have a sketchier aesthetic, as this medium is much quicker to dry than oil. It’s a great medium to use in order to map up a composition of a larger painting.

If we compare the above watercolour painting (A Cut Melon by William Henry Hunt) with the oil we discussed earlier, we instantly see differences, the primary being that the oil painting makes the subject matter appear to be much more realistic and 3 dimensional. Whereas the watercolour features much brighter shades, the strokes are looser and more expressive with more illustrational qualities.

Value & Worth

Generally in the world of art investment, oil paintings are usually worth much more than their watercolour comparison – but why? Well, it comes down to the material worth; oils are usually created on canvas whereas watercolours appear on paper. It could also be down to the fact that the old masters created work with oils, therefore it is a more high class medium, whereas watercolours were more associated with Victorian ladies, some even consider watercolours to be a ‘drawing’ medium rather than a painting medium. Watercolours were usually created in order to plan a grand oil painting, so are often more ‘sketchy’ and unrefined; however, the power and uniqueness of the aesthetics of watercolour paintings cannot be disputed.

What is interesting about these two mediums is that they can show the same or similar subject matters in a completely different way with different qualities and techniques. Still life as an art genre is certainly broad and can be explored with a variety of mediums, each presenting the viewer with a wide spectrum of aesthetic qualities.

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The Connotations of Weather in Art

The weather has been a source of inspiration for artists throughout time, especially when considering landscape paintings. Here the main focus of the piece is often nature such as woodlands, rivers, and the coast. Of course, the weather is a part of the landscape, however it is ever-changing, therefore when painting from life, it’s hard to portray a realistic representation of it – unless painting from a photograph, but this would not have been possible for earlier artists.

Frederick R Lee – River Landscape

So, why was there such a focus on the weather, and more notably, clouds and sunlight? Well, different lighting helped artists to create the illusion of depth and therefore create more realistic and unique paintings – this was certainly popular during the Dutch Golden Age of landscape painting – when skill and technique was one of the most important aspects of creating art.

Painting Light

One of the reasons why many early pre-19th century artists placed such a heavy focus on the weather was, in essence, to show off their painting skills, as of course, in those times the best painters (or the most fashionable) were the ones who received all of the hefty commissions from the wealthy patrons.

However, light and weather was also (and still is) often used to portray moods or emotions. This is more the driving force behind later landscape painters and modern artists, where there seems to be more of a focus on the meaning of art, rather than realism – however, the two certainly go hand in hand to create some magnificent artwork. For example let’s take a look at the work of modern artist, Terry Watts.

Terry Watts – Modern Landscape Paintings

Terry Watts – Wire Across the Field (West Lulworth, Dorset, nr Dorset)

Like the majority of Watt’s paintings, this painting; ‘Wire Across the Field (West Lulworth, Dorset, nr Dorset)’ depicts the British countryside in a very realistic style, however with a huge focus on the sky. This composition differs somewhat from the landscape paintings of old, where there was more of an equal split between each element; the sky, the landscape and other features such as trees, rocks, people etc. (the rule of thirds).

This image is very interesting both in its composition and content. Because of the contrast between the bright blue fresh sky in the distance and the foreboding grey clouds; this painting maintains a feeling of hope for the viewer, who feels as though they are in this lonely, isolated environment. The subtle hint of a village or farmhouse in the distance suggests that as the viewer you are on a journey through the countryside.

Terry Watts – Driving in the Rain (M11 in Cambridgeshire)

Again the composition of the above painting is certainly interesting; the angle which Watts has painted from suggests that as the viewer you are in the front seat of another car on this isolated road. The right hand side of the painting is much darker, as you can see the rain falling in the distance; the fuzziness of the brake lights of the other car makes it seem as though it is raining overhead, adding to this quite dramatic theme.

This is certainly a painting full of experience and varying themes of man and nature. You are completely immersed in the dramatic and almost tense mood of the painting, which is undoubtedly created by the weather, together with the unusual composition. One of the most impressive aspects of Watt’s landscape paintings is the ability to create such strong themes and connotation, with simplistic subject matter.

‘Pathetic Fallacy’ in the Arts

In literature weather is used to portray different feelings and emotions, or create a certain mood –this is referred to as ‘pathetic fallacy’. This same notion is often used by artists; gloomy skies will portray a gloomier, darker mood, whereas fresh summer days appear more cheerful and joyful. Of course, some works of art are much more complex than that.

Weather and light is certainly an inspiring factor when it comes to all forms of creative art; the famous playwright, William Shakespeare, is especially well-known for using the weather to construe certain themes and moods – a notion that continues throughout modern day films (battles often take place in the rain and at night) literature, and modern art. Whether the weather is used as an extended metaphor or even as a showcase of skill this part of natural life will continue to inspire artists working in a variety of mediums.

 

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A Brief History of Landscape Painting

Today, landscape paintings are created with a variety of characteristics; from painterly abstract styles, to vividly realistic; it is safe to say that the spectrum is incredibly broad. The evolution of landscape paintings is certainly interesting, you would have thought that it would have been a popular subject matter from the very start, however, this wasn’t the case, especially in Western European art.

Henri Jacques Delpy Evening on the River

Landscapes, as a subject matter, were especially popular during the time of the ancient Romans and ancient Chinese art – their famous silk and ink paintings are brimming with mountains and seascapes. However in Western Europe, before the 15th Century, landscape paintings only appeared as a part of frescos or as a background for portraits – they were a supportive aspect rather than the main subject matter.

Characteristics of Early Landscape Painting

It was towards the end of the 15th century when landscape became a genre in its own right and more and more popular with upper class culture. It wasn’t just the desire for landscape paintings in the home from patrons that changed this, but the evolution of painting techniques. Artists had struggled in the past to create paintings with a true realistic depth aspect when it came to portraying landscapes and scenery; however the great Dutch masters managed to solve the problem in the 16th Century. Joachim Patinir, a Dutch painter, developed a panoramic painting style, which is often referred to as ‘World Landscape’. This style included the depiction of small figures and a view of the scenery from up high. This style was exceptionally popular and remained the style of choice (especially in the Netherlands and Germany) for around a century.

Pre-modernism, landscape paintings were often inspired by and drawn from literature much like many of the portrait paintings created before, which depicted myths, legends and biblical themes. Many artists chose to depict exotic landscapes, as of course, leisurely travel to destinations overseas was exclusive to the upper classes who commissioned and bought paintings – Italy was certainly one of the most depicted landscapes. Many of the composition techniques used during this time are still used today in photography and post-modern realism paintings, for example, repoussoir. This technique is where the artist places an object or specific element on one edge of the painting, so that it draws the eye of the viewer into the composition.

At first landscape paintings were a display of skill, but soon became incredibly fashionable, especially during the 17th Century (referred to as the Dutch Golden Age). The genre as a whole began to expand, sub-genres or sub-subject matters started to appear, such as forests, woodland, farm battle scenes, and coastal depictions. From the late 17th century through to the 19th century, artists became specialists in their chosen fields, however perhaps the most notable aspect of most landscape paintings is the realistic depiction of weather, and of course light. The sky has always been one of the more important features in this style of art, as this is arguably the feature that provides each painting with a certain mood, or even emotion. It is important to note that throughout this time, although landscapes were included in paintings, many still included figures and the humanistic element.

19th Century Onwards

Hugh Wilkinson View of a New Forest Stream

With the decline in the popularity of religious paintings, landscape art had definitely become one of the most (if not the most) popular styles by the early 19th century. At this point, the Romantic era was in the spotlight, so to speak; isolated and wild landscapes were the favoured subjects – they were realistic, yet highly romanticised. Of course, this was not to last forever, as the Impressionist era born in Paris became the style of the 19th Century. It was a revolutionary movement in regards to landscape art and was possibly the turning point to when artists adopted a more painterly style; impressionism and post-impressionism was certainly one of the most influential art movements created in Europe.

Throughout this century and into the 20th century, the modernist movement prevailed, however, the landscape continued to inspire artists. Although admittedly it took a backseat from against more political and emotional art with the rise of Abstract Expressionism and the post-modern Pop Art. American influences, feminism, and globalisation were the themes of choice. Landscape paintings however remained one of the most beautiful and skilful forms of art ever created.

Art Today

Terry Watts – Brightening Later

Today, in a post-modern art world, art is certainly accepted in all forms, especially when it comes to landscape. Historical techniques are not forgotten; artists continue to be inspired by the weather, surrounding environment and scenery. The depiction of landscape is emotional, beautiful and yet it can also be a challenging commentary on everyday life. Landscape really is one of the most versatile subject matters that will continue to inspire artists throughout time.

 

 

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Food and Drink in Still Life: A Taste of the Modern Era

We have previously explored the connotations of fruit in art and still life paintings; however the depiction of food does not end there; other foods such as meat, fish, poultry, and cheese are found in still life paintings alongside an assortment of beverages. Food not only appears as a whole, but sometimes as bones or even a carcass.

Painters of the past had always been inspired by nature and storytelling, however during the 15th and 16th centuries artists began to use sweets, fruits, and food displayed on cloths as a subject matter, thus creating still life as we know it. These items, often unusual in shape with various characteristics allowed artists to display their observation skills in regards to the description of textures and shapes. Of course, like the majority of paintings throughout this time these still life paintings still carried symbolic and spiritualist meaning.

Symbolism

Food has always had its symbolic place in the arts, perhaps most notably in classic literature and mythology (we mentioned Persephone and Hades in our previous blog). Perhaps one of the most obvious symbolic uses of food and drink in still life paintings is the depiction of bread and wine, which refers to the sacrificial death of Christ – grapes were also used for Biblical symbolism.

Hubert Bellis, Oysters

However, not all food and drink in still life art is symbolic. More expensive delicacies such as items from abroad like shellfish, wines, lemons, and intricate vessels were used in art in order to express the wealth of the patron. Paintings which featured game also acted in this way as they were associated with the privileged lifestyle that the painting commissioner led or desired to lead, because, of course, privilege meant power. Many still life paintings were created in order to express the lavish and luxurious lifestyle of the owner of the work, in fact it could be argued that up until the beginning of the modernist era this type of art was wholly decorative.

Modern Still Life

In modern still life paintings the renowned artists, George Weissbott and Stephen Rose continue to use food and drink as subject matter. On the surface not much appears to have changed in regards to still life painting style, however it is that all important subject matter that makes all the difference, adding a whole other dimension to this style of art.

Stephen Rose, Lobster frigidor

This painting by Stephen Rose is very similar in painting style to the still life paintings created in the 16th to 18th century, however with one notable difference; the subject matter. Here we see modern materials in the form of elastic bands on the lobster’s claws and aluminium foil. Another thing that is interesting in regards to this painting is that the lobster itself is alive and dark as opposed to the traditional depiction of a luxurious cooked, bright lobster as can be seen, for example in the work of Willem Kalf.

 Stephen Rose, Mallard

Similar to the previous painting, Mallard by Stephen Rose also adopts the traditional flawless still life painting style, the differences between this painting and older still life works is again the subtle subject matter of the foil box container. In paintings between the 16th and 19th centuries you will find hunted animals which have been depicted as celebratory trophies. In Rose’s modernist still life; the way the mallard itself has been positioned is certainly a point of interest; the duck looks as though it may have fallen from the sky, it is almost humanistic – it is delicate yet makes a bold statement.

George Weissbott, Still life with Coca Cola cans, a glass tankard & popcorn

In the painting above, the artist depicts: Coca Cola cans, a glass tankard, discarded popcorn and packaging containing snippets of the Union Jack. The subject matter of this painting is almost a complete reverse of 16th – 18th century painting, depicting everyday items, almost kitsch, yet in a soft, painterly style. The items may not be entirely luxurious, however they have been carefully arranged and balanced in regards to colours to create a harmonious composition. Created in the 1960’s this painting is more than likely a political commentary in regards to modernisation and globalisation.

Still life continues to be a huge part of art practice; it is certainly a way for artists to display their composition and detail skills. However, it is also a great medium in which to provide social commentaries through symbolism with food, packaging or any other items. For more information in regards to still life paintings, please get in contact with Mark Mitchell by phoning 0207 493 8732.

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The Connotations of Fruit in Art and Still Life Paintings

“With an apple I will astonish Paris.”
Paul Cézanne, (1839-1906)

 

Artistic depictions of fruit date back 3000 years to Ancient Egypt. Still life paintings of food were found in the majority of ancient Egyptian tombs, as people genuinely believed that the paintings of food items would, in the afterlife, become tangible and available for the deceased to feed on.

In Ancient Rome, decorative mosaic ‘emblema’ were found in the homes of wealthy and respected people of the upper classes. The ‘emblema’ pictured the diverse range of foods that rich Romans were able to indulge in, acted as a sign of hospitality for potential guests and served as a visual celebration of the seasons and the harvest.

Sybille Ebert Schifferer, in her work Still Life: A History, alludes that depictions of fruit in 16th-century art act as symbols of the seasons and of the senses. Schifferer adds that a type of still life, known as ontbijtjes (breakfast paintings), present both a literal representation of the delicacies that the upper class might enjoy and act as a religious reminder to avoid gluttony and excess.

In the 1500s, the discoveries of the New World and Asia led to an ardent interest in the natural world, exotic botanicals and unusual, enticing new fruits and foods. This fascination was recorded visually in the art of the time.

The condition of the depicted fruit is often allegorical. Like human life, fruit is perishable and ephemeral, and thus many critics firmly believe that fruit acts as a representation of the transient nature of our existence. When the fruit in the portrayals appears to be fresh and ripe, this stands as a symbol of abundance, bounty, fertility, youth and vitality. However, fruit that is in a state of decay serves as a reminder of our own undeniable mortality, the inevitability of change and, in some instances, as a reflection of sin and human corruption.

Depictions of fruit notably relate to portrayals of Adam and Eve and the notion of temptation, sin and entropy.

Hans Memling, Adam and Eve, circa 1485

 

Albrecht Dürer, Adam and Eve, circa 1507

Eve is often depicted holding a fruit, which is most often thought to be an apple. The apple therefore has become synonymous with knowledge, corruption, immortality, temptation, the fall of man and sin, as it is associated with the Tree of Knowledge and the Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis.

The apple’s meaning varies according to its position. When placed in Eve’s hand, the apple can be seen as symbolism for sin, temptation and the dangerous notion of enlightened and knowledgeable females. When held in Adam’s hand, the apple symbolises the consequential fall of man. However, when Christ is portrayed holding an apple, it represents the Second Adam who brings life and redemption. The differing images of the apple reflects the evolution of the symbol in Christianity; in the Old Testament, the apple was significant of the fall of man, but in the New Testament the apple an is emblem of the redemption from that fall.

The latter notion has meant that the apple is presented in pictures of the Madonna and Infant Jesus as another sign of that redemption, and as a warning against sin and temptation.

Carlo Crivelli, Madonna and Child, circa 1480

In Greek mythology, the pomegranate is synonymous with temptation, sin and fallen women, due to its inclusion in the parable of The Rape of Persephone. Hades, god of the underworld, abducted Persephone, the daughter of Demeter the goddess of the harvest; Persephone eats a number of pomegranate seeds whilst captured, meaning that she is obligated to spend a number of months each year with Hades in the underworld.

 

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Proserpine, circa 1873

The associations between fruit and sensuality seem to stem from both the notion of the forbidden fruit of temptation, and fruit’s fertile, tactile nature.

Sixteenth–century Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is famous for his still life paintings that feature fruit.

 

 

Caravaggio, Basket of Fruit, circa 1595

 

Caravaggio, Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge, circa 1601-1605

Many onlookers have interpreted Caravaggio’s Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge as having both religious and sexual connotations. The stone ledge that is pictured is evocative of Caravaggio’s previous work The Entombment of Christ. Critics have attested that the grotesquely serpentine gourds and the visual suggestiveness of the exposed, split fruit allude to intimate, sensual imagery.

Stephen Rose’s Peaches with Greengages and a Cherry is evocative of Caravaggio’s still life paintings with fruit. The velvet texture of the peaches appeals to the audience’s sense of touch, whilst the mottled hues create a serene, visually pleasing impression.

Stephen Rose, Peaches with Greengages and a Cherry, 2012

Stephen Rose, Colours of Autumn, 2012

Rose’s utilisation of a plastic container in Colours of Autumn offers a modern update to depictions of fruit with traditional baskets and porcelain bowls, which adds a contemporary element to an ancient genre.

Mark Mitchell Paintings & Drawings specialise in 19th and 21st century British and Continental fine art, including still life paintings and landscape paintings. For more information, or to make an enquiry regarding the Stephen Rose pieces, please do not hesitate to contact Mark Mitchell by telephone on 0207 493 8732.

 

Imagery Symbolism
Grapes Grapes represent fertility and salvation in their symbolic link to the blood of Christ, but also are symbolic of the dangers of debauchery.
Lemons Linked in Christian tradition to fidelity and, therefore, to the figure of the Virgin. Lemon was often an imported fruit, thus suggesting wealth and luxury.
Peaches A symbol of salvation and truth, as well as fecundity.
Apple Apples are associated with knowledge, sin, temptation, immortality, Venus, the fall of man and the image of the fallen woman.
Pomegranate Pomegranates feature heavily in Judaism and are used in religious memorials to signify heavenly sweetness, or fertility.The fruit, broken or bursting open, is a symbol of the fullness of Jesus’ suffering and resurrection.
Fig Strong biblical associations, as the fig tree is the third tree to be mentioned in the Bible. The fig has strong connotations with modesty and sexuality, as Adam and Eve covered themselves with fig leaves.
Porcelain bowl Oriental and porcelain decorative fruit bowls suggest the exotic spoils of geographic expansion.

 

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Vanessa Garwood: abstraction, reality and imagination

 Vanessa Garwood, Self-portrait

One of our up-&-coming young artists, Vanessa Garwood was trained at the Charles Cecil Studios in Florence. She studied painting and sculpture, and later served a three-month sculpture apprenticeship in South Africa. This awareness of form in the round gives her portraits a plasticity and solidity which are among their great strengths.

 Vanessa Garwood, Silvia

Vanessa has produced conversation pieces as well as portraits; her work also includes nudes, landscapes and subject paintings; and she uses various media, including sculptures in plaster and bronze, and paintings and drawings in oils, charcoal, and pen-&-ink.

 Vanessa Garwood, Brazil 2 

Her landscape paintings evoke the continents she has travelled in – Europe, Africa and South America. They can have an almost abstract cast; in her images of Brazilian forests, for example, this abstraction emphasizes the qualities of intense light and shadow, colour and heat, and the claustrophobic lushness of palms and other foliage seen at close range. 

 Vanessa Garwood, Spain: The edge of the wood

These landscapes are both decorative and violently realistic; they contrast with scenes painted in Europe, such as this one (above) from Spain. Here Garwood employs a softer colouring to convey the local atmospheric light, and a more removed viewpoint; however, the traditional technique of drawing the spectator into a landscape painting by the use of a road or path, which runs from the foreground into the further space of the work, is firmly negated.  We are presented with a wood in which we are stopped by the trees from progressing; we see the internal space receding before us, but are cut off from it, and left in contemplation of this silent place with its untrodden ways.

 Vanessa Garwood, Spain: Trees & shadows

Similarly, in Spain: Trees & shadows, the unfinished area in the foreground blocks our entry, and we can only stand and try to interpret the mysterious spaces of this shadowy wood.

Vanessa Garwood, Red grass

On the other hand, Red grass uses exactly the contrary technique: here the path runs directly before us into the painting in a long withdrawing perspective, and we are only halted by the equally mysterious nude figure which crouches before us in its own meditative trance.

This sense of an otherworldly dimension in Garwood’s paintings  strongly imbues her latest project – a series of subject paintings inspired by stories and fables, which she is remaking in contemporary style; her sources include – amongst others – Aesop’s Fables and Struwwelpeter.

 Vanessa Garwood, The Tailor of Gloucester

One of the most powerfully effective of this series is The Tailor of Gloucester; the subject of Beatrix Potter’s eponymous book. The exhausted tailor has fallen asleep in his workroom, which is hung with a rich variety of fabric and costume. On his lap the unfinished waistcoat is inspected by some thoroughly realistic mice. At once a subject picture and a portrait, this is also an astonishingly decorative still-life painting, in which the fabrics take on – like the foliage of a Brazilian jungle – a strange abstract quality.

 

 

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The Low Countries’ Use of Flowers in Still Life Paintings

The English term still life is derivative of the Dutch word stilleven, and the style has many connections to the country.

In 15th-century Early Netherlandish (Flemish primitive) paintings, the borders of artwork often featured elaborate displays of flowers, animals, insects and, in the instance of the famous Dutch work Hours of Catherine of Cleves produced in 1440, a diverse variety of objects.

 Hours of Catherine of Cleeves, circa. 1430

When printed books came into fashion, the same illustrative skills were employed, especially with regard to scientific botanical illustration. The Low Countries pioneered in both botany and its depiction in art.

The 16th century Flemish artist Joris Hoefnagel created watercolour paintings of flowers for the Emperor Rudolf II, and there were many hand-coloured floral engraved illustrations for books such as Hans Collaert’s Florilegium, published in 1600.

At the beginning of the 17th century, still life paintings featuring flowers became immensely popular. Flemish-painter Karel van Mander focused on floral motifs, as did Northern Mannerist artists such as Cornelia van Haarlem, whose floral works did not survive. However, floral paintings by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Ambrosius Bosschaert did survive.

 Bouquet by Jan Brueghel the Elder, 1603

 

Vase of Flowers in a Window Niche by Ambosius Bosschaert, 1620

As a result of the Dutch Reformed Protestant Church’s assertions in the late 1500s, it was forbidden to produce religious iconography in paintings. The Northern tradition of incorporating detailed realism and hidden symbols appealed to the growing Dutch middle classes, who were replacing Church and State as the principal patrons of art in the Netherlands. Through these artistic depictions and hidden symbologies, flowers became representative of Christian virtues.

Additionally, this combined with the Dutch’s tulip mania meant that the two views of flowers—as aesthetic objects and as religious symbols— merged to create a very strong demand for this style of still life, a notion which Paul Taylor expands upon in his book Dutch Flower Painting, 1600-1720. He also asserts that at the peak of tulip mania, in the Netherlands in March 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of skilled artisans.

Dutch still life was rarely commissioned, meaning that artists, for the majority of the time, chose the subject matter of their own work. Due to the aforementioned reasons, Dutch artists tended to stick to floral motifs. The style was so popular that Dutch flower painting was codified in the 1740 treatise Groot Schilderboeck by Gerard de Lairesse, which gave wide-ranging advice on colour, arrangement, brushwork, preparation of the flowers, cohesion, composition and perspective.

The work of Camilla Gobl is highly evocative of the 16th and 17th century Dutch still life floral paintings. Gobl’s Flower piece, from the 19th century is reminiscent of Jan Brueghel the Elder and Ambrosius Bosschaert.

Flowers accompany us in every major event throughout our lives; birthdays, courtship, marriage, anniversaries, celebrations, graduations, illness, and even death.

In the classical era, many flowers were linked to pagan deities such as Venus, Diana, Jupiter and Apollo. During the Renaissance, nature was viewed as a reflection of the divine and therefore flowers were regarded as being pastoral reflections of Christian figures and morals. During the Medieval times, gardens were created with both the symbolic meaning of flowers and their spiritual and religious symbolism in mind. During the strictly repressed Victorian era, emotions and romantic thoughts were not openly expressed or vocalised between men and women. Instead, an intricate and almost clandestine language based on flower symbolism was developed and flowers became even more associated with emotion, morals and ideology.

Mark Mitchell Paintings & Drawings specialise in 19th and 21st century British and Continental fine art, including still life paintings and landscape paintings. For more information, or to make an enquiry regarding the Camilla Gobl piece, please do not hesitate to contact Mark Mitchell by telephone on 0207 493 8732.

 

Flower Symbolic and Religious Meaning
Anemone The anemone symbolises the Trinity, sorrow and death.
Carnation A red carnation symbolises romantic love.
Columbine The columbine symbolises the Holy Spirit and melancholy.
Daisy The daisy symbolises the innocence of the Christ Child.
Dandelion The dandelion symbolises Christ’s Passion.
Hyacinth The hyacinth symbolises prudence and peace of mind.
Iris The iris symbolises the Virgin Mary.
Lily The lily symbolises purity, virginity, justice, the female breast and the Virgin Mary.
Myrtle The myrtle symbolises those converted to Christ and Christianity.
Pansy The pansy symbolises remembrance and meditation.
Poppy  A poppy symbolises sleep, power and death, and is often used in depictions of the Passion of Christ.
Rose The red rose symbolises martyrdom, a white rose symbolises purity, and a wreath of roses symbolizes heavenly joy. Roses generally represent the Virgin Mary, transience, love and Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
Sunflower Sunflowers symbolise faithfulness, divine love and devotion.
Tulip Sunflowers symbolise nobility.
Violet The violet is a symbol of modesty and humility, hence the phrase ‘shrinking violet’.

 

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A Classical Cast to Art

George Weissbort (1928-2013), Still life with a statuette and pink roses

The impact of the classical past on the art of the Renaissance, as well as upon literature, politics, philosophy and rhetoric, was so cataclysmic as to echo down the centuries with a continuous rumble until our own day.

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Adoration of the Shepherds, 1485, Sassetti Chapel, Santa Trinità, Florence

By the 15th century the remains of Roman architecture which surrounded and filled the cities of Renaissance Italy were being incorporated into religious paintings as the setting for nativities and annunciations. Ghirlandaio’s Adoration takes place in the ruins of a classical temple, which has been converted to a stable by means of a rickety framework of withies, tied together and holding a roof of battered planks on top of the remaining pillars, and the animals of the Nativity eat from a classical sarcophagus. These relics of the classical world – as well as providing a dignified and beautiful setting – simultaneously stood for the order of the Old Testament, crumbling and ruinous when set against that of the New, in the shape of the infant Christ.

Johannes Stradanus, Lorenzo de Medici in the sculpture garden, 1571, tapestry, Museo Nazionale di San Marco, Pisa

Lorenzo de’ Medici kept some of his own collection of Greek and Roman pieces in a ‘sculpture garden’ which, according to Vasari, became a kind of academy for artists, who gathered to draw and otherwise copy these fragments of classical art.  Michelangelo is said to have produced a carved copy of a faun so perfect that it attracted Lorenzo’s attention, and launched the young Michelangelo on his long, classically-saturated career.

This was an archetypal early academy which would provide a model for subsequent methods of teaching drawing, painting and sculpture, whether in the artist’s workshop, or in a more formal setting. The proportions and poses of classical statuary, whether in the original Greek pieces or in Roman copies, were seen as encapsulating the ideal proportions and forms of the human body, and therefore were the perfect models for depictions of Christ, the Madonna and the saints. They were also, of course, appropriate models for the gods and goddesses in paintings of mythologies, and they provided a guide against which all other figure painting and even portraiture might be set.

Attributed to Johann Zoffany, The Laocöon Group, 18th century

By the 18th century, the use of classical sculpture – and, where not available, of casts taken from the originals – was a central pillar of the national academies of painting and drawing which were beginning to emerge from their more informal prototypes. Pieces like the Laocöon, which had been cast several times since first being discovered in 1506, were dispersed in replica form through much of Continental Europe, as well as Britain and Ireland, and were copied in pencil, charcoal, paint and in three-dimensional media. This could be considered the high point of still life painting; the ultimate test of an artist’s skill, and one of the most desirable souvenirs for a Grand Tourist to bring home – if he couldn’t acquire a marble replica.

In any group of paintings by artists trained through traditional methods in the ateliers and academies of the 19th century, sculptures and casts would form a significant presence, and the work of the artists in Mark Mitchell’s collection is no exception. George Weissbort, for instance, who was deeply influenced by the work of the Old Masters from various periods, took the elements of compositions from his favourite painters, and remade them in his own idiom.

Chardin, Still life with attributes of the Arts, 1766, Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Chardin’s vivid representation of the arts of painting, architecture, sculpture, drawing and metalwork, symbolized sculpture by a figure of Hermes, messenger of the gods, made by Chardin’s friend Pigalle, but based on actual classical models. This evocative and beautifully-balanced composition  was remade by Weissbort as Dance of the Three Graces to trumpets & viol (now sadly sold from the Collection).

George Weissbort, Dance of the Three Graces to trumpets & viol

Here, he celebrates the aural arts, with musical instruments, sheet music, and a statuette of the Three Graces who seem to be listening to celestial music, and to be poised on the brink of dance. Terpsichore, the muse of dance, usually carries a lyre, whilst Euterpe, associated with music, has a double flute, the equivalent here of Weissbort’s trumpet and viol; whilst the Muses when dancing often have flying ribbons or scarves.

George Weissbort, Still life with a statuette and pink roses

A much more modern Master provided the inspiration for another of Weissbort’s statuary still life arrangements;  he turned to Cézanne’s work at various points in his career, and the influence of the Post-Impressionist can be seen in Weissbort’s landscape paintings as much as in more overt examples such as this.

Cézanne, Still life with plaster cupid, c.1895, Courtauld Institute of Art

Both works use a statuette of a small boy on a table-top, accessorized with drapery and natural objects; Weissbort has, however, remade Cézanne’s work in the spirit of the 18th century Rococo, arranging the table symmetrically, viewing the statue frontally, and creating a stable and balanced composition in place of the shifting vertiginous planes of the Cézanne. It is almost as if Cézanne’s painting has been visualized through the eyes of Chardin, presenting a calm and rational version of what had been questing, experimental and urgent. Weissbort has also once more ‘feminized’ his subject, with brocade, pink roses, and soft warm tones replacing the severe blue cloth, geometric fruit forms and vibrating colours of Cézanne’s work.

Other artists in the Collection who have looked again at the classical components of their training, and decided to subvert the whole subject, include – for example – Dudley Holland. Holland taught art at both Willesden and Harrow Schools of Art, and at Goldsmiths, University of London. In 1949 he became principal of York School of Art and Design, and in 1951 of the Guildford School of Art (now the Surrey Institute of Art and Design).  He was thus ideally placed to comment on the use of sculpture and cast drawing as an element of artistic training.

Dudley Holland (1915-56), A corner of the studio, s & d 1947, RA 1948

In his still life painting, A corner of the studio, he has taken the horizontal axis of Chardin’s Still life with attributes of the Arts, above, repeating the rolls of paper, drawings and books of the latter. But the classicizing sculpture, through which Chardin was expressing the seeds and derivation of his own art, is replaced by an abstracted, ‘primitive’ sculpture, and the head of a fashion mannequin. Holland is creating a subtle reminder of other influences than the classical which began to appear in the work of artists at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries – the role, for instance, of early African sculpture, which was important for both Picasso and Gauguin. He is also noting the place in a commercial world of representations of the human form: the use of ‘casts’ or models in shop windows to sell fashion, rather than in art galleries, to elevate the spirit.

Denys George Vesey Wells (1881-1973), Still life with statuettes of the Buddha and Thai temple dancers

Another artist who seems to enjoy subverting the classical tradition, and the use of classical objects in still life painting, is Denys Wells. Wells is noted for the watercolours he made of bomb-damaged streets throughout London, during and after the second World War, becoming known as ‘the recorder of London’.  Possibly as an antidote to this grim work he produced vibrantly coloured still life paintings, many of which have a whimsical element – as here, in the group of little brass temple dancers, lined up before a laughing Buddha as though about to perform a can-can.

The classical past thus provides an infinite and adaptable vocabulary of images, which can stand for the pagan past as against the Christian present; express an ideal model for the human body; symbolize ideas, virtues and states; clarify artistic striving (like Cézanne’s); act as a pointer to new influences; satirize modern consumerism; and laugh at its own dignity. Where would our art be, without that classical cast?

Mark Mitchell Paintings & Drawings specializes in 19th and 21st century British and Continental fine art, including still life paintings and landscape paintings. For more information, or to make an enquiry regarding either of the aforementioned still life paintings, please do not hesitate to contact Mark Mitchell by telephone on 0207 493 8732.

 

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The Ludovici family

Original bookplate for A. Ludovici, An artist’s life in London and Paris 1870-1925, 1926, with the coat of arms of the Ludovici family

The members of the Ludovici clan were international in their roots, their lives and their education, and one branch settled in England during the 19th century. This produced three generations of artists between 1820 and 1971, all of whom were trained and/or worked on the Continent, whilst remaining based in Britain. The family traced its origin to the Ludovisi of Bologna, one of whom – Ludovico Ludovisi (1595-1632) – was a cardinal and connoisseur, who built the Villa Ludovisi (mainly demolished in the 19th century) to house his collection of classical and Baroque sculptures.

Piranesi, Veduta di Villa Lodovisi, 1748, etching; from Varie Veduti de Roma Anticha e Moderna  

The first generation of the Ludovicis to settle in England was Albert Johann, who had been born in Saxony in 1820. He moved to Paris in his early twenties to train as an artist at the Atelier Drölling, where amongst his peers was the Englishman Roger Fenton, who would become one of the first war photographers.  In the late 1840s Albert Johann travelled to England where he settled, marrying a Parisian woman, Caroline Grenier, in 1850.

Albert Johann Ludovici (Ludovici senior; 1820-94)

His main sources of income seem to have been portraits and decorative paintings in interiors, but he is also known for his genre and costume subjects. Although he is relatively obscure today he was in demand in his lifetime, and was even commissioned to paint portraits of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and his bride. His portrait of the chemist and physicist, Sir William Crookes, is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. According to his son, one of his paintings, rejected from the 1863 Paris Salon and hung in the Salle des Réfusés, was bought by the Emperor Napoleon III, as a souvenir of his sojourn in London (it was a genre scene, of crossing-sweepers, called The last day of an old hat)[i].

Albert Ludovici senior, Sir William Crookes, c.1884-85, National Portrait Gallery

Albert Ludovici senior, The Puppeteers, 1876. Art Market 2013

Albert senior exhibited with the Society of British Artists, becoming treasurer of the society. He had five children, of whom his namesake, Albert junior (1852-1932), was born in Prague (although he spent most of his life in England). Albert junior took after his father:

‘My childhood was spent more in my father’s studio in London than in the nursery.  Washing paintbrushes and polishing the palette were occupations familiar to me from an early age…Drawing and painting were my occupations long before I learnt to write’[ii].

When he was twelve he was extracted from his local school and his father’s studio and sent to Geneva for five years, where he found himself at school with the son of Samuel Smiles (author of Self-help), and Lord Kitchener’s brothers. But at 17 he persuaded his father to let him attend a London art school, and the next year to go to Paris.  He started out in the studio of one of his father’s friends, Emile Bin, who had been commissioned to produce classicizing murals for Zurich University and the theatre of Rheims, and in the evenings he studied at the Académie Charles. He then graduated to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where his teachers included Cabanel, Gérôme and Isidore Pils, and his fellow students Gervex, Forain and Bastien Lepage. In September 1871 the Prussian army laid siege to Paris, and – like Monet, Daubigny and Pissarro – Albert junior left France to return home, where he helped his father to paint the interior of the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, with decorative figures.

Interior of the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, London, 19th century

After the war he went back to Paris and worked as a portrait painter, but with his marriage in 1875 he settled in England. One of his regular sources of income was as a teacher – but, in an unusual and almost revolutionary step, Ludovici concentrated on female pupils. Amongst these was Lady Colin Campbell (née Gertrude Blood), art critic, biographer of fish and multiple adulterer, who, with Eva Gordon, attended ‘the art classes of Albert Ludovici at his studio in Charlotte Street’[iii].  Looking at Albert junior’s dapper photos, one can only speculate as to whether he became another scalp amongst many on Gertrude’s belt.

Albert  Ludovici (Ludovici junior; 1852-1932)

 In 1878 Ludovici followed his father into the Society of British Artists:

‘A picture I had just completed of Mr Coulon’s dancing class had been seen by several members of that Society, who informed me that if I would exhibit the picture they would make me a member. This picture and its companion, Signor Cruvelli’s singing class, were afterwards reproduced, as was the custom in those days, by etching… and published by Messrs Lefèvre.

The dancing class was well noticed in the papers, and was, I may say, a success.’ [iv]

M. Coulon’s dancing class was almost certainly painted in oils; this must be the watercolour study for it:

Albert Ludovici junior, M. Coulon’s dancing class, 1879, Mark Mitchell Paintings & Drawings

Ludovici met Walter Sickert fortuitously whilst painting in St Ives, and through him was introduced to Whistler; he then brought Whistler into the SBA.  Ludovici, like his father before him, became one of the Society’s officials, and when Whistler was elected President of the SBA (1886-8) Ludovici was serving on its committee. In defiance of expectations by the old guard of the Society – as Ludovici tells it – Whistler took great interest in reforming and promoting the SBA, so that its exhibitions should no longer be cluttered ragbags of work but as minimally and elegantly hung as his own shows; this greatly increased its popularity and attendance at its exhibitions. Contact with Whistler was an important connection for the younger artist: they seem to have become firm friends, and in 1886 Whistler took The Times to task for ignoring one of Ludovici’s paintings on exhibition in the SBA. When Whistler was later elected President of the International Society, Ludovici became the Society’s delegate in France, so that the two men worked closely together – Whistler calling Albert, ‘My trusty Aide de Camp!’  He and Whistler remained friends and in 1899 visited Holland together with some of Ludovici’s pupils.

 Albert Ludovici junior, The hansom cab, pastel, Christie’s, 6 March 2011

During his days as a student, and under the influence of his peers, Forain and Bastien Lepage, Ludovici had been attracted by Realism and then by Impressionism; but under the charismatic presence of Whistler himself, he was naturally drawn to the elements of aestheticism and Japonism in Whistler’s style. There is thus a lot of variation in style amongst the subjects he favoured. His education in Paris, with its cult of the flâneur and its intense interest in the lives of ordinary people in its streets and parks, awoke him to the street and park life of London; he produced a number of studies of social occasions, encounters in urban surroundings, and vivid evocations, like the pastel (above) of daily events.

Albert Ludovici junior, London socialites, Art market

 In paintings such as London socialites, Ludovici has clearly been studying the way in which Whistler and Degas (themselves influenced by Japanese prints) articulated space in their compositions. The main group of figures has been shunted to the extreme right of the painting; the secondary group to the extreme left, and a large tract of empty lawn occupies the centre and lower left quarter of the picture. This radical and lively study of a London park in the summer is so completely different from the costume groups based on his father’s work that it’s hard to understand them as the work of the same hand.

 Albert Ludovici junior, The musical party, private collection

 However, when examined the composition of a painting such as The musical party can be seen to have been constructed on similar lines to London socialites, with an asymmetrical emphasis, an area of empty space between the groups, and figures which are cut off by the frame. To modern eyes this is somewhat obscured by the ‘fancy dress’ aspect of the subject, and its relationship to the deplorable ‘drinking cardinal’ genre of painting: but if the figures were dressed in 1880s ballet skirts and some of the furniture removed, its relationship to Degas’s work would be clear.

Degas, The dancing class, 1871, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NewYork

Similarly, Ludovici’s Eton v. Harrow, an archetypical English scene, is greatly indebted to Degas’s Au courses… (French horse-racing) of c.1872:

Albert Ludovici junior, Eton v. Harrow, 1889, Marylebone Cricket Club, London

Degas, Au courses…, 1869, MFA, Boston

 This interest in the work of the Impressionists, when it was still regarded as bizarre and outré in Britain, along with his knowledge of the Parisian art world and his fluency in French, made Ludovici the ideal liaison between the new International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, when it was founded in Britain in 1898 with Whistler as its President, and the European and American artists whom it was hoped to lure into exhibiting in London. Ludovici was able, for example, to secure Manet’s Execution of the Emperor Maximilian (National Gallery) for exhibition in London, in its whole state, before it was cut up by the dealer Durand-Ruel.

 Albert Ludovici junior, David Copperfield arrives in London, hand-coloured print, British Postal Museum

At the same time he was producing commercial art in a very different vein: he illustrated a series of 16 scenes from Dickens’s novels, Dickens Coaching Scenes, which were published as prints at the end of the 19th century…

Albert Ludovici junior, May you have a quite too happy time, 1882, V & A

 … and he also executed designs for greetings cards – here, a series from 1882 which parodies the Aesthetic Movement.

Ludovici’s London scenes had been greatly influenced by Whistler’s use of tone and colour; however, a contemporary critic remarked that Ludovici’s work sprang on ‘a lighter, gayer stem, that of his own artistic individuality’. He developed a visual shorthand in order to record these scenes en plein air; his first exhibition of this type of work, Dots, notes, spots, was held at the Dowdeswell Galleries, London, in 1888, and was favourably reviewed by George Bernard Shaw. He was a prolific artist; he exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1880, the Royal Society of British Artists from 1881, the Paris Salon from 1884, the New English Art Club from 1891, as well as the Grosvenor Gallery, the New Watercolour Society and the Société Internationale de la Peinture à l’Eau. He died in 1932.

 Mary Kernahan, Nothing but nonsense, illustrated by ‘Tony Ludovici’, 1898

Albert Ludovici junior had six children, only three of whom survived childhood. One of them, Anthony (1882-1971), seemed as though he might follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather: when he was 16 and 17 he illustrated two children’s books, by Mary Kernahan and Lord Alfred Douglas, and when he was 24 he was employed as secretary to Rodin for several months. He served in the First World War, and was awarded the OBE; after this he began lecturing and writing on politics and philosophy, specifically in the light of Nietzsche’s work, much of which he translated. His stance was ultra-conservative, anti-feminist, and would now be considered slightly to the right of the BNP. He seems a strangely humourless and insular scion of his multi-national forebears, for all his pro-German attitude. The whole family now appears on Facebook, where a catalogue raisonné of the work of Albert senior and junior is gradually being assembled.

Albert Ludovici junior, The recital, Mark Mitchell Paintings & Drawings


[i] A. Ludovici, An artist’s life in London and Paris 1870-1925, 1926, p. 10

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Anne Jordan, Love well the hour: the life of Lady Colin Campbell, 2010

[iv] Ludovici, op.cit., p.70

Posted in 19th Century, Figure paintings, Landscape, Paintings of interiors, Portrait | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment