Art: William Michael Harnett

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William Michael Harnett (August 10, 1848 – October 29, 1892) was an Irish-American painter known for his trompe-l'œil still lifes of ordinary objects. For those of you that are not familiar, this is an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. Forced perspective is a comparable illusion in architecture.

Harnett painted musical instruments, hanging game, and tankards, but also painted the unconventional Golden Horseshoe (1886), a single rusted horseshoe shown nailed to a board.

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1. Plucked Clean

Medium: oil on canvas

Dated: 1882

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Art: Rembrandt van Rijn

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Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1606 – October 4, 1669) was a Dutch draughtsman, painter and printmaker. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history.

Unlike most Dutch masters of the 17th century, Rembrandt's works depict a wide range of style and subject matter, from portraits and self-portraits to landscapes, genre scenes, allegorical and historical scenes, biblical and mythological themes as well as animal studies.

In his works he exhibited knowledge of classical iconography, which he molded to fit the requirements of his own experience; thus, the depiction of a biblical scene was informed by Rembrandt's knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of Amsterdam's Jewish population.[7] Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called "one of the great prophets of civilization".

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1. Rembrandt, Self-Portrait

Medium: mezzotint

Dated: 1767

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Art: Thomas Cole

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Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 – February 11, 1848) was an English-born American painter known for his landscape and history paintings. One of the major 19th-century American painters, he is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, an American art movement that flourished in the mid-19th century. Cole's work is known for its romantic portrayal of the American wilderness.

Cole emigrated with his family to the United States in 1818, settling in Steubenville, Ohio. At the age of 22, Cole moved to Philadelphia and later, in 1825, to Catskill, New York, where he lived with his wife and children until 1848.Cole found work early on as an engraver. He was largely self-taught as a painter, relying on books and by studying the work of other artists. In 1822, Cole started working as a portrait painter and later on, gradually shifted his focus to landscape.

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1. Sunrise in the Catskills

Medium: oil on canvas

Dated: 1826

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Art: Édouard Manet

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Édouard Manet was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, and a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born into an upper-class household with strong political connections, Manet rejected the future originally envisioned for him, and became engrossed in the world of painting.

 His early masterworks, The Luncheon on the Grass (Le déjeuner sur l'herbe) and Olympia, both 1863, caused great controversy and served as rallying points for the young painters who would create Impressionism. Today, these are considered watershed paintings that mark the start of modern art. The last 20 years of Manet's life saw him form bonds with other great artists of the time, and develop his own style that would be heralded as innovative and serve as a major influence for future painters.

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1. The Smoker (Le fumeur)

Medium: etching and drypoint

Dated: 1866

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Art: Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas (19 July 1834 – 27 September 1917) was a French artist famous for his paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings. He is especially identified with the subject of dance; more than half of his works depict dancers.[1] Regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, he rejected the term, preferring to be called a realist.[2] He was a superb draftsman, and particularly masterly in depicting movement, as can be seen in his rendition of dancers, racecourse subjects and female nudes. His portraits are notable for their psychological complexity and for their portrayal of human isolation.

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1. Self-Portrait

Medium: etching

Dated: 1857

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2. The Races

Medium: oil on wood

Dated: 1871/1872

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3. Achille De Gas in the Uniform of a Cadet

Medium: oil on canvas

Dated: 1856/1857

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4. Madame Camus

Medium: oil on canvas

Dated: 1869/1870

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5. Dancers at the Old Opera House

Medium: dancers at old opera house

Dated: 1877

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6. Virginie being Admired while the Marquis Cavalcanti Looks On

Medium: monotype touched with pastel on wove paper

Dated: 1880/1883

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7. Nude Woman Standing, Drying Herself (Femme nue debout, a sa toilette)

Medium: lithograph

Dated: 1890

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8. Studies of Feet [verso]

Medium: graphite in laid paper

Dated: 1855

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9. Spanish Dancers and Musicians

Medium: watercolor and pen and black ink on wove paper

Dated: 1868/1869

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10. Study of Horses

Medium: charcoal and graphite on brown paper

Dated: 1886

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11. Madame René de Gas

Medium: oil on canvas

Dated: 1872/1873

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12. Edmondo and Thérèse Morbilli

Medium: oil on canvas

Dated: 1865

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13. Three Dancers Resting

Medium: black chalk and pastel on tan wove paper

Dated: 1880

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14. Horses in the Meadow (Chevaux dans la prairie)

Medium: soft-ground etching

Dated: 1891/1892

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15. Two Studies of a Jockey

Medium: black chalk

Dated: 1884

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16. Study of a Mustang

Medium: copper alloy

Dated: original wah 1860s, cast by 1921

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17. Woman Arranging Her Hair

Medium: pigmented beeswax, clay, metal armature, cork, on wooden base

Dated: 1880s/1890s

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18. Little Dancer Aged Fourteen

Medium: painted plaster, fabric, metal armature, on plaster base

Dated: plaster cast possibly 1920/1921, after original wax modelled 1878-1881

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19. Woman Seated, Wiping Her Left Hip

Medium: pigmented beeswax, shredded fabric, metal lid, wood, rope, cork, on wooden base

Dated: 1890s/1911

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More about Edgar Degas:

Degas, who believed that "the artist must live alone, and his private life must remain unknown",lived an outwardly uneventful life. In company he was known for his wit, which could often be cruel. He was characterized as an "old curmudgeon" by the novelist George Moore,and he deliberately cultivated his reputation as a misanthropic bachelor.

Here are some of his quotes:

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see"

"No art is less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and the study of the great masters"

"Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do"

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Feel free to leave comments, and suggestions! All images are free to download, so enjoy them!

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Art: Paul Gauguin

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of color and Synthetiststyle that were distinctly different from Impressionism. Towards the end of his life he spent ten years in French Polynesia where he married a 13-year old[1], and most of his paintings from this time depict people or landscapes from that region. Some of his artwork is shown here:

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1. Mahna no Varua Ino (The Devil Speaks)

Medium: woodcut printed in black and gray

Dated: 1894/1895

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2. Noa Noa (Fragrant, Fragrant)

Medium: woodcut printed in black and gray

Dated: 1894/1895

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3. Title Page for "Le Sourire" (Titre du Sourire)

Medium: woodcut printed in black and gray

Dated: 1895

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4. Mahana Atua (The Food of the Gods)

Medium: woodcut printed in black and gray

Dated: 1894/1895

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5. Nave Nave Fenua (Delightful Land)

Medium: woodcut printed in black and gray

Dated: 1894/1895

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6. Auti te Pape (Women at the River)

Medium: woodcut printed in black and gray

Dated: 1894/1895

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7. Manoa Tupapau (She is Haunted by a Spirit)

Medium: woodcut printed in black and gray

Dated: 1894/1895

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8. Te Po (The Long Night)

Medium: woodcut printed in black and gray

Dated: 1894/1895

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9. Maruru (Thank You)

Medium: woodcut printed in black and gray

Dated: 1894/1895

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10. The Universe is Created (L'Univers est cree)

Medium: woodcut printed in black and gray

Dated: 1894

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11. Still Life with Peonies

Medium: oil on canvas

Dated: 1884

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12. Self-Portrait Dedicated to Carrière

Medium: oil on canvas

Dated: 1888/1889

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13. Two Tahitians Gathering Fruit [verso]

Medium: graphite and blue colored pencil on wove paper

Dated: 1899/1900

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14. Breton Girls Dancing, Pont-Aven

Medium: oil on canvas

Dated: 1888

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15. Landscape at Le Pouldu

Medium: oil on canvas

Dated: 1890

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16. Te Pape Nave Nave (Delectable Waters)

Medium: oil on canvas

Dated: 1898

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17. Two Tahitians Gathering Fruit [recto]

Medium: traced monotype, printed twice, in brown and ocher on wove paper

Dated: 1899/1900

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18. A Breton Gleaner

Meidum: pastel with wetting on laid paper

Dated: 1886

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19. Human Sorrow (Miseres humaines)

Medium: woodcut on japan paper

Dated: 1895

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20. Five Studies of Heads; A Boy in Profile with Studies of Hands and Feet 

Medium: pen and brown ink and graphite on wove paper

Dated: 1884-1888

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21. Head of a Monkey; Inventory of Bottles and Beverages

Medium: graphite, crayon, and pen and brown ink on wove paper

Dated: 1884-1888

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22. Manao Tupapau (She is Haunted by a Spirit)

Medium: litograph (stone) in black

Dated: 1894

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Here are some interesting facts about Paul Gauguin:

1. He was a merchant marine and stockbroker before being an artist - Gauguin sailed around the world for six years, enlisting in the merchant marine when he was only 17.

2.  Gauguin collected paintings on his own, including the works of Claude Monet, Édouard Manet, Paul Cézanne and Camille Pissaro. In 1874, Gauguin had the chance to meet Pissaro, and the artist took it upon herself to teach Gauguin various techniques for drawing and painting. At this point Gauguin had already been a part of a social avant-garde circle, including Edouard Manet, Pierre Auguste-Renoir, and Edgar Degas.

3. Gauguin once sailed to the French Caribbean island of Martinique to “live like a savage”.
Left frustrated from his recent exhibition (with his works overshadowed by Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grand Jatte – 1884), Gauguin moved away in an attempt to lead a simpler life, to a Brittany Region in France called Pont-Aven.

4. Some art historians claim that Guaguin had something to do with the mutilation of Van Gogh’s ear. The two artists had a volatile relationship. Notably, Van Gogh and Gauguin often argued with each other during their stay at Arles (located at the south of France), with the arguments mostly revolving around art’s true purpose. Two months later, their relationship took a dark turn, and while Gauguin claimed was an attack to him with a razor, Van Gogh had mutilated his own left ear.However, after extensive examination of police records and artists’ correspondence, art historians Kaufmann and Wildegans came to the conclusion that it was Gauguin who mutilated Van Gogh’s ear, and that he used a sword instead of a razor.

* If you wish to read more about the time Van Gogh and Gauguin lived together click here.

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Paul Gauguin Wearing a Breton Jacket, 1891. Source: Wikimedia Commons

If you wish to read more on his life, click here

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Art: Francisco de Goya

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and throughout his long career was a commentator and chronicler of his era. Immensely successful in his lifetime, Goya is often referred to as both the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. He was also one of the great contemporary portraitists. Here is a list with some of his artwork:

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1. Francesco Goya y Lucientes, Pintor

Medium: etching, aquatint,drypoint and burin

Dated: 1799

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2. Origen de los arpones o banderillas (Origin of the Harpoons or Banderillas)

Medium: etching, aquatint,drypoint and burin

Dated: 1816

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3. Moenippvs (Moenippus)

Medium: etching

Dated: 1778

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4. Disparate de Carnabal (Carnival Folly)

Medium: etching and aquatint

Dated: 1816

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5. Disparate ridiculo (Ridiculous Folly)

Medium: etching, aquatint and drypoint

Dated: 1816

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6. Quien mas rendido? (Which of Them Is the More Overcome?)

Medium: etching, aquatint and drypoint

Dated: 1799

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7. El animoso moro Gazul es el primero que lanceo toros en regla (The Spirited Moor Gazul is the First to Spear Bulls According to Rules)

Medium: etching, burnished aquatint and drypoint

Dated: 1816

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8. Disparate desordenado (Disorderly Folly)

Medium: etching, aquatint and drypoint

Dated: 1816

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9. La lealtad (Loyalty)

Medium: etching and burnished aquatint

Dated: 1816

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Here are some interesting fatcs about Goya:

1. He was rejected from art school.
2. Later in life he got successful enough to gain admission to the art school that rejected him.
3. He painted rococo-style tapestry cartoons in order to gain more fame and attention.
4. He had an undiagnosed illness that left him completely deaf.

5. After his mysterious illness, Goya became more withdrawn, paranoid, and introspective:

• He began painting non-commissioned works, which often featured dark themes, a bleak view of humanity, a fear of madness, creatures from mythology, and were often critiques of war, greed, and the nobility.
• The most famous example is of Saturn Devouring His Son, one of the 14 so-called Black Paintings that Goya painted directly onto the walls of his house, the Quinta del Sordo (“Deaf Man’s Villa”) between 1819 and 1823.

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