Vagrarian

Vagrarian , 6 days ago to random

"Nathaniel Olds," Jeptha Homer Wade, 1837.

Wade (1811-1890) was only incidentally a painter; he was also a photographer, doing the first daguerreotypes west of New York. His true fame was in industry; he was one of the founders of Western Union Telegraph, and later became a noted philanthropist, doing much for the city of Cleveland, where he lived; he donated land for a park, helped establish a school for young women, and was a co-founder of what is now Case Western Reserve University.

No information is available about the subject. The modern-looking eyewear is actually valid for the time; green eyewear like this was worn to protect one's eyes from Argand lamps, which were used as indoor illumination at the time. It was feared at the time that the bright lights were bad for one's vision...one wonders what they would think of modern LED bulbs.

Wade's grandson, Jeptha II, was a founder of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where this now resides, and donated the land on which is now stands.

#Art #Portraits #JepthaHomerWade #ClevelandHistory #CoolEyewear

rbreich , 22 days ago to random

A recent report found that Americans have become less likely to go out for a workday lunch, and more likely to eat a brought-from-home lunch at their desks.

Do you go out for a lunch break? And if not, why not?

randahl , 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago) to random

Sometimes I wish just one Republican state would leave the US to found it's own country.

Just one, which could try out all the book burning, closed borders, fewer women's rights, religios politics, non-scientific medicine — so everyone could really see, what that leads to.

For years, politicians in Europe blamed everything on the EU, but I can assure you, when Britain left our union and became a country with considerable challenges, it crushed the EU blame game in many countries.

Vagrarian , 2 months ago to random

"Bouquet of Flowers," Maria van Oosterwijck, second half of the 17th century.

Van Oosterwijck (1630-1693) was a Dutch painter of still lifes, mostly florals. She was quite a success, and a canny businesswoman, marketing her works to various crowned heads of Europe. She was a professional painter at a time when few women were, but she was still denied membership in the Painter's Guild because of her sex.

By all accounts, she was a deeply religious woman, and many of her paintings include symbols, either through color or other means, of her religious views. Butterflies were to mean the Resurrection, for instance.

She never married, but dedicated herself to her painting. She raised her nephew, and taught one of her servants to paint and be an artist herself, so she could be self-supporting. I like that aspect of her; not only being independent and self-determined, but helping others to be so as well, even if she was denied some opportunities because of the prejudices of the time.

From a private collection.

#Art #DutchArt #FloralArt #WomenArtists #DutchGoldenAge #Baroque #MariaVanOosterwijck #StillLife

Vagrarian , 4 months ago to random

"Matrosbalen," Eugène Jansson, 1912.

Jansson (1862-1915) was a Swedish painter, known mostly for his cityscapes nighttime scenes, and for his use of blue. After about 1904, though, he switched to figure painting, mostly male nudes. Jansson had suffered scarlet fever when he was young, and was left with various health problems; to combat them he worked out regularly at a naval bathhouse, where he met most of his models.

Here we have the athletic hall at the bathhouse (which was really closer to what we'd think of as a gym) decked out with signal flags for a Saturday night dance. The sailors are twirling their girls around, obviously having a good time.

Not much is known of Jansson's private world; his brother destroyed his letters and papers after his death at 53. It's largely agreed on now that he was probably gay and was having an affair with one of his frequent models. (Jansson's brother Adrien was definitely gay; homosexuality was illegal in Sweden until 1944, so the destruction of his letters could have been to protect his reputation.)

From the Maritime Museum, Stockholm.

#Art #SwedishArt #Dancers #EugeneJansson #LGBTArtists #GayArtists