Cecil Beaton

Happy Birthday Cecil Beaton! London born in 1904, Beaton became the most well known portrait and fashion photographer of the day (1920’s). He worked on the staff of Vanity Fair and Vogue, photographing celebrities in Hollywood as well. Beaton designed stage costumes also, the most renown being My Fair Lady and Gigi. Audrey Hepburn is in the photo below, being photographed by Cecil Beaton in a costume he designed for My Fair Lady.

Jan van Goyen

Happy Birthday Jan van Goyen (as well as my good friend Mary Jane Cline)! Dutch painter, born in 1596, van Goyen continued the trend of landscape painting of familiar places, which began in Holland. He worked on thin sheets of oak painted with several layers of thin animal hide glue. Into this he scraped white lead to use as a ground, tinting it with yellow ochre or a warmer tone. The image was sketched in pen and walnut ink before painting. River Scene feels so realistic to us with the distant town, the wet air, elements of a boatyard, the viewer immediately relaxes into the mood van Goyen has created.

John Singer Sargent

Happy Birthday John Singer Sargent! Born in Florence in 1850, John Singer Sargent was the son of a wealthy family originally from Philadelphia. He is primarily known as a portrait painter but also painted murals and watercolors. His work tends to be a bit detached from his subjects, revealing little about their innermost thoughts or emotions. His lines are flowing and handling of the paint superb. Following a visit to Spain and the study of Velasquez’ work advanced Sargent’s style. This growth is apparent in Daughters of Edward Boit. Note the spacious asymmetrical composition as well as the repetition of form in the large vertical vase mimicked by the young girl’s pinafore.

Alexander Calder

Happy Birthday Alexander Calder! American, born in 1898, Calder was initially an engineer. His father was a sculptor. Alexander invented Stabiles and Mobiles which is the union of engineering and sculpture. He is probably best known for his mobiles and kinetic sculpture works. The airy movement and counterbalance of his projects added charm and whimsy to the sculpture scene. The work is wire and metal; the lines and shapes combine to remind one of Miro. The mobile below is Lobster Trap and Fish Tail.

Barbara Hepworth

Happy Birthday Barbara Hepworth! Born in 1903, in Britian, Hepworth was an abstract sculptor who was friends with well known Henry Moore. She trained at Leeds School of Art. Hepworth worked with wood and stone and was quite passionate about carving. She felt emotion could best be expressed through abstract forms. "I do not want to make a stone horse that is trying to and cannot smell the air. How lovely is the horse’s sensitive nose, the dog’s moving ears and deep eyes; but to me these are not stone forms and the love of them and the emotion can only be expressed in more abstract terms." Tragically, Barbara Hepworth died in a fire in her studio in 1975.

Simon Vouet

Happy Birthday Simon Vouet! Today we look at another Baroque painter born 1590, in France. Both his father and brother were also painters. Vouet lived in Italy from 1613-1627, where he adopted the Baroque style, immersing it into French painting upon his return to France. His work was greatly influenced by Champaigne (cool colors) and Poussin (composition). The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is an example of Vouet's painting. The crisp clear figures are similar to the handling of Michelangelo. Note the awkward handling of perspective in the steps at the bottom right. Perspective drawing was perfected by Leonardo Da Vinci in the late 1400’s, however it took some time to catch on and many artists had difficulty with the technical aspects of the technique of showing depth in a picture.

Elisabetta Sirani

Happy Birthday Elisabetta Sirani! Born in 1638, Italian Sirani was a Baroque painter who also set up a school for women artists. Although she died at the early age of 27, she produced over 200 paintings, primarily portraits. Her father was a painter who fell ill, requiring her to support her family of 5 entirely through her art. She worked with an amazing speed, leading to speculation that exhaustion may have contributed to her early demise. Virgin and Child is an example of her classic baroque style portraiture.

Baroque-style of art, succeeding Mannerism, practiced primarily in Italy, lasting into the 18th century. Artists attempted to create (even overwhelm the spectator with) great emotional charm by use of color, light and illusion.