Order, pattern, & William Morris 1834-1896

The most famous 19C English pattern & craft devotee was William Morris (1834-1896), who believed that art & society are inextricably linked.

1876 Pimpernel

Art for Morris meant not only the fine arts of painting & sculpture but "that great body of art by means of which men have at all times ... striven to beautify the familiar matter of everyday life."

1885 Fritillary

He believed that such art arose from a basic human instinct to create, & was "a joy to the maker & user alike" which satisfied personal creative talent & enriched society as a whole.

1873 Acanthus Wallpaper

But the traditions upon which such art rested - the skills of the artist-craftsman, which Morris saw exemplified in medieval workshop practice & the guild system - had been eroded.

1874 Larkspur Wallpaper, polychrome version

Since the Renaissance, the concept of the artist as a unique & special genius had led to a diminution in status of the craftsman & an inevitable division between the fine & decorative arts.

1881 St. James

This distinction had a particularly adverse effect on applied art, especially during the 18th-century, when the rise of an affluent middle class led to an increased demand for furniture & furnishings. In 1861, William Morris founded the decorative arts firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co to undertake carving, stained glass, metal-work, paper-hangings, chintzes (printed fabrics), & carpets.

1876 Chrysanthemum Wallpaper

Morris revived old crafts & traditions, often immersing himself in historical texts or seeking out craftsmen from whom he could learn dying arts. The company's offerings soon extended to include, besides painted windows and mural decoration; furniture; metal & glass wares; cloth & paper wall-hangings; embroideries; jewelery; woven & knotted carpets; silk damasks; & tapestries.

English painter John Everett Millais 1829-1896 & my granddaughters...

John Everett Millais (English painter, 1829-1896) Raking Leaves 1856

This painting so reminds me of our 5 grandaughters who love to rake leaves up here in the woods in the fall. They gather the noisy leaves into enormous piles and then run and jump into them, scattering them back across the ground.

The bold women of Polish painter Franciszek Żmurko 1859–1910

Franciszek Żmurko (Polish painter, 1859–1910)

Polish painter Franciszek Zmurko (1859-1910) was born in Lvov, Poland, & received his first lessons in drawing from painter Franciszek Tepa there. He followed with lessons from Jan Matejko at the Fine Arts School in Krakow. In 1877, Zmurko moved to Vienna to enter the Academy there & traveled to Munich for lessons from Aleksander Wagner. In 1880, he returned to Krakow, & finally settled in Warsaw in 1882. Zmurko made several trips to Milan (1894); Paris (1884-85 & 1889); & St. Petersburg (1883-84). He died in Warsaw, Poland, in 1910.
 
Franciszek Żmurko (Polish painter, 1859–1910)


Franciszek Żmurko (Polish painter, 1859–1910)


Franciszek Żmurko (Polish painter, 1859–1910)


Franciszek Żmurko (Polish painter, 1859–1910)


Franciszek Żmurko (Polish painter, 1859–1910)


Franciszek Żmurko (Polish painter, 1859–1910)

Franciszek Żmurko (Polish painter, 1859–1910) Portret kobiety z wachlarzem i papierosem 1891


Franciszek Żmurko (Polish painter, 1859–1910)

Franciszek Żmurko (Polish painter, 1859–1910) Girl with Red Ribbons

Franciszek Żmurko (Polish painter, 1859–1910) Self-Portrait with Palette

The extremely colorful neighbors of Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin 1848-1903

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Breton Woman in Prayer

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of Paul and Jean Schuffenecker

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of Fritz Schekuld

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of Madame Roulin

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of a Little Boy

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of a Woman

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of a Man Wearing A Lavallier

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of M. Loulou

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of a Pont Aven Woman

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of a Young Woman

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of Aline Gaugin

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of Madame Alexander Kholer

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of William Molard

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Portrait of Young Breton Woman

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) Breton Girls by the sea, 1889

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) Clovis, 1886

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) Madelaine Bernard, 1888

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) Meyer de Haan by Lamplight, 1889

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) Night café, Arles, 1888

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) Portrait of woman against the Cezanne's still life with apples, 1890

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) The Child 1895

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) The Boss' Daughter 1886

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) Young Breton by the sea, 1889

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) Young woman at the window, 1888

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Self Portrait Les Miserables

Christen Købke (1810–1848) of Denmark

Christen Købke (1810–1848), Rough Sea on a Rocky Coast, 1839

These paintings with their soft light & stillness are perfect for a relaxing Sunday afternoon.  Denmark’s Golden Age – the term used to describe the country’s amazing diversity of intellectual, scientific & cultural achievements of the first half of the 19th century – was also a time of social inequality & economic collapse, as the nation was left bankrupt in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars.

Christen Købke (1810–1848), Portrait of Cecilia Margaret Petersen Købke, the artist's Mother 1829

Denmark recovered with remarkable swiftness producing art defining images of a peaceful, innocent, ordered society. Painters such as Købke reflected this renewal of national pride.

Christen Købke (1810–1848), Portrait of an Old Sailor, 1832

Købke’s work endowed ordinary people, places, & simple motifs with a universal significance, creating a world in microcosm.

Christen Købke (1810–1848), Portrait of the Artist’s Sister-in-law, Johanne Elisabeth Købke, née Sundbye

Købke found his inspiration in Copenhagen painting his immediate surroundings, almost all of which were within the fortified walls of the Danish capital.

Christen Købke (1810–1848),

Throughout his career, Købke painted a large body of portraits. As commissions for other types of work were rare, portraiture offered a secure prospect of work & income.

Christen Købke (1810–1848), Portrait of Ida Thiele, the Future Mrs Wilde as a Child, 1832.

The nature of portraiture changed during Denmark's Golden Age, as the emerging middle classes sought images to confirm their new position in society.

Christen Købke (1810–1848), Frederik Sodring

Portraits often emphazised lineage & prosperity; and while Købke responded to such a need, he was also drawn to penetrating the personality of the sitter.

Christen Købke (1810–1848), Portrait of Naval Lt Christen Schifter Feilberg, 1834.

Købke's portraits are almost all single figures in simple frontal poses with few if any distinctive settings encouraging the viewer to concentrate solely on the sitter.