"Portrait of Père Tanguy," Vincent van Gogh, 1887.

Y'all know van Gogh by now.

This is Julien Tanguy, a jovial fellow who was Paris' most popular dealer in art supplies, and a collector and dealer in art. He was often willing to accept art in lieu of payment, much to his wife's chagrin, but when he passed, his art collection was auctioned and left her rather well off.

Tanguy got van Gogh his first sale, and was willing to take a chance on a then-unknown artist. Tanguy also sold many Japanese prints, seen here, that were a huge influence on Impressionism and the Paris art scene in general. They also represent van Gogh's struggle for serenity; he saw in them a world where the stresses of his life and health were easily held at bay.

Happy Portrait Monday!

From the Musée Rodin, Paris.

#Art #PostImpressionism #VincentVanGogh #PortraitMonday #Portrait #JulienTanguy

"Girl from Eydtkuhnen II," Helene Schjerfbeck, 1927.

Finnish painter Schjerfbeck (1862-1946) has quite an artistic evolution. Early in her career, she worked mostly in Impressionist-style plein air styles or Naturalism, as well as a number of Realist historical paintings, many of which were not well-received because, of course, she was a woman and historic paintings were seen as male territory.

Later in her career she also violated norms by experimenting with modernism and Expressionism, as we see here. The model is unknown, but she is depicted with a certain panache. Her face is broken into component parts, but she's still recognizably human and I can't help but feel I'd recognize her if I saw her. She's elongated, with a pointed face and long neck, and the dress is a mere gridwork, but she's still warmly human. Her eager, interested expression draws me in.

Schjerfbeck continued to paint in her final years, including a series of Expressionistic self-portraits that are almost ghoulish.

Her birthday, July 10, is now Finland's national day for the painted arts.

From the Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki.

#Art #FinnishArt #HeleneSchjerfbeck #WomenArtists #WomenInArt #PortraitMonday

"Honeysuckle Bower," Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1609.

Rubens (1577-1640) is justly famous and popular; he was quite prolific but his quality never suffered. He was a huge influence in his time and after his passing, embedding his paintings with rich symbolism. And, from what I've read, he was also an extremely good person, intelligent and compassionate.

Here we have a double portrait, of the artist and his first wife, Isabella Brant. Here, they clasp right hands, an ancient custom indicating marital fidelity. They are surrounded by honeysuckle, a symbol of lasting pleasure, steadfastness, and permanence. The richness of their attire seems more indicative of Rubens' ambitions for worldly success, which certainly came to fruition. Sadly, the permanence here was only symbolic; Isabella died of bubonic plague at the age of 34, after they had three children together. This was painted soon after their wedding; after her passing, he did a great posthumous portrait of her, with a mischievous smile. She must have been a corker, and he's not so bad himself.

From the Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

#Art #FlemishArt #PeterPaulRubens #PortraitMonday #Baroque #Marriage

"Portrait of Painter Olga Boznańska," Helena Emingerová, 1899.

Czech-born Emingerová (1858-1943) was noted mostly for her portraits of the upper crusts in central and eastern Europe, but she prospered. She was noted as a pioneer in Czech graphic art. As we see here, she's pretty minimalist in this lithograph, but it's done exquisitely and communicates so much.

Boznańska (1865-1940), the subject of this work, was herself a prominent Polish painter. At first her style was associated with French Impressionists but she rejected that label. She was also a famed portraitist, but her work was mostly in oils. She worked and studied for a time in Munich, where she likely knew Emingerová, but later moved on to Paris where her work met with acclaim. She lived there the rest of her life, passing away during the German occupation of the city.

From the National Gallery in Prague.

#Art #WomenArtists #HelenaEmingerova #OlgaBoznanska #WomenInArt #PortraitMonday

"Study of a Student," Laura Wheeler Waring, c. 1940s.

Waring (1887-1948) was one of the great painters of the Harlem Renaissance, known for her deservedly famous portraits of figures such as singer Marian Anderson or author Jesse Redmon Fauset. Here we have a portrait of an unidentified woman, looking bored as anything. I feel for her!

The handling seems a bit clumsy, but this was only a study, something done in preparation for another painting, so one can't expect perfection from it. So many of her other portraits are detailed and realistic....but despite being basically a rough draft, it still has charm.

From the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.

#Art #BlackArtists #WomenArtists #WomenInArt #Portraits #LauraWheelerWaring #HarlemRenaissance #PortraitMonday

"Self-Portrait with Fur-Trimmed Robe," Albrecht Dürer, 1500.

Dürer (1471-1528) was one of the greatest and most innovative artists of the Renaissance. A native of Nuremberg, he became a confidante of a number of Italian artists of the era and introduced some of their elements, such as nudes and classical themes, while mixing it with secularism of German intellectuals.

Here we have one of his self-portraits, painted when he was 28. In German society, that was considered the age when one moved from youth to adulthood; the fact that it was 1500, the turn of a millennium, is not insignificant either. Here he does something not done in Northern European painting of the time...it's a portrait with no background, and with the subject facing the viewer, something normally only done with paintings of Jesus or other religious figures.

The Jesus comparison doesn't stop there...he's obviously making himself look like the savior, and the hand holding the robe is very similar to the usual stance of Christ giving a blessing. Whether this is a work of arrogance or blasphemy is still debated today.

From the Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

#Art #RenaissanceArt #AlbrechtDurer #SelfPortrait #PortraitMonday

"Portrait of Dolores Hoyos," Hermenegildo Bustos, 1884.

Mexican artist José Hermenegildo de la Luz Bustos Hernández (1832-1907) was known mostly for his portraits, but also did a number of religious paintings and still lifes.

He saw a lot of turbulence in his early life, including a cholera epidemic and the founding of the Mexican nation. At various times he worked as a tinsmith, tailor, carpenter, and mason, and kept an orchard. He had many interests in thing like history and astronomy, and art. He had a little formal art training but seems to have been largely self-educated, painting portraits of the members of prominent families in his area. He even did a portrait of Benito Juarez, now lost. (Check your attic!) And he always modestly indicated himself as "amateur painter" when signing his work.

After his death and the Mexican Revolution, his work was reassessed as a native son of Mexico, and received greater notice and acclaim. This portrait of a well-to-do young lady is probably his most popular work.

From the Museo Blaisten, Ciudad de Mexico.

#Art #MexicanArt #HermenegildoBustos #Realism #WomenInArt #PortraitMonday.

"Portrait of Dora Wheeler," William Merritt Chase, 1882-3.

Chase (1849-1916) was one of the most notable American Impressionists. A renowned portraitist, he was also a versatile artist working in many media, including watercolor & engraving, & was also a prominent teacher. He was willing to accept female students at a time when that was unheard of, & Wheeler was one of his first.

Wheeler (1856-1940) was the daughter of Candace Wheeler (1827-1923) who is regarded as the mother of interior design, & one of America's first women designer of interiors & textiles, & a supporter of craftswomen & design reform. Dora studied art under Chase & then joined her mother's design firm. (Her father was a businessman who was very progressive & encouraged his wife & daughter in their careers.) Dora became known as a portraitist, muralist, textile designer & illustrator, although sadly her most prominent mural was destroyed in a fire & little of her textile work has survived. Still, he was a prominent women of the arts, & both she & her mother were respected designers and entrepeneurs.

From the Cleveland Museum of Art.

#Art #AmericanArt #Impressionism #WilliamMerrittChase #DoraWheeler #PortraitMonday #WomenInArt

"Lucie Leon at the Piano," Bertha Morisot, 1892.

Morisot (1841-95) was, along with Mary Cassatt, one of the great female Impressionists. She was a close friend and student of Edouard Manet (and some claim a love affair, but evidence is scant), and married his brother. His influence can be seen in her work, especially here.

Although she did a number of landscapes, Morisot's great interest, like Cassatt, was in private, intimate scenes, often painting families at home. Here we feel some pity for poor Lucie Leon, so bored-looking, sitting at her piano.

Leon herself was to become a successful pianist as an adult, so while she looks like she wishes she was doing ANYTHING else, at least she came to embrace music as a career.

Morisot sadly died young, of pneumonia contracted while nursing her daughter, but during her lifetime she was a very successful artist. Today her work fetches record prices at auctions.

From a private collection.

#Art #WomenArtists #WomenInArt #Portrait #BertheMorisot #LucieLeon #PortraitMonday

"Portrait of a Little Girl, Elise Købke, with a Cup," Carl Christian Constantin Hansen, 1850.

Hansen (1804-1880) was one of the big names in the Danish Golden Age of painting (mostly the first half of the 19th century), which itself borrowed heavily from German Romanticism, the influence of which can be seen here.

His father was a portrait painter, and his godmother was Constanze Mozart (!), and his family traveled from Rome to Vienna to Copenhagen while he was still an infant. After his training as an artist, he traveled all over Europe, painting landscapes, mythological scenes, altarpieces, and portraits like this one. He did a series of paintings based on Norse mythology, intending to create a sort of national art of Denmark.

The poor thing here looks profoundly bored and uninterested. I know nothing of her, but I'm guessing from her name that she was a relative of Hansen's wife.

I still prefer the Skagen school, myself!

From the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen.

#Art #DanishArt #DanishGoldenAge #ConstantinHansen #Portrait #PortraitMonday #BoredKid #NordicArt

"Girl and Pug in an Automobile," Gerda Wegener, 1927.

Wegener (1885-1940) is someone I've featured before, but she's always worth featuring. I love this Art Deco painting, which on the surface is mild and inocuous...a woman and her dog in a car, on what seems to be an early spring day. What could be more everyday?

All is not what it appears. The woman is Lili Ilse Elvenes, aka Lili Elbe, Wegener's partner, who was trans and one of the earliest known successful recipients of gender-affirming surgery, in 1930. However, for a couple of decades Wegener had been painting haunting portraits of a sexy, almond-eyed femme fatale...and it was a bit of scandal when it emerged in 1913 that this gorgeous woman was assigned male at birth.

Elbe sadly passed away in 1931, from complications of an attempt to transplant a uterus into her body. Wegener remarried briefly, and her painting style fell out of fashion. She died poor and half-forgotten, but her work has been rediscovered and acclaimed.

From a private collection.

#Art #DanishArt #GerdaWegener #LiliElbe #QueerHistory #TransHistory #QueerArt #PortraitMonday

"Four Girls in Åsgårdstrand,"Edvard Munch, 1903.

We all know Munch. One thing that he did a lot was portraits of children, always without their parents. Munch's own mother had died when he was five, and he had a distant, uncaring father. So the sense of isolation and self-reliance that he felt as a child is externalized here.

There were just neighbor's children, posed by the wall of Munch's house. They stand facing the viewer, and the world, with only each other and their own resources to call on. It's partly sad, partly frightening, and partly empowering.

From the Munch Museum, Oslo.

#Art #EdvardMunch #Expressionism #ChildrenInArt #PortraitMonday

"Edvard Munch," Asta Nørregaard, 1885.

Nørregaard (1853-1933) was never part of the artistic elite in either Paris or her native Norway, but she was a busy and in-demand portraitist. She featured in many exhibitions during her lifetime, and even received a medal from King Haakon VII of Norway in 1920.

Edvard Munch (1863-1944) is one of history's most acclaimed painters, with an easily recognizable style. His oeuvre was influenced by his mental health struggles as much as it was by the Expressionism of his time. His "Scream" is perhaps one of the most iconic paintings in the modern art world, and a work copied and parodied almost to death.

From the Munch Museum, Oslo.

#Art #NordicArt #WomenArtists #AstaNorregaard #EdvardMunch #Portrait #PortraitMonday

"Portrait of Émile Zola," Edouard Manet, 1868.

Manet needs no introduction. But here we have one of the great stars of 19th century French letters, Emile Zola. Here he is painted at a time when he was still best known as an art critic and for his recently published novel "Thérèse Raquin."

Manet is a bit waggish here...on the wall behind the disorderly desk are a few small prints. One is of Manet's own controversial painting "Olympia," which Zola championed as Manet's best work. There's an etching from Velazquez's "Bacchus," referring to Manet and Zola's shared fondness for Spanish art. And a print of a Japanese wrestler by Utagawa Kuniyaki II, along with a Japanese screen, all point to the influence Japanese art had on the art culture of France at the time....which lent itself to the growing Impressionist movement.

He's also distracted, not really looking at us, lost in his own thoughts. He doesn't address the viewer at all, but is at work composing something in his head.

From Musée d'Orsay, Paris

#Art #Realism #EdouardManet #EmileZola #Portrait #PortraitMonday