Bees Knees Studios

19/07/2022

For nearly a century before the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 Spain was the dominant power in a resurgent Europe, the gold and silver that was looted or extracted by forced labor from its New World mines fueling the initial expansion of the Capitalist World System. This was Spain's Golden Age, the time of Cervantes in literature and Velázquez in art. Yet, as any visitor to the Prado knows, Velázquez was not the only exceptional talent at work in this era. There was El Greco (see separate MWW exhibit), Ribera, Zurbarán. Murillo and a host of lesser lights.

The 166 pictures in this gallery are devoted to the undisputed master artist of the age, Diego Velázquez (1599–1660), who, along with Goya and Picasso, still maintains a place atop the pantheon of Spanish art. While still in his teens, Velázquez established himself as a genre painter of exceptional talent. His growing fame landed him the choicest gig in the realm for an artist, appointment as Court Painter to Philip IV, still the richest and most powerful monarch on the planet. In that capacity he executed many revealing portraits of the in**ed royal family, as well as some simpatico and delightful pictures of the court's jesters and dwarfs. Though one needs to view the real pictures up close to appreciate their magnificence and the virtuosity of their creator, this extensive selection comprising three-quarters of Velázquez' works and arranged chronologically should provide the viewer with a good introduction to his work.

The second section of the gallery contains nearly 200 selections from the work of Velázquez' three talented contemporaries -- Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664), Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652), and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618-1682) -- all of whom are today considered major artists of the period.

Golden ages also produce a host of lesser lights, artists not considered great but first-rate nonetheless. This gallery concludes with a small sample of 49 works from a dozen Spanish painters who flourished between the late 16th and late 18th centuries.

In 17th c. Spain a painter could only make a living working for one of the two great powers, the Church or the Court. Velázquez held the monopoly on Court patronage and so became an essentially "secular" painter. The others needed to produce "religious" paintings for churches, often on the same theme, in order to survive. (Murillo alone, for instance, produced dozens of "Immaculate Conceptions" and "Adoration of the Shepherds." ) Though many of these paintings are first-class, this gallery keeps them to a minimum, instead opting for works distinctive to particular artists (e.g., genre paintings featuring children, in Murillo's case; tortured figures, in Ribera's).

For another MWW exhibit of art of the period see:
* El Greco - The Agony and the Ecstacy
* Goya - Scenes from Spanish Life
* The Troubled Sleep of Reason: Goya's Graphic Works

17/07/2022

During the second half of the sixteenth century, Italian artists, inspired by the late work of Michelangelo, revolutionized the art of painting with radically new ways of treating light, color and form. The new style, which became known as Mannerism, diverged in three separate directions in the early seventeenth century. Pieter Pauwel Rubens took its innovations in the use of color to their limits. From Mannerism's deployment of light and shadow for dramatic effect, Caravaggio developed the chiaroscuro technique, which was readily taken up by a host of followers. Only one artist, however, carried the Mannerist's novel treatment of form to its logical conclusion, and used it to capture the agony and ecstasy of various states of spirituality. This gallery is devoted to that artist, whom we know today as El Greco,

Doménikos Theotokópoulos (1540-1614) was born on Crete, where he trained in the tradition of Byzantine icon painting. In 1567, he emigrated to Venice, where he established himself with Titian’s workshop, and by 1576–77 he had left for Spain, where he spent the rest of his life in Toledo. In Spain he became known simply as El Greco ("the Greek"), no doubt due to the phonetic challenge his given name posed for the locals. In time, El Greco’s art developed into a uniquely personal blending of Byzantine and Italian Mannerist elements, which proved ideal for the spiritual fervor that often characterized it.

Confident, extravagant and rebellious, El Greco once predicted that his name would "go down to posterity as one of the greatest geniuses of Spanish painting." He was ultimately correct, but it would take longer than he had anticipated for that to happen. For centuries, as the mannerist style lost favor with patrons and critics alike, his star waned besides those of his contemporaries like Velázquez. It was only in the twentieth century that his genius was universally recognized and his stylistic innovations were adopted by artists as diverse as Thomas Hart Benton and Max Beckmann.

This gallery, with its over 300 pictures, presents a comprehensive look at El Greco's work throughout the entirety of his career. The visitor should be forewarned, however, that El Greco did several versions of many of his pictures. We have included many of these in this gallery, so that the viewer can compare them. The differences, though usually only small alterations to facial expressions and background detail, often result in significant changes of mood.

As is the case with all MWW galleries, the works are presented in the chronological order of their ex*****on, and many are accompanied by commentaries, either original or drawn from authoritative sources, which give background on the artist or work in question. (You may need to click "See More" to the right of the full-screen image to access these.)

For more classical Spanish art, see these MWW galleries:
* Velázquez & the Golden Age of Spanish Painting
* Goya - Scenes from Spanish Life
* The Troubled Sleep of Reason -- Goya's Series of Etchings

16/07/2022

By 1500 the secular, rationalist outlook of Italian Humanism had spread beyond the Alps and found a welcome reception among the scholars and literati of those lands. Sometimes preceding it and sometimes in its wake came the "modern art" developed in Italy in conjunction with Humanism. Not every artist in Northern Europe was as enthusiastic about the new creed and art as Albrecht Dürer, though most were quick to adopt the technical innovations of Italian painting. In Germany, Matthias Grünewald and others persisted in a medieval sensibility. And in the Low Countries, Hieronymous Bosch (c. 1450-1516) and Pieter Bruegel (c. 1525-69) initiated their own "Counter-Renaissance" with works that seemingly went against every tenet of humanism, and which, as a consequence, would destine them to a centuries-long obscurity. Almost all of Bosch's painting was religious in nature -- obsessed with temptation and sin, salvation and damnation -- and consummately non-rational in its details. (Bosch's visions of Heaven and Hell are so vividly and unconventionally rendered that one suspects he had, on some level, been there.) When Bruegel wasn't producing religious works laced with Boschean flourishes, he was depicting peasant life, a terra incognita for humanist art.

This gallery is devoted entirely to the work of these two "retrograde" artists, with a liberal dose of comments providing background and the occasional interpretation. Since both had the propensity to pack an inordinate amount of detail into works rich in action and crowded with figures, a fair number of "close-ups" accompany the pictures -- sixty for Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights" alone.

All extant paintings of both artists are included in this gallery. 224 Bruegel images follow 209 of Bosch's. Their arrangement, per usual, is in rough chronological order for each artist.

Bruegel was also a prolific printmaker. For a generous sample, see the MWW Prints & Drawing Room.

See also these MWW companion galleries:
* The Flemish Masters of the 15th & 16th c.
* Going for Baroque: Rubens & 17th c. Flemish Art

15/07/2022

14/07/2022

14/07/2022

As celebrated as the artists of the Italian Renaissance have become, they were not the only ones producing great art in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Far to north in the Low Countries, that other pole of the transalpine trade, another revival of the art of painting was also underway. In the period from about 1420 to 1550 artists working in the Burgundian capital of Bruges and the flourishing commercial center of Antwerp produced an uninterrupted series of works that were without equal in their verisimilitude, their technical and coloristic virtuosity, and their heightened expressive power. This gallery presents a representative sample of that achievement.

We begin with 60 works by the van Eyck brothers, Hubert and Jan. Jan (c. 1390-1441), perhaps more than any other artist in the 15th c., extended the boundaries of painting into areas hitherto unimagined, crafting works of a subtlety and nuance that has rarely been matched since. As the eminent critic Robert Hughes has said of him, "he extended detailed information about things far past the ordinary limits of scrutiny; his eye acted 'both as a telescope and as a microscope,' and it left us with too much, not the suggestive too little of other realist art. "

The rest of gallery presents over 250 works by other Flemish artists of the period, including such masters as Robert Campin, Rogier van der Weyden, Dieric Bouts the Elder, Petrus Christus, Hans Memling, Gérard David, Quentin Metsys, Lucas van Leyden, and Marinus Claeszon van Reymerswaele.

As is the custom with all MWW galleries, the works are presented in chronological order, with many "close-up"/detail images of selected paintings, and the majority are accompanied by commentaries. (Click "See More" to the right of the full-screen image to access these.)

See also these MWW companion galleries:
* Bosch & Breugel -- Landscapes of the Post-Medieval Subconscious
* Going for Baroque: Rubens & 17th c. Flemish Art

11/07/2022

In late February 1888, Van Gogh left Paris, where his art had matured over the previous two years, for Arles in Southern France, possibly at the urging of his friend Toulouse-Lautrec. During the fourteen critical months he spent there he became the artist whose work generation after generation of art lovers would come to cherish.

In May of 1888 he rented four rooms (at 15 francs per month) in the "yellow house" on the Place Lamartine, in the hope of it being the first step towards realizing his dream of an artists' colony -- a "brotherhood" of creative individuals in which he would no longer be the perpetual "outsider." With this aim in mind, he began a campaign through his art-dealer brother Theo, to get Paul Gauguin -- an artist as charismatic as Vincent was socially awkward -- to join him in Arles and be the person who would draw other artists to the colony. Enticed by the offer of a monthly stipend of 150 francs from Theo, Gauguin agreed and arrived in Arles on October 23rd.

Though they often both professed admiration for each other in their letters to others, the flamboyant Gauguin and the tightly-wound Van Gogh were an odd couple at best, and a disaster waiting to happen at worst, when thrown together in close quarters. Van Gogh wrote to Theo that he was "in the presence of a virgin creature with savage instincts. With Gauguin blood and s*x prevail over ambition." And Gauguin considered Vincent "completely mad" (perhaps a compliment since that was his judgment on himself as well.) As the winter wore on, their quarrels, usually over art, became more frequent and more vehement.

On the night of the 23rd of December, Vincent finally cracked. Gauguin's account, offered years later, was as follows: "Suddenly he threw the [absinthe] glass at my head. I avoided the blow and, taking him bodily in my arms, left the cafe...[Next morning, after having slept] he said to me very calmly "My dear Gauguin, I have a vague memory of having offended you last evening." [Gauguin tells him he has had enough and will write Theo and "announce his return" to Paris.] When evening arrived ... I felt the need to go out alone and take the air...I had already almost crossed the Place Victor Hugo, when I heard behind me a familiar short footstep, rapid and irregular. I turned just at the moment when Vincent rushed towards me, an open razor in his hand. My look at that moment must have been powerful indeed, for he stopped, and lowering his head, took off running in the direction of the house."

Whatever the merits of this account may be, what transpired next is well documented. Gauguin took a room in a hotel, Vincent went back to the "yellow house" on the Place Lamartine and, perhaps in a fit of guilt or shame, cut off the lobe of his left ear. According to the police report published the next day in the Arles "Forum Republicain," he then "presented himself at the maison de tolerance [brothel] no. 1, asked for one Rachel, and gave her...his ear [sic], saying, 'Guard this object carefully.' The gendarmes detained Van Gogh, and the authorities of Arles presented a petition in February, replete with unflattering testimony from some residents who knew him, requesting that Van Gogh be permanently mandated to an insane asylum in order to preserve the "public safety."

On May 8th Van Gogh voluntarily entered the Saint Paul-de-Mausole mental asylum at nearby Saint-Remy-de-Provence. His sojourn in Arles, begun with a dream and ending in a nightmare, was over -- but his artistic drama would still have two more acts before the curtain finally closed on him in a cornfield.

An excellent dramatization of this period (and of Van Gogh's entire life) is Vincente Minnelli's 1956 "Lust for Life," based on Irving Stone's book of the same title, and starring Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn.

Van Gogh was extremely productive while at Arles -- nearly 200 paintings and 336 drawings date to this period. ALL the extant paintings are presented here, arranged by catalogue number, which roughly reflects the order in which they were executed. Included in this gallery are nearly 50 drawings and watercolors from the period, as well as 34 "close-ups" of selected paintings. Many of the artworks are accompanied by extracts from Van Gogh's letters.

SEE ALSO these MWW Van Gogh exhibits, which together present ALL of his paintings and many of his drawings & watercolors.
* Van Gogh in Holland (Oct. 1881-Feb. 1886)
* Van Gogh in Paris (March 1886-Jan. 1888)
* Van Gogh at St.-Rémy (May 1889 - May 1890)
* Journey's End: Van Gogh at Auvers (20 May-29 July 1890)

11/07/2022

10/07/2022

After Van Gogh's bizarre behavior on the night of December 23, 1888 which culminated in his cutting off his ear lobe, his very presence in Arles became an issue that consumed the city's populace. When Vincent returned home to the "yellow house" briefly after a spell in the hospital to treat his wound, parents encouraged their children to follow the odd stranger around and taunt him. The authorities sealed off the yellow house and confined him in the publically-run asylum of Arles. In February 1889, under pressure from a near-hysterical citizenry, they began proceedings to declare him a "public menace" and permanently mandate him to an insane asylum.

The following incident gives a glimpse into Vincent's condition at the time. On March 23 the artist Paul Signac stopped in Arles to see how Vincent was doing. He persuaded the asylum authorities to let Vincent accompany him to the yellow house. There, Signac discovered, strewn about the room like so much refuse, dozens of the canvases that Van Gogh had done at Arles, some of the century's best works of art. During the course of the visit Vincent went from being quite calm and rational to a state of great agitation, perhaps brought on by the arrival of a mistral wind. When he suddenly grabbed a bottle of turpentine and started to drink it, Signac thought it prudent to bring him back to the asylum.

Further indication of Vincent's sudden mood swings occurs in an April 19 letter from the Reverend Salles, Vincent's caretaker at the asylum, to Theo Van Gogh: "He is entirely conscious of his condition and talks to me of what he has been through and which he fears may return, with a candour and simplicity which is touching. 'I am unable,' he told me the day before yesterday, 'to look after myself and control myself; I feel quite different from what I used to be." Salles then recommended that, since Vincent was no longer capable of living independently, he commit himself to the privately-run asylum of St. Paul-de-Mausole, near the small town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (north of Arles in the direction of Avignon), where "inmates are very well-treated." Vincent accepted the proposal willingly and on May 8th he formally entered the "Asylum for the Alienated" at Saint-Rémy under the supervision of a Doctor Peyron and the care of the nursing nuns of the Order of St. Joseph. Thus began the penultimate stage of Van Gogh's artistic odyssey.

According to other contemporary accounts, the asylum was somewhat of a dump. Patients were allowed private rooms (Theo paid for two so Vincent could have his own studio), but the rooms had all the features of prison cells, including barred windows and iron doors locking from the outside. Vincent's main concern, however, was that he be entrusted with painting materials and allowed to paint. This was soon granted and, in time, he was permitted to wander through the town and surrounding countryside under the supervision of his warder, Poulet.

Painting seemed to be the ideal therapy for Van Gogh. The inner turmoil got channeled onto his canvasses, where even the most peaceful rustic setting erupts into a frenzy of vivid color and turbulent line, yet one masterly contained within the confines of the composition. There were, nonetheless, three episodes that did not bode well for Vincent's ultimate recovery: one in July, after a visit to Arles, leaving him unconscious for a time with memory impaired; one in December, when he attempts to swallow paint; a final one in January, immediately after learning that someone has finally bought one of his paintings, which lays him up for a month. Somewhat ironically, it was during this period of confinement that Vincent received the only artistic recognition awarded him in his lifetime -- a showing of six of his pictures at an January 1890 exhibit of independent artists in Brussels.

In August Vincent wrote to his brother Theo that he wanted to come back to live in the north of France. In January he wrote him that he never felt better and was "cured." Intervening breakdowns made Theo hesitant to grant his wishes. Finally, in May 1890, Vincent made a trip to Paris and convinced Theo that a change of residence and more independence would be the best means of facilitating his recovery. Theo made arrangements for him to live on his own in Auvers-sur-Oise, a village near Paris chosen because Doctor Paul Gachet, a friend to many Impressionist painters, lived there and had agreed to look after Vincent's well-being.

Van Gogh was extremely productive while at St.-Rémy -- 143 paintings and close to 300 drawings date to this period. ALL the extant paintings are presented here, arranged by catalogue number, which roughly reflects the order in which they were executed. Included in this gallery are also 22 drawings and watercolors from the period, as well as forty "close-ups" of selected paintings. Most of the artworks are accompanied by commentary which should enhance the viewer's appreciation of the artist and his work .

SEE ALSO these MWW Van Gogh exhibits, all of which will be revised and expanded during the coming year:
* Van Gogh in Holland (Oct. 1881-Feb. 1886)
* Van Gogh in Paris (March 1886-Jan. 1888)
* Van Gogh at Arles (Feb. 1888 - April 1889)
* Journey's End: Van Gogh at Auvers (20 May-29 July 1890)

11/03/2022

Long time ago in a galaxy far far away, Photoshop was a dream and artists were painting the background of the movies using Matte Painting. Discover 25

06/03/2022

Even the best advertising idea can get ruined if the art direction is not spot on. The design and ex*****on of any campaign is as important as the idea

24/02/2022

Indian graphic designer Gary Dimi Pohty has undertaken a design challenge titled "One logo a day" in which he creates logos with hidden meanings on an

20/02/2022

In art, negative space is the background space around the main object of an image. In a two-tone image (eg. black and white), the object is usually

19/02/2022

Sifu is an action beat 'em up video game developed and published by French studio Sloclap for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. In a

18/02/2022

Enjoy a Collection of Original Concept Art made for Batman: The Animated Series (1992 - 1995). Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated

12/02/2022

Discover a selection of recent illustrations by Arthur Zima, a concept artist currently working at Rare LTD, including concept art for Sea of Thieves: A

12/02/2022

Tim McBurnie, is a freelance concept designer, illustrator and author based in Australia, specializing in character design and story development. He has

12/02/2022

Discover the art of Mathias Zamęcki in this selection of artworks, by this polish freelance artist who's recently worked for Juice and Platige Image

10/02/2022

These pretty native bees are important pollinators for Australian crops.

08/02/2022

Annie voters have until next week to decide which of these projects will take home the prize.

12/01/2022

Adam Burn is a freelance digital artists with around 11 years digital art experience and a background in traditional art. He's currently work full-time

04/01/2022

Maya and the Three (Spanish title: Maya y los tres) is a Mexican animated fantasy streaming television miniseries created by Jorge R. Gutiérrez and

04/01/2022

‘Paradise Lost,’ a painting by Dariusz Zawadzki.   According to his bio at the Morpheus Gallery, Polish artist Dariusz Zawadzki sees himself following in the footsteps of another surrealist Polish painter, the great Zdzislaw Bekinski. Zawadzki started painting when he was just eleven and when h...