#portraitmonday — Public Fediverse posts

"Glen Byam Shaw as Laertes," Glyn Philpot, 1934-5.

British portraitist Philpot (1884-1937) had a comfortable life from his work, doing only a handful of commissions a year, but was paid well which allowed him to travel around Europe and further his artistic education.

Shaw (1904-1986) was a great British actor and director, who had a successful creative partnership with his friend John Gielgud. Shaw was mostly noted for his work in theater until the 1960s, when he shifted to directing opera with great success.

This portrait seems to be from a famous version of "Hamlet" that Shaw appeared in as Laertes, with John Gielgud in the title role. A letter from Philpot to Shaw indicates that Philpot had quite the crush on him....but Shaw was very happily and devotedly married to actress Angela Baddely, who became known mostly for her work on TV, including "Upstairs Downstairs."

Kind of looks like Vincent Price, doesn't he?

Happy Portrait Monday!

From a private collection.

#Art #GlynPhilpot #PortraitMonday #GlenByamShaw #AngelaBaddeley #Laertes #Drama #ManCrush

"A Four Year Old Girl with a Cat and a Fish," Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp, 1647.

Cuyp (1594-1652) was a Dutch painter of still lifes and landscapes who later shifted to portraits, often containing allegorical content.

The subject of this portrait is unknown, but the allegorical nature makes it seem absurd and surreal to modern eyes. Why is she holding a fish? What's up with the cat? This has become an internet meme for its very weirdness.

But...there is a meaning here...it's about curbing your lust. The cat, at the time, was a symbol of rampant carnal desire. The fish is suppressed temptation. The cat, instead of lunging for the fish, is doing its damnedest to get away. Meanwhile, the tapestry in the back has a courting couple, and beyond them, a castle. It looks as if it's about how they'll behave themselves and achieve the goal of having a healthy child. Maybe.

Or maybe it's just freakin' weird.

Happy Portrait Monday!

From the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY.

#Art #JacobGerritszCuyp #PortraitMonday #DutchGoldenAge #Meme #Weird

"Self-Portrait in a White Dress," Jacek Malczewski, 1914.

Polish painter Malczewski (1854-1929) was technically a Symbolist painter, but he was also one of the central figures of the Young Poland movement, a patriotic modernist movement in art, literature, and music that rejected older forms and sought to create a new, modern identity for the country's aesthetic character.

The son of a noted Polish patriot and activist, he was educated by noted novelist Adolf Dygasiński and learned art under one of the best art teachers in Poland, Leon Piccard.

He did many self-portraits, but why he did this one, and what he meant by it, are unknown. He wears a woman's blouse with a tightly cinched waist and a flamboyant beret. Some take a wink-wink-nudge-nudge attitude to this, but he was a married man with a brood of children. Given that he had aesthetic leanings, with an art-for-art's-sake outlook, it's likely he just thought it was an interesting outfit. Perhaps it's something of a joke; while in female clothing, his pose is more associated with old paintings of knights on horseback.

From the National Museum in Krakow.

#Art #JacekMalczewski #SymbolistArt #YoungPoland #SelfPortrait #PortraitMonday

"Portrait of Joseph Roulin," Vincent van Gogh, 1889.

Y'all know Van Gogh by now.

Joseph Roulin was a postal worker in the town of Arles, where Van Gogh had gone in hopes of forming an art colony. It never manifested, but he became close friends with his postman, Roulin, and the entire Roulin family became a huge source of emotional and moral support to the troubled artist.

Roulin was, by all accounts, one of those great people who was not only a devoted family man, but also a generally kind person who was always willing to lend a hand to those in need. Van Gogh was always struck by his features and overall air of kindliness, which comes across a little in this portrait; despite the large beard, he seems about to smile.

When Van Gogh was hospitalized (1888-90, on and off), Roulin looked after his studio and was a regular visitor. Some feel that Van Gogh's psychiatric troubles may have been far worse if not for the presence of his caring friend.

Here we have Roulin proud in his postal uniform, looking a bit amused, but also strong and solid. The background, of bright green and twisting vines and flowers, seems almost to embrace the subject.

Happy Portrait Monday!

From the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

#Art #VincentVanGogh #PortraitMonday #PostImpressionism

"Portrait of the Painter Andries van Bochoven and His Family," Andries van Bochoven, 1629.

Van Bochoven (1609-34) died young, only 25, and didn't make much of a career as an artist, but he was obviously talented and well-taught. He only completed a handful of known paintings, of which this is the most popular.

His father Rutger, a prosperous merchant, sits at one end of the small table, about to lead the family in prayer. His wife Johanna sits at the other end, with the smallest children. The painter's grown sisters sit at the table, holding their own books, as if ready to follow along in the prayer. The grown brothers, with Andries holding brushes, stand in the back.

It has a certain charm but Andries, and several other members of the family, passed away during a plague epidemic in 1634-8. The painting stayed in the family until Rutger's death, evidently a reminder of times past.

Happy Portrait Monday, A Day Late! (I got the days mixed up....)

From the Centraal Museum, Utrecht.

#Art #AndriesVanBochoven #DutchGoldenAge #GroupPortrait #PortraitMonday #FamilyDinner

"Titus van Rijn, the Artist's Son, Reading," Rembrandt van Rijn, 1656/7.

What can I say about Rembrandt (1606-69), other than he's one of the most recognizable names in art? A painter and printmaker, he pretty much defines the Dutch Golden Age. But unlike may other artists of the period, he didn't specialize.

Unlike, say, our friend Rachel Ruysch, who specialized in flowers, Rembrandt did all sorts of genres. Portraits, historic, religious, landscapes, mythical scenes, animals...he was all over the artistic map. Some of his work courted controversy; a painting of Bathsheba created a furor as everyone knew the nude Bathsheba was Rembrandt's mistress. He also had persistent financial troubles that led to him being ruled incompetent and his affairs managed by his son.

Titus van Rijn (1641-68) was the only child by Rembrandt's wife Saskia to live to adulthood. He was a frequent model for his father, and his death at 26 was a sad blow. Here he is, absorbed in a book, and looking like the apple of his father's eye.

Happy Portrait Monday!

From the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

#Art #DutchGoldenAge #Rembrandt #PortraitMonday #TitusVanRijn

"Girl in a Pink Dress," Laura Wheeler Waring, 1927.

Waring (1887-1948) was THE great portrait artist of the Harlem Renaissance. Her depictions of major figures in Black history make her worthy of study.

Here we have a portrait of an unidentified young Black woman in a stylist 20s dress, with a stylish 20s hairdo. This is a young lady of fashion, very up-to-the-minute.

But also, her youth, the choice of pink for her dress, and the corsage at her shoulder...this hints at blossoming and young vitality. "Here," Wheeler may be saying, "is the future of Black America, just coming into blossom!"

I've talked about Waring before, including her many portraits and her years teaching, so I won't go into her life story. But I just love this portrait of a young, vital, serene woman, waiting to take on the world.

Happy Portrait Monday!

From a private collection.

#Art #LauraWheelerWaring #WomenArtists #WomenInArt #BlackHistoryMonth #PortraitMonday #HarlemRenaissance #YouthInBlossom #FutureOfAmerica

"Titus at His Desk," Rembrandt van Rijn, 1655.

Who doesn't know Rembrandt?

This is a portrait of his one surviving son by his first wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh. (Three other children died within weeks of their birth.) Saskia herself died of tuberculosis a year after Titus' birth, and her illness and death affected him greatly, as we can see from his paintings of her on her deathbed. There is a tender sort of anxiety in his depictions of Titus, who he painted frequently, as if fearful that he could leave any day.

Titus van Rijn (1641-1668) was by all accounts an intelligent and willful child who adored his father and did everything he could to help him, especially when Rembrandt's financial problems led to a bankruptcy. When Titus got older, he and Rembrandt's mistress Hendrickje set up a corporation as art dealers to generate work and support for his father.

Titus married in 1668 to Magdalena van Loo, but died a few months later of unstated causes. His daughter Titia was born six months after his passing. Rembrandt himself passed on the following year.

Happy Portrait Monday!

From the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam.

#Art #DutchGoldenAge #RembrandtVanRijn #PortraitMonday #Portraits

"Self-Portrait with a Turban," Wallerant Vaillant, c.1650-60.

Vaillant (1623-77) was born in France, to a family of artists; he had four brothers who also all became painters. Wallerant is said to have taught all of his brothers to draw and paint, and they all settled in Amsterdam.

Vaillant was primarily a printmaker and engraver, and is thought to have developed the mezzotint style of printing, along with Prince Rupert of the Rhine, who he was tutoring. But he did turn out a small number of paintings, mostly portraits, including a series of self-portraits in various modes of dress.

Here we have him in a flamboyant red turban, echoing a similar self-portrait of Rembrandt. The fabric is richly printed and well-depicted; it's a very well-done portrait. I wonder about his expression, though....it seems a mixture of wariness and defiance, as if daring us to say something about the turban!

Happy Portrait Monday!

From a private collection.

#Art #DutchGoldenAge #WallerantVaillant #Selfie #PortraitMonday #Turban