The Passion of Collecting Academic Nudes

Join me as we explore my collection of Academic Nudes from the 18th, 19th, and Early 20th Centuries and serendipitous finds in the Museum, Art Auction, and Gallery world......examples from the Golden Age of the European Academie


Friday, May 14, 2010

Karoly Ferenczy (1862 Vienna - 1917 Budapest) - Male Nude

Caroly (Charles) Ferenczy (1862 - 1917) was born into a well-to-do middle class family. It was not before completing his law studies and graduating from the College of Economy that Frenczy took up painting, primarily influenced by his future wife Olga von Fialka. He travelled to Italy in 1885 and spent some time in Naples where he studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti. On a short visit to Munich in 1887 he met young Hungarian painters studying there, all of them influenced by Juks Bastien-Lepage. This association encouraged him to study in Paris (1887-1890) where he attended the Academie Julian. He was taught and influenced by Tony Robert-Fleury and Adolphe-William Bouguereau, but the greatest influence upon his art was Bastien-Lepage. After 1906 he moved to Budapest and became a professor at the School of Drawing in the predecessor of the College of Fine Arts. During his last creative period he mostly painting decorative works of nudes.







Caption: Standing Male Nude
Artist: Karoly Ferenczy (1862 - 1917)
Medium: Conte on paper
Dated: circa 1887 - 1890 - signed on the lower right corner
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This is a nicely exectued standing male nude. Most standing male nudes take on the upright contraposito stance with the weight shifted to one leg and the other leg bent at the knee. This is a nice variation of that pose with the model leaning on that wicker stool. The artist has captured the pose and the model in fine detail. The model sports a nice set of family jewels..... well you get the idea if you look closely enough at the anatomy of his daingly parts. Needless to say it must have been a challenge to get all of that stuff in the drawing without taking a deep breath.

Here are a few additional mature works by Ferenczy:

Adam 1894
Three Boys Bathing 1912

Orpheus 1894

Sleeping Woman 1912
Acrobats 1913
Boys Throwing Pebbles Into The River 1890

Double Portrait - Beni & Noemi 1908
Please continue to scroll down....how all this space got here is a mystery to me...




































































































































Thursday, May 13, 2010

The du Gardier 19th Century Male Nude - Full Restoration



















I received a packet of photographs from the Conservation Laboratory on Tuesday but they are not of a good quality unfortunately. I have scanned the "after" and a few "before" photographs to give some idea what the restoration looks like. The painting will be shipped next Tuesday, and after it is unpacked, I will photograph it myself and post the photographs here for your enjoyment. By cleaning the surface the painting beneath decades of grim and dust has been rejuvenated and its natural beauty revealed. I am excited about this fantastic addition to my collection and about the restoration. Having professional restoration done on an artwork adds value to the work, and much more enjoyment. I intend to send two Hans Thoma prints for restoration next. They are both heavily acid stained by being framed in non-archival materials during the later 19th and 20th centuries. I am feeling better after my hospital stay and the medication has been effective so far with some lightheadedness as a side effect. Enjoy.
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I have been trying to think of a way to list the rest of my collection and have pretty much decided to just list them in no particular order. I will try to provide information regarding the artist when I have it and some examples of his or her later works. Until next time then.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

The du Gardier Male Nude has been restored..

Well, a somewhat pesky electrical problem with the old heart has kept me tied down in a hospital bed for a week and more tests are scheduled in the near future. Having a heart rate of 209 is uncomfortable and being shocked by those defibrillators is like being kicked in the chest by a small mule. Not fun, I assure you. It took the eyes and time-tested experience of a gray haired old doctor in the emergence room to come up with a remedy that has been around since the dawn of time to stabilize an old heart, and, the best thing is, it worked, and no defibrillation was necessary. The modern medications they gave me didn't do the trick but the old time-tested been around forever did. If they had used that darn defibrillator again it would have been the third time in one day.

When I arrived home from the hospital I received a Priority mail envelope with before and after photographs of the du Gardier male nude. As soon as I get the painting back later this week, I will photograph it myself and post the photographs here on the blog. I am away from home right now or I would scan the "after" photo's and post them.