Academic Nudes of the 19th Century: 2012-03-25

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Josue Dupon (1864-1935): Bronze Medal "L'Effort"... circa 1930

The artist in his studio..

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This morning I bought this nice example of Josue Dupon's beautiful medal titled "L'Effort." I do not have an example of medalic art in my collection and it was affordably priced. I was captivated by that beautifully posed Art Deco nude. Josue Dupon (1864-1935) studied at Roselare and the Antwerp Academy. He was a close friend of Jules Lagae and Rembrandt Bugatti. He is best known for his monumental bronze sculptures at the Antwerp Zoo. During his career he designed about sixty medals. He took the Gold medal at the 1871 Antwerp Salon for his sculpture in plaster titled "Sampson en de Leeuw."

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Here are a few illustrations of his other works and additional examples of "L'Effort"..

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Friday, March 30, 2012

Friedrich Kaspar Heising (1821-1902): Academic Male Nude Painting, 1841

Self-portrait of the Artist

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The Friedrich Kaspar Heising (1821-1902) academic male nude painting arrived last Saturday. I did not find the package in the garage until Sunday morning and completely missed the delivery. I found a nice spot for it in the middle of the wall above the flat screen and moved a few of the other frames around to accommodate it. When the seller in Germany and I were trying to get to a price that would get it out of Germany without having to go through the labyrinth of German Customs and into my collection, I mentioned to the seller that I suspected the painting had been cut down based upon the missing feet. No self respecting 19th century painting instructor overseeing the training of a talented student such as Heising would permit the submission of an academic nude study with the feet missing. That was just not going to happen. After closely inspecting the painting I am now positive that the painting was indeed cut down but not for the obvious reasons (stupidity). This painting has in its past been professionally cleaned, relined, and conserved to preserve what I will readily admit is a beautiful work of artistic draftsmanship. I suspect the feet are missing because of unrepairable damage that may have occurred to that portion of the canvas and the preservationist had no other choice but to preserve what he or she could and still maintain the integrity of the painting. I must say that what was preserved is breathtaking. If you look closely, you can even see individual hairs in the models beard. What a beautifully executed 19th century academic work. I managed to dig up some basic biographical information on Heising and a self-portrait (above). He was a well known German figure and landscape painter who studied in Frankfort originally and established a studio in Koblenz Lahnstein later. His paintings hang in some well known European Museums.
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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Philipp Otto Runge (1777-1810): Academic Male Nude

Portrait of the artist

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Karl & Faber Kunstauktion GmbH, Munich, DE listed this rare late 18th - early 19th century academic male nude by Philipp Otto Runge (1777-1810)(directly below). The life of Philipp Runge is an interesting study in brevity. He made a late start in his career in art and died at a young age. The auction house has listed the starting bid on this drawing at Euros 12,000, so I am guessing his early student work is indeed rare and more valuable than the average academic drawing. Runge is considered among the best of the well known 19th century German Romantic painters. Romanticism was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement during the latter party of the 18th century which was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution. He learned his early artistic skills at a young age in the form of scissor-cut silhouettes from his mother. He later studied at the Copenhagen Academy under Danish painter Jens Juel. He later continued his studies at the Dresden Academy. He was also interested in color theory and did some pretty intense analysis and study. He also wrote poetry. Today, his style is considered somewhat rigid, sharp, intense, and almost naive.
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