Anselm Feuerbach (Speyer 1829 – 1880 Venice): Semi-Nude Draped Male Study - 1850-51

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Villa Grisebach Auktionen, Berlin, DE has just listed this beautifully executed semi-nude Academic study in their current catalog. Anselm Feuerbach (1829-1880) is a well known and well documented 19th century artist. The German description of the painting even speculates that based upon other similar paintings, this may be a self-portrait of the artist executed in the early years of his artistic career. It really is a fine example of 19th century academic works.

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John McKirby Duncan (1866-1945): Oediphus and the Sphinx

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Auction House Biksady Galeria in Budapest has listed a beautiful painting titled Oedipus and the Sphinx by the Scottish painter and Illustrator John McKirdy Duncan (1866-1945) in their latest catalog. Duncan was born in Dundee and began his art studies at the age of 11 at the Dundee School of Art. He later studied at London, Antwerp and Dusseldorf. During his career he exhibited at the Royal Academy(1893) and did decorations of University Hall, Edinburgh. He traveled and worked in France and the United States (Chicago). Duncan was a great experimenter with various techniques and a great deal of his works are in tempera. His subject matter was rooted in Celtic Revivalism and the Pre-Raphaelite tradition.

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Here is just a small sampling of his mature works:

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Félix Edouard Vallotton (1865 – 1925): Standing Nude Boy

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Several days ago I picked up this nice drawing of a standing nude boy (below) from a seller in France. I am certainly no expert in Vallatton's works but it looks right to me (Wishful thinking always bolsters one's day). The seller only made an oblique reference to the artist since the drawing is only monogrammed "FV." Smart man, he wasn't about to make a positive attribution trying hook a buyer, but one viewer of the auction certainly was convinced in the comments section.  In the end, I basically picked up a nice 19th century drawing for the shipping charges which were more than the cost of the drawing. Can't get better than that.

Félix Edouard Vallotton (December 28, 1865 – December 29, 1925) was a Swiss painter and graphic artist who was intrustamental in the development of the modern woodcut.  He attended Collège Cantonal, graduating with a degree in classical studies in 1882. In that year, he moved to Paris to study art under Jules Joseph Lefebvre and Gustave Boulanger at the Academie Julian. According to his biographers, he spent many hours in theLouvre, where he studied the works of Holbein, Durer, and Ingres, artists who would remain firmly established in his works throughout his life.  Vallotton's earliest paintings, chiefly portraits, are firmly rooted in the academic tradition. In 1885 he painted the Ingresque Portrait of Monsieur Ursenbach as well as his first painted self portrait (seen above), which received an honorable mention at the Salon of French Artists in 1886. During the following decade Vallotton painted, wrote art criticism and made a number of prints. In 1891 he executed his first woodcut, a portrait of Paul Verlaine. The many woodcuts he produced during the 1890s were recognized as innovative and established Vallotton as a leader in the revival of true woodcut as an artistic medium.

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Here is just a small selection of his mature works:

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