Jan de Bisschop (1628-1671) Figural Etchings - 17th Century

Today I found a number of prints by Jan de Bisschop (1628-1671) listed on eBay France. If I didn't already have myself tied up financially in the purchase of a beautiful bronze, I would love to bring a number of these beauties into my collection. I do not presently have examples of 17th century instructional academic nudes in my collection. Jan de Bisschop was originally a lawyer by training but inspite of his lack of artistic training he founded a painting studio in The Hague in 1652 and later founded a drawing school. He produced some beautiful landscapes in ink washes. He also made figure studies, referencing classical and Italian paintings. Despite his amateur status, he was widely influential in art and art publishing during his lifetime. Jan de Bisschop was also responsible for two substantial collections of prints, the signorum Veterum icones, published from 1668-1669; and the Paradigmata graphices variorum artificum, published in 1671. The icones contained 100 prints after classical and classicizing sculptures. Jan de Bisschop's volumes were highly successful in their intended purpose, to furnish Dutch artists with a source of ideal instructive models for figures and figure compositions. Enjoy.
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Here are a few additional examples of Bisschop's works:

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Anonymous Austrian Academic Male Nude - Oils on Canvas - circa 1810

As I find examples of 18th and early 19th century Academic works online I thought I would post them for your enjoyment. This nice example is currently listed on a European auction site. There is a Biblical aspect to it with the symbology of the staff. Perhaps Young St. John the Baptist? The Good Shepherd?
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Gerard de Lairesse (1640-1711) Foundations of Drawing 1701 - Male Nude Etchings

I found this beautiful set of detailed etchings on a German site this morning and thought I would share them with you. They came from a manual on the art of drawing by the Dutch (Baroque Era) painter-etcher, and art theorist Gerard de Lairesse (1640-1711). After de Lairesse lost his sight, he was forced to earn his living by giving art lessons. He intensively collected older prints like those of Crispijn de Passe and contemporary drawings on the theory of sketching. He published his own etchings on the subject, based on older prints, in 'Grondlegginge der Teekenkonst' (Foundations of Drawings) in 1701. His works were translated from the original Dutch into French in 1719 and to German in 1745. I thought they were unique and decided to list them as examples of works intended as copy work by art students in the 18th century. Perhaps I can add at least one of them to my own collection. Enjoy.
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Caption: Images from a manual on the art of drawing

Artist: Gerard de Lairesse (1640-1711)

Medium: Intaglio Print on Paper

Dated: circa early 1700's

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Here are a few examples of Lairesse's beautiful graphic works: (Images courtsey of Inventaire du Department des Arts Graphiques, The Louvre)

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Daniel Barkely (1962- ) The Working Smock - Nude Male Youth (2005)

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I thought I would give you a little treat today. It is so very seldom that I buy contemporary figurative works. My collection is almost entirely made up of 18th, 19th and early 20th century works. The artistic skill levels of today's trained artists almost always leaves me dissatisfied. Several years ago I had the distinct honor of becoming the first collector south of the Canadian border to own a Daniel Barkley painting. I discovered his work on line and thanks to his Gallery rep in Canada, I managed to procure one of his beautiful paintings. Daniel has a web site but he does not answer email enquiry (www.danielbarkley.com/). All of his sales are handled through his Gallery representative ... Galerie Harwood in Canada (www.galerieharwood.com/) if you are interested in acquiring one of Daniel's works. As a rule I do not buy contemporary works but I made an exception here because of the Daniel's technical mastery of his medium. Daniel's mastery of color is enviable. Daniel Barkley was born in Montreal and holds a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from Concordia University. He has been painting for some twenty years now. He was awarded the A.J. Casson Medal for Excellence in watercolor by the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolor and in 2002 he was awarded 1st prize by the Society of Canadian Artists. His mastery of color is superb in my humble opinion. He reworks biblical and mythological themes and his reinterpretations are truly remarkable. Spirituality, mysticism, and the supernatural are important elements in his works. The model's name is Vincent and he appears in many of Barkley's works. Enjoy.
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Caption: The Working Smock (Model Vincent)

Artist: Daniel Barkley (1962-)

Medium: Acrylics on Canvas

Dated: 2005

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Here are just a few of the beautiful works of Daniel Barkley:

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Dollar in Free fall against the Euro....bye bye art bargains.

Addendum: Well, well, well.....the Euro is bouncing down like a rubber ball....hello to more drawings from Europe! At least for a while...
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Man, the last few days have been heck-on-wheels for anyone looking for bargains from European auction sites. It seems like every day the dollar keeps taking a beating against the strengthening Euro. I keep checking the exchange rates with an eye to what I will have to pay for the latest bronze that I have on hold and every day brings nothing but bad news. That mean fact has put the breaks on most buying of art from my usual European sources. Thanks to the "let's blow it all on stupid projects and spread the wealth around nonsense" crowd in Congress and the White House we are now becoming an economic basket case on a scale never before seen in this country. I guess I will have to cool my jets for a while and see if there are any bargains left here in the states, although I will carefully watch the European sites just in case there is some possibility of grabbing a bargain. There is a mother load of drawings, paintings, prints, and bronzes out there on the European sites but alas the current trend in the exchange rate is not conducive to continued buying from here. Shame really. I still have more drawings in my collection to post before I run out of items but it looks like new stuff will be on a temporary hold. Let's hope sanity can be restored and a grip can be put of the fools responsible for this economic mess.