LÉONCE JOSEPH DE JONCIERES (1871-1930): Narcisse - Nude Ephebe _ circa 1890

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This painting by Leonce Joseph de Joncieres (1871-1930), titled by the seller as "Narcisse" (Narcissus), has been listed by a seller in France for a small fortune. It is in oils on paper mounted on canvas. The frame appears to be in mostly good shape in spite of the obvious damage. I would venture to say that the darker images in the listing are closer to the actual appearance of the painting than those bright flash lit photographs. A flash will always light up a dark painting and brighten the colors, much to the detriment of a potential buyer. Needless to say the painting could stand a major cleaning. Unfortunately, I could find very little information on the artist other that a few past auction reports.

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Otto Greiner (1869-1916): Heliogravures - Nude Studies

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Portrait of the artist 1911

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If and when the list of 19th century "Old Masters" is drawn up, I will bet you a box of fresh doughnuts that Otto Greiner (1869-1916) will be at the top of the list. The man was a drawing genius when it came to the human form. I do not think there are many in the world of artistic accomplishment who could come close his talents. I was browsing my usual haunts this morning and I ran across a collection of Heliograveures of some of his finest studies listed on eBay Germany. Greiner studied initially in Leipzig, where he trained in lithography and etching. He later studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Kunst in Munich. He traveled to Rome in 1891 where he became acquainted with Max Klinger and Kathe Kollwitz. In his definitive Grove Dictionary of Art, Sepp Kern described Greiner's tallents in terms of his favorite subject: "The nude was central to his interests, and, like Klinger, he saw the nude as the epitome of beauty in nature and believed it should be the basis for all stylistic formation."  You have to love the cooters (that's Southern US dialect for balls, testicles) on an artist who would pose nude for a portrait of himself (above). If that photo doesn't say "I'm in charge buddy, thanks for asking," then I don't know what would. My kind of guy!

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Here is just a small collection of his figurative works (Below):

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Addendum: While I was browsing eBay Germany, I found and bought a pristine 1925 edition of Julius Vogel's illustrated book on Otto Greiner's works, published just nine years after his death. I am sure there are illustrations in there that I have never seen so I look foward to scanning them for the blog.  

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Anonymous_French School: Nude Boy Standing at the Window - Late 19th Century

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This nice academic study of a nude boy turned up on one of the European eBay sites this morning. It dates from a late 19th century French School and is unsigned.

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Various 18th and Early 19th Century Italian Schools: Male Nudes

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Cambi Casa d'Aste, Genoa, Italy has listed a nice series of academic male nudes from various 18th and early 19th century Italian Schools in their current catalog. Most are unsigned. As for myself, I would be hesitant to bid on items in Italian auction houses for the simple reason that Italian Customs makes the entire exercise a crap load of work and I would prefer to keep the hair I still have left on my head. I had an overnight shipment from Italy held up for weeks, all with the necessary export forms and approvals, by Italian customs for reasons known only to God. You can't blame them for watching their cultural heritage like hawks because so much of it has been stolen, however, beware, Italian bureaucrats move like garden slugs, require everything in triplicate, and stamped with every stamp known to mankind. It's almost that bad believe me, but just be patient and the Italian system will eventually move like a clogged drain.

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Contemporary Artists: Johannes Grützke (1937), Jan Peter Tripp (1945) and Arno Waldschmidt (1936) - Self-Portraits in the Nude

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I usually avoid posting contemporary modern works but this one is fine enough and well within the 19th century skill tradition that I will make an exception. In actually, this is a community effort by three contemporary artists, Johannes Grutzke, Jan Peter Tripp, and Arno Waldschmidt.  Karl & Faber Kunstauktionen GmbH, Munich, DE has listed the drawing in their current auction catalog. It is so refreshing to see contemporary drawing skills on par with the best of the 19th century academy.

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