Unknown French Artist, Late 19th Century French School - Ganymede - Standing Nude Ephebe - Mixed Media Drawing On Paper

And we are off to the races once more thanks to a heating pad, an ice pack, and five days of a muscle relaxer which made me somewhat goofier and sleepier than usual. Lower back pain at my age is more fun than vomiting! I was doing my usual rounds on eBay France several weeks ago when I spotted this mixed media “Orientalist style” drawing of a standing nude ephebe being listed by an antiques dealer in Bretagne, France. The asking price was affordable but the dealer was a snooty French snob who thought sticking it to an American on shipping charges was more fun than baking French bread in a wood fired oven from wood stolen from the American neighbor next door! UGH! The drawing had such eye appeal to me that I swallowed my pride and executed the buy, hopefully to never, never, ever have to deal with that prick anytime in the future. Unfortunately, there is no signature and no indication as to who created the work. It appears to my eye to be a watercolor with color pastel or chalk highlights on a page from an artist’s sketchbook. If you look closely at the detail photos you will see a beautiful underdrawing in pencil. My guess for the subject matter, considering the 19th century origin, is “Ganymede- Cup bearer of the gods!” Knowing the true story of that kid it should be retitled: Gannymede, bed warmer of the gods." The context of a nude male youth holding a gold cup fits the narrative, so we’ll just go with that. I pulled up some depictions from Ancient Greek vases and they seem to fit the narrative well. Later famous, or infamous, depictions of the youth in the clutches of Zeus are also included. Enjoy

And here are a few images from Art History (Perhaps they should rename the lad.... The Bedwarmer of Zeus... dirty old man):

If It Wasn’t For Bad Luck Lately I wouldn’t Have Any Luck At All As The Song Goes!

Boy has it been an exciting last few months, both financially and in my physical health. In the last few weeks I have met the floor without any grace at all on two separate occasions and screwed up my back royally! Bruised and battered, I am back up and ready to go! Getting old is so much fun, you should all try it some time! Old age is a blast! Since Christmas I have had to replace my well (Yes, they charge by the foot ...... $4.00 a foot for the pipe that goes down several hundred feet) and then add on the cost of the submersible pump, labor, and just for fun drive you insane charges), buy a new 15 KW whole house generator (You don’t live in Florida with those big you-know-what storms you should never speak their names because if you do they will get you), when they take out the power for weeks. On a regular day, a squirrel can fart too close to the power lines around here and the power goes out), and replace a faulty air conditioning system (North Florida can get down right uncomfortable in the summer but I love every miserable day, with cool air indoors of course). If you don’t think that would break anyone’s financial piggy bank, then please try it and see what labor and new systems cost these days. The A/C installer commended me on getting the unit early because in a few weeks they would be busier than two one armed wall paper hangers, you would have to wait weeks, and the price of the unit would probable double! Anyway, I have managed to add a few additions to my collection of Academic works. I am hopeful that large amounts of Tylenol and a heat pad will keep me upright long enough to catch you up on the latest! Prices in Europe, especially the shipping charges, have continued to be sky high and real bargains in accomplished 19th century academic artworks have been few and far between, although I have managed to pull off a few fortuitous buys before completely running out of fun money. Like a blind pig (me), one will occasionally run across a nice fat acorn! I would like to mention a few things before we get started. If you have questions, require research or clarification on a listing, disagree with some of my pontifications, please feel free to message me. I have a giving spirit and would be happy to help out (Just don’t get me started on religion or politics). I have found a neat business on line called “Posterburner.com” which will make any size of poster of your favorite image at decent rates. Their service is affordable and shipping is fast and safe. Their product is amazing. Try them out. I think you will be pleased (No they are not a sponsor). They produced a small poster of my favorite very astronomically priced Sally Mann photographic image: “The last time Emmett Modeled Nude, 1987” for me. Having hand raised two sons and nearly losing the youngest to bone cancer (He just got his promotion to Major in the US Army and graduated from the US Army Command and General Staff College) that poignant image just brings tears to my eyes knowing that Emmett later took his own life in early adulthood. No parent should have to live through that kind of loss. It's no wonder Sally Mann's later work becomes dark and forboding. That image reminds me just how fortunate I am to have been blessed with two wonderful sons and that we have made it safely through some very grave times! The line up of finds will include a very rare image of a pre-adolescent nude female academic drawing which has been like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack for literally years and years! Academic drawings of pre-teen and teen males are scarce but readily available if you look hard enough. Female nudes are few and very far between. I bought that drawing from an Art Gallery in Berlin, Germany along with a pre-teen male Nude. The seller had mistakenly thought they were both male nudes but that one drawing was definitely a diamond in the rough, female nude. Before bad luck descended, I managed to buy several additional German intaglio prints of nudes, a small oils on board study of a female nude by German-American Artist Karl von Marr (1858-1936). Probably a study for one of his famous “nude women on the rocks!” A theme which he was noted for. I found a nude “photo-realism” study of a nude boy by the contemporary German Artist Josta Stapper (1941- ?), it has some minor condition problems and is scheduled to go to Baumgartner Restoration Specialists for restoration work, several bronzes, a nice “swimming hole” watercolor, and just yesterday, a very fine 19th century Orientalist standing nude boy drawing in pastels. So stay tuned and as I am able, I will publish the entire line up of works in the coming weeks. Stay safe and my very best wishes to all of you who share my love of the Academic Nude!

The Florence Classical Arts Academy - Florence, Italy

I am always on the look out for Art Schools that teach Classical methods of training artists. I was browsing around the net when I came upon The Florence Classical Arts Academy in Italy. They offer a variety of classical training, summer courses, and I think even an online course. You can find them at https://www.artac.org/ . Dissatisfied with your current University training, then take a look at what they have to offer the aspiring artist! Here are a few screen caps of their website and a few examples of student works.

Book Review: “Naked - The Nude in America" by Bram Dijkstra -Rizzoli Press, New York (2010)

It’s been quite a while since I have done a book review so I thought I would do a review of one of my most recent acquisitions. Several months ago I bought a copy of the quintessential tome on the nude in art by Sir Kenneth Clark titled: “The Nude: A Study In The Ideal Form” for ten dollars on eBay. His series of lectures on the subject covered just about all the European sources of the nude in art but was somewhat short on the nude in art in North America. I began to wonder about what volumes are out there which cover the missing parts of Clark’s lectures on the nude in art. Now, in this age of internet accessibility of tons of information on line about art and artists, I began to think about what might be out there in print on the subject of my interest in the 19th century European and American Academy of Arts and the Academic nude. It appears that interest in the printed word in real, hold in you hands, love the feel in your hand of ten pounds of paper, books has been somewhat eclipsed by weightless images on a computer screen. You would be surprised by the number of out of print books on the subject of 19th century art listed on eBay these days which can be had for just a few bucks. In my search for reference materials I happened upon this volume for a measly thirty-eight dollars which sold at publication for seventy five dollars. When the book arrived I was in awe! As I thumbed through the 476 pages of color illustrations I was captivated by the detail of what America has contributed to the subject of the nude in art from the 18th century to the date of the publication of this volume. Here is a scan of the critique of the volume from the jacket cover:

The volume is lavishly illustrated with large color images and is well worth the paultry few dollars you have to pay for it on eBay. I highly recommend you add it to your library of art books. Here is a sampling of just a few of the illutrations: (Below) (1) Benjamin West - Male Nude Sitting on a Rock - Watercolor - 1783

(2) BENJAMIN WEST: THE DEATH OF HYACINTHUS 1771 (Below)

(3). EDWARD VYSEKAL - NUDE 1930 - Watercolor (Below)

(4)HENRY OLIVER WALKER - NARCISSUS 1890’S (Below)

(5).ROBERT LEWIS REID - The Bathers 1894 (Below)

(6).ROBERT LEWIS REID - THE BATHER 1894 (Below)

(7) .ROBERT LEWIS REID - FEMALE NUDE

(8) WILLARD LEROY METCALF - THE BATHING POOL 1886 (Below - Partial scan)

Complete Image: (Below)

ACTAEON- Bronze Relief - Unknown German Artist -Circa 1900-1930

When I first spotted this beautiful bronze relief on eBay Germany my first reaction was: “OMG, that’s Actaeon!” The seller had eroniously listed the bronze as “Man chased by wolves and dogs on horseback” in German! I knew it was way more than that! My breath was taken away by the beauty of that work or art. I had to have it! The starting price was at a stupid low amount of a few Euros so I emailed the seller and told her what the subject matter was and made her what I thought was a fair offer of several hundred Euros, which was way more that the current bid! Fortunately she accepted my offer and that beautiful bronze relief is headed into my collection.

The story of Diana and Actaeon in Ovid’s Metamorphoses tells of a man who happened by chance upon a goddess bathing. The outraged goddess ensures that Actaeon can never tell what he has seen by changing him into a deer to be killed by his own hounds. Ovid explicitly compared the reasons for his own exile with the error that Actaeon unintentionally committed. Subsequently, many artists have used this story to comment on the censorship of a human being and to explore Ovid’s own thoughts on the subject. A 17th-century plaquette (Bowdoin College Art Museum), Titian’s Diana and Actaeon (National Gallery, London), and a tapestry depicting the same scene (Metropolitan Museum of Art), offer three different interpretations of Actaeon’s story. Each artwork (painting, tapestry, or plaquette) tells a unique story of Actaeon’s unfortunate fate and gives the viewer insight into the plight of the exiled author. Actaeon’s encounter with Diana shows the unfortunate fate of a young hunter who unknowingly happens upon a nude goddess. “But if you seek well, you will find the charge of chance, not a crime; for what crime did error have?”I Actaeon did not mean to offend the goddess and is genuinely surprised when his wanderings in the woods bring him to the pool where the naked goddess is bathing. “Thus the fates bring that man.” II Diana’s nymphs surround her and try to cover her but Diana splashes him with water, which transforms him into a stag before he even has time to realize what has happened. As Diana silences Actaeon forever, she sarcastically says to him, “Now you may tell that I have been seen by you, if you are able to tell, it is permitted.” III She taunts him knowing full well that he will never be able to tell anyone what has happened. He is doomed as a human stuck in an animal’s body for the rest of his short life. Not even twenty lines later the attack of his own hunting dogs starts, and he is torn to bits as his fellow hunters look on wishing Actaeon was there to see. Contemplating the events that had transpired Ovid discusses the justness of the punishment: “Public opinion varied: For some, the goddess seemed more violent than was just, others praise her and call her worthy of her austere virginity; and each side finds reasons for their point of view.” Diana’s violent response may seem more reasonable when viewed against the context of multiple tales in previous books that create certain expectations about how woodland encounters between a male and and a female will unfold. Heath’s article, “Diana’s Understanding of Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’”, emphasizes that the circumstances of Diana, rather than Actaeon, are unfortunate. Previous stories in the Metamorphoses that combine eroticism and hunting create an atmosphere of fear and a perception, “in which Diana, a careful and understandably suspicious audience of Ovid’s narrative world of hunt and rape, cannot help misinterpreting Actaeon’s actions.” V For example, in Metamorphoses 1, Apollo becomes infatuated with Daphne who must resist the imminent danger of (a possible) rape. She then begs her father to allow her to be left alone, like Diana, the virgin goddess. Daphne’s fate is less than desirable as she is turned into a tree in order to deny Apollo her body. Later on, Jupiter disguises himself as Diana in order to force himself upon Callisto. You can find more on Callisto here. Therefore, Diana knows that a man finding a naked woman in the forest is never a good thing, even if he is a mortal against a goddess. “The goddess reacts to the only paradigm she understands, that of the narrative pattern which makes her open to assault.”VI Diana has no other option but to react and therefore, her transformation of Actaeon can be seen as necessary defense rather than a cruel punishment. She believes she is standing her ground! …… In this 17th century tapestry, Actaeon is seen fleeing the scene  and again, the horns are already on his head implying his impending death in the jaws of his own hunting dogs. Actaeon is a doomed man who feels guilt and shame, or even fear, from happening on the naked goddess. Diana, on the other hand, seems much more regal and poised. She does not seem like she is acting out of fear, but rather out of a sense of divine dignity. This makes the punishment seem much more cruel and depicts Actaeon as a hapless victim much less responsible for his actions. Would Ovid identify more with the scene depicted in this artwork over the other two? The blame is placed entirely on the one who is silencing. Actaeon just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and is banished forever from human existence to be killed as a stag by his own beloved hunting dogs. Behind Actaeon’s transformation and doom, Ovid’s own exile from Rome by Augustus resonates. Throughout the story, Ovid reminds the reader that it was indeed fate that brought Actaeon to Diana and not his own wrongdoing. “Thus the fates bring that man.” IX Later artists make specific decisions that illuminate different thoughts on the guilt or innocence of both Actaeon and Diana. These decisions reflect on the unfortunate censorship of the Roman poet turned exile. Ovid comments on the fortune of Actaeon in Tristia: “Ignorant Actaeon saw Diana without clothes: nevertheless he fell as prey for his dogs. Even fate must be atoned for among the powers that be; chance carries no weight when a god has been hurt.”X Even if Actaeon was just unlucky, maybe the goddess acted in an understandable manner given the circumstances. Was Diana unjust in her punishment, or was she right to be defensive in the presence of a man given the many stories ending in rape after a hunt? A close analysis of Ovid’s text reveals that Actaeon was brought there by fate, but can we still call the reaction of the goddess unjust? The story of Diana and Actaeon may be up for debate but what this conversation yields is the opportunity to reflect on the exile of Ovid and the silencing of many others.  

GEORGE BELLOWS (1882 -1925) Lithograph: “Man on his back, Nude.” circa 1916 (Numbered 17 in an edition of 19 Prints in the Series - Signed by the Artist’s Daughter, Jean Bellows Booth (1915-2007).

“It seems to me that an artist must be a spectator of life; a reverential, enthusiastic, emotional spectator, and then the great dramas of human nature will surge through his mind.” (GEORGE BELLOWS, 1917) The Artist..(Below)

Man on his Back, Nude. Circa 1916

During my adventures into the online Auction World over the last few weeks, now that there seems to be a huge dry spell in the various European Auction sites, I noticed there was an auction of 19th and 20th Century prints at the Rachael Davis Fine Arts site. As I wondered through the pre-sale online gallery, I ran across a print by the famous American Artist GEORGE BELLOWS (1882-1925) titled: “Man on his back, Nude,” ca. 1916. I have always loved the American printmakers of the early 20th century since buying a print by Thomas Hart Benton that I found at an Antiques store in New York City in the late 1970’s shortly after Benton’s death. Anyone familiar with the works of George Bellows knows his prints and paintings are full of energy and movement. The auction estimate was in the range of affordable so I decided to sign up and take part in the Live Auction sale. In the mean time, unlike some of my past unsuccessful auction efforts, I decided to do some in-depth research on the print and found the Bellows Family Trust Site online which lists all of his prints available for purchase from the Family Trust found in his studio after his death. I found this particular print in their list of available prints for sale and just about swallowed my chewing gum when I saw the listed price (below). Original signed Bellows Prints can bring a very hefty asking price so I thought why not go for it. It is pulled from the original stone and is number 17 of a rare limited edition of 19 prints. I realize the main objective of selling these prints posthumously is mainly to keep the heirs in cash. Strangely enough the GEORGE BELLOWS Gallery emphatically says that all of GEORGE BELLOWS lithographs were pulled by him and some were left unsigned and later signed by his wife and after her death by his daughter. Here’s a quote from the website: “Thomas French Fine Art has represented the Bellows Family Trust since 2001. The Bellows Family Trust holds original lithographs and drawings created by George Wesley Bellows and left in the artist’s studio at the time of his unexpected early death. All of George Bellows’ original lithographs were printed by the artist or under his direct supervision. There are no posthumous impressions of any of George Bellows’ lithographs. George Bellows was introduced to fine art lithography by Albert Sterner in 1916. George Bellows was a quick study and soon became the leading printmaker of the Ashcan School. As he became more proficient in lithography, George Bellows employed the services of master lithographic printers, George C. Miller and later, Bolton Brown. George Bellows' daughter Jean recalls that Bellows would work until dawn with his printers to achieve the desired pictorial effects, often destroying lithographs that did not meet his exacting standards. Many drawings and lithographs were unsigned at the time of George Bellows death at age 43. At first the artist's widow, Emma S. Bellows, signed the remaining lifetime impressions of his works with the artist's name followed by her initials (ESB). After Emma Bellows' death, her daughter Jean Bellows Booth continued to sign these lifetime impressions of the original lithographs and drawings with the artist’s name followed by her initials (JBB)." Here’s the jaw dropping asking price from the site:

Further research indicated that Jean Bellows Booth died in 2007 so she won’t be signing anymore prints left over in the studio after her father’s untimely death. What the heck, the auction estimate was affordable so I decided to make a stab at owning the print and fortunately it is now part of my collection and it didn’t cost what the Family Trust Gallery was asking. Research materials record that 1916 was the year that GEORGE BELLOWS went from strictly painting and into the world of lithography. The first nudes he produced from life were examples of him exploring his new medium and perhaps technical exercises as he explored and learned the intricacies of the medium. As often in his lithographs he used the entire picture surface, filling the foreground and the background of the image with atmospheric texture. In his early nudes, Bellows explored the various possibilities of lithography using various drawing materials, “Male on His Back, Nude” being one of them. Do some deep digging and explore the beautiful graphic works of GEORGE BELLOWS!

Georg Jahn (1869 - 1940) Drypoint Print Titled: Fünf nackte Knaben beim Spiel am Strand (Five Nude Boys Playing on The Beach) Circa 1900

Fünf nackte Knaben beim Spiel am Strand... The Artist (Below)

The halls of the various European eBay Auction Sites have been like the Saraha desert lately in regards to affordable academic nudes, (Some examples are so rediculously over priced that I have watched them stew on eBay for months on end) so, as I am want to do in my old age, I decided to search for additional works by artists I already have in my collection, the most recent example being Georg Jahn (1869-1940). I went on an adventure in the online Auction and Art Gallery world and found there are few and far between examples of nudes by Georg Jahn which are affordable. So I kept digging and up popped the Georg Jahn print titled "Fünf nackte Knaben beim Spiel am Strand" from a gallery in Germany. I suddenly had a vague memory of a similar print being up for grabs on eBay Germany several years ago and that I had lost the bidding on that ocassion. Thanks to Biden's destruction of the US Dollar and the resultant addition of more Biden dollars into my monthly income I decided that this rare print was now affordable, so I bought it. To say Georg Jahn was a master printmaker would be a gross understatement. If you will do some basic research you will see that he produced some very fine portraits and landscapes. Another example of "What goes around eventually comes around?" I'll say it is! Here is some additional biography on Jahn from the Armstrong Fine Art site: "Georg JAHN As many artists in the 19th century, Georg Jahn (1869-1940) started his formal training as an artist with an apprenticeship. In his case this was as a porcelain painter at the royal porcelain factory in Meißen when he was just 14 years old and it lasted to 1888. Clearly showing promise, he was awarded a scholarship to the art academy in Dresden by the manufactory. Jahn studied at the art academy with Leon Pohle from 1888 to 1890. In 1890 he moved on to study at the Großherzoglichen Sächsischen Kunstschule in Weimar with Max Thedy. After completing his military service, he launched his independent career as an illustrator and portraitist in Berlin (1894-95), then in Leipzig and Munich (1895-96). By 1897 Georg Jahn had returned to Dresden for good. He joined a newly formed artists' association, the Verein Bildender Künstler Dresden (Secession). His close friend Max Pietschmann introduced him to etching around that time. The technique would soon become all-consuming to Jahn, who is today almost exclusively remembered for his etchings. He is thought to have left over 300 compositions, which are executed with great detail. His fine line renders modulations of light in grayscales few etchers of his time were ever able to attain. Portraits dominate his oeuvre, as do nudes, scenes of everyday life in small towns and along seashores". (Personal Note: Google has decided to improve the way blogs are composed and posted, which of course has screwed up what used to be a very easy process for seasoned citizens like me, now making it a pain in the rump, so forgive any spacing and allignments of paragraphs. Apparently Google has taken a page from Apple's engineering improvements to turn simple for ordinary peasants into happy fields of elysium for computer geeks and sycophants worshiping at Apple's multi-billion dollar phallus)(There I said it)