Mid-19th Century Academic Nudes - German School

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A seller on eBay Germany has just listed a series of second and third level mid-19th century academic nudes from an unknown German school. Several are signed but only with an initial and last name (H. Muhle). To my eye the quality and attention to detail is just not first level work like one would find coming out of the 19th century French Schools. One or two would be worth a bidding effort though.

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Hungarian Auction House Finds

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I had a few minutes this morning and I did a quick review of Hungarian auctions over the past six months looking for nude and figurative studies. Some are non-nudes but are still worth a second look at technique and composition. Enjoy.

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 Janos Vaszary (1867-1939) Academic Study of a Nude Boy

Laszlo Mednyanszk (1852-1919) Study of a Semi-nude Boy

Gyula Benczur (1844-1920)

Karoly Ferenczy (1862-1912) Three Nude Bathers (Study) 1912

Gabor Moric (1889-1987) Arkadia

Oszkar Glatz (1872-1958) Bujaki  gyerekek - 1922

Hatvany-Ferenc Muterems - Female Nude 1915

Laszlo Hegedus (1870-1911) Family

 

17th Century Italian school - Merkur es Argus

Izsak Perlmutter (1866-1932) Male Nude

 

Gaiger Miklos Jobbagyi (1892-1959) Three Graces

 

Hungarian school 1920

Nandor Viday Brenner (1903-?) Miner

Albert Sschickedanz (1846-1915) Male Nude

 

Venitian school - 17th century - David es Goliat

19th Century (?) Szent Janos

Maria Szantho (1902-1994) Jozsef es Putifarne (1935)

Baroque Ivory Sculpture of the Crucified Christ, circa 1700

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Auktionshaus Michael Zeller, Lindau, DE has recently listed this beautifully executed Baroque ivory sculpture of the crucified Christ, circa 1700. I am amazed at the extraordinary detail in this semi-nude male figure.

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Gerard de Lairesse (1640 or 1641 -1711): Adam & Eve in Paradise with Laughing Snake - Intaglio Print 1680

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Rembrandt's Portrait of the Artist Gerard de Lairesse(Above)(1665-7)

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This morning when I went on eBay Austria I paid a visit to one of my favorite gallery sellers and I bought this beautiful 17th century intaglio print (directly below) by the Dutch painter and art theorist Gerard de Lairesse (1640*41*-1711). I just could not resist owning this beautiful print. I have trained as a painter but I have always been in love with printmaking ever since I bought my first Thomas Hart Benton lithograph in a second hand shop in NYC decades ago and took my first printmaking class at University. If you have been following this blog for any length of time you know how dear the subject of "Adam & Eve" is to my artistic heart. The subject gives an artist the opportunity to depict both the male and female nude in one composition and this one is really superb in its execution (no fig leaves for one thing).

Gerard de Lairesse was active during the Golden Age of Dutch Painting. Graphic arts and painting endeavors were not his only talents. His talents also included music, poetry, and theater. He was probably the most celebrated Dutch painter in the years following the death of Rembrandt. His academic treatises on painting and drawing were highly influential on later 18th century painters. He studied art under his father, Renier Lairesse, and Bertholet Flemalle. Gerard de Lairesse was a disciplined intellectual fiercely believing that only correct theory could produce good artistic results.

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Here is a small sampling of his mature works:

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Late 18th Century French Academy: Male Nude in Pierre Noire

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Self portrait of the artist (Anne-Louis Girodet)in pierre noire (above)

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The sleep of Endymion (1791)(above)

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A seller on eBay France has just listed this male nude study (below) which the seller dates to the 1790-1800 time period. He has made the somewhat bold attribution of the work to Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson (1767-1824), thus justifying the ridiculous asking price. If wishes were horses we would all be riding big white ponies with carefully groomed manes. Girodet was, of course, a pupil of Jacques-Louis David and was noted for his paintings of the Napoleonic family. One of his iconic works is The Sleep of Endymion (1791)(above), which I am sure you all recognize immediately. I will be the first to let you know if the asking price gets a sucker, excuse me, I mean a legitimate buyer. It would take more than an eBay seller's word to support that kind of investment for me, perhaps a signature? Oh well, you can't have everything, or, perhaps if you wish hard enough you can have everything.

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