Tag Archives: Sir Edwin Landseer

the undraped: Of anecdotal interest

There are few styles in art that fell so far into disrepute as the once prized academic art of the nineteenth-century. As awful as much of it was, there are still grounds for some of it to be redeemable and … Continue reading

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back to the salon: trititude and tritism

A labored avant-garde, hack mediocrity, tired formula and mixing the sauce on old recipes resulting in a living fabric of life being transposed into a theatrical event? Its possible the avant garde today is decoration catering to mediocre tastes much … Continue reading

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hot, cold and rough press

Last week there was a post on Arches watercolor paper and how for name recognition, it serves as the point of reference. Fact is, watercolor paper has been around a while, and though Voltaire and Bonaparte wasted gobs of the … Continue reading

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conspicuous posturing

The lessons we learn today from Victorian painting are primarily of a documentary order; and the works in question should perhaps not be considered under the heading of painting at all, but rather as adjuncts and auxiliaries of the Victorian … Continue reading

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Dog gone it: waiter there’s a cow in my lawn

“In order to be reputable it must be wasteful.”- Thorstein Veblen Conspicuous waste. Publicized waste. Extravagance that the wealthy and socially powerful employ to distinguish themselves and mark their status. A point of honor and distinction at the core of … Continue reading

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falcons: separating the emperor from the kings

Thirteenth-century monarchs were not expected to be accomplished writers, much less scientists, so it is fairly extraordinary that Frederick the Great himself wrote the book that is regarded as the first work of modern zoology: Of the Art of Hunting … Continue reading

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In search of the ubiquitous anecdote for the rank and file

To categorize pictures of the Salon type, whether by any subject or criteria, one could belabor each of the many types- the noble peasant, the Oriental, the jolly peasant, melancholy old ladies, religious pictures, the allegories- but in the end … Continue reading

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the undraped: Of anecdotal interest

There are few styles in art that fell so far into disrepute as the once prized academic art of the nineteenth-century. As awful as much of it was, there are still grounds for some of it to be redeemable and … Continue reading

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salon not saloon? : against the assaults of boors and madmen

In practice the Academy became a closed circle of conventional talents , of men skilled equally in he manipulation of trite formulas for painting and the manipulation of advantageous personal contacts. The situation was deplorable, but it was also inevitable. … Continue reading

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