Thursday 30 December 2010

Happy New Year, Best Wishes, Beste Wünsche

I have no idea who made this wonderful wood/linocut print but I am confident the maker would approve (re)using it this way.

For all readers and their loved ones:

Best Wishes for 2011

To all readers and followers old and new. At the beginning of a new year I would again like to explain the existence of this Blog. It is not meant as a scolarly vision on woodblock or linoleum printed or any other disciplin of art. I am neither educated nor equiped and have no such pretentions or ambitions.

For that reason there are other and far better Blogs to adress to like Clive's Art and the Aestethe, Charles' Modern Printmakers and Neils' Adventures in the print trade. See my Blog list.

This simple Blog simply helps me keep track of my mental where-abouts. I hope it will continue to be an outlet of my Internet excavations on the lesser Gods of relief printing. Occasionally on aestethic related topics I happened to stumble or step upon. Things I like to share. And I've met some very nice people and made new friends in all corners of the planet.

It was created as an intelectual exercise for my personal amazement and amusement. And yet, I welcome my 6000th visit(!) on the last day of 2010. 2000 visits in december alone. Started in june isn't that just amazing and amusing? I will do my best to continue and create more and better postings. Be patient, I am still learning.

Don't hesitate leaving comments on postings. Any feedback is most welcomend.

Marcel Haussaire

Marcel Hubert Emil Haussaire

( ?? -- ??)

but probably turn of the century)

French painter en printmaker


In the same French (Paris) "Galerie Michel Cabotse" (see before posting on Amédee Jayau) I spotted these 4 nice woodcut prints made by one Marcel Haussaire. They are for sale, for those interested.

The two horizontal prints obviously belonging together. The windmill printed in the same color ranges. I had seen them before on an English auction site but here they are. In France from an edition of 60.
Pays Basque (Pyrenées) rentrée des foins
(arrival of the hay)

Pays Basque (Pyrenees), Charette de boeuf (traditional Ox cart)

Sometimes digging in the www. unveiling new treasures and facts but this time my researches drew an almost complete blank. No dates no other prints. Nada. Therefore I decided to add these photograps of traditional life as Marcel Haussaire choose for his two prints




Just these two other works showed up in older auction cataloques. The painted young lady not a bad sight for sour eyes and very well painted in an interesting and technically difficult pose (odalisque). Very nice colors. Therefore it is even more amazing nothing else would come up although I've tried very hard.


But this watercolor landscape below.


Maybe some reader will add some more light on this artist who seems so unjustly almost completely obscured from our attention.


Contact: galeriecabotse.michel@neuf.fr

Amédee Joyau: PS

PS: For those readers interested:

I forgot to mention this: two of these (very rare) prints, "Ypres Falaises in Moonlight" and the vertical "Roscoff" are momentarily offered by Michel Cabotse at:

Monday 27 December 2010

Amédee Joyau


Amédee Joyau
1873-1913
French etcher and woodblock printer
(and contemporary to the French art group the Nabis)





There is not much to be found on the www. about this very subtle French printer. He was a contemporary of the more famous Henri Rivière (1864-1951). Both did different things artistically up to the moment they discovered woodblock printing.

les falaises , claire de lune, Yport (moonlight over cliffs)

Amédee was trained an etcher (copper plates) but after discovering the Japanese printing method in 1894 (as did Rivière a couple of years earlier) devoted the rest of his short life to the learning, perfecting and expressing his feelings into woodblock printing. Together they are among the very first block printing artist in Europe creating prints in the Japanese style and tradition.

Boats in Roscoff 1903/1904 and twilight in the Karpathes.

At first he was inluenced by and worked in the style of the Nabis (post impressionistic French art group with distinct feelings on color and atmosphere) of which the portrait of his wife (the print named l'Intimité) is a nice (and my only) example. From the odd 135 printed works that are known by his hand some 50 supposedly are woodblock prints. Most of them coastal scenery, ports and villages of his native Brittany and Normandy but also of Paris, the beach at le Touquet and Yport and Belgium.

Roscoff, Brittany

Henri Rivières name is much more remembered, he made many more prints and did some commercially interesting and clever things for those days. Most of his prolific work too is about Brittany and Paris (his clever Hiroshige copy of the 52 stages of the road to Hokaido) although Rivière made prints until 1917. After that year Rivière abandoned print making all together and only painted in watercolor until his death in 1951. There are several modern picture books covering all of his work as Joyau’s work is hardly known or remembered but to a limited group of connoisseurs and financially solid print collectors. Henri Rivière even has his own great website.

sur la falaises, Donville (on the cliffs)

Comparing the two printers discloses many similarities but the few prints by Amédee that I found showing he was the real master of the leaving out. He needs even less than Rivière does, close to nothing, to evoke the atmosphere of the sea, coastal regions and the ports.

Place St. Ayoul (Provins)

25 years after his untimely death in 1913 a catalogue of his work was made (Atherton Curtis in 1938: catalogue de l’oeuvre de Amédee Joyau).

Twilight in Villiers (Crepuscule Villiers)

These days Amédee’s prints are quite rare and thus expensive ($ 700 and way upwards) and the catalogue, when and if you might find a copy doesn't come cheap either. Maybe a reader has the knowledge of what is inside and is willing to share its contents. These are all the pictures I could scratch together (and borrowed freely). Remarkably little considering the 50 known and mentioned. Maybe they are all locked up in private collections.

Maybe readers who know of other examples of prints and are willing to send them allowing me to do a follow up.

watercolor by Amèdee Joyau.


On his biography I discovered that his father was an architect (Achille Joseph Louis Joyau, born Nantes 1831-1873) and trained artist who left young Amédee orphaned at a very young age.

A watercolor, named the old village, by his fathers’ hand hangs in the Boston Museum (US) and Joyau Sr. is also commemorated winning the Grand Prix de Rome for architecture in 1860. Quite prestigeous. I found one Amédee Joyau marrying the widdow of a freed slave who committed suicide in Martinique in 1847. Probably a relative, maybe his grandfather or a great-uncle. The family name translates in: Juwel. His marriage (there is the picture of his wife) produced at least one son: Alban Joyau. He is mentioned as the provenance of 4 prints that were sold some time ago.

Please don’t hesitate to send any pictures of prints of Amédee you might want to share to do him the honour and put him into the light were he belongs and which he deserves.

Thursday 23 December 2010

Happy Christmas 2010

Philip Maliavin
(1869-1940)
Russian Painter
Member of Mir Iskusstva (World of Art)



Sunday 19 December 2010

Katasuyuki Nishiyama (1945-)


Katasuyuki Nishiyama
(1945- )

Japanese contemporary printmaker


Klaus' comment on the earlier Clifton Karhu post mentioned the resemblence of his work to this printmaker. I appreciate it very much when readers leave feedback or suggestions. So I did some homework on Nishiyama.

Born in Yamaguchi in 1945 he studied woodblock printmaking at Mikumo publishing house and began exhibiting with the Kyoto Independents in 1965.



He designs, carves and prints his blocks himself. His work is indeed very similar to Clifton Karhu. I pointed out earlier he was (even as a Westerner) of very great infuence to a new generation of Japanese printmakers. Like Karhu he favors depicting romantic views of traditional Japanese villages their romantic surroundings and every day scenes. I bet they knew each other very well.

His prints recall the rustic beauty of earlier times. Contrary to Karhu his prints are priced very reasonable and affordable. Just Google around and many more very nice examples show up.



Thank you again Klaus !

Ludwig Bürgel



Ludwig (Pollak) Bürgel

(1901-1980)

Austrian naturalistic grafic artist and painter.

Thanks to Claus, faithfull follower of the Linosaurus, within just 24 hours I know now who the maker of my latest find was. And that my print is indeed a color etching. I scratched together some pictures of Ludwigs art and some facts on his life and career to show you.

As a boy Ludwig already showed a talent for drawing and had a great drive to create. As a young man he worked in the art printing firm Äust in Vienna and learned the skills and technical details of the world of grafics. In the evenings he followed lessons at the Vienna Art school (Akademie der Bildende Künste) and aged 21 he started his professional career taking on his mother maiden name Bürgel.

In his life time he was a popular and loved naturalistic artist famous in and around Vienna and Linz were art dealers promoted and sold his work.

To day his work hangs in many Austrian family houses and he is represented in all major Museums in Austria. More recently his art is again appriciated and in demand.


Besides etching and printing Ludwig Bürgler was a gifted painter in oil as you can see in this "View on Salzberg".

(Quotes from a biography by Peter Pollak (Salzburg 2001)

Thank you Claus !



This posting is updated April 13th 2011

Saturday 18 December 2010

John Hall Thorpe's painting book for children

John Hall Thorpe
(1874-1947)
British-Australian printmaker.
Have I discovered an unknown painting byJohn Hall-Thorpe ? To my knowledge (...) he made only one Flowers and Fruit print. This one below. It is for sale ($ 1500-1800) so you can have a copy if you look for it carefully. Not cheap but can one buy more Art Deco design in the house than this ?

It is said that it took Hall Thorpe one year to cut all 15 (!) blocks for his most famous print "the Country Bunch" but I think this Flowers and Fruit took at least that number of blocks counting colors.



This is the cover picture of a picture book: "a painting book for children" titled Flowers and Fruit edited by Blackie. I photoshopped the front page words off to create the first picture (and fool you).
The book contains 12 flower designs and 12 fruit desings in color and 12 + 12 "to paint in" outlined copies. And plenty of blank pages. Also some good advice on colour and painting is given to the little artists. I don't know if he made this painting for the book or Blackie used an existing painting.

You easliy recognize Hall Thorpe's style in the designs. I think it is from the 1930's. You'll find them in his woodblock prints all over. The bluebells, cowslips, and marigolds. Amazingly one such book was offered and sold on EBay recently and there was some serious bidding going on. It sold at a shocking price. I think more copies will have survived that are "unspoiled" by childrens ambitions. And are cheaper. Mine certainly was and was never touched by a young artist.


See also my other Blog postings on John Hall Thorpe's flower prints .

NOID 10

Since it is my Christmas holiday now and the weather isn't very inviting to go out, children and grandchildren not arriving for a week I might as well get some back postings done.


Again I ask your help on a not deciphered autograph and to me unknown printer. I read L. Bürgel, Bingel or something like that.


It was on Ebay not long ago and although my main interest is in flowers and bouquets on woodblock and linoprints I sometimes cannot resist adding a print I particularly like. It's rather a small print, measuring only 14,5 x 17 cm or 5 7/8 x 6 3/4 inch). It has an intriguing detailing and the soft graduations of greens, blues and purples. There are even some dwellings visible in the valley. Since the maker wrote "Orig.Rad." lower left, and the very fine lines in the trees I think it is a combined wood engraving and blockprint.

Maybe a clever reader recognizes the signature.

Sunday 12 December 2010

NOID 9

NOID

Today when I find a nice picture of a nice print I try not to forget to label or tag it were I found it. This very great linocut print I undoubtedly found in some auction cataloque. In my over enthousiastic period. Your help is needed because I cannot find it again.


When you are this good a printer it must be obvious to some reader who knows who he or she might be. I photoshopped the picture (cleaned it) because it was rather browned and had several brown spots in the sky as you can see in the cloud in the middle.



I read: "Janet Eu...." (Eunice, Eames)------------"Linocut" (but this could also be a last name) and possibly an annotation of a edition number or year.


The red boat is named "LONDON", the (fishing ?) boats Thames barges ?

Saturday 11 December 2010

Allan Jordan

ALAN JORDAN
1898-1982

Australian linocut printer.

This is all (!) the information I could find on this Australian printer.

These Geese in pond print humorously titled "Scandall".


The Parrots and Drinking Pelicans prints I borroughed from Josef Lebovic Gallery in Kensington Australia (http://www.joseflebovic.com/). The are both for sale.

Maybe more will show now, keep me informed if you know of other examples by this printer.