Jos van den Berg, little master

Josua Michiel (Jos) van den Berg

(1905-1978)

Dutch painter and graphic artist

Probably the first work of art I ever bought was this academic drawing by Jos van den Berg in the mid 1970’s when I was a student and stumbled over it in a pawnshop. It has been over our piano ever since and I tease visitors who enjoy the pictures on our walls it was commissioned by my grandfather (who would have loved this story) and the model was my grandmother.

In around 1924 she and my grandfather made a handsome couple, but she surely never posed as model. Born nr. 11 of 12 children she had the courage marrying her love, in 1918, a non catholic. Which was the reason she was excommunicated by all but two of her pious brothers and sisters. She died last of all her family with a distinct view of aversion on religion.

Born a dwarf Josua (Jos) lovingly was called Josje by his colleagues, his size never stood in the way developing a successful career as an artist. Like it did not for that other small but famous artist Henri Toulouse Lautrec (1864-1901).

The nude on the wall, always a nice conversation piece, probably was created when studying in Paris, Rotterdam or The Hague Art Academies he attended in the 1920's and early 1930's.

Occasionally woodcut prints by him turn up locally on the market and his paintings are auctioned regularly. Since I fundamentally refuse paying a fee for pictures that should be free and accessible to one of these commercial art-picture hustling businesses I’m limited showing those who are and without digital polluting watermarks.  

In 1964, when I seriously started collecting stamps he designed this 12c stamp. Other stamp designs by him are the 4 cent and 6 cent below but these never made it onto our envelopes. This particular set (right) was iconic for the summer of 1964.

Portrait drawing of Karel van het Reve (1921-1999), scolar and writer and “learned brother” of one of our most (some say the most) important 20th century writers Gerard (1923-2006).

Jos van den Berg was a awarded several art prices and was a well respected (portrait) painter until his death in 1978, the same year my “grandmother on the wall” moved with us to our first home, that I started my professional career and our first son was born.

All pictures borrowed freely from the internet for friendly and educational use only.  

Charles James Martin, American Modernist

Charles James Martin

 (September 1886 – August 9, 1955), 

American modernist artist and arts instructor.

Charles Martin worked in a variety of media including etching, lithography, water color, monotype, linocut, woodcut, oil, photography, mezzotint and silversmithing. I became aware of this artist after stumbling over this great Pelicans woodcut print.

It's very much in the tradition of some great Zoo related prints by German printmakers Helene Grand-Tupke (1971-1946) and Suisse Martha Cunz (1876-1961)

Born in Mansfield, England in 1886, Martin emigrated to the USA as a boy and lived out the remainder of his life as an American. He studied art under Arthur Wesley Dow at Dow’s Ipswich Summer School of Art as well as at Columbia University Teachers College, where he became an instructor himself in 1914.

These two monotype prints standing out because of the use of the wonderful warm yellows  and  perspective. Had they only been block prints instead of one-offs.

Martin attained professorship at Teachers College in 1923 and continued his work there into the 1940s. Georgia O’Keeffe attended Martin’s class at Teachers college in 1914-15, where she met Anita Pollitzer. O’Keeffe considered Martin’s instruction significant enough that she continued sending examples of her work for his critique in the period after she attended his class. Martin even had a fan in Winston Churchill.

In the 1910s, Martin also studied photography with Clarence H. White at Teachers College, and became an instructor at White’s School of Photography in 1918. Also in 1918, Martin won first prize in a photography contest held by Columbia University in which Dow and White were judges. During this time period, he also served on the Executive Committee of the Pictorial Photographers of America.

Martin spent many summers in the 1920s-50s living and teaching plein air art classes in Provincetown, Mass, and also in Mexico. Martin continued working as an art instructor, often on a freelance basis, for the remainder of his life. He died on August 9, 1955.

I’ld welcome any contributions for further sharing.  

All pictures borrowed freely from the internet for friendly and educationbal use only. Text borrowed from Wikipedia 

Aert Schouman, painter of birds

Aert Schouman

(1710-1792)

Dutch painter, art dealer and naturalist,
wallpaper artist.

Finding this reproduction of a watercolor of a barn owl and thistle finch (left) for my brother and trying to figure out who made it I stumbled over some great typical Dutch 18th century landscape water color paintings by this artist that weren't shown together before and learned and enjoyed along the way.

Aert Schouman is and was regarded one of the unrivalled watercolourists and animal and bird painters (exotic as well as indigenous species) of his time. His paintings are collected the Rijks-Museum in Amsterdam and in collections all over the world. 

In most of his animal paintings he included lovely Dutch 18th century unspoiled landscapes, secondary subjects to his naturalist animal observations. You can find many examples searching the internet. The many exotic birds he depicted were part of one of the earliest collections of exotic animals in the Netherlands: the private Zoo of reigning "Stadhouder" William V. Most imported animals  (many were gifts from visiting officials and friendly monarchs) had a short life because of poor knowledge how to feed them properly.

This posting a renewed Blogging effort after switching to a new computer with some "different" and new to me handling after my old and trusted Windows companion suffered and did not recover from a stroke last week. It's also a proof to sceptic friends I'm not too old or stubborn to change and adapt. 

So, after this intermezzo with an 18th century not very broadly known painter we shall continue with some serious printmaking posts soon.

All pictures borrowed freely from the internet for friendly and educatiuonal use only.

Unknown Italian prints by Robert Saurwein ?

Today a contribution by reader and painter-artist Annie Howell-Adams in America. She’s send me for sharing these small what I believe to be original wood (or lino)cut prints in half postcard size. They were handed down to her and can be traced back to a member of the Roycroft Movement, an Arts and Crafts movement founded in 1895 by Elbert Hubbard (read here).

One of its members was architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959). The set was actually designed and edited as postcards, supposedly created but more probably collected by a member. They were thought to date from around 1910 but I think a somewhat later date, say around 1930 or in the 1930’s, would be good guess.

They all show the Italian Dolomite mountains and picturesque views of the North Italian Lake District, and I’ve never seen them, not even one of them, before. And aren't they great !

Carl Kunst (see before posting and here*) created his München series of (also half postcard size) woodcut postcards around 1910 and in America Arthur Dow student Rachel Elmer Robinson (1878-1919) did a similar project of (full size postcard) New York views for the Voland Company in 1916.

The choice and use of color however is very reminiscent of some of some Austrian printmakers and in particular the colorful and unique works of Robert Saurwein (1907-1942) coming to mind. He went missing in action in Serbia in 1942, but it is known he visited neighbouring Italy and Dolomite mountains. Closely observing his printing technique in the mountain areas........well look for yourself. True, otherwise Saurwein always staged some Tirolians in his prints an paintings but hopefully an observant reader, postcard collector or expert on Austrian printmakers can help identifying and attributing these works properly. 

Thank you Annie! Please visit Annie's website here*

all other pictures borrowed freely from the internet for friendly and educational use only.