Austin Osman Spare: of Christ, Holbein and Belugas.

Austin Osman Spare

(1886-1956)

British painter and occultist, 

portraitist and self portraitist.

“And remember, you shall suffer all things and again suffer: until you have sufficient sufferance to accept all things.”  - Austin Osman Spare. 

Austin Osman Spare: self portrait.

I stumbled over Spares quotation that is so appropriate for this time of year. The weeks  before Easter, since the year, Anno Domini 33 commemorating the resurrection of the man that took all human suffering on his shoulders and who died on the cross three days before: on the friday before the first Sunday after the first full moon in spring. I suppose Spares' life wasn't the among the happiest and carefree.  

Hans Holbein (1497-1543), probably the greatest portrait artist the world ever saw, was the first association that came to my mind discovering and studying Spares portraits. But do judge yourself. Holbein, a German, who moved to England in 1525 where he acquired world fame painting and drawing British royalty and aristocracy. 

 Thomas Eliot (1490-1546) and his wife Margaret à Barrow (1500-ar.1565), diplomat and scolar, by Hans Holbein around 1535.

Googling this rather strange artist Spare I found this brilliant 1932 portrait of American movie actor Joel Macrea (1905-1990). 

In that year, 1932, Macrea, the handsome and Tarzan build American actor starred in Technicolor with beautiful Mexican born actress Dolores del Rio (1905-1983) in "Bird of Paradise" a movie rather famous among our grandparents for its few minutes of very daring nude underwater swimming.

Above two photographs showing Dolores del Rio surfacing in 1932 (after some Photoshop fiddling of stills from a Youtube clip) and two paintings by British artist Bill Bate (b. 1962) who is also very much "into the underwater". 

Which brings me to the astonishing, very beautiful and brave Natalia Avseenko (link), a Russian record holding free diver and marine scientist who dived and swam in arctic waters near Murmansk with Belugas creating these incredible photographs made by the crew of Viktor Lyaguskin. Above: training with a crew of divers and below: two photographs that amazed the world. See and enjoy the movie !  

The Belugas would not swim with her when dressed. Proving these elegant and gentile mammals have brains very much like those of humans. 

If Japan ever kills a whale again (they are still slaughtering dolphins aren't they ?) why don’t we just stop buying Toyotas and Mazdas, tv sets and stereos ! I did. 

When in 1932 technical possibilities would have been to todays incredible high but taken for granted standards Dolores and Joel would probably have had altogether other careers. But on the other hand that movie surely would never have been allowed to be seen publicly.

1960, Japanese Ama pearl diver on the isle of Hekura.  

So here are from our liberated times, some more Doloresses and Natalias proving your and my human brain are not so very different from those of Belugas.

All pictures borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only. 

All pictures are mouse-clickable to embiggen. 

   Galerie Souris: www.galeriesouris.nl. 

Bernard Willem Wierink: in Artis ZOO

Bernard Willem (Ben) Wierink

(1856-1939)

Dutch drawer , painter, juwelry and toy designer

bookband designer and books illustrator, printmaker.

and teacher.

Initially Ben Wierink was trained as a teacher, and working with Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers (1827-1921) he assisted in planning the building (1885) of the new Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The recently remodeled, reopened and truly spectacular museum was visited by president Barack Obama last week.

Wierink came along in my recent Jan Uri posting as one of the many artists that worked in Artis Zoo. Earlier I showed Gerrit Dijsselhof (1866-1924), Samuel Jesserun de Mesquitta (1886-1944). The list of fine artist working in Amsterdam Zoo is long: Nicolaas van der Waaij (1875-1936) who painted (and etched) one of the concerts that was given in Artis, obviously influenced by the Germany's greatest impressionist painter Max Liebermann (1847-1935) whom he would will have known: Liebermann visited and painted frequently in the Netherlands and van der Waaij was a professor in the Rijks Akademie for 30 years. 

 Nic. van der Waaij

Max Liebermann

But also Henri Verstijnen (188201940, Maria Kelting (1886-1969), Willem van den Berg (1886-1870) and so many others.  

I love  Wierink’s use of color and his fabulous drawing technique and although I know he created some very fine woodblock prints I've never ever actually saw one. So here’s a good moment to show what I scratched together from the Internet. 

This watercolor, below, was created for the “liber Amoricum for Artis director Dr. Coen Kerbert (1849-1927).  

This is Wierinks woodblock portrait of his friend the painter and etcher Maurits van der Valk (1857-1935) of whom I have a work, this lovely “Friesland”, as it happens, the place where I live. Closing nicely the circle of this posting. 

All pictures are mouse-clickable to embiggen. 

All pictures borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only. 

NOID, help requested (and solution)

Identification help requested 

A bit overdue and later as planned because of the extreme early arrival of spring urging me outside and away from the computer, today I share two prints send by reader Gillian. Both sheets are unsigned and could be, but not necessarily, by the same until now unknown printmaker.

Please send and email any suggestions about the maker(s).

Within two days of publishing this posting reader Felicity (www.bellagraphica.com) with her infinite printmakers knowledge and wisdom recognized the Windmill print. Here's her solution:

"Hi Gerrie, the Windmill print you are asking for help to identify is by Ethel Brisley subject Earnley Mill near Chichester. I sold my copy to the guy who is restoring the mill". 

*Ethel C. Brisley (1886-1961) is mainly known for her illustrations and this one mill print. 

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There's still some uploading work to be done but opening soon (have peak):

www.galeriesouris.nl

  

Jan Uri

Jan Uri

(Assen 1888 – 1979 Amstelveen)

obscured Dutch painter, graphic artist, arts and crafts -drawing  teacher.

Some time ago I tried to figure out the maker of this 1922 Resting Tiger*. The signature was very faded and illegible. Recently however I found another (but  sadly a ruined) copy of the tiger print but this time signed loud and clear: Jan Uri. 

Before I knew Jan Uri I've guessed the resting tiger could have been made by Johannes ten Kloooster (1873-1940), above, although it was not mentioned in his catalogue raisonné. It seems obvious Jan Uri had knowledge of the works of his colleague painter and printmaker.

I think Jan Uri is probably only known to his family and a handful of insiders, but recently very near my home a local museum was given three paintings created probably during a stay or holiday in Friesland in the 1950’s. 

Jan Uri was born in a family going back to 17^th French Hugenote families (Uri, Ury) arriving through Hanau in Germany to the Netherlands in the 18th century. A distant cousin Jeanne earned a professorship in biology. 

Jan Uri, Barn interior.

Uri born with a talent for drawing however entered the Rijks-Academie voor Beeldende kunst in 1908 and later became a teacher at the “Dag-tekenopleiding voor meisjes” (young ladies drawing school), at the Quellinius Arts and Craft School and the Midveld College in Amsterdam. The tiger most probably spend his life in Amsterdam Artis ZOO.

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In Artis Zoo Uri will have met many artist colleagues (follow the Tag below) some of whom were quite famous in their days because of their talent painting animals like: Henricus Rol (1906-1992) he did many watercolors of the Zoo's big cats for the famous 1938 Verkade album “Artis” (above). 

His father Cornelis Rol (1877-1963) designed the covers. In all 31 volumes were published, in great numbers, between 1906 and 1940. Collectable in the 1970-80’s and now again to be found for sale for scratch. Some of the finest contemporary artists co-operated in these illustrated albums.

Since not many examples of Jan Uri's art can be found here are some more tiger painting specialists I know of.  

Bernard Willem Wierink (1865-1939), also almost forgotten now, had a special talent for the big cats. Besides a painter he was also a very fine woodblock printmaker. He will appear soon in personal posting showing them. 

Internationally British artists Herbert Dicksee (1862-1942) and Raymond Sheppard (1890-1980) were equally impressed by the tigers in London Zoo.

And German Wilhelm Kuhnert (1865-1926) who was famous for his wild life paintings on location including tigers.

All pictures borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly,educational and non commercial use only.

Visit my new swap and shop gallery: Galerie Souris or Mousehole Gallery. 

It hasn't opened officially but you're invited to have a peek. 

You'll find the Resting Tiger and many other works of art/