Kea Homan, printmaker

Thea Homan

(1939-)    )

Dutch woodblock printmaker

Charles' Modern Printmakers yesterday's posting on the marine and seaside (Adnam series) woodblock prints by contemporary printmaker Chris Wormell (b.1955) somehow made me remember and search my files retrieving this 1975 seaside print I'd discovered and saved some time ago by this Dutch printmaker living and working in nearby Assen in the North of  the Netherlands.

Since, this 1957-1961 Minerva Art Academie in Groningen (est. 1798) trained artist obviously has moved on and most examples of recent work I was able to find this morning are all dating 1997-1999, and showing a completely different approach to printmaking.

Paris: les Bateaux Lavoir

The "lavoir municipale" or public washing place is still omni present in every French town or village. Often dating from Roman times they are situated along a source,

or a stream and they are the centre of village daily life, often  roofed  and sheltering the users in their daily activity.  

With urbanization the cities along the principal rivers of France however in the 18 century saw a new form of industry developing. Rows of large floating, storied factory boats designed to accommodate the working women (laveuses or lavandieres), steam kettles and the boot owners family: the “Bateaux Lavoir”.

Steel engraving by J.H. LeKeux (?) showing rows of Bateau Lavoir in 1842. The family lower right standing on Pont de l'Archevêche looking over Quai de Montebello, it's name commemorating the honorary titel given to Jean Lannes (1769-1809) general to Napoleon who was succesfull in the battle of Montebello in 1800. Before it was named Quai de Bûcherie, after "bûches" (logs) or "Place were the logs (coming in from upstream) were laid down". 

In the heart of Paris, even next to Notre Dame, they occupied every quay, sometimes even in rows of two or three. With time they became larger and storied with large drying and bleaching facilities on top.

This bateau lavoir is anchered at the Quay de Grenelles (now Quai Paul Citroën) near the Pont de Grenelles. It is also showing the copy of the statue of Liberty placed on the head of the 'Île des Cygnes' (Swan Island). Maybe a reader can enlighten me about the two towers seen on the right, they must be roughly located opposite the Eiffel tower are also seen in the Skyline of Paris in many paintings, but seem to be no longer there.

The availabillity of plenty of fresh water, transport of materials and coal for the steam boilers made the river quais a logical place for these so important to the cities health, working places. One can only imagine the working conditions in such places.

Air pollution, working conditions, transport of diseases and the electrification of Paris homes and construction of cheap washing machines made these once characteristic floating communities obsolete and disappear from the Seine and other rivers in France. 

This is copy of a painting (I couldn't find the original) by, as the picture says, "André Santa-Maria" showing the washing women (Laveuses or Lavandières) and boat owner at work. I think probably Bolivian painter Andrès Santa-Maria (1860-1945) was meant. He stayed for some considerable time in Europe after 1911.   

After a period of decline (and devastations from the 1910 floads) the last one vanished around 1940.

Most impressionist painters, as did the early photographers, saw Paris only with the quais of Paris packed and littered with these boats. Some of them were also in use as public bath houses.

Today the Bateau Lavoir is referring to a cluster of tumbledown studios in the Rue Ravignan in Montmartre that once housed later famous painters beginning of the XXth century. It had the shape and size of a Bateau Lavoir (litt Washerwomens boat): a couple of stories of cheap boarding rooms with a curved roof and was nicknamed thereafter. Picasso rented a room, and "Modernisme" was born here. Among the tenants was Amadeé Modigliani. The complex burned to the ground in in 1970 a year after it had received a monumental status.

Next posting will show a selection of painters who were inspired by the Bateaux Lavoir in Paris. 

Karel Tondl: a day at the river

Karel Tondl

(1893-1980)

Czech painter, printmaker, professor at Prag Art School.

Meeting all sorts of interesting artists along my stay in Paris and visits to Quai de la Tournelle it's now time for some serious and printmaking business. Woodcuts by an artist who was trained by important and influential artist and professor Max Svabinsky (1873-1962) in Prag and later also studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris. 

Karel Tondl, fellow countryman and contemporary of the great Frantisek Tavik Simon (1899-1942) who lived and owned a studio in Paris, both painters and printmakers, in later life, like his teacher Svabinsky, was appointed professor in Prag. He created in 1930 this port folio with some of the most exquisite woodcut prints: A day by the river Seine, 6 views of Paris.

"Towards Pont Neuf", photograph found in an old book on Paris, notice the bateaux lavoir and see also the postcard photo below.

I perticularly like the prints were Tondl stages people in these compositions. Reading, walking (the dog), hanging over a railing  or fishing. Charles Augustin Lhermitte, (1881-1945) the contemporary photographer does that too as I showed in the before posting. 

In these last two (and the first two) Tondl is showing the characteristic bateaux lavoir, the city's many floating washing (and bathing) facilities which came into fashion in the mid 18th century were in use until around 1940. This posting will be followed by an article about this typical river bound industry, many of theses boats were immortalized by Charles Lhermitte (son of painter Leon Lhermitte (1844-1925) who was  greatly admired by Vincent van Gogh) and various other fine artists.     

Tondl exhibited world wide (see the print of New-York city below) and I can't resist showing a small selection here of his great artistic skills.

  
Besides his woodcut printmaking Karel Tondl is best known for his expressionist paintings of bathing women. In the style and colors of Matisse' bathers, lake side dancers and nudes. 
 See also my 3 other (I can now say very well read and popular) postings on the theme of bathing women and printmaking (here).

And last but not least included in this posting is a nice example of Tondl's Prag teacher Max Svabinsky who will have his own private posting in the Linosaurus soon. In this print there's also the hinting at Matisse. And do I detect a touch of Anders Zorn and maybe a dash of Paul Degas in the choice of moment ?

  


Tondl's Paris woodcut print pictures borrowed freely from: http://www.tfsimon.com/bubenec-cemetery-artists.htm. A highly intereting website I strongly recommend visiting.

Quai de la Tournelle (steam crane)

Intrigued by the subject in George Guinegauls’ sugar aquatint print, the steam powered unloading crane (grue déchargement a vapeur) in the far corner of Quai de la Tournelle, today an account of my quest and recent discoveries. Before continuing meeting many other artists on this famous spot in Paris. 

This photograph by early photographer Charles Augustin Lhermitte (1881-1945) shows similar steam cranes mounted on river barges.

  

Besides quay based and mobile unloading cranes these crane-boats were in use and available along the quays of Paris unloading the many Seine barges (bergers de la Seine) delivering supplies to Paris. 
Impressionist painter Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) painted such a boat downstream in Bercy:

Eugène Galien Lalloue (1854-1941) shows an identical crane-boat used on both sides of the river: on Quai de la Tournelle and opposite on Quai Henri IV.

Crane boats also were used building and repairing the quays and bridges themselves. Armand Guillaumin's (1841-1927) drawing left and Paul Signac (1863-1935) (right). 

And I perticularly like all the activity that is going on in Maximilien Luce’  (1858-1935) painting. 

Charles Augustin Lhermite was a frequent visitor of the quays. His pioneering photographs evidence his main interest lay in the activities of people, cranes, and horse drawn carriages. And in composition rather than in just shooting buildings and pretty views. These photographic  compositions are created very much in the way of a trained painter. 

He shows a third way using a static crane-unit on Quai de la Tournelle with a steam powered winch from the deck of a barge.

Etcher Anton Schutz (1894-1955) also active in London, New York and his native Germany  was in Paris when steam cranes were used in 1928 when the old Pont de la Tournelle was being rebuild. 

And René-Jacques Giton (1908-2003) shows the new Tournelle bridge in 1935 with an unloading   crane in action.

Eugene  Charvot (1847-1924) is showing a mobile crane on Quai de la Tournelle. In one of his typical round etchings. He also made this fine drawing from the opposite bank,  Quai Henri IV on Île Saint Louis, overlooking river Seine and the Pont de l'Archevêché.

Carles Pinet (1867-1932) is best remembered for his etchings used in a series of famous Paris postcards. He is showing the crane in these both. The right one in detail even. 

American impressionist Frank Myers Boggs (1855-1926) also met the crane on Quai de la Tournelle (left and right). 

and with Manzano Pissaro (1871-1961) (below), son of impressionist painter Camille Pissaro (1830-1903), he was also busy and working on the other, opposite bank at  Quai Henri IV. This crane a bigger species. 

Lucien Gautier (1850-1925) saw the crane at work too on Quai de la Tournelle in a not very well balanced composition (but he was a better etcher) (left) and Gustave Madelein (1867-1944) just makes visible the crane's hook, but did a fine job on the cathedral in a few simple brush strokes (right).

Speaking of simple brush strokes: what about relatively unknown and short lived Paul Thomas (1868-1910) and his stunning rendering of Notre Dame's "abside" seen from the packed and stacked quay? (click to embiggen)

Very much after Frantisek Tavik Simon (1877-1942), who lived and worked in Paris around the same time French artist Manuel Robbe (1872-1936) choose the little crane to feature in these 2 aquatint prints. The second probably seen during the floods of 1910/1911. Robbe also used the alias of Alphons Lafitte and  we'll meet this prolific artist later in a sceduled posting. 

PS: This posting is not supposed to be a complete list of all works of art showing a steam crane on Quai de la Tournelle in Paris. If you think I've missed one I would be very pleased if you'ld let me know and preferably send it to me.