Daily Art Fixx

visual arts blog, painting, drawing, sculpture, illustration and more!

Jean Hélion, 1904 – 1987

By

Born in Normandy, France on April 21, 1904, Jean Hélion is recognized as one of the leading abstract painters in Europe during the 1930’s. Hélion moved to Paris in 1921 where he worked as an architectural apprentice until deciding to become a painter in 1925. He became a member of the Groupe Art Concret in 1929 and co-founded Abstraction Creation in 1931 – an international association of artists who advocated pure abstration.

Hélion moved to the United States (New York, and Virginia) in 1936 and continued his abstract work until 1939 when (much to his admirer’s disappointment) he began to paint in a figurative style.

Hélion returned to Paris in 1940 to serve with the Armed Forces.  During this time, he was taken prisoner and help captive until 1942 when he managed to escape.  He published a book on his WWII experiences called “They Shall Not Have Me” in 1943.

Hélion returned to America for a short period but then went back to Paris in 1946 where he continued his work painting scenes of everyday life.  When asked by a journalist about his abandonment of abstract art, he said the war was an influence on his return to figurative painting. And that “A man who has been locked up for a few years knows the value of reality”. ⑴

Jean Hélion made Paris his home until his death on October 27, 1987.  Today, his works can be seen at the MOMA and other galleries in the US, as well as the Tate Gallery in London and many Museums in France.

Sources: Wikipedia, New York Times 1981, 1989, Centre Pompidou

On-line Picasso Project

By

Pablo Picasso is one of my favourite artists and I plan to do a more in-depth profile of him in a later post.  But if you’re a Picasso fan, the On-line Picasso Project is a website you shouldn’t miss.

The On-line Picasso Project is non-profit project that catalogues an amazingly large number of Picasso’s works and a timeline of the artist’s life. It was created in 1997 by Dr. Enrique Mallén from Sam Houston State University. The website contains over 16,000 catalogued artworks, over 6,000 notes, and thousands of commentaries, biographical entries, and archived news articles.

The interface allows the user to easily browse through images and files according to date.  Clicking on an image from the summary page will bring up a small window – a sort of mini web page that details the artwork being viewed. Clicking on the image in the mini page enlarges the work so the viewer can see the finer details.

You can literally spend hours on this site (I have), and the chronological organization of the project allows you to witness Picasso’s development as an artist over the course of his life. The sheer volume of his work is staggering and this database represents about only a third of his estimated 50,000 works. The Guinness Book of Records actually named Picasso as the most prolific painter in history. So set some time aside and check out the On-line Picasso Project, you won’t be disappointed.

Happy Birthday Da Vinci!

By

One of the most famous artists of all time, Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, was born on April 15, 1452 at Vinci in the region of Florence.  While he is perhaps most famous as a painter, Da Vinci was known to have an unyielding curiosity that persisted up until the end of his life in 1519.  Da Vinci was a polymath and  besides his career as an artist, he was also an inventor, mathematician, architect, musician,  engineer, botanist, writer, and an anatomist.(1)

At the age of 14, Da Vinci was apprenticed to successful artist Andrea di Cione (aka Verrocchio) where he learned a large variety of skills as well as drawing, painting, sculpting, and modeling. During his professional life, Da Vinci worked in Florence, Milan, Rome, and in 1516 – 1519 in France under the service of Francis I.  Leonardo Da Vinci died on May 2, 1519 at Clos Lucé in France.(1)

The Mona Lisa (La Gioconda , La Jaconde, 1503-1506) is a small painting (2’6” x 1’8”) that continues to be a source of fascination and debate.  The dark and wild landscape brought together with the serene beauty, smile and liveliness of the sitter creates a sense of mystery and an improbable merging of two opposing worlds.(2)

The Mona Lisa is on display at the Louvre and around 6 million people view the painting ever year. I saw her last summer while in Paris and have to admit my disappointment.  The huge crowd of visitors meant that one could only stop briefly to examine it, through a bullet-proof glass enclosure, from a distance as we were herded quickly through the line.  Next time, I’ll go in winter.

To view more paintings by Da Vinci check out the Web Gallery of Art.  The Notebooks of Leonardo Davinci can be downloaded free from Project Gutenberg.

The Last Supper

By

Well it’s Easter so what better day to post representations of the Last Supper in art.  I am too full of Easter chocolate to provide any coherent, meaningful comparison or analysis, so here simply, are three images depicting the last meal of Jesus and his Apostles.  The first, probably the most famous by Leonardo da Vinci; the second, Salvador Dali’s The Sacrement of the Last Supper; and third, an artist I like, known only as Arum1966 or Mark from Deviant Art.  Enjoy and Happy Easter!

Leonardo da Vinci - The Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci - The Last Supper


The Sacrament of the Last Supper - Salvador Dali

The Sacrament of the Last Supper - Salvador Dali


The Last Supper - Arum1966 (Mark)

The Last Supper - Arum1966 (Mark)

Victor Vasarely – 1906–1997

By

Victor Vasarely - Zebras 1950Victor Vasarely was born in Pécs, Hungary on April 9th, 1906.  Vasarely grew up in Piešťany, Slovakia and then Budapest where he studied at the ‘Mühely’ Academy which was known as the centre of Bauhaus studies in Budapest. In 1930, Vasarely moved to Paris where he worked as a graphic artist and creative consultant and developed his style of geometric abstract art.

Vasarely is acknowledged as the leader of the Op-Art movement (optical art) and for his innovations in color and optical illusion. His works can be seen in  almost every major museum in the world that has a collection of contemporary art. Museums in Aix-en Provence, France; Pecs, Hungary; and a wing of the Zichy Palace, Hungary, are devoted exclusively to his work.

For more information about Victor Vasarely, visit the Official Web Site.

Alfred Cheney Johnston: 1885 – 1971

By

Alfred Cheney Johnston was born on April 8, 1885 in New York to a wealthy family who had connections with New York’s upper class.  In 1903, Johnston attended The Art Students League of New York but transferred to the National Academy of Design in New York in 1904 where he studied illustration and experimented with photography. While there, he met fellow student Norman Rockwell with whom he became lifelong friends.

In 1908, Johnston graduated from the Academy and married classmate and painter Doris Gernon in 1909. With the encouragement of family friend Charles Dana Gibson (creator of the “Gibson Girl”), Johnston continued to develop his photographic skills. His wife Doris was known to complete the darkroom retouch work on his prints and glass plates.

Johnston was invited to become official photographer of the Ziegfeld Follies by its founder Florenz Ziegfeld around 1916. Ziegfeld promoted his productions as “Glorifying the American Girl” and it was Johnston’s job to capture that vision in photographs. His photos were considered sexual at the time and his props included tapestry backgrounds, pearls, and shawls and scarves  for draping.

Through his relationship with Ziegfeld, Johnston also became known for his portraits of silent film stars, the upper class society, advertising work, layouts for industrial firms and cigarette companies.

Johnston’s photographs became famous around the world and he had a very successful career with the Follies until the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent death of Ziegfeld in 1932.

In 1937, Johnston, with Swann Publications,  published his book of artistic nude photographs entitled “Enchanting Beauty” which had only limited success. Johnston continued to work in New York until 1939 when he and his wife moved to a rural property in Oxford, Connecticut where they converted their barn into a studio space. There are few records of Johnston’s photographic work in Connecticut though he is known to have belonged to photographic clubs and associations where he gave numerous lectures.  Johnston also taught photography from his studio during this time.

In the 1960’s, Johnston attempted to donate his studio and photographic works to several organizations in New York and Washington but received little interest in the proposal.  Johnston died in 1971 at Griffin Hospital in Ansonia, Connecticut. In 2006, the book “Jazz Age Beauties: The Lost Collection of Ziegfeld Photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston” by Robert Hudovernik was published. Today, Johnston is considered a top photographer of his time, among the ranks of Edward Steichen, Horst, Arnold Genthe, and others.

Sources: Alfred Cheney Johnston.com