Daily Art Fixx

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

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: 1864-1901

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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec portraitBorn on November 24, 1864 in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France, Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa is considered by many to be one of the greatest painters of the Post-Impressionist period. The son of aristocrats, he suffered from a number of congenital conditions that were attributed to the inbreeding traditions of past generations. His parents were first cousins.

Between the ages of 13 and 14, Toulouse-Lautrec broke his right and left thigh bones, both of which did not heal properly.  As a result, his legs ceased to grow and while his torso reached adult proportions, his height was stunted at 5 feet 1 inch.

Unable to participate in regular physical activities, Toulouse-Lautrec turned to art. In 1882, he studied with the academic painter Leon Bonnat and then entered the atelier of Fernand Cormon in 1883. He was drawn to Montmartre, an area of Paris known for its bohemian lifestyle and as the meeting place of artists, writers, and philosophers. He was also fascinated by the singers, dancers, prostitutes and other patrons of Parisian dance halls and cabarets. Toulouse-Lautrec made connections with Edgar Degas and Vincent van Gogh and by 1885, he had abandoned academic art, choosing instead to depict scenes of Montmartre life.

Toulouse-Lautrec painted “quickly and frequently in thinned oil paint on unprimed cardboard, using its neutral tone as a design element and conveying action and atmosphere in a few economical strokes. Japanese prints inspired his oblique angles of vision, near-abstract shapes, and calligraphic lines. In later years graphic works took precedence; his paintings were often studies for lithographs.” In 1889, Toulouse-Lautrec exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants, emerging as a leading post-impressionist painter. In 1891, he began producing paintings and poster designs connected with the famous nightclub, Moulin Rouge.

An alcoholic for most of his adult life, Toulouse-Lautrec was placed in a sanatorium in 1899. He died  on September 9, 1901 from complications due to alcoholism and syphilis at the age of 36. He is buried in Verdelais, Gironde, a few kilometers from the Chateau of Malrome, where he died.

Though his career was short, Toulouse-Lautrec created 737 canvases, 275 watercolors, 363 prints and posters, 5,084 drawings, as well as ceramic and stained glass works.

For a complete biography, visit the Toulouse-Lautrec Foundation website.

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago, J. Paul Getty Museum, Toulouse Lautrec Foundation, Wikipedia

Edouard Martinet: Sculpture

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poisson2-edouard-martinet

Edouard Martinet was born in Le Mans, France in 1963.  He studied art at L’Ecole Supérieure des Arts Graphiques (ESAG), Paris and graduated in 1988. From 1988 – 1992 he lived and worked in Paris as a graphic designer, and in 1990 started sculpting and holding exhibitions. From 1992 – 95 he lived in Charente before moving to his current location in Rennes where he teaches art at L’Institut des Arts Appliques.

Martinet transforms everyday objects found in flea-markets and car boot sales into works of art. Working with a variety of refuse materials such as rusted kitchen pans, typewriter keys, car lights and other scrap metals, Martinet sculpts several types of animals and insects. His sculptures are made without the use of solder. He fits each component into place as if putting together a puzzle of random pieces and parts. Each piece is carefully assembled after having drafted several detailed sketches.

To see more of Martinet’s work, visit EdouardMartinet.com.

Françoise Nielly: Painting

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Today’s blasts of colour are by French painter Françoise Nielly.  “Nielly grew up in the South of France where she lived between Cannes and Saint-Tropez – never far from the light, the color sense and the atmosphere that permeates the South of France.  This is coupled with her studies with her studies at the Beaux arts and Decorative Arts, and her sense of humor and of celebration.

Nielly’s painting is expressive, exhibiting a brute force, a fascinating vital energy. Oil and knife combine to sculpt her images from a material that is , at the same time, biting and incisive, and sensual. Whether she paints the human body or portraits, the artist takes a risk : her painting is sexual, her colors free, exuberant, surprising, even explosive, the cut of her knife incisive, her color pallet dazzling.” (from artist’s website)

Nielly currently lives and paints in Paris near Montmartre.  She shows and sells her work in Europe, in Canada and in the United States.

To see more of Nielly’s work, visit Francoise-Nielly.com

Henri Rousseau: The Dream

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Born in Laval, France on May 21, 1844, Henri Rousseau is considered to be the archetype of the self-taught artist and one of the first of the Naïve or Primitive artists.  Following high school, Rousseau worked for a lawyer and studied law but joined the army in 1863 after committing a minor perjury.  In 1868, Rousseau moved to Paris after the death of his father and took a job with the Paris government as a custom’s official.

Rousseau took his own art very seriously, however, many critics at the time often ridiculed his work as childish and untutored.  Today, Rousseau is celebrated for his dream like jungle paintings with their bold and primitive style, incredibly detailed with lush animal and plant life.  His exotic scenes did not originate from any worldly travels. In fact, Rousseau never left France.  His paintings were based on images adapted from printed sources, and from visits to the Paris Natural History Museum, and the Jardin des Plantes, a botanical garden and zoo.

Rousseau retired from work in 1893 to devote more time to painting and supplemented his income with a variety of part-time jobs including teaching painting and drawing. In the same year, he moved to Montparnasse, a centre for artistic activity in Paris.

As his career progressed, Rousseau exhibited at the Salon d’Automne in 1905 where he met Avant-Garde artists such as Apollinaire, Robert Delaunay, Picasso and others.  Unfortunately, on September 2, 1910,  as his work was beginning to gain recognition, Rousseau, died after suffering from an infected leg wound.

It is a shame that the conservative critics of Rousseau’s time could not see the value in his works. At least he had the Society of Independent Artists who held exhibitions that Rousseau could take part in.  Today, his paintings are considered genius to some and influential to several generations of artists and movements of the 20th century.  I have seen “The Dream” (shown below) at the MOMA in New York.  Its richness and depth of colour and expression drew me into Rousseau’s “Dream,” and kept me there for quite some time.

Sources: MOMA, New York Times, Wikipedia