The Lamentation by Giotto di Bondone, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua.
The emotion and naturalism found in Giotto’s 14th century frescos are among the reasons he is considered one of the founders of modern painting and his style paved the way for the artists of the Renaissance to follow. His understanding of space and the use of the landscape as a means to lead the viewer to the primary action in the scene, was revolutionary.
Acrobat and Young Harlequin 1905 by Pablo Picasso, The Barnes Foundation.
Painted in 1905 this work is part of Picasso’s Rose Period that The Barnes Foundation .came after his Blue Period. His subjects during this time often included acrobats dancers and harlequins.
Much like Byrdcliffe, Roycroft was started as a self-contained Utopian community where its founder Elbert Hubbard envisioned a society of artists and crafts people living and working in harmony. It is a lovely place to visit and the Roycroft Inn is an Arts and Crafts lover’s paradise.
Dragonfly Wallpaper, c.1905 by Zulma Steele, Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony, Woodstock NY, Private Collection.
Byrdcliffe was a Arts and Crafts Colony started by Jane and Ralph Whitehead as a Utopian community based on the ideals and writings of John Ruskin and William Morris, where like-minded artists, craftspeople, writers and architects could gather, share and practice their crafts.
Beata Beatrix, 1872 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Art Institute of Chicago.
This is a portrait of Rossetti’s wife Elizabeth Siddal that was painted after her death. In it he casts her as Dante’s Beatrice, thereby casting himself as his namesake. When Siddal died he was so overcome with grief he buried his manuscript book of poetry along with her (five years later he retrieved it).
The Bower Meadow, 1850-1872 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Manchester City Art Galleries, UK.
Begun in 1850 the background is Knole Park, Kent which he painted out of doors with William Holman Hunt. The Pre-Raphaelites advocated painting out of doors in natural settings, but this is the only time Rossetti ventured down that road. He completed the figures in 1872.
The Day-dream, 1880 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
The model in this piece, Jane Morris is the wife of William Morris and it is a widely held belief that Rossetti and Jane carried on an affair.
La Belle Iseult, 1858 by William Morris, The Tate Modern, London.
The model for this work is Jane Burden who later became the wife of William Morris and lived with him at Red House. Note his emphasis on the design and detail in the room, he later gave up painting in favor of interior design and was very successful with Morris & Co.
Detail from Pewabic Pottery tile decoration from the Guardian Building, 1928, Detroit MI.
Mary Chase Perry Stratton and her partner Horace Caulkins founded the Pewabic Pottery based on the Arts & Crafts style and ideal sweeping the country. The building they built in 1907 they moved to the building that still houses an active pottery, museum and store.
I received this fantastic book as a gift and had to re-post the Guardian Building. Anyone who is into architecture will love it and Detroiters need to see it to appreciate gems in that city (before they disappear).
Your Daily Art 