Naked Witchcraft and Severed Heads

Here are three more wacky images from the amazing Cornell University Library that I blogged about earlier. These are from: Roland Brévannes' "L’Orgie Satanique à Travers les Siècles", Paris 1904, Publisher- Offenstadt.

Boingboing and Wired blogs picked up on my "Demons" post which has brought many people over to Little Hokum Rag. Apparently, people are fascinated by these old engravings and woodcuts of demons, witches, angels, freaks, monsters, the grotesque, the marvelous, etc.

I know that I am.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Pan Yuliang's Controversial Nudes

Pan Yuliang's life (1895-1977) was an interesting story that was made into a movie in 1994 starring Gong Li. The movie is called "A Soul Haunted by Painting"(or "Hua Hun"). I will have to rent it soon! Apparently her parents died when she was young and she was sold to a brothel at 14. But, at age 21, a customs official rescued her and sent her to art school in Shanghai. From there, she went to France to study and also studied in Rome. She returned to China from 1929-1937, but after that lived in France for the rest of her life. She won countless awards, lived a full life and loved to paint nude women. Her paintings were considered "depraved" in China by conservatives from 1930-40.

Read about Pan Yuliang's life and see more paintings.

Thanks to Internet Weekly for turning me on to this remarkable woman painter.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Free Shipping-Amy Crehore's Limited Signed Prints

"Backstage"copyright Amy Crehore, Little Pierrot Series Prints
"The Nibbler" copyright Amy Crehore, Monkey Love Series Prints

I am offering free shipping on all of my limited edition, signed, museum quality giclee prints. I will reimburse the shipping fee through paypal after ordering.
The Art of Amy Crehore

How Thomas Nast influenced Vincent Van Gogh

Thomas Nast Cartoon 1876

"Sorrow" by Vincent Van Gogh 1882

"Thomas Nast (1840-1902) perhaps the most important American political cartoonist of all time, is best known for his invention and development of popular symbols like the Republican Elephant, Democratic Donkey, a fat, jolly Santa Claus and a lean, goatee-wearing Uncle Sam. Nast’s most important forum was Harper’s Weekly, the leading illustrated American periodical of the last half of the nineteenth century. HarpWeek has identified the 2200-plus cartoons that Nast drew for Harper’s Weekly—the first in 1859, the last in 1896, and the rest mainly between 1862 and 1886." quote from John Adler, publisher HarpWeek.

Apparently, Van Gogh collected newspaper illustrations and hoped to become an illustrator himself. 21 cartoons by Thomas Nast were in Van Gogh's collection. Albert I. Boime, Professor of Art History at UCLA, wrote an interesting essay on the possible connection between Nast's illustrations and Van Gogh's art.

Read Boime's essay here:

Thomas Nast

presented by HarpWeek

The Art of Amy Crehore

John Tenniel's Surreal Alice

Sir John Tenniel (1820-1914) was a political cartoonist for "Punch", a book illustrator and a watercolorist. 'His forty-two illustrations (1865) for "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" had involved Tenniel in much acrimonious debate with Carroll, who insisted that the first edition be withdrawn because he was displeased with the reproductive quality of the prints. Reluctantly, Tenniel agreed to work on Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass" (1872), his last book illustration. He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1893, and continued his life-long association with "Punch" until 1901.' See and read more here:

A Tenniel Gallery

on Victorian Web. Be sure to click through "next" to see all of his "Alice in Wonderland" illustrations which are a predecessor to surrealism and some of the most striking examples of Alice illustrations ever done (in my humble opinion). Inspiring!

The Art of Amy Crehore

Amazing Jack Hall

Jack Hall made playable musical instruments out of used wooden matches. Check out the photos and read about this incredible one-of-a-kind folk artist who made a guitar, uke, fiddle, banjo, etc:

Matchstick Man

and here

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Demons- like you have never seen before!

J.A.S. Collin de Plancy. Dictionnaire Infernal. Paris : E. Plon, 1863
J.A.S. Collin de Plancy. Dictionnaire Infernal. Paris : E. Plon, 1863

Lucifer, Roland Brévannes 1904

Jose Guadalupe Posada woodblock 1930

There is the most amazing collection of fantastic images in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections of Cornell University Library. You must check it out! This is just the tip of the iceberg. I will definitely bookmark this site. Click here to see more, like you have never seen before:
Fantastic in Art and Fiction
The Art of Amy Crehore