Italian Nudes - Felice Casorati

Merrigio 1923 Felice Casorati
Le Signorine 1912 Felice Casorati
Felice Casorati by Herbert List 1949
Nude Study by Felice Casorati

I always admired the studio nudes painted by Italian Painter Felice Casorati (1886-1963), a contemporary of Antonio Donghi. He went from being part of the Symbolist movement in 1912 to being associated with the Italian Metaphysical painters ten years later. "Le Signorine" could mean "The Young Ladies" or it could mean "The Spinsters". Either way, the picture is humorous and psychological. Dolores F., Violante, Bianca (the "white" nude) and Gioconda are their names.

And, in the painting above it, "Merrigio", we want to know what the one nude is thinking while the other one sleeps. The hat and shoes are a nice contrast. And who is that naked guy in the background? Reminds me of Balthus with his mysterious background figures, but it is also a still life. It's all about form, texture and composition.

Felice Casorati

Foxtrotting Gal

Blues Gal Sketch #6 Copyright 2006 Amy Crehore

Here's a drawing I did a week or so ago. My gal's a little fox-trotter. She's headed off to parts unknown with her guitar. Don't ask me what it all means.

Genius of Goyo

Woman Washing Her Hair 1920 Goyo
Woman Washing Her Face 1920 Goyo

Here are two more wonderful images of women by Hashiguchi Goyo. I had read that his prints are very rare and he only did 8 prints of women on his own, but this website shows us more images:

Hanga Gallery

(Thanks again Internet Weekly)

Always in Style- Japanese Prints

Hashiguchi Goyo 1915 Bathing

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 1888 Shy Woman
Hashiguchi Goyo 1920 Thin Garment
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 1888 Looking Delighted

I love these Japanese woodblock prints of women. The economy of the line and the elegance of the style. They are the same ones that inspired so many artists who came before me (Mary Cassatt, for instance). Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's 32 Aspects of Women Series and Hashiguchi Goyo's 8 prints of women- the only ones he did in his lifetime.

Bosch Action Figures

Tree Man
Devil on a Night Chair

These figures are from the Parastone Mouseion Collection . They were directly inspired by the painted masterpiece, "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Hieronymus Bosch.

Thanks Internet Weekly for another great link.

Small is Big

"Nude Seated on a Rock" 1921 Pablo Picasso

The last time I went to the Museum of Modern Art, one painting seemed to stand out for me. It was teeny-tiny- measuring only 6 1/4"x 4 3/8"- but it simply glowed with color and feeling, dwarfing all of the large paintings around it. It's an oil on wood by Pablo Picasso done in 1921 - one of his best years in my opinion. He had a way of painting the human form that was so solid and peasant-like, almost sculptural. This painting was a magnet that pulled me in and held me there. Everyone wanted to stand in front of it and get personal with it. Small can be powerful.

MOMA collection

Morris Hirshfield's "Overnight" Success

"Dog and Pups"
"Girl and Dog"
Morris Hirshfield1872-1946
"Four Cats"

"Morris Hirshfield came to the United States from eastern Europe at the age of 18. Like many other Jewish immigrants of this period, he found work in the garment industry, at first in a women's coat factory. Hirshfield soon opened his own coat factory with his brother, but after 12 years, they started a new company, the EZ Walk Manufacturing Company, which made women's "boudoir slippers," as Hirshfield called them. This business operated with great success until Hirshfield became ill and then retired.

In 1937, at the age of 65, Hirshfield began to paint, much to the bewilderment of his wife and family. The subjects he was immediately drawn to were women, animals, and occasionally themes from his Jewish heritage.

A record of Hirshfield's life and career as an artist was written by Hirshfield himself for Sidney Janis's 1942 book They Taught Themselves. Janis had come upon Hirshfield's paintings a few years earlier while organizing an exhibition called "Contemporary Unknown American Painters" for the Museum of Modern Art. Upon seeing Hirshfield's Angora Cat, he immediately included work from the new artist in the exhibition.

In 1941 Hirshfield was given a one-man exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art that included 30 paintings."

Excerpt From Maine Antique Digest article

I love Morris Hirshfield. To think it only took him 4 years to have the show of a lifetime at MOMA with the 30 paintings he had done up until that point. He completed only 77 works of art before his death- 9 years after he started painting.