Sunday, February 28, 2010

Diego Velázquez - The Forge of Vulcan

The Forge of Vulcan
Panama Stamp Issue, Painting Completed 1630

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Joseph Turner


Joseph Turner - British Landscape Artist
UK 10p Stamp Issued 1975

Query: Does anyone know the name of this painting?? :)

Henry Raeburn - Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch



Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch (1795) - Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)
British Stamp GB Issued 1973
National Gallery of Scotland Edinburgh



Perino del Vaga - The Holy Family




Perino DEL VAGA - The Holy Family
Australia 55c Stamp issued 1978, Painting completed 1545

Toscani - Adoration of the Magi

Giovanni Toscani (1372-1430) - Adoration of the Magi
Australian Stamp issued 1994, Painted Early 1400s
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne





Toscani completed this work during the growth of the Renaissance in Florence, well before more famous artists like Leonardo da Vinci would rise to fame.  Toscani was a pupil of the early Italian painter Giottino, who was known for completing many famous frescos in the churches around Florence.

Mabuse - Danae





Jan Gossaert called Mabuse (1478-1541) - "Danae"
Painted in 1527, Manama Stamp Issue
Alte Pinakothek Museum, Munich, Germany

Artist Unknown - Quinkan Gallery

Artist Unknown - Quinkan Gallery
Rock painting located on Cape York Peninsula Queensland
Australia 30c Stamp Issued 1984
Rock Painting Series

Artist Unknown - Silver Barramundi

Artist Unknown - Silver Barramundi
Rock Painting Located at the Alligator River, Northern Territory Australia
Australia 30c Stamp Issued 1984
Rock Painting Series (4 stamps in total)

Unknown Artist - Bunjil's Cave

Artist Unknown - Bunjil's Cave
Rock Painting located in the Grampians Mountain Range in Victoria, Australia
Australia 30c Stamp Issued 1984
Rock Painting Series

Unknown Artist - Rock Python

Artist Unknown - Rock Python
Painting located in the Kimberleys in Western Australia
Australia Stamp 30c issued 1984
Rock Paintings Series

Jack Wunuwun - Yam Plants

Yam Plants - Jack Wunuwun
Australian 75c Stamp Issued 1993
Dreaming Series

George Melpurrurru - Goose Egg Hunt

Goose Egg Hunt - George Melpurrurru
Australian 85c Stamp Issued 1993
Dreaming Series

Arthur Streeton - Impression for Golden Summer




Arthur Streeton (1867-1943) - Golden Summer, Eaglemont (1889)
Australia 41c Stamp Issued 1989
Painting Held at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

This is one of many well known paintings by Arthur Streeton, who was one of the most influential artists of the impressionist Heidelberg School in the late 1800s in Australia, along with Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin.
Streeton lived and worked on the outskirts of Melbourne for much of his life - this work shows a typical scene in country Australia, with long shadows creeping over the fields of sheep - light bathes the scene in a typically Australian style.
Other work by Streeton has been depicted on Australian stamps:

His contemporaries included:




Frederick McCubbin - Petit Dejeuner

Frederick McCubbin (1855-1917) - Petit Dejeuner (1889)
Australia 41c Stamp Issued 1989
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne


This painting depicts everyday life in the pioneering times, which was typical of McCubbin's work.  He was one of the leading influences of the Australian impressionist movement, being part of the Heidelberg School of Art in Victoria in the late 1800s.  This is one of his earlier works, before he began to paint in the Australian landscape on the outskirts of Melbourne. 

His more famous works are those that depict everyday pioneering life in the Australian bush.  The people depicted in his paintings modeled in his studio, but they still fitted into the natural bush scenes in a harmonious manner.  On the Wallaby Track has also been depicted on an Australian stamp.  



Tom Roberts - Impression Mentone

Tom Roberts (1856-1931) - Mentone (1888)
Australia 41c Stamp Issued 1989
Painting Held at the National Gallery of Victoria
This painting was completed at the height of the Heidelberg School on the outskirts of Melbourne in the late 1800s.  Tom Roberts developed a very very Australian style of impressionist paintings, where the Australian sunlight almost whitewashes the paintings in golden yellows and whites - truly typical of the Australian summer.

Roberts was known for his landscape paintings, in addition to being revered during his time.  Other paintings of his have been used on Australian stamps:

Frederick McCubbin - On the Wallaby Track

Frederick McCubbin (1855-1917) - On the Wallaby Track (1896)
Australia $2 Stamp Issued 1981
Held at the Art Gallery of NSW Sydney


Frederick McCubbin painted at a time when Australia was forming it's own identity in the lead up to Federation. He worked with other impressionist painters, including Tom Roberts on the outskirts of Melbourne, which is where he completed many landscape paintings. He captured the loneliness of the pioneering life in a series of paintings including Lost, On the Wallaby Track, Down on His Luck and The Pioneer. His paintings also captured the harsh Australian landscape in a romantic manner.


The painting was used as the basis for a 1980s TV ad for Kit Kat chocolates, in addition to being depicted in this stamp. 

Some of McCubbin's other works that have been depicted on stamps include Petit Dejeuner -1889

Arthur Streeton - From MacMahons Point One Penny Fare




Arthur Streeton (1867-1943) - From MacMahons Point One Penny Fare (1890)
Australia $5 Stamp Issued 1979
Held at the National Gallery of Australia Canberra
This painting is set on one of the most beautiful parts of Australia - on the shores of Sydney Harbour.  This painting captures McMahons Point at a time when it was remote to the city of Sydney, only linked by a ferry service.  The 1930s saw the completion of the Sydney Harbour bridge and this part of Sydney's north shore is now densely developed -  but it is still possible to catch a ferry into Sydney.

Streeton is one of Australia's best loved artists from the Heidelberg school in Melbourne.  He was associated with other great artists, including Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin.  They were influenced by the impressionist movement, particularly Turner, which swept through Europe before being taken up in Australia.  Australia's abundance of light and clear skies proved to provide these artists with fertile grounds to make their mark on Australian art history at this time.



Charles Conder - A Holiday at Mentone

Charles Conder (1868-1909) - A Holiday at Mentone (1888)
Australia $5 stamp issued 1984
Art Gallery of South Australia
This high value $5 stamp was issued in 1984, shortly after this painting was purchased by the Art Gallery of South Australia in 1981. It depicts a romanticised Australian summer beach scene on the outskirts of Melbourne in the late 1800s, clearly demonstrating Australians’ love of the beach that has continued until today.

Born in England in 1868 before moving to Australia, Conder was only 20 years old then this painting was completed, having a close working relationship with Tom Roberts in Melbourne as part of the Heidelberg school of artists. He later went on to work in London and Paris before passing away at the young age of 41.  He now has a suburb in Canberra named after him.

Russell Drysdale - The Walls of China







Russell Drysdale - the Walls of China (1945)
Australia 30c Stamp Issued 1985
Art Gallery of NSW Sydney


This stamp was issued as part of a joined pair for Australia Day 1985, the other half being the Sidney Nolan painting “Musgrave Ranges”.

The Walls of China was completed in 1945 and it depicts an arid landscape scene from the Lake Mungo area in NSW - at this time, Australia was in the midst of a serious drought.  This painting was promptly purchased by the Art Gallery of NSW but there was some minor controversy over the stark portrayal of a drought affected landscape.

Russell Drysdale was born in England in 1912 and he emigrated to Australia in 1923.  His was known for his depiction of the Australian landscape as being inhospitable, red and threatening.  He died in Sydney in 1981.

Lloyd Rees - Fire Haze at Gerringong

Lloyd Rees (1895-1983) - Fire Haze at Gerringong (1980)
Australia $1.20 Stamp Issued 1997
Art Gallery of NSW Sydney   
This is one of three modern painting stamps that were issued for Australia Day 1997. Other works by Brett Whitely and Fred Williams were also included in this series.

Lloyd Rees lived a long and successful life as an artist, first growing up in Queensland before going onto to become one of the most famous residents of the south coast of New South Wales. This work is very reminiscent of Turner's work in the UK, as Rees has captured the light and colour of the NSW South Coast, while also remaining abstract.

Hans Heysen - Red Gums of the Far North




Hans Heysen (1877-1968) - Red Gums of the Far North (1930)
Australia $2 Stamp Issued 1974
Wynne Prize Winner 1931


Heysen came from German origins but he gained fame by monumentalising the gum tree in Australian art.  Eucalypts or gum trees were the primary subject of his art, and they were popular with his audience as well.   He made enough money to buy a property near Hahndorf in the Barossa Valley of South Australia prior to World War I - this is an excellent location for sampling the odd glass or bottle of wine these days.  He travelled extensively to paint gum trees, especially in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia, despite the fact that he suffered a fair degree of discrimination due to his German origins during the wars that took place during his lifetime.


His art work is the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Australian National Gallery in 2010, as he was a key player in Australian art - for respresenting the Australian landscape in an immensely popular way.


Grace Cossington-Smith - The Bridge In Curve

Grace Cossington Smith (1892-1984) - The Bridge In Curve (1930)
Australia $1 Stamp Issued 1996
National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne
Painting depicts the construction of Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Depression, as viewed from the Rocks, Sydney.  Cossington-Smith is one of Australia's greatest artists, who lived and worked in the north shore of Sydney during the great depression and wars of the early 20th Century.   This was also a time of great development in Sydney as the city grew and prospered.  

Her later work became characterised by broad brushstrokes and bright colours - her versatility meant that there were broad themes, including interiors, landscapes and depictions of everyday life in bustling Sydney.

Sidney Nolan - Musgrave Ranges


Sidney Nolan - Musgrave Ranges
Australia 30c Stamp Issued 1985
Painting completed in 1949

Sidney Nolan - Antarctica





Australian Antarctic Territory 39c Stamp Issued 1989





In 1989, four Sidney Nolan landscape paintings were issued for the Australian Antarctic Territory.
These paintings were originally completed by Nolan in 1964 when he went on a two week trip to Antarctica.



Albert Namatijira - Glen Helen Country

Albert Namatjira - Glen Helen Country Australia 45c Stamp Issued 2002
Ngurratjuta Pmara Corporation Collection, Araluen Galleries Alice Springs
Namatjira was a popular Aboriginal artist who painted realistic landscapes in the area in which he lived and worked.   His work was popular with white Australians, so he enjoyed many privileges that were not bestowed upon his own people at the time in which he lived.  He was incarcerated in jail in the latter period of his life for supplying alcohol to another Aboriginal person, and finally ided of a heart attack at a relatively young age.  


Four of Albert Namatjira's works were depicted on stamps in this 2002 series.

Albert Namatjira - Ghost Gum Mount Sonder


Albert Namatjira (1902-1959) - Ghost Gum Mount Sonder
Australia 45c Stamp Issued 2002
National Gallery of Australia Canberra
Albert Namatjira was a popular artist during his life and this is one of his works that has found itself at the new indigenous gallery at the National Gallery of Australia,  Namatjira preceeded a large number of aboriginal artists who gained famed in the latter half of the 20th century.  His works were more westernised than the abstract aboriginal art which followed.


Link to: Other works by Namatjira.

Albert Namatjira - Simpson's Gap


Albert Namatjira (1902-1959) - Simpson's Gap
Australia 45c Stamp Issued 2002
Ngurratjuta Pmara Corporation Collection - Araluen Collection Alice Springs

This is one of four stamps issued to commemorate the life of Albert Namatjira in 2002.  The artist straddled between two western and aboriginal culture during his reasonable short life, producing a large number of works that depicted the local environment around his homeland of Alice Springs, in the outback of Australia.

Albert Namatijira, Mt Hermannsburg

Albert NamatijiraMt Hermannsburg
Australia 45c Stamp Issued 2002 

George Lambert - A Sargeant of the Lighthorse

George Lambert (1873-1930) - A Sargeant of the Lighthorse (1921)
Australia $1 Stamp Issued 1974
National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne
This 1974 stamp was the first Australian stamp to depict a painting.  The series also included paintings by Heysen and Roberts – all stamps were relatively high value for the 1970s, being $1, $2 and $4.

The painting was originally completed in 1920, shortly after WW1.  Light Horsemen were legendary during the war, and this painting was purchased by the National Gallery of Victoria in 1921.

Born in St Petersburg Russia in 1873, George Lambert arrived in Australia in 1887 after some schooling in the UK.  As he was rising as a prominent artist up to 1914, he was commissioned as a war artist during WW1 and went on to complete many more works later in his career.

Tom Roberts - Shearing the Rams

Tom Roberts (1856-1931) - Shearing the Rams (1888)
Australia $4 Stamp Issued 1974
Painting Held at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Tom Roberts is one of the influential group of the Heidelberg School of art, where a distinct style of Australian art was developed at a time when Australia itself was also asserting it's own identity.  This was a time when ideas were being developed on the creation of the nation of Australia - and this eventually took place in 1901, some 12 years after this painting was completed.  Tom Roberts was selected as the official painter for this grand occasion - the creation of the Australian state in 1901.

Roberts paintings depict typical Australian country scenes from the time when he lived.  The sheep and wool industry was one of the greatest drivers of development of the Australian inland, and the industry continues to this day, although it is a lot less important.

Other Tom Roberts paintings that have been used on stamps: 

Linmi Puntungka Tjapangati - Courtship Rejected

Limpi  Puntungka Tjapangati - Courtship Rejected (1974)
Australia 55c Stamp Issued 1988


This is one of four stamps that were issued under the "Art of the Desert" series in 1988 by Australia Post.

Turkey Tolsen Tjupurrula - Bush Potato Country


Turkey Tolsen Tjupurrula (1938-2001) - Bush Potato Country (1979)
Australia 37c Stamp Issued 1988
Turkey Tolson was one of the leading figures of the Papunya Tula art movement in the 1970s in the Western Desert region of the Northern Territory.  This popular style of indigenous art was only recognised by mainstream Australia in the 1970s and beyond.  This is one of four stamps that were issued for Desert Art in 1988. 

Arthur Boyd - Nebuchdnezzar on fire falling over a waterfall

Arthur Boyd - Nebuchdnezzar on fire falling over a waterfall (1968)
Australia 45c Stamp Issued 1999
Art Gallery of NSW Sydney


This stamp was issued in 1999 in conjunction with another stamp that portrayed artist Arthur Boyd who died in the same year.

The disturbing character depicted in the stamp is credited with building the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, in addition to succeeding in conquests of Judah and Jerusalem in bible stories in the “Book of Daniel”. Arthur Boyd created this painting as part of a series of 70 paintings that commented on the suffering and madness of the Vietnam War. He often depicted the biblical characters in Australian landscapes.

Titian





Venus with a Mirror - Titian
circa 1555 - Fujeira Stamp Issue
National Gallery of Art, Washingto
n

Titian - St Mary Magdalene

St Mary Magdalene (c. 1530-1535) - Titian
Russia Stamp Issued 1986
Galleria Palatina Florence, Italy



Th Madonna and the Child - Jan Van Eyck


Jan Van Eyck - The Madonna and the Child
Australia 15c Stamp Issued 1978
National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne
 
This painting was purchased from the Felton Bequest by the NGV in 1923.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Raphael - Self Portrait





Raphael (1483-1520) - Self Portrait (1506)
San Marino 70 Lira Stamp Issued
Galleria degli Uffuzi, Italy

Raphael created a body of work that is one of the greatest legacies of the renaissance period, with his work being heavily influenced by the work of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.  This painting was completed in the earlier stages of his career, while he was living and working in Florence.  He would later go on to create many works with unique purity, taste, refinement and excellence. Stamps have used Raphael's art, including: 

He also created many familiar themes that would be copied by future artists:

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Albrecht Durer - Adam






Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) - Adam (1507)
Rwanda 20c Stamp Issue
Painting Held at the Museo del Prado, Madrid
Durer was the greatest German artist of the renaissance period.  This stamp depicts on half of his Adam and Eve masterpiece from 1507 - this was the first full scale nude painting ever made by a German artist, completed when he returned to Nuremberg after living in Italy for three years.

Durer was influenced by Giovanni Bellini and Leonardo da Vinci, in addition to being in contact with Raphael during his lifetime.