Branches and Whippets

This is a creative blog by two wonderful illustrators and collagists. Inspiring and uniting creative souls. Our cozy vintage virtual space where art, innovation and expertise merge in a stream of creativity. Together we explore and transform everyday moments into works of art, making every day an inspiring step in the world of creative development.

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Collage Februllage

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Harmonia Macrocosmica.

"The star atlas from the Golden Age of Dutch cartography unfolds the celestial structure across twenty-nine unique double-page spreads. These illustrations depict the movements of celestial bodies, constellations of the northern hemisphere, Ptolemy's ancient geocentric universe, Copernicus' new heliocentric universe, and Tycho Brahe's eccentric combination of both – where the Moon revolves around the Earth, and planets orbit the Sun, yet the Sun still revolves around the Earth. The edges of each brightly colored map depict a hive of activity: astronomers hunched over maps, eager youth directing their quadrants skyward, and cherubs flying with domestic birds in tow.

The life of the Dutch-German creator of this foliant, Andreas Cellarius, has reached us only as a skeleton. Born around 1596 in a small town near Worms, he spent his adult life as a schoolteacher in Amsterdam, The Hague, and finally, Hoorn. Around 1637, he was appointed the rector of the Latin school in Hoorn, where he wrote 'Harmonia Macrocosmica' and all his other scientific works, including one on designing impregnable fortifications.

All major moments presented here are sourced from the digital repository of the Stanford University Libraries. However, they are presented in two separate collections, each with different licenses for sharing and reuse. Six are taken from the Glen McLaughlin Map Collection.

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"The 'Madame B Album' wasn't intended for public exhibition, even though the artist paid little attention to its presentation. This leather-bound volume comprises hundreds of collages, offering a Victorian delight in imagery where photographs take on various forms and arrangements. Known as Madame B, the artist specialized in creating intricate, fantastical watercolor decorations for photographic portraits of friends, family, and even pets. She placed photographs in whimsical settings, such as turkey feather tails, the loops of a blue endless chain, bouquets, and pitchers. Men in suits form the wings of butterflies, while women with muffs balance on snow-covered trees. Photographs dangle from a bird's beak and a horse's harness, with seven individuals ensnared in a spider's web.

Madame B's meticulousness is almost manic, and her touches are as precise as one would expect from a miniature artist. On an exceptionally delicate collage, thousands of faint lines evoke a frenzy, a delicate membrane reminiscent of poorly fused ceramics. On the other hand, uneven strips of pink suggest marble. Photographs are outlined with ribbons, sticks, pine branches, and wrought iron, mica terrazzo, and rush. The depiction of a majestic building is draped with chainmail curtains, each link a meticulous representation. Like many artworks and crafts created by Victorian women, the album is unsigned; the Art Institute of Chicago acquired it with no knowledge of the creator, giving it the enigmatic title because the first page features an elaborate doorway monogrammed with 'B.'

Close examination and curatorial investigation revealed that the artist was familiar with the French language and spent time in Sweden and later in Italy. She was a skilled watercolorist and draftsman, indicating a likely aristocratic education. Various social circles, represented in the calling cards within the book, were carefully chosen: who might have a photograph of the Swedish king, the Italian queen, or a Russian family named Polovtsov? By a well-founded assumption, the name eventually attributed to the 'Madame B Album' was Marie-Blanche Hennel Furne, known as 'Blanche,' married to the professional diplomat Hughes-Marie Henri Furne. Blanche had a daughter named Pauline. Whether she genuinely loved her husband or at least hinted at it through the symbolism of flowers adorning his photograph is uncertain. She lost interest in her album, leaving many collages unfinished."

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"The 'Madame B Album' wasn't intended for public exhibition, even though the artist paid little attention to its presentation. This leather-bound volume comprises hundreds of collages, offering a Victorian delight in imagery where photographs take on various forms and arrangements. Known as Madame B, the artist specialized in creating intricate, fantastical watercolor decorations for photographic portraits of friends, family, and even pets. She placed photographs in whimsical settings, such as turkey feather tails, the loops of a blue endless chain, bouquets, and pitchers. Men in suits form the wings of butterflies, while women with muffs balance on snow-covered trees. Photographs dangle from a bird's beak and a horse's harness, with seven individuals ensnared in a spider's web.

Madame B's meticulousness is almost manic, and her touches are as precise as one would expect from a miniature artist. On an exceptionally delicate collage, thousands of faint lines evoke a frenzy, a delicate membrane reminiscent of poorly fused ceramics. On the other hand, uneven strips of pink suggest marble. Photographs are outlined with ribbons, sticks, pine branches, and wrought iron, mica terrazzo, and rush. The depiction of a majestic building is draped with chainmail curtains, each link a meticulous representation. Like many artworks and crafts created by Victorian women, the album is unsigned; the Art Institute of Chicago acquired it with no knowledge of the creator, giving it the enigmatic title because the first page features an elaborate doorway monogrammed with 'B.'

Close examination and curatorial investigation revealed that the artist was familiar with the French language and spent time in Sweden and later in Italy. She was a skilled watercolorist and draftsman, indicating a likely aristocratic education. Various social circles, represented in the calling cards within the book, were carefully chosen: who might have a photograph of the Swedish king, the Italian queen, or a Russian family named Polovtsov? By a well-founded assumption, the name eventually attributed to the 'Madame B Album' was Marie-Blanche Hennel Furne, known as 'Blanche,' married to the professional diplomat Hughes-Marie Henri Furne. Blanche had a daughter named Pauline. Whether she genuinely loved her husband or at least hinted at it through the symbolism of flowers adorning his photograph is uncertain. She lost interest in her album, leaving many collages unfinished."

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Inspiration

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Between 1617 and 1621, the English polymath Robert Fludd unveiled his magnum opus, "Utriusque Cosmi… Historia," a two-volume work featuring over sixty intricate engravings. These volumes delved into the macrocosm of the universe and the spiritual realm. Fludd, a respected physician in the court of King James I, explored a vast array of topics, from alchemy and astrology to theology, melding practical knowledge with esoteric wisdom.

Fludd's masterpiece, "Utriusque Cosmi," dissected the Microcosm of human life and the Macrocosm of the universe, incorporating the spiritual domain. A staunch Anglican, Fludd blended Paracelsian chemical theories with theological insights. His lavishly illustrated cosmology depicted the universe's creation through divine alchemy.

A devoted follower of Paracelsus, Fludd's medical theories emphasized the celestial forces of light, attributing vital importance to the aerial nitre or quintessence. His medicinal incantations invoked the Hebrew name of Jesus, equating Christ with the kabbalistic angel Metatron.

Fludd's treatises featured extraordinary engravings, revealing his visionary approach. These intricate images, designed by Fludd himself, showcased his influence on contemporaneous occultists. His concepts of light's creative and healing forces were illustrated through diagrams, depicting the balance of spirit and matter, male and female, sulphur and mercury.

While I present only select fragments from this extensive work, it showcases Fludd's profound impact on alchemy, medicine, and mysticism. The imagery provides a glimpse into the visionary mind of this 17th-century polymath, influencing subsequent occultists like Michael Maier and Jacob Boehme.

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Anne Wagner, a resident of Liverpool and the aunt of the poetess Felicia Hemans, possessed a unique "Friendship Album." This singular album, housed in an exquisite green morocco binding with gilded edges and a label reading "Souvenir D'Amitié" on the spine, is a treasure trove of inscriptions and illustrations created between 1795 and 1805.

The album contains inscriptions and quotes from Felicia Hemans and other close associates, adorned with watercolors, intertwined locks of hair, collages, and portrait silhouettes. Some of the sheets from this precious album were acquired by me from the New York Public Library. Perhaps not only a visual delight in the collages of the 1800s, they might also serve as an intriguing element for your own artistic endeavors.

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Anne Wagner, a resident of Liverpool and the aunt of the poetess Felicia Hemans, possessed a unique "Friendship Album." This singular album, housed in an exquisite green morocco binding with gilded edges and a label reading "Souvenir D'Amitié" on the spine, is a treasure trove of inscriptions and illustrations created between 1795 and 1805.

The album contains inscriptions and quotes from Felicia Hemans and other close associates, adorned with watercolors, intertwined locks of hair, collages, and portrait silhouettes. Some of the sheets from this precious album were acquired by me from the New York Public Library. Perhaps not only a visual delight in the collages of the 1800s, they might also serve as an intriguing element for your own artistic endeavors.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream, collage, William Shakespeare

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https://www.behance.net/gallery/186133151/Project-Vintage-Feathers

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