#wonderwarhol

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Were the First Artists Mostly Women?

Three-quarters of handprints in ancient cave art were left by women, study finds.

“Women made most of the oldest-known cave art paintings, suggests a new analysis of ancient handprints. Most scholars had assumed these ancient artists were predominantly men, so the finding overturns decades of archaeological dogma.”

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Hans Makart (1840-1884)

Austrian artist Hans Makart is probably most well-known as “the artist that inspired Gustav Klimt.” However, in his time, he was a successful artist in his own right - yet this wasn’t always considered so. While he did receive formal artistic education in Vienna, he was looked down upon by his colleagues and fellow students. He studied during the time of Neoclassicism. This style was so prevalent and popular during his early life, yet Makart had different ideas of artistic beauty. Because of his ideas, he was considered “talentless.” This eventually pushed him out of the Academy entirely.

Makart was far from discouraged. In fact, he used this time to travel all over Europe and refine his own unique style. Eventually the very thing he was shunned for - his use of bright colour and romantic, and often mysterious, atmospheric scenes - were what gain him his well-deserved attention. He even gained the attention of royalty, and was formally invited to visit the aristocracy. It was the aristocrats which funded his beautifully designed studio, where he would not only work but also entertain clients. With this success, his fame spread as his commissions grew and he even designed a whole parade - in the name of Emperor Franz Josef and Elisabeth of Bavaria’s anniversary.

In 1879, Makart’s talent and fame received him the perfect reward. He was made a professor at the very academy which had discouraged his work - the Vienna Academy.

Not only was Hans Makart’s story the ultimate come-back in art history, but from his works you can clearly see that he deserved it. His use of colours is just truly brilliant. All of his works include contrast and hold a certain atmosphere you just can’t quite put your finger on. They range from the mythological to the mysterious, and romantic. But gorgeous in every way. It is clear that so many generations of artists after him were so inspired by the man that defined an entire era of art.

Above: Portrait of a Young Woman, 1882-84, and Karoline Gomperz, 1870, by Hans Makart (1840-1884).

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Charlotte Wolter as Messalina, 1875, by Hans Makart (1840-1884)

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Salomé, 1909, by Paul Antoine de la Boulaye (1849-1926)

Many may not be familiar with the story of Salomé, and those that do not are probably quite unaware with exactly what they are looking at when staring right at this painting. First of all, artist Paul Antoine de la Boulaye truly had exquisite talent at giving his female subjects a subtle yet readable expression. Here we see, what you’d assume - and partly correct - a young, light-hearted dancing girl. A girl seemingly more childish than sultry. This, however, strongly contrasts with the story of the infamous Salomé. A young girl whose beautiful erotic dancing pleased her king so greatly, he granted her wish to have John the Baptist’s head on a platter. When paired with the description “an icon of dangerous female seductiveness,” this painting does not exactly hold it up. This painting is a perfect example of how knowing the story behind a work of art can be the key to “reading between the lines” of paintings.

Requested by @taymitsu.

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Posts I’ve done on art movements, artists, and art techniques so far

Art Movements

Baroque (c. 1600-1720)

Biedermeier (c. 1815-1845)

Cloisonnism (c. 1888 - 1894)

Dadaism (c.1916-1924)

Divisionism/Chromoluminarism

Gothic Art (c. 1100-1300)

Mannerism (c. 1510-1600)

Neo-Impressionism (c. 1889-1906)

Pre-Raphaelite (c,.1850’s)

Rococo (c.1700-1800)

Ukiyo-e (Edo Period: 1615-1868)

Artists

Louis Anquetin (1861-1924); cloisonnism

Amadea Bailey; female expressionist artist

Ana Teresa Barboza (1980- ); contemporary art; embroidery

Zdzisław Beksiński (1929-2005); dark surrealism

Anastasia Booth; sculpture/installation/photography artist

Nell Brinkley (1886-1944); “The Queen of Comics”

Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889); french academic artist

Larry Carlson; digital contemporary artist

Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806); rococo

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890); dutch artist; post-impressionist

Agnes Goodsir (1864-1939); australian-born artist known in France

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954); modern female artist; surrealism

Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944); russian abstract painter

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918); austrian artist

Alexey Kondakov; contemporary collage artist

Claude Monet (1820-1926); impressionist

Evelyn de Morgan (1850-1919); pre-raphaelite

Gustav-Adolf Mossa (1883-1971); french symbolist

Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939); czech illustrator

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917); famous french sculptor

Valentin Serov (1865-1911); impressionist

Virginia Frances Sterrett (1900-1931); american illustrator

Marianne Stokes (1855-1927); victorian female artist

Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933); stained glass artisan

James Tissot (1836–1902); french artist

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901); french post-impressionist

J. M. W. Turner (c. 1775-1851); beautiful landscape art

Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753-1806); japanese ukiyo-e woodblock artist

Art Techniques

Impasto

The Four Canonical Painting Modes of the Renaissance - Sfumato - Cangiante - Unione - Chiaroscuro

Tenebrism

Other Stuff You Might Like To Read

The Death of Vincent van Gogh My Blabbering About My Favourite Painting - Vengence Is Sworn The Sick Child by Edvard Munch The Lady with the Veil by Alexander Roslin - AKA Another of my Ultimate Favourites Analysis of the painting Salomé, 1909, by Paul Antoine de la Boulaye The Portrait of Manon Balletti, 1757, by Jean-Marc Nattier The Last Painting of Frida Kahlo William Morris' Part in Arsenic Houses Pre-Raphaelite Model, Jane Morris Venus of the Beautiful Buttocks Sculpture of Pietà Recommended Art Books ;; The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait Recommended Art Books ;; Klimt (Essential Art) by Laura Payne

I am positive there is many, many more (especially of the art techniques), however because of tags playing up and my blog had a problem with a whole page disappearing, these are the only I could find at the moment. More will certainly be added. You can exoect another post filled with even more art history info! Hopefully all the links work.

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Vitruvian Man, 1492, by Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)

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Keys of Heaven, 2016, by Andrey Remnev

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Brooklyn Bridge, 1919-20, by Joseph Stella (1877–1946)