(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
Among a number of scholarly artists who were influenced by the example of Leighton, one of the most distinguished was his eventual successor in the presidency of the Royal Academy, Sir Edward John Poynter (1836-1919). This artist was born in Paris and was the son of an architect, Ambrose Poynter, who was himself a skilful painter in water colors and had been an intimate friend of R.P.Bonington. E.J.Poynter studied art first in the Academy schools and afterwards in Paris, where one of his most intimate friends and fellow-students was the illustrator George du Maurier, author of Trilby. Poynter first exhibited at the Academy in 1861, and during the earlier part of his life he designed a number of decorative works, among them being mosaics for the Houses of Parliament and for St Paul’s Cathedral. He also, like Leighton, executed illustrations—some of which appeared in Once-a-Week—and painted portraits as well as landscapes; but though his activities were many and various, he was best known by his paintings of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian subjects. His first great popular success, and probably the most moving picture he ever conceived, was painted in 1865; ‘Faithful unto Death,’ now in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, shows a Roman soldier standing unmoved at his post while Pompeii is being destroyed by earthquake and volcanic eruptions, and in this picture the artist not only shows exactitude in archeological detail, but also expresses a nobility of purpose which every human being can understand and admire. In 1867 he painted ‘Israel in Egypt,’ but in later years he seldom approached the high seriousness of these early pictures and though he maintained his popularity with scholarly and agreeable renderings of classical scenes, like ‘A Visit to Æsculapius’ in the Tate Gallery, the subjects of these pictures tended to become lighter and sometimes trivial.
In addition to his work as a painter Sir E J Poynter was overwhelmed by official duties. He was elected A.R.A in 1869 and two years later he was appointed the first Slade Professor at University College, London, a post which he held till 1975, when he became Director of the Royal College of Art at South Kensington, over which he presided for seven years. Meanwhile he had in 1876 been elected R.A and henceforward his influence in the Academy council steadily increased. In 1894 he was appointed Director of the National Gallery, London, and he held this post till 1905, although in 1896 he had been appointed President of the Royal Academy, in succession to Millais. He was knighted in 1896 and made a baronet in 1902.
The wealth of Victorian England not only fostered native art, but naturally drew to these shores a number of foreign artists. Among them was one of the most famous of our modern classical painters, Sir Lawrence Alma -Tadema. This artist was born in Holland in 1836, and after studying art in Antwerp gave his attention to historical painting. He began with early French and Egyptian subjects, but commenced his series of Greek subjects about 1865. In 1869 he sent his painting ‘The Pyrrhic Dance’ to the Academy in London, where it was so well received that the painter decided to settle in England and became naturalized in 1873.
In the hands of Alma-Tadema the classical picture became historical in detail but playful and fanciful in subject. The Victorian anecdote reappeared in a Greek or Roman dress, as in his picture ‘A Silent Greeting’ at the Tate Gallery, in which a Roman warrior places a bunch of roses in the lap of a sleeping lady. ‘Love in Idleness’ is a characteristic example of his art and shows the wonderfully painted marble accessories which he was so fond of introducing into his pictures. Though full himself of antiquarian knowledge, and often called upon by Irving and other theatrical producers to assist in giving verisimilitude to the costumes and scenery for historical plays, Alma-Tadema never wearied the public with his learning, and his pictures were in the nature of agreeable dreams which made no serious demands upon the intellect or high emotions of the spectator. In the course of a long and successful career Alma-Tadema was elected A.R.A in 1876, R.A in 1879, knighted in 1899, and received the Order of Merit in 1905. He died while staying at Wiesbaden in 1912.
While all these artists enjoyed fame and fortune in their lifetime, other artists of equal or superior gifts were less appreciated by their contemporaries, though in several cases their fame is higher today than than of the popular favorites of their day. If we number Albert Moore (1841-93) among the Victorian classical painters, we must be careful to draw a distinction between his art and that of Leighton, Poynter, and Alma-Tadema. For, whereas these three artists emphasized the illustrative element in painting, Albert Moore laid more stress on its decorative element. Moore was not anecdotal, and for this reason his decorative compositions did not make so easy and obvious an appeal to his contemporaries; but he was filled with the Greek spirit of beauty, and his painting ‘Blossoms’ is now one of the most admired of the quasi-classical pictures in the Tate Gallery. Moore was born at York and was the son of an artist, but though he was trained in the Academy schools and began to exhibit at the Academy in the sixties, he was not well received there, and subsequently exhibited chiefly at the Grosvenor Gallery and the Old Water Color Society. He was never elected a member of the Academy, but associated with the Whistler and other independent artists. An admirable draughtsman and designer, Albert Moore was also gifted with a refined and delicate sense of color equalled by few of his contemporaries.
His brother Henry Moore (1831-95), an excellent marine painter, received more official recognition; he was elected A.R.A in 1886, R.A in 1893, and in 1885 his ‘Catspaws of the Land,’ in the Tate Gallery, was bought for the nation.
The Victorian Age (continued)
Monday, March 10, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Travel Movie
(via budgettravel) Neil Mandt's movie LastStopForPaul.com highlights interesting experiences in different parts of the world + he has some useful advice for new filmmakers.
Useful links:
www.laststopforpaul.com
www.puredigitalinc.com
www.mysmallwonder.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119292
Useful links:
www.laststopforpaul.com
www.puredigitalinc.com
www.mysmallwonder.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119292
Vantage Point
Vantage Point is a thriller + the movie is about identities + how we become obssessively analytical, get misled and become autistic + a unique jigsaw puzzle + it's a great movie.
Useful links:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0443274
www.vantagepoint-movie.com
Useful links:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0443274
www.vantagepoint-movie.com
Random Thoughts
US investment genius Warren Buffett, nicknamed the 'Sage of Omaha', now the world's richest person with a hefty US$62 billion, lives in the same house he bought in 1958 for $31,500, married his long-term partner with a wedding ring from a discount store and likes to dine in his local steak house. He is a man of simple tastes and frugal habits.
I really admire him + he is my near-flawless role model.
I really admire him + he is my near-flawless role model.
Keith Haring
Keith Haring was an artist + social activist + I think museums and collectors were slow to grasp the significance of his achievements.
Useful links:
www.haring.com
www.haringkids.com
Useful links:
www.haring.com
www.haringkids.com
The Wealth Of Networks
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom by Yochai Benkler is a book that provides insight to understanding online networks + the impact + the radical changes yet to come + it's a good read.
Useful link:
www.benkler.org
Useful link:
www.benkler.org
Round Brilliants
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
From the time the Brilliant Cut was introduced, round Brilliants have been fashioned, but never—at least until recently—in any quantity. The tedious process of manual bruting and the loss of weight and size made them economical. Perfect circular outlines were extremely rare, even though they appear in the illustrations of Jeffries, Caire and a great many others who have obviously symmetrized their line drawings. In fact, the only type of crystal that can be easily rounded is the extremely rare regular dodecaheron.
No historical analysis of the round Brilliant Cut has ever been published and very little documentation is available. One might expect to find some interesting highlights in Mawe’s Treatise on Diamond (first published in 1813), but this contains more contradictions than information on styles of fashioning.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries circular brilliants were considered Fancy Cuts and classified with Drop Shapes, Marquises, Hearts and so on. The standard outlines then in fashion were so strongly dominant that contemporary authors concentrated almost exclusively on them. Jeffries, for instance, in his Treatise of 1750, stated that the square Brilliant (derived from octahedral rough) was the standard, and describes only one circular, one oval and one drop-shaped Brilliant. He gives no examples of stones with any other outline, not even a cushion shape.
As late as 1858 the French writer, Barbot, disapproved of the circular outline because he claimed that stones of this shape display less attractive brilliance: ‘Le brilliant est généralmement carré arrondi. Nous avons cependant vu de très beaux brilliants, taillés nouvellement, entièrement ronds, mais cette forme, quoique jouer le diamant, lui donne un miroirement moins préférable, á notre sens, que la gravité sevère de la forme carrée arrondie.’
Many of the small Brilliants used in minor Victorian jewels have survived whereas the larger and finer gems were, for the most part, recut into modern round brilliants and transferred to new settings. With diamonds weighing ½ ct or more the cost of labor was negligible. The London Cut was easily recognizable and much in demand, so the English cutters concentrated on refashioning the larger stones, reshaping the square and cushion-shaped gems and replacing the old fourfold symmetry with something closer to eightfold in an attempt to reduce the leakage of light through the pavilion facets.
Small circular diamonds were needed to complement these large circular stones, and here the less strict Amsterdam cutters came into their own. They paid their workmen low wages and were soon able to flood the market with not very well made, but far cheaper, stones. By the middle of the nineteenth century the English master cutters were no longer able to compete with the large cutting centers on the Continent, but by then the circular Brilliant was well established in Europe and few decades later was introduced by Morse into the United States.
From the time the Brilliant Cut was introduced, round Brilliants have been fashioned, but never—at least until recently—in any quantity. The tedious process of manual bruting and the loss of weight and size made them economical. Perfect circular outlines were extremely rare, even though they appear in the illustrations of Jeffries, Caire and a great many others who have obviously symmetrized their line drawings. In fact, the only type of crystal that can be easily rounded is the extremely rare regular dodecaheron.
No historical analysis of the round Brilliant Cut has ever been published and very little documentation is available. One might expect to find some interesting highlights in Mawe’s Treatise on Diamond (first published in 1813), but this contains more contradictions than information on styles of fashioning.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries circular brilliants were considered Fancy Cuts and classified with Drop Shapes, Marquises, Hearts and so on. The standard outlines then in fashion were so strongly dominant that contemporary authors concentrated almost exclusively on them. Jeffries, for instance, in his Treatise of 1750, stated that the square Brilliant (derived from octahedral rough) was the standard, and describes only one circular, one oval and one drop-shaped Brilliant. He gives no examples of stones with any other outline, not even a cushion shape.
As late as 1858 the French writer, Barbot, disapproved of the circular outline because he claimed that stones of this shape display less attractive brilliance: ‘Le brilliant est généralmement carré arrondi. Nous avons cependant vu de très beaux brilliants, taillés nouvellement, entièrement ronds, mais cette forme, quoique jouer le diamant, lui donne un miroirement moins préférable, á notre sens, que la gravité sevère de la forme carrée arrondie.’
Many of the small Brilliants used in minor Victorian jewels have survived whereas the larger and finer gems were, for the most part, recut into modern round brilliants and transferred to new settings. With diamonds weighing ½ ct or more the cost of labor was negligible. The London Cut was easily recognizable and much in demand, so the English cutters concentrated on refashioning the larger stones, reshaping the square and cushion-shaped gems and replacing the old fourfold symmetry with something closer to eightfold in an attempt to reduce the leakage of light through the pavilion facets.
Small circular diamonds were needed to complement these large circular stones, and here the less strict Amsterdam cutters came into their own. They paid their workmen low wages and were soon able to flood the market with not very well made, but far cheaper, stones. By the middle of the nineteenth century the English master cutters were no longer able to compete with the large cutting centers on the Continent, but by then the circular Brilliant was well established in Europe and few decades later was introduced by Morse into the United States.
The Victorian Age
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
2
Victorian painting was essentially a story-telling art, but the stories were not limited to one country or to one century. The classical revival, the delight in pictures representing the life of ancient Greece and Rome, which marked, as we have seen, the art of France during the Revolutionary Period, did not show itself in England till nearly half a century later. The man who introduced this style of picture into England was Frederick Leighton, who, though born at Scarborough in 1830, spent the greater part of his early life abroad. Leighton was the son of a physician and spent his boyhood in Italy. When he was only ten years old he studied drawing at Rome, and afterwards lived in Florence where he was taught by several Italian artists. When he was eighteen he visited Brussels, and in the following year he continued his art studies in Paris, where he attended a life-school and copied pictures by Titian and Correggio in Louvre. In 1850 he went to Germany, visiting Dresden and Berlin, but staying longest at Frankfurt, where he worked for two years under a painter named Steinle, and was to some extent influenced by the painters Cornelius and Overbeck, who were mentioned in the last chapter. From Germany, he returned to Paris, where he had a studio in the Rue Pigalle. At this time he was much enamored of the earliest Italian artists, and his first oil painting, executed at Frankfurt, represented ‘Giotto found by Cimabue among the Sheep.’ It was from Paris that Leighton sent to the Academy of 1855 his picture of ‘Cimabue’s Madonna carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence.’ This picture, with its precise drawing, elaborate design, and fresh, clear color, created a tremendous sensation in London, and when it was bought by Queen Victoria the reputation of the painter was immediately made. It was not till five years later, however, that Leighton left Paris and settled in London.
Leighton was now thirty years old, and he was an accomplished, much-traveled man of the world. He had charming, courtly manners, and his prestige in the arts was equalled by his social success. He executed a number of illustrations for the Brothers Dalziel, but he had no lack of other patrons, and received numerous commissions for decorative paintings and subject pictures. He gave himself largely to the illustration of Greek history and legend, two of his most famous pictures in this style being ‘Daphnephoria’ and ‘The Return of Perspective,’ now in the Leeds Art Gallery. He was generally considered to have recaptured the spirit of Greek art better than any artist since Raphael, and ‘The Bath of Psyche’ is a famous example of the almost waxen perfection of his figures, and of his manner of idealizing the nude.
The graceful sense of form noticeable in his paintings was also displayed in Leighton’s works of sculpture, of which the best known are ‘The Sluggard’ and ‘Athlete with Python,’ both in the Tate Gallery. From the moment he set foot in England, Leighton’s career was a series of unbroken successes. He was elected A.R.A in 1864, R.A in 1868, and ten years later, after the death of Sir Francis Grant in 1878, he was elected President of the Royal Academy and received a knighthood. He was created a baronet in 1886, and on January 1, 1896, a few months before his death, he was made Baron Leighton of Stretton, being the first British painter elevated to the peerage.
Leighton never married. He built himself a handsome house, with an Arab Hall, from his own design, at No.2 Holland Park Road, and his home, now known as Leighton House, is preserved as a memorial of his art.
Looking backward, we may surmise that the wide popularity enjoyed by Leighton and his followers was not altogether unrelated to the revival of interest in antiquity and archeology which, beginning in the reign of Queen Victoria, has continued undiminished to this day. At a time when the mind of the public was roused by reports in the newspapers of the discoveries made by excavators in Greece, Egypt, and elsewhere, it not surprising that visitors to the Academy should have made favorites of those pictures which sought to portray life as it was in Greece or Egypt in the olden days.
The Victorian Age (continued)
2
Victorian painting was essentially a story-telling art, but the stories were not limited to one country or to one century. The classical revival, the delight in pictures representing the life of ancient Greece and Rome, which marked, as we have seen, the art of France during the Revolutionary Period, did not show itself in England till nearly half a century later. The man who introduced this style of picture into England was Frederick Leighton, who, though born at Scarborough in 1830, spent the greater part of his early life abroad. Leighton was the son of a physician and spent his boyhood in Italy. When he was only ten years old he studied drawing at Rome, and afterwards lived in Florence where he was taught by several Italian artists. When he was eighteen he visited Brussels, and in the following year he continued his art studies in Paris, where he attended a life-school and copied pictures by Titian and Correggio in Louvre. In 1850 he went to Germany, visiting Dresden and Berlin, but staying longest at Frankfurt, where he worked for two years under a painter named Steinle, and was to some extent influenced by the painters Cornelius and Overbeck, who were mentioned in the last chapter. From Germany, he returned to Paris, where he had a studio in the Rue Pigalle. At this time he was much enamored of the earliest Italian artists, and his first oil painting, executed at Frankfurt, represented ‘Giotto found by Cimabue among the Sheep.’ It was from Paris that Leighton sent to the Academy of 1855 his picture of ‘Cimabue’s Madonna carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence.’ This picture, with its precise drawing, elaborate design, and fresh, clear color, created a tremendous sensation in London, and when it was bought by Queen Victoria the reputation of the painter was immediately made. It was not till five years later, however, that Leighton left Paris and settled in London.
Leighton was now thirty years old, and he was an accomplished, much-traveled man of the world. He had charming, courtly manners, and his prestige in the arts was equalled by his social success. He executed a number of illustrations for the Brothers Dalziel, but he had no lack of other patrons, and received numerous commissions for decorative paintings and subject pictures. He gave himself largely to the illustration of Greek history and legend, two of his most famous pictures in this style being ‘Daphnephoria’ and ‘The Return of Perspective,’ now in the Leeds Art Gallery. He was generally considered to have recaptured the spirit of Greek art better than any artist since Raphael, and ‘The Bath of Psyche’ is a famous example of the almost waxen perfection of his figures, and of his manner of idealizing the nude.
The graceful sense of form noticeable in his paintings was also displayed in Leighton’s works of sculpture, of which the best known are ‘The Sluggard’ and ‘Athlete with Python,’ both in the Tate Gallery. From the moment he set foot in England, Leighton’s career was a series of unbroken successes. He was elected A.R.A in 1864, R.A in 1868, and ten years later, after the death of Sir Francis Grant in 1878, he was elected President of the Royal Academy and received a knighthood. He was created a baronet in 1886, and on January 1, 1896, a few months before his death, he was made Baron Leighton of Stretton, being the first British painter elevated to the peerage.
Leighton never married. He built himself a handsome house, with an Arab Hall, from his own design, at No.2 Holland Park Road, and his home, now known as Leighton House, is preserved as a memorial of his art.
Looking backward, we may surmise that the wide popularity enjoyed by Leighton and his followers was not altogether unrelated to the revival of interest in antiquity and archeology which, beginning in the reign of Queen Victoria, has continued undiminished to this day. At a time when the mind of the public was roused by reports in the newspapers of the discoveries made by excavators in Greece, Egypt, and elsewhere, it not surprising that visitors to the Academy should have made favorites of those pictures which sought to portray life as it was in Greece or Egypt in the olden days.
The Victorian Age (continued)
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Heard On The Street
In the market all things are valued according to their scarcity + what is worth little today is worth much tomorrow.
The Bank Job
Roger Donaldson is an Australian-born New Zealand film producer, director and writer who has made numerous successful movies + his movie The Bank Job is a true story of a heist gone wrong.
Useful links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200465
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1720472,00.html
Useful links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200465
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1720472,00.html
Collective Unconscious
I really liked Sheila Heti 's concept of candidate-related dreams @ http://idreamofhillaryidreamofbarack.com + I think it's a kind of communication. Brilliant!
Climos
I am really keen on environment + new ways of sourcing energy + I found the idea by Climos to grow large amounts of plankton by pouring iron into the ocean, interesting + I hope there are no unintended consequences from this type of geo-engineering.
Useful links:
www.climos.com
www.etcgroup.org
www.oceannourishment.com
www.planktos.com
Useful links:
www.climos.com
www.etcgroup.org
www.oceannourishment.com
www.planktos.com
The Charles Gillot's Collection
I was intrigued by The Charles Gillot's Collection of Japanese and Egyptian art because of its unique history + color + patterns + story + beauty and rarity, and I hope it remains with the right collector for a long time.
Useful links:
http://www.christies.com/special_sites/gillot_paris/highlights.asp
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/07/arts/melik8.php
Useful links:
http://www.christies.com/special_sites/gillot_paris/highlights.asp
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/07/arts/melik8.php
GIA Certifigate: Phase Two
Total internal reflections of Chaim Even Zohar at the Plumb Club Forum in New York + the issues related to the GIA Certifigate scandal + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp
I can visualize myself as a consumer in bad times. I want to sell some of my diamonds in order to improve my households’ cash flow, only to find out that their grading reports had overstated reality, and that the color grade was lower, or that the natural stone was really treated. Who would be liable? Who would pay? What would the salesperson tell me? Not a pretty picture!
I think Chaim Even Zohar was spot on and may he live forever to write more about the real diamond world + the characters!
I can visualize myself as a consumer in bad times. I want to sell some of my diamonds in order to improve my households’ cash flow, only to find out that their grading reports had overstated reality, and that the color grade was lower, or that the natural stone was really treated. Who would be liable? Who would pay? What would the salesperson tell me? Not a pretty picture!
I think Chaim Even Zohar was spot on and may he live forever to write more about the real diamond world + the characters!
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised : Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything by Joe Trippi is a great read + it gave me the insight into how new media/technology/open source works + the impact.
Useful link:
www.joetrippi.com
Useful link:
www.joetrippi.com
Early Parisian Cut Brilliants
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
Bernard Morel suggests that French master cutters of the mid-seventeenth century invented certain types of fancy cut Brilliants. I have examined several unusual diamonds fashioned in Paris, such as the French Blue, the de Guise and the Hortensia, with both symmetry and faceting deviating from the standard Baroque forms, but I have found no details which had not been applied to diamonds before, except possibly for the Sancy Cuts, which may have been a French innovation. The Grand Sancy may have been the first of its kind and was, according to Cletscher, fashioned in Paris. The Sancy Cut appears further to have been a kind of Pre-Brilliant. If we knew that the Wittelsbach was also fashioned in Paris, I might be tempted to agree with Morel. But was apparently cut in Lisbon, or possibly Venice, so one cannot say with certainity that all Brilliants of this type originated from Paris.
The Paris cutters were above all specialists at refashioning Louis XIV’s primitively cut Indian diamonds, the gems delivered to him by Tavernier, Bazu and other travelers to thte Far East. They also modernized numerous obsolete cuts. Obviously, many of these had to be fashioned according the shapes they had been given rather than those which the natural rough favored. And each gem presented a different problem, demanding a solution particular to itself. One of the greatest problems was how to refashion a shallow pavilion with a very large culet. This they overcame by applying almost horizontal culet facets, which presumably explains why so many of the refashioned French gems were Stellar Cut. This technique was not new either; it was illustrated on seventeenth-century Table Cuts, for example, in a drawing by Cletscher.
The reason for the existence of both sixfold and sevenfold symmetry and for the numerous fancy outlines also lies in the original gems. When they were refashioning old Table Cuts, cutters naturally got rid of broken or missing corners and disturbing flaws. Their main task was to transform, with a minimum of waste, old cuts into gems with maximum light effects, with no necessity to adhere to a ‘standard design’. In most cases a close examination reveals the original cut of the stone, but nevertheless the results of recutting are, for the most part, extremely beautiful and the craftsmanship masterly. According to a law drawn up in 1584, French cutters were not allowed to install more than two grinding mills; in 1625 they were given permission to have three. Clearly, there was no organised importing of rough on a large scale, but there was great competition among the small establishments, which resulting in work of a very high standard.
The description of the Peach Blossom diamond (Fleur de Pêcher) in the 1691 French Crown inventory is interesting: ‘Un autre crochet de chapeau d’un seul diamant, brilliant, plus étroit d’un bout que de l’autre, de belle eau, pezant 25ks, estimé quarante-trois mille huict cent soixante-six livres, cy 43.866 liv.’ It tells us first of all that no term had yet been introduced for modified Brilliant Cuts—the outline of the diamond is described simply as being narrower at one end. And the accuracy of the estimate indicates the price Louis XIV must have paid for it, probably in about 1678 to Alvarez. In 1791, exactly a hundred years later, the same stone was described as: ‘un grand diamant fort étendu, forme en poire, tirant sur la fleur-de-pêcher, pesant vingt-quatre karats, treize seize et un trente-deuxieme, estimé deux cents mille liveres, ci 24 k. 13/16 1/32 (i.e. 24 27/32 old French carats).'
The name given to the gem was taken from its color, a pale pink, the color of peach blossom. When it was finally disposed of by the French government at the great sale of 1887 and acquired by Tiffany, it was mistakenly described as one of the Mazarins (‘Un brilliant rosé, formé poiré). The Peach Blossom is, in fact, a Baroque Brilliant, and is not so much pear-shaped as trapezoid with rounded corners. Its faceting is of the standard eightfold type, and it shows pronounced spread compared with what Jeffries considered a correctly proportioned diamond. The spreading may have been deliberate, to enhance the color effect, and it is interesting to compare its proportions with those of the Dresden Green and other colored diamonds.
Bernard Morel suggests that French master cutters of the mid-seventeenth century invented certain types of fancy cut Brilliants. I have examined several unusual diamonds fashioned in Paris, such as the French Blue, the de Guise and the Hortensia, with both symmetry and faceting deviating from the standard Baroque forms, but I have found no details which had not been applied to diamonds before, except possibly for the Sancy Cuts, which may have been a French innovation. The Grand Sancy may have been the first of its kind and was, according to Cletscher, fashioned in Paris. The Sancy Cut appears further to have been a kind of Pre-Brilliant. If we knew that the Wittelsbach was also fashioned in Paris, I might be tempted to agree with Morel. But was apparently cut in Lisbon, or possibly Venice, so one cannot say with certainity that all Brilliants of this type originated from Paris.
The Paris cutters were above all specialists at refashioning Louis XIV’s primitively cut Indian diamonds, the gems delivered to him by Tavernier, Bazu and other travelers to thte Far East. They also modernized numerous obsolete cuts. Obviously, many of these had to be fashioned according the shapes they had been given rather than those which the natural rough favored. And each gem presented a different problem, demanding a solution particular to itself. One of the greatest problems was how to refashion a shallow pavilion with a very large culet. This they overcame by applying almost horizontal culet facets, which presumably explains why so many of the refashioned French gems were Stellar Cut. This technique was not new either; it was illustrated on seventeenth-century Table Cuts, for example, in a drawing by Cletscher.
The reason for the existence of both sixfold and sevenfold symmetry and for the numerous fancy outlines also lies in the original gems. When they were refashioning old Table Cuts, cutters naturally got rid of broken or missing corners and disturbing flaws. Their main task was to transform, with a minimum of waste, old cuts into gems with maximum light effects, with no necessity to adhere to a ‘standard design’. In most cases a close examination reveals the original cut of the stone, but nevertheless the results of recutting are, for the most part, extremely beautiful and the craftsmanship masterly. According to a law drawn up in 1584, French cutters were not allowed to install more than two grinding mills; in 1625 they were given permission to have three. Clearly, there was no organised importing of rough on a large scale, but there was great competition among the small establishments, which resulting in work of a very high standard.
The description of the Peach Blossom diamond (Fleur de Pêcher) in the 1691 French Crown inventory is interesting: ‘Un autre crochet de chapeau d’un seul diamant, brilliant, plus étroit d’un bout que de l’autre, de belle eau, pezant 25ks, estimé quarante-trois mille huict cent soixante-six livres, cy 43.866 liv.’ It tells us first of all that no term had yet been introduced for modified Brilliant Cuts—the outline of the diamond is described simply as being narrower at one end. And the accuracy of the estimate indicates the price Louis XIV must have paid for it, probably in about 1678 to Alvarez. In 1791, exactly a hundred years later, the same stone was described as: ‘un grand diamant fort étendu, forme en poire, tirant sur la fleur-de-pêcher, pesant vingt-quatre karats, treize seize et un trente-deuxieme, estimé deux cents mille liveres, ci 24 k. 13/16 1/32 (i.e. 24 27/32 old French carats).'
The name given to the gem was taken from its color, a pale pink, the color of peach blossom. When it was finally disposed of by the French government at the great sale of 1887 and acquired by Tiffany, it was mistakenly described as one of the Mazarins (‘Un brilliant rosé, formé poiré). The Peach Blossom is, in fact, a Baroque Brilliant, and is not so much pear-shaped as trapezoid with rounded corners. Its faceting is of the standard eightfold type, and it shows pronounced spread compared with what Jeffries considered a correctly proportioned diamond. The spreading may have been deliberate, to enhance the color effect, and it is interesting to compare its proportions with those of the Dresden Green and other colored diamonds.
The Victorian Age
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
Up to about 1820 his subjects had chiefly been dogs and horses, but he soon added other animals to his repertory. Among his father’s friends was the historical painter Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786-1846), and on the advice of this artist Landseer, while still an Academy student, learnt to dissect and make anatomical studies of animals. Taking advantage of the death of a lion in one of the menageries, he diligently studied its anatomy, and the knowledge thus gained gave him a power in the drawing of that animal notable in his future works. The first fruits of these studies were his future works. The first fruits of these studies were his pictures ‘A Prowling Lion’ in the Academy of 1821 and ‘A Lion Disturbed’ in the following year. In 1824 he exhibited ‘The Cat’s Paw’, a picture of a monkey seizing a cat’s paw to take roasting chestnuts from a fire, this being one of the first of his animal paintings in which an obvious moral was happily combined with humor.
In this year, when Landseer was twenty two, he accompanied his friend and fellow-student C R Leslie (1794-1859) on a visit to Scotland, where the two young artists had the honor of staying with Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford. Landseer drew the dogs of the author of Waverley, and was introduced by the novelist to the deer forests of Scotland. Henceforward the ‘monarch of the glen’ became one of Landseer’s favorite subjects, and deer-stalking was the sport which he loved beyond all others; but it is said that the sportsman was often vanquished by the artist, and that when a particularly noble animal came in sight, Landseer was apt to fling down his rifle and pick up instead his sketch-book and pencil.
In 1826 he was elected A.R.A and his prosperity being now assured he left his father’s house and established himself at 1 St John’s Wood Road, where he lived unmarried till the day of his death. Landseer now widened the field of his art, and painted pictures of various subjects, among them being several portraits. One of the most successful of the last was ‘Lord Cosmo Russell,’ a picture of a little boy on a rough pony scampering over the heather; but while he never lacked patrons even for portraiture, his fame and popularity depended chiefly on his animal pictures, and particularly on his paintings of dogs. A witty canon of St Paul’s who was advised to have his portrait painted by Landseer, laughingly declined with the remark, ‘Is they servant a dog that he should do this thing?’
In 1834 he exhibited at the Royal Academy ‘Bolton Abbey in the Older Time,’ one of the best known and most popular of all his works, which has been made familiar throughout Great Britain not only by engravings but also by innumerable copies in needlework. In 1837 he increased his already great reputation by his pictures of a faithful dog watching beside a coffin, entitled ‘The Old Shepherd’s Chief Mourner,’ a work of intense pathos, and in the following year he painted a noble Newfoundland dog as ‘A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society.’ No painter ever surpassed Landseer in rendering all the varied aspects of canine character, and while in some of his pictures he attained a sublimity of pathos so that some captions critics accused him of making his dogs ‘too human,’ in others he showed a subtle humor which is irresistible. Probably no English picture has ever enjoyed a wider popularity than ‘Dignity and Impudence’, in which Landseer amusingly contrasts an old bloodhound of the Duke of Grafton breed with a little Scotch terrier called ‘Scratch.’ Landseer loved dogs and kept a troop of them in his home at St John’s Wood.
From 1839 onwards the artist enjoyed a considerable intimacy with the Royal Family. He taught both Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort to etch and painted many pictures for them, one of his largest being ‘The Drive, Shooting Deer on the Pass.’ He had been elected R.A in 1831 and in 1850 he was knighted. He was a sculptor as well as a painter, and in 1859 he was commissioned to execute the lions for the base of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square. On this work the artist was engaged, off and on, for some half a dozen years, and his lions were finally uncovered at Trafalgar Square in 1869. Two of the studies which Landseer made at the Zoo for these lions are now in the National Gallery.
Three years earlier, on the death of Sir Charles Eastlake (1793-1865), Landseer had been offered the Presidency of the Royal Academy, but he declined the honor, for though a general favorite, popular alike at Court, in society, and with the public, he was subject to fits of depression brought about by an almost morbid sensitiveness and a certain constitutional delicacy. Towards the end of his life he suffered continually from nerves, and his general state of health was sadly impaired by a railway accident in November 1868. This accident not only left a scar on his forehead but affected his memory, so that his last years were much clouded. He died in his house in St John’s Wood on October 1, 1873, and was buried in state at St Paul’s Cathedral.
The tradition of painting animals with affectionate insight, founded by Landseer, has been followed with success by many other British artists, prominent among them being Briton Rivière (1840-1920), who, after being influenced at first by the pictures of the Pre-Raphaelites and by Tennyson’s poetry, soon turned his attention to the painting of pictures in which animals played an important part. His well-known ‘Sympathy,’ in the Tate Gallery, is a characteristic Victorian picture in the Landseer tradition, but in gayer and more agreeable colors. It tells its own story clearly, and can never fail to appeal to all who love children and dogs and have noted the unspoken sympathy which exists between them.
The Victorian Age (continued)
Up to about 1820 his subjects had chiefly been dogs and horses, but he soon added other animals to his repertory. Among his father’s friends was the historical painter Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786-1846), and on the advice of this artist Landseer, while still an Academy student, learnt to dissect and make anatomical studies of animals. Taking advantage of the death of a lion in one of the menageries, he diligently studied its anatomy, and the knowledge thus gained gave him a power in the drawing of that animal notable in his future works. The first fruits of these studies were his future works. The first fruits of these studies were his pictures ‘A Prowling Lion’ in the Academy of 1821 and ‘A Lion Disturbed’ in the following year. In 1824 he exhibited ‘The Cat’s Paw’, a picture of a monkey seizing a cat’s paw to take roasting chestnuts from a fire, this being one of the first of his animal paintings in which an obvious moral was happily combined with humor.
In this year, when Landseer was twenty two, he accompanied his friend and fellow-student C R Leslie (1794-1859) on a visit to Scotland, where the two young artists had the honor of staying with Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford. Landseer drew the dogs of the author of Waverley, and was introduced by the novelist to the deer forests of Scotland. Henceforward the ‘monarch of the glen’ became one of Landseer’s favorite subjects, and deer-stalking was the sport which he loved beyond all others; but it is said that the sportsman was often vanquished by the artist, and that when a particularly noble animal came in sight, Landseer was apt to fling down his rifle and pick up instead his sketch-book and pencil.
In 1826 he was elected A.R.A and his prosperity being now assured he left his father’s house and established himself at 1 St John’s Wood Road, where he lived unmarried till the day of his death. Landseer now widened the field of his art, and painted pictures of various subjects, among them being several portraits. One of the most successful of the last was ‘Lord Cosmo Russell,’ a picture of a little boy on a rough pony scampering over the heather; but while he never lacked patrons even for portraiture, his fame and popularity depended chiefly on his animal pictures, and particularly on his paintings of dogs. A witty canon of St Paul’s who was advised to have his portrait painted by Landseer, laughingly declined with the remark, ‘Is they servant a dog that he should do this thing?’
In 1834 he exhibited at the Royal Academy ‘Bolton Abbey in the Older Time,’ one of the best known and most popular of all his works, which has been made familiar throughout Great Britain not only by engravings but also by innumerable copies in needlework. In 1837 he increased his already great reputation by his pictures of a faithful dog watching beside a coffin, entitled ‘The Old Shepherd’s Chief Mourner,’ a work of intense pathos, and in the following year he painted a noble Newfoundland dog as ‘A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society.’ No painter ever surpassed Landseer in rendering all the varied aspects of canine character, and while in some of his pictures he attained a sublimity of pathos so that some captions critics accused him of making his dogs ‘too human,’ in others he showed a subtle humor which is irresistible. Probably no English picture has ever enjoyed a wider popularity than ‘Dignity and Impudence’, in which Landseer amusingly contrasts an old bloodhound of the Duke of Grafton breed with a little Scotch terrier called ‘Scratch.’ Landseer loved dogs and kept a troop of them in his home at St John’s Wood.
From 1839 onwards the artist enjoyed a considerable intimacy with the Royal Family. He taught both Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort to etch and painted many pictures for them, one of his largest being ‘The Drive, Shooting Deer on the Pass.’ He had been elected R.A in 1831 and in 1850 he was knighted. He was a sculptor as well as a painter, and in 1859 he was commissioned to execute the lions for the base of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square. On this work the artist was engaged, off and on, for some half a dozen years, and his lions were finally uncovered at Trafalgar Square in 1869. Two of the studies which Landseer made at the Zoo for these lions are now in the National Gallery.
Three years earlier, on the death of Sir Charles Eastlake (1793-1865), Landseer had been offered the Presidency of the Royal Academy, but he declined the honor, for though a general favorite, popular alike at Court, in society, and with the public, he was subject to fits of depression brought about by an almost morbid sensitiveness and a certain constitutional delicacy. Towards the end of his life he suffered continually from nerves, and his general state of health was sadly impaired by a railway accident in November 1868. This accident not only left a scar on his forehead but affected his memory, so that his last years were much clouded. He died in his house in St John’s Wood on October 1, 1873, and was buried in state at St Paul’s Cathedral.
The tradition of painting animals with affectionate insight, founded by Landseer, has been followed with success by many other British artists, prominent among them being Briton Rivière (1840-1920), who, after being influenced at first by the pictures of the Pre-Raphaelites and by Tennyson’s poetry, soon turned his attention to the painting of pictures in which animals played an important part. His well-known ‘Sympathy,’ in the Tate Gallery, is a characteristic Victorian picture in the Landseer tradition, but in gayer and more agreeable colors. It tells its own story clearly, and can never fail to appeal to all who love children and dogs and have noted the unspoken sympathy which exists between them.
The Victorian Age (continued)
Heard On The Street
In gem/jewelry/art business all things are valued according to their scarcity + tastes change
Pearl Identification
In my view X-radiography + X-ray luminescence are useful tests for testing strands with a mixture of different types of pearls (natural pearls vs beadless freshwater cultured pearls) because today we are seeing a lot of Chinese freshwater cultured pearls in the market, possibly getting mixed them up with Southsea cultured pearls or with natural marine pearls. If doubtful always consult a reputed gem testing laboratory.
Gold Speculation
I found the article from the current issue (March 7, 2008) of 'The Economist' on gold's rise interesting because external factors are forcing gold prices to speculative extremes, hurting everyone.
Useful links:
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10809383
www.ibb.ubs.com
www.morganstanley.com
Useful links:
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10809383
www.ibb.ubs.com
www.morganstanley.com
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