04 Painting, Streets of Paris, Part 15 - With Footnotes

Edouard-Léon Cortès, (French, 1882-1969)

Gare de l'Est, 1964

Oil on canvas

18 x 21-3/4 inches (45.7 x 55.2 cm)

Private collection

Gare de l'Est, officially Paris-Est, is one of the six large train termini in Paris. It is one of the largest and the oldest railway stations in Paris.

The Gare de l'Est was opened in 1849 under the name "Strasbourg platform." This platform corresponds today with the hall for main-line trains, and was designed by the architect François Duquesnay.

Renovations to the station followed in 1885 and 1900. In 1931 it was doubled in size, with the new part of the station built symmetrically with the old part. 

At the top of the west façade of the Gare de l'Est is a statue by the sculptor Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire, representing the city of Strasbourg, while the east end of the station is crowned by a statue personifying Verdun, by Varenne. These two cities are important destinations serviced by Gare de l'Est. 

On 4 October 1883, the Gare de l'Est saw the first departure of the Orient Express for Istanbul.

In the main-line train hall, a monumental painting by Albert Herter, Le Départ des poilus, août 1914 dating from 1926, illustrates the departure of these soldiers for the Western front More on Gare de l'Est

Edouard Léon Cortès (1882–1969) was a French post-impressionist artist of French and Spanish ancestry. He is known as "Le Poete Parisien de la Peinture" or "the Parisian Poet of Painting" because of his diverse Paris cityscapes in a variety of weather and night settings. Cortes was born in Lagny-sur-Marne, about twenty miles east of Paris. His father, Antonio Cortès, had been a painter for the Spanish Royal Court.

Although Cortès was a pacifist, when war came close to his native village he was compelled to enlist in a French Infantry Regiment at the age of 32. As a contact agent Cortès was wounded by a bayonet, evacuated to a military hospital, and awarded the Croix de Guerre. After recovery he was the reassigned to utilize his artistic talent to sketch enemy positions. Later in life his convictions led him to refuse the Légion d'Honneur from the French Government. In 1919 he was demobilized.

Cortès lived a simple life amid a close circle of friends. He died on November 28, 1969, in Lagny, and has a street named in his honor. More on Edouard Léon Cortès

Jean Béraud, (French, 1849-1935)

L'Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, circa 1882-85

Oil on canvas

22-1/2 x 15-1/4 inches (57.2 x 38.7 cm)

Private collection

Honoring those who fought and died for France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile stands at the center of the present work by Jean Béraud, the master of Belle Époque Parisian painting. Béraud presents the prototypical view of the Champs-Élysées: fashionably dressed figures stroll under the trees and others ride in carriages down the busy avenue. Many have commented on Beraud's realistic portrayal of everyday life at the fin-de-siecle and this attention to detail extends to his meticulous depiction of a plaster sculpture that surmounted the Arc itself at the time-Alexandre Falguière's The Triumph of the Revolution. As one of the finest sculptors to practice during the Second Empire, Falguière conceived his monumental plaster sculpture as an elaborate quadriga preparing to "crush Anarchy and Despotism", a worthy commentary on the political vagaries that had beset France in the past. The plaster group was in place from 1882 until it crumbled in 1886. Unfortunately, no version in bronze was commissioned; there is only a maquette of the sculpture in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay, and, of course, images such as Béraud's Arc de Triomphe. More on this painting

Jean Béraud (January 12, 1849 – October 4, 1935) was a French painter, noted for his paintings of Parisian life during the Belle Époque. He was renowned in Paris society due to his numerous paintings depicting the life of Paris, and the nightlife of Paris society. He also painted religious subjects in a contemporary setting. Pictures of the Champs Elysees, cafeés, Montmartre and the banks of the Seine are precisely detailed illustrations of everyday Parisian era of the "Belle Époque". More Jean Béraud

Antoine Blanchard, (French, 1910-1988)

Arc de Triomphe

Oil on canvas

18 x 15 inches (45.7 x 38.1 cm)

Private collection

Arc de Triomphe, see above

Antoine Blanchard is the pseudonym under which the French painter Marcel Masson (15 November 1910 – 1988) painted his immensely popular Parisian street scenes. He was born in a small village near the banks of the Loire.

Blanchard received his initial artistic training at the Beaux-Arts in Rennes, Brittany. He then moved to Paris in 1932 where he joined the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He won the Prix de Rome.

Like Édouard Cortès (1882–1969) and Eugène Galien-Laloue (1854–1941), Antoine Blanchard essentially painted Paris and the Parisians in bygone days, often from vintage postcards. The artist began painting his Paris street scenes in the late 1950s, and like Cortès, often painted the same Paris landmark many times, in different weather conditions or various seasons. The most recurrent topics were views of the capital city in cloudy or rainy days, showing streets busy with pedestrians in a rush to go home, and bright storefronts reflecting on wet streets.

Antoine Blanchard died in 1988. More on Antoine Blanchard

Paul Signac, (French, 1863-1935)

Paris, le Pont des Arts, circa 1925

Watercolor and crayon on paper

10-1/4 x 16 inches (26.0 x 40.6 cm)

Private collection

The Pont des Arts or Passerelle des Arts is a pedestrian bridge in Paris which crosses the River Seine. It links the Institut de France and the central square (cour carrée) of the Palais du Louvre, (which had been termed the "Palais des Arts" under the First French Empire); between 1802 and 1804, under the reign of Napoleon I

In 1976, the Inspector of Bridges and Causeways reported several deficiencies on the bridge. More specifically, he noted the damage that had been caused by two aerial bombardments sustained during World War I and World War II and the harm done from the multiple collisions caused by boats. The bridge would be closed to circulation in 1977 and, in 1979, suffered a 60-metre collapse after a barge rammed into it.

The present bridge was built between 1981 and 1984 "identically" according to the plans of Louis Arretche.


The bridge has sometimes served as a place for art exhibitions, and is today a studio en plein air for painters, artists and photographers. The Pont des Arts is also frequently a spot for picnics during the summer. More on The Pont des Arts

Paul Signac, (born Nov. 11, 1863, Paris, France—died Aug. 15, 1935, Paris) French painter who, with Georges Seurat, developed the technique called pointillism.

When he was 18, Signac gave up the study of architecture for painting and, through Armand Guillaumin, became a convert to the colouristic principles of Impressionism. In 1884 Signac helped found the Salon des Indépendants. There he met Seurat, whom he initiated into the broken-colour technique of Impressionism. The two went on to develop the method they called pointillism, which became the basis of Neo-Impressionism. They continued to apply pigment in minute dabs of pure colour, as had the Impressionists, but they adopted an exact, almost scientific system of applying the dots, instead of the somewhat intuitive application of the earlier masters. In watercolours Signac used the principle in a much freer manner. After 1886 he took part regularly in the annual Salon des Indépendants, to which he sent landscapes, seascapes, and decorative panels. Being a sailor, Signac traveled widely along the European coast, painting the landscapes he encountered. In his later years he painted scenes of Paris, Viviers, and other French cities.

Signac produced much critical writing and was the author of From Eugène Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism (1899) and Jongkind (1927). The former book is an exposition of pointillism, while the latter is an insightful treatise on watercolour painting. More on Paul Signac

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02 Painting, Streets of Paris, by John Singer Sargent, Part 14 - With Footnotes

John Singer Sargent,  (1856–1925)

A Parisian Beggar Girl, circa 1880

Oil on canvas

64.5 × 43.7 cm (25.4 × 17.2 in)

Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, IL 

By ‘79 Sargent begins his major portraits and he never particularly showed any desire to paint scenes of Parisian life, opting for more exotic locals for his subject paintings, this was probably done when he was studying with Carolus-Duran's atelier.  

Carmela Bertagna has been identified as the model in the Parisian Beggar Girl,  which is hanging at the Terra Museum in Chicago. Carmela posed for many of Sargent's dancers and figures in interiors. More on this painting

A Parisian Beggar Girl was first exhibited in 1906 as Spanish Beggar Girl. The confusion of the two titles may be explained by the possibility that the model, Carmela, was a Parisian of Spanish or Italian descent who posed for a portrait by Sargent dated to around the time he painted A Parisian Beggar Girl. More on this painting

John Singer Sargent,  (1856–1925)

Carmela Bertagna, c. 1879

 Oil on canvas

59.69 x 49.53 cm (23.5 x 19.5 in.)

Columbus Museum of Art 

Very little is known about Carmela's life, except that she lived with her mother and brother. Her father is unknown. She and her family had to work in order to make ends meet for themselves. She is of Spanish descent and modelled with various artists, including John Singer Sargent. Her Mediterranean Latin looks fascinated Sargent, who was captivated by magnificent Rosina Ferrara of Capri a year earlier. More on Carmela Bertagna

John Singer Sargent (January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. His oeuvre documents worldwide travel, from Venice to the Tyrol, Corfu, the Middle East, Montana, Maine, and Florida.

His parents were American, but he was trained in Paris prior to moving to London. Sargent enjoyed international acclaim as a portrait painter, although not without controversy and some critical reservation; an early submission to the Paris Salon, his "Portrait of Madame X", was intended to consolidate his position as a society painter, but it resulted in scandal instead. From the beginning his work was characterized by remarkable technical facility, particularly in his ability to draw with a brush, which in later years inspired admiration as well as criticism for a supposed superficiality. His commissioned works were consistent with the grand manner of portraiture, while his informal studies and landscape paintings displayed a familiarity with Impressionism. In later life Sargent expressed ambivalence about the restrictions of formal portrait work, and devoted much of his energy to mural painting and working en plein air. He lived most of his life in Europe. More John Singer Sargent

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05 Paintings, of The amorous game, Part 4 - With Footnotes

Jack Vettriano, O.B.E., B.1951

THE BIG TEASE

Oil on canvas

61 by 51cm., 24 by 20in.

Private collection

Jack Vettriano, OBE (né Jack Hoggan, born 17 November 1951), is a Scottish painter. His 1992 painting, The Singing Butler, became a best-selling image in Britain.

Jack Vettriano grew up in the industrial seaside town of Methil, Fife. He was raised in poverty, and lived with his mother, father and older brother in a spartan miner’s cottage, sharing a bed with his brother and wearing hand-me-down clothes. From the age of 10, his father sent him out to earn money. His father took half his earnings. Vettriano left school at 16.

Much of his art education came from studying paintings at the Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery. Controversial. Professional art critics do not seem to like his work, but the public does. 

In February 2011, it was announced that Vettriano's self-portrait The Weight would be displayed at the re-opened Scottish National Portrait Gallery from November 2011, the first time he had exhibited at a national gallery. First Minister, Alex Salmond said of Vettriano, "He is a wonderful artist of considerable talent and achievement and this is a magnificent tribute to the special place he holds in the hearts of people in Scotland."

In September 2013, a major retrospective of Vettriano's work opened at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. 'Jack Vettriano: A Retrospective' ran until 23 February 2014 and featured over 100 works. More on Jack Vettriano

Jack Vettriano, O.B.E., B.1951

STUDY FOR PINCER MOVEMENT

Oil on canvas

38 by 30.5cm., 15 by 12in.

Private collection

Jack Vettriano, OBE (né Jack Hoggan, born 17 November 1951), see above

Jack Vettriano, O.B.E., B.1951

PINCER MOVEMENT

Giclee Print, published 2006

72 x 58 cm (28 x 23 in)

Private collection

The pincer movement is a tactic in which forces attack both sides of an enemy formation at the same time. The pincer movement can be used when opposing forces advance towards the center of an army. That army responds by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks to surround it. More on The pincer movement

Jack Vettriano, OBE (né Jack Hoggan, born 17 November 1951), see above

Eugène Delacroix, (1798–1863)

The Duke of Orléans showing his Lover, circa 1825-26

Oil on canvas

Height: 35 cm (13.8 in). Width: 25.5 cm (10 in).

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, Spain

A young Lord shows his Lover’s Body to a Courtier, The Duke of Burgundy shows his Lover to the Duke of Orléans, The Duke of Burgundy revealing his Lover, and The Duke of Orléans showing his Lover to the Duke of Burgundy.  Titles used for this work and which indicate the confusion over its subject matter.

The matter was resolved in 1965 when the poet Louis Aragon discovered the literary source that may have inspired the artist. This is a passage in the Histoire des ducs de Borgogne by Barante, republished in 1824. It describes how the Duke of Orléans displayed the naked body of his lover Mariette d’Enghien, wife of his former chamberlain Aubert le Flamenc, to her husband, concealing her face. Her husband failed to recognize her. More on this painting

Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix (26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.

As a painter and muralist, Delacroix's use of expressive brushstrokes and his study of the optical effects of colour profoundly shaped the work of the Impressionists, while his passion for the exotic inspired the artists of the Symbolist movement. A fine lithographer, Delacroix illustrated various works of William Shakespeare, the Scottish author Walter Scott and the German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Delacroix took for his inspiration the art of Rubens and painters of the Venetian Renaissance, with an attendant emphasis on colour and movement rather than clarity of outline and carefully modelled form. Dramatic and romantic content characterized the central themes of his maturity, and led him not to the classical models of Greek and Roman art, but to travel in North Africa, in search of the exotic. Friend and spiritual heir to Théodore Géricault, Delacroix was also inspired by Lord Byron, with whom he shared a strong identification with the "forces of the sublime", of nature in often violent action.

However, Delacroix was given to neither sentimentality nor bombast, and his Romanticism was that of an individualist. In the words of Baudelaire, "Delacroix was passionately in love with passion, but coldly determined to express passion as clearly as possible." More on Ferdinand VictorEugène Delacroix

Alfred Glendening Jr., (British, 1861-1907)

The courtship 

Watercolour heightened with white 

52 x 75cm (20 1/2 x 29 1/2in).

Private collection

Alfred Glendening Jr. (British, 1861-1907): This Victorian landscape artist was born in London and began his adult life as a railway clerk.  Not much information exists to explain when and where he received his artistic interest and training, but in 1864 he exhibited his first work at The Royal Society of British Artists, Morning on Grassmore Lake.  From that point on, he became a frequent exhibitor at the Society, as well as the Royal Academy (RA). 

The English landscape was his specialty – depicting views of the Thames and scenes in Wales and Scotland.  These works often featured small figures by the riverside or swans on the water.  His landscapes are filled with subtle shades of color. More on Alfred Glendening Jr

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04 Paintings, Streets of Paris, by its Artists, 19 and 20 Centuary. Part 12 - With Footnotes

Constantin Kluge, French, 1912-2003 

Notre-Dame (Dessin), c. 1963 

Oil on canvas 

28 3/4 x 28 3/4 inches (73 x 73 cm)

Private collection

Constantin Kluge (1912–2003) was an award winning painter originally from Russia. Raised mostly in Manchuria and Beijing, Kluge eventually settled in Paris and became a French citizen. He is known for his French landscapes and romantic scenes of Paris.

Kluge was born into a family of means and some status. His paternal grandfather had spent years in France studying the cultivation of vines and wine making. Returning to Russia he developed a successful winery. Kluge's father, also Constantin, was a member of the Russian Army General Staff and a White Army sympathizer. Kluge's mother, Liouba Ignatieva, was an academic who also came from a military family. When his parents met, young Liouba was serving as tutor to the children of Russian Grand Duke Michel, the younger brother of Czar Nicholas II. The family moved often, following Constantin Sr.'s deployments with the counter rebellion armies. Each move seemed to take the family further and further east as the revolution spread and the White Sympathizers controlled a decreasing part of the country.

Kluge settled in Paris in 1950 and soon thereafter found representation in a French gallery on Rue Saint-Honore. In 1964 he became a citizen of France. He died on 9 January 2003 in France. More on Constantin Kluge

Michael Schofield, b. 1947
Parisian Streets
Mixed Media
26x30
Private collection

Schofield was born in 1947.  His art teacher at Oakland High School recognized that Michael had an exceptional talent, and for nearly two years he tutored the youth privately. After a stint in the military, Schofield went to art school in Nashville, Tennessee. During the summers he would journey to Woodstock, New York, in order to study with watercolorist John Pike, an esteemed member of the National Academy of Art and the American Watercolor Society.

Schofield soon opened his own art studio, where he painted and taught for more than a decade. He returned to California in 1980 to set up a silk-screen printing studio in order to be able to create his own original serigraphs. He wanted to be involved in every step of the intricate and exacting process of serigraph, from fabricating the stencils to adding the final finishing touches of color.

Schofield believes that the primary aspiration of art is to communicate a shared perception, from the artist to the viewer of his art: "I choose to create more traditional landscapes because they involved imagery most people can relate to. In sharing a place I have known, I know that others will see places they have known. In that way, I can communicate with others without using a single word." More on Michael Schofield

Jules René Hervé, (French, 1887-1981)

Notre-Dame Cathedral from Quai de Montebello

Oil on canvas 

66 x 81cm (26 x 31 7/8in)

Private collection

The Quai de Montebello is located on the Left Bank of the Seine, in the 5th arrondissement, between the Petit Pont and the Pont de l’Archevêché. A great place for a walk in the capital, it offers an unrestricted view of Notre-Dame Cathedral (above). There are a number of restaurants along the quayside closest to the Latin Quarter. Every year in mid-September, travelling markets from the South-West set up here for 3 days of musical and gastronomical celebrations. More on The Quai de Montebello 

Jules René Hervé (French, 1887-1981), an impressionist of our time, is the very type of artist who has worked a lot on his own, indifferent to the fashion and to outside trends. He has never ceased to deepen the technical secrets of his art; and after 50 years of artistic experience, he has arrived at complete mastery of the science of this art which absorbs him.

Born in 1887 in Langres, he began his art studies in an evening school of his hometown.  He came to Paris where he first continued his studies at the School of Decorative Arts and then at the Fine Arts School.

He exhibited his works for the first time at the Salon of French Artists in 1910. He was one of the most important members of this group. Obtaining his teaching diploma, he started teaching. From 1911 to 1943 he taught painting to many generations of young artists. In 1914 he received a first silver medal from the association of French Artists, but afterwards he unfortunately had to join the army for the duration of the war.

J.R. Herve is both a painter of daily country themes in which there are characters at their daily tasks, and a painter of Parisian scenes. Paris as seen by Herve is a city of poetry. The "City of Lights" under its most touching aspects, and at its most charming. It is a real part of Paris, with its sentimental life, feelings, her special character, that inspire Herve to paint. More on Jules René Hervé

Jules René Hervé (French, 1887-1981)

Les bouquinistes 

Oil on card 

21.9 x 27.3cm (8 5/8 x 10 3/4in).

Private collection

The Bouquinistes of Paris, France, are booksellers of used and antiquarian books who ply their trade along large sections of the banks of the Seine: on the right bank from the Pont Marie to the Quai du Louvre, and on the left bank from the Quai de la Tournelle to Quai Voltaire. The Seine is thus described as 'the only river in the world that runs between two bookshelves'. More The Bouquinistes

Jules René Hervé (French, 1887-1981), see above

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16 Classic Marine Paintings - With Footnotes, #21

Harry Hudson Rodmell, (1896–1984)

Gale Force 8: Trawler in a Rough Sea, mid-20th C–late 20th C

Oil on paper marouflage on board

457 x 55.9 cm

National Maritime Museum, London

A trawler is fishing vessel that uses a trawl, a conical net that snares fish by being dragged through the water or along the bottom.

Harry Hudson Rodmell (28 May 1896 – 3 March 1984) was an English painter and Commercial artist, specialising in marine art. He studied at Hull School of Art before enlisting in the Royal Engineers during World War I. After demobilisation, he was recruited by Ronald Massey, a London agent seeking nautical illustrations for publicity material. Subsequently he produced work for many of the major shipping lines including P & O, Canadian Pacific and the British India Line. His longest running commission was a series of calendars for the tugboat company William Watkins Ltd.

After serving with the Royal Observer Corps during World War II, his graphic design work was largely replaced by commissioned oil paintings of new vessels. These were often produced from plans so that a painting could be completed before the vessel was launched. More Rodmell

Harry Hudson Rodmell, (1896–1984)

Tramp Steamer

Oil on canvas

64 x 55 cm

Sewerby Hall Museum and Art Gallery, Bridlington, England

Tramp steamer, one of the two principal types of merchant ships as classified by operating method (the other is the ocean liner). The tramp steamer, in contrast to the liner, operates without a schedule, going wherever required to deliver its cargoes. The tramp is a descendant of the early merchant ships whose masters (who were also their owners) loaded them with cargo at home to sell abroad, and vice versa. Tramps are used mainly for carrying bulk commodities or homogeneous cargoes in whole shiploads, with each voyage separately negotiated between the ship’s owner and the shipper, usually through a broker. More on Tramp steamers

Harry Hudson Rodmell (28 May 1896 – 3 March 1984), see above

Arthur John Trevor Briscoe, (1873–1943)

Clewing Up the Mainsail in Heavy Weather, c. 1925

Oil on canvas

66 x 101.8 cm

National Maritime Museum

The waist of a ship, looking forward, is depicted in a heavy sea. The mainmast intersects the image to the left, with two bare-footed figures in rolled-up shirt-sleeves hauling on the mainsail clew-line, while on the far left another man in boots looks aloft, probably to men working on the unseen main yard above. The viewer is looking down on the action from the height of a deckhouse roof and the image is off-centre and at an angle to create a sensation of a heaving deck. The sky is light to the top right and the sea is shown coming over the lee gunwale, in this demonstration of all the actions associated with a sailing ship in a heavy sea. More on this painting

Arthur John Trevor Briscoe (1873–1943), see below

Edward Moran, 1829 - 1901

“First Recognition of the American Flag by a Foreign Government” 

Oil on canvas

U.S. Naval Academy

First Recognition of the American Flag by a Foreign Government, 14 February 1778 Painting in oils by Edward Moran, 1898. It depicts the Continental Navy Ship Ranger, commanded by Captain John Paul Jones, receiving the salute of the French fleet at Quiberon Bay, France, 14 February 1778. Earlier in the month, after receipt of news of the victory at Saratoga, France recognized the independence of the American colonies and signed a treaty of alliance with them. More on First Recognition of the American Flag

Andrew Doria was a brig purchased by the Continental Congress in November 1775. She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Nassau—the first amphibious engagement by the Continental Navy and the Continental Marines—and for being the first United States vessel to receive a salute from a foreign power. More on The Andrew Doria

Edward Moran (August 19, 1829 in Bolton, Lancashire, England – June 8, 1901 in New York City) was an American artist of maritime paintings. Moran was born in England on August 19, 1829. Following in the footsteps of his father's profession, he learned to operate a hand-loom at a young age, though he would often be found sketching with charcoal on the white fabric instead of plying the shuttle. His family first emigrated to Maryland in 1844, and then to Philadelphia a year later.

It was in Philadelphia around 1845 that Edward apprenticed under James Hamilton and landscape painter Paul Weber; Hamilton guided Moran specifically in the style of marine paintings. In the 1850s Moran began to make a name for himself in the Philadelphia artistic scene; working in the same studio as his younger brother, famous American painter Thomas Moran, Edward received commissions and even completed some lithographic work. In 1862, he traveled to London and became a pupil in the Royal Academy. 

In 1885, at the height of his career, Moran began on what would be considered his most important work - a series of 13 paintings representing the Marine History of the United States. He chose to have thirteen paintings in the series because of the significance of the number in American history (13 colonies, 13 stars and stripes on the original US flag, etc.). The subjects include Leif Ericsson, Christopher Columbus, Hernando de Soto, Henry Hudson, and Admiral Dewey, among others.[3] Not long after their completion, the series was displayed at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. More on Edward Moran

Constantinos Volanakis, (Crete 1837 -. Piraeus June 29, 1907) 

The burning of a Turkish frigate

Oil on canvas

92 x 135 cm. (36.2 x 53.1 in.)

Private collection

"The Burning of a Turkish Frigate" depicts a strategic battle scheme used by Greek revolutionary fighters to attack their Turkish oppressors which eventually lead to the liberation of Greece. The tactic of attaching a small boat laden with explosives to the side of a frigate was used by maritime heroes such as Canaris, Papamanolis and Barbatsis. One of the most famous of such ambushes was the destruction of the 'Mansourija'. On the evening of 27 May 1821 the thirty-three-year-old freedom fighter Dimitris Papamanolis sailed his small vessel up to the port side of the frigate and set it ablaze. The devastating fire spread throughout the Turkish ship killing 600 sailors. More on this painting

Konstantinos Volanakis (1837, Heraklion - 29 June 1907, Piraeus) was a Greek painter who became known as the "father of Greek seascape painting". He completed his basic education on Syros in 1856. Afterward, urged on by his brothers, he went to Trieste and became an accountant for a family of Greek merchants who were related to his family by marriage. While there, he made sketches of ships and harbors in his account books. Rather than dismiss him, the family recognized his artistic talent, and made arrangements for him to study at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, under Karl von Piloty, joining a group of Greek students. His instructors discouraged any sort of landscape painting, because it was "in decline", so he concentrated on portraits.

His break came in 1869, three years after the Battle of Lissa, when Emperor Franz Joseph held a drawing competition to memorialize the event. Volanakis won the contest, receiving 1000 gold Florins and free travel cruises with the Austrian navy for three years. He took full advantage of this, producing numerous canvases and sketches. He married in 1874. Nine years later he returned to Greece and settled in Piraeus, where his family had a pottery factory.

From then until 1903, he was a teacher at the Athens School of Fine Arts. He also operated his own private school. In 1889, he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of the Redeemer. He was, however, very poor in his later years, due to his very large family and declining interest in his art. In an effort to increase his income, he reversed the usual method of painting first, then framing, by working with a group of framers who would make luxurious carved frames first, then creating paintings to fit them.

He died from complications related to a major hernia. Most of his works are in private collections. More Volanakis

Arthur Briscoe, (1873-1943)

Ships

Arthur John Trevor Briscoe (1873–1943) studied at the Slade School and at Julien's in Paris. He was a keen sailor and lived aboard his yacht for some years with his first wife and young son. He also sailed in square-riggers that were the inspiration for many of his paintings. He was a brilliant etcher as well as being successful in oils and watercolours. He was also a first-class cartoonist, his work regularly illustrated in 'Yachting Monthly', and he exhibited at the Royal Academy. More on Arthur John Trevor Briscoe

Thomas Devany Forrestall, b. 1936

COVEBAY, SPRING, c. 1974

Watercolour

14.0 x 18.7 in

Private Collection

Thomas DeVany Forrestall, painter (b at Middleton, NS 11 Mar 1936). After graduating in 1958 from MOUNT ALLISON UNIVERSITY, Tom Forrestall was assistant curator at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton (1959), but became a full-time painter the following year. His realistic works, often done in egg tempera, convey his ideas of the East Coast landscape and its dwellings. From the early 1960s, Forrestall experimented with panels shaped from triangles to T-forms, each chosen to fit his painterly ideas. He has also painted a large number of out-of-doors watercolours which express much the same ideas as his egg tempera works, but in a more relaxed and joyous mood. His watercolours, in contrast to his more metaphysical and individual canvases, form one long series and deal with a sense of place. He became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1986. More on Thomas DeVany Forrestall

Marc-Aurèle Fortin, 1888 - 1970

SAILING SHIP OFF THE COAST

Watercolour and charcoal

26.6 x 42.3 in

Private Collection

Marc-Aurèle Fortin (March 14, 1888 – March 2, 1970) was a Québécois painter, born in 1888 in Ste-Rose, Quebec. He studied art in Montreal and worked at the Montreal Post Office, and at an Edmonton bank. He studied art abroad. He was known for painting watercolour landscapes of the St. Lawrence Valley. He travelled around the St. Lawrence Valley by bicycle. Fortin believed that "Canadian artists should take their inspiration from the countryside and progress towards a national art... We should excel in landscapes, exactly as the French do".

He was part of the first Atelier exhibition at Henry Morgan Galleries in April 1932 together with Atelier founder John Goodwin Lyman, André Biéler, and Edwin Holgate. Fortin was exhibited by Galerie L'Art français from the 1940s.

His works are displayed at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He died in 1970. More Marc-Aurèle Fortin

Fritz Brandtner, 1896 - 1969

FISHING BOATS

Coloured inks

7.9 x 8.1 in

Private Collection

Friedrich Wilhelm Brandtner (28 July 1896 – 1969), known during his life as Fritz Brandtner, was a German-Canadian artist and art instructor. At one time or another he worked as painter, printmaker, graphic artist, illustrator, muralist, and set designer.

Brandtner emigrated to Canada from Germany in 1928. Following a short stay in Winnipeg he settled in Montreal in 1934. A prolific artist and thinker, he actively participated in the cultural life of Canada. He was a member of the Contemporary Arts Society in Montreal, serving as its first secretary. He was also a passionate art-educator. More on Friedrich Wilhelm Brandtner

 William "St. Thomas" Smith

VILLAGE ON A ROCKY SHORE

Watercolour

27.1 x 41.3 in

Private Collection

William "St. Thomas" Smith (1862-1947) was born in Belfast, Ireland and died at St. Thomas, Ontario. His family emigrated to Canada when he was a child and settled at Beaverton, Ontario. He received his art training at the Ontario College of Art and reputedly it was there he received the nickname of "St. Thomas" to differentiate him from another art student also named "William Smith". Later he worked in the studio of J. W. L. Forster and formed a close friendship with Curtis Williamson. Their choice of Barbizon subjects influenced his early paintings. After marrying a local artist and teacher, Smith settled permanently in St. Thomas, Ontario and by 1887, was part of the art staff at Alma College. He traveled widely in Canada, Great Britain and Europe during his long career. Most of his work was in the medium of watercolour usually choosing landscape and seascapes as subjects. St. Thomas Smith was one of the early impressionistic painters and specialized in using a watercolour wet paper technique to achieve atmospheric effects. His art was exhibited at the Ontario Society of Artists, the Royal Canadian Academy, the Toronto Industrial Exhibition and many commercial galleries. Smith’s career was highlighted by an honorary degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1940 and a retrospective by our institution in 1947. More on William St. Thomas Smith

Dominic Serres, R.A. (Auch 1722 - 1793 London)

HIS MAJESTY’S SHIPS PHOENIX, ROEBUCK AND TARTAR, ACCOMPANIED BY THREE SMALLER VESSELS, FORCING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE CHEVAL-DE-FRISE ON THE HUDSON RIVER BETWEEN FORTS WASHINGTON AND LEE, NEW YORK, 9 OCTOBER 1776, c. 1779

Oil on canvas

25 by 47 7/8 in.

Private Collection

The painting depicts an important action during the Revolutionary War, shortly after the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Having defeated the Continental Army at the Battle of White Plains, General Howe ordered a small squadron of British war ships, under the command of Captain Hyde Parker in H.M.S. Phoenix, to occupy the Hudson River and prevent the remaining Continental troops on Manhattan Island from receiving supplies in preparation for his assault on Fort Washington. Serres illustrates the Phoneix, together with H.M.S. Roebuck, under the command of Captain A.S. Hammond, H.M.S. Tartar, commanded by Captain George Jackson, and three smaller vessels forcing their way through a cheval-de-frise, comprised of artificial barriers and sunken vessels defending the north part of the river. 

Dominic Serres, R.A. (Auch 1722 - 1793 London)

Detail; HIS MAJESTY’S SHIPS PHOENIX, ROEBUCK AND TARTAR, ACCOMPANIED BY THREE SMALLER VESSELS, FORCING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE CHEVAL-DE-FRISE ON THE HUDSON RIVER BETWEEN FORTS WASHINGTON AND LEE, NEW YORK, 9 OCTOBER 1776, c. 1779

Oil on canvas

25 by 47 7/8 in.

Private Collection

Dominic Serres, R.A. (Auch 1722 - 1793 London)

Detail

On the right lies Fort Washington, on a large outcrop at the northern end of Manhattan, with its several shore batteries engaging the enemy at close range, whilst from the left the British forces are bombarded by the guns of Fort Lee, sitting atop the New Jersey Palisades. Despite the heavy bombardment Captain Parker and his fleet passed successfully through, capturing two gunboats in the process, and he was subsequently knighted in 1779 for his heroic efforts.

Dominic Serres the Elder RA (1722 - 1793)

English Frigates in the Channel, c. 1789

Pen and grey ink and watercolour on a laid paper

124 mm x 181 mm

Royal Academy of Arts

In the 18th century, Frigate referred to ships that were usually as long as a ship of the line and were square-rigged on all three masts (full rigged), but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort. In the definition adopted by the British Admiralty, they were rated ships of at least 28 guns, carrying their principal armaments upon a single continuous deck — the upper deck — while ships of the line possessed two or more continuous decks bearing batteries of guns. More on Frigates

Dominic Serres RA (1722–1793), also known as Dominic Serres the Elder, was a French-born painter strongly associated with the English school of painting, and with paintings with a naval or marine theme. Such were his connections with the English art world, that he became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768, and was later briefly (from 1792 until his death) its librarian.

Born in Auch, Gascony, he was initially expected to train as a priest but instead travelled to Spain and became a ship's captain, sailing to Cuba. He was taken prisoner by the British navy towards the end of the 1740s and eventually settled in London in about 1758, where it is believed he trained as a painter in Northamptonshire and later in London under Charles Brooking. If Serres did not settle in London until 1758, however, he could not have studied for long under Charles Brooking, since Brooking was buried on 25 March 1759.

Reflecting his early career, many of his paintings have naval themes. Working for a publisher documenting the events in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), he painted a series of depictions including the capture of Havana in 1762. He also painted events in the American Revolutionary War, such as the disastrous Penobscot Expedition launched by the Americans in 1779. In 1780, he was appointed Marine Painter to King George III.

Serres died in 1793, and was buried at St. Marylebone Old Church. His eldest son John Thomas Serres (1759–1825) also became a prolific marine artist. More on Dominic Serres

Robert Salmon (1775 - c. 1845)

STORMY SEAS, c. 1827

Oil on panel

12 1/4 by 17 3/4 in.

Private Collection

Robert Salmon, American, born England, 1775 - c. 1845, was born in Whitehaven, a port situated on the northwest coast of England. Although his artistic beginnings are unknown, his career can be divided into two periods. Between 1800 and 1828 he lived in England and Scotland, and his work faithfully recorded the environs of Liverpool and Greenock. Salmon's style at this time reflected the influence of Dutch maritime painters. In many of his paintings, he adopted the low horizon and clear, sparkling light effects typical of Dutch seascapes.

After 1828 Salmon moved to Boston. Although he was regarded as an eccentric, solitary man, he was highly thought of as an artist, and he soon became a leading maritime painter in the area. His paintings were admired for their detailed panoramic views of Boston's wharves and shorelines. While in Boston, Salmon also worked in the lithography studio of William S. Pendleton with Fitz Hugh Lane, during which time his maritime paintings became a model for Lane's work. More on Robert Salmon

Robert Salmon, (1775 - c. 1845)

A STORM OFF THE COAST, c. 1815

Oil on panel

23.5 x 29.21 cm. (9.3 x 11.5 in.)

Private collection

Acknowledgement: WADDINGTONS, Sotheby's, 

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