01 Work, The art of War, Jacek Malczewski's Death, with Footnotes

Jacek Malczewski  (1854–1929)

Death, c. 1902

Oil on canvas

height: 75 cm (29.5 in); width: 98 cm (38.5 in)

National Museum in Warsaw

Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper, a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe, causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other beliefs hold that the spectre of death is only a psychopomp, a benevolent figure who serves to gently sever the last ties between the soul and the body, and to guide the deceased to the afterlife, without having any control over when or how the victim dies. Death is most often personified in male form, although in certain cultures death is perceived as female. Death is also portrayed as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Most claims of its appearance occur in states of near-death. more on the personification of death

Jacek Malczewski, a Polish Symbolist painter, was born on this day, 15 July, 1854. He is considered to be one of the most revered painters of Poland and had strong associations with the patriotic Young Poland movement following a century of Partitions of Poland. Regarded as the father of Polish Symbolism, his creative output combined the predominant style of his times with historical motifs of Polish martyrdom, the romantic ideals of independence, Christian and Greek mythology, folk tales, as well as his love of the natural world.

Malczewski moved to Kraków at 17, and began his artistic education in 1872 under several great masters. He also enrolled in an art school and spent a year studying in Paris. He was greatly influenced by Jan Matejko’s style as well as that of the earlier Polish Romantic painter Artur Grottger. Between 1885 and 1916, Jacek regularly made trips to Paris, Munich, Vienna, Italy, Greece, and Turkey.

He also drew inspiration from a wide variety of sources often exotic or biblical, and translated them back into Polish folklore, tradition and motifs in his own paintings. Many of his paintings prominently feature grandiose self-portraits that reveal his sense of humor and capacity to laugh at himself.

During the periods of 1897-1900 and 1912-1921, Malczewski served as professor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. He was elected Rector of the Academy in 1912. His art has been compared to many great contemporaries and his paintings won many awards at international exhibitions. Malczewski died on 8 October 1929. More on Jacek Malczewski

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01 Work, The Art of War, Circle of Hans Baldung's An Allegory of Death, with footnotes

Circle of Hans Baldung, called Grien

An Allegory of Death

Oil on panel, probably pine or lime

75.2 x 52.1 cm.; 29⅝ x 20½ in.

Private collection

Estimate for 20,000 - 30,000 GBP in December 2023

This thick panel undoubtedly corresponds to a votive work bearing the arms of the von Metzsch family, Germany (their coats of arms depicted in the lower right corner). The central scene, representing death and a young woman fighting for the survival of the man in the center, is reminiscent in its style of the painting of Jan Gossaert, known as Mabuse (1478-1532), which allows without doubt doubt to date the work around the middle of the 16th century. More on An Allegory of Death

Hans Baldung (1484 or 1485 – September 1545), called Hans Baldung Grien, (being an early nickname, because of his predilection for the colour green), was a painter, printer, engraver, draftsman, and stained glass artist, who was considered the most gifted student of Albrecht Dürer and whose art belongs to both German Renaissance and Mannerism.

Throughout his lifetime, he developed a distinctive style, full of colour, expression and imagination. His talents were varied, and he produced a great and extensive variety of work including portraits, woodcuts, drawings, tapestries, altarpieces, and stained glass, often relying on allegories and mythological motifs. More on Hans Baldung

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01 Work, The Art of War, Jeremy Mann's The Death Angel, with footnotes

Jeremy Mann (American, born 1979)

The Death Angel

Painting

Width: 512, Height: 512

Private collection

In the Bible death is viewed under form of an angel sent from God, a being deprived of all voluntary power. "The destroyer" kills the first-born of the Egyptians, and the "destroying angel" rages among the people in Jerusalem. The "angel of the Lord" is seen by David standing "between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem." Job uses the general term "destroyer", which tradition has identified with "destroying angels" More on The Death Angel

Jeremy Mann (American, b.1979) is a painter best known for his moody, dark cityscapes. Mann graduated from Ohio University with a degree in Fine Art painting, and later attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Working on wood panels, Mann employs various techniques when creating his pieces, including staining the surface, wiping away paint with solvents, and applying broad marks with an ink brayer. Mann uses vivid, atmospheric colors, and is often inspired by the city of San Francisco, where he currently lives and works. In addition to his urban scenes, he also paints still lifes, and portraits of young women in his characteristically impressionistic manner. He has exhibited at venues around San Francisco and throughout the United States, at galleries such as John Pence Gallery, the Studio Gallery, Christopher Hill Gallery, and Principle Gallery, among others. More on Jeremy Mann

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

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01 Fresco, The art of War, Il trionfo della morte/ The Triumph of Death, circa 1446, with footnotes

Unknown master (Maestro del Trionfo della Morte)

Il trionfo della morte/ The Triumph of Death, circa 1446

Fresco

600 × 642 cm (19.6 × 21 ft)

Galleria Regionale della Sicilia (Palermo)

The fresco depicts a luxurious garden surrounded by a hedge. Death enters riding a skeletal horse, firing arrows from a bow. Death aims at characters belonging to all social levels, killing them. Death has just released an arrow, which has hit a young man in the lower right corner; Death also wears a scythe at the side of the saddle, its typical attribute.

On the lower part are corpses of the people previously killed. Each character is portrayed differently: some still have a grimace of pain on the face, while others are serene; some have their limbs dismembered on the ground, and others are kneeling after having been just struck by an arrow. On the left is a group of poor people, invoking Death to stop their suffering, but being ignored. 

On the right, a group of richly dressed noblewomen and knights with fur clothes are entertained by a musician. They appear to have no interest in the events and continue to socialize. 

The fresco was stripped and divided into four parts to be housed in the Regional Gallery, where it is now located. Though at the time of the removal the work was in good condition, gradually during the 20th century the painted surface has detached near the points of division, compromising the integrity of the scene. More on this Fresco

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Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

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