Antique Paintings

My interest in paintings is eclectic. I love paintings with pretty women, especially Art Nouveau or Art Deco. Frederick Stuart Church is one of my favorite artists. His paintings are the essence of Art Nouveau. His pretty women are painted in harmony with nature and animals.
Louis Icart was a prolific artist. As well as the many etchings that he produced, he also enjoyed painting in oil. His paintings were more impressionistic than his etchings. He went through several painting periods, starting with the “Red Period” and ending with the “White Period”. His love of women shows through in most of his work.
Some artists painted lovely, good quality paintings and are still reasonably

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priced. Pal Fried and André Gisson are two good examples. Fried and Gisson painted beautiful French street scenes, while Fried painted a wider variety of subject matter, including beautiful nudes.
American illustration is another area that has interested me for many years. There are so many wonderful quality paintings by artists that are not well known. These paintings are available at a fraction of the cost of the most important artists.

 

I am a collector of art work that holds my interest. I am a painter of oil abstracts, and I draw pencil portraits. But I tend to like many different types of art. I am drawn to etchings. I once found an etching that was dated in the 1800's, behind a couch in an antique shop. I was able to purchase it. Another time, I was at a farmer's market when I spotted this colorful smaller picture, signed Picasso at the top, I actually thought it was a phony piece. So I asked what the seller wanted for it and he was very reasonable. I took it home and removed it from the frame, it was on a very good mat, which had my heart racing a bit, as I thought I had found a treasure or something. I took it for an appraisal. The gentleman said it was not worth what I might have thought, but it was worth a goodly sum based on the price I paid for it. So I was very happy.

 

That's cool Artistry. I would have been just like you. I love Picasso! If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for it?

 

Hi bri, is it okay if I call you that? I believe if I remember correctly, I paid $5.00 for it. It was a little larger than a 8 x 10 picture. It was well done with multi vivid colors and the thing was, it was real. The appraisal was near $200 at that time. I hope it has appreciated by now. I was very proud of myself, not really knowing what I had found. Cheers.

 

Yeah that's what I prefer to be called! That is a steal of a deal!! Lets hope it keeps appreciating, I'm sure it will

 

Hi there, thank you. Hope you are dong okay. I was also on a cruise, sometime ago and there was a sketch, by Picasso, that I figured out a way to purchase. I was thrilled with that one as well. I have seen that sketch on E-bay with a value of an added $300 dollars over the price I purchased mine for. So, small gains here and there. But I buy them because I like them a lot, if they appreciate, that's an added plus. Cheers.

 

Thank you I am doing well, hope the same for you. I have never been on a cruise before. You seem to find all the amazing deals though, that's awesome!!

 

Hi Bri, when I was more active, I was very blessed or lucky to find a few gems. Once when visting the flea market, where I found the small painting, I saw a pair of black candleholders, in the shape of three bowling balls fused together, one on top of two, in what I thought might be depression glass. I asked the seller about them, but she was not sure she wanted to sell them, they had been her grandmothers. So I left her to decide and came back a little later,. She sold them to me, for a very reasonable price. They are so different. I really like them, no idea of value, but the are very unique. If you decide to take a cruise, take a short one to try it out, remember to start taking sea-sickness pills, two or three days before the cruise, so that they can be in your system. Cruises are such fun, things to do, all day and all night. Cheers.

 

New member here..and lover of Classic Art.
I was born & raised in Northumberland, England, and whenever I return home for the holidays, I always make a point of visiting my 'favourite' painting that resides in the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.
Isabella and the Pot of Basil.. by William Holman Hunt...
She is life-size,and quite spectacular.!!
Here she is for those who are not familiar with the painting..

 

I saw an article on this painting awhile back. They were discussing the symbolism. Very interesting. I love the Pre-Raphaelite painters.

 

Hi Bev,

If I recall, Hunt's portrait was inspired by Keats poem.. about a girl called Isabella who dwells with her two brothers who own a thriving business. She and a clerk of the brothers called Lorenzo fall in love with each other. When the brothers notice this they think their sister's reputation will be compromised as Lorenzo is beneath her in station and they want to marry her off to a nobleman with estates. (In the original Isabella was entering Lorenzo's room or vice versa, seen by the brothers). So they tell Lorenzo they have business to do elsewhere and get him to come along. Then they take him to a forest and kill him and bury him. When they return and Lorenzo is absent for so long Isabella asks where he is, the brothers reply he is away on business and her heart breaks. However, in a dream Lorenzo tells her he has been murdered and where his body is. With her nurse Isabella goes to the forest, unearths the corpse and takes Lorenzo's head. She then buries it in a pot filled with soil and a basil plant. She carries the pot with her wherever she goes. Her tears water the basil, and the brothers wonder how the plant grows so luxuriantly. One day they examine the plant and see Lorenzo's hair emanating from the pot. Frightened they take the pot away and run away. Without her basil Isabella pines away and dies of grief.

 

And they say that today's stories are gruesome. Ever read the Brothers Grimm? Most of them would scare adults, never mind children.

 

Absolutely !!

Hansel & Gretel immediately comes to mind.
Loose story-line...parents take the two children into the woods and leave them there..cannot afford to keep them, as they 'eat too much'..??
Found by the wicked witch who keeps them in a cage, with the intention of fattening them up until they are nice & plump, then cook them in her large oven.

Bon Appetite.!!!

 

I love artwork of most periods and would gladly try to help with any here, so poke me (or whatever) if I'm not around. I try to check my email at least once a day.

I do have a special fondness for art nouveau, art deco and the pre-raphaelites.

Gorgeous painting of Isabella, Wilson. Thank you for showing it and for telling the story.

 

me also

 

man, this thread is so old even I wasn't around then !

and still with the chair......

 

haha now before you guys and gals jump on me, I was looking for more ways to prove it after that disappointing letter from Claude (he's passed away now and Paloma is in charge ) I found an article from the Google art forum that stated "brushstrokes are the artist fingerprints" and I couldn't agree more.so I took really close ups of my painting and then compared it to other known works of Picasso these are my results

 

these are some of the results

 

your here though

 

if you don't like it move on komo,some might want an update