Escorts of valkyries, the bird of the gibbet, and seeker of carrion: crows and ravens are associated with death, magic, and more.
Chassériau
Born 200 years ago today, he should have been one of the major artists of the 19th century, but died when he had only just turned 37.
A pupil of JAD Ingres when he was only 11 years old, his first work exhibited at the Salon when he was only 16: a precocious and brilliant narrative artist.
Plans to celebrate anniversaries of major painters, series on narrative paintings, and more, for the coming year.
An odd story about the leader of the Ukrainian Cossacks and his youthful indiscretion becomes a poem by Byron, and finally burlesque titillation.
Paintings by Rubens, Rembrandt, Jordaens, Chassériau, von Stuck and Lovis Corinth give slightly different accounts of this story.
Although intricate in their detail, none of these paintings is larger than 90 cm in either dimension – and several are quite painterly in a miniature way.
A pupil of the great Chassériau, he spent several years touring the Middle East with French diplomatic missions. Here are his paintings.
Ovid’s fictional letter made it clear how the legend of Phaon was absurd. Yet it has been painted repeatedly ever since.
Mentor to Gustave Moreau, his brief career showed his brilliance. Claimed by Ingres to be ‘the Napoleon of painting’.
