A prolific painter of everything from landscapes to mythology, he trained in Karlsruhe, travelled widely, but struggled to establish his art in the years to 1885.
Thoma
Human in their upper body, and fish from the waist down, these aren’t sirens at all, but have their own mythology in many traditions.
Stone-picking to improve the soil. A series of paintings of the Sower, broadcasting seed by hand. Weeding the fields to help the crop grow.
The satyr Marsyas became an outstanding player of the aulos, and played in a contest against the god Apollo. He can’t win, and ends up being flayed alive.
The double pipe with reeds played by Marsyas in his doomed contest with Apollo, blown by the Sirens, and more.
European grey herons, seen in paintings by Aelbert Cuyp, Hans Thoma, Daubigny, Frédéric Bazille, Alfred Sisley and others.
The primary attribute of Iris, with the soothing song of Amphitrite, bearing the Norse deities to Valhalla, the sign of God’s covenant after the Flood, and at the Last Judgement.
Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa, Gérôme’s gladiators, Émile Claus and Luminism, Boudin on the beach, and into the skies with Hans Thoma’s herons.
Waterfalls in mountains are spectacular, and difficult to access. Examples include the falls where Sherlock Holmes fought with Moriarty.
From herons flying above the fields and rivers, to the bustling streets of Paris and New York. Then taking to the air among the clouds of war.
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