"The Summer Snow," Edward Burne-Jones, 1864.

Burne-Jones (1833-98) was one of the great artists of the Pre-Raphaelite and Aesthetic schools. While enormously popular in his day (leading to him being granted a baronetcy), he was largely neglected and forgotten after his death, until he was rediscovered in the mid-20th century and now is popular again.

Jane Burden (1839-1914), pictured here, came from poverty but was spotted by Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who were both struck by her beauty. She modeled for both, appearing in a number of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. She eventually married William Morris, the great designer, and became a noted embroiderer and designer herself....although all her designs were credited to him. Typical.

Her private life was something of a soap opera as well. Apparently her marriage to Morris was mostly a business arrangement; she managed his successful design business, had dalliances with Rossetti and poet Wilfrid Blunt, and in the end the lady born in poverty was able to purchase a manor house to secure her daughters' futures.

Happy Portrait Monday!

From the Royal Academy of Arts, London.

#Art #EdwardBurneJones #JaneBurdenMorris #PreRaphalites #PortraitMonday #WomenInArt #Herstory

"Mother and Daughter," Laura Wheeler Waring, 1927.

Waring (1887-1948) was the great portrait artist of the Harlem Renaissance, chronicling many of the major figures of the era. However, in this portrait of two unidentified women, she confronts a social reality.

This is actually a daring painting for the time as it confronts the realities of mixed-race marriages, at the time a highly controversial subject. (Remember, the Supreme Court didn't legalize mixed-race marriage until the 60s.) Here we have the Black mother and the white-presenting daughter, looking very different but also very alike; even their noses are identical.

What's interesting here is how she takes the style of classical Roman portraits (there are similar ones out there), and mixes it with modernist techniques, as well as a modern social sensibility. The two women seem almost like allies, facing the world together. Mother looks determined; daughter perhaps a bit less so, but still, they're there together.

A remarkable painting!

Happy Portrait Monday!

From a private collection.

#Art #LauraWheelerWaring #HarlemRenaissance #BlackHistory #Family #MotherAndDaughter #PortraitMonday

"Martin, a Terrier," Rosa Bonheur, 1879.

French painter Bonheur (1822-99) was a daring woman in many ways. Her personal life courted controversy; she dressed in men's clothing and openly had love affairs with other women, at a time when such things could get one arrested. She insisted on being educated and trained as an artist at a time when that route was not open to women. And she insisted on painting animals when everyone else was doing classical human figures.

It was her devotion to her animal art that really paved the way for her in a society that might not otherwise approve. When other artists would use animals in a symbolic or satirical sense, or be overly melodramatic or sentimental, Bonheur depicted animals the way other portraitists depicted people; she strove to communicate their soul to the viewer.

It's unknown who commissioned this painting, but evidently it was a fairly wealthy person who wanted a depiction of a faithful hunting dog. Martin is realistically and meticulously rendered, and she shows his intent, yet soulful expression without resorting to mush.

Happy Portrait Monday!

From a private collection.

#Art #RosaBonheur #WomenArtists #QueerHistory #LGBTQArtists #PortraitMonday #Terrier #DogsOfMastodon

"Portrait of the Artist's Mother," Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1897.

Tanner (1859-1937) was the first Black American artist to win international fame and acclaim, & they were well-deserved.

The son of an AME bishop, Tanner was born & raised in Pittsburgh. He received artistic education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he was trained by Thomas Eakins, & worked with Robert Henri, a founder of the Ashcan School of painting, as well as others, who all remained his lifelong friends.

Finding racism and prejudice at home in the US, Tanner moved to Europe where he found acceptance, & where he lived the rest of his life, except for a few visits home.

Sarah Elizabeth Tanner (1840-1914) was born in Winchester, VA, but details of her early life are unclear; she may have been born to free people, or born into slavery and escaped via the Underground Railroad. She did become a respected missionary and religious worker, and raised seven children who all became successes in one way or another.

The portrait seems a riff on Whistler's famous painting of his mother, but here Tanner presents a warmer tone, although to me she looks sad.

Happy Portrait Monday, and Happy Black History Month!

#Art #HenryOssawaTanner #PortraitMonday #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackArtists #WomenInArt #AmericanRealism