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Lovis Corinth (1858-1925)

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Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism.

Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Secession group, later succeeding Max Liebermann as the group’s president. His early work was naturalistic in approach. Corinth was initially antagonistic towards the expressionist movement, but after a stroke in 1911 his style loosened and took on many expressionistic qualities. His use of color became more vibrant, and he created portraits and landscapes of extraordinary vitality and power. Corinth’s subject matter also included nudes and biblical scenes.

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Corinth was born Franz Heinrich Louis on 21 July 1858 in Tapiau, in Prussia. The son of a tanner, he displayed a talent for drawing as a child. In 1876 he went to study painting in the academy of Königsberg. Initially intending to become a history painter, he was dissuaded from this course by his chief instructor at the academy, the genre painter Otto Günther. In 1880 he traveled to Munich, which rivaled Paris as the avant-garde art center in Europe at the time. There he studied briefly with Franz von Defregger before gaining admittance to the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, where he studied under Ludwig von Löfftz. The realism of Corinth’s early works was encouraged by Löfftz’s teaching, which emphasized careful observation of colors and values. Other important influences were Courbet and the Barbizon school, through their interpretation by the Munich artists Wilhelm Leibl and Wilhelm Trübner.

Except for an interruption for military service in 1882–83, Corinth studied with Löfftz until 1884. He then traveled to Antwerp, where he greatly admired the paintings of Rubens, and then in October 1884 to Paris where he studied under William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury at the Académie Julian. He concentrated especially on improving his drawing skills, and made the female nude his frequent subject. He was disappointed, however, in his repeated failure to win a medal at the Salon, and returned to Königsberg in 1888 when he adopted the name “Lovis Corinth”.

In 1891, Corinth returned to Munich, but in 1892 he abandoned the Munich Academy and joined the Munich Secession. In 1894 he joined the Free Association, and in 1899 he participated in an exhibition organized by the Berlin Secession. These nine years in Munich were not his most productive, and he was perhaps better known for his ability to drink large amounts of red wine and champagne.

Corinth moved to Berlin in 1900, and had a one-man exhibition at a gallery owned by Paul Cassirer. In 1902 at the age of 43, he opened a school of painting for women and married his first student, Charlotte Berend, some 20 years his junior. Charlotte was his youthful muse, his spiritual partner, and the mother of his two children. She had a profound influence on him, and family life became a major theme in his art. Another of his students was Doramaria Purschian.

www.ftn-books.com has some titles on Corinth available.

corinth glockner

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Daum / Nancy

 

We love to travel and taste wine in the Alsace region in France. Only a 6 hour drive to bring you in a totally different surroundings and on the way up to our favorite place ( Auberge Frankenbourg) you will pass 2 famous French cities. There is Metz with the new dependance of the Pompidou museum and the Musee des Beaux Arts on the Place Stanislas in Nancy. The Stanislas square is arguably one of the most impressive and beautiful squares in Europe. A Unesco heritage site and at the edge of the square you can find the Musee des Beaux Arts with its impressive Daum glass collection.

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Both museum are well worth visiting and for those wanting to go to the auberge Frankenbourg, make a reservation well in advance to secure you a room or table. As for the wine, discover the wines from this region , most are of excellent quality with some outstanding ones . Most producers will welcome you and let you taste their excellent products. Last sentence is about a book from 1981 i recently added to my inventory which shows part of the Daum collection at the museum.

daum nancy

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chateau Mouton Rothschild…the labels

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The idea originated in 1924 when Jean Carlu was invited to design the label for the Mouton Rothschild 1924 it took another 21 years before the series really was launched, but since 1945, every label of the famous chateuau Mouton Rothschild was designed by a contemporary artist. They are entirely free, depending on their own ideas, to take their inspiratrion from the theme of the vine, from the pleasure of drinking, from the symbol of the ram or simple from a particular concept of Mouton. All artists to date have accepted these terms. Since 1974 the choice of painters approached by Mouton is done by the Baron and in later years by Philippine his daughter. The label design is an honor and the recognition of being one of the great names in Modern Art. among the artists are the absolute greatest names in Modern Art. Warhol, Picasso, Steinberg, Haring and Georg Baselitz for which presentation this catalogue was published in 1992. Their payment? ….it is said that there is no payment except they receive their weight in wine.

available at ww.ftn-books.com

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the dutch and het Drinkglas

Look at the Golden age paintings and in many cases a roemer glass is depicted in the painting.

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In later centuries the dutch have become known for their glass designs. Of course there are the glass objects and vases by Meidam and Copier, but i now want to direct your attention to the drinking glasses of Andries Copier . A glass artist/designer who has made one of the most functional and best wine glasses in the world. In the Netherlands this glass is called the Copier GILDE glass and it is stil made by the famous dutch Leerdam glass factory. Schermafbeelding 2019-04-02 om 16.11.18This glass has become a classic over the years and the series has white, red and water glasses. It has become an almost instant classic . From the first days it was made millions and millions of these were sold all over the world. So many of you have a piece of dutch design in their homes without knowing it. A book on HET DRINKGLAS is available at www.ftn-books.com

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David Tremlett at Coazzolo / Italy

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Last 10 days we spent in the beautiful Langhe e Roero area near Alba (Italy). There is not a great number of Modern Art to be found in the joining areas. There is of course Modern Art in Torino and Rivoli. But in and near Alba almost nothing. One exception. David Tremlett decorated a church at Coazzolo which is well worth visiting and Sol LeWitt decorated a chapel in the wine fields.

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Both are well worth a vist but none is that spectacular it is worth a detour still when in the neighborhood visit them because this is one of the most enchanting regions in Italy and well worth visiting even if there is hardly any modern art to be found. For some Tremlett publications visit www.ftn-books.com

tremlett cata a

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Kurt Ryslavy (1961)

For the 3rd blog on (almost) forgotten artists, here is a blog on Kurt Ryslavy. Born in Graz Austria, Ryslavy has made some great works, but realized that art could not support him financially by itself. So he had to rethink his installations and make a more practical and financially more sound approach to his art. He wanted to make a living from his art and combined this into importing Austrian wines and combining them with critical texts and making installations out of them in museums and galleries.

This resulted in some highly peculiar works of art, but as an importer of Austrian Wines in Belgium he now is financially independent and can make his art the way he likes. The MAK in Vienna devoted some years ago an exhibition to him.

KURT RYSLAVY, COLLECTOR, WINE MERCHANT, SUNDAY PAINTER.

A Conceptual-Sculptural Intervention

WED, 06.04.2011–SUN, 01.05.2011
 

In this project, selected objects from the MAK collection are to be arranged by Kurt Ryslavy. He will do so as collector, as a wine dealer and as an artist, thus giving rise to a complex sort of intentionality and, what’s more, making space for a wine bar which once served as an installation in an exhibition by Harald Szeemann. Since art itself has become nothing more than a market, it will also suffer the market’s fate. By exorcizing and/or banalizing mystifi cation, Ryslavy prevents the capitalist control of societal creativity—a control which purpose is, of course, to mystify. The value of Ryslavy’s art lies not in its aesthetic standards of quality, but rather in its complex refl ection on the division of labor, subjectivity and immaterial work. (Peter Weibel) It is conceivable that the artist, who refers to himself as a “Sunday painter,” will mount a performance with the participation of winemakers.

www.ftn-books.com has 2 titles on Ryslavy available.