01 Painting, Tales of Mermaids, Evelyn De Morgan's Sea Maidens, with Footnotes, #13

Evelyn De Morgan, (1855–1919)

The Sea Maidens/ Les Demoiselles de la mer, between circa 1885 and circa 1886

Oil on canvas

81.8 × 142.8 cm (32.2 × 56.2 ″)

De Morgan Centre

The Sea Maidens shows five long-haired mermaids. Their tails are inside the water, while their upper bodies are outside. They affectionately hold hands, four of them almost embracing, reaching for a fifth one, slightly separated from the group. It is a delicate depiction of sisterhood; it emanates strength by boasting an iconography of femininity at its best. Moreover, even though their bosoms are nude, they do not exude any frivolous sexuality. More on this painting

This group of five mermaids is perhaps linked to the story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. The little mermaid falls in love with a shipwrecked prince and so desperately wants to be human. Helped by a witch, she changes her tail into legs, but as a forfeit she loses the power of speech and is unable to tell the prince of her love. He falls in love with someone else and the little mermaid wishes to return to the sea. Her sisters sell their hair to the witch, to buy a knife with which the little mermaid can kill the prince and so become a mermaid again. But she cannot do this and drowns herself. More on this painting

Each sister is modeled on the same woman, a model whom Evelyn had a passionate relationship with. So close was the bond between artist and model that de Morgan was buried next to her. The Sea Maidens

Evelyn De Morgan (30 August 1855 – 2 May 1919) was an English painter whose works were influenced by the style of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. She was a follower of Pre-Raphaelist Edward Burne-Jones. Her paintings exhibit spirituality; use of mythological, biblical, and literary themes; the role of women; light and darkness as metaphors; life and death; and allegories of war.

She was born Mary Evelyn Pickering to upper middle class parents. Evelyn was educated at home and started drawing lessons when she was 15. She went on to persuade her parents to let her go to art school. At first they discouraged it, but in 1873 she was enrolled at the Slade School of Art. She was granted a scholarship at Slade which entitled her to three years of financial assistance. However, since the scholarship required that she draw nudes using charcoal and she did not care for this technique, she eventually declined it.

She was also a pupil of her uncle John Roddam Spencer Stanhope, who was a great influence on her works. Beginning in 1875, Evelyn often visited him in Florence where he lived. This also enabled her to study the great artists of the Renaissance; she was particularly fond of the works of Botticelli. This influenced her to move away from the classical subjects favored by the Slade school and to make her own style. She first exhibited in 1877 at the Grosvenor Gallery in London and continued to show her paintings thereafter. More on Evelyn De Morgan

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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04 Works, Contemporary Interpretation of Olympian deities, Antoine Renault’s Mermaids, with footnotes #31

Antoine Renault, France

Pink Mermaid

Acrylic on Canvas

39.4 W x 28.7 H x 0.8 D in

Private collection

Antoine Renault’s painting suspends time, catches the instant, the souvenir. Not in a nostalgic way, but to dip or dive in.

Antoine Renault went to painting from photography he improved in the 80’s in New York, Keith Haring SoHo and Edward Hopper Long Island.

Antoine Renault, France

Where is the cliff ?

Acrylic on Canvas

15.7 W x 15.7 H x 0.8 D in

Private collection

A mermaid is a marine creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. The first stories appeared in ancient Assyria. Mermaids can be benevolent or beneficent.

It’s in Barcelona, close to Sorolla’s shores for some years, that a passion for light and water develops. Reflections and transparencies become his favorite themes. « Light is my real motivation. Water is my favorite catalyst. Both are the guiding threads of my inspiration ». From then, his work becomes flow, movement, ripple… Antoine Renault focusses on slow motion atmosphere, time still on the beach, with a soft sensuality floating.

Antoine Renault, France

Under the Levrossos Pier

Acrylic on Canvas

39.4 W x 31.5 H x 0.8 D in

Private collection

Amorgos Levrossos Beach is a beautiful beach located on the northern side of Amorgos, in Greece. It is a small sandy beach with crystal blue waters and views of the harbor and the River! The golden sand with small pebbles and the grove of trees on background to provide shade to the swimmers. More on Levrossos

His work constantly plays with the borders of realism. Yet, get closer to the canvas and visible brushstrokes push the reality back, offering space for emotions and echo.

Antoine Renault, France

At the foot of Oia" - study, Painting

Acrylic on Canvas

19.7 W x 15.7 H x 0.4 D

Private Collection 

Oia or Ia is a small village on the islands of Thira (Santorini) and Therasia, in the Cyclades, Greece. More on Oia

Born in Nantes in 1963, Antoine Renault is a self-taught painter. His series « Ocean Paintings » brings him international recognition in 2012. More on Antoine Renault

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

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01 Work, Olympian deities, Paolo de Matteis' Amphitrite, with footnotes #30

Circle of Paolo de Matteis (Cilento 1662-1728 Naples)

Amphitrite

Oil on canvas

51.8 x 66cm (20 3/8 x 26in)

Private collection

Amphitrite, in Greek mythology, the goddess of the sea, wife of the god Poseidon, and one of the 50 (or 100) daughters (the Nereids) of Nereus and Doris (the daughter of Oceanus). Poseidon chose Amphitrite from among her sisters as the Nereids performed a dance on the isle of Naxos. Refusing his offer of marriage, she fled to Atlas, from whom she was retrieved by a dolphin sent by Poseidon. Amphitrite then returned, becoming Poseidon’s wife; he rewarded the dolphin by making it a constellation. In works of art Amphitrite was represented either enthroned beside Poseidon or driving with him in a chariot drawn by sea horses or other fabulous sea creatures. More on Amphitrite

Paolo de Matteis (also known as Paolo de' Matteis; 9 February 1662 – 26 January 1728) was an Italian painter. He was born in Piano Vetrale, a hamlet of Orria, in the current Province of Salerno, and died in Naples. He trained with Francesco di Maria in Naples, then with Luca Giordano. He served in the employ of the Spanish Viceroy of Naples. From 1702 to 1705, de' Matteis worked in Paris, Calabria, and Genoa. In Genoa, he painted an Immaculate Conception with St. Jerome Appearing to St. Sevrio. Returning to Naples, he painted decorative schemes for Neapolitan churches, including the vault of the chapel of San Ignatius in the church of Gesù Nuovo in Naples. He also painted an Assumption of the Virgin for the Abbey at Monte Cassino. Between 1723–1725, de' Matteis lived in Rome, where he received a commission from Pope Innocent XIII. More on Paolo de' Matteis

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

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01 Work, Olympian deities, Nicolas Bertin's Perseus and Andromeda, with footnotes #31

Follower of Nicolas Bertin (Paris 1668-1736)

Detail; Perseus and Andromeda

Oil on canvas

152.8 x 121.8cm (60 3/16 x 47 15/16in)

Private collection

Follower of Nicolas Bertin (Paris 1668-1736)

Perseus and Andromeda

Oil on canvas

152.8 x 121.8cm (60 3/16 x 47 15/16in)

Private collection

In Greek mythology, Andromeda is the daughter of the Aethiopian king Cepheus and his wife Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia's hubris leads her to boast that Andromeda is more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sends a sea monster, Cetus, to ravage Aethiopia as divine punishment. Andromeda is stripped and chained naked to a rock as a sacrifice to sate the monster, but is saved from death by Perseus. More on Perseus and Andromeda

Nicolas Bertin (1667, Paris – 1736) was a French painter and draughtsman. In 1678 he was apprenticed to Guy-Louis Vernansal; he later became a pupil of Jean Jouvenet and in 1684-85 of Bon Boullogne. By 1684 he was enrolled at the Académie Royale, Paris, and a year later won the Prix de Rome with his Construction of Noah's Ark (untraced). He probably arrived in Rome towards the end of 1685, and he stayed until the winter of 1688-89. While in Italy he studied the work of Raphael and the Carracci family, as well as showing an interest in Correggio. He also led a student protest against the teaching régime of the Académie de France in Rome.

After some months in Lyon he returned to Paris in 1689 and began to work on minor commissions, including drawings of the statues in the park at Versailles. Two works of the turn of the century, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife and Susanna and the Elders (both 1699; Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum), indicate that he was in the forefront of the contemporary movement in religious art towards small-scale works destined for private collectors. Although sacred, the subjects were capable of a secular interpretation, and Bertin exploited this ambiguity to the full. More on Nicolas Bertin

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

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