Blossoming Almond Branch in a Glass (1888)

Blossoming Almond Branch in a Glass (1888)
One of my favorite still life subjects of Van Gogh, the cut branch in a glass, I ran across this one with the book behind creating a complicated compositional element. Note also the use of complementary colors, red and green, creating a vibration in the painting.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

John Martin

Happy Birthday John Martin!! Born in 1789, English painter John Martin was originally apprenticed to a coachbuilder to learn heraldic painting. Heradlic painting was the creation of emblems for shields and banners. After a wage disagreement he next studied with an enamel painter and then supported his family by giving drawing lessons. Later he concentrated on landscape painting and finally had one of his "sublime" landscape paintings accepted by the Royal Academy. In addition to painting, John Martin was also a visionary, creating designs for sewage and water control, railways, lighthouses, etc. It has been reported that he commented to his son that he would have rather been an engineer. The Day of His Wrath, below, is a great example of his Romantic style.

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