Dominikus Zimmerman

Happy Birthday Dominikus Zimmerman!! Born in 1685, Diminikus was an architect from Germany in partnership with his brother Johan. His specialty was designing rural churches. Pictured on the blog today is Wieskirche a magnificent example of Rococo style cathedral located near Steingaden in Bavaria, designed by the brothers.

 

Robert Laurent

Happy Birthday Robert Laurent!! This sculptor was born in France, in 1890 and immigrated to the US in 1902. He did return to Europe to study art in Paris and Rome. Although he began with decorative works, his style evolved to be large figurative sculptures created from a variety of materials including bronze, wood and marble. Laurent taught at Indiana University and his sculptures are displayed in several American museums. Included here today is a photo of Laurent working on Venus for his Birth of Venus Fountain, located at Indiana University.

Lambert Hitchcock

Happy Birthday Lambert Hitchcock!! American furniture maker born in 1795, Hitchcock was responsible for mass producing his line of chairs. His family was based in Connecticut and he was in partnership with his brother-in-law. Their most popular chair design was based on a former style by Sheraton. The chairs were black with stenciled patterns on the open backs and rush or cane seats, later adding gilt to the design as well as the legs.

Alfred Courtens

Happy Birthday Alfred Courtens!! Sculptor from Belgium, Alfred Courtens was born today in 1889. His father, Frans, was the leader of the School of Painting of Dendermonde. His older brother, Herman, was a  painter. An exhibit of Alfred's work is planned by his surviving family for 2012 in Brussels at the Musee d'Ixelles. The sculpture included here today is of Queen Elizabeth.

Frederick Henry Evans

Happy Birthday Frederick Henry Evans!! English photographer, born in 1853, Evans was best known for his photos of French and English cathedrals. He developed the platinotype as a medium for his images. This process utilizes platinum in the paper for development rather than a gelatin emulsion system. The advantage for Evans was a wide range of tones and matte surface perfect for his intricate architectural images. Unfortunately his career was short lived due to the rising costs of his materials.

Sam Francis

Happy Birthday Sam Francis!! Born in 1923, Sam Francis was a painter and printmaker associated with Abstract Expressionism, from America. He served in the US Army Air Corp., following which he decided to seriously pursue art as a career. He studied at University of California and also went to Paris where he was greatly influenced by Monet's Waterlilies series. Jackson Pollock was also an inspiration. His color palette was dominated by large white spaces and muted grays but eventually he began to use stronger reds. His style was further developed by his life experiences and blue became a predominant color in his paintings. The abstract painting below was created in 1990.

Robert Henri

Happy Birthday Robert Henri!! Born in 1865 and from America, this painter was the leader of "The Eight" or "the Ash Can School" as their critics called them. Henri painted portraits and figure studies in a bold, vibrant manner. His subjects were poor, lower class immigrants and usually very old or young. He trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, as well as in Paris. He became a professor at the Academy in Pennsylvania when he returned, and developed quite a following. His philosophy was to bring paintings to life rather than worry about a particular style.