Famous Animal Paintings

Blog 24

Last week, I wrote about artists who got inspired by animals. This week, I would like to show you some of the famous animal paintings I love.

Marie Cassatt: Sara holding a Cat, via Wikimedia Commons

Not surprisingly, I have fallen in love with Mary Cassatt’s painting “Sara Holding A Cat (1908, oil on canvas)” because it reminds me of my daughter Christine tenderly holding our cat Miko. I love with how much tenderness the little girl holds the tiny kitten. She is totally focused on the cat, taking care of the tiny animal that enjoys her attention as much as she enjoys its.

Franz Marc: Liegender Hund im Schnee, via Wikimedia Commons

Franz Marc’s “Dog lying in the snow (Liegender Hund im Schnee, 1911, oil on canvas)” appeals to me in the same way. It reminds me of our Golden Retriever Jessie as a puppy after we had exhausted her by playing. She loved the snow. I can understand why Marc considered animals purer in soul and more beautiful than human beings. They live in harmony with nature. I love Marc’s use of complementary colours and the calmness of the composition.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Le Chat dormant, via Wikimedia Commons

I did not know Auguste Renoir had done animal portraits before I did my research for this blog. I knew that several dogs appeared in his paintings. When I saw “ Le chat dormant” (Sleeping Cat, 1862, oil on canvas) I fell in love with the it right away. Beside that fact that a sleeping cat is very cute, it reminded me of the way our Miko is curled up when he is sleeping.

All three choices are not a surprise because I, like most people, like a painting not only for the skillful execution but mostly for the emotional connection. As a pet owner and mother, I can identify with the subjects of the above mentioned painting. They remind me of situations in my life. Looking at them makes me happy.

The reason behind my appreciation for Frida Kahlo’s “Self-portrait with Monkey” from 1938 is a little bit different. In the painting, the monkey seems to be Frida’s protector as he puts his arm around her neck showing how much he cares for her. It is possible that Frida had all her pets and especially her monkeys because they were a substitute for the children she was not able to have. I love that she seems to be part of the landscape with the green strands of her hair.

To see the painting please go to http://www.fridakahlo.org/self-portrait-with-monkey.jsp.

When we adopted our first dog Jessie, I had no clue how to treat a dog. We were a young childless couple at that time, and especially at the beginning, I treated her more like a baby than a puppy. I can also relate to the aspect of feeling protected and the unconditional love pets give. As we live in the country where the neighbours are further apart, my dogs have always giving me a feeling of security. I am not sure how real this protection is as I remember our first dog Jessie jumping on my lap when she sensed danger, but I am sure that an intruder or attacker will pick someone without a dog first.

What attracts me to Frida Kahlo’s painting is, however, also the fact that she is one of the artists whose biography I have read and whose strength and resilience I admire. Frida was faced with so much pain in her life, both physical and emotional. It all started when she was left disabled after she contracted polio as a child. In addition, the debilitating physical pain caused by the horrible accident at age 18 left her in very poor health for the rest of her life. Her emotional pain resulted from her husband’s infidelity as well as the fact that she was not able to bear a child even though she was pregnant several times. Nonetheless, she lived her life to the fullest. She used her art to express all the pain she suffered. Her art was a refuge that helped her to deal with the tumults in her life.

I can certainly relate to that. When I am painting, I usually forget all the troubles around me. I am totally immersed in the process of creating. I hope that I will never be tested the way Frida Kahlo was tested in her life, but I know that my ability to express myself in art and to see the beauty in the world around me definitely helps me to process both beautiful and painful events. For me, painting has the same purpose as writing a journal. I hope that my art will help me to find relief, peace and distraction whenever my life is turned upside down. I remember that painting our first dog Jessie after her death was a process accompanied by many tears. At first, I had to put the painting away because the grief was still too strong, but with time painting my beautiful girl helped me to remember her and the joy we had together.

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Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo by Guillermo Kahlo, Oct. 16, 1932

Blog 20

As already mentioned in last week's blog when I wrote about female artists, I will take this and next week to write about the two female artists I admire the most. The first one is Frida Kahlo. I became aware of the artist when the movie “Frida” came out in 2002 with Salma Hayek playing Frida.

Frida Kahlo de Rivera, was born as Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón on July 6, 1907. She was born in her parents' house known as La Casa Azul (The Blue House), in Coyoacán, a small town outside Mexico City. She wanted to become a doctor and was one of only thirty-five girls enrolled in the “Escuela Nacional Preparatoria”, one of Mexico's premier schools.

Frida was already disabled as a result of polio which she contracted at the age of six. However, the accident of September 1925 changed her life forever. She was riding in a bus that collided with a trolley car, and suffered serious injuries that created lifelong health problems and continuous pain. During the following years, she had to endure more than 30 operations.

Frida was confined to her bed in a full body cast for three months. During this time she abandoned the study of medicine and began to paint, encouraged by her parents. She started to do self-portraits as she spent a lot of time by herself. Of all of her paintings, 55 are self-portraits.

Frida was a big admirer of painter Diego Rivera's work and asked him to review four of her paintings. His positive response and support encouraged her to pursue a career as an artist. He became her mentor and husband. Frida's use of intense, vibrant colours as well as many symbols was influenced by the Mexican folk art.

During her lifetime, Frida created about 200 paintings, drawings and sketches which were often an expression of her experiences in life, her physical and emotional pain but also her resilience and strength, and not to forget her stormy relationship with Diego. Their love was stronger than their affairs, the pressures of careers, their divorce, remarriage, Frida's bad health and her inability to have children.

Frida died on July 13, 1954. Although the official cause of death was pulmonary embolism, there have been suspicions that she committed suicide. The urn with her ashes is on display in her former home, La Casa Azul , which became a museum in 1958. It houses many of her works as well as numerous mementos and artifacts from her personal life.

Aside from the 1939 acquisition of “The Frame” by the Louvre, her work was not well-known. Frida was mostly remembered only as Diego Rivera's wife. This changed in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, with the beginning of Neomexicanismo. Frida gained recognition through exhibitions all over Europe and the United States. Her life has been commemorated in musicals, operas, novels, movies, postage stamps and banknotes.

From October 20, 2012 to January 20, 2013 the exhibition ‘Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics, and Painting’ was displayed at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, a dual retrospective of Frida's and Diego's art. I was lucky enough to be able to see it. Even though my taste in art is very different from Frida's style, I can relate to the message of her artworks. I felt the energy of her art, her struggle but also her strength. Despite all the pain, both physical and emotional, she lived life to the fullest. She went for what she believed in and never gave up. Is this not what we are all hoping for? Whenever I struggle in my life, and feel knocked out by circumstances beyond my control, I think of people like Frida and get up again. I would like to hear your opinion. Do you like her paintings? Does her biography fascinate you?

The Importance of Female Artists

Blog 19

Last week, I wrote about my portrait “Mom” in connection with Mother's Day. This week, I want to continue celebrating women by looking at the accomplishments of female painters.

If you think about famous painters, I am sure the majority of names that come to your mind are those of male artists. This is no surprise as the art scene has always been dominated by men. When I checked online for the most famous painters, I found a list of 101 famous painters on http://www.theartwolf.com/articles/most-important-painters.htm.



On the list were only three women, at No. 49 Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) whose self-portraits express the pain she experienced throughout her life as a result of a horrible bus accident, at no. 85 Artemisia Gentileschi (1597-1654), a very talented artist of the early baroque era, the first female painter who became a member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence, and at No. 97. Georgia O'Keefe (1887-1986) who is best known for her large-scale paintings of flowers.



There are probably different views on the ranking depending on the experts you ask but it is unlikely that this would change the number of female artists included in the list. So why are there so many women in painting classes and members of art organizations but the majority of famous painters are men?



Women have always been involved in creating art throughout history, but their works have often not been equally valued in comparison to the ones of their male counterparts. While the influence differed in various cultures and areas, their artistic works were often considered craft pieces, like many of the textile arts. These craft related works were usually not signed so there is no proof of the creator.



Moreover, the role assigned to women by society often created a big obstacle in receiving instruction, finding employment and venues to show and sell their works. The work of female artists was generally not accepted by society and especially their male counterparts who felt threatened by the competition and did not consider woman as able to create art as men.



The academic education required the study of the human body which was considered essential for the creation of realistic group scenes, especially for large-scale religious paintings. However, women were not allowed to study male nudes, and therefore had an enormous disadvantage. Instead, some female artists expressed themselves in other genres, like portraiture and still life, which were not as prestigious as large religious commissions.



Most female artists were of wealthy aristocratic circles or nuns. There are many examples of nuns who were involved in the illustrations of religious texts.



A lot of female artists worked together with their fathers and husbands who often received the credit for the work done under their supervision. However, most women - even up to the recent art history - have favoured marriage and the support of their husbands over a career as an artist.



Another reason for the lack of recognition of works by female artists were the traditional naming conventions which resulted in the wife assuming her husband's last name. This could lead to misinterpretation if the works were only signed by the last name. On top of this, art dealers even went as far as altering signatures to reassign them to male artists to increase the worth of a painting.



The feminist movement in the 1960s finally increased the interest in women artists and their academic study. However, male artists still dominate the art scene. 



Judging art is very subjective but the gender of the artist should not be a factor in jurying the quality of a work.



When I visited the exhibition “Female Impressionist Painters” at the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, in 2008, I was excited about the many outstanding works, and puzzled by the fact that I had never heard of most of the artists before. In the meantime, my studies of famous artists has allowed me to learn more about other female artists. As many of my students are women and girls, I started including one female artist in every session. In the next two weeks, I will write to you about the two female artists I admire the most: Frida Kahlo and Emily Carr.


Do you have a favourite female painter? Has she influenced you? I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to post a comment.