enter the tiger

2010 brings the Chinese Zodiac's Year of the Tiger, tigers of course being known for their fiery nature and distinctly beautiful striped coat. Legend has it that the lion once ruled the Chinese zodiac, but either the lion's cruelty or laziness caused an overthrow and the brave yet compassionate tiger came in instead. This 1884 Tiger in the Moonlight was done by the French Academic painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, who I don't believe was born in the Year of the Tiger but seemed rather fond of the big cats and put them in several of his works.

marc of excellence

Foxes -- Franz Marc (b. February 8, 1880 - d. March 1916)

newly distinguished

Abstract painter William Conger became part of the Chicago Union League's roster of Distinguished Artists last month, joining such other notables as Ed Paschke and Ruth Duckworth. I had the chance to interview Bill Conger last spring for Suite101.com -- a really enjoyable experience because he's a great conversationalist and can talk about anything. Click here to read the interview and here for Bill's official website.

(Pictured: Chinatown -- Wm. Conger, 2007)

painting of the month

Mae West (Face of Mae West Which Can Be Used As An Apartment) -- Salvador Dali, 1934 @ The Art Institute of Chicago

violet femme

Long-ago birthday girl Berthe Morisot was born January 14, 1841, and during her artistic career she would become associated with the French Impressionists. She was good friends with Edouard Manet and there may have even been more to their relationship; Manet was married, however, and Berthe herself later wed Manet’s brother Eugene. Edouard was a guiding and occasionally overbearing influence, but this black-hatted portrait he did of Berthe in 1872 (Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets) is really lovely and shows his fondness for her and the unique character of her face.

august born in january

August Macke is definitely on my list of favorite artists, born January 3, 1877 in Meschede, Germany. A key member of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter, Macke was an amazing colorist whose death at the age of twenty-seven in World War I was such a huge loss. Macke was drafted and it's doubtful that he wanted to go off to fight, and he perhaps even had a premonition of impending tragedy which he conveyed in Farewell, one of his last works. This painting is called Turkish Cafe II and was done on a trip Macke made to Tunisia, just before reluctantly joining the German armed forces. His good friend and fellow Blaue Reiter member Franz Marc was also killed in World War I in 1916, about two years after August's death.

happy new year

Roses in a Champagne Glass -- Edouard Manet