Soviet born artists Konstantin Antioukhin and Konstantin Kalinovich, known as the duo Konstantin v Konstantin make very creepy images on bookplates. The images captivate a lot of detail so there is a lot to look at. Enjoy!
Toys detailed by Narbut
Heorhiy Narbut was a Ukrainian self taught painter. Besides illustrating many books and magazines, he also designed the Ukrainian coat of arms, banknotes and even stamps. His work is very thorough with detail. Check his work from the famous Joseph Knebel's : Toys.
Herbert Pfostl's Art Remedies
Brooklyn artist Herbert Pfostl's art is quite minimal in some aspects. His pieces are quite interesting and provoke lots of mystical feelings. The artwork below is from his two collections : Light Issued Against Ruin and All Sorts of Remedies; both were displayed in Brooklyn. I am not quite sure which media he uses but love the overall mood it creates, perfect for rainy days.
Grand Théâtre Nouveau
Paper theaters were widely popular in the 19th century. The selected few in this post are by Jean Charles Pellerin. Crazy detail using a very tedious and time consuming lithographic process. Appreciate the detail below!
Abigail Rorer : Mimpish Squinnies and other works
Abigail Rorer is an illustrator, wood engraver, and founder of The Lone Oak Press. The crazy plant / creature illustrations are from a limited edition fine print book that she illustrated, hand printed and hand bound. Other illustrations are from her other books she worked on. I can look at these for hours!
Artuš Scheiner : Colorful Trip
Artuš Scheiner is an artist from Prague that was very active during the 1920's. Interestingly enough Scheiner started out with doodling and sketching, later deciding to push his hobby to illustration he became very well known for his Bohemian style. The colors are so vivid and the subject is sometimes very trippy. He can be found in multiple story books, most of which were published in Austria and the Czech Republic. Fairy Tales and all check out these captivating images.
Ivan the Terrible through Cinema
Ivan IV was the Grand Prince of Moscow and later became the Tsar of all Russia. He was actually the first to become the Tsar of all Russia, mainly because he expanded Russia: spanning about one billion acres ( he took over Siberia and many other territories ). Historians claim he was straight up crazy due to his rages and extreme paranoia. He also had a few wives; 8 throughout his life to be exact and with his bare hands killed the dude that he would leave his throne to. He sparked fear which is where the terrible comes from. He was a huge supported of the arts though and anyone who is a lover of art is okay with me. There have been many movies created about him and his reign and all are very artfully captured to signify his terror. When I saw the movie, all I wanted to hear was Wu Tang Clan's "Bring Da Ruckus". I gathered some screen shots and movie covers to show you what this guy was depicted as.
Waterhouse Gals
John William Waterhouse is a British painter who was actively producing art from the 1870's to the end of the 1910. His painting style fit in the Pre-Raphaelite category although when he started painting, that style started decreasing in popularity; with artists like Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt being the pioneers of the the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the early 1800's. The colors depicted in his paintings create a magical aura with a lot of speculation that he was very much inspired by Roman mythology. With his main focus painting mostly women, he used the paint brush to depict them as goddesses. Every painting creates a mood and it becomes possible to read the subjects feelings in each painting. I love his work, please enjoy just a few of his pieces below:
La Belle au Bois Dormant bookcovers
Friday couldnt have come any sooner. End of the week is always so draining. Wouldnt it be nice to be the Sleeping Beauty and just catch zzzz's for the longest. This is my tired post, inspired by old book covers from the French version of the Sleeping Beauty : La Belle au Bois Dormant.
Russian Nobles: Stay Fly post
Before the rise of the Soviet Union, there were kings and queens better known as Tsars and Tsaritsas (think cartoon Anastasia). There were many of them throughout history passed on by blood or marriage. The history of it all is quite interesting but that's not what I'm here to blog about. I would like to focus on the richness and the art of their attire. Not only was it an everyday thing to be this fly but when it came down to balls at the Winter Palace, you couldn't ignore the straight gold and gems on their outfits (sorry Rihanna but this is how they ball out). Cloaks, coats and fur all embroidered to the last detail, grand headwear for head bitches in charge were set in diamonds, pearls and precious stones. Lets just say things were fancy beyond belief. On of the most luxurious and the most grand of them all was the 1903 ball at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg during the reign of emperor Nicholas II of Russia. Unexplainably Bourgeoisie. See the richness below, its beyond inspiring.
