Amazing Whimsical Collages

I just couldn't help myself - I've created some great whimsical collages composed of old master paintings, antique ephemera from my books and cards, and lots of great lettering. The result is a beautiful collection of amazing women. I have more to follow!

Gemini Gothic Whimsical Collage Butterfly Women Poster by antiqueart
Find other Posters at zazzle.com

Vintage Taurus Fantasy Gothic Whimsical Collage Poster by antiqueart
Look for more posters at Zazzle

Vintage Mermaid Aquarius Gothic Whimsical Woman Poster by antiqueart
Browse more Posters at Zazzle

/>

John Singer Sargent Carnation Lily

I've always been inspired by this image, "Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose" by artist John Singer Sargent. According to the Tate.org website, Sargent was inspired to paint this picture while boating on the Thames in England in 1885, where he saw Chinese lanterns hanging among trees and lilies. (read more here: Summary from The Tate).

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent Perfect Poster by antiqueart
Look at Doodlefly Posters online at Zazzle.com
 

This is an amazing image - one of the few that John Singer Sargent painting in the impressionist style (versus his well-known stunning dark portraits.) The name Carnation, Lily, Lily Rose is after a popular song in the 1880s, which Sargent and friends would sing at the piano.

The painting shows two small children dressed in white, almost fairy-like, softly lighting Chinese lanterns in a wild garden, surrounded by tall white lilies. The sun is in decline, and the mood suggests a magical party is about to begin.

Alice in Wonderland Collage

Alice and wonderland - the original images

Alice in Wonderland never looked better! The Alice in Wonderland collages include the original John Tenniel illustration of Alice and the Dodo, Alice and the Rabbit, Alice and the Flamingo, Alice and the Cheshire cat, and the Mad Tea Party! There are also lots of vintage Victorian Alice icons.   

The Alice illustration is by Sir John Tenniel for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll published in 1911.

Alice in Wonderland Dodo Vintage Pretty Collage Perfect Poster by antiqueart
Browse more Alice and the Dodo gifts at Zazzle

Alice in Wonderland Flamingo Perfect Poster by antiqueart
Find more Alice and the Flamingo at Zazzle

--------------------------------------------------
This lovely Alice's Adventures in Wonderland includes an original illustration with Alice looking through the curtain, the Mad Hatter, and the White Rabbit. The book was written by Lewis Caroll in 1865, where Alice falls down the rabbit hole and is involved in a wonderland of fantasy. It includes this quote by alice, "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense."

Alice in Wonderland Hatter and Rabbit Canvas Print by antiqueart
Look at other Alice "nonsense" gifts at zazzle.com

The Polar Bear and Vintage Beauty

Vintage Polar Bear Rug

This is an amazing illustration from 1912 of a woman standing in back of a fierce polar bear rug, published on the cover of Puck Magazine, by famous pin-up artist Rolf Armstrong.

The polar bear's face is shown, facing towards us, with very large teeth in his open mouth. It could be a polar bear rug, or is it perhaps a real bear? The woman looks out at us in the dark, as if she's hiding behind the big comfortable white bear.

The illustrator, Rolf Armstrong, was an American pin-up artist, known for painting beautiful young women. Armstrong created beautiful poster art for magazines, calendars and posters. Rolf Armstrong was known as one of the best pinup artists in the 1920s and 1930s.

Polar Bear and Girl Vintage Beauty Poster

Art Nouveau Zebra and Girl Life Magazine Cover

Art Nouveau Zebra and Girl Life Magazine Cover
See gifts based on Zebra image

Vintage Zebra with Art Nouveau Woman Rider

A zebra is to ride, apparently. The woman and vintage zebra image is by W.T. Benda, a Polish-American painter, illustrator, and designer. The vintage Zebra illustration appeared on the cover of the November 1922 issue of Life Magazine. The vintage Zebra and the art nouveau woman riding him are wonderful examples of later Art Nouveau-inspired illustration. The exotic woman is wearing vintage peacock feathers in her long flowing hair, a theme we see in other Benda illustrations. The woman wears a long red dress, and a leopard-print scarf. The cute zebra looks surprised as it backs up when it sees a little Cobra snake. The dark blue background and vivid coloring make this zebra image a stunner.

About Illustrator W.T. Benda

W.T. Benda, the zebra illustrator, was a member of the Society of Illustrators, the Architectural League, and the National Society of Mural Painters in the early 1900s. W.T. Benda was a graphic artist and illustrator, working on illustrations for books, short stories, advertising copy, and magazine covers for the major magazines such as Collier's, McCall's, Ladies' Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and Life Magazine. Benda was known for an exotic look to his creations, and was sought after for his style.

Unicorn Tapestries Medieval Art Unicorn Found

Unicorn Tapestries Medieval Art Unicorn Found
Go to gifts based on Unicorn Found

The Hunt of the Unicorn - The Unicorn is Found 

This image of a unicorn is an enhanced reproduction of the "The Unicorn is Found" tapestry, which is the second tapestry of a series of seven medieval tapestries that showcases the mythical unicorn.

The series is entitled "The Hunt of the Unicorn" which are also referred to as the Unicorn Tapestries". The tapestries were created from 1495-1505.

This Unicorn is Found tapestry shows a group of medieval noblemen and hunters, as well as all kinds of ferocious lions and leopards. There is a unicorn at the front, a beautiful white unicorn, which has its horn pointed downward as it kneels. There is a medieval fountain between the unicorn and the huntsmen.


This is an excellent example of the kind of intricate tapestries woven in the Medieval days. They were hand-stitched decorative pieces, created with Wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts This tapestry of a unicorn was symbolic of Christ, commonly shown in Medieval artworks.

From The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Antique New York Ephemera Collage

New York Statue of Liberty Collage of Antique Art
See collage gift items

New York, New York

New York City is an amalgam of many different images. The Statue of Liberty welcomes the visitor to New York, while the visit involves much love, architecture, and sweet images of beautiful things. This image is a collage of the New York Love experience - old fashioned lace, roses, and little bits of impressions of the city. This New York Image is composed of antique lace, old postcards, and greeting cards from antique stores - a bit of New York ephemera, so to speak. So, what was once a bunch of lovely old antique images becomes an art piece that is quite new and relevant.

Christmas Story from the Met

Rennaisance Christmas at the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's website is one that I visit quite often to see the regular news about classic art. They've got a great Christmas flash page that tells the Christmas story in Art. Below you see the painting that starts it out - The Adoration of the Shepherds by Andrea Mantegna.

Antique Christmas  -  Adoration of the Shepards

Check it out here:
http://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/interactives/adults-teachers/the-christmas-story

Christmas Art for Victorians!

Christmas Tree Ornament

Victorian Christmas Chocolate Advertising Art

I love a beautiful Victorian Christmas.

The Victorian art era was full of magazine illustraitons showing old-fashioned red-cheeked children ready to decorate the Christmas tree and playing in the snow.

The most magic time of year, Christmas was awesome for people in the 1800s, and the art at that time celebrated the incredible joy they had over this season. While many of the poorer families could only give their children a small token, those in the upper classes showered their children with gifts, much like they do today. The Victorian advertising art back then really played up the wonderful time of year -- they illustrated beautiful chubby children who loved the season! And, of course, Santa Claus!

The vintage illustratiuon is based on a magazine advertisement by Bakers Cocoa and Chocolate, showing a beautiful illustration of a Christmas basket stuffed full of chocolate. The old father with the top hat is carrying his red-hooded child, who is holding her Christmas goodies in the basket.

The Origin of Christmas Art

Vintage Christmas Art

Christmas art inspires us to look back at earlier years when Christmas traditions were young. What was Christmas like when our grandparents and great-grandparents grew up? The vintage Christmas images printed on postcards and in Victorian Christmas books give us a clue -- Vintage Christmas celebrations were just as popular then as they are today. The antique art that we still see today in antique shops from the early 1900s and late 1800s show an abundance of sweet paintings of Santa Claus, holly, Christmas trees, and red-cheeked children with wide grins.
 

Vintage Santa and Angels Gallery Wrapped Canvas by antiqueart
Print your photo on canvas

Commercial Christmas Art

 In the first half of the 1900s, Christmas celebrations ranged from home-made ornaments and gifts to department store toys. The oil lamps and candles on trees in the 1800s gave way to electric lights and bulbs around 1913. Vintage Christmas was transformed into a commercial bevy of products laden with Santa Claus images -- most of these early commercial images were crafted quite well with exquisite attention to detail.

Christmas has emerged today as quite a different celebration than its origins, and its art has emerged and modernized as well. Christmas started with old customs that dated back to the merger of traditions from Pagan Europe and early Christianity. By medieval days, The main figurehead became Father Christmas. Father Christmas was portrayed with a long beard and cloak, but would be shown wearing blue, green, brown or red suits. By 1910, Santa Claus standardized on the red suit he wears today.

Vintage Santa Christmas Music Christmas Ornaments by antiqueart
See more Doodlefly Ornaments

Image of Father Christmas and Odin

Today's image of Santa Claus, or Father Christmas, started with the Norse God Odin, the ruler of Asgard. Odin wore a blue cloak and had a long white beard and a wreath around his head. Modern-day Santa Claus merged Odin with the Christian legend of Saint Nicholas of Myra who visited Dutch children on Christmas eve to replace straw-filled shoes with sweets. Father Christmas came to represent the Christmas spirit of goodwill.

During the Victorian (late 1800s) and Edwardian periods (early 1900s), inexpensive printing methods brought the image of Santa and Christmas to everyone -- in the form of children's books and Christmas cards. The commercialization of Christmas began.. The images of Father Christmas (Santa Claus) became well established as the definitive figurehead of the Christmas season.

Vintage Santa Claus Art

Kriss Kringle Stories of Santa
Christmas Ornament

Victorian Kriss Kringle 

The history of today's view of Santa Claus started with the Dutch legend of Sinter Klaas. In 1809, Washington Irving, under the pseudonym Dietrich Knickerbocker, described St. Nicholas arriving on St. Nicholas’s eve. In 1823, Clement Clark Moore wrote "The Night Before Christmas" which added the rendeer names and other details about Santa. In the early Victorian days, Santa was dressed in green and was often depicted as quite skinny. Thomas Nast, illustrating for Harper's Illustrated Magazine, showed Santa as a bit rounder in the 1860s-1880s. Then, in 1931, Santa emerged quite round and jolly in Coca-Cola ads.

Santa Claus has gone by many names through the past 150 years.

Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Kriss Kringle, to name a few. Kris Kringle was a popular name for Santa in the 19th Century. This illustration is from the cover of an antique children's book about Kris Kringle from the late 1800s. Santa Claus is emerging from the fireplace, as if floating on the smoke, Christmas bag on his back, full of toys and goodies for the lucky children on his Christmas list. The Victorian illustration shows the moment when Kris Kringle emerges and finds a Christmas child, asleep in the chair, waiting for Santa to show up.

Victorians Primed for Comemrcial Advertising Art

Victorian Advertising Art

Children Riding Ponies Greeting Card

While advertising certainly existed way before the 1870s, Victorians energized it to an art form. Victorian trade cards were beauties. These little cards were printed in full color -- quite an expensive process prior to this time -- and featured lovely children, gorgeous young women, or scenes depicting life at the time. A company's advertising showed up in a nondescript part of the card -- often at the bottom of the image or on the back of the card.

What made these cards work perfectly for advertisers was that the great art made them highly collectible. Consumers would grab them, take them home, and keep them. They would buy the products they'd advertise. The better the art, the more sought after they were by collectors.

Victorian Trade Cards

Trade cards' emergence was ignited by the invention of lithography in 1870s. Lithography allowed full color images to be mass produced. Many trade cards were purchased from printers from among their stock images. Stock cards had illustrations that could be used for any product, such as the face of a beautiful girl, and would suffice for almost any kind of business to print their names and addresses. Custom-made cards were created too, although they would be more costly, but these were better, because artists could be consigned to include the product as part of the illustration.

Puppy Taking a Bath Button by antiqueart
More Doodlefly Buttons

Victorian Lithography Process

The lithographic process was quite tedious. First, the artist would create the picture. The picture would then be given to the printer to place each of the the colors used in the picture on specially prepared limestones. Lower quality cards would use up to five colors, while higher quality would have included 20 or more. Cards would be printed by laying one stone after stone, the colors of each stone superimposing on the previous. Good registration was key to getting all the print runs in order, although increasing sophistication in lithographic printing presses made it easier and sped up the process.

By the early 1900s, lithography trade cards started to disappear because halftone printing allowed color advertising in newspapers and magazines. These halftone advertisements were cheaper to run and would get into more peoples' hands. An improvement for the advertisers, but a disappointment to those of us who still collect these beautiful old Victorian trade cards today.

French Chocolate Party Posters

Bock Beer Goats Bag

Sailboat Cigar Label Vintage Spiral Notebooks

Vintage drinking bear square stickers

Vintage Zebra with Art Nouveau Woman Rider

Art Nouveau Zebra

This art nouveau-era beauty certainly has a beautiful zebra steed! The beautiful woman and vintage zebra illustration is by W.T. Benda, a Polish-American illustrator. The sweet Zebra illustration was on the cover of the November 1922 issue of Life Magazine. The art nouveau-inspired woman is wearing long plumes of peacock feathers down her back, in her long flowy hair; the peacock is a theme we see in other Benda illustrations, and is recurring in the Art Nouveau period. The beauty wears a long red dress. A leopard-print scarf flows from her back. The zebra looks surprised and backs up on its two hind legs when it meet a dangerous little Cobra snake. The dark blue background and vivid coloring make this zebra image a stunner.

About the Illustrator

W.T. Benda, the illustrator, was a member of the Society of Illustrators, the Architectural League, and the National Society of Mural Painters in the early 1900s. W.T. Benda did illustrations for books, short stories, advertising copy, and magazine covers for major magazines such as Collier's, McCall's, Ladies' Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and Life Magazine. Benda was known for his different, exotic illustration, and was sought after for his style.

Vintage Zebra with Art Nouveau Woman Rider

Statue of Liberty by Currier and Ives

 Statue of Liberty Postcard

 America's embodiment of Freedom, The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island in the center of New York Harbor, accessible by ferry boat from Manhattan in New York City. This vintage print of the Statue of Liberty was created by Currier & Ives, as a speculative depiction that was published in 1885, the year before the statue was actually erected in New York, so placement and exactness was just a guess. Thus, this early depiction of the Statue of Liberty is actually incorrect, as this drawing shows the statue facing south; while the real Statue of Liberty faces east.

The Statue of Liberty was designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, dedicated in New York on October 28, 1886 as a gift from France to the United States. The female figure represents Libertas, who was the Roman goddess of freedom. She carries a torch and a law tablet, which has the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 inscribed upon it.

Vintage Statue of Liberty Currier and Ives

Vintage Japanese Woodblock Print

This vintage woodblock print is from Japan, originally published in a book called "Masterpieces selected from the Ukiyoyé school - Vol4" housed in the Carnegie Mellon Posner Center Library. ("Tajima, Shiichi, 1869- ed.")

This fishing scene is a Japanese Woodblock Print, showing a figure catching a fish, pulling it up from the dock with a big swish, fish in air, ready to be brought home for dinner. There are two other figures in the foreground, one a child pointing at fighting kittens. The Japanese figures are dressed in traditional old-fashioned Japanese robes, and they're sitting on the dock as boats go back and forth in the background.

Vintage Japanese Fishing Woodblock Print

Vintage Art Nouveau La Trappestine Poster

Art Nouveau Artist Alfonse Mucha's La Trappistine

Famous art nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha created this beautiful art nouveau poster, showing a monkified art nouveau woman called "La Trappisine (as in female Trappist Monk). Created in 1897 as an advertisement poster for a Paris distillery, this striking art nouveau poster has stood the test of time, and is still as gorgeous today as it was back in the late 1800s.

Alphonse Mucha's posters were all about swirling lines, beautiful women, and natural elements. Alphonse Mucha practically defined the Art Nouveau movement in the late 1800s. La Trappestine is a lovely example of the style - showcasing a graceful young woman, standing looking out at us, against a background of a halo and circles. A decorative halo is a background that Mucha used often in other paintings and posters. Mucha was a Czech painter, and was defined by his wonderful flowing, swirling style. He was thankfully prolific, producing a huge body of work including art nouveau paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards, and decorative designs.

I have always loved Mucha's style, way before I even knew about him or connected the dots as to this single artist - a force of nature - that others tried to emulate as the Art Nouveau style became the definitive "look" of the turn of the last century.

Vintage Art Nouveau Mucha Trappestine Poster

Vintage Chocolate Advertising Art

Some of the most interesting advertising art from the late 1800s and early 1900s was for chocolate. Not for coffee. Not for cookies or cake . . . Chocolate. Why? Because chocolate was new. It tasted like heaven. And it didn't hurt that the industrial revolution could mass produce it to crazed lovers of the new stuff.

While cocoa existed in the Mayan and Aztec times and even as far back as 1400 BC, it was only introduced to the European / American culture in relatively modern times. The Mayans thought it was magic. Well, the modern world, does, too.

Europeans Invent Modern Chocolate

The Europeans thought it was too bitter to be any good when the conquered the New World. Aren't you glad they did something about that? They added sugar and milk, and it caught on as a chocolate drink. In fact, they couldn't get enough of the stuff -- Casanova was said to be literally in love with it.

In 1830, solid chocolate was invented, and the world was introduced to a dizzying array of chocolate inventions over the next few years -- bonbons, chocolate creams, milk chocolate, fondant, filled chocolates, and the lovely chocolate bar.

Vintage Chocolate Advertising Art

Chocolate Angel Vintage Pinback Button

In the mid-1800s, chocolate advertising was born as manufacturers competed in a busy market that craved the world's new confection. The manufacturers had the money to hire the best commercial artists of the time to create some of the most wonderful illustrations. And that's what this article celebrates.

Many of the illustrations were in full color, an expensive process back in the 1800s. Full color advertising cards were given to customers, which the manufacturers hoped would be attractive enough to make the customers take them home and display them in a prominent place in the home. The better quality and the better the illustration, the more likely people would keep it . . .  And of course remind them to buy chocolate. Tricky.

It certainly worked! Chocolate has become an institution in the modern world. Vintage Chocolate advertising art is almost as wonderful as the sweet stuff it represents.

Vintage Life Magazine Flapper Butterfly Girl

Vintage Life Flapper Butterfly 1922 Print

Life Magazine's Flapper Butterfly Cover

A stunning image, this Life Magazine cover from 1922 is titled "the Flapper." 

It shows a woman flapper from the roaring twenties, but with an add-on: incredible large, gorgeous butterfly wings!

The flapper's arms are outstretched, as if she's ready to take off into the air. The beautiful illustration is by famous magazine cover illustrator F.X. Leyendecker, and it appeared on the February 2, 1922 Life Magazine cover.

F.X. Leyendecker was known for extraordinary color, creativity, and his flamboyance of design. He was certainly a prolific illustrator -- he designed many prominent posters, magazine covers, book plates, and advertising art. He had covers for Vanity Fair, Life, Vogue, and covers and inside art for Colliers, Saturday Evening Post, Leslie's, and McClure's, among many others. He did advertising art for Durham Hosiery, Remington Guns, Palmolive, Howard Watches, and Willy's Motors.


F.X. Leyendecker (1876–1924) was outshined by his older brother, J.C. Leyendecker who was more prolific than even F.X. However, F.X.was every bit as colorful and flamboyant as his older brother, and could boast an impressive portfolio. Born in Germany, He worked with his brother in their studio in Chicago, New York, and New Rochelle. He was also known for stained glass art, and was a feature in the second exhibition of the Society of Illustrators at the International gallery in New York.

Victorian Commercialism and the Rise of Cute Children

The Art of Cute Victorian Children

Victorians liked their children cute. The artists back then drew sentimental images of wealthy chubby cherubs, cute as a button. Victorian children were painted with plump little bodies, rosy red cheeks, and sweet little smiles.

This lovely illustration of  a Victorian baby playing with his toes is a perfect example of Vintage cute! Of course, the artists of all times would paint what would pay, and in this era, they got paid for lovely babies. This beauty was an advertisement for Pear's Soap, which hired artists to create an amazing number of cute cherub advertising art that went into magazines and trade cards.

Victorians loved to see pictures of children in sentimental scenes - picnics in a lovely green field, cuddled in momma's lap reading stories at bedtime, and yearned-for dreamy settings a Victorian consumer might wish for their own family. The lovely paintings were set in a world that many Victorians longed for, in an era when many babies didn't make it to adulthood, and the working class sometimes sent off their children to work in factories. They loved seeing the possibilities rather than the reality of the day -- rather than dwell on the depressing, they'd be able to smile at the images of sweet fat little children flying kites in an sunny afternoon field dressed up in satin dresses and pink hair bows.

Antique Baby Advertisement Christmas Tree Ornament by antiqueart

Renaissance Beautiful Babies

 Renaissance Artists Realized Children Were Not Ugly

 Renaissance art brought realistic depictions of children. Just 200 years earlier, artists were creating rather ugly grown man-like children. But by the fifteenth century, Renaissance artists were painting realistic children with beautiful features. In the sixteenth century, artists were painting almost too-cute cheruby children, such as those famous flying baby angels and the Madonna by Raphael. The misshapen ugly tots of the pre-renaissance period were but a distant memory.

This painting from Raphael shows the Madonna sitting serenely in front of a dark landscape, and the Christ child lovingly grasping her neck. The two radiate warmth and peace. The people are painted realistically, and unlike earlier works, they show dimension and true proportion. 

Buoninsegna Christ Child Ornament by antiqueart
See other tree ornaments for Christmas