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
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Vintage Taurus Fantasy Gothic Whimsical Collage Poster by antiqueart
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Vintage Mermaid Aquarius Gothic Whimsical Woman Poster by antiqueart
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Van Gogh's Wheatfield with Crows

While most of Van Gogh's paintings are breathtaking, each and every one is uniquely awe inspiring. Here's his Wheatfield with Crows, shown at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam:

One of Van Gogh's last works created in 1890, it's all about the power of the landscape. Some argue that the landscape is menacing and stormy, and the path leads to nowhere, hinting to Van Gogh's imminent suicide, while others say that Van Gogh felt soothed by the landscape's greatness. Either way, it is a powerful image with striking contrasting colors and brushwork.

Van gogh wheat fields poster by antiqueart

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
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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.

History of Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau and Vienna

 I've been on quite a Youtube kick for a while -- what a great place to go to learn about the history of art. Here's a wonderful video on the history of Art Nouveau -- it gives you a background on some of the famous artists of one of the greatest movements of art. I've been to Vienna to experience the history of all things nouveau, and have found it exuberant. Here, in this great video, you'll see a "klimt barbie"...

History of Art Nouveau

What a wonderful European city - Vienna - that started the Art Nouveau movement. The video is an hour long, but it's a great documentary. Enjoy!

How to paint like Monet

How to paint like Monet: Lessons on Impressionist landscape painting techniques It's always interesting to see a demo showing how famous artists progressed in their panintgs. Here's a tutorial by artist Will Kemp.

Claude Monet Working at Giverny Video

Rare film of artist Claude Monet at work in his garden in Giverny. Awesome view of the great artist at work!

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 Circus Art

Victorian Circus Posters

Barnum & Bailey Coney Island Poster Square Sticker

Victorians loved circuses. Back then, there was no TV or movies for entertainment. Circuses were a big draw for an entertainment-hungry audience.

Back then, there were hundreds of circuses that traveled around to fairgrounds everywhere. By the end of the 1800s, railroads made it possible to have very large circuses that carried all their gear on several cars. The large circuses toured to small towns across Europe and America.

Fun circus acts always included trick riding, jugglers, aerialists, elephants, equestrians, trapeze, and clowns, although there were specialty acts, too, such as the coney island water carnival put on by Barnum & Bailey.

Traveling circuses started out small -- in the 1700s, they involved a small group of entertainers--often a single family--and a single open air ring. Small circuses were often regular features of fairs. These early performances would include a couple of acrobats, clowns, tightrope walkers, and horses. Shows would be given several times a day, and they'd pass around a hat to collect money. At first, the circuses would travel with a few horses and wagons to carry their equipment from town to town. Audiences would stand and watch from the sidelines.

Eventually, the rings would be covered by canvas tents. By the 1820s, the traditional "big top" appeared, and seated a few hundred spectators.  By around 1880, when railroads carried the gear and large circuses evolved, the performances could seat thousands of spectators, and the big top grew even bigger.

Of course, colorful posters were placed around town to advertise the affair. These little art gems are highly sought by today's collectors of circus memorabilia.

Audubon and the Elusive Flamingo

The actual bird still exists, but it's quite elusive. You may be able to glimpse it -- if you're a lucky birder -- in the U.S. in the Florida Everglades. Likewise, John James Audubon's print of the Flamingo is rare, very sought after, and very expensive.

John James Audubon Flamingo

Almost 200 years ago, John James Audubon showcased the Flamingo in his print series, Birds of America, Plate 431. The image is a gorgeous aquatint engraving, and he added original hand coloring. The original Audubon American Flamingo was produced between 1827-1838. At a recent auction, one of those original Flamingo prints was estimated to sell for $250,000.

Death of Flamingos

So how did Audubon capture so beautifully the image of this magnificant American Flamingo? Today's naturalists would observe the birds in their natural habitat, or at least take photos of them to paint later on, back in their studio.

Not old Audubon -- nope. Cameras were not yet available -- they were busy being invented back in the early 1800s. And it wouldn't have been very comfortable standing around in the messy, mosquito-infested swamp with paintbrush and paper in hand, either.

So, Audubon did what any old-fashioned naturalist wold have done -- he shot his flamingos -- literally, then took the dead animals back to the studio. There, he propped them up with wire and thread to use as his macabre models. It is said that he used over 50 dead flamingos as dead models. What a shame. Yet, the result was amazing -- this is the image that he produced, very successfully, stunning, and memorable. Genius.

Audubon American Flamingo Skin For Ipad 3

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Vintage Circus Procession - Art for Children's books

Circus Procession Napkin

Circus Parade Art 

The early days of children's books showcased everything that a child wold love, and the Victorian art world was often enhanced by these talented book illustrators. While not all book illustrations were great, this image of a Circus Procession was one of the many illustrations that was successful.

In the Victorian days, circuses were preceded by a big parade to announce their arrival in town. These parades would attract crowds, and the by-standers would follow the parade to the circus grounds, where the performers would set up the show.

Circuses included elephants, following each other by holding on to each others' tails. Wagons were pulled by horses and camels. Lions and tigers often had their own wagons. People and animals alike would wear exotic costumes. Posters were placed along the parade routes to announce the circus was in town. Eventually, by the late 1800s, these parades grew to be miles long, with hundreds of performers, horses, elephants and animal cages in the circus procession. Circus processions could take hours to wind their way through cities along their parade route.

The Audubon Birds Transcended Life

The classic bird prints by John James Audubon have never gone out of style -- while only a small number of these prints still remain today (only 120 complete sets are known to exist), these classic images have never been more popular among bird enthusiasts.

John James Audubon was an artistic genius back in the day when he first created his famous Birds of America prints. Audubon was known to be as colorful a character as his bird paintings were, and he traveled throughout America to capture their likenesses. Audubon published his drawings in a limited series of bird prints between 1827 and 1838.

Audubon Louisiana Heron Cut Outs

John James Audubon, of course, was an avid bird lover, and like all good birders, he would travel to remote locations and draw from life observation. However, for those birds that would be more troublesome to capture in life, he was known to shoot the birds and then pose the dead animals in life-like positions using wire and threads. These became models for many of his drawings. He would draw the birds in pen & ink and watercolor. He captured them in their natural surroundings, and would find minute detail. His birds were magnificent, although he was sometimes accused of being theatrical, as he would create exaggerated poses (no doubt from the liberal wire and thread-posed dead birds), and sometimes even awkward (no wonder!)

Antique Art Gifts from Doodlefly's Antique Art

Vintage elephant fisherman fishing pillows

Floral Design Acanthus Vintage William Morris Custom Skateboard

Vintage Cat's Life for Kitty Lovers Photo Cut Outs

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.

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
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Pre-Renaissance Artists Painted Ugly Children

Strange Little Pre-Renaissance Children!

Duccio di Buoninsegna Madonna and Child

Before the 1400s, artists didn't do cute children. They did strange little man-like children. See our example of Buoninsegna's Madonna and Child. Could it be that the gene pool actually created children that ugly back then?

Not quite. Actually, there are a couple of academic discussions as to why this era of artists created ugly children:

• People didn't think of children as anything but miniature adults, and that's how the artists depicted them.
• Early artists may not have grasped the concept that adults and children had different proportions.
• Have you ever tried to keep a child seated long enough to draw even his face? Rather than make a child sit for very long, artists may have just used the proportions they were used to painting, and that would have been the proportions of adults.
• Just about all the children painted were of the Christ child. The artists may have created the man-like Christ on purpose to show that Christ was wise beyond his years.

Duccio di Buoninsegna (Italian, Sienese, 1255-1319). Madonna and Child

Duccio di Buoninsegna painted lots and lots of these Madonna and Child portraits -- all of them just about carbon copies of each other. Here's one that showcases a pre-Renaissance Christ child. While the image is quite appealing if you're going for stylistic and graphic, if the artist was striving for realism, he failed miserably. This is a very unproportional child... small head, skinny, and he's balding just like an old man, but ... it's a baby...

Buoninsegna Christ Child Ornament by antiqueart
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Munch The Scream selling at Sothebys

Munch "The Scream" at Sotheby's

The Scream Edward Munch

Munch's THE SCREAM is expected to sell for over $80 million at today's Sotheby's auction. What an incredible painting.

Munch's Scream

The Scream is the most recognizable painting by Munch -- the agonizing person running down the dock with a bright red backdrop. In Munch's diary in 1892, Munch described his inspiration for the painting:

"I was walking along a path with two friends – the sun was setting – suddenly the sky turned blood red – I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence – there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature."