Virginie Avegno

Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) by J.S. Sargent

Virginie was painted by Sargent when she was 25. The portrait was ill received, strangely, depicting her as she was turned out to be scandalous. The lower left of the canvas shows Sargent's usual light gray priming.




detail, hand holding fan, careful edge control hard~blur, the ring is depicted with one impasto touch, crazy crackle



Virgine, 7 years later, painted by Gustave Claude Etienne Courtois (1853-1923)

Fashions having changed, Courtois' canvas was well received.



Premier coup (loose window-shading) and gratuitous pentimenti aside, Sargent would rely on preliminary drawings, no matter how cursory, for planning and capturing the essence.





Thanks for the artifacting, blogger. Sargent painting via http://tinyurl.com/Sarge-MAD-X-jpeg or http://rapidshare.com/files/299661998/Sargent_Madame_X.jpg

Swipe Spot #3 & #4

Arrow Collars & Shirts for Dress, still the hallmark of style and taste. The two examples here use it as a veneer to sinister undercurrents.

The variant cover by Dennis Calero to Luke Cage Noir #3.

Arrow Collar ad by J.C. Leyendecker,

The Joker & Harley Quinn by Alex Ross / Arrow Collar ad by J.C. Leyendecker

Columbus Day- 2009

Sadly today now seems to mark the marginalization, the ghettoizing of holidays, as though Columbus day was a celebration of his ethnicity. Columbus day is the celebration of what he represents, leadership, courage, perseverance and the spirit of adventure. The indomitable will that was the spark for the greatest nation on Earth, and as such should be collectively remembered.

"Columbus in the New World" by Edwin Austin Abbey



Columbus, richly clad and in full armor, grasping the Royal banner of Spain, kneels behind the three priests, who, clothed in magnificent black and gold vestments, are consecrating the New World before an improvised altar covered with red velvet. A further group, among them the brothers Pinzon, who commanded the two caravels, kneel apart, and three of the company bear aloft the banners of the "Green Cross," a device of Columbus, presented to him by Ferdinand and Isabella. Farther away are the sailors and the three ships at anchor, while the background is filled with a flight of flamingoes, streaming away from the land, thus symbolizing the departure of the native, the indigenous, the wild, upon the arrival of the foreign and the cultivated to implant civilization.

For the dreamers, the visionaries, and to progress, Hail Columbus!

Beer with Dolores & Brick

Nothing sells beer like film stars. Smooth and cool. Long tall and handsome. Who wouldn't want to drink what they drink? While some stars take a shine (and the money) to these ads, others shy away (or are to big to lure). Would Doris Day and Rock Hudson in their day and at their prime shill for Schlitz? Or in this case Burgie. No! What to do then? Why, hire an illustrator and through artful manipulation subtly imply the stars. Like the best propaganda, you'll never know why you want the product so much!

This throwaway production art, a billboard maquette (the proper term eludes), displays more effortless skill than you'll find on most museum walls.

Unidentified west coast illustrator (if you can identify the artist, please do).

Golf and beer with Bob Hope and his lovely wife. I'm there!

Billy Dee Williams, the man still has "it". Smooth.

Central Casting - CREEPS

Men of no shame: harvey weinstein, woody allen, michael mann, mike nichols, martin scorsese, steven soderbergh and a cast to numerous to mention.



"...let's suppose for the sake of argument that the petition's signers are motivated exclusively by the desire to see justice done. What might that mean in practice? The petition starts out by coolly dismissing Mr. Polanski's crime as "a case of morals" (i.e., no big deal) involving "one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers." It then goes on to argue that the Zurich Film Festival is an "extraterritorial" event held in a "neutral country" to which filmmakers should be allowed to travel "freely and safely," just as if they were doctors or diplomats. The implication is all too clear: No matter what he may have done in the past, Mr. Polanski is an artist and therefore ought to go free. Period.
I find this pseudoargument impossible to stomach, and I can't imagine that Mr. Polanski's fellow filmmakers would be similarly inclined to make it on behalf of a director of made-for-TV movies."


WSJ article~http://tinyurl.com/WSJ-polanski-teachout

Yet more proof that you wouldn't be wrong in believing Hollyweird is populated by odious degenerates (as though the steady stream of filth they produce wasn't enough). These nickelodeonist stand in strong support of the convicted child rapist Roman Polanski. One might expect this from uber-cretin Woody Allen, but now one must question if Martin Scorsese spent any extra time "going over the script" with Jodie Foster during the filming of Taxi Driver. Mr. Scorsese has seen his own film, right?

For those that need a bat upside their numb-skull~http://tinyurl.com/salon-polanski-harding