Thursday 21 April 2011

blackbirds and lady painters

The blackbirds in the courtyard are doing a bit better so far this year, fingers crossed.

Last year the magpie ate the eggs and the year before they raised a solitary cuckoo.

Here are three babies: we spend a lot of time tiptoeing past them and listening for alarm calls in case the magpie is back. Nerve wracking.



Anyone know anything about the pic below? Ive carried it around for years, can't remember where or when it appeared. Obviously it is of interest because it has girl painters even if they are only stroking a frock, watched by St Anthony of Padua (=monk holding child) and the very masculine portrait looking like Lord Leighton. The clothes look foreign but the backing of the print is English - and of an age -




You can see it better by clicking on image. All info welcomed.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi vanilla, about your painting question It was most probably painted by the
German American painter Veronica Thurwanger ( born 1813) best known for her
religious and genre paintings. For this one she has probably sought inspiration
from popular fashion magazines. See also the little madonnapicture next to the
portrait, a little reference to her work as a religious painter perhaps? . The
portrait confuses me a little, no one I recongnize.
Cheers Ole Bendik

vanilla beer said...

cheers! I got out the magnifying glass and found a word (under the foot of the easel) saying 'Thurwanger frs'- They were litho printers and the signature, which is indecipherable, doesn't end in -wanger but -ilinn I think. Nonetheless all else seems highly likely - the time, the genre. How on earth did you know????

Anonymous said...

One should never give away one's professional secrets, but I did what you did.
I do, however, suspect that the picture was made t'wards the end of the 19th century, in which case it would be too late for dear Mrs (miss?)Thurwanger.
Thurwanger printers worked worked in Paris late 1800, the costumes correspond to that period as well.We may look for another artist.
more later
Ole B.