Tag: lithograph

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Daily Art Moment: Adolf Dehn

Image description: Christmas Eve, Adolph Dehn, lithograph on cream wove paper, image: 8 5/8 x 11 1/4 inches; sheet: 12 1/2 x 18 1/8 inches. A lithograph in tones of charcoal gray on cream paper shows a decorated Christmas tree in an interior setting before a large window with a snowy outdoor scene. The tree is centered in front of the large picture window and has branches covered with ornaments, garlands, and lights and topped with a bright star. Near the tree’s trunk, branches are sparse but become full and bushy as they radiate outward. Below the tree are a few toys: a truck, a doll, a toy gun and a spinning top, among others. At lower left two small, dark cats play with fallen ornaments. At lower right, another cat naps in a carved chair. Behind the tree is a large window, divided in thirds, revealing a snowy, countryside scene under a dark, star filled sky. A tiny crescent moon appears in the sky at upper left. At center left, a large bare tree displays spiky branches, while at right smaller evergreen trees cluster near distant homes amid snow covered hills. The window scene is framed on either side by filmy sheer curtains and a wide window ledge runs beneath it holding two flower filled vases and left and a potted fern at right.
Adolf Dehn (American, 1895-1968), Christmas Eve, 1931, lithograph on cream wove paper, image: 8 5/8 in x 11 1/4 in; sheet: 12 1/2 in x 18 1/8 in, The Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Graphic Arts Collection. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 1997.228.386

Are you ready for the holidays? In this lithograph, American artist Adolf Dehn (1895–1968) offers us a view of Christmas Eve in 1931. There are only a few small presents beneath the tree–perhaps a reference to the Great Depression that was seizing the country–but the little fir is covered with lights and ornaments. Two busy…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Diego Rivera

Image description: Diego Rivera, La Escuela de Aire Libre (Open Air School), 12 1/2 x 16 5/16 inches; sheet: 15 3/4 x 22 3/4 inches, lithograph on cream wove paper. A landscape print rendered in shades of gray depicts a group of students, both young and old, gathered around a teacher who holds a book open on her lap. The teacher sits at left, slightly elevated above her students who gather in a circle around her. She had dark center parted hair that lays flat to her head, large eyes with a broad straight nose and full lips. She wears a simple high-necked, long-sleeved garment and holds up her right hand, palm out. Two younger students huddle near her to the left and have short, cropped hair and dark skin. Three more students are positioned at left. One is shown in profile wearing a long full sleeved shirt, cropped dark hair and has a garment or wrap gathered around him as he sits on the ground. Next to him to the right are two students, one in long braids and one in the act of writing in a book. The figures’ facial features all resemble those of their instructor. In the foreground, three students sit with their backs to the viewer. At center is a white-haired man sits hunched next to a small student and another in overalls. In the background there are two teams of horses and their drivers working the fields. At far left a guard on horseback with a rifle stands watch. At center, crops are gathered by two figures at a large rectangular container. At far right is another horse team with driver working the land. The print as a hand drawn quality, with the look of a detailed pencil sketch.
Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886-1957), La Escuela de Aire Libre (Open Air School), 1932, lithograph on cream wove paper, image: 12 1/2 in x 16 5/16 in; sheet: 15 3/4 in x 22 3/4 in, Gift of Lucienne Bloch and Stephen Dimitroff. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 84.31.5

It’s back-to-school time! In this lithograph of 1932, Mexican muralist Diego Rivera celebrates the importance of “education for all” as one of the guiding tenets of the Mexican Revolution. Here, an Indigenous woman instructs a range of students from young children to elders in an open field. Behind her, laborers prepare the soil for planting,…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Pierre Bonnard

Image description: Dogs, Pierre Bonnard, lithograph on paper, image: 14 5/8 in x 10 1/4 in; sheet: 14 7/8 x 10 15/16 inches. A portrait-oriented work featuring seven dogs engaged in different canine social activities and a horse and carriage in the distance. The bottom half of the scene contains five of the dogs, each breed and type depicted in black outline. At lower right, a scruffy coated dog with a beard lifts a hind leg and urinates. Above, a large dog with a shaggy coat rendered with short vertical black strokes inspects the back end of another large smoother coated dog with a pointed snout. At center, a small black dog crouches and looks left next to a white outlined dog that resembles a rabbit with its long ears flying back and its back rounded as if in the act of pouncing. In the upper half of the print, a small white dog at left, gives a play bow to the small black dog. Its rump is raised with his head is low with front paws spread wide. At top center, a horse and closed carriage with a driver are seen at a distance. A small spotted dog walks next to the carriage and mimics the hunched, posture of both the horse and the top hatted driver. The background is flecked and dappled with black marks and smudges giving texture. At bottom center is the artist’s signature in pencil. Above it at left, is a “P” overlapping a “B” in black.
Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867–1947), “Dogs,” 1893, lithograph on paper, Museum Purchase: Jean Y. Roth Memorial Fund, 2018.46.1 © artist or other rights holder

As we enter the dog days of summer, I offer you seven pups by French artist Pierre Bonnard. Bonnard was a keen observer of animals, whether pampered pets or urban strays. In this lively lithograph, five dogs interact on an urban street. Well-groomed pets wearing collars mix with scruffy street dogs. Bonnard captures the distinctive…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera, Los Frutos del Trabajo (The Fruits of Labor), 1932, lithograph on cream wove paper, 16 7/16 in x 11 13/16 inches. Vertical rectangular print rendered in soft gradations of grays of 8 figures seated in a circle turned to a figure in the upper right corner and receiving apples from a central figure. The scene is intimate, tightly cropped, and facial expressions are serene. The central figure is youthful with short hair, head at three-quarter view looking to their right, hand outstretched having given an apple to a seated figure in profile at left. The left hand holds a cloth taut holding a bounty of apples. Three young figures seated behind peek out, obscured by the taller figures. An older mustachioed figure with collared shirt in top right has eyes cast down at a book spread open by his thumb. Four figures in the foreground with backs turned to the viewer face the apple giver and reader. The diminutive small figure at bottom center has long dark hair center-parted and braided, the ends of the braids are joined in a knot. At bottom right, an older figure wearing a jacket with epaulettes has left hand rested on another youth’s shoulder. In the foreground, a bound book’s cover bears a cursive D and 32.

Today we celebrate Mexican-American civil rights leader, Cesar Estrada Chavez, a former migrant worker who co-founded the UFW (United Farm Workers) with fellow activist, Dolores Huerta, which fought for unionization for laborers. Chavez, influenced by the non-violent tactics of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., used strikes, boycotts, and picketing to achieve equity for these…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: M.E. Norton

The Bookman: March, M.E. Norton, sheet: 16 ¼ x 11 5/8 inches, lithograph. A portrait-oriented print depicting a large lion and a small lamb with name of the publication, “The Bookman.” and date, “March 5” in prominent lettering. At right, the words “The Bookman.” appear in orange lettering surrounded in cream on black background. The word “The” is positioned just to the right of center of center and the word “Bookman.” runs vertically along the right side. Along the bottom the date “March 5” appears in elaborate black Old English, calligraphic font outlined in cream, on an orange ground. The left two thirds of the upper portion of the print is taken up by a depiction of a lion pictured head on. It is black with white line delineating facial features and limbs. Surrounding the lion are undulating white lines on black ground that mimic wood grain and knots. The lion's tail wraps around its feet and intrudes on the date printed below. At the lion’s feet at right is a small white lamb with black detailing, viewed from the side with its mouth open. A small capital letter “N.” is located at the extreme lower right corner. A narrow black outline surrounds the images.

As the old adage reminds us, March roars in like a lion and out like lamb. This poster advertising the March 1895 edition of The Bookman makes witty reference to this saying with bold graphic style. The undulating lines around the lion seem to amplify its might roar, while the small lamb at its feet…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Beth Van Hoesen

A vertical rectangular print in black on cream depicting two figures in a bar setting having cocktails. At right, a female figure is seen in three quarter view, looking at the viewer holding up a stemmed glass in her hand while her arm rests on her elbow. Her pale hair is swept back from her narrow face and up into a bun. She has thin highly arched eyebrows and a small, dark mouth. She wears a short-sleeved top showing thin arms with bracelets on the wrist. Her hand and fingers are also long and thin. Her companion sits to the right and faces the viewer. He has a round broad face with sparse hair on top. He looks out from hooded eyes and has a cigar stuck in the corner of his mouth. He wears a dark suit on his broad body and rest one arm along the bar. A long necked bottled is seen at lower left. Behind the couple is the suggestion of hanging lights. The print has the appearance of a sketch with line drawing, shading and cross hatching.

Beth Van Hoesen’s cocktail drinkers, though created in 1946, seem to show the same world-weariness that has gripped many of us throughout the tumultuous year. They are prepared, I imagine, to toast out the year, but they aren’t going to pretend it was fun! The woman’s raised eyebrow suggests her skepticism about the state of…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Honoré Daumier

Le Ventre législatif: Aspect des bancs ministériels de la chambre inprostituée de 1834 (The Legislative Belly: Aspects of the Prostituted Ministerial Benches of 1834), Honoré Daumier, 11 1/8 in x 17 1/8 inches, Lithograph on wove paper. A horizontal, rectangular black and white print showing rows of men sitting in curved, tiered seating. The four rows are stacked one upon another showing how each row is higher than the one below it. Each row is packed with between seven to ten older men, most having narrow shoulders and broad middles, dressed in dark coats and the high white collars of the time. The waist high railing allows only their upper bodies to be visible. Some confer with heads together or are turned to speak to each other, some appear to be dozing. At lower right, one large man dressed in black with shaggy hair stands in front of the bottom railing turned to the left, his arm resting on the railing. At left, a top hat and a book also rest on the railing.

When it comes to skewering politicians, Honoré Daumier is unmatched. The French caricaturist was born in Marseille in 1808 and moved to Paris in 1816. He was largely self-taught as an artist, making sketches at the Louvre and learning lithography while still a teenager. He developed into a brilliant draughtsman, capturing his subjects with a…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Warja Honegger-Lavater

An open book showing a key in three languages to the colored dots that tell the story spread across both pages. The key is set up in rows to show the words and the symbol they represent. The order is German, English, a picture of the symbol, and French. The key reads: “Mutter…mother…(mustard yellow dot)…la mere / Rotkappchen…Little Red riding Hood…(red dot)…Le Petit Chaperone / Grossmutter…grandmother…(blue dot)…la grand-mere / Wald…forest…(a cluster of nine dots in various shades of green)…la foret / Wolf…wolf…(back dot)…la loup / Haus…house…(vertical brown rectangle)…la maison / Jaeger…hunter…(brown dot)…la chasseur / Bett…bed…(brown U shape)…le lit”

“Can you tell an entire story using only colored dots? Swiss artist Warja Honegger-Lavater was up for the task, unfurling the story of Little Red Riding Hood in just four scenes plus a key to the symbols. Anyone familiar with this classic tale can easily follow the wordless action as Honegger-Lavater translates the action into…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Elizabeth Catlett

A vertical rectangular book page with an image of the profiles of two heads in the center. The individuals appear to be male presenting and female presenting. Both figures face right, have dark brown skin, black hair, and flat, stylized features. The male-presenting individual has a close cap of hair, the female presenting figure’s hair has longer sides and bangs. Facial features are delineated by sharp, crisp shading around the nose, eyes, mouth, jaw and neck. Their expressions are neutral. Surrounding the heads and over a black background, uneven brushstrokes in bright orange blending to yellow and finally what appears to be the white paper, give the overall suggestion of fire and flames around the two heads. At the bottom edge of the page running from side to side and about one quarter the way up, is a row of silhouetted figures in blue over a black background. They appear to be marching, some with fists raised that almost touch the red and orange flames depicted above them. Their legs cross each other creating an X pattern. Each individual seems to be unique, some with hats or hairstyles evident. The stitching from the binding of the book can be seen at right, running from top to bottom along the extreme left edge. The central image is surrounded by a wide cream border.

“Not all art belongs on walls. Artists’ books are designed to be held by the viewer, creating an intimate and tactile relationship between the art and the onlooker. Often paired with text, artists’ books are a hybrid artform combining fine art, literature, and bookbinding. In ‘For My People,’ artist Elizabeth Catlett pairs six lithographs with…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Odilon Redon

Vertical off-white rectangle with various shapes scattered throughout a background of lighter crosshatching, shading, and abstract sketching. Two of the three largest shapes appear in the lower half of the rectangle. The first, positioned in the center, roughly forms the shape of a backwards C. The bottom of the C suggests a fishtail with fins. At the top, the shape seems to turn back on itself resulting in a face-like shape with eyes, situated on the inside of the curve. To the left of this shape is a heavily outlined circle suggesting an eye with upper and lower lids. A tail trails off to the left of this circle. The third large object is located in the top half of the work at right. It too suggests an eye, this time bulging with a small off center pupil-like shape surrounded by heavy line work. Scattered elsewhere are much smaller eye shapes, some with lids and lashes. The background is unevenly shaded with light and dark areas.

“Symbolist artist Odilon Redon was fascinated by the microscopic world that surrounds us. His fantastic prints, drawings, and paintings often feature bizarre depictions inspired by the unseen universe. His goal, he said, ‘consists in bringing to life … improbable beings and making them live according to the laws of probability, by putting—as far as possible—the…  Read more