Books and Art

View in library with an elegant pair and French officer at table (1890). Maurice Leloir (French, 1853-1940). Oil on wood.

A watercolorist, illustrator, engraver and historical painter, Maurice Leloir was born in Paris into a family of well-known artists. Formal training was received from his father, historical painter Jean-Baptiste Auguste Leloir, his mother, watercolorist Héloïse Colin, and his older brother, Alexander-Louis Leloir.

The Letter (1879). Auguste Toulmouche (French, Academicism, 1829-1890). Oil on canvas.

Gérald Schurr describes Toulmouche as “le peintre de boudoirs” and “le peintre des intérieurs proustiens,” although he admits that despite their conventional appearance his works display “réelles qualités plastiques” and “une élégance racée.” 

Portrait of the Artist’s Wife Wilhelmina (c.1828) Carl Joseph Begas (German, 1794-1854). Oil on canvas, Kreismuseum Heinsberg.

This image, which exudes warmth and inner light, reflects Begas’ love for his 28 year-old wife as well as her beauty. Four of the nine Begas children became artists.

Woman Reading (1906). Edgard Maxence (French, 1871-1954). Pastel. Nantes Museum of Fine Arts.

The work acquired by Nantes represents an unidentified young woman holding a book in her hand, posing in the park of a château glimpsed in the background. Dating from 1906, this is probably the work exhibited at the Salon in 1907 with the title of Woman Reading. 

Forbidden Books. Alexander Mark Rossi (British, fl. 1870-1903). Oil on canvas.

Rossi specialized in genre paintings often centered on subjects involving children and young adults. These works were executed in a style that incorporated both the traditional Academy teachings and the avant-garde brushwork and colors of the impressionists.

A man reading the paper while smoking a cigarette (1949). Location: Paris, France. Photographer: Walter Sanders. LIFE. 

Sanders, a German, bought his first camera to take photos of his baby daughter. These photos were very successful and Agfa used one for a display. It was from this he drifted into photography. Sanders worked for the best German picture magazines.  The SS began to hound him for “non-Aryan” activities. 

Madame de Lamballe reading to Marie Antoinette and her daughter, Marie Thérèse Charlotte (1858). Joseph Caraud (French, 1821-1905). 

Queen Marie Antoinette appointed Marie Thérèse Superintendent of the Queen’s Household, the highest rank possible for a lady-in-waiting at Versailles. Marie Thérèse was by nature reserved and there was never any gossip about her private life. However, in popular anti-monarchist propaganda of the time, she was regularly portrayed in pornographic pamphlets, showing her as the queen’s lesbian lover to undermine the public image of the monarchy.

Lady Reading a Book (1876). Attilio Baccani (Italian, 1844-1889). Oil on panel.

“No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting. She will not want new fashions nor regret the loss of expensive diversions or variety of company if she can be amused with an author in her closet.” — Lady Montagu

Reading the News (1874). James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). Oil on canvas.

Tissot’s pictures are distinguished most obviously by his love of painting women’s costumes: indeed, his work—which has a fashion-plate elegance and a chocolate-box charm— has probably been more often reproduced in works on the history of costume than on the history of painting.

Reader with a Yellow Book (1910). Henri Manguin (French, 1874-1949). Oil on canvas. Villa Flora.  

Manguin was regarded as one of the creators of the fauve movement. He was influenced by Cezanne in the logic of construction, harmonious colours tones, and importance in ornament, but he had his own style in the use of tumultuous tonal strengths. 

Felicia (1947). Henry Lamb (English, 1883-1960). Oil on canvas. Bradford Museums and Galleries. Felicia (born 1933) was Lamb’s daughter.

In 1911 Lamb first visited Ireland and from this point on his work was influenced by Gaugin. His work was displayed at the Second Post-Impressionist exhibition, and in the same year he became a founder member of the Camden town group and of the London group two years later. 

The Fashion Review. Ulisse Caputo (Italian, 1872-1948). Oil on canvas.

Interested in light and its painted representation, Caputo was receptive to the ideas issued by a new generation of international impressionist artists such as Zuloaga, Zorn and Whistler. The influence of Impressionism lightened the rather dark palette brought from Naples.

A Summer Afternoon in The Garden. Isaac Snowman (English/Israeli, 1874-1950). Oil on canvas.

Snowman was educated at the City of London School. In 1890 he entered the Royal Academy School and afterward received a scholarship in the Institution of British Artists. He showed an interest in Jewish matters and eventually moved to Jerusalem, where he had a studio over the Damascus Gate.

Portrait de jeune femme lisant une partition de musique (1719). Jean-Marc Nattier (French, 1685-1766), Musée du Louvre.

Nattier revived the genre of the allegorical portrait, in which a living person is depicted as a Greco-Roman goddess or other mythological figure. Nattier’s graceful and charming portraits of court ladies in this mode were very fashionable, partly because he could beautify a sitter while also retaining her likeness.

Reading map while drinking Pepsi. Advertising artwork for Pepsi (1957). Illustration by Coby Whitmore.

In the early 1950s, Pepsi switched its print ad focus from one using black and white cartoons to a sophisticated campaign using many of the best young illustrators. It’s a credit to this campaign and its artists that the ads from this era still have a fresh, up-to-date appeal and look. Most of these ads could be successfully republished by Pepsi today.