From Durer to Dali, Famous Artists Paint Their Mothers Part Two of Two.

For Mother's Day weekend, I'm sharing portraits of "mothers" by various painters ranging from the 15th century to the present. Yesterday was Part One, a look at portraits of world-renowned artists' mothers prior to the 2oth century and today is Part Two, featuring more contemporary portraits from the 20th and 21st centuries. For more information and caveats, see yesterday's post here.

Franz Marc, portrait of his mother, 1902:

Georgio di Chirico, portrait of the artist's mother, 1911:

Egon Shiele, Mother Sleeping, 1911:

Juan Gris, portrait of the artist's mother, 1912:

Edward Hopper, Elizabeth Griffiths Smith Hopper, the artist's mother, 1916:

Salvador Dali, portrait of the artist's mother, 1920:

Norman Rockwell's Mother Tucking Children Into Bed (for which his mother Irene was the model), 1921:

Grant Wood, Woman With Plants (his mother), 1929:

Arshile Gorky, portrait of the artist's mother, 1936:

William H. Johnson, Mom Alice, 1944:

Alice Neel, My Mother, 1952:

Lucian Freud, The Painter's Mother, 1973:

Andy Warhol, silkscreen of his mother, Julia Warhola, 1974 :

David Hockney, Mum, 1985:

Daphne Todd, Last Portrait Of Mother, 2009:

David Kassan, portrait of the artist's mother, 2010:


See Part One here.


Oh, and Happy Mother's Day!

From Whistler to Warhol, Famous Artists Paint Their Mothers, Part One of Two.

In honor of Mother's Day this coming Sunday, I thought I'd share with you several portraits of the female forebearers of various respected and well-known painters. The portraits range from the 15th century to the present* - excluding paintings of The Madonna, arguably the most famous of all mothers.

Most artists, at one time or another, have painted a portrait of the woman from whose womb they sprang. Some are flattering, some are not and others are very personal or intimate -- yet all are an homage to the parent whose role we celebrate this Sunday, May 8th.

There are so many, I'm breaking this up into two posts. Today I am featuring paintings of artists' mothers prior to the 20th century and tomorrow I will be featuring Part Two, more recent homages to Mom by such artists as Hopper, Dali, Hockney, and Warhol.

A good place to start would be with the world's most well-known "Mother" artwork, that of by James McNeill Whistler, painted in 1871:

above: James McNeill Whistler, Whistler's Mother 1871, Musée d'Orsay, Paris

The following portraits are presented in chronological order from the earliest to the most recent. While it's true that many of these artists painted multiple sittings of their mothers (e.g. Lautrec, Cassat, and Cezanne), I chose to share those I found to be the most compelling.

Albrecht Durer, portrait of Barbara Durere, the artist's mother, 1490:

Guido Reni, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1612:

Rembrandt, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1630:

Sir Thomas Lawrence, Portrait (sketch) of Lucy Lawrence, the Artist's mother, 1797:

Alfred Rethel, portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1836:

Camille Corot, Madame Corot, the Artist's Mother, Born Marie-Francoise Oberson, 1838:

Pierre Renoir, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1860:

Paul Cezanne, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1866-67:

Mary Cassat, the Artist's Mother reading Le Figaro, 1878:

Edouard Manet, Mother in the garden at Bellevue, 1880:
Georges Seurat, Aquatint of the artist's mother, 1883:

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Countess Adele Zoe de Toulouse Lautrec, The Artist's Mother, 1883:

Vincent Van Gogh, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, October, 1888:

Paul Gauguin, Portrait of Aline Gauguin, 1890:

Pablo Picasso, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1896:

Edvard Much, The Dead Mother (the artist's mother died when he was five from tuberculosis), 1899:

*You will note there are very few, if any, portraits artist's mothers in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries because so much art at that time was dominated by religious paintings and portraits commissioned by the wealthy.


PART TWO TOMORROW
Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see Part Two, 20th and 21st century artists like Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, and David Hockney's portraits of their mothers.

A Brush With Fame: Can You Match The Celebrities With Their Art?

It's not that unusual that an actor, singer/songwriter or musician is also adept with a paintbrush, after all they are known for exercising their right brain and are considered 'creative' types. But apparently the same holds true for some serial killers, dictators and other notorious figures.

Just for fun, I've posted ten pieces of artwork by the following famous and infamous people; Adolph Hitler, James Dean, Eve Plumb (Jan Brady), Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Sylvester Stallone, John Wayne Gacy, Katharine Hepburn, Tony Bennett, Bill Maher and David Bowie.



See if you can figure out who painted which (answers are at the end). And yes, I know, those of you who are extra savvy will be able to tell by styles, subjects and eras.

1. Portrait Of Billy Gunn


2. Downtown Los Angeles


3. Birds


4. Shelter at Fournes


5. Dedication to 9/11


6. Head IV


7. title unknown


8. Real Patriots Pay US Taxes


9. For He Is Raised


10. Chrome napkin and ketchup


Answers:
1. actor and legend James Dean 2. singer and artist Tony Bennett 3. serial killer John Wayne Gacy 4. dictator and mass murderer Adolph Hitler 5. actor and artist Sylvester Stallone 6. singer David Bowie 7. actress Katharine Hepburn 8. pundit Bill Maher 9. Dr. Jack Kevorkian 10. actress and artist Eve Plumb (Jan Brady)


Relevant Links:
• Tony Bennett's own website
• Pop Life Art has many celebrity artists and their work
• You can check out the art work of more serial killers here.
• You can purchase some of Sylvester Stallone's paintings here
• some of the images in this post came from the Art Celebs Gallery where works by Bill Maher and Phyllis Diller amongst others are available for purchase
• Actors as Artists is a book authored by actors Jim McMullan and Dick Gautier (Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc.) that was first published back in 1992.

Fashion Designer Kenzo Takada Exhibits His Paintings In Paris

above: Japanese fashion designer and painter Kenzo Takada poses with three of his paintings, on the first day of the exhibition. Wednesday June 16, 2010

Designer Kenzo Takada, who founded the upscale Kenzo label, has tried his hand at painting, with a Paris exhibition titled "Un Certain Style de Vie" ( A Certain Way Of Life) which showcases his eight self-portraits.


above: Japanese fashion designer and painter Kenzo Takada poses with one of his paintings, on the first day of the exhibition:" Un Certain Style de Vie", A Certain Way of Life, Wednesday June 16, 2010

The large-scale paintings shown at the Studio 55 gallery in Paris feature the Japanese-born designer in a series of flower-printed kimonos that recall the kinds of prints his label is known for.


above: detail of one of the 8 self-portraits in the Un Certain Style de Vie exhibit at Studio 55 in Paris

"Art and fashion are really not that different," Takada told The Associated Press in an interview.

A few of the self-portraits:


Details/close-ups:



Images from the exhibit at Studio 55:




Kenzo, who was born in 1939, leapt to fame in the 1980s with a high-end ready-to-wear line that gave Western garments an eastern touch. He says he started painting 10 years ago, after he sold his label to French luxury goods giant LVMH and subsequently retired.

The exhibit runs through July 10.

STUDIO 55 (en résidence chez Pierre Cardin)
3, 5 et 9 rue de Duras - 75008 PARIS
Métro : Champs-Elysées Clémenceau

special thanks to the Associated Press for info and some images, Pure Trend for some images and Getty images.

Earlier artwork by Takada:

PSST! By the way, the press keeps spinning this as if Kenzo had not ever created art before, but only clothes. Not true at all. You can see some of the couturier's previous art works, which were auctioned off in 2008 here.