Axel Wallert

Axel Wallert, Fashionable Lady With Feathered Hat, Etching

1914

This exquisite 18th-century engraving by Jacques-Philippe Le Bas (1707-1783) is after a portrait by Dutch artist Gerard Metsu (1629-1667). It formed part of Jean Baptiste Pierre Le Brun’s 'Galerie des Peintres Flamands, Hollandais et Allemands; Ouvrage enrichi de Deux Cent Planches graves d'apres les meilleurs Tableaux de ces Maitres'. Jean Baptiste Pierre Le Brun is considered one of the most influential art dealers in European history. His publication, Galerie des Peintres Flamands etc, illuminated the darkened corners of Dutch and Flemish art while also building acclaim for known luminaries, such as Gerard Metsu. Via the ‘Galerie’, Le Brun mentions Vermeer for the first time and sets the great Dutch master on a path to notoriety. He also unearthed several of Rembrandt’s followers, such as Ferdinand Bol...

This early 20th-century etching by German artist Otto Goetze (1868-1931) depicts a nude within a bedroom setting. She poses while holding a mirror and catching her reflection. Goetze was a master of provocative scenes such as this. Seemingly obsessed with the female form, his skilful etchings portray women in various states of undress. It’s interesting to consider how tastes changed during the period he worked and how the line shifted between nudes as an artwork and the more overt world of eroticism. Swedish artist Anders Zorn (1860-1920) is one of the more prominent artists of this genre, particularly during the early 20th century. His earlier depictions of nudes were often portrayed under the guise of mythological subjects - wood nymphs and such - making them more palatable for display in the home. However, as time progressed, they were simply a celebration of form. Here, in around 1915, we see a work by Goetze that suggests a narrative. She’s perhaps looking at her hairstyle. Checking whether it’s ok from the reverse. She happens to be naked but within the boundaries of acceptable taste. Note how she’s without pubic hair...

This evocative early 20th-century pastel by German artist Erwin Starker (1872-1938) captures a rolling view in the Neckar Valley, near Stuttgart. An impressive tumble of colours undu...

This beautiful late 19th-century watercolour by British artist James Herbert Snell (1861-1935) depicts a shepherd herding sheep in the evening. Snell was an interesting painter as h...

This early-20th-century oil painting by German artist Ernst Ludwig Von Aster (1902-1986) depicts a picturesque autumnal landscape in the forest at Webicht, Weimar. Ernst Ludwig Von ...

This beautiful early 20th-century oil painting by British artist Arthur Ellis (1856-1918) depicts children in a cornfield before a distant view of the sea. Ellis was first and forem...

Artist: Sidney Tushingham (English, 1884-1968) Title: "Molly" *Signed by Tushingham in pencil lower right. It is also monogram signed in the plate (printed signature) upper right Cir...

Artist: Anders Zorn (Swedish, 1860-1920) Title: "Gulli I" Series: Gulli *Signed by Zorn in pencil lower right. It is also signed and dated in the plate (printed signature) lower right Year: 1914 (second state of two) Medium: Original Etching on cream Van Gelder Zonen laid paper Limited edition: approx. 50 impressions Printer: the artist Zorn himself, Mora, Sweden Publisher: the artist Zorn himself, Mora, Sweden Reference: Asplund No. 265; Hjert & Hjert No. 162 Sheet size (irregular margins): 12.88" x 10.13" Image size: 5.13" x 3.5" Condition: Faint UV stain. Minor toning to sheet and minor paper loss at bottom center margin. It is otherwise a strong impression in excellent condition Very rare Notes: Provenance: private collection - Santa Fe, NM. Fleur-de-lis shield (Van Gelder Zonen) watermark at left center margin. Pencil inscribed "Gulli No. 1" lower right in margin. Retains old paperwork from previous framing. Biography: Anders Leonard Zorn...

Artist: Sidney Tushingham (English, 1884-1968) Title: "Peggy" *Signed by Tushingham in pencil lower right. It is also monogram signed in the plate (printed signature) lower right Cir...

"Eternal Problem" - 1924 Etching on Paper Etching on paper titled "Eternal Problem" by Elias M. Grossman (American, 1898-1947). A bearded rabbi is portrayed thinking with his hand p...

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919) "La danse à la campagne" (second plate), Conceived 1883 Soft ground Etching on paper Image: 8-5/8 x 5-1/4 inches (21.9 x 13.3 cm) (plate)...

Lithograph of a figure of a woman by Jim Smyth (American, b. 1938). Numbered, titled, signed and dated "3/12", "Study 8", "Smyth 74” along the bottom edge. Unframed. Jim Smyth has studied at the Academia de Belle Arti in Fiorenza, Italy, Ecole des BeauxArts in Geneva, New York Academy, and the Art Students League. He is also a graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in Fine Art. Although academically trained, Smyth practices and teaches a more impressionistic style of painting, focusing on the Alla Prima technique. He is particularly knowledgeable about drawing, perspective, color theory and the human figure, his passion. Smyth, with extensive academic knowledge, has a profound love of all human representations as illustrated by his humorous quick sketches from life. He also practices and teaches oil painting and pastels. When not in Provence, or Southeastern France, Smyth teaches intensely in art schools, art centers and several colleges in the Bay Area. He is a beloved instructor and his classes fill in quickly as he is very knowledgeable. On his return to the United States, he began studying with Mr. Alanson Appleton at the College of San Mateo, San Mateo, California. Smyth was a founding member of the Appletree Etchers, Inc., an etching print shop organized by Mr. Appleton and his students to develop and promote color intaglio. Smyth served as Master Printer at the studio for many years perfecting the techniques of intaglio and developing the color theories of Mr. Appleton as applied to the deeply etched plate. Smyth received his degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1972 and holds the California Community College Certificate and an Adult Education Certificate. Smyth was invited to teach "Anatomy for Artists" at Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, California, as a result of his many years of dissection of the cadaver and developed the course of study of Perspective for the college. During this period, he began teaching Life Drawing at the Pacific Art League of Palo Alto, Palo Alto, California. During the following thirty years Smyth has taught an average of twelve classes per week at the Pacific Art League of Palo Alto, the Palo Alto Art Center and the Burlingame Recreation Department among others in all phases of drawing and painting. He has conducted many workshops for the California Academy of Painters in many aspects of drawing and painting. Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor of Drawing at the College of San Mateo, San Mateo, California. He is an authority on the materials of painting and drawing, techniques of traditional drawing and painting, color theory, perspective and anatomy for artists. In his career in Life Drawing, Smyth has made over two hundred thousand drawings from the model. In addition to studies at Berkeley, Smyth has studied at the College of San Mateo, Foothill College, De Anza College, Mission College, and West Valley College, all in California. One of the pivotal points in his career was studying with Mr. Maynard Dixon Stewart at the University of San Jose, California. He spent a year at the New York Academy of Art where he was offered a full scholarship and at the Art Students League of New York. He concurrently attended classes at the National Academy of Design in New York. Among others, Smyth studied with M. Andrejivec, Ted Schmidt, Elliot Goldfinger, Gary Fagin, Ted Jacobs, Leo Neufeld, David Leffel, Jack Ferragasso, Jim Childs and Everett Raymond Kinstler and Kim English. Smyth has also studied with the noted painter and colorist, Ovanes Berberian...