#1 Source for African American Art and over 300,000 other prints

Eduard Charlemont Art Prints

Eduard Charlemont (“shar-luh-mahn”) was born in 1848 in Vienna, the capital of Austria. His father was a professional artist who painted miniature portraits and encouraged his talented son to help. Later, he studied at the Vienna Academy, worked as an apprentice in an artist’s studio, and traveled to Germany, Italy, and finally to Paris, where he stayed for thirty years. In Paris, Charlemont’s paintings were in great demand among wealthy patrons. At the same time, a diverse group of artists who called themselves “The Independents” were organizing their own exhibitions, rebelling against the French Academy’s tight control over what kinds of paintings could be exhibited publicly. The Independents included such painters as: Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro, who soon became known as the Impressionists. Although Impressionist art is very popular today, it was shocking to the Paris art world in the 1870s. In "The Moorish Chief," Charlemont used quite different painting methods than those of the Impressionists. The painting is filled with incredibly realistic details. He is dressed in the burnoose hooded cloak, typically worn by Arabs and Moors. On his head is a kaffiyeh that almost completely covers the crimson cap underneath. Of the two richly damascened scabbards stuck into his gold-embroidered belt, one is empty. In his right hand is a slender sword, the blade pointed downward like an extension of his muscular arm. It is still not completely known how the artist made the painting appear *so* incredibly lifelike. It is hailed as one of the most realistic paintings ever produced with a brush. Charlemont painted indoors in his studio, observing in great detail his model and all the other elements that would appear in the picture. His goal was to use his imagination to create a beautiful and mysterious world. The Impressionists felt that they were simply recording what they saw in the real world. But, while Charlemont was highly skilled at blending and hiding his brushstrokes, the Impressionists delighted in allowing theirs to show. Charlemont’s artistic skill brought him much recognition within his lifetime. He was also famous for creating massive murals. His masterwork mural was three enormous panels for Vienna's city theater. Each panel was almost sixty feet long! Eduard Charlemont died in Vienna in 1906. Today his name is almost unknown, and yet "The Moorish Chief" is one of the most popular paintings at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; where the original proudly hangs. More reproductions of this painting are sold in the museum's store than of any other work of art.

Sorry, nothing is currently available in the category.

© ItsABlackThang.com. All rights reserved.