Famous Capricorns Throughout History

Famous Capricorn Painters

Self-Portrait (1885)
Paul Cezanne

In June of last year, I posted Art of the Zodiac & Artists' Astrological Signs. We learned that three of my favorite artists -- Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse, and John Singer Sargent -- were Capricorns like me. Since the Tropical Zodiac for Capricorn runs thru 21 January, this is a good time to post about famous Capricorns. 

Here's Paul Cezanne looking like he's painting outside in his bathrobe (un peignoir) and jammies. There is some criticism of this self-portrait for being informal and unfinished.

White Roses and Cherries (1865)
Henri Fantin-Latour

Matisse has been well-covered in many of my other posts, so I am adding Capricorn painter Henri Fantin-Latour. His floral paintings have been used in my lesson plans about Manet, along with other paintings of peonies by Monet. Here is the one I show students alongside Manet's Peonies for a discussion of similarities and differences.

Capri Girl
(Among the Olive Trees, Capri)
(1879) John Singer Sargent

Capri Girl is perhaps my all-time favorite painting by John Singer Sargent. I saw it in-person with my daughter and we both had to stop and stare at it for a while. Rosina Ferrara was one of Sargent's frequent models for several of his paintings.

Capricorn -- The Sea Goat

Something I never knew about the symbology of Capricorn is that it is the Sea Goat, meaning that it is an aquatic animal that is half goat (~Alpine Ibex) and half fish. Here is a cropped photo from Getty Images of a herd of Ibexes by the sea. Maybe their back legs become tails when they get wet. Ha!

Austria, Carinthia, View of Alpine Ibex

Historic Capricorns -- In the News, Portraits,

Literature & Illustrations, Music

A year ago, I posted about Math and Science in Art highlighting an enlargement project from Glenridge Elementary School honoring Capricorn, Martin Luther King Jr. The same picture appears in My First Year of Blogging: Teaching Art, Travels, and Observations, an August 2020 post that also included Capricorn, Elvis Presley. My classroom enlarged a black-and-white poster of Elvis that subsequently appeared on a Valentine's Day bulletin board.

Photo by Ollie Atkins,
Nixon's Chief Photographer

Elvis Presley famously visited the White House in December 1970 during the presidency of Richard Nixon, coincidentally also a Capricorn. Nixon is joined by fellow Capricorn U.S. Presidents Millard Filmore, Andrew Johnson, and Woodrow Wilson, each with a mixed legacy.

The movie, Elvis & Nixon, was later released in 2016. An obscure movie...Can you name the actors?

Portrait of Newton at 46 (1689),
by Godfrey Kneller

Astronomer Sir Isaac Newton was a Capricorn, along with other scientists, including George Washington Carver, Isaac Asimov, Benjamin Franklin, and modern-day Stephen Hawking. I recently watched part of the ("Descent") episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where Lt. Commander Data plays poker on the holodeck with holographic representations of Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein (a Pisces).

Duplessis' Franklin

Trumball's Hamilton

Portraits of Capricorns Ben Franklin ($100) and Alexander Hamilton ($10) appear on our U.S. currency. I posted about their Portrait Artists Duplessis and Trumball, respectively, who were responsible for the images used.

Edgar Allan Poe published his short story The Oval Portrait (originally titled Life in Death) in 1842 & again in 1845, perhaps inspiring Oscar Wilde's 1891 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Poe was a Capricorn whose horror story was about an artist who was painting his wife's portrait not noticing her failing health. I was unable to discover the artist who drew the first of many illustrations of this story.

I wonder if you're aware that Capricorn author J.R.R. Tolkien (of Lord of the Rings fame) was also an accomplished artist and illustrator. Here's one of his drawings from The Hobbit.

The final Capricorn I'd like to mention is the famous rock star (musical artist), David Bowie. While in Dublin, Ireland in June 2017, my daughter and I passed by a shop window with the likeness of Bowie from his 1973 album, Aladdin Sane. Had to take a picture since we were visiting one of his haunts just 6 months after his death. I hadn't ever noticed Bowie's unusual eyes before, one blue and one green. If you look closely, the green eye has a permanently enlarged pupil resulting from being punched by one of his friends during a fight.

Image from Aladdin Sane Album 1973,
Graphic designer, Celia Philo &
Photographer Brian Duffy