Medical Art and Biological Artography

Coronavirus 2020,
David S. Goodsell

During 2020, the year of the pandemic, we've been inundated with plenty of pictures of the coronavirus, some of which are colorful and may even be seen as artistic. At least that's a more positive viewpoint! This illustration and others from the Goodsell Gallery come from the RCSB Protein Data Bank. The background reminds me of the floral patterns seen in portraits by New York artist Kehinde Wiley.

We're even adorning our faces with artwork and turning patterned fabric into fashion statements. This is similar to the mask I got for Christmas 2020 that I've been wearing most often.

Back in high school, in our Advanced Biology class (AP Bio today), we made stipple drawings of what we saw under a microscope. We were each assigned a part of a frog to dissect. We suspended our organ in paraffin (wax) and cut ultrathin slivers for microscopic viewing on glass slides. We then used red and blue colored pencils to meticulously draw dots like we were Pointillist artists.

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
(1632), Rembrandt

While I don't think the Pointillists dabbled in scientific art, the concept of putting different color dots next to each other and allowing your eye/brain to blend them together was making good use of the viewer's anatomy. Speaking of which, one of Rembrandt's most famous works is The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. I apologize if it is too gruesome for you, but medicine is (after all) the subject of my current blog post.

Dr. Gachet (1890), Van Gogh

In the 19th and 20th centuries, many artists liked to paint portraits of their doctors, especially those who suffered illness or chronic disease, like Vincent Van Gogh. He actually stayed with his doctor/friend after leaving the asylum and a short time before his untimely death.

Portrait of Dr. Jacobsen
(1909), Munch

The Sick Child (1907), Munch

Edvard Munch seemed to be surrounded by disease and death, though honestly, I believe he was obsessed with it. He painted portraits of his dying family members and his doctor.

Dr. Farill (1951), Frida Kahlo

Dr. Leo Eloesser (1931),
Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo suffered throughout her life and painted portraits of two of her doctors. 

The Two Fridas (1939), Kahlo

She also painted a rather strange double self-portrait complete with hearts, veins, and arteries connecting her twin selves.

Many doctors' offices have artistic illustrations or works that coordinate with the medical theme of the practice hanging on their walls. Donna Krin Korkes' oil painting entitled Standing Straight, is a colorful depiction of the vertebrae. If you click on the "Healing Series" block near the top of the page, you'll see lots of her works.

It's a whimsical way of presenting the focus of your medical practice in an interesting manner so as to appeal to all ages without being clinical and stuffy.

At an art fair in Ann Arbor, Michigan one summer, my brother bought a pack of bioartography note cards depicting medical or biological structures done by scientists at the University of Michigan. The cards show how artistic some structures can appear when special stains or microscopes are used in research. This is an angle I hadn't thought of when I posted, Math and Science in Art in January 2020 (pre-pandemic).

Art is often kitschy like cartoons showing animals exhibiting human characteristics or donning clothing. My next and one-hundredth post will be about the use of animals in art.

10 Artists With April Birthdays

Self-Portrait (c.1505), Raphael

1. Raphael

The Italian artist Raphael, full name: Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, was born on 6 April 1483 and died on his 37th birthday. His portrait hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy where I visited in May 2011. In this post, I will attempt to show self-portraits of each artist.

Self-Portrait in Studio (1985), Vasarely

2. Victor Vasarely

Some say that Victor Vasarely was the Father of Op Art. He was born on 9 April 1908. He is featured in my April 2020 post about Op and Pop Art. This portrait was painted ~12 years prior to his death. The colors and shapes are reminiscent of those used in many of his geometric paintings. I like how he repeats the shapes and stripes and uses analogous colors of purple and blue for emphasizing his own figure in contrast with the background.

3. Gustav Vigeland

Self-Portrait (1922),
Gustav Vigeland

My next artist is Norwegian sculptor, Gustav Vigeland, who was born on 11 April 1869. His work is featured in my June 2019 post about our visit to Oslo, Norway during our cruise to seven Baltic countries. Although I'd been to Oslo twice before on business, I hadn't taken the time to visit Vigeland Sculpture Park, located in Frogner Park. Don't miss his 212 sculptures made from bronze or granite!

I've never posted a sculptural self-portrait of an artist. He reminds me a bit of the Star Wars character (played by Ian McDiarmid), Naboo Senator (Lord) Palpatine, who led a double life as the phantom menace, Darth Sidious.

Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk
(1512), Leonardo da Vinci

4. Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was born on 15 April 1452 and, unlike his colleague Raphael, he lived to be 67. As I discussed in my recent Easter Egg post, it was common for artists in the 15th century to use (black, white, or red) chalk in their drawings. I wonder if the drawing was as speckled as it appears, or whether time has taken its toll on the surface. And he looks way older than 60.

Self-portrait With Rita
(c. 1924), Benton

5. Thomas Hart Benton

Thomas Hart Benton, born on 15 April 1889, started the Regionalist art movement along with his colleagues Grant Wood (of American Gothic fame) and John Steuart Curry. Benton and his wife Rita spent their summers in Chilmark, on the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard, for over 50 years.

Joan Miró Self-Portrait (1917)

              6. Joan Miró

Spanish abstract expressionist and surrealist Joan Miró, born on 20 April 1893, is the inspiration for one of my favorite art lessons about composition. In his compositions, he typically uses primary colors and black. Many artists, including Edgar Degas, liked to use black outlines in their works. I also own books of both artists' works.

Self-Portrait (1799),
J.M.W. Turner

7. J. M. W. Turner

Born on 23 April 1775, English Romantic painter, printmaker, and watercolorist J. M. W. Turner was a master of painting atmospheric effects. In museums, it is common to see mostly landscapes by this artist. It is also common for artists to paint their own portraits early on or until they can afford to hire models or get commissioned work. Rembrandt was too poor an artist and painted >75 self-portraits in his lifetime.

    

Self-Portrait (1947),
Willem de Kooning

8. Willem de Kooning

Willem de Kooning was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist, born on 24 April 1914. He was also the husband of expressionist Elaine de Kooning, whose work was part of the Women of Abstract Expressionism exhibit that I was fortunate to see on one of my trips to Palm Springs.

Young Girl by Bridget Riley

9. Bridget Riley

Born on 24 April 1931, English painter Bridget Riley was known for her op-art paintings. In 2011, the National Portrait Gallery of London had an exhibit of her early portrait drawings, called From Life, but alas no self-portraits.

Self-Portrait in a Green Vest
(1837), Delacroix

10. Eugène Delacroix

French Romantic artist Eugène Delacroix was born 26 April 1798 and is famous for painting the magnificent and large (8′ 6″ x 10′ 8″) Liberty Leading the People, which may be seen at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Artists Who Died Young (Like Van Gogh)

Tree Roots (July 1890), Vincent Van Gogh

My Dad would have been 100 this month. While many artists lived to be over 100, like American Folk Artist, Grandma Moses (101), she and Architect, I. M. Pei (102) are the only two centenarians whose names I recognized in the Wikipedia List of centenarians (artists, painters, and sculptors). Instead, this post will list more familiar artists who met untimely deaths, many in their mid-30s, like Vincent Van Gogh.

(truncated)
Expulsion from the
Garden of Eden (1425),
Masaccio

Let's begin with the youngest, Italian Renaissance Artist, Masaccio, who died at the age of 26 in 1428. Masaccio painted nudes and is noted for innovating the use of foreshortening in his figures using linear perspective. Like many who die suddenly, the cause of his death is unknown. Probably the most common cause of death is often due to complications from the disease of the day. In the Middle Ages, diseases of epidemic proportions included (among others): anthrax, bubonic plague, erysipelas (bacterial skin infection), leprosy, smallpox, and tuberculosis. Syphilis, a disease common to 10% of men in 17th century Europe, led to the demise of French Realist, Édouard Manet at 51.

The Old Woman (c. 1508),
Georgione

Back in the 16th century, Italian painters Giorgione and Raphael both died in their 30s. Florentine painter, Giorgione, famous for changing focus to light and color and away from shapes and figures, died in 1510 at age 32 from the plague. Sadly, only half a dozen of his paintings have survived. This portrait is reminiscent of the lighting effects used by Rembrandt.

Sistine Madonna (1512),
Raphael

Raphael is the youngest of the trinity that includes Michelangelo (89) and Leonardo da Vinci (67). Best known for his Madonnas and for his large figure compositions in the Vatican, Raphael died on his 37th birthday of a pulmonary illness (similar to today's coronavirus) that had been incorrectly diagnosed as intestinal disease. This particular Madonna is recognizable because of the two familiar cherubs at her feet. They often appear in today's advertisements.

The Raft of Medusa (c. 1818), Géricault

Best known for his Raft of the Medusa, French Romance painter Théodore Géricault died at 32 of a chronic tubercular infection, having been weakened by several horse riding accidents. He died only 12 years after exhibiting his first major work, The Charging Chasseur, at the Paris Salon of 1812. Also famous for his ten Portraits of the Insane, sadly only five survived. Not long after, in 1830, Delacroix painted his Liberty Leading the People, which I saw at the Louvre in Paris and was clearly influenced by Géricault. His raft painting was twice the size!

Wheat  Field with Crows (July 1890), Van Gogh

Van Gogh is perhaps my all-time favorite artist and one who produced quite a volume of great art (starting at age 27) that has surprisingly survived since his untimely death at age 36 in 1890. Suffering from mental illness and a series of disappointments, Van Gogh apparently died (accidentally?) by his own hand from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He painted with a lot of emotion and colors that were far from sad and dreary. 

For example, when I look at the colorful paintings of Edvard Munch, they are pretty much the definition of sad and dreary, and for me the opposite of how I feel when looking at a Van Gogh painting. However, this Van Gogh, painted in the last month of his life is a bit disturbing. The pathway or road seems to end abruptly and into a rather menacing and dark sky populated by some equally menacing crows. It makes me wonder how and what he was feeling on that day.

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
(c.1884), Georges Seurat

Georges Seurat is another French painter who died young at 31, on Easter Sunday in 1891. Who could forget his rendition of a Sunday afternoon spent on the banks of the River Seine in Paris? This is his most famous neo-impressionist or pointillist work. I also understand that it is a very large 6.8' X 10.1' canvas. It must be very impressive in person!

Girl With Braids (1918), Modigliani

In 1918, Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani painted Girl With Braids, which I use to teach about texture and pattern when we build our wrapping paper self-portraits. Two years later, he died at the age of 35 from complications of tubercular lung meningitis following years of alcohol and drug abuse. The effects of such diseases have been shown in paintings throughout history as far back as ancient times. The poet John Keats, the composer Frédéric Chopin, and the artist Edvard Munch were all affected by Tuberculosis.  Abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock also abused alcohol and died in a car crash at the age of 46.

When teaching about these artists and their work, I try not to focus on the tragic circumstances of their lives but rather on the magnificent legacy they created in their short time on earth.

Easter Eggs -- Symbols of the Resurrection in Pastel Colors

Easter Eggs

Persian Egg, Etsy

Easter is the time of year when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Easter egg symbolizes the empty place from which Jesus emerged following his crucifixion and ultimate entombment. Other cultures have decorated eggs as a form of celebrating the Spring equinox, during which the Persian New Year (Nowruz) falls, for example. Themes of fertility, rebirth, and new life are also common in English, Germanic, and other European cultures.

Do you know why Easter eggs are traditionally dyed in pastel colors? Pale yellow symbolizes the resurrection, pink for the blood of Christ, lavender for the joy that Mary Magdalene and the other women felt when they saw the tomb was empty, and sky blue is a reminder of Christ's love.

Roger Moore,
Octopussy's Bond

So, how is this relative to art? Decorating eggs can be a fun art activity for young and old. Let's not forget the sought-after bejeweled Fabergé egg that belonged to the imperial family of Russia and was auctioned off in Ian Fleming's Bond classic, Octopussy. And by definition, the period of history (14th thru 16th centuries) known as the Renaissance was entirely dedicated to rebirth. One of the most famous artists and the architect of the Spanish Renaissance was Greek painter and sculptor, El Greco.

European Religious Art

Christ Blessing
('The Saviour of the World')
(ca. 1600), El Greco

British Sister Wendy (Beckett), one of the foremost art historians of the 20th Century, was particularly enamored by the art of Diego Velazquez, Francisco Goya, and El Greco. I used to watch her somewhat quirky TV special presentations and happily own one of her books, Sister Wendy's Grand Tour, Discovering Europe's Great Art. which includes highlights of her privileged trip to the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain. Someday, I would love to visit.

And Jesus was the subject of over a dozen religious works by El Greco. I don't recall seeing this particular painting while in Edinburgh, though it is apparently on display at the Scottish National Gallery. Christ is a common subject in many paintings, including those of Raphael, Bellini, and of course Leonardo da Vinci.

Salvator Mundi (ca. 1500), da Vinci

The famous Salvator Mundi painting of Jesus, often attributed to da Vinci, fetched a whopping $450 Million in 2017. It is one of a few surviving works from a private collection. I show it here because both artists depicted Christ in a similar pose with his left hand on a sphere (not an egg!). Personally, I prefer El Greco's!!

Pieta (1576), Titian

Probably the most recognizable image of the dead Christ is Michelangelo's marble statue of the Pieta, created in 1498-99 and residing in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. While in Rome in May 2011 the lines were too long to visit St. Peter's. Both Michelangelo and Titian influenced El Greco, and all three created such portraits of Mother Mary and Jesus. Titian's Pieta was his final painting and includes his self-portrait as the old man in red holding the hand of the dead Christ.

Pastels -- The Renaissance & Beyond

It turns out that pastels as an art medium originated during the late Renaissance. Artists like Michelangelo and da Vinci used chalk mainly for sketching and they were initially only available in black, white, and red.

It wasn't until the mid-18th century that pastels were taken seriously by professional painters. Now, let's explore the works of three of the most famous artists who used pastels.

Mary Cassatt

Mother and Child (1914), Mary Cassatt

Continuing with the mother and child theme, here is a beautiful pastel painting by American portrait and figure artist Mary Cassatt (1844–1926). I love the color scheme and the fine blue strokes that subtly add shading to her figures. I'd love to see this one in person. Even the background is interesting and appears to marry together many of the colors, and contrasts nicely with the warm tones used on her subjects.

Edgar Degas

Four Ballerinas on the Stage (1885-90), Degas

French artist Edgar Degas is most famous for painting ballet dancers and occasionally portraits of friends and jockeys and their horses. He often used black outlines on his figures and was less concerned with facial details, leaving his impressions largely to the posing and positioning of his dancers. The contrasting orange tutu and the lines created by the dancers' arms keep our eyes focused on the three dancers in the middle, even though the blue figure is truncated. The patch of blue in the scenery serves to balance out her blue skirt, creating more diagonal movement.

Jean-François Millet

Shepherdess and Her Flock
(1864-65), Millet

When teaching elementary school-age children about French realist Jean-François Millet, I usually show The Gleaners (1857), one of his most famous works depicting peasant life. This pastel work, though less colorful, has a softness and peacefulness about it that I appreciate. Its atmospheric effect makes it hard to tell the time of day. Let's assume that the woman has led her sheep to pasture for an early morning breakfast.

Man with a Hoe (1860-62),
Jean-François Millet

In my pastels class taught to adults at Franke Tobey Jones' Senior University, we did pastel landscapes the first day, then switched to trying a more limited palette on the second day. I wish I had used these two pastel paintings by Millet as examples for my classes.

Untitled

One of my adult students completed this drawing of a reclining kitten. Her adaptation is reminiscent of the Millet (above) with its use of white pastel as an accent. Note how both artists made use of paper that was already a color (not white) and allows the background to peek through the black/brown and white pastel strokes. Very impressionistic kitty!

My Degas Recreation

As a demo for my pastels class, I did a copy of Degas' Ballerina and Lady With a Fan (1885) to show many of the various strokes one can use. The purple paper provided the perfect underpainting and my smudges served as shadows under the dancers' white legs. Don't forget that many artists, including Van Gogh, liked to copy the works of artists who preceded them, for example, artists such as Millet and various Japanese artists.

Bryce and Friends (2021), Ken Patterson

I really enjoyed painting my dog, Bryce, and his friends playing at a California dog park. It challenged me to use small strokes of light blue, browns and grays to emulate the rocks, including the shadows created by the trees. It reminds me of Georges Seurat, the famous French Post- or Neo-Impressionist who used Pointillism (a.k.a. Divionism or Chromoluminarism) to create light effects in his paintings. Seurat and Signac pioneered their technique in Paris in the mid-1880s. Seurat died at the young age of 31 of unknown causes in 1891, leaving his painting, The Circus, unfinished.