Thank you for your report!
We have received your report and it is currently under investigation by a forum moderator.
Inspiration from Artists Week 40 : Wilfred Ball and Stefen Luchian
Welcome to the forum.
Here you can discuss all things art with like-minded artists, join regular painting challenges, ask questions, buy and sell art materials and much more.
Make sure you sign in or register to join the discussions.
Hang on Studio Wall
This is a Studio member-only feature!
Join our Studio membership and save your favourite Painters Online content, from gallery artwork to step-by-step guides, to your own online mood boards. Create your go-to place for inspiration and learning. Plus, members can also enjoy a range of exciting features including monthly art videos and a digital magazine library.
If you are already a Studio member, simply login to your account.
Not a Studio member? Why not try our free 30-day trial - no commitment, no credit card required
Message
Posted
I found him on an auction site: https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/bamfords/catalogue-id-bamfor10046/lot-aeb7577a-1528-462e-afb7-a3f900e6b6fe (safe to click!)
There's another one that might be his, since they both mention Derbyshire: https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/hansons/catalogue-id-hanson10033/lot-1e72de84-0dac-4e72-84cd-a44500858899
Posted
These are still a bit of a mix - the top one (of those just posted) is Wilfrid Ball; the one below, my eyesight and screen size are not up to identifying. WilFRID is reasonably easy to find, though he died over 100 years ago; WilFRED is an elusive little devil - who died some 100 years after the other one. I'm less than on top form today because my usual painkillers are having manufacturing difficulties, and the alternative has completely mucked up my biological clock - up at 3am, asleep at 4pm.... When I'm feeling a bit more myself, I'll try to trace him through his books - provided his publisher is still in existence AND keeps records of its authors.
I can't really do any kind of introduction at the moment, because apart from the dates 1915 - 2000, I think, I know very little indeed about Wilfred Mark 2; wish I hadn't sold his book(s) - I remember bits ... that he was a very good exponent of masking fluid, which I hate to use; and that he said that in all his summery paintings, he would always drop a little Yellow Ochre into the mix. Which is fine, but not much to go on. If you'll all keep looking we might get somewhere in the end, but remember is Wilfred Ball R.E. we want, not Wilfrid.
Posted
Ștefan Luchian (last name also spelled Lukian on some paintings; 1 February 1868 – 28 June 1916) was a Romanian painter, famous for his landscapes and still life works.
In 1885, Stefan joined the painting class at the Fine Arts School, where he was encouraged to pursue a career in art by Nicolae Grigorescu, whose work was to have a major effect on his entire creative life.
Although Stefan's mother wanted him to have a miliatary career, he studied for two semesters at the Munich Fine Arts Academy, where he created copies of the works by Correggio and Rembrandt housed in the Kunstareal. After his return to Romania, he took part in the first exhibition of the "Cercul Artistic" ("The Artistic Circle") art group.
In 1896, together with Nicolae Vermont, Constantin Artachino, and the art collector Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești, Luchian was one of the main founders of Bucharest's "Salonul Independenților" ("The Independets' Salon"), which was opened in front of the official Salon (the Romanian equivalent of the Paris Salon). Two years later, the group led to the creation of "Societatea Ileana" and its press organ, Ileana, with Luchian as the original illustrator. From then on Luchian began integrating Symbolist elements in his work, taking inspiration from various related trends: Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, and Mir iskusstv.
In 1900, Luchian contributed two pastels to Romania's Pavilion at the World Fair, and in the same year experiencing the first symptoms of multiple sclerosis. After some initial improvements, this illness was lifelong. Nonetheless, he continued painting and, until 1915, had his works displayed in numerous exhibitions, albeit to a largely indifferent public.
At his 1905 exhibition, the only buyer of a painting was his former teacher Grigorescu. Despite being appreciated by a select few (including the famous writer Ion Luca Caragiale), Luchian lived in poverty (the large fortune he had inherited was progressively drained).
Paralysed from 1909, he had to live the rest of his life in an armchair. This did not prevent him from working on an entire series of landscapes and flowers. He had begun flower paintings earlier, but from 1908 he concentrated all his creative energy into the subject. Toward the end of his life, Luchian was not longer able to hold the painter's brush with his fingers, and was instead helped to tie it to his wrist in order to continue work.
He was 48 when he died. By the 1930s, Luchian's impact on Romanian art was becoming the subject of disputes in the cultural world, with several critics claiming that his work had been minor and the details of his life exaggerated. In 1948, Luchian was posthumously elected to the Romanian Academy.
Portrait of a painter (self-portrait)
Jewish man
Alecu, the literate man
Peasant woman with yellow headscarf
The laundress
Poppies
Jewish man
Alecu, the literate man
Peasant woman with yellow headscarf
The laundress
Poppies
Edited
by Lucian Hodoboc
Posted
That’s a very poignant story about his life and such a short one. But years ago this was often the case - artists, poets, writers - people who were famous and who we know about, often lived in poverty or with extreme ill health but continued to pursue their passion. I like the self portrait here, looking directly at us.. and connecting with the viewer. The laundress ,too, particularly attracts me with its light and colour and also the peasant woman. Some interesting examples Lucien.
Posted
Colourful and lively work, and cheerful - at odds with the grim life he was forced to lead.
We tend to see too little work from those central European states - Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary/the old Austro-Hungarian empire - yet they were all highly developed civilizations and must have had their own art movements, galleries and conservatoires.