The Artist

The artist should not only paint what he sees before him, but also what he sees in himself. If, however, he sees nothing within him, then he should also refrain from painting what he sees before him. Otherwise his pictures will be like those folding screens behind which one expects to find only the sick or the dead.

The man who said this is amazing. His more poetic way of saying "if you don't have anything to say keep your mouth shut" may be part of the reason why I've come to idolize him in less than 24 hours (less than 12 hours to be completely honest). Also he created this:

 

Amazing right?

Thank you History of Illustration for introducing me to the fine work of this man.

I should probably mention his name: Caspar David Friedrich.

Speaking of artists I've recently become obsessed with; how is it that more people don't know who John Bauer is?

This man was a huge influence on Jim Henson. As is evidenced here:


This image was created by John Bauer in 1915 for the Swedish collection of fairy tales "Bland Tomtar och Troll."



This image comes from Jim Henson's "The Dark Crystal."

Granted, I consider the Dark Crystal to be one super weird movie but can you not see the family resemblance?

In any case, John Bauer's work is absolutely stunning and really shouldn't be overlooked. I'm sure I'll probably have a few more posts concerning him. Especially since my History of Illustration semester long project is based on his work.

As a final piece of imagery: