MONTAGNE SAINTE VICTOIRE BY AUGUSTE RENOIR

PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR  (1841-1919)

 Mount of Sainte-Victoire (1, 011 m - 3, 316ft)

France (Provence) 

In La Montagne Sainte Victoire, ca.1888-89, oil on canvas,  (53x64,1cm) 

Yale University Art Gallery 

The mountain

Mont Sainte-Victoire our Montagne Sainte-Victoire (1,011 m-3,316ft)  also called Mont Venturi is a limestone massif in the South of France, in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Located east of Aix-en-Provence, it has experienced international fame, due to the more than 80 works Paul Cézanne did on it. It hosts many hikers, climbers and nature lovers, and is a major element of Aix landscape. The range of the Sainte-Victoire is 18 kilometers long and 5 kilometers from large, following a strict east-west orientation. It is located on the Bouches-du-Rhône and Var, and in the towns of Puyloubier, Saint-Antonin-sur-Bayon, Rousset, Châteauneuf-le-Rouge, Beaurecueil, Le Tholonet Vauvenargues, Saint-Marc-Jaumegarde, Pourrières, Artigues and Rians.

D 10 and D 17 (Route Cézanne) are the main roads to skirt the mountains. On the northern side, the D10 crosses the Col de Claps (530 m) and the Col des Portes (631 m). On the southern side, the D 17 walks on the Plateau de Cengle and crossed the Collet blanc de Subéroque (505 m)...

- More about Mount of Sainte Victoire 

The painter 
 Pierre-Auguste Renoir, commonly known as Auguste Renoir  was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style.
Renoir's paintings are notable for their vibrant light and saturated color, most often focusing on people in intimate and candid compositions. The female nude was one of his primary subjects. In characteristic Impressionist style, Renoir suggested the details of a scene through freely brushed touches of color, so that his figures softly fuse with one another and their surroundings.
His initial paintings show the influence of the colorism of Eugène Delacroix and the luminosity of Camille Corot. He also admired the realism of Gustave Courbet and Édouard Manet, and his early work resembles theirs in his use of black as a color. Renoir admired Edgar Degas' sense of movement. Another painter Renoir greatly admired was the 18th-century master François Boucher.
In the late 1860s, through the practice of painting light and water en plein air (outdoors), he and his friend Claude Monet discovered that the color of shadows is not brown or black, but the reflected color of the objects surrounding them, an effect known today as diffuse reflection. Several pairs of paintings exist in which Renoir and Monet worked side-by-side, depicting the same scenes (La Grenouillère, 1869). He rarely painted landscapes without silhouettes like the Mount Sainte Victoire above, probably done as a tribute to Paul Cézanne.
One of the best known Impressionist works is Renoir's 1876 Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (Bal du moulin de la Galette). The painting depicts an open-air scene, crowded with people at a popular dance garden on the Butte Montmartre close to where he lived. The works of his early maturity were typically Impressionist snapshots of real life, full of sparkling color and light. By the mid-1880s, however, he had broken with the movement to apply a more disciplined formal technique to portraits and figure paintings, particularly of women. It was a trip to Italy in 1881 when he saw works by Raphael and other Renaissance masters, that convinced him that he was on the wrong path, and for the next several years he painted in a more severe style in an attempt to return to classicism. Concentrating on his drawing and emphasizing the outlines of figures, he painted works such as The Large Bathers (1884–87; Philadelphia Museum of Art) during what is sometimes called his "Ingres period".
After 1890 he changed direction again. To dissolve outlines, as in his earlier work, he returned to thinly brushed color. From this period onward he concentrated on monumental nudes and domestic scenes, fine examples of which are Girls at the Piano, 1892, and Grandes Baigneuses, 1887. The latter painting is the most typical and successful of Renoir's late, abundantly fleshed nudes.
A prolific artist, he created several thousand paintings. The warm sensuality of Renoir's style made his paintings some of the most well-known and frequently reproduced works in the history of art. The single largest collection of his works—181 paintings in all—is at the Barnes Foundation, in Philadelphia.
He was the father of actor Pierre Renoir (1885–1952), filmmaker Jean Renoir (1894–1979) and ceramic artist Claude Renoir (1901–1969). He was the grandfather of the filmmaker Claude Renoir (1913–1993), son of Pierre.

MOUNT VESUVIUS PAINTED BY AUGUSTE RENOIR

PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841-1919)

Mount Vesuvius (1, 281m - 4,203 ft current)

Italy

In The Bay of Naples (1881), Oil on canvas, 59.7 x 81.3 cm. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The mountain
Mount Vesuvius (1,281 meters- 4,203 ft current) is one of those legendary and mythic mountains the Earth paid regularly tribute. Monte Vesuvio in Italian modern langage or Mons Vesuvius in antique Latin langage is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples (Italy) about 9 km (5.6 mi) east of Naples and a short distance from the shore.
It is one of several volcanoes which form the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure.
Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman antique cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and several other settlements. That eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ash, and fumes to a height of 33 km (20.5 mi), spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing. At least 1,000 people died in the eruption. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus.
Vesuvius has erupted many times since and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Nowadays, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby and its tendency towards explosive eruptions (said Plinian eruptions). It is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world.

The painter
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, commonly known as Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. Renoir's paintings are notable for their vibrant light and saturated color, most often focusing on people in intimate and candid compositions. The female nude was one of his primary subjects. In characteristic Impressionist style, Renoir suggested the details of a scene through freely brushed touches of color, so that his figures softly fuse with one another and their surroundings.
His initial paintings show the influence of the colorism of Eugène Delacroix and the luminosity of Camille Corot. He also admired the realism of Gustave Courbet and Édouard Manet, and his early work resembles theirs in his use of black as a color. Renoir admired Edgar Degas' sense of movement. Another painter Renoir greatly admired was the 18th-century master François Boucher.
In the late 1860s, through the practice of painting light and water en plein air (outdoors), he and his friend Claude Monet discovered that the color of shadows is not brown or black, but the reflected color of the objects surrounding them, an effect known today as diffuse reflection. Several pairs of paintings exist in which Renoir and Monet worked side-by-side, depicting the same scenes (La Grenouillère, 1869).

 He very rarely painted mountains landscapes like the Mount Sainte Victoire ( a tribute to Cezanne) or the Mount Vesuvius (above).
The works of his early maturity were typically Impressionist snapshots of real life, full of sparkling color and light. By the mid-1880s, however, he had broken with the movement to apply a more disciplined formal technique to portraits and figure paintings, particularly of women. It was a trip to Italy in 1881 when he saw works by Raphael and other Renaissance masters, that convinced him that he was on the wrong path, and for the next several years he painted in a more severe style in an attempt to return to classicism.
After 1890 he changed direction again. To dissolve outlines, as in his earlier work, he returned to thinly brushed color. From this period onward he concentrated on monumental nudes and domestic scenes, fine examples of which are Girls at the Piano, 1892, and Grandes Baigneuses, 1887. The latter painting is the most typical and successful of Renoir's late, abundantly fleshed nudes.
A prolific artist, he created several thousand paintings. The warm sensuality of Renoir's style made his paintings some of the most well-known and frequently reproduced works in the history of art. The single largest collection of his works—181 paintings in all—is at the Barnes Foundation, in Philadelphia.
He was the father of actor Pierre Renoir (1885–1952), filmmaker Jean Renoir (1894–1979) and ceramic artist Claude Renoir (1901–1969). He was the grandfather of the filmmaker Claude Renoir (1913–1993), son of Pierre.

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2019 - Wandering Vertexes...

by Francis Rousseau 

YAKE DAKE BY SOTARO YASUI

SOTARO YASUI (1888-1955)   

Mount Yake-daké or Yake  (2, 455m - 8,054 ft) 

Japan 

In Mount Yakedke, 1941, watercolor,  Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura

Mount Yake (2, 455m - 8,054 ft) or Yake-daké (焼岳),  literally "Burning mountain" is an active volcano in the Hida Mountains, lying between Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, and Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains.
Mount Yake is the most active of all the volcanoes in the Hida Mountains. Its two main peaks are the northern and southern peaks, but visitors can only ascend to the northern peak, as the southern peak is currently a restricted area. A crater lake lies between the two peaks.
Because the lava flowing from Mount Yake has a high viscosity, it is easily able to build a lava dome.
The heat from the volcano produces many onsen in the surrounding area.
In 1911, 22 minor eruptions were recorded.
In 1915, during the Taishō period, however, there was a major eruption. The flow of the lava blocked the Azusa River, which caused the river to form a lake that was named Lake Taishō.  The Azusa River is again flowing today, but the lake still remains.
In 1962, there was an eruption that killed two people staying at a small hut near the mouth of the volcano.
In 1995, a tunnel was being constructed on the Nagano Prefecture side of the mountain, through Mount Akandana, which was thought to be part of Mount Yake. At 2:25pm on February 11, the workers encountered volcanic gases, which were quickly followed by a phreatic eruption on Mount Yake, leading to the death of four people. Later explorations have shown that Mount Akandana is an independent volcano.
There is still an active fumarole near the mountain's peak.

The painter
Sōtarō Yasui (安井 曾太郎 was a Japanese painter, noted for development of yōga (Western-style) portraiture in early twentieth-century Japanese painting.
Yasui was born to a merchant class household in Kyoto, but dropped out of commercial high school against his family's wishes to pursue a career in the arts. He studied oil painting under Asai Chū at the Shōgōin Yōga Kenkyujō and Kansai Bijutsu-in (Kansai Fine Art Academy) together with Ryuzaburo Umehara.
In 1907, at the age of nineteen he moved to Paris, France to study at the Académie Julian under Jean-Paul Laurens.  During this seven years, from 1907 to 1914, he was strongly influenced by the realistic styles of Jean-François Millet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and, in particular, Paul Cézanne. Forced to return to Japan with the outbreak of World War I, in 1915, he made his debut at the Nikakai (Second Division Society) Exhibition, where he displayed forty-four paintings he had made in Paris. For the next ten years, Yasui suffered from recurring health problems and did not participate in exhibitions, while he attempted to perfect his style, which incorporates clear outlines and vibrant colors in portraits and landscapes, combining western realism with the softer touches of traditional nihonga techniques. In 1930, he displayed these techniques in "A Portrait of a Woman" to wide critical acclaim, and was nominated for membership in the prestigious Imperial Fine Arts Academy in 1935.
From 1936, he cooperated with Ikuma Arishima to establish the Issui-kai, a rival organization to the Nikakai. In the postwar period, many of his works were selected as cover art for the literary magazine Bungeishunjū. From 1944, he was a professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts. In 1952, he received the Order of Culture from the Japanese government.
He died in 1955 of acute pneumonia. His grave is at Shokaku temple in Kyoto.

BEN HOPE / BEINN HÒB PEINT PAR MAXIME MAUFRA

MAXIME MAUFRA (1861-1918)
Ben Hope / Beinn Hòb  (927 m)
Royaume-Uni (Ecosse)

In "Nuit d'Été, Ben Hope, Ecosse," huile sur toile, 60.5 x 73.5 cm. Collection privée

La montagne
Ben Hope /Beinn Hòb  (927 m) est une montagne du nord de l'Écosse. C'est le sommet le plus au nord, seul dans la Flow Country (une région de landes couvertes de tourbe) au sud-est du Loch Hope à Sutherland. La montagne forme un cône à peu près triangulaire, avec un grand rocher à l'ouest et deux épaulements inférieurs au sud et au nord-est. Les fleurs alpines sont abondantes en saison, même si le sol est très rocheux. La route principale vers le sommet commence à Strathmore, à l'ouest de la montagne, où se trouve un parking sur une petite route. L'itinéraire longe le brûlis d'Allt-na-caillich qui descend à travers une brèche dans les rochers orientés à l'ouest. Le parcours est raide, mais bien balisé avec des cairns occasionnels et non exposé. L'approche par l'est est moins souvent utilisée car il y a une vaste étendue de landes couvertes de bruyères sans route. L'approche par le nord n'est pas possible pour les marcheurs, car il n'y a pas de chemin entre les rochers. La vue depuis le sommet englobe le Pentland Firth, le Loch Eriboll et les montagnes voisines d'Arkle et Foinaven. Les îles Orcades sont visibles par temps clair.

Le peintre
Maxime Maufra est un peintre, graveur et lithographe français postimpressionniste. Il s’initie à la peinture avec Charles Leduc et son frère Alfred Leduc à Nantes, en reproduisant des paysages des bords de Loire, mais son père qui a décidé d'en faire un homme d'affaires, lui fait faire un séjour linguistique en Angleterre à Liverpool. Là, il découvre ce qu'est réellement la peinture, notamment celle de Turner. Il visite le Pays de Galles et l’Écosse, dont les paysages lui seront une source d'inspiration. Il revient en France en 1884, il mène de front son activité professionnelle et ses travaux picturaux. Il est alors initié à l’impressionnisme par Charles Le Roux.
En 1886, il est remarqué par Octave Mirbeau, lors d'une exposition au Salon de Paris. Cette même année il participe à l'Exposition des beaux-arts de Nantes qui se tient tous les trois ans et à laquelle sont conviés les peintres déjà consacrés et ayant participé au Salon parisien, dont Eugène Boudin, Léon Bonnat, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Jules-Élie Delaunay, Émile Dezaunay, avec lequel il va lier une grande amitié, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Henry Moret, Camille Pissarro, Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat ou Alfred Sisley. Dans les années 1880, il parcourt ensuite la Normandie et la Bretagne pour peindre des marines et des paysages et s'installe à Paris en 1892, revenant chaque année en Bretagne. C'est lors d'un séjour à Pont-Aven en 1890 qu'il rencontre Paul Gauguin et Paul Sérusier (1864-1927).  Il est alors fortement influencé par le synthétisme, style inventé par Émile Bernard (1868-1941) et développé par Gauguin, qui traduit les formes en aplats colorés disposés selon un motif décoratif.  Il décide alors de se consacrer pleinement à la peinture et s'installe à Pont-Aven. Il fréquente, en 1891 et 1892, l'auberge de Marie Henry au Pouldu en compagnie de Charles Filiger. Il retrouve Gauguin quelques années plus tard à Paris en 1893. C’est l’occasion d’encouragements et de soutien réciproques entre ces deux artistes qui se respectent. Il témoigne néanmoins d'une pointe de scepticisme signalant son indépendance de caractère : « Je restais trois mois dans ce pays breton de Pont-Aven où je n’entendais parler que vert Véronèse pur, chrome, etc., théories de couleurs plus ou moins absurdes. Je préfère la coloration vive, mais on peut peindre avec du noir… Le tout est d’être peintre, et quoique ce mot déplaise à certains, il faut d’abord s’exprimer en cette langue. »
En 1892, Maufra fréquente avec son ami Émile Dezaunay, l'atelier d'Eugène Delâtre où ils réalisent leurs premières gravures, influencés par Paul Gauguin. Il est le premier à s'installer au Bateau-Lavoir à Montmartre en 1893, et son atelier est fréquenté par ses amis Dezaunay, Aristide Briand, ainsi que le poète Victor-Émile Michelet. En 1892 il expose une monographie de son œuvre à la deuxième exposition des peintres impressionnistes et symbolistes au Le Barc de Boutteville (Paris),
Il expose ensuite à la galerie Durand-Ruel qui sera son marchand jusqu'à la mort de l'artiste, et organisera de nombreuses expositions de ses œuvres.
Au printemps 1894, ils se fréquentent à nouveau avec Gauguin en Bretagne au Pouldu, puis Maufra part à la découverte du Trégor finistérien. Il finit par approfondir sa propre voie en abordant les paysages avec une prédilection pour les marines de Bretagne. Il a également visité la région du Dauphiné et les environs du Havre.
Après un voyage en Écosse à l'été 1895, il épouse à Londres Céline Le Floc'h, dont il avait fait la connaissance à Pont-Aven.
Écrivant à un ami en 1897, il déclara : « Je cherche les grands horizons, les cieux !... Je voudrais que les paysages soient classiques, simples et immenses »
En 1903, il est cofondateur avec  du Salon d'automne au Petit Palais et il expose en 1904.
Il est nommé Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur en 1906 et peintre de la Marine en 1916.
Militant régionaliste, Maxime Maufra est l'un des animateurs de la section « beaux-arts » de l’Union régionaliste bretonne.
Il meurt d'une crise cardiaque le 23 mai 1918 au Pont à Poncé, où il avait planté son chevalet.

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2024 - Wandering Vertexes / Gravir les montagnes en peinture
Un blog de Francis Rousseau