Thursday, August 28, 2014

Ancient alchemy Labs, 16th C


Alchemist's Laboratory (Khunrath)
'Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae' 
by Heinrich Khunrath, 1595

L'alchimiste (after) 1769
'L'Alchimiste'

Original painting by David Teniers (before 1690).
This version engraved by Jacques-Louis Pérée, 1769

Laboratory for metallurgy and the industrial arts 1765 (Canot, Wale)
'Laboratory for metallurgy and the industrial arts'
Original painting by Samuel Wale. This version engraved by Pierre-Charles Canot, 1765. The illustration appeared IN: 'Commercium Philosophico-Technicum' (The Philosophical Commerce of Arts) by William Lewis.

A Design for a General Laboratory 1822
'A Design for a General Laboratory'
Artist: Cornelius Varley; Engraver: AW Warren, 1822.
This illustration formed the frontispiece of the 10th Ed. of 
'The Chemical Catechism' by Samuel Parkes (about: 1860s/1870s).

The Dissolution, or The Alchymist producing an Aetherial Representation (Gilray)
'The Dissolution, or The Alchymist producing an Aetherial Representation'
Hand-coloured etching made by James Gillray, 1796, in reference 
to the dissolution of Parliament announced on 19 May.

Le Plaisir des Fous (18th cent.)
'Le Plaisir des Fous'
(The pleasure of fools)
Original painting by David Teniers (before 1690). This version engraved by Pierre-François Basan sometime in the 1700s. 
 

Le Chimiste (detail - 18th cent.) David Teniers
'Le Chimiste
De la Galerie de S.A.S. Monseigneur le Duc d'Orléans'
Original painting by David Teniers (before 1690). "Alembic and crucible sit on furnace in center of image; miscellaneous apparatus in foreground."



All images found at:

Monday, August 18, 2014

Norse mythology (Iceland, 18th C)

 http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1717/1584/1600/Denmark%20b.jpg 

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1717/1584/1600/Denmark%20i.jpg 

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1717/1584/1600/Denmark%20f.jpg 

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1717/1584/1600/Denmark%20l.jpg 


'Sæmundar og Snorra Edda' is a 1760 Icelandic manuscript by Ólafur Brynjúlfsson.  

There are two major sources that chronicle the legends of Norse mythology:

The 'Poetic Edda' is a collection of alliterative poems (Edda) from the 13th century Icelandic Codex Regius. The poems are thought to date from the 10th century.

The 'Younger Edda' which includes a narrative of Norse mythology and a manual for understanding the nuances of the alliterative poetics, was written by the Icelandic historian and parliamentarian, Snorri Sturluson an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as a lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He was the author of the Prose Edda or Younger Edda, which consists of Gylfaginning ("the fooling of Gylfi"), a narrative of Norse mythology, the Skáldskaparmál, a book of poetic language, and the Háttatal, a list of verse forms. He was also the author of the Heimskringla, a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history.




Monday, August 4, 2014

Paris street scenes, 19th Century

pen & ink sketch of urban Paris (1800s)
Title: Tourelle au coin de la rue du Temple et de la rue Ste Croix de la Bretonnerie
Designed by: Jules-Adolphe Chauvet
Date: 1870s
Collection Chauvet. Dessins sur Paris et ses environs, Paris (France) -- 2ème et 3ème arrondissements
Format: dessin : aquarelle, plume et encre ; 24,2 x 12 cm
Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie

watercolour & pen sketch of 19th century Parisian commercial building
Title: Vieille enseigne à l'ours rue du faugourg St Antoine n° 95
Designed by: Jules-Adolphe Chauvet
Date: 1894
Collection Chauvet. Dessins sur Paris et ses environs, Paris (France) -- 11ème Arrondissement
Format: dess. sur calque appliqué : plume et encre, aquarelle ; 24,4 x 15,5 cm
Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie

watercolour & pen sketch of 19th century Paris urban scene
Title: Rue Mondétour
Designed by: Jules-Adolphe Chauvet
Date: 1893
Collection Chauvet. Dessins sur Paris et ses environs, Paris (France) -- 1er et 2ème arrondissements
Format: dessin sur papier bistre : encre, plume, aquarelle ; 21,6 x 11,7 cm
Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie

watercolour sketch looking up steep stairway next to buildings in Montmartre area of Victorian-era Paris
Title: Paris Montmartre : 18è Clignancourt
Designed by: Auguste Louis Marie Ottin
Date: 1883
Collection Chauvet. Dessins sur Paris et ses environs, Paris (France) -- 17ème et 18ème arrondissements
Format: dessin : crayon, aquarelle, plume et encre ; 35 x 25 cm
Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie

watercolour & pen sketch of 19th century Parisian street vista with stairway & commercial buildings
Title: La rue St Bon, escalier qui conduit à la rue de la Verrerie
Designed by: Jules-Adolphe Chauvet
Date: 1891
Collection Chauvet. Dessins sur Paris et ses environs, Paris (France) -- 2ème et 3ème arrondissements
Format: dessin sur calque appliqué : lavis d'encre brune, crayon, aquarelle ; 35,7 x 19,9 cm
Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie

watercolour & pen sketch of street scene near Paris polytechnical school in 1880
Title: La rue des 7 voies au coin de la rue de l'école polythecnique
Designed by: Jules-Adolphe Chauvet
Date: 1880
Collection Chauvet. Dessins sur Paris et ses environs, Paris (France)
Format: dessin : crayon, aquarelle, rehauts de gouache ; 27,1 x 12,8 cm
Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie

sketch of paris street scene 1880s incl. horses & carriages
Title: De la porte St Denis à la porte St Martin
Designed by: Vincent Blatter
Date: 1800s
Collection Chauvet. Dessins sur Paris et ses environs, Paris (France) -- 2ème et 3ème arrondissements
Format: dessin : aquarelle ; 34,5 x 22,6 cm
Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie



Most of these aquarelle sketches were created by Jules-Adolphe Chauvet (1828-1906), a French draughtsman, printmaker and illustrator. 

There are more than 1400 sketches in the Chauvet Collection, available online at BnF's digital library, Gallica (digitised and placed online in May 2012) ::link provided::

The vast majority of the collection was commissioned from Chauvet by a rich benefactor, Auguste Lesouëf, and the drawings were produced in all of the twenty municipalities (arrondissements) of Paris, although with some specific districts covered more extensively than others.