17th Century Sketches Comparing Human And Animal Faces

17th Century Sketches Comparing Human And Animal Faces

17th animals Art century comparing human sketches

These bizarre sketches were made by French painter and art theorist Charles Le Brun (1619 – 1690) who was declared by King Louis XIV as "the greatest French artist of all time".

Charles Le Brun was deeply influenced by the work of Descartes's Passions of the Soul (1649), in which the French philosopher weighted his opinion on the theory of human emotions, a subject that was much debated among natural philosophers since the time of Plato. After speaking on various occasions with the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris, on the subject of General Expression and the Expression of Passions, Le Brun presented a lecture to the Academy on physiognomy, in 1671. He illustrated his lecture with a series of striking drawings in which he made analogies between human and animal features. Le Brun’s original lecture is lost but his sketches have survived. There are over 250 such drawings at the Louvre museum today.

photofun4ucom Pada July 22, 2016 Komentar

Bathing Machines of The 19th Century

Bathing Machines of The 19th Century

19th bathing century machines Photography

Back in the 18th and 19th century, the ladies just couldn't strip to their swimwear and run towards the waves on the beach. There are certain sea-side etiquettes that needed to be observed and decorum to be maintained. Getting oneself seen in their bathing costumes by the members of the opposite sex was certainly not one of them.

To help women maintain their modesty and dignity, a simple contraption called the “bathing machine” was developed. A bathing machine resembled a wooden changing room commonly seen on beaches, but larger in size, and raised on wheels and with steps leading to the inside. The female bather would enter the small room of the machine while it was on the beach, wearing their street clothing. In the privacy of the machine, she would change into her bathing dress, which was exceedingly modest compared to today’s standards, and place her street clothes into a raised compartment where they would remain dry.



Photo credit: unknown/Vintage.es

photofun4ucom Pada July 05, 2016 Komentar

The Strangely Seductive 18th Century Anatomical Wax Models

The Strangely Seductive 18th Century Anatomical Wax Models

18th anatomical century models Other seductive strangely

These beautiful wax models of sensuous women lying supine, with their heads tipped back, and lips parted in ecstasy, look like they are from a renaissance painting. One idly toys with her plait of golden hair, while another clutches at a satin cushion. One is crowned with a golden tiara, while another wears a string of pearls around her neck. Yet, each and everyone of them has their abdomen slashed open causing their innards and guts to spill out.

These bizarre beauties called “Anatomical Venuses” were created by sculptor Clemente Susini in the late eighteenth century, and were conceived as a means to teach human anatomy without the need for dissecting real human bodies which was disgusting and messy. Susini’s uncannily lifelike wax models, often adorned with real human hair, were both anatomically accurate and profoundly artistic, drawing praise from both doctors and art historians from all around. During his illustrious career as a medical wax model sculptor spanning several decades, Clemente Susini created and oversaw the production of more than 2,000 models.

photofun4ucom Pada June 15, 2016 Komentar