Every once in a while I come across an artist, new to me, whose work I greatly admire. Recently I found a painting at the blog British Paintings (they post paintings from mostly Victorian painters) that intrigued me. I've had such fun looking up his other paintings!
The artist is:
William Arthur Breakspeare
British painter, 1856 - 1914
Take a look at some of his lovely works:
The Courtship
The Gypsy
A Venetian Beauty
A Toast To The Chef
If Music Be The Food Of Love
Where Are You Going To, My Pretty Maid
The Cavalier's Sword
The Musician
A Musical Interlude
The Sleeping Beauty
Outside of the Rose and Crown
A Flirtation in the Rose Garden
The Reluctant Pianist
The Gardener's Daughter
A Bouquet of Flowers
The Pianist
Reading In The Garden
Dreaming
Newly Married
And this painting is the one that drew my attention:
Young Lovers
This is my favorite painting of Mr. Breakspeare's because it's like a scene straight out of a Jane Austen novel! It's filled with so much detail and beauty and it's a sweet scene of a courting couple.
I love William Breakspeare's style of painting and the gentle lovely scenes that he's created on canvas! Each piece is touched with delightful spirit and old-fashioned charm! The titles are also sweet and add to the enchantment of the paintings so well, sometimes with a bit of poetic idea to them.
Have you ever seen the work of William Arthur Breakspeare before?
Which of these paintings is your favorite?
Which paintings have the best titles?
Very Truly Your's,
Beautiful paintings! I've never heard of this painter.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is probably "Reading in the Garden"...two of my favorite things!
Favorite title would be "The Reluctant Pianist"...reminds me of my daughter daydreaming, when she should be practicing her piano! :)
Cathy
What struck me as curious is that the subjects of almost all those paintings are from an era before the artist was born. Most seem to be Regency Era, and he wasnt born until the 1850's. This seems to suggest the subjects are all from his imagination, and therefore historical details such as costume can't be considered as a source of accuracy. Not that you were suggesting they were in your post, but the topic came to my mind while looking at them.
ReplyDeleteI believe I've seen his paintings before,but I don't know where.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
I never heard of this painter, but I certainly do enjoy his work.
ReplyDeleteMy favorites are 'Reading in the Garden', 'Gardener's Daughter', and 'Newly Married'.
The paintings, whether fictional or accurate, in my opinion are quite lovely and show elegance and grace.
~Great post!~
Miss Laurie,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you took the time to introduce us to this artist. Such a pleasant discovery. My favorite is The Reluctant Pianist. I am sure there is a story behind that one; I wish I knew it. I also like Newly Married, not so much because of the lovely self-absorbed young couple, but mostly because of the people you notice in the background, the other onlookers like ourselves. They are probably reliving their own experiences of newly married life. (Did you notice that he is carrying her parasol?)
Kayla
Today I discovered that my great-great grandfather's brother Samuel Page advised Frederick Layton, founder of Milwaukee Art Museum on what to buy to show in the gallery - opened 1888. He also donated a picture to the gallery, by William Breakspeare, entitled "The Marriage Settlement". Unfortunately the picture was sold in 1960 but I will be send a photo of it! Until today I had never heard of William Breakspeare. We would call his paintings 'chocolate box' but never the less they are evocative of a bygone era. I agree with the Jane Austen comment!
ReplyDeleteI lived on the island of Bermuda. One day I was running to catch the bus, as it only runs on the hour, I saw a bunch of tossed out paintings. The frames were all smashed and there had to be a dozen plus paintings waiting for the trash man to come a pick them up. I picked up one of the paintings and thought that the painting itself looked really neat because it was oil on wood panel. So I kept it and put it away all these years. I was cleaning out something's and saw it again. The artist is William A? breakspeare. The painting looks similar to all these paintings but I think it is an original piece because I don't see it in any of these collections. If anyone has any more info that would be great. I also can't help to think what all those other paintings could have been.
ReplyDelete