Featured Artists' Biographies (B)

View more information for Francesco Bartolozzi's stipple engraving, Self Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci.

Francesco Bartolozzi (Florence, Italy, 1727 - Lisbon, Portugal, 1815): Uundoubtedly England's most famous stipple engraver of the late eighteenth century is Francesco Bartolozzi. Studying art under Joseph Wagner in his native Venice, Francesco Bartolozzi began his career engraving plates after the Italian masters. He was invited by the King of England to come to London in 1764 to engrave the drawings of Guercino, Tibaldi and other Italian artists in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.

A new printmaking technique had recently come to the fore in England and, although Francesco Bartolozzi made no claim to its invention, his name is forever linked with the 'stipple' engraving. He recognized that the very delicate tonal techniques of the stipple were best suited for figure studies and decorative subjects. His success was widespread and in the last decades of the eighteenth century a large number of English, French and Italian artists studied under and worked with him, thus insuring his legacy into the nineteenth century. His students included such fine artists as Luigi Schiavonetti, P. W. Tomkins and Benedetto Pastorini.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Albert Fitch Bellows.

Albert Fitch Bellows (Milford, Mass., 1829 - New York, 1883): An outstanding nineteenth century American landscape artist, A. F. Bellows first studied architecture. He then accepted the post of Principal of the New England School of Design, Boston, remaining there from 1850 to 1856. He then resigned to complete his studies first in Paris and then in Antwerp at the Royal Academy. Bellows was elected to the Royal Society of Painters in Belgium several years later. Upon his return to the United States he lived and worked mainly in Boston until the great fire of 1872, in which his studio and much of his work was destroyed.

During the last decade of his life, Albert Fitch Bellows opened a very successful studio on Fourth Avenue in New York. It was at this time that he devoted much of his time to the original art of etching, becoming a member of the New York Etching Club, the Philadelphia Society of Etchers and the prestigious Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, London, England. Albert Fitch Bellows was elected an Associate of the National Academy of Design in 1859 and a full member in 1861.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Ben Albert Benson.

Ben Albert Benson (Sweden, 1901 - Chicago, 1986): Born in Sweden, Ben Albert Benson moved to the United States at an early age. He later studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and exhibited his art there during his career. Although a fine painter, Benson is today most sought after for his original wood engravings. The large majority of Benson's wood engraved art was created during the 1930's decade. This was the great era of American Art Deco, and some of its finest artists such as Rockwell Kent and Lynd Ward regularly turned to the medium of wood engraving for its bold contrasts of light and dark and for its strength of line. One could easily argue that the greatest masterpieces of American wood engraving were created during this decade.

Although rightly considered as a leading Art Deco wood engraver. Benson's work also contains strong elements of Expressionism and Abstraction, setting his art apart from other Americans. For the most part, Benson's wood engravings are very small in size, but demand a great amount of study.

View larger image and more information for Henri Berengier's original etching, Ex-Libris Moses H. Grossman.

Henri Berengier (Marseille, 1880 - ?): Henri Berengier was known both for his fine etchings and paintings. During the early twentieth century he was a constant exhibitor was the Artistes Francais and the Societe des Independants in Paris.

Ex-Libris etchings and woodcuts date all the way back to the mid fifteenth century. Their function was initially quite utilitarian as miniature prints used to signify the ownership of books. As private libraries and their owners gained more wealth and prestige, however, so did their ex-libris bookplates. Pictorial imagery became as important as the wording and titles and the finished work of art came to stand as the owner's claim to posterity. Before long, famous artists were commissioned by prominent collectors to make their ex-libris art and during the centuries such masters as Durer, Holbein, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Rockwell Kent all contributed significantly to this great form of art.

The golden age for the ex-libris print, however, occurred during the early twentieth century, particularly in the Art Deco decades of the 1920's and 1930's. Collecting ex-libris etchings and wood engravings reached such a peak during this time that many artists in Europe and America devoted themselves almost exclusively to this area. In France, Henri Berengier and Valentin Le Campion gained an international reputation for their ex-libris art and were constantly commissioned by book collectors around the world.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Paul Berthon.

Paul Emile Berthon (Chartrettes, 1872 - Paris, 1909): Along with the art of Alfons Mucha, the lithographs of Paul Berthon stand at the centre of our interpretation of Art Nouveau grace and beauty. Despite his very short life it is impossible not to rank Berthon among the greatest masters of this entire turn-of-the-century movement.

Paul Berthon first studied as a painter in Villefranche before coming to Paris in 1893. There he enrolled at the Ecole Normale d'Enseignement de Dessin, receiving lessons from Luc-Oliver Merson. Yet the greatest influence upon Berthon came from his teacher of Decorative Arts, Eugene Grasset (1841-1917). Grasset's impact upon the early formation of the Art Nouveau movement had been vast and both Berthon and Mucha acknowledged him as the single greatest influence upon their art. Berthon's early lithographs (dated up to 1896) often show stylistic elements comparable to Grasset. As his style developed, however, Berthon began using the autumnal pastel coloured palette and the strongly defined lines and patterns that have made his art so famous. Other key elements in Berthon's art were his study of Japanese woodcuts and his attention to the art of the natural world -- particularly its flora and fauna -- where he utilized the arts of medieval France as exemplars.

The graphic oeuvre of Paul Berthon consists of ninety-four original lithographs. Almost two-thirds of Berthon's are what the artist termed, "Panneaux Decoratifs". Unlike most Art Nouveau posters, Berthon's panneaux decoratifs included no advertising and no letterpress. They were meant to stand alone as significant works of art in their own right.

View larger image and more information for Willem Janszoon Blaeu's 'Map of the Kingdom of Sicily'.

Willem Janszoon Blaeu (Alkmaar, 1571 - Amsterdam, 1638): "Whatever Blaeu produced, the design, execution and colouring was inspired by superb taste. Blaue maps are the very quintessence of all that is best in the artistic expression of the period, applied to cartography." (P. J. Radford, Antique Maps, Denmead, Portsmouth, BAS Printers Ltd., 1965, p. 4.)

The greatest of all early seventeenth century map-makers, Willem Blaeu spent two years studying cartography under the Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Blaue began to make globes, maps and navigational instruments in Amsterdam in 1596. During the following years the firm of Blaeu produced remarkable sets of maps dealing with all fields of cartographic investigation. Some of the more noteworthy achievements are, Terrestrial and Celestial Globes (1599), Sea Atlas (1608), World Atlas (1630) and General Atlas of Towns (1644).

Until 1617 Willem Blaeu signed his maps Guilielmus Janssonius or Willems Jans Zoon. After that date his maps bear the appellation, Guilielmus or G. Blaeu. In 1633 he achieved the most important position in Dutch cartography when he was appointed map-maker to the Dutch East India Company. After his death in 1638, the Blaeu firm continued to grow and prosper under the direction of his sons, Cornelis Blaeu (died, 1642) and Joan Blaeu (Born, 1596 - Died, 1673).

View larger image and more information for Arnold Blanch's original silk-screen, Bouquet.

Arnold Blanch (Mantorville, Minnesota, 1896 - Woodstock, N.Y., 1968): A prominent twentieth century American painter and printmaker, Arnold Blanch first studied at the Minneapolis School of Art from 1914 to 1916. Other attending students at this time included none other than Adolph Dehn, Harry Gottlieb and Lucille Lundquist -- who would later become his wife, Lucille Blanch. During the following two years, Arnold Blanch completed his studies at the Art Students' League of New York, under John Sloan and Boardman Robinson.

Blanch's first one man exhibition was held in New York in 1926. From that date both his paintings and original prints figured prominently in most major American expositions. Known first as a social realist, Blanch used the medium of lithography most often in the first half of his career. Later, he explored the full colour possibilities of silk-screening and the woodcut. Most of his original silk-screens were published in New York by the Krasner Galleries.

Today, examples of Arnold Blanch's art hang in such prestigious collections as the Carnegie Institute, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Metropolitan Museum and the Smithsonian. Bouquet is one of Blanch's last original prints. It is a touching portrayal of his wife, the artist Lucille Blanch, and is composed of three overlaying colour printings.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Hugo Brehme.

Hugo Brehme (Eisenach, Germany, 1882 - Mexico City, 1954): A major early twentieth century Mexican photographer, studied his art in his native Germany. Around the turn of the century he began publishing photographs of both Germany and North Africa. Several years later he traveled through parts of South America, Guatemala and Salvador. He first arrived in Mexico in 1905. As early as 1912, Brehme established a studio in Mexico City.

During the following years, Brehme's photographs of Mexico became known worldwide, particularly his black and white and sepia toned postcards and through the publication of his books. His larger and more valuable photographs (such as this original example) were sometimes hand tinted in colors and signed by him in pencil. Hugo Brehme's famous books include, Mexico Pintoresco (1923), Picturesque Mexico (1925) and Pueblos y Paisajes de Mexico (1932).

View larger image and more information for Fred Brosen's original lithograph, Brooklyn Bridge.

Frederick Brosen (New York, Born, 1954): One of the finest American realist artists of our time, Frederick Brosen received his BA from City College of New York and his Master of Fine Arts from the Pratt Institute. Known equally for his great work in both lithography and watercolour, Brosen has had individual exhibitions at such prestigious locations as the National Academy, the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, the Hollis Taggart Galleries and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Also a teacher, Brosen has instructed at both Dartmouth College and Woodmere Academy. He is presently the Instructor of Watercolour at the National Academy School of Fine Arts, New York.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Jennie Brownscombe.

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (Honesdale, PA, 1850 - New York, 1931): A fine American painter and etcher of the late nineteenth century, Jennie Brownscombe first studied in her native Pennsylvania at the Academy of Fine Arts before continuing her education at the prestigious National Academy of Design, in Washington. From 1875 to 1887 she lived and exhibited her art in Paris as well as finishing her studies under the direction of Henri Mosier.

During her career, Jennie Brownscombe gained wide recognition both for her historical art and figurative subjects and her work was frequently exhibited at major venues in Philadelphia, Boston and New York. Her fine etchings and paintings are now housed in many major collections, including the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Newark Museum and the Museum of Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, Massachusetts.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Max Bruning.

Max Bruning (Delitzsch, 1887 - Lindau, 1968): After the surrender of Germany at the end of the First World War the democratic institution known as the Weimar Republic was instituted. It remained in power until the devastating effects of the Depression brought about the even more disastrous rise of the Nazis during the mid 1930's. Yet in the 1920's decade, Germany (most notably Berlin) was a most liberal and avant guarde centre in Europe. The Arts were unfettered by either social or political restrictions. Thus in this atmosphere such artists as George Grosz, Rudolf Schlichter, Willy Jaeckel and Max Bruning devoted much of their talents to the more liberal art.

During the 1920's Max Bruning's watercolours were reproduced as postcards and imagery for advertising. He dedicated his more serious talents, however, to the creation of original etchings and drypoint engravings, some of which were finished with extra layers of colours.

Max Bruning's eventful life is almost as compelling as his art. He attended the Leipzig Academy of Art at the young age of fifteen and studied both painting and printmaking techniques there under Alois Kolb and Peter Halm. Upon completion of his studies, Bruning contributed drawings to the periodical, Ex-Libris (1910). He also first exhibited his art in Munich during that year. In the First World War (1914-1918), Bruning was commissioned as a war artist. Shortly after the war ended he settled in Berlin and began to create the wonderful engravings for which he is famous. As the Weimar era became increasingly threatened by the rise of the Nazis, however, Bruning moved to the Tyrol Mountains in Austria. He remained there during the entire Second World War. In 1943, Allied bombing attacks upon Berlin destroyed most of the remaining original copper plates of Bruning's engravings. When the war ended in 1945, Max Bruning, a classified German citizen, was forced to leave Austria. He settled in Lindau in the following year and opened a studio. Most of his art from this period is landscape paintings and watercolours.