La Toilette. Turkish School, 18th century. Carlton Hobbs LLC.

“La toilette,” a term first used in the 16th century, describes “the process by which aristocrats prepared themselves every morning to face the world.”1 It was a long and complex exercise, which could be estimated to last at three hours from start to finish, and included the preparation of the skin, makeup, perfume and coiffure. In the 18th century the toilette evolved from a dressing procedure to an all-out ceremony or performance. “The most stylish citizens of Versailles adored showing themselves off while they were in the process of being dressed.”2 The term is also applied to furniture of the boudoir such; a dressing table, such as the one below, and all appurtenances are also considered the toilette or table de toilette. French dressing table, circa 1765-70 by Jacques Bircklé. Victoria &Albert Museum.

The 18th century Turkish school painting above, entitled “La Toilette,” is a recent addition to the Carlton Hobbs collection. It belongs to a long history of paintings illustrating this grooming ritual. Below are five other examples of women at their toilette, which span the 16th through the 20th century. Vénus à sa Toilette. Titien, 1555.

Die eitle Alte (Vain Old Woman). Bernardo Strozzi, c. 1625.

La Toilette. François Boucher, 1742.

La Toilette. Eva Gonzalès, 1879. Femme à la Toilette. Pablo Picasso, 1906.

Footnotes: 1.DeJean, Joan E. The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafés, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour. New York: Free Press, 2005. 251. 2. Ibid. 252.

This alchemical painting of an open hand dates back to 1633 according to one of the many inscriptions on the canvas.  Measuring 49 inches high, 28 inches wide, this intriguing painting containings multiple cryptic Latin phrases and is of uncertain origin. According to Dr. George Szabo, former director of the Lehman collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,  the painting is probably a unique example of an instructive work of art that may have adorned the study of a Late Renaissance patron with a strong bent to the philosophic or scientific. The lettering and numerals, being highly accomplished ,leads one to believe that it probably was painted in one of the leading Italian centers with a strong tradition of calligraphy. The hand is pictured with a cuff at the wrist, meaning it is most likely secular, as the hand of God would not be clothed. The Latin phrase positioned at the bottom of the piece: “Omnia in mensum numo et ponderi disposuisti Sap. Cap 11.” is a quote from Wisdom 11: “You  arranged them all according to their weight and number”, which was famously to be taken up as a motto by Sir Isaac Newton. Also noted is the deliberate punning found within the language which was a didactic device used at the time.  The Latin phrase “Ancipit. a .B. anna 1633.” translates; “this painting was begun in ‘B’ in 1633″ lending the extraordinary image an even greater sense of mystery. The image of the hand formed part of the complex symbolic vocabulary of seventeenth century alchemical illustration. The true meanings of such “Hermetick Emblems” were known only to the initiated. Though it resembles various images of hands from the same period, such as those in Kircher’s Musurgia Universalis and in Agrippa von Nettesheim’s De occulta philosophia, such hands usually bear planetary symbols. We are still looking into what the word and number combinations on our painting mean, and would love you hear your ideas! A special thanks to Dr. George Szabo and Clare Gibson for their input.

This set of eight large watercolors of World War I Airplanes was painted by Riccardo Caviglioli (1895 -1975), an Italian aviator and painter born in Milan. Caviglioli received multiple decorations during World War I, and during his lifetime worked as an aeronautical writer, designer and illustrator for advertising campaigns. Additionally, he wrote a book entitled Austrian-Hungary Aviation on the Italian Front between 1915 and 1918 published in 1930.

Caviglioli’s aviation watercolors were first presented at the Torino Exposition in 1928. His designs represent true historic reconstructions of a glorious past, and through his artistic style he was able to depict the impression of flight, glides, turns and takeoffs.

Caviglioli offered an important contribution to the development of Italian aeronautics, carefully recording the advances of technology during this time of mechanical transformation. His works depict a fundamental knowledge and precise technical description of aircraft during World War I and “contain the duel movement of the airplane and the hand of the painter, who moves the brush…”

Among the German, Italian and Austro-Hungarian aircraft illustrated are the Albatros D III, a biplane fighter aircraft; the Gotha GIV, a heavy bomber; the Aero da Caccia, used for in-flight fighting; the Junkers J7, an all-metal monoplane; and the Macchi M 316, an Italian biplane flying boat (or aquatic plane).

These fantastic watercolors will be exhibited in the Carlton Hobbs booth at the Los Angeles Antiques Show, April 22-25, 2010. If you’re in town, be sure to stop by and check them out first hand!

You might remember our Halloween blog, “Trick or Treat,” in which we focused on a number of artworks that feature skeletons. The last work we mentioned was full of quotes and symbolism, and we’re back to tell you a bit more about this curious picture. This engraving is titled Life and Death Contrasted, or, An Essay on Woman. It belongs to the genre of symbolic still life painting known as Vanitas (Latin for “vanity”) intended to remind us of our own mortality and the transience of earthly possessions and vices. Like Memento Mori painting (from the Latin “Remember you will die”), the most popular symbols found in these works are skeletons or skulls, but they may also include symbols of vanity (such as mirrors and musical instruments), expressing the emptiness and worthless nature of worldly goods.

Here a lady is depicted in two halves, shown both in life and in death. On the left she is represented in elaborate aristocratic costume, standing in a garden and surrounded by her earthly pleasures and holding a fan. The superficial trappings of a life of leisure and gambling lay at her feet, including playing cards, books and papers instructing on gaming and masquerade. On the right we see only her skeleton  standing within a cemetery with worms coiling around a skull and bone at her foot.  She holds an arrow in her hands, used to symbolize death. The arrow is sometimes also used to represent disease, specifically the Plague.

Beside the skeleton stands an obelisk inscribed with proverbs, bible verses and sermon excerpts decrying worldly pursuits and reminding us, and women in particular, that “she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (1 Timothy 5:6) and that they should be wary of their mortal pursuits while striving toward heavenly salvation.Other phrases contained on the obelisk come from the “Gravedigger Scene” of Shakespeare’s Hamlet (5.1): “Now get you to my lady’s table and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this complexion she must come at last.” Another author represented is the Reverend James Hervey (1714-1758), and Anglican Divine and zealous writer, whose oeuvre influenced the work of artists like William Blake. The excerpt on the obelisk comes from his 1746 volume Meditations Among the Tombs: “One night, Corinna was all gaiety in her spirits, all finery in her apparel, at a magnificent ball. The next night, she lay pale and stiff, an extended corpse, and ready to be mingled with the mouldering dead.” Perhaps something to reflect upon at the beginning of this New Year…

Melchior de Hondecoeter (1636-1695) A Pelican, a Crested Crane and Other Birds in a Park. Oil on canvas. Labelled on back Pce Poniatowski, no. 911. Melchior de Hondecoeter (1636-1695) Provenance: Prince Poniatowski Measurements: Unframed: 66″ x 70 3/4″ (168 x 180 cm). Framed: 69 3/4″ x 74 1/2″ (177 x 189 cm).

Jan Wyck (1640-1702) Portrait of an Arab Charger before Battle. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated ‘London 1686′. Jan Wyck Measurements: Unframed: 47 1/2″ x 491/2″ (121 cm x 126 cm). Framed: 58 1/2″ x 60″ (149 cm x 152 cm).

PAIR OF PANORAMIC VIEWS OF LONDON ATTRIBUTED TO H.W. BREWER English. Circa 1895. Provenance: Julia Overing Beals, Massachussets. The pair of paintings Measurements: Height: 60 1/4″ (153 cm); Width: 100″ (254 cm).

PAINTING OF VIEW OF CHATHAM DOCKS ON THE MEDWAY BY ELIAS MARTIN Circa 1775. View of Chatham Docks on the Medway Measurements: 94 1/2″ (238 cm) by 58″ (147 cm).

LION AND TIGER AND TIGRESS WITH HER CUBS AND A CROCODILE BY PAUL DE VOS Flemish. 17th century. Paintings Measurements: 66 1/2″ (169 cm) by 48″ (122 cm).

PORTRAIT OF A LADY, BY JULES CHARLES AVIAT Paris. Circa 1890. Marks: Signed, lower right. Portrait of a Lady Measurements: 71″ (180 cm) by 53″ (135 cm).

Painting of Vestal by Pietro Saja, now in the Palazzo Reale, Caserta. Pictured in "Civiltà dell'Ottocento: Le Arti Figurative."   We have just discovered a painting very similar to one of our own, in the book Civiltà dell’Ottocento: Le Arti Figurative. This painting by Pietro Saja (1779-1833) depicting a  Vestal condemned to death for breaking her vow of chastity, apparently won the artist great praise and recognition when he presented it in Rome in 1803: within a month Saja was invited to join the prestigious Academy of Saint Luke. The neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova, another member of the Academy, wrote to a friend to “make many praises of [Saja]… assuring me that he is a youth of highest ability… and that he is going to make great profit and progress.” 1     This painting by Saja, which is now in the Palazzo Reale in Caserta, appears to be about contemporary to the one  Painting of Vestal in the collection of Carlton Hobbs. in the Carlton Hobbs collection. The paintings share the same subject, composition and lighting, with a only few small differences. These include the Vestal’s veil (which falls in front of her face in the Palazzo Reale painting but not in the Carlton Hobbs painting), the placement of the drapery and the shape of the bed, and the positions of the vases. The Palazzo Reale painting shows a small vase at the edge of the window sill and a large vase at the foot of the bed. In the Carlton Hobbs painting the large vase is near the head of the bed, and the small vase seems to be farther back on the window sill, almost entirely out of sight, though its shadow is visible on the wall.   We are going to look into getting into more information on the two paintings, starting with a full translation of the entry in Civilità dell’Ottocento. Keep checking in for updates!   Footnotes: 1. Cassani, Silvia, ed. Civiltà dell’Ottocento: Le Arti Figurative. Naples: Electa Napoli, 1997. 433, Fig. 17.1.

The present pair of oval paintings represent the mythological figures of Hercules and Cronos. The composition of the paintings is closely related to the forms of antique sculpture, here given greater animation and a baroque sense of drama. Hercules is shown at the height of his powers with a massive, bulky presence and the closely trimmed beard of a young man. He is often depicted in a similar pose, astride the Nemean lion, whose slaying was the first of his twelve labors. The second painting depicts Cronos or Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture who, in his Greek manifestation, features in the myth of creation and came to be associated with Time. He is always shown as an aged man, with a long beard and without the strident virility of the younger Hercules. As the deity of agriculture and of time, he rests on a scythe with a snake consuming itself, an ancient symbol of eternity, hanging from the withered branch on which he leans.

Watercolors on paper depict the following aircraft:

Albatros D III: Height 21.7" (55 cm); Width 26.8" (68 cm). Aereo de Caccia: Height 39.4" (100 cm); Width 29.9" (76 cm). AV Berg D I e Fiat R 2: Height 29.9" (76 cm); Width 39.4" (100 cm). Brandenburg A; Height 35.4" (90 cm); Width 28.3" (72 cm). Gotha G IV: Height 29.1" (74 cm); Width 41.3" (105 cm). Junkers J 7: Height 41.7" (106 cm); Width 29.5" (75 cm). Macchi M 316; Height 25.6" (65 cm); Width 38.6" (98 cm). SIA 7 B 2: Height 21.7" (55 cm); Width 30.7" (78 cm).

Of tempera on wooden board. Provenance: Galleria d'Arte Galatea, Torino.

Axel Salto (1889-1961) is counted among the masters of Danish design, although his overtly decorative work often went against the functionalist aesthetics of his contemporaries and successors. During his lifetime he was regarded as a pioneer of Danish twentieth century design and his pieces were acquired for the collection at the Copenhagen Industrial Arts Museum. Salto's early work, of which present paintings form part, was inspired by classical languages and Greek mythology as well as by the visual motifs of Art Deco, religious and especially demonic iconography. His ceramic work later turned to the forms of nature, like seedpods, budding flowers or fruit, for their fertile energy and form. Salto's work was unique for its time because of his uninhibited, passionate approach to developing and manipulating new shapes and colors. His awards included a silver medal at the 1925 Paris World Exhibition, the 1937 Paris World Exhibition Grand Prix and the 1951 Milan Triennial Grand Prix.

The present paintings combine historic, heraldic, and mythological references. While the central painted portions appear to represent historic figures, the flanking painted areas and carved panels are reserved for mythological elements. All three pictures are rife with allusions to Roman mythology and Virgil’s Aeneid; Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor (1459-1519) and his grandson, Charles V Holy Roman Emperor (1500-1558), began the precedent of tracing their genealogy to Troy, proclaiming a descendance from Aeneas.

In the large painting, the ship sails amongst tritons, sea nymphs, dolphins, and sea monsters. The ship is being held safely against the winds being blown by figures above the right-hand carved panel. In the Aeneid, Juno asks the wind god Aeolus to impede Aeneas’ journey by having his winds blow about the ships before Neptune comes to the rescue and calms the seas for Aeneas. The female figure in the center probably represent Cloelia, figure from early Roman history who was kidnapped and escaped by swimming across the river Tiber. She is often represented making her escape on horseback. The left-hand panel is carved and painted in the form of a ruinous arch. A putto pours a basket of flowers over a pyramid in the background, two animals chase each other in the mid-ground and a group of one male and two female figures sit in the foreground. Above, an angel of victory holds One of the smaller paintings also features a pyramid. It makes up one of the carved panels, the other composed of a craggy cliff. The work is centered by two rowboats bearing flags similar in color to the large painting, a trumpeter announcing their probable arrival. On the bottom right a hunter sleeping alongside his dog is painted, while on the bottom left there is a carved depiction of a river god. The river god holds his characteristic oar and overturned urn flowing with water. Beside him stands a cupid with an upturned torch, which typically signifies a dead or dormant love. In the second smaller painting, the central painted portion is again taken up by a small ship. It is similarly surrounded on three sides with carved rocky cliffs. On the bottom left, Pan is represented, surprised to find the nymph Syrix, whom he was pursuing, has been turned into a bunch of reeds. On the bottom left, three Nereid congregate in a pool. Above them, a female figure rests among putti and at the top of the cliff two doves, the symbol of Venus, are depicted beneath Cupid and a sign that reads HUIC NIDUM FLORES AMORES, or “In this nest, love blossoms.” Check our our Flickr page to see labeled  images of the paintings and if you see something we missed, please let us know!

In the largest of the paintings, figured below, heraldic flags and banners are dispersed throughout the central scene:

Heading the painting, the flag of the Holy Roman Empire is flown from the middle mast of the ship; the distinctive black double-headed eagle against a gold ground holds the sword, scepter, and globus cruciger; and bears a shield depicting both the charges of Austria (red field with a white fess) and Bohemia (red field with a white rampant lion). To the left of this flies the flag of Hungary, represented by a white double-cross on red ground. To the right and below, the flag of Bohemia is again represented by a white double-tailed rampant lion on red ground. Two additional coats of arms are depicted at the bow of the ship: a red flag presents the coat of arms of Lorraine (a shield with gold field, red bend, and three white allerions), and the coat of arms of Moravia, which was joined to Bohemia in the 11th century, is presented on the sail and comprises a shield of a blue field with red and white checkered eagle. The cherub  at the top is holding Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, the cherub lower down holds Crown of Kingdom of Bohemia and the cherub on the right is holding the coronet of the Archduchy of Austria. The Austrian flag is given a prominent place, beside the figure in green regalia seated on the ship, and is inscribed with the latin “Ite Triumphales Circa Sua Tempora Laurus,” meaning “The laurels of victory rest upon your temples.” Furthering the Austrian propaganda, the sail below the Holy Roman Empire’s flag is inscribed with the acronym “ A E I O U,” which stands for “Austriae Est Imperare Orbi Universo” (“Austria is to rule the world”). It is not yet clear which Habsburg is depicted seated on the ship and we would love to hear any theories you might have! Check our our Flickr page to see an image of the painting with the flags labeled.

CARLTON HOBBS LLC

Carlton Hobbs Weblog

The Mythology of the Habsburgs, Part I Fine and decorative art, as we know, is littered with symbolism intended to lend clues about a piece’s history and subject matter. We have recently acquired a fantastic group of three paintings that represent a chapter in the history of the Habsburg dynasty. One large and two smaller in size, the works are most mysterious both in construction and in theme. To begin, each of the three paintings are comprised of a framed canvas; however, they also incorporate hinged polychrome panels of carved relief, which, unlike traditional diptychs or triptychs, are directly integrated into the scenes. These panels open to reveal vivid lacca povera on their undersides, and blank areas on the canvas they conceal. The paintings have been re-lined and it is probable that the pictures were once mounted to the wall, the panels concealing hidden niches where the blank areas are now situated. Regarding subject matter, the paintings combine historic, heraldic, and mythological references that have become the source of much interest and hypothesizing among our staff, as well as academics specializing in the history of the Habsburgs. While the central painted portions appear to represent historic figures, the flanking painted areas and carved panels are reserved for mythological elements. All three pictures are rife with allusions to Roman mythology and Virgil’s Aeneid; Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor (1459-1519) and his grandson, Charles V Holy Roman Emperor (1500-1558), began the precedent of tracing their genealogy to Troy, proclaiming a descendance from Aeneas and in her book “The Last Descendant of Aeneas,” Marie Tanner explores this mythic imagery built around the Habsburg dynasty from the Renaissance. A variety of crowns, flags, and coats of arms are represented including those of Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, Bohemia, Hungary, Lorraine, and Moravia. The Habsburg paintings, loaded with intrigue, are a great example of how small symbolic elements underline the intended messages of a work of art and, in future posts, we will explore more deeply the men and the myths incorporated into these fabulous compositions. Carlton Hobbs Weblog Tags: art, carlton-hobbs, habsburgs, mythology, paintings del.icio.us Tags: art,carlton-hobbs,habsburgs,mythology,paintings IceRocket Tags: art,carlton-hobbs,habsburgs,mythology,paintings Flickr Tags: art,carlton-hobbs,habsburgs,mythology,paintings Technorati Tags: art,carlton-hobbs,habsburgs,mythology,paintings You can now find us on FaceBook and Twitter to go with our NewsFeed, see you soon.