The Menologion of Basil II

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The Menologion of Basil II is an 11th century Byzantian manuscript. It was a liturgical book that showed the lives of the Saints as well as martial feats by Emporer Bail II against the Bulgarians. Its style is of the Macedonian Renaissance which was a return to a more naturalistic look. The images were accompanied by text stressing important points about the Saints. After passing through several hands, it is now in the Vatican Library.  

Earlier I've posted about The Codex Laud which is an Aztec religious text. I mentioned that, because of its religious topic, it came across as being rather bloodthirsty. The same applies to the Menologion. Without trying to draw an equivalence between the two religions, when the topic is the tribulations of mankind there will be ghastly scenes portrayed.  

Nautical art of Dominic Serres

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Dominic Serres (1722–1793) was born in France. After studying at a seminary, he moved to Spain where he became a merchant sailor. Eventually, in the Caribbean, he was captured by the British and imprisoned. While in prison he took up painting. Upon release he moved to England and began his career as a painter of maritime subjects, most generally warships of the time. 

Dominic Serres

Paintings of windows

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Windows are a transparent division between the inside and the outside. You can view things from either side of a window, looking into privacy or out to the fragment of the public world outside. Of course, they can be metaphorical -- windows into the soul and whatnot -- but mainly they let in light and generally you really just look through them to enjoy the view.

Jan Steen paintings

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Jan Steen (1626-1679) was a Dutch baroque painter known for his genre (everyday household) paintings. His scenes were often very chaotic, with a lot of humor built into them. While many of his jokes are obscure to us today, there is still a Dutch saying "Jan Steen household" to describe a chaotic home.

While his works were popular in his day, he was a poor money manager and left a lot of debt when he died. His work is still highly regarded. 

Jan Steen self-portrait

Weird Tales

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Weird Tales was a very influential 20th Century pulp magazine. It featured horror, the supernatural and sci-fi. Among writers it discovered and promoted were H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and Robert E. Howard. It discontinued publication in 1954 but has had several attempts to restart. Since 1988 it has been published under its current incarnation.

These covers are from the original 1923 to 1954 run.

Leon Wyczółkowski

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Leon Wyczółkowski (1852-1936) was a Polish artist. He started out as a realist, but as he traveled and matured, he was to be exposed to many other artistic styles which he folded into his work. The strongest influence was impressionism which informed the play of light in his works.  

Leon Wyczółkowski self-portrait

Mail-centric paintings

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Email has largely replaced written mail, but back in the day it was as feature of life. Now it is little but bills and advertising flyers. These are pictures from the time when the letter was king: postmen, postal workers, mail delivery, reading letters, and mailboxes. 

George du Maurier's illustrations

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George du Maurier (1834-1896) was a French novelist and artist who settled in London. He was a caricaturist whose illustrations appeared primarily in the satirical Punch weekly magazine. His subjects were the upper class of the Victorian era. 

George du Maurier'

Thirty-Six Views of the Eiffel Tower

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Henri Rivière (1864-1951) was French artist. When Japan opened up in the 1850s a wave of goods had entered Europe, including woodprints which considerably influenced European artists. They were to influence Rivière as well. 

In 1888 the construction of the Eiffel tower began. Inspired by Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji Rivière decided to do a similar portfolio featuring the tower. He started by trying to replicate the Japanese printing process, although he actually didn't know how it was done. His experimentation led to two prints, but it was a costly and time-consuming process, so he abandoned it for lithography for the rest of the series.

These images are from the Public Domain Review' post Henri Rivière’s Thirty-Six Views of the Eiffel Tower (1888–1902). There are more images at that post, as well as a discussion of his series. 

Henri Rivière