On this Day

Born Apr 12 1885 in Paris, Robert Delaunay was a French artist noted for using strong colours and geometric shapes. With his wife Sonia, he was the driving force behind the Orphism movement. As with many artists, his later works were more abstract. This is one of his Rhythm pieces.

Born in Grasse, France Apr 5, 1732 he was a Rococo master, painting with a remarkable exuberance and hedonism (embodied by this picture of a love triangle: The Swing). One of the most prolific artists active in the last decades of the C18, Although Fragonard created more than 550 paintings, only five are dated.

Max Ernst was born April 2 1891in Brühl, Germany. A prolific painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet he was a primary pioneer of both the Dada movement and surrealism in general. Here’s Poisoned Paradise.

Born Mar 31 1885, Julius ( aka Jules) Pincas in Bulgaria. A troubled soul, he was educated in Vienna, became an American citizen and committed suicide in Paris after spending most of his life in Montparnasse sensitively painting (mainly) women. Here’s Les petites Américaines

Born Mar 30 1746 in Fuendetodos, Spain, Goya was a romantic painter/printmaker. Considered to be the most important Spanish artist of the C18th and 19th, his works reflected contemporary historical upheavals.

Mar 30 1853 in Zundert, NL. What needs to be said? In the top three artists of all time, and I don’t know who the others are. Here’s the lesser known: Sea at Scheveningen. Also check out a video I made of the VG Alive show.

Born (not #OTD, but 10 days ago) Mar 14 1853 in Bern. Perhaps THE most influential Swiss painter and I missed it while on the #UkraineMission. Best known for Mountains, landscapes and symmetry, here’s his: Thunersee. We will revisit.

Born23 Mar 1887 in Madrid, was one of the great Cubists (even if I only discovered him on a trip to Madrid). He lived in France for most of his career, and while maybe not quite up with Picasso, whose portrait this is, he’s pretty damn close.

Mar 2 1943. in Albuquerque. After a troubled youth, he moved to LA to be an illustrator, later working with Robert Crumb, before creating his Super Cartoon works using Old Master techniques.

Born: Mar 1, 1886 in Pöchlarn, Austria. Oskar was skilled at intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes. His theories on vision also highly influenced the Viennese Expressionist movement.