Hello again and I have rather a busy day ahead as the lovely Simon is coming round later to hose out my guttering (not a euphemism) and so I ought to crack on with today's offering...
Instead of using a hat-pin, Moira found a more organic solution...
I think today's picture is the first one I've felt the need to apologize for. Mind you, I regret nothing - behold the horror...
Here Comes Trouble! (c.1900) Alphonse Marx
Goodness me, where to start? Also known as 'A Basket Full of Trouble,' this super-sweet image seems to have been born to be a chocolate box lid. I find it both sweet and whimsical and also deeply disturbing in equal measure. I can't argue that it is deceptively well painted - the weave of the basket is beautiful and that little blue ribbon sings from the canvas - however, the way the little heads are emerging from the basket in the darkened room has the whiff of 'summoning' about it. As my daughter said, it feel like the pause before the screaming starts...
Kittens in a Kitchen (late 19th century)
Much like other artists in this Catvent, I get the impression that these are on-hand models, as I can see the kitten on the right of Here Comes Trouble! emerging from the pot in Kittens in a Kitchen, along with its siblings. Although I don't think Kittens in a Kitchen is as striking as Here Comes Trouble! (and it is definitely less hygienic), there is a more natural, 18th century tone to it which is less creepy. There is also this one (with apologies for the auction watermark)...
Girl with Cats and Doll (late 19th century)
That is quite delightful, and even with the fallen doll (which I'm hoping is not a metaphor) (it's a metaphor isn't it? Rats...) this is a very lovely image which uses the darkness to make the colours absolutely pop. he does the shine on fabric exquisitely, as we saw with Here Comes Trouble! and the ribbon, so in a way I'm coming round to the basket of kittens. I mean, they aren't as creepy as John Franks and his Poodle. That really is cursed...
Portrait of a Man (1913)
I wish I could tell you more about Alphonse, but quite honestly I can't. He lived and worked in France for the majority of his career, but whether he was actually French or German isn't very obvious. No-one seems to want to take a guess at his dates, although I think a range of 1870-1920 seems fair as I can't see anything outside that. Here Comes Trouble! is one of his better-known works and I'm guessing it was a commercial success as it is easy to find online. Maybe I'm missing something important about Alphonse - possibly he was the less funny, arty member of the Marx Brothers? Possibly he was Karl's less political, more kitten-obsessed cousin?
Whatever graces your Tuesday, may it not be a darkened room and a slowly opening basket. I'll see you tomorrow...
