Visual & Decorative Arts Blog

After looking at Manga we thought it would be interesting to also delve into the western tradition of comics too. Having spawned some of the most successful and most loved characters in fiction, comic books have earned a place as an important form of creative writing and art.

Following on from our blog post looking at Japanese woodblock prints, we felt it was important to look at what is arguably the modern progression of graphic art in Japan.

The history of graphic art is criminally under written and often not given the respect it deserves. Taken less seriously by the western artistic canon, graphic art is often relegated to commercial or juvenile art and rarely properly addressed for the powerful storytelling and cultural history it contains. In this new series of blogs we will be looking at the history and development of graphic arts and their influence on wider culture.

There are several points in Van Gogh’s life we can turn to better understand him. One of the key periods of artistic development he went through was his time in The Yellow House. His desire for an artist retreat and studio in the Arles highlighted his need to be surrounded by his work and the creativity of others, but in a way that was not suffocating like in Paris or other major cities. Using his letters, we are taking a look at how Van Gogh’s time in The Yellow House affected his art and influenced his life.

Flowers are one of the most common subjects for art but because of this it takes something truly special to be noticed and remembered. Following on from our previous lists, Galleries & Museums and Gothic & Fantasy, in today's blog we're looking at the top 10 floral calendars for 2019. 

With the end of the year fast approaching, we are returning with the Top 10 calendars series for 2019! This week we are taking a look at the range of gothic and fantasy art calendars. Be it sci-fi monsters or colourful unicorns, we have something up our sleeve for everyone.

Galleries and Museums hold great art and artefacts and this often means they make great subjects for calendars. From renaissance paintings to out of this world photography (literally!), museums and galleries are full of beautiful subjects for calendars. Take a look at ten of our most popular ones for 2019!

Paul Gauguin (1848–1903) was born to Clovis Gauguin (1814–51) and Alina Maria Chazal (1825–67) inParis. A man driven by his own desire above anything else, Gauguin is a celebrated artist with a story that now warrants people questioning his work. He would come to be defined by his travels and work in what he termed ‘primitive’ cultures, but from an early age this travelling was a central part of his life. 

Heath Robinson is a name synonymous with humorously complicated machines and inventions. Similar to the American Rube Goldberg, Robinson’s name became shorthand for these bizarre contraptions but differing in that they were generally not single use inventions like Goldberg’s. While these were central to his fame and success they were not the only illustrations he did and we thought we should take a look at some of his other beautiful work.

The Art Deco movement came to fruition in the early 1900s. In 1925 the Exposition Internationale, which focused on Art Deco design then called Moderne, opened for a six-month run that garnered over sixteen million visitors. The United States did not exhibit at the show because, according to then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover (1874–1964), they did not have a sufficient collection of modern products to display. The United States did, however, attend the show. They sent over eighty delegates who were captivated by the designs they saw. It fell in sync with American optimism and American wealth and would come to heavily shape the style we now associate with classic Americana. They didn’t just replicate the art deco style but developed it in to something that was specific to American design.