Actually this was found in October last year, but it’s August now.
April Showers paints on the oldest walls, corners, back alley doorways, crooked corner bits and other spots that need her beauty.
I’ve got a collection gathering, but this seems it should be on its own.
I adore her work, and no matter how dark the doorway,
or how crumbly the wall, her art makes it a lot better.
I hope to meet her one day, so I can thank her!
Pics taken by Resa – October 15, 2024
Toronto, Canada
The Artist:
At first I wondered what this painting meant.
It looks like a message in an image.
Then again, maybe it’s just a pretty painting.
At any rate, I enjoy looking at it.
Pics taken by Resa – June 27, 2025
Toronto, Canada
The Artist:
They were not royalty, but may have painted for royalty.
Their parents worked for royalty, were politicians, acclaimed artists or important clergy. These aristocrats wielded economic, political, and social influence. They were fortunate ones, before and during the rise of a European middle class due to the industrial revolution.
French – 1797 – 1831
Louise-Adéone‘s father, Martin Drölling, and older brother, Michel Martin Drölling, were celebrated artists in their day. At the age of 15 she was encouraged to begin painting.
In 1819, Louise-Adéone married architect Jean-Nicolas Pagnierre. Widowed in 1822, she remarried Nicholas Roch Joubert in 1826. Joubert, chief tax officer of Paris, was the son of politician and former bishop Pierre-Mathieu Joubert. They had two daughters, Adéone Louise Sophie, and Angélique Marie.
Louise-Adéone Drölling, aka Madame Joubert won a Gold Medal from Salon des Amis des Arts, for her above painting; Young Woman Tracing a Flower. Thought be a self portrait, it later became part of the distinguished collection in the Gallery of La Duchesse de Berry.
I have found conflicting dates of her Gold Award – 1824, 1827 or 1831.
French – 1761 – 1837
Marguerite Gérard attained much wealth and real estate during her life, despite remaining unmarried.
In 1775 she moved from Grasse to Paris and lived with her sister’s family. Her sister was married to the popular Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Here she had financial freedom and was trained in art as Fragonard’s unofficial apprentice.
By her mid 20’s, Gérard had achieved a signature style. This involved precise details made with subtle and blended brush strokes, inspired by 17th-century Dutch genre paintings. However, she made it her own by focusing on females in intimate domestic settings.
In the 1790’s, once the Salons were opened to women, she exhibited often, winning three medals.
Over the course of her successful fifty years, Gérard survived the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars.
Her paintings were acquired by luminaries such as Napoleon and King Louis XVII.
Her small-scale, portable canvases appealed to many wealthy collectors, who preferred to display her small scale still life and genre paintings in their homes, over large historical canvases.
The numerous engraved versions of Gérard’s paintings made them accessible to less affluent art lovers and helped increase her reputation.
Gérard did not always follow convention, turning down a place at the French Royal Academy.
French – 1753 – 1781
Catherine Lusurier died at the young age of 28 years old. There is not a lot known about her, and only a few known signed paintings are accounted for.
Her mother, Jeanne Callot, was a dressmaker, while her father Pierre was a milliner. Apprenticing under her uncle, Hubert Drouais (1699-1767), her work bears his stylistic influence. Her paintings are predominantly portraits of children and artists.
A Catherine Lusurier work recently headlined Christie’s Old Masters and 19th Century Paintings, selling from a Private Collection. Sold Without Reserve at 3.11 million dollars, it exceeded the pre-sale high estimate.
French – 1797 – 1878
Amélie Legrand de Saint-Aubin, the eldest daughter of Pierre Jean Hilaire Legrand de Saint-Aubin (1772–1839) and Denise Marie Claudine Legrand (1772–1855), was born in Paris. After training and studying in the Women Only Studio with Charles Meynier, Amélie Legrand de Saint-Aubin‘s Rococo style portraits and history paintings grew in popularity.
Portrait of an Artist Drawing a Landscape in her Sketchbook is of a long standing tradition of women artists picturing women painting art.
Political changes from the French Revolution resulted in women being allowed to exhibit in the French Salon. Amélie Legrand de Saint-Aubin went on to exhibit at 17 salons over the course of her career.
Around 1831, she began teaching, offering private lessons. She never married.
“This stunning portrait recently joined the AGO’s permanent collection and made its debut as part of the exhibition Making Her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe 1400 – 1800. “
French – 1768 – 1826
Marie-Guillemine was born in Paris. Her mother was Marguerite-Marie Lombard and her father, René Laville-Leroux, a royal administrator for the ancien régime state. Marie and her sister, Baroness Larrey, (1770–1842), studied art from Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. Later they studied under Jacques-Louis David.
Her first exhibition was in 1784, at an annual 1 day show in Paris – Exposition de la Jeunesse.
Until the Louvre Salon became open to all exhibitors in 1791, where Benoist was one of 22 women presenting, she showed yearly at the Exposition de la Jeunesse.
At the Salon in 1804, she won a medal, whereby France’s new Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, ordered multiple commissions.
Other than her Salon successes, which are in the French state collection, Benoist’s work, including Portrait of a Lady was attributed to a man; in her case, Jacques Louis David.
Like many women artists of her day, their posthumous fate was to be overlooked, forgotten and/or effaced.
English – 1633 – 1699
Mary Beale was the daughter of a clergyman, John Cradock, so it seems natural that much of her portraiture is of churchmen. It is not sure who she trained under, but she received considerable guidance from Peter Lely
In London, she moved in intellectual circles. By, and into the 1670s she was in demand as a portrait artist, earning enough money to support her family of four.
After several years of mundane civil service; Mary’s husband, Charles Beale, left his monotonous job to become her full time studio manager.
Much has been learned from the many notebooks he kept.
One example: Charles recorded that in 1677 Mary completed 90 commissioned portraits. There were 31 female sitters and 34 male. The women and girls were mostly either titled or gentry. Men and boys were gentry or of “middling sort.”
Italian – 1673 – 1757
Rosalba Carriera was born in Venice to Andrea Carriera, a lawyer, and lacemaker, Alba Foresti. Taught to make lace by her mother, little is known of her artistic training. She is renowned for pastel portraiture and allegories.
In 1720, during a stay with French banker Pierre Crozat in Paris, Rosalba created portraits of Louis XV as a child, and members of the French aristocracy. Here she developed a friendship with Antoine Watteau, who influenced her work.
Rosalba is one of the originators of the Rococo style in Italy and France.
Her greatest patron, Augustus III of Poland, collected more than 150 of her pastels. He also sat for her in 1713.
In 1746 she lost her sight, but her work continued to influence many other artists.
Click on Making her Mark above to view sources.
All photos taken by © Resa McConaghy – May 14, 2024
Making Her Mark exhibition – Art Gallery of Ontario
This reminds me of an antique coral & white cameo ring I have.
I like it in blue, too.
The profile is characteristic of a cameo carving.
The face, set in a circle, is cameo-like.
They were wildly popular with the Victorians, a renaissance from the Renaissance,
… in a Victorian garden.
Pics taken by Resa – June 27, 2025
Toronto, Canada
The Artist:
So, you might ask outside of the fact that the band’s name is Cameo and that there is a blue hue to much of the video, what it has to do with Victorian or Renaissance cameos?
Nothing, but it’s got a great beat you can dance to and Larry Blackmon’s red cod piece is outstandingly hilarious!
That was my first thought upon seeing this stunning painting.
I found this a most difficult image to capture.
The squares on the garage door create a grid that has to be aligned while shooting. Focus is required, but there were these 2 interesting guys who engaged me in a chat.
Anyway, turned out one lives across the street from my B-i-L. That led to more chat.
The other guy lives across the alley from this art. He said he was there when the artist was painting it.
He asked the artist if she was painting Joan of Arc.? She said she hadn’t thought about it.
Pics taken by Resa – June 27, 2025
Toronto, Canada
The Artist:
So, I went to the artist’s website. WOW! Her work is fabulous a renaissance, a classic in our new age. She ended up naming this – Sol Aer
…. did a review for “nine black lives”, a book I wrote years ago, and anyone can read for free.
It is an honour to be reviewed by Debby, an excellent Memoir Writer. I was thrilled to pieces when I found out she was reading my book.
I have read Have Bags Will Travel & Fifteen First Times. Both are excellent reads. Just click on the titles to read my creative reviews. If you haven’t been to Debby’s blog, you are missing out!
You can buy Debby’s – D. G. Kaye’s books on Amazon!
Also wrote a wonderful review. Ada is a professional book reviewer, so I am way more than a bit appreciative. Ada and I got to know each other when she became a fan of my street art blog.
Ada recently went to Belgium and took some street art pics. Here are 3 below, and you can see more on her review of “nine black lives”
Ada has written 2 books. I have not read either, as I don’t have a kindle. They both look intriguing.
I know she’ll be uber busy in the upcoming future, as she is starting a new position in the world of writing book reviews.
Still, she has promised to hang out from time to time with us here on WP. I think she likes us.
Ada’s books in e format are available for free on Amazon. Check out her My Books page on her blog for more info.
I saw this on an artist’s website.
They rarely give out locations, except for a city. There was no location for this beauty.
I was going nuts wanting this for my collection.
The next day on my art walk, I accidentally stumbled upon it.
Exploding from glee is a real thing.
Pics taken by Resa – June 27, 2025
Toronto, Canada
The artist:
Graffiti Lux Art & More 
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