Happy birthday, artist Thomas Eakins

The Swimming Hole (1884-1885), Thomas Eakins. The artist appears in the lower right corner.

It is the birthday of realist painter Thomas Eakins (1844), who is widely considered among the greatest 19th century American artists. He also is known for his work in sculpture, and with photography in the art studio. He painted hundreds of portraits, placing his subjects in unusual outside settings. He is also remembered for his landscapes, and human figure studies, which he emphasized during his tenure as an instructor and later director at the Pennsylvania Academy. Perhaps one of Eakins’ most well-known paintings is The Swimming Hole (1884-1885), depicting a common 19th century activity. Art historians consider a masterpiece.

Gustave Courbet wanted to paint reality

The Desperate Man (1843-1845), self-portrait by Gustave Courbet.

It is the birthday of French painter Gustave Courbet (1819), whose issues with the Romantic style of art, with its heroic themes and its natural settings, led to the Realism style in the 19th century. Courbet believed painters should depict scenes based on real life they had observed. In pursuit of his idea, he produced many self-portraits, including The Desperate Man (1843-1845). Scholars say his work A Burial at Omans (1849-1850), is one of his most important works. It depicts the funeral of his grand uncle, and is notable for including the actual people who attended the funeral. That was a distinct departure from the Romantic style that used actors to portray characters. Courbet’s ideas developed a substantial following. His work influenced later artists such as Edouard Manet, James McNeill Whistler, Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, and Edward Hopper.

Happy birthday, artist Édouard Manet

It is the birthday of French painter Édouard Manet (1832), who caused a big stir in French society when he painted The Luncheon on the Grass (1863), showing one lady not wearing anything and another lady not wearing very much with two gentlemen who seem decidedly overdressed for the picnic. Critics sniped not only at the subject matter but also about the fact that he hadn’t seemed to spend much time painting it. It was so sketchy, they said, it seemed as if you didn’t actually see the scene as get an impression of it. Supporters said that was the whole point – the impression. Thus, the painting came to be one of the works that represents the beginning of the transition from Realism to Impressionism.

Happy birthday, artist Edward Hopper

Detail from Nighthawks (1942); inset: self-portrait

It is the birthday of realist painter Edward Hopper (1882), who is most well known for his oil painting Nighthawks (1942), though he also worked in watercolor as well as etchings and pen and ink sketches. Nighthawks features four people in an all-night diner on what appears to be a lonely street corner. It suggests a film noir setting and, indeed, is said to have been inspired by Ernest Hemingway's short story The Killers (1927) or, perhaps, his story A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (1933). Hopper said of the paint that there is the possibility of danger outside the dark. Hopper's subjects tended to be typical everyday scenes, many capturing contemporary urban life. Among his other well-known paintings are Girl at Sewing Machine (1921), Automat (1927), Chop Suey (1929), Early Sunday Morning … (1930), and Office at Night (1940), a sensually charged scene of a young woman and a slightly older man, apparently working in an office after hours.