Jack B. Yeats

I don't know as much about painting as I would like but there are a few things that I have been very drawn to over the years. Besides an interest in the more well-known Monets, Caravaggios, and Rembrandts, my favorite artists all seem to be a little less-well known. The Japanese woodblock artist Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858) is one, I remember the first time I came to know him, which was during one of my many visits to the Van Gogh museum. Being quite a fan himself, Mr. Van Gogh copied a number of Hiroshige's works and these were my first introduction to him. Given how fond I am of classic Japanese cinema it is perhaps no surprise that I was attracted by the compositional qualities of his work.

The Plum Garden in Kameido

When it comes down to my favorite artists, it always comes down to two. The first of those is Paul Klee (1879-1940), the Swiss artist who practiced his art in Germany. A fiercely technical artist, Klee has one of the most varied and impressive body of work of any painter. My favorite period of his are the few years following the first World War. I first discovered him when I visited the extraordinary Paul Klee museum in Bern.

Rocky Landscape

My motive behind this post was to explain the origin of my profile picture as well as the back ground to this site. They are both paintings by Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957), brother of William B. Yeats. As far as I'm concerned there is no other Irish painter who even comes close to Yeats, his style is luminous and immediately striking. The first time I ever saw his work was in secondary school in Dublin, as one of his older oil paintings, depicting a swim up the river Liffey in Dublin, adorned the cover of our boring Irish history books. It was years before I knew who had painted it and ironic really that I came to love Yeats so much considering how much I despised my dreary Irish history lessons. I was properly introduced to Yeats during my years in Trinity College Dublin as I would frequently visit the National Gallery next door which features an isolated section dedicated to his work.

The Singing Horseman

Currently my favorite of his paintings is one I have actually never seen and considering it was sold at auction in Dublin this year I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to see it. The Westering Sun currently serves as the background to Rambles and Noodles.

The Westering Sun

One thing that has occurred to me regarding my two favorite artists is that they are from Ireland and Switzerland, the country I am from and the one I grew up in. Given my identity issues this struck as particularly interesting and I doubt I can chalk it down to mere coincidence.