The genius of Peter Paul Rubens and the Flemish Baroque school of Art

What makes the Flemish Baroque school of painting so spectacular is the attention to detail and the brilliant lighting in each of the paintings. This school of art existed far before impressionism took the art world by storm and was more loyal to real proportions and contrasts. In fact, Van Gogh's much celebrated 'Vase with Twelve Flowers' wasn't the first example of floral still art. Jan Brueghel the Elder, an artist from the Flemish Baroque era perfected the technique of painting vases of flowers much before others. Yet, one doesn't find too much mention of him in popular culture.

Van Gogh's Vase with twelve sunflowers, 1888

Brueghel the elder's Flower Still Life, 1603

Brueghel the elder, whose father and son were also noted Flemish painters, had established the association of his family name with floral art. But my favourite Flemish Baroque artist has to be Ruben. There is just something about the flow of his hand, the beauty of his subjects and the captured movement in his paintings. He was praised for his lavish portraits of nobility and was even knighted by both the King of Spain and Charles I. 

His most popular works include The massacre of the Innocents,1611;  Venus at the Mirror, 1615; Tiger and Lion Hunt, 1618 and The fall of Man, 1629.

My favourites among his work are  Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma, 1603 which was painted during his first trip to Spain and Prometheus Bound, 1611.

Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma, 1603

Prometheus Bound, 1611

Ruben had himself acknowledged that Prometheus Bound was one of his most important works. He collaborated with several other artists to create this masterpiece. In fact the eagle which would eat mythical Prometheus' liver every day as part of his punishment for stealing fire from the gods has been painted by Frans Snyders.

My fascination with these paintings lies in the clever detailing, portrayal of sinew and beautiful use of light.

Sources: http://oilpaintingbank.com/van-gogh-flower-oil-paintings/32110-Van-Gogh-flower-oil-paintings-76.html

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/32357038@N08/3372918249/

 http://www.famous-painters.org/Peter-Paul-Rubens/The-Equestrian-Portrait-of-the-Duke-of-Lerma.shtm

 http://awp.diaart.org/kos/images/rubensprom.html

 http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/104468.html

The first post!

This is my first post. Although not my first blog. I already have a travel and photography blog (http://www.travelyarn.blogspot.com/) and thought its time I had a scrapbook where I could post things that inspired me - things from the world of photography, fashion, food, books, music, architecture, interiors and just about anything else.

These two photos are from Zara's TRF Winter 2011 collection. I am particularly partial to the brand for its ability to produce seemingly ordinary clothes that completely transform the person wearing them into tres chique. A Spanish brand, Zara began in 1975 and has slowly made its presence known in the fashion world for reproducing low-cost designs inspired from the runway. Zara's marketing strategy would be called suicidal by some but it works perfectly for the brand. Instead on spending the big bucks on advertising or getting a celebrity brand ambassador, they instead believe in opening new stores and getting newer fashions into their stores as often as possible. I'm pretty sure this strategy was the brainchild of a woman because it works!

In India too, they opened their first stores in New Delhi and Mumbai and have in the last few months expanded to Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. In India, Zara's famous leopard prints, sexy pumps, lacy tops and formal wear has caught the imagination of the young woman. It's not surprising, for instance, to enter Mumbai's Palladium Mall and find every 7 out of 10 women carrying  Zara paper bags (and not just on sale days).

I'm a regular at the Zara store as well as their website. The unpretentious photography for their look-books interests me. These two photos caught my fancy because of the styling, the lighting and because of the way the models avoid eye contact with the camera. Shooting against a black background always produces striking results. As can be seen here. I'm not particularly fond of stark white backgrounds with models that stare dumbfounded into a camera like deer caught in a car's headlights. This works for me. Of course, anything and everything about Zara works for me. ;)

Photo sources: 

http://www.zara.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category/in/en/zara-W2011-s/153002/#{%22lookDetail%22:3}

http://www.zara.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category/in/en/zara-W2011-s/153002/#{%22lookDetail%22:5}