Gallery Painter - Charles Gleyre
Charles Gleyre (1806-1874) was a Swiss painter who played a significant role in the development of 19th-century French art.He was known for his classical style, which drew on Romanticism as well as classical themes, often depicting historical and mythological subjects. His approach combined meticulous draughtsmanship with a rich colour palette, reflecting an understanding of light and atmosphere that was both innovative and evocative. Gleyre is perhaps best remembered as an influential teacher, mentoring a generation of artists who would go on to make their own marks on the art world, including the likes of Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley.
His narrative prowess and dramatic use of colour and light, while also highlighting the human condition in profound ways are signatures of his work. His fascination with mythological subjects and the beauty of the female figure is what captured our attention to his work.
The Dance of the Bacchantes - 1849
This painting encapsulates the ethos of the Libidine Blog. The painting captures a raucous celebration of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, revelry, and fertility by the group of women known as Maenads/Bacchantes, followers of Bacchus as they participate in a bacchanal .
Their movements symbolised liberation from societal norms, the music creating an atmosphere charged with an electric energy that invites participants to shed their inhibitions and surrender to the moment. The Bacchantes would dress in fawn skins and would often carry a thyrsus, a long stick wrapped in ivy or vine leaves and tipped with a pine cone. They would weave ivy-wreaths around their heads in honour of Bacchus. As joyous abandon and ecstatic enthusiasm increases into a frenzy they start shedding their clothes , celebrating femininity and the cyclical patterns of life through unrestrained expression. The Bacchante in the middle showing the charms of a women in full motion. To the left, two bacchantes have left the circle, exhausted with drunkenness, one of them held up by a servant. To the right, three musicians set the rhythm of the dance with the sound of a tambourine, aulos and crotalums. The two end photos show some of the studies made by Gleyre for this picture, as well as showing his talent they also show the wonderful curves of the female form. We particularly like the first study showing a women with wonderful generous breasts,wide hips and shapely thighs. It is most enticing.
Sappho (1867)
Sappho was an ancient Greek poet whose words were sung to music.She stands in a confident and self-possessed stance, turning away from the viewer while pouring a cup of wine, her lyre sits nearby on the couch. We love how the painting shows her body from behind, The interplay of light to emphasise the softness of her skin while adding depth to her fine figure.
Diana
Diana was the Roman goddess of the wilderness and of the hunt. The light and shadow highlights Diana’s graceful silhouette against the backdrop of lush greens and earthy tones indicating a natural setting, the inclusion of arrows and a dead bird on the rock with blood dripping down alludes to her identity as the goddess of the hunt.
Minerva and the Graces
Minerva is the goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, and the crafts whilst the The Graces are goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, goodwill, and fertility. The musical instruments on display are the Aulos, Flute & lyre. The goddesses are of varying states of undress titillating the viewer with a glimpse of the female form.
A Bacchante
A captivating young Bacchantes plays her Aulos with her back to the viewer looking into the woods , her cloths starting to fall from her form, hinting at the carefree abandon of nature that such celebrations often evoke. This acts to highlight her pale skin against her ginger hair which is down the centre of her back, before your eyes are drawn to her buttocks and hips which is a delight.
Venus Pandemos
Venus is a goddess whose functions encompass love,beauty,desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory.
The picture shows a nude Venus riding a goat in a seaside setting. She holds a mantle up in her right hand to reveal herself and grasps the goat 's horn in her left while watching Cupid fly in the opposite direction. A satyr leads the goat by its beard and holds a torch.
Whilst looking at Gleyre's work we were admiring his studies of the female form that he undertook before painting ,in the form of sketches. These are not grand paintings but these are simple drawings that really bring to focus the beauty of the women's body showing the curves , tone, and graceful contours, which intrigues us immensely.
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