Sunday, June 29, 2014

Sunday Salon: The World of Sherlock Holmes - Victorian England in Paint

The Bayswater Omnibus 1895 - George William Joy - source

The Shop Girl - J.J.J. Tissot - source

The Rifle Range - J.J.J. Tissot - source

The Circle of the Rue Royale (Detail) - J.J.J. Tissot - source

The Circle of the Rue Royale (Detail) J.J.J. Tissot - source

The Circle of the Rue Royale (Detail) J.J.J. Tissot - source

The Circle of the Rue Royale - J.J.J. Tissot - source

The Confessional - J.J.J. Tissot - source

The Artist's Ladies - J.J.J. Tissot - source

Emigrants - J.J.J. Tissot - source

Going to Business - J.J.J. Tissot - source

General Gordon's Last Stand (Khartoum) - George William Joy - source

John Atkinson Grimshaw - Old Chelsea - source

The Drawing Room at Townshend House - Lawrence Alma-Tadema - source

The Departure from Victoria Station - J.J.J. Tissot - source

The Letter - J.J.J. Tissot - source


Following on a theme: these paintings will have given you an idea of what I envision as the world in which the famed detective carried out his cases. In truth, in my mind's eye, I can't visualize Victorian England without Holmes and Watson - so alive are they in my imagination.

6 comments:

  1. The rooms in Townshend House, the home of Lawrence Alma-Tadema, were painted by him in a variety of styles, a Roman Villa, Pompeiian, Greek, Japanese, Dutch, Egyptian, and Byzantine.
    I love the way John Atkinson Grimshaw uses moonlight and soft reflective street lights to create mysterious atmospheres. I too have done a post on Grimshaw a while ago.
    Enjoyed seeing this pictures Yvette.

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    1. Thanks, Rosemary. I'm a new fan of John Atkinson Grimshaw, only having discovered his work within the last couple of years. Just lovely moody stuff.

      Of course I also love Tissot and Alma-Tadema and George William Joy as well.

      Tissot, Alma-Tadema and Grimshaw are instantly recognizable, I think. Once you know how they see the world, that is. :)

      I love that Orientalist room. I can easily see Holmes meeting a client in that sort of milieu. :) In fact, I think he did in The Sign of Four.

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  2. I think the paintings of Tissot and Alma Tadema are totally stunning, but they mainly tell us about the section of Victorian England that Tissot and Alma Tadema lived in - well dressed, cultured, influential, attractive.

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    1. But Holmes was at home in all these worlds, Hels; high and low. That was his gift as a detective and human being. Listen to me, I'm making him 'real'. Well, you know what I mean. :) As the remarkable creature created by Conan Doyle (who was privy, especially growing up and in his young adulthood to privation and poverty).

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  3. Dear Yvette,

    It is so pleasureable to scrutinize all the details in Tissot's paintings from furniture to table condiments to the canes and umbrellas strapped atop luggage. Tissot was great for creating atmosphere and obviously had a keen eye for detail.

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    1. Oh for many years, Mark, Tissot was almost relegated to 'illustrator' status - God forbid. HA!! But I think even his 'prettiest' paintings have something interesting to say. You're right, he did have a remarkable eye for detail. I love his work.

      I have a huge Tissot print hanging in my bedroom.

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