By the hand of...? - "Portrait of a Young Man", attributed to Friedrich Wasmann, circa 1840s

 

Bildnis eines jungen Herrn. Painted in oil on wood, the small portrait is approximately 8.5 by 7.25 inches.

A very surprising detail - one I didn't even notice at first - is the noticeable gap in the sitter's shirtfront, giving what appears to be a tiny glimpse of his bare skin.

Charmingly sat - Madame Marthe Letellier Sitting on a Sofa, Holding a Fan, by Paul-César Helleu, circa 1895

 

This elegant portrait is in pastel on canvas, 50.5 by 48.5 inches, and is part of the permanent collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art..

I love the background Helleu has given this portrait. Such subtle, muted coloration, but then rendered in rather wild layers of pastel strokes.

Maybe my favorite detail is the squiggle and dots describing the piping and buttons of her upturned glove opening.

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Here are other of Helleu's portraits of madame Letellier, circa 1900-05.

Portrait de Marthe Letellier au chapeau.

Marthe Letellier née Fourton (1878-1954) was one of the artist's favorite models, and apparently very much aware of her own assets. 

The artist's daughter Paulette later related that one of her father's images of madame Letellier, her bust exposed - I'm assuming the same as that above - was, without his knowledge, reproduced in a newspaper and bearing only the title, "Portrait of Madame X .... ” In response, madame Letellier, reproached the artist, but her reason for complaint was quite contrary to what he'd expected; she explained to him that, "When the subject is so beautiful, one indicates the name!"

People in the dark - five nocturnal paintings

 

A Gentleman's Club, by Frank Street, 1917.

Evening with Bengal Fires in the Vauxhall, Brussels Park, by Petrus van Schendel, circa 1860s.

The Vauxhall of Brussels - French: Vauxhall de Bruxelles, Dutch: Vauxhall van Brussel - otherwise known as the Waux-Hall...

... is a historic building in Brussels Park - French: Parc de Bruxelles, Dutch: Warandepark - in Brussels, Belgium, first opened in 1781.

Le Verre de porto, also known as A Dinner Table at Night, by John Singer Sargent, 1884.

Aftenpassiar or Evening Talk, by Viggo Johansen, 1886.

Le Balcon, by René-François-Xavier Prinet, 1905-1906.

The benefits of smoke - "An Album of Film Stars", John Player & Sons cigarette cards, 1934

 

John Player & Sons, most often known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. Founded in 1877, the company merged with other companies to form The Imperial Tobacco Company in 1901, while retaining the Player's brand name.

Player's was one of the first British tobacco companies to include sets of general interest cards in their packs of cigarettes. These cards - now highly collectable - were generally produced in sets of fifty, and could be collected and put into specially created albums. One of the first sets, from 1893, was "Castles and Abbeys." Among the many, many sets they produced were those related to stage and screen performers, civil aircraft, motor cars, traditional British street vendors, flora and fauna identifying cards for Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, military uniforms, a coronation series in 1937, and several related to sports, including football (soccer), rugby, and cricket. John Player & Sons eventually issued more than two hundred sets of cards.

I find the phrase related to his marriage to Crawford, "at one time", rather amusing; they'd only divorced months before.

Again, "at one time."

This album from 1934 featured the film actors who were considered to be the "hot properties" of the moment. So interesting to consider which of these performers went on to continued or greater success, and which are those whose names are now only recognized by the most pedantic of film scholars.