In the late 19th century, artists in Europe, emboldened by the advent of Realism and the freedom it granted from historical or romanticized themes, began to depict contemporary daily life. Some specialized in specific aspects of day to day life, particularly in Paris, center of the art world at the time.

Victor-Gabriel Gilbert was a French painter who became known for his depiction of markets, especially flower markets, along with corner flower stands, flower carts and other subjects involving flower sellers.

He often painted Las Halles, the largest market in Paris, and also depicted fish sellers and other aspects of the market. He returned often, however, to the subjects of flowers, sometimes in gardens or interiors, though rarely in the context of still life, at least not without incorporating figures or an interior scene.

Gilbert brought to his realist style the vibrant color and free brushwork of the new Impressionist Painters, though he kept the influence somewhat restrained and created a nice blend of those elements with his more traditional draftsmanship.

The Star of Bethlehem, Edward Burne-Jones

On Google Art Project, high res downloadable file on Wikimedia Commons, original is in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Watercolor and bodycolor on ten sheets of paper, on stretcher, 101 × 152 in (260 cm × 390 cm), or roughly 8 ft x 12 ft.

Based on his original design for a tapestry, Pre-Raphaelite painter Burne-Jones revisited his interpretation of the Adoration of the Magi in what was the largest watercolor of the 19th century.

There is an article with background on the painting on Wikipedia.

Here in southeastern Pennsylvania, we don’t have the harshest winters — certainly not like Minnesota or Maine or even northern New York State — but we do have winter; and never have Pennsylvania’s winters been more beautifully celebrated than by the Pennsylvania Impressionists, a group painters who formed an art colony in and around New Hope, Pennsylvania and Lambertville, New Jersey in the late 19th century.

So to celebrate today’s Winter Solstice, here are a few winter scenes from the brushes of Pennsylvania Impressionists.

You can find more information about these painters on the site of the James A Michener Museum (and here).

There is currently an exhibition of the work of Walter Schofield (image above, bottom) at the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia; it will be on display until January 25, 2015. I hope to report on that show in more detail soon.

Happy Winter Solstice!

(Images above, links to my posts: Edward Redfield, John Folinsbee, Antonio Martino, Daniel Garber, Arthur Meltzer, Kenneth Nunamaker, Roy C. Nuse, Robert Spencer, Harry Leith-Ross, Walter Emerson Baum, Fern I. Coppage, William Lathrop, Geoge Sotter, Walter Schofield)