The treasures left behind by my great-grandfather #9

in #art6 years ago

As you know well by now, my great-grandfather was particularly fond of painting landscapes.

His oil paintings were primarily done within his workshop, once returning home from his numerous walks. The reason for this was that, to paint in situ (directly on location), he would have had to bring all his tools, paint tubes, canvas... which was just not practical at all - likely far too cumbersome.
For watercolors, on the other hand, his load would have been much lighter - a few brushes, small palette of watercolor paints, and his sketchbook/watercolour paper would have done the trick.

Often, when observing his paintings, I notice his desire to add a little more life to his landscapes - a small scene from the everyday lives of individuals and/or animals of the region. I'm not sure if this is a special painting technique most painters learn to use or if this is something particular to him, but when you look at the paintings which follow, take a close look at these "extras".
Could it have been a humorous wink to his entourage? Or was it the need to fill in a space which seemed somewhat a little bare? You may also notice that these additional sketches are always done in black color. Did he want to attract our eyes to them or, on the contrary, make them present but of little importance?

If only he were still alive to tell us...

Watercolors

buxy.JPG

Looking at this painting, we can almost guess the frustration my great-grandfather must have felt in front of this empty crossroad of the village of Buxy, in Burgundy.

The little peasant in clogs shows quite clearly that we are at a time when traffic was almost non-existent.

How times have changed...

Bourgogne (2)_edited.jpg

These two priests in cassocks remind the observer that we are near a church or a convent. In fact, what may look like tall skyscrapers in the background are actually the 2 main towers of a cathedral.
For one reason or another, my great-grandfather seems to have left this painting unfinished as you can see from the white area where the priests are walking. Do you think he would mind if I drew a few cobblestones?

la Chapelle Villars.jpg

In front of this pretty little Romanesque church in the village of "La Chapelle Villars" in Burgundy, he drew this funny scene happening in the foreground of a cat following two ducks.
One can imagine that my great-grandfather (or rather the cat) surely had an idea in the back of his mind. I'll let you guess how that story ended :)

lavoir_edited.jpg

The village "lavoir" or washhouse sure looked a bit sad without its usual flock of women washing away their husband and children's clothes - even more so during these cold winter times.
Here again, he added a woman and her wheelbarrow full of dirty clothes to accentuate the utility of the place.



In 1971, towards the end of his life, my great-grandfather began writing a collection of thoughts and observations of the towns and villages in the vicinity of his home. His writings were based on his own research and the villager's testimonies. As you can see from the photos below, this "notebook" is massive! And his writing so small, we almost have to use a magnifying glass!



He begins his book with these thoughts:

To escape his everyday life, anyone can, if he wishes, seek to discover on his own the vestiges of the past still existing to this day.

Our villages of France still have witnesses of the older times and particularly those of our region. As we walk, we tell ourselves a story - that of men and their works, even the most modest of them.

If we can help to save these works and discoveries from oblivion and contempt, and thereby provide interest to our successors, our existence will not have been selfish and in vain.

(Translated from French by yours truly - with my best translator hat on... which says a lot!)

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All paintings in this series were made by my great-grandfather, Robert, seen here with his parents and siblings in 1912 (standing 3rd from the left).

Henri Pensa et sa famille_edited.jpg

A big thank you to my mom who often tells me the stories of her grandfather and the people of his village (which is now also hers) who, by sharing their memories of yesteryear, help me to describe his life through his paintings.

Don't hesitate to leave comments, ask questions, and share your ideas - I love to hear from all of you.

To view some of my previous posts, click on the links below:


Zeitgeist Movement and Berlin Street Art

Architectural Photography - Hong Kong

Illustrations by my great-grandfather

The Hundred-year-old Egg



“Learning is not a race for information, it is a walk of discovery” - Jane Healy

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Very good Post! Wonderful painting

The little 'stories' in his paintings make me really happy! They really add to the overall understanding of that time and literally add life to the frames.

I'm also deeply impressed by his 'notebook' - ever thought of typing it out and publishing it? In combination with the paintings! OH my, that's a project I would want to work on - it would be a gorgeous book with a very unique insight of a specific place and time.

I love you're sharing his work. He could never have imagined being published on a blockchain-blog ;-)

I think my mom started typing out the notebook a few years back, but got a bit discouraged... It's a huge 40x18cm with millions of pages - a wealth of information but wow, a lot of work!
I love the idea of combining the paintings to the writings though. Hmmmmm.... need to find a robot to do this job.
Cheers @soyrosa

YAY! More grandad awesomeness! So stoked (and a bit jealous) that you've got custom @donnadavisart legitness for your photo blogs now...

In FACT you're BOTH featured in my post honoring female steemit badasses today <3

https://steemit.com/womens-day/@dayleeo/it-s-international-women-s-day-if-you-re-not-following-these-10-badass-ladies-you-re-missing-out

Happy International Women's Day!

Same... super stoked to have Donna's art soon to be prettying up my posts.

What an awesome post you made (mainly because i'm in it, let's face it 😜).
You rock Dayle!
So honored to be a part of this amazing group of hardworking ladies. Truly.

Happy HOO-HA day!

I so love your posts about your grandfather's art. I have been having a think upon what to design for you for a divider for these posts.

Just now I finished one divider for you for photo posts. I made it kind of pop and fun and I am also making one for photo posts that is more like antique style camera darker colour. Let me know what you think and if you don't like it you do not have to use it of course, it was fun to do! Here is the post (hope it is okay to let you know this way, not sure of the protocol) https://steemit.com/art/@donnadavisart/a-commission-for-osm0sis-a-photo-themed-divider

Thank you so much Donna. I checked it out. WOW!!

Wonderful. I added a few more versions of that same one with osm0sis in different locations and made one more narrow and thinner as well. I can give you them as .png with transparent background but would have to be emailed as when they are left in a post and you copy it they still keep the white background. I'll share the other photo one I am doing in a day or two. I am going to try at least one for your grandfather posts maybe using a watercolour/figure/scene sort of design. It'll be fun.

Are you on discord? You can find me there (osm0sis#1875). It will be easier that way :)

What a magnificent post! You are so fortunate to have your grandfather's journal and all of his paintings. The watercolours are truly beautiful as well. My grandfather was from Belgium and spoke at length of life back home. I wish he would have written it all down, although one time, after he had passed, my grandmother gave me a page of writing in her hand, but it was of his words, describing his and the family's struggles during the war and his journey to Canada. He too didn't want others to forget. On that note, I absolutely love your grandfather's first words in his journal. He must have been a great guy!

I'm sure he was. Unfortunately, he died the year before I was born so we never met. But I do feel like I get to know him a bit through his paintings and writings.
The letter from your grandpa must have been amazing to read. My mom, @ofildutemps, writes about the letters left by my great-grandfather during the 1WW which are filled with details of his joys and struggles at the time (all in French unfortunately). The treasures they leave behind are things we cherish for eternity.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts @lynncoyle1

I'm sorry to hear that, but you're right, you sure get a glimpse of the man with everything he left behind.

It was awesome when I got that letter! I'm glad you're mom is writing about it as well. Those kinds of things really are priceless memories!

Wow, your grandfather was immensely talented and this post is a beautiful tribute to his work. I love the paintings, the color and technique are amazing--they truly stand the test of time.

Thank you so much @lilyraabe. Happy you like them :)

@osm0sis I do so adore the posts about your great-grandfather, thank you for continuing to share his artwork, stories, thoughts and observations. His watercolors are so vibrant. I particularly like the village of Buxy, in Burgundy :)

Thanks @redwellies. Buxy is one of my favorites too. The village itself is still as beautiful today as it was then.. with a few more cars ;)

So awesome your family has kept all these treasures. You've done a great job to keep his memory alive and now permanently on the blockchain :)

Thanks Dave. I'm trying :)
Hope you are well.

Yes, am well thanks, and so is Charlene. Can safely say we're out of the words re 'all that' and now looking forward with hope and determination towards our future 🙏

That's absolutely awesome to hear. Keep those spirits way high up :)

Wow! you must be so proud to have such a talented grandfather! The artistic streak obviously runs through your family! :)

J'adore la petite dame qui descend au lavoir avec sa brouette, elle me rappel que j'ai vraiment de la chance de vivre à mon époque.

Oui! En plus en hiver.. J'ai froid aux doigts juste d'y penser.
Par contre faire sa lessive en papotant avec ses voisines ca peut etre sympa non?

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