Mattel Releases New Fine Art Dolls. The DaVinci, Van Gogh & Klimt Barbies.

Recently introduced at this year's Toy Fair were three new Barbie dolls by Mattel that pay homage to some of the world's most famous artists. 14th century Master Leonardo Da Vinci, Impressionist Vincent Van Gogh and Art Nouveau painter Gustav Klimt have been immortalized as soon to be released Barbies. The dolls clothing, make up, hair styles and jewelry are inspired by Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Van Gogh's Starry Night and Klimt's portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer.

Not yet in the stores, the dolls are available for pre-order at the links below.

The Da Vinci Barbie


above: Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, painted from 15o3-1507



Pre-order the Da Vinci Barbie Doll here

The Klimt Barbie:


above: Gustav Klimt's portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, completed in 1907




Pre-order the Klimt Barbie Doll here

The Van Gogh Barbie:


above: Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night, painted in 1887



Pre-order the Van Gogh Barbie Doll here.

special thanks to Carolynn R. Whitford and Michael Williams for the above images


Also available for pre-order are the following soon to be released Barbies for 2011:

The Farrah Fawcett Barbie Doll

The Grace Kelly Barbie Doll

The Rock Hudson & Doris Day Barbie Dolls Giftset

The Frank Sinatra Barbie Doll

From Durer to Dali, Famous Artists Paint Their Mothers Part Two of Two.

For Mother's Day weekend, I'm sharing portraits of "mothers" by various painters ranging from the 15th century to the present. Yesterday was Part One, a look at portraits of world-renowned artists' mothers prior to the 2oth century and today is Part Two, featuring more contemporary portraits from the 20th and 21st centuries. For more information and caveats, see yesterday's post here.

Franz Marc, portrait of his mother, 1902:

Georgio di Chirico, portrait of the artist's mother, 1911:

Egon Shiele, Mother Sleeping, 1911:

Juan Gris, portrait of the artist's mother, 1912:

Edward Hopper, Elizabeth Griffiths Smith Hopper, the artist's mother, 1916:

Salvador Dali, portrait of the artist's mother, 1920:

Norman Rockwell's Mother Tucking Children Into Bed (for which his mother Irene was the model), 1921:

Grant Wood, Woman With Plants (his mother), 1929:

Arshile Gorky, portrait of the artist's mother, 1936:

William H. Johnson, Mom Alice, 1944:

Alice Neel, My Mother, 1952:

Lucian Freud, The Painter's Mother, 1973:

Andy Warhol, silkscreen of his mother, Julia Warhola, 1974 :

David Hockney, Mum, 1985:

Daphne Todd, Last Portrait Of Mother, 2009:

David Kassan, portrait of the artist's mother, 2010:


See Part One here.


Oh, and Happy Mother's Day!

From Whistler to Warhol, Famous Artists Paint Their Mothers, Part One of Two.

In honor of Mother's Day this coming Sunday, I thought I'd share with you several portraits of the female forebearers of various respected and well-known painters. The portraits range from the 15th century to the present* - excluding paintings of The Madonna, arguably the most famous of all mothers.

Most artists, at one time or another, have painted a portrait of the woman from whose womb they sprang. Some are flattering, some are not and others are very personal or intimate -- yet all are an homage to the parent whose role we celebrate this Sunday, May 8th.

There are so many, I'm breaking this up into two posts. Today I am featuring paintings of artists' mothers prior to the 20th century and tomorrow I will be featuring Part Two, more recent homages to Mom by such artists as Hopper, Dali, Hockney, and Warhol.

A good place to start would be with the world's most well-known "Mother" artwork, that of by James McNeill Whistler, painted in 1871:

above: James McNeill Whistler, Whistler's Mother 1871, Musée d'Orsay, Paris

The following portraits are presented in chronological order from the earliest to the most recent. While it's true that many of these artists painted multiple sittings of their mothers (e.g. Lautrec, Cassat, and Cezanne), I chose to share those I found to be the most compelling.

Albrecht Durer, portrait of Barbara Durere, the artist's mother, 1490:

Guido Reni, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1612:

Rembrandt, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1630:

Sir Thomas Lawrence, Portrait (sketch) of Lucy Lawrence, the Artist's mother, 1797:

Alfred Rethel, portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1836:

Camille Corot, Madame Corot, the Artist's Mother, Born Marie-Francoise Oberson, 1838:

Pierre Renoir, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1860:

Paul Cezanne, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1866-67:

Mary Cassat, the Artist's Mother reading Le Figaro, 1878:

Edouard Manet, Mother in the garden at Bellevue, 1880:
Georges Seurat, Aquatint of the artist's mother, 1883:

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Countess Adele Zoe de Toulouse Lautrec, The Artist's Mother, 1883:

Vincent Van Gogh, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, October, 1888:

Paul Gauguin, Portrait of Aline Gauguin, 1890:

Pablo Picasso, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1896:

Edvard Much, The Dead Mother (the artist's mother died when he was five from tuberculosis), 1899:

*You will note there are very few, if any, portraits artist's mothers in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries because so much art at that time was dominated by religious paintings and portraits commissioned by the wealthy.


PART TWO TOMORROW
Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see Part Two, 20th and 21st century artists like Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, and David Hockney's portraits of their mothers.