Édouard Cortès:The Parisian Poet of Painting

Édouard Cortès (1882-1969) was a post-Impressionist painter. Exhibiting just after the Impressionists, the public and art critics were more accepting of this form of painting. After his graduation from the École des Beaux-Artsin Paris, Cortès received recognition at his first exhibition. However, that's not to say that life was  a series of artistic accolades for Cortès.

You see, Cortès' was a pacifist. As with the Impressionist who went to jail or fled for their criticism of the industrial system, Cortès felt the cold grasp of World War I. Even though he was 32 years old and had a family, he was compelled to fight in the infantry. He was injured in battle, but refused the highest French recognition -

Légion d'Honneur.

This man of peace wanted nothing more than to paint the beautiful scenes around him. His most famous and desirable paintings are of Paris. He painted Paris in all seasons. With the exception of the transportation and the fashion, these still show Paris in all its glory. Enjoy this exceptional painter and Paris. (click on image to enlarge)

Thinking 2012...

Have you heard the expression, "Time seems to go faster as you get older?" Yeah, me, too. I could scarcely imagine that 2012 was over and what had I accomplished? What did I learn? How did it go?

BLOG: My first art blog was in April, 2009. Since then, 172 pages have been posted and those pages have been viewed over 94,000 times. According to Google, the top 3 viewed were:
(1) "Magritte: Son of Man" (archive: March, 2012) with 5,450 views,
(2) "Do-Ho Suh: Part 2" (Oct., 2010), 3560 views - although I have a personal preference for "Do-Ho Suh: The Coat" (May, 2010)
 (3) "Monsieur Monet" (June, 2010) with 3151 views.

Interesting that Magritte gained so many viewers in less than one year. I wonder if he's required reading in art classes.

EXHIBITS: "Progressions" was exhibited twice during the year and various individual pieces were included in other shows.

ART: In the "Access: Greek Isles" 4 new pieces were added - there are now 16 in the series.One piece is almost finished and 4 more are in progress. (You can see the finished works at: http://www.r-atencio.com/gallery/landscapes/access_greece.html

For the "Walkers, Waders and Wondrous" (birds) series, I held a contest to name a piece made with ceramic tiles. The winning title chosen by a panel of interested friends was: "Wind Dancer."

A little Parula was completed for a commission. (All of the finished birds can be seen at: http://www.r-atencio.com/gallery/birds/waders.html

I took an art workshop from Rogene Manas on paper clay. From it, I made a delightful cat/bird birthday gift for a friend.

My confidence to work with paper clay on canvas increased with 9 small birds. The sculpting is finished and I'll paint them as soon as they're dry enough. (On the right is a large clay tile of another bird in progress).

ANNEX:  "Atencio Annex" was named to distinguish items made for reproductions of fine art designs. To the mix of glass cutting boards/trays, mugs, recipe markers, and note cards, there are 4 new coaster designs. You can view all on Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop/AtencioAnnex

This posting has been a fun exercise. Sometimes I think that I should work faster and create more, but this look back makes me feel that everything is happening just as it should. Try this exercise and you, too, might be happily surprised. Oh, and let me know what you discovered. Happy New Year! R. Atencio