Georges Rouault - The Dreamer

Georges Rouault (1871-1958) 'The Dreamer' (1946)

France Stamp issued 1971

Held at Centre Georges Pompidou. Paris. France

Rouault took up an apprenticeship as a glassmaker in his late teens - the similarity of many of his works to stained glass windows is often accredited to be due to this influence in his learly life.  He was instrumental in the Fauvism Movement. 


Fauvism, generally considered the first artistic revolution of the 20th Century, can be seen as a manifestation of the main impulses of the century: towards autonomy of colour and the intervention of the painter's emotions as a constituent part of the painting.  

- Extract from Chambers Arts Library - Modern Art by Edina Berdand

The fauves were one of the first movements in modern art, but they were less revolutionary than other movements, such as cubism and abstractionism.  Their work is mainly interested in colour, with less distortion of shapes - this is directly seen in the work depicted on this stamp.  

Rouault's work was exhibited in Australia in the 1950s, during an exhibition of modern French artists who were living at the time.  This exhibition was reviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald at the time, and it makes for interesting reading:  French Exhibition is Study in Modern Art (Links to Trove National Library of Australia Newspaper Archives).

Christian Clare Robertson - Antarctic Landscapes

Christian Clare Robertson - Antarctic Landscapes

Australian Antarctic Territory Stamps Issued 1996 - First Day Cover

Although these stamps look like they are photographs, they are in fact paintings by the artist who was stationed at the Australian Antarctic Division in 1989.  The paintings depict the extreme land forms that exist on the Antarctic continent - perspectives are difficult to maintain in these landscapes.

Molly Joan Lamb Bobak - Tea Hill

Molly Joan Lamb Bobak (1922-    ) - Tea Hill 

Canada 30c Stamp issued 1982

Holland College School of Visual Arts

Molly Joan Bobak was appointed as a war artist in 1945, being the only woman to do so.  Her father was one of the Group of Seven Canadian artists.  


This is one of twelve Canada Day stamps from 1982 that depicted artworks from each of Canada's provinces and territories.  This paint depicts a warm summer's afternoon on Prince Edward Island.  The artist was known for painting ordinary events, particularly scenes of peaceful social interaction in the landscape. 

Quentin Metsys - The Moneylender and his Wife

Quentin Metsys (1466-1530) - The Moneylender and His Wife (1516)

France Stamp issue 2008 
The Louvre, Paris

The majority of Metsys' work depicts the life of merchants in Holland during a prosperous time in their history - this painting was completed when the artist lived in Antwerp at a time when the city was a trading hub for the Spanish and Portuguese.  The people in his paintings are usually depicted in indoor scenes, where there are clear indications of wealth - however, the paintings do not openly show extravagant wealth, as was usual for this time in Holland.  Religious overtones, include the scales of justice behind the subjects, providing insight into the ultimate judgement that each person must face.  The mirror and book on the table are completed to a high level of realistic detail.

Adrian Hebert - Street Scene, Quebec

Adrien Hébert (1890-1967), "Scène de rue, Montréal" (1933) 

Canada Stamp issued 1982 for Canada Day

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec, Quebec

Hebert portrayed urban life in the Montreal area over the 1930s and 1940s.  Many of his paintings depicted the Port Of Montreal, but when access was restricted in the second world war, he went to other urban locations, including locomotive workshops and railway stations.  

This painting has an interesting perspective - the street is very busy, but somewhat gloomy in the midst of the Canadian winter.  We are drawn into a small piece of a much larger city that sits outside the frame of the painting.

Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa (La Gioconda)

Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa (1506)
France Stamp Issued 2008
Painting held at the Louvre Paris

Today is the 491st anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death.  This painting needs no introduction as it is one of the greatest works from the renaissance period.  

Some interesting observations/claims from Wikipedia:

• the painting was not named until 31 years after Leonardo da Vinci's death
• it only became very famous from the 18th Century
• the painting was commissioned for a rich Florentine merchant's family to celebrate the birth of their first child;
• six million people now view the painting, which is held behind bullet proof glass in a specifically built facility within the Louvre;
• it was one of the first portrait pictures to depict the sitter in an imaginary landscape and an aerial perspective;
• it was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 by and Italian employee, who tried to sell the painting to Uffizi Gallery in Florence, after holding it in his apartment for two years.

Leonardo da Vinci also influenced a number of artists of the renaissance period who have had their works depicted on stamps:

Albrecht Durer - Adam

Raphael - The Large Cowper Madonna

Raphael - La Belle Jardiniere

Christpoher Pratt - Breakwater

Christpoher Pratt (1935-    ) - Breakwater (1976) 

Canada 30c Stamp issued 1982 

National Gallery of Canada

This modern work was depicted on a Canadian stamp only 6 years after the painting was completed.  The artist is known for depictions of the Newfoundland landscape where he lives. Maritime, architecture and roadside scenes are common in his works.


This painting has a very timeless quality to it - the scene could well be imaginary.  Although the colours of the landscape are appealing, the modern style buildings are drab, with very few redeeming features, despite the light clean lines on the horizon.