Watercolor Landscape Masters-Homer, Zorn, Wyeth, Bechtle, Dufy

Watercolor MastersWinslow Homer

Gustav DoreAnders Zorn

Childe HassamRobert BechtleAndrew Wyeth

Glenn Hirsch, Instructor

6/18 Brush technique6/25 Color Theory I -- the illusion of "light" and the apple 7/2 NO CLASS7/9 Color Theory II - Study of a watercolor masterwork 7/16 Color Theory III – illusion of "space": landscape and trees 7/23 today  more landscape 7/30 Painting people 8/6 Course Project: "series" ( (Extended session (10am-4pm) 8/7 SUNDAY 930am-1pm Legion of Honor: Museum Field trip8/13 Mixed Media – opaque and transparent approaches 8/20 Finishing Touches (Extended session: 10am-2pm)8/27 Final critique and party

Andrew WyethAmerican, 1917-2009

Wyeth was primarily a realist painter but his composition is clearly modern, influenced by both cubist and abstract expressionist design.

Although its time in history had passed by the time Wyeth began, he is connected to the American Regionalist movement, a realist modern art movement of both fine art and illustration depicting scenes of rural and small town America primarily in the midwest and deep south.

It arose in the 1930s as a response to the Great Depression and the perceived domination of French art (Picasso, Matisse etc.).

Winslow Homer American, 1836 – 1910

American landscape painter and printmaker. Largely self-taught, Homer began his career working as a commercial illustrator.

He worked extensively in watercolor, creating a fluid and prolific body of work -- primarily chronicling his working vacations.

Anders Zorn Swedish, 1860 – 1920

One of the most famous living artists at the turn of the 20th century, Zorn dazzled the art world with his bravura paintings, watercolors, and etchings. His early travels took him to Spain and Algeria where the intense color and light inspired the virtuoso watercolorist to perfect his craft. In Paris he emulated the Impressionists as a chronicler of modern life, while in America he rivaled John Singer Sargent as the most sought-after portraitist of glittering high society. In Sweden, Zorn captured his native folk culture and the serenity of the Nordic landscape.

Robert BechtleAmerican, 1932-

Bechtle has lived all his life in the Bay Area; and his art is centered on scenes from everyday life. In the late 1960s, he became one of the first photorealists –painting based on photographs and to create a painting that appears to be itself a photograph.

Gustav Doré

French, 1832 - 1883

Doré was a draughtsman, caricaturist, illustrator, watercolorist, painter and sculptor. He is known for his illustrations for major classics: Dante, Rabelais, Cervantes, La Fontaine, Milton, Balzac, Gautier, Poe, Coleridge, and Tennyson.

Frederick Childe Hassam American, 1859 –1935

American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt, Hassam was instrumental in promoting Impressionism to American collectors, dealers, and museums. He produced over 3,000 paintings, watercolors, etchings, and lithographs

Raoul DufyFrench, 1877 – 1953

French Fauvist painter who developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textiles, as well as decorative schemes for public buildings.

Dufy's cheerful oils and watercolors depict events of the time period, including yachting scenes, sparkling views of the French Riviera, chic parties, and musical events.

Dufy completed one of the largest paintings ever contemplated, a huge and immensely popular ode to electricity, the fresco La Fée Electricité for the 1937 Exposition Internationale in Paris. It is 32 feet high by 204 feet long.

Detail of the Fee Electricite for the 1937 Paris International Exposition