"Memento Mori, \"To This Favour\", William Michael Harnett NFT on XRPL
"Memento Mori, \"To This Favour\", William Michael Harnett
Collection: Cleveland Originals
The Latin term memento mori describes a traditional subject in art that addresses mortality. In Harnetts example, the extinguished candle, spent hourglass, and skull symbolize death. A quote from William Shakespeares Hamlet, inscribed on the inside cover of a tattered book, reinforces the theme. It comes from the play’s famed graveyard scene where Hamlet discovers a skull and grimly ponders his beloved Ophelia, ironically unaware that she is already dead. The paint in the quote not only refers to Ophelias makeup, but also wittily evokes the artifice of Harnetts picture."fun_fact": "Harnetts family left Ireland during the potato famine and emigrated to the United States." Artist Bio: William Michael Harnett (1848-1892) Early Life and Artistic Training Born in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, in 1*848, William Michael Harnett emigrated to America as an infant with his immigrant parents. His father was a shoemaker. The family settled in Philadelphia, where Harnett received several years of Catholic schooling. To contribute to the family's finances, he began working as a newsboy and errand boy at a young age. During his teenage years, Harnett developed an interest in art and trained as an engraver. By 1866, he enrolled in the Antique class at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Seeking further artistic education, he moved to New York in 1869. While working in a silver engraving shop, he attended classes at the Cooper Union and the National Academy of Design for four years. He also briefly studied under portraitist Thomas Jensen. Artistic Career By 1875, Harnett had begun creating oil paintings. He exhibited several still lifes featuring fruit at the National Academy and the Brooklyn Art Association that same year. He returned to Philadelphia in 1876, exhibiting his work and studying again at the Pennsylvania Academy. Harnett's artistic style remained consistent throughout his career. He typically composed small groups of darkly toned objects on shallow tabletops. These objects often related to writing, reading, banking, drinking, or smoking. He paid meticulous attention to detail, particularly in capturing the textures of surfaces. Over time, his arrangements became more elaborate, incorporating timeworn objects from his personal collection of artistic curios. Harnett achieved a remarkable level of trompe-l'œil realism, especially when using a vertical plane like a wooden door as his canvas. He would hang objects such as letters, horseshoes, books, musical instruments, or wild game from these surfaces. A sale of his paintings in 1880 provided Harnett with the financial resources to travel abroad. After a brief stay in London and working for a private patron in Frankfurt for six months, he settled in Munich for about three years. During this European period, he regularly sent paintings back to the United States for exhibition and sale. He was also active in the Munich Kunstverein, although his application to the Munich Royal Academy was rejected. His European experience concluded with a short stay in Paris before returning to New York in 1886. Later Years and Legacy Harnett's later years were marked by significant commercial success, but also by increasing health problems. His larger works commanded high prices, fetching several thousand dollars. His uncanny ability to depict objects with lifelike accuracy resonated with both art critics and the general public. Despite being marginalized by the professional art community (he was never elected to the National Academy), Harnett's influence on late 19th-century still-life painters was undeniable. Although rheumatism and kidney disease frequently kept him from painting for extended periods, Harnett continued to create art until his death in New York City in 1892.
Issuer: rLzncbwKysPuA9FvrocUKBZUbQGiBBPNk3
Taxon: 2
- culture : America, 19th century
- technique : oil on canvas
- creation date : 1879
- artist: William Michael Harnett
- px: 4741 x 3525
NFTokenID: 00081770DB35F371D4D6B9E351DA0CF20D4EBF5F49F78DB981A40257042C1EBA
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Description
The Latin term memento mori describes a traditional subject in art that addresses mortality. In Harnetts example, the extinguished candle, spent hourglass, and skull symbolize death. A quote from William Shakespeares Hamlet, inscribed on the inside cover of a tattered book, reinforces the theme. It comes from the play’s famed graveyard scene where Hamlet discovers a skull and grimly ponders his beloved Ophelia, ironically unaware that she is already dead. The paint in the quote not only refers to Ophelias makeup, but also wittily evokes the artifice of Harnetts picture."fun_fact": "Harnetts family left Ireland during the potato famine and emigrated to the United States." Artist Bio: William Michael Harnett (1848-1892) Early Life and Artistic Training Born in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, in 1*848, William Michael Harnett emigrated to America as an infant with his immigrant parents. His father was a shoemaker. The family settled in Philadelphia, where Harnett received several years of Catholic schooling. To contribute to the family's finances, he began working as a newsboy and errand boy at a young age. During his teenage years, Harnett developed an interest in art and trained as an engraver. By 1866, he enrolled in the Antique class at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Seeking further artistic education, he moved to New York in 1869. While working in a silver engraving shop, he attended classes at the Cooper Union and the National Academy of Design for four years. He also briefly studied under portraitist Thomas Jensen. Artistic Career By 1875, Harnett had begun creating oil paintings. He exhibited several still lifes featuring fruit at the National Academy and the Brooklyn Art Association that same year. He returned to Philadelphia in 1876, exhibiting his work and studying again at the Pennsylvania Academy. Harnett's artistic style remained consistent throughout his career. He typically composed small groups of darkly toned objects on shallow tabletops. These objects often related to writing, reading, banking, drinking, or smoking. He paid meticulous attention to detail, particularly in capturing the textures of surfaces. Over time, his arrangements became more elaborate, incorporating timeworn objects from his personal collection of artistic curios. Harnett achieved a remarkable level of trompe-l'œil realism, especially when using a vertical plane like a wooden door as his canvas. He would hang objects such as letters, horseshoes, books, musical instruments, or wild game from these surfaces. A sale of his paintings in 1880 provided Harnett with the financial resources to travel abroad. After a brief stay in London and working for a private patron in Frankfurt for six months, he settled in Munich for about three years. During this European period, he regularly sent paintings back to the United States for exhibition and sale. He was also active in the Munich Kunstverein, although his application to the Munich Royal Academy was rejected. His European experience concluded with a short stay in Paris before returning to New York in 1886. Later Years and Legacy Harnett's later years were marked by significant commercial success, but also by increasing health problems. His larger works commanded high prices, fetching several thousand dollars. His uncanny ability to depict objects with lifelike accuracy resonated with both art critics and the general public. Despite being marginalized by the professional art community (he was never elected to the National Academy), Harnett's influence on late 19th-century still-life painters was undeniable. Although rheumatism and kidney disease frequently kept him from painting for extended periods, Harnett continued to create art until his death in New York City in 1892.
"Memento Mori, \"To This Favour\", William Michael Harnett
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