matouenpeluche

State Savings Bank

What has Doric, Ionic and Corinthian Columns and is pink all over? The State Savings Bank of course - another of my favourite buildings in Sydney. It is a Beaux-Arts Revivalist wonder right in the heart of Sydney city!

Built between 1925 and 1928, the exterior features a red granite base with pink terracotta tiles covering the upper outer levels. Four imposing Ionic columns stand at the front while the sides are decorated with handsome Doric columns. Inside it is as equally striking with enormous green pillars in the foyer and a white marble vault that features a massive bronze door with a wheel. Elegant hanging brass light fittings and complicated floral mosaic tiling are also details of the interior areas. As with the Grace Building that I wrote about in a previous post, I was lucky enough to go on a behind the scenes guided tour of this colossal beauty as part of an Open Sydney weekend held a few years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the interior, so you'll just have to take my word for it that it is quite the marvel inside!  Fortunately, it is also heritage listed as of 2000. More information can be found here which gives quite a detailed description of the building's significance and history. 

2018 Matou Drawings (Part One)

Here is the first part in a three part 2018 Matou drawing universe review.

First of all there were gals and their furry friends:

There was 1) Daphne and Arthur, 2) Elle, Pangur and Bam 3) Isadora and Iggy and 4) Daphne and Dennis.

Then there was a Medley of Mermaids:

Followed by Aloft in the Orchard, the Two Taylors (Part one and Two) and The Cat and the Camellia:

The Matou Year in review continues tomorrow.

 

Out and About Mid March

Some photos I've been taking over the past little while with my 4S. Above, a pretty pink and green art nouveau building in York Street in the city. 

Above: A stylish, new, arched brick building in York Street that perfectly compliments the art deco brick building it sits beside (right). An attractive native something as seen on a walk in the bush. A streamlined moderne beauty in Riley Street and a mural in front of a classic art deco pub in Park Street 

Thought of the Day

A thought of the day courtesy of that great Victorian/ Edwardian French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Other great things Rodin said were:

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely"

"Sculpture is the art of the hole and the lump"

"I invent nothing, I rediscover"

"The work of art is already within the marble, I just chop off whatever isn't needed" 

"I am like a moon that shines on an immense, unknown sea where ships never pass"

Sydney Botanical Gardens

So, I spent an hour in the botanics last Friday. It was a very rainy and humid hot day, but the gardens were full of flowers which more than made up for the hard work of walking there in the tropical weather. The best display was the pond by the Chinese Garden that had the most magnificent lotus flowers in various stages of blooming beauty (see above)! There were also many exotic brightly coloured flowers, however, my second favourite display was a lilac lily type flower that was covered in misty dew. My third favourite display was the (quite extensive) begonia beds that showcased every possible type, breed, colour, size and shape of begonia that you could ever wish to see.

Feathered Fans from the Philadelphia Museum of Art

These beautiful feathered fans come from France, America and China and they are all part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's collection. There are lots of other pretty fans too, but I have selected the feathered fans particularly as I was interested in the different shades, designs and types of feathers used that make them all so utterly unique. 

 

All images from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Koloman Moser - Art Nouveau Master

I have totally fallen in love with Austrian Vienna Secession art nouveau artist Koloman Moser! I have actually blogged about him before in an art nouveau post I did a while back, but this post is just for him!

All images form here, here and here.

René Jules Lalique and Lucien Gaillard: Art Nouveau Masters

René Lalique is perhaps best known for his glass designs, but he was also an exceptional designer of hair accessories and jewellery. These pieces above, which feature a necklace, brooch and two hair combs are exquisite examples of his work and classic examples of the art nouveau style generally. There is also a silver plated sycamore hair pin by Lucien Gaillard, bottom right, which caught my eye.

René Lalique necklace from here, brooch from here, combs from here, here. Lucien Gaillard sycamore hair pin from here.

A Parachute Demonstration

This delightful image is from a greeting card I picked up on my travels. According to the information on the back it is a Japanese woodblock of a parachute demonstration. It doesn't say what date it was made, but judging by the dress of some of the women in the image, I'd say it was made in the late 19th Century.

Image form Classics: Museums @ Galleries

Aubrey Beardsley: Master Art Nouveau artist

 

I've been watching a fabulous BBC documentary called Sex and Sensibility: The Allure of Art Nouveau. The documentary features artists and artisans and the art nouveau movement as a whole in three cities: Paris, London and Vienna. One thing I learnt was that the art nouveau movement was only around for a brief 15 - 20 years and then it was dropped like a hot potato. Additionally, I also learnt that the artists and artisans of the Viennese branch of the Art Nouveau movement, the Vienna Secession, were the rebellious punk rockers of their day. Finally, I was reminded that Aubrey Beardsley was a cheeky boy genius who died much too early at the tender age of 25. I learnt a lot more than that actually, but I think you'll have to watch the series yourself to fully grasp and understand the history and significance of this fine art movement. I thoroughly recommend it for art lovers and history buffs alike. Meanwhile, please enjoy the Aubrey Beardsley illustrations I have here from here.