Inferno, 1570

The Last Judgement, 1555-60

The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1577

Attributed to Pieter Huys - The Temptation of Saint Anthony

The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1547

The Temptation of Saint Anthony, Circa 1520 - 1584

Attributed to Pieter Huys - The Descent into Limbo , 16th Century

Pieter Huys or Follower of Huys - Saint Christopher Carrying the Christ Child through a Sinful World, 1550-1600

Pieter Huys or Jan Mandijn - The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 16th Century

Attributed to Pieter Huys - Saint Christopher, 1584

Circle of Pieter Huys - The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 16th Century

Attributed to Jan Mandijn or Pieter Huys - The Mocking of Job, 1550

Image sources include - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sothebys and Wikipedia

Death on the Pale Horse, 1817

Death on the Pale Horse, 1796

The Triumph of Death / Death on the Pale Horse, 1784

After Benjamin West - Death on the Pale Horse, 1808

After Benjamin West - Death on the Pale Horse, 1880

Artwork sources include Royal Academy of Arts and Detroit Institute of Arts.

Artwork previously shared in 2008.

The Alchemist, 1650
 The Alchemist, detail 1, 1650

The Alchemist, detail 2, 1650

Witchcraft Scene, 1600-78

Pluto comes from Tartarus, 1640.

Pluto and Proserpina, variation of Jacques Callot's "Temptation of Saint Anthony" 17th Century

Allegory of the Apocalypse , 1674

See more of Kovalev's illustrations at Maxima Library.

Artist previously mentioned here.

- image source

- image source

The Enchanted Fairy Tree, or a fantasy based on The Tempest by William Shakespeare

The enchanted tree, a fantasy based on the "Tempest" (1845)

The Knight and the Jötun, 1865-75

The Fairy's Flight



The Woodman And The Elves

God Thor Chasing the Dwarfs

God Thor Chasing the Dwarfs, 1878

Pursued by Elves

The Fairy Tree, 1865

The Dragon of Wantley

The Altar cup in Aagerup, The Trolls Give Chase

The Dragon Slayer

The Little Princess's Birthday Dragon

The Knight and the Spectre

The Witch's Home, No.2. "She's Off" 1875



The Witch's Home, No. 1 - Broom Waiting- Coming Out, 1870s

Richard Doyle - The Pied Piper of Hamelin, 1885

Snow White and Rose Red, 1877

Elves in a Rabbit Warren, 1875

Fairies and Red-Squirrels in a Forest

Wood Elves Hiding and Watching a Lady

In fairy land, an Elfin dance

Dancing Fairies

A Foxhunter's Nightmare





Triumphal March of the Elf-King, 1870

The knight pursued by sprites

Rumplestiltskin

Punch's Vision At Stratford On Avon.jpg

Illustration from "Bluebeards"

Illustration from "Puck on Pegasus" by Henry Cholmondeley-Pennell, 1868

Punch Interior Art, 1847

(Engraved by Dalziel)  illustration for J R Planché, An Old Fairy Tale Told Anew, 1866





Frontpiece from “Fairy Tales From All Nations” by Anthony Reubens Montalba, 1850

‘Fortune’s Favourite’,  from “Fairy Tales From All Nations” by Anthony Reubens Montalba, 1849

‘The Feast of the Dwarfs’,  from “Fairy Tales From All Nations” by Anthony Reubens Montalba, 1849

‘Dragon Giant’,  from “Fairy Tales From All Nations” by Anthony Reubens Montalba, 1849

‘Snow White and Rosy-Red’,  from “Fairy Tales From All Nations” by Anthony Reubens Montalba, 1849

‘Fortune’s Favourite, 2’,  from “Fairy Tales From All Nations” by Anthony Reubens Montalba, 1849

‘The Dragon Giant’,  from “Fairy Tales From All Nations” by Anthony Reubens Montalba, 1849

‘The Little Man In Grey,  from “Fairy Tales From All Nations” by Anthony Reubens Montalba, 1849

Interior art from "The King of the Golden River" by John Ruskin, 1885

Color interior art from "The King of the Golden River" by John Ruskin, 1885

The Battle of Elves and Crows, 1874

Dreams of fairies and mythical creatures

Dick Doyle Tortured by Procession Ideas, from Dick Doyl's Journal

Drawing for The Brothers Grimm tale "The Fairy Ring" The knight intrudes on the dining witch and dragon, 1846

Drawing for The Brothers Grimm tale "The Fairy Ring" 1846

A Book Full of Nonsense, Title Page

Illustrated Letters and More... From Hambourgh, 1948, Interior Art

Illustrated Letters and More... From Hambourgh, 1948, Interior Art

Doyle's nonense style monsters, in a letter to his father, 1843

Famous Great Sea Serpent, Punch Almanack, 1849

"Known, variously, by the nickname 'Dicky' and the pseudonym 'Dick Kitcat', Richard Doyle was one of the most popular illustrators of his time. A natural heir to George Cruikshank, Doyle was a humourist whose work ranged from social satire to representations of fairies and the 'little people'. Characterized by lyricism and lightness of touch, he worked for Punch during the formative years of the 1840s, and later became a sensitive interpreter of Thackeray. His 'elfin' (Muir, 102) masterpiece is In Fairyland (1869-70), a colour-book ostensibly designed for children which also appealed to adults and addressed adult themes in a coded form. Luxuriously produced, with intricate engravings on wood by Edmund Evans, this work set new standards in the field of book-production.

 Richard Doyle was born at 17 Cambridge Terrace, London, in September 1824. His father was the Irish cartoonist John Doyle (1783-1851), whose satirical prints were a scourge of the 1820s and thirties. Doyle was one of seven children, and all three of his (surviving) brothers were gifted artists. James (born 1822) was the author and illustrator of Evans's elaborate colour-book, The Chronicle of England (1864); Henry (b.1827) was an illustrator of note; and so was his youngest brother, Charles (born 1842, the father of Arthur Conan Doyle) However, Richard was unquestionably the most able of an exceptional family. Educated at home by his father, Dicky Doyle was a precocious talent.

 Aged only sixteen, he published a series of humorous envelopes for the newly-established Post Office, following this up with a satirical comment on Victorian neo-medievalism in the form of The Tournament (1840), a series of cartoons which was also a droll pastiche of the Germanic 'outline style'. In 1843 he joined the staff of Punch and in 1844 designed the intricate front cover, a teeming mass of fairies and elves milling around a rusticated title; revised in 1849, this manic opener established the magazine's emphasis on irreverent mockery, and was used as its signature image until the middle of the twentieth century. Doyle also provided quaint initials, by turns lyrical and surreal, and larger satirical works such as 'The Gold Rush' and 'Manners and Customs of Ye Englyshe' (1849). A devout Catholic who valued his Irish ancestry, he left the magazine in 1850 following an attack on Rome.

 Doyle worked thereafter as a freelance designer illustrating children's books, notably Mark Lemon's The Enchanted Doll (1849)and Ruskin's The King of the Golden River (1851). Other works, this time for adults, included The Foreign Tour of Messrs. Brown, Jones and Robinson (1854) in which he ridiculed the current vogue for tourism by showing a group of Englishmen bumbling their way around Europe, and Thackeray's pastiche of Ivanhoe, Rebecca and Rowena (1850). His collaboration with Thackeray was extended (and tested) in his detailed interpretation of the same author's acerbic novel of manners, The Newcomes (1854-55). This work, his only substantial commission for a contemporary novelist, revisited the blending of fantasy and psychological drama that had earlier characterised his work for Dickens's The Chimes (1845).

 In the sixties his publications divided fairly evenly between fairy books for children (an activity further supported by watercolours) and satirical works such Bird's Eye Views of Society , a series of fold-outs which helped to establish The Cornhill Magazine in 1861-2. His final, most impressive work was In Fairyland (1870, published 1869). Presented as a rich combination of coloured wood-engravings, an accompanying poem by William Allingham and an elaborate binding designed by the artist, In Fairyland was self-consciously designed as a treasure. However, its extravagant price (31 shillings and 6d)ensured that it was far too expensive for all except the most middle-class of households. Two thousand were printed, but records in the Longman Archive (University of Reading, United Kingdom) show that few were sold, a situation which led to the sale of remainders, in the form of a reissue with a revised title-page, in 1875.

 In Fairyland's economic failure reflected a change in taste and Doyle subsequently slipped into obscurity. He died of apoplexy (having collapsed on the steps of his club) in 1883, at the unusually young age of fifty nine. Following his death his juvenilia was reissued, principally his Journal of 1840 — a vivid visual record of the life of the times — Homer for The Holidays (1836), and a multi-coloured fantasy, Jack the Giant Killer. Doyle's reputation was eclipsed firstly by the artists of the 1860s and later by the sophisticated urbanities of Beardsley, Ricketts and the artists of the nineties.

 Doyle's oeuvre is well-known and his personal life and social milieu are equally well-charted, notably in Daria Hambourg's critical introduction (1948) and Rodney Engen's more extended analysis of 1983. He was a friend of Holman Hunt (Engen, 115-116) and was at home in the company of Millais and Rossetti, Dickens and Cruikshank. His special friend was Thackeray, who, like all of Doyle's associates, made a point of noting his sense of humour and easy charm.

 Yet Doyle was also known for his lack of lack of reliability. Characterized by a petulant dilatoriness and lack of focus, he was a poor collaborator. He was consistently late with his illustrations for The Newcomes, only meeting his commitments when Thackeray confronted him with the prospect of the work being passed back into the author's own hand. The Dalziels, who commissioned and engraved several of his works, were similarly frustrated, reporting how An Overland Journey to the Great Exhibition (1851) failed to exploit the interest generated by the event because the artist was outrageously slow and unresponsive. Doyle's excuses were often absurd, and the Dalziels reported that on one occasion he failed to meet a deadline because he had 'not got any pencils' (The Brothers Dalziel, 58). Such amateurism hampered the artist's success. Several books did not appear because he lacked the application needed to finish them, and completed work was often uneven in quality, patchily uniting accomplished designs and illustrations that were 'deplorably pedestrian' (Muir, p.102). Dicky Doyle's work is nevertheless a charming combination of comic burlesque, delicate drawing, a magical representation of the fairy world, mythology, satire, and intelligent interpretation. Widely collected, it visualizes mid-Victorian culture at its most wistful and amusing." - quote source


Image sources include Archive.org, Fulltable.com, Christie's, Heritage Auctions, Sofi's Flickr, Amber Tree Flickr,

The work of Richard's brother "Charles Altamont Doyle" who himself was the father of Sherlock Holmes author "Arthur Conan Doyle" was posted here a few days ago.

Richard Doyle's illustrations of Jack the Giant killer were recently posted here. His work was previously posted here in 2007.

 


























The Story of Jack and the Giants can be read at archive.org

Some artworks found at Full Table.

Matt Furie

Monster Brains was created 14 years ago on January 23rd, 2006.  I have many great posts planned for 2020 and beyond. If you've enjoyed what I've contributed to Monster Brains over the nearly decade and a half, please consider donating to the site.

Any donation from you makes it easier for me to continue finding and sharing amazing and obscure art related to the field of monsters at Monster Brains!


Aleksandra Waliszewska

Johnny Ryan

John Kenn Mortensen

Trevor Henderson

Fufu Frauenwahl

Marcus Schäfer

Dieter Van der Ougstraete

Michael Skattum

Sean Aaberg

Temptation

Meditation, Self Portrait, 1885-93

The seat of fairies is not always enviable

The Spirits of the Prisoners, 1885

The Spirits of the Prisoners, second version

A Dance around the Moon

Drawing from "The Doyle Diary" 1889

Saint Giles, His Bells

Ploughing

Nemo Me Impune Lacessit as the Frog Said Beyond the Thistle

Illustration for Goethe's Faust, Walpurgisnacht

Fairy Folk Celebrating Around the Plough

The Pianist

The Unseen Audience

Painting from "The Doyle Diary" 1889

Painting from "The Doyle Diary" 1889

Please don't tell the singing birds

Scare Crow

Dancing Fairies, 1850

After Charles Altamont Doyle - The Mummelsee, and the Water-Maidens

Fairies

'''Charles Altamont Doyle was born on 25th March 1832. Today he is mainly remembered for being the father of Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. However, Charles Altamont Doyle was a talented illustrator and watercolourist. He was the son of Irish artist John Doyle, the political cartoonist known by the pen name as H.B., and Marianna Conan Doyle. Charles Altamont Doyle moved to Edinburgh in 1849, where he worked as an assistant surveyor at the Scottish Office of Work. It was in Edinburgh that he married Mary Foley and they went on to have several children including Arthur Conan Doyle.

 In addition to his full-time employment he produced illustrations for a number of books, including for the Our Trip to Blunderland (1877) by Lewis Carroll, as well as designs for a number of journals. He also exhibited at the Scottish Royal Academy. His paintings, were often of fantasy scenes, many featuring fairies. He suffered with severe bouts of depression and alcoholism. As his condition worsened his work became darker and more sinister. Concerns about his heavy drinking and impact on his mental health led to his dismisal from his job in 1876, although he did receive a pension. Five years later, after growing family worries about his moods and desperate attempts to obtain alcohol, he was admitted to the nursing home of Blairerno House at Drumlithie in the Mearns. At times he still managed to obtain alcohol and there were incidents of disturbing behaviour. Following an aggressive attempt to leave Blairerno House he was sent to Sunnyside, Montrose Royal Lunatic Asylum on 26 May 1885.

 His bouts of depression worsened at Sunnyside and he began experiencing epileptic seizures. The effects of long term drinking had negative effects on his memory and mental health. It is described that he would tell staff that he was receiving messages from the unseen world and accused them of being devils. Nevertheless, he continued to paint and did experience calmer periods. In 1888 he completed illustrations for an edition of his son's first Sherlock Holmes novel A Study in Scarlet. His work over the period that he remained at the asylum often combined fantastical images of animals with other imaginary creatures. He maintained to his family that he was sane and had been wrongfully confined. In doing so he complied sketchbooks with caricatures, drawings of fairies and notes. He inscribed the frontispiece of his sketchbook diary: ‘Keep steadily in view that this Book is ascribed wholly to the produce of a MADMAN. Whereabouts would you say was the deficiency of Intellect? or depraved taste? If in the whole book you can find a single evidence of either, mark it and record it against me.’ 

In January 1891 he was transferred to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and died in the Crichton Royal Institution in Dumfries on 10th October 1893. Arthur Conan Doyle remembered his father with fondness. In his autobiography he wrote ".. full of the tragedy of unfulfilled powers and of underdeveloped gifts. He had his weaknesses, as all of us have ours, but he had also some very remarkable and outstanding virtues. A tall man, long-bearded, and elegant, he had a charm of manner and a courtesy of bearing which I have seldom seen equalled. His wit was quick and playful. He possessed, also, a remarkable delicacy of mind which would give him moral courage enough to rise and leave any company which talked in a manner which was coarse…" Arthur Conan Doyle mounted an exhibition of his father's works in 1924 at the Brook Galleries in London, which were praised by Irish playwright and 1925 Nobel Prize in Literature winner George Bernard Shaw.

 The Doyle Diary, containing a facsimile of works from a sketchbook he created from March to July 1889 while at Sunnyside, Montrose Royal Lunatic Asylum, was published in 1978, bringing his work to a wider audience and gaining the artist greater appreciation. One of his paintings ‘The Spirits of the Prisoners,’ is now in Australia. It is described in a description by the Art Gallery of New South Wales: " 'The spirits of the prisoners' is a phantasmagoric scene with fairies, imps and animals cascading over the rooftop of Montrose Asylum and down its dark, brooding walls. It reveals with such surreal clarity the painter’s disturbed or joyful visions of the spirit world, here surveyed by the bearded apparition in the clouds – a clearly identifiable portrait of the artist himself, shows those creatures swooping and circling around the asylum." ''' - quote source

Image sources include Lyon and Turnbull,  Wellcome Collection and Christies.

Charles Altamont Doyle was previously mentioned here in 2009.

Drawing from the film "Fantastic Planet" made in collaboration with René Laloux and the studios of Jiri Trnka released in 1973. It is based on the serial novel "Oms" by Stefan Wul.

Artwork found at Huberty and Breyne Gallery 

Roland was previously mentioned in 2006. Expect a future post with a few dozen recently scanned and found artworks of his later this year.

Artwork found at The Library of Congress.

The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1940

The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1937

Images found at Biblioklept

Otto Dix was previously mentioned here in 2007.

Images found thanks to Jean Louis Mazieres and Rex Harris.  A detailed description of the painting can be found at Wikipedia.

Many artworks found thanks to Dr Tenge.
A brief article on the artist can be found at feuilleton.

Opera Nova Curiosa,  1695











At the Cobbler’s





At the Wigmakers





The Banquet of Diogenes



The Discourse of Diogenes

Watermelon Regatta

Watermelon Regatta, detail


"Maestro della Fertilità dell'Uovo or Master of the Fertility of the Egg is the name given to a yet to be identified painter active in the second half of the 17th and early 18th century in Brescia. The name is based on a work entitled La fertilità dell' Uovo (The Fertility of the Egg), which depicts dwarfs, geese and lobsters hatching eggs and is in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum.

 The art historian Mariolina Olivera was the first to isolate a group of works by this master in her 1990 monograph Faustino Bocchi e l'arte di figurar pigmei. She placed the master in the circle of Faustino Bocchi, an artist active in Brescia around the same time and known for his genre paintings with dwarfs. The master’s oeuvre distinguishes itself from Bocchi’s more dreamlike work through its biting, satirical edge.

 The identity of the Master of the Fertility of the Egg has yet to be determined. Some art historians have suggested he was Bernardino Dehò (1675-1717) from Cremona while others have pointed at Angelo Esseradts, known as ‘il Fiammingo’ (the Fleming), whose name was also Italianised as Everardi. Everardi was Bocchi’s teacher and introduced the bizarre and grotesque elements of Flemish art to Brescia.

 The works of this master typically depict grotesque figures (usually dwarfs) and animals engaging in various human activities. The works generally ignore space and are characterized by strong foreshortening. The figures are often portrayed in profile and stand out against the dark, mostly flat backgrounds. This gives them the impression of being cut out. The persons and animals in the compositions engage in disorganised actions and reactions. The compositions are full of absurd and grotesque elements and it is often difficult to make out what exactly is going on. The master’s raucous style appears to constitute some form of 'moral zoology'. The absurd characters are possibly intended to show the madness of the human condition, and the vanity and ridiculousness of life." - quote source

Artist previously shared here.

Finis (The End of All Things) 1887

Temptation of St. Anthony, 1898-1918

Hekate (Hecate), 1901

Dragon

Prey, before 1900

The Birth of Eros, 1890

Images found at Millon.

Skulls in the Stars previously shared an article on the Projection Lantern here.

Artwork found at Christie's.