Two 'Frodo Art Travesty' versions of Bouguereaus' 1889 'Cupid and Psyche'....
Oh, squeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!
I thought I would never find a painting that would inspire me to make another Art Travesty manip. But, while I was in my "Frodo Art Travesty" album, adding the titles, dates, and artist's names for each manip, I had to check a few things in Google art sites. In the process, I found there was yet another, earlier version of Cupid and Psyche painted by William Bouguereau. The result? More manips. I will present the original from last year, plus two versions of the new one.
William Adolphe Bouguereau was a late-19th-century French academic painter who produced a lot of paintings with flawless technique, but which tended to look a lot like high-class pin-ups. His Abduction of Psyche [by Cupid] was no exception -- very pastel and pretty. But my eyes *popped* at how perfect Cupid's body was to portray "my" idea of fanfic Frodo. Of course, I would use "Cupid and Psyche" for a manip.
As you fans of Frodo Art Travesties know, I did a manip of his 1895 "Cupid and Psyche" last year. Here's a link to the original painting: William Bouguereau's 1895 The Abduction of Psyche
~ Here is a work-safe crop of the manip I made last year, from Bouguereau's 1895 "Abduction of Psyche":
~ Here is the full piece, Frodo bearing Psyche up to heaven in Bouguereau's 'Abduction of Psyche':
Here is a link to another painting, which I found today, Bouguereau's earlier treatment of the same mythological theme: William Bouguereau's 1889 version of Cupid and Psyche
*drum roll*
Frodo and art fans, here are the two manips I made from it this evening, each preceded by a work-safe version, for the purposes of posting them in the "browser version" that appears for my Friends List.
I love how Psyche is really, really swooning in the version below. (And who would not?) I adore the ravishing blue colour of Cupid's draperies, too, not to mention the stirring suggestion of an upward sweep, or thrust, to those drapes. *Oh, yes* (Obviously, this Cupid means business once he gets Psyche up to his bower on Mt. Olympus.)
~ Frodo as Cupid in Bouguereau's 1889 Cupid and Psyche, Frodo facing Psyche, work-safe crop:
~ Frodo in Bouguereau's 1889 'Cupid and Psyche', head turned towards Psyche, full painting:
I loved how the manip above turned out, using a richly reflective face from the FotR fireside scene. But I wanted to see if I could find a Frodo face that was more of a profile, which would allow him to relate to Psyche more. After a lot of browsing, I chose a face from the last Bag End scene, when Frodo is writing at his desk, just before he experiences his anniversary shoulder pangs. I thought the choice of face did so well -- and made the mood of the manip so different -- I could not help making this version, too.
ETA: The version below definitely turned out to be the favourite. But I wasn't happy with the chin area, so I redid it from scratch and re-posted it. I much prefer it. (The new version has gone into the Photobucket album, too.) If you had preferred the other, email me and I'll send it to you as an attachment.
~ Frodo as Cupid in Bouguereau's 1889 Cupid and Psyche, face forward, work-safe crop:
~ Frodo as Cupid in Bouguereau's 1889 'Cupid and Psyche', face forward, full painting:
A few related links....
An 8/27/05 journal entry about the sculpted version of Cupid and Psyche by Canova. The myth and its treatment in art is talked about.
The Frodo Art Travesties album. This is for those who still don't know where to find this link. Each image, when opened, now bears an accompanying text, giving the details for each painting or statue.
~ Mechtild
I thought I would never find a painting that would inspire me to make another Art Travesty manip. But, while I was in my "Frodo Art Travesty" album, adding the titles, dates, and artist's names for each manip, I had to check a few things in Google art sites. In the process, I found there was yet another, earlier version of Cupid and Psyche painted by William Bouguereau. The result? More manips. I will present the original from last year, plus two versions of the new one.
William Adolphe Bouguereau was a late-19th-century French academic painter who produced a lot of paintings with flawless technique, but which tended to look a lot like high-class pin-ups. His Abduction of Psyche [by Cupid] was no exception -- very pastel and pretty. But my eyes *popped* at how perfect Cupid's body was to portray "my" idea of fanfic Frodo. Of course, I would use "Cupid and Psyche" for a manip.
As you fans of Frodo Art Travesties know, I did a manip of his 1895 "Cupid and Psyche" last year. Here's a link to the original painting: William Bouguereau's 1895 The Abduction of Psyche
~ Here is a work-safe crop of the manip I made last year, from Bouguereau's 1895 "Abduction of Psyche":
~ Here is the full piece, Frodo bearing Psyche up to heaven in Bouguereau's 'Abduction of Psyche':
Here is a link to another painting, which I found today, Bouguereau's earlier treatment of the same mythological theme: William Bouguereau's 1889 version of Cupid and Psyche
*drum roll*
Frodo and art fans, here are the two manips I made from it this evening, each preceded by a work-safe version, for the purposes of posting them in the "browser version" that appears for my Friends List.
I love how Psyche is really, really swooning in the version below. (And who would not?) I adore the ravishing blue colour of Cupid's draperies, too, not to mention the stirring suggestion of an upward sweep, or thrust, to those drapes. *Oh, yes* (Obviously, this Cupid means business once he gets Psyche up to his bower on Mt. Olympus.)
~ Frodo as Cupid in Bouguereau's 1889 Cupid and Psyche, Frodo facing Psyche, work-safe crop:
~ Frodo in Bouguereau's 1889 'Cupid and Psyche', head turned towards Psyche, full painting:
I loved how the manip above turned out, using a richly reflective face from the FotR fireside scene. But I wanted to see if I could find a Frodo face that was more of a profile, which would allow him to relate to Psyche more. After a lot of browsing, I chose a face from the last Bag End scene, when Frodo is writing at his desk, just before he experiences his anniversary shoulder pangs. I thought the choice of face did so well -- and made the mood of the manip so different -- I could not help making this version, too.
ETA: The version below definitely turned out to be the favourite. But I wasn't happy with the chin area, so I redid it from scratch and re-posted it. I much prefer it. (The new version has gone into the Photobucket album, too.) If you had preferred the other, email me and I'll send it to you as an attachment.
~ Frodo as Cupid in Bouguereau's 1889 Cupid and Psyche, face forward, work-safe crop:
~ Frodo as Cupid in Bouguereau's 1889 'Cupid and Psyche', face forward, full painting:
A few related links....
An 8/27/05 journal entry about the sculpted version of Cupid and Psyche by Canova. The myth and its treatment in art is talked about.
The Frodo Art Travesties album. This is for those who still don't know where to find this link. Each image, when opened, now bears an accompanying text, giving the details for each painting or statue.
~ Mechtild