Arty Farty Friday ~ JOHFRA, Zodiac Signs, Magic Realism

Johfra - full name: Franciscus Johannes Gijsbertus Van Den Berg - known as Johfra Bosschart (Bosschart being his mother's maiden name), but often referred to simply as "Johfra". He was born in Rotterdam, Holland on 15 December 1919, lived in France from the 1960s until his death in 1998. Left: his self-portrait, as a faun.

His style, described in his autobiograpy, was "surrealism based on studies of psychology, religion, the Bible, astrology, antiquity, magic, witchcraft, mythology and occultism," is also categorised as meta-realism. Next to Dalí, Fuchs and Giger, Johfra was one of the founders of magic- or fantastic-realism in the 20th century

Best-known are his set of 12 paintings depicting signs of the zodiac. All 12 can be seen HERE, or HERE. I'll copy only Sagittarius, Johfra's Sun sign, and Aquarius, his rising sign. ( Astrodatabank gives an reliable AA rating to a birth time of 10.40 AM )










Sagittarius Sun & Mercury with Aquarius rising is really all the astrology we need in order to recognise the source of his subject matter - not forgetting Venus (planet of the arts) in out-of-sign harmonious trine to both Uranus in Aquarius (it's sign of rulership) and nightmare-ish Pluto in intuitive Cancer.

A blend of Sagittarius (philosophy, religion) with Aquarius (the weird and wonderfully eccentric) would almost certainly bring forth something along the lines we see in the examples of Johfra's work below. (See more via Google Image.)

Natal Moon, conjunct dynamic Mars in Libra, sign ruled by Venus planet of the arts, point to Johfra's innate artistic talent. I'd expect to see Neptune prominent too - and here the planet of creativity and dreams is conjunct Jupiter (expansion, exaggeration) and in mildly helpful semi-sextile to Saturn (tradition and discipline): here is the link to his throw-back to a traditional art style mixed with imaginative dream-like, occasionally nightmare-like subject matter.


From biography HERE

According to his second wife, Ellen Lrien, He was a dreamer as a child, very contemplative, who had difficulty concentrating in school. As opposed to his algebra lessons, he prefered to observe the minute patterns manifest in stones, roots, and the bark of trees. Clouds fascinated him especially, as he'd search them for faces and the play of light and shadow.
A talent for drawing manifest itself very early, and was recognized by the Royal Acadamy of Arts in the Hague when they accepted him, as an exceptional case, at the age of fourteen.
In fact, he gained little from the lectures and spent most of his time studying copies of antiquity from the collection in the cellars of the academy. Particularly the works of Da Vinci and Michelangelo appealed to him, and these masters remained a source of inspiration throughout his life.

In a Nazi propaganda pamphlet denouncing Ontaarde Kunst (Improper Art), Johfra came across the Surrealist works of Dali, Ernst, Tanguy, and Magritte. Particularly Dali's works struck a chord with him, and this modern master was added to his more classical pantheon. He began painting surrealist works with a classical technique in 1941.

Hermes Trismegistus




Witches' Sabbath


Woman and Face


Nostalgia for Lemuria

Pearl Guardian




Uniomystica

Arty Farty Friday ~ Rob Gonsalves: Magic Realism.

Rob Gonsalves is a Canadian painter, born in Toronto, Ontario in 1959. I can find no more birth data than that. If a passing reader knows his date of birth I'd be very happy to hear from them via comment.

It's tricky to categorise Rob Gonsalves' art precisely. It's surrealistic, yet it isn't truly surrealism, because it arises, reportedly, through a process of conscious thought rather than from dreams or from the subconscious.

Magic Realism is another art label we might attach, but that doesn't quite fit either. His subject matter is mainly everyday scenes and situations turned ....well...surreal. Personally (maybe not accurately) I see Magical Realism as dealing more with mythological figures and situations, as depicted in the art of Michael Parkes (here).

As architecture is seen in many of Rob Gonsalves' paintings I'd expect Saturn to feature prominently in his natal chart, as well as Venus (art) and Uranus (the unexpected and eccentric). I notice how the Moon features often in his work - as it did in Paul Delvaux' paintings, shown in last Friday's post - I'm pretty sure that the Moon or its sign Cancer will be to the fore in his natal chart too.

Anyway, a few more facts about Rob Gonsalves from either Wikipedia or a Facebook page available via Google:

During his childhood, Gonsalves developed an interest in drawing from imagination using various media. By age twelve, his awareness of architecture grew as he leaned perspective techniques and began to do his first paintings and renderings of imagined buildings.

After an introduction to artists Dalí and Tanguy, Gonsalves began his first surrealist paintings. The "Magic Realism" approach of Magritte along with the precise perspective illusions of Escher came to be influences in his future work.

In his post college years, Gonsalves worked full time as an architect, also painting trompe-l'œil murals and theatre sets. After an enthusiastic response in 1990 at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Gonsalves devoted himself to painting full time.

Numerous individuals around the world, corporations, embassies, and a United States Senator collect Gonsalves' original work, and limited edition prints. Rob Gonsalves has exhibited at Art Expo New York and Los Angeles, Decor Atlanta and Las Vegas, Fine Art Forum, as well as one-man shows at Discovery Galleries, Ltd., Hudson River Art Gallery, and Kaleidoscope Gallery.

He won the 2005 Governor General's Award in the Children's Literature - Illustration category for Imagine a Day.
He is also an accomplished guitarist.

A few examples of his painting follow. These especially appealed to me. Note the presence of the Moon - surrealist-types do seem to like their Moons, don't they!?