A while back I did a blog about the nude pictures that used to hang in cowboy bars in the old West. Well, I just got a request for info about currently available posters of that kind. The comment rekindled my interest and I did a little research. Here's what I found:
So far as I know(above) the most famous picture of that type, one made just for the saloon that hung it, is the one above, which is the very picture that used to hang in The Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City Kansas. The reproduction costs $50 and unfortunately isn't very big.
You wouldn't think that a dirty, Godforsaken place like a Western cowtown could support a fancy bar with paintings on the wall, but they did. I imagine that the nudes paid for themselves because satiated cowboys would have felt the need for one final drink to "toast the lady."
I don't think any Western bar ever owned a Titian but I wouldn't be surprised if some had big, tinted etchings of some of his pictures. Today you can probably get a decent sized poster of the classic reclining nude by Titian: the one called "The Venus of Urbino."
I like this picture; in fact, it's been a long-time feature in my left sidebar. It succeeds in being erotic and earthy on the one hand, and completely intelligent and thought-provoking on the other.
Giorgione did a similar picture (above). So did Goya. So did Matisse, but the Matisse pictures aren't funny. Bar nudes should be able to provoke jokes.
If the commenter has his own bar and the drinkers are male, then he'll probably want to consider a copy of Bouchet's "Reclining Girl," painted for Louis XV in 1752. I'm a fan of Bouchet but I'd never hang a poster of this picture at home. It would be too distracting and what if kids were visiting?
Then there's Beaumont's "Muse" (above) which isn't very edgy but (above) has the virtue of being family safe.
Joel Brinkerhoff reminded me of this bar painting (above) by Disney's Marc Davis. Wow! Very nice!
How about one of Picasso's reclining nudes (above)? Haw! Picasso was a cartoonist at heart.
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http://joelbrinkerhoff.blogspot.com/2015/04/mac-davis-painting.html
ReplyDeleteI'm sending you a link to a bar room painting by Marc Davis which hangs in the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride. Is it still there?
JOEL: I couldn't make the link work but I'll try again later.
ReplyDeleteJoel: Sorry it took so long to get back to you.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see the Davis picture the last time I was on the Pirate ride, but maybe I just didn't notice it. It's a great picture!
Painter/illustrator/muralist Thomas Hart Benton was a teenager when he was almost kicked out of a saloon for staring at a painting of a nude over the bar. Trying to explain to the bartender that he really was only interested in the "art" of the painting led to someone telling him about a cartoonist job that had opened up at the local newspaper. He got the job and began his career.
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