Painting of the Day: Louis XIV Barbequing

Louis XIV
Ronald Searle, 1995

Here, we see a comic image from the brilliant mind of the late Ronald Searle depicting French King Louis XIV—barbequing.  In typical Searle fashion, the depiction is irreverent, but not entirely inaccurate.  You’ll notice that the Sun King’s grill is even in his preferred style of furnishings. 

This painting was created for Delta Sky Magazine in 1995. 

Print of the Day: Have a Good Rum for Your Money, 1954-5

"Have a Good Rum for Your Money"
1954-55
Ronald Searle
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Signed by Ronald Searle, this drawing for an advertisement dates between 1954 and 1955.  The poster, “Have a Good Rum for Your Money” advertises “Lemon Hart” Rum and is one of two posters issued by the United Rum Merchants Ltd. 

Smaller reproductions of the subjects of these posters were used as illustrations in calendars, which were issued by the United Rum Merchants Ltd., for 1954 and 1955 respectively. E

Enjoy this look into the world of the very talented Ronald Searle.

Antique Image of the Day: Hand Up the Girl, 1944

Cartoon by Robert Searle
The Cartoon Museum, England

This cartoon by Ronald Searle dates to 1944 and shows both his visual and comic sensibilities.  Captioned, “Hand up the girl who burnt down the east wing last night,”  this image is one of the thousands of “St Trinian’s” cartoon which Searle began in 1941.  The inmates of this fictional girls’ school (based on Cambridge’s Perse School for Girls) were misfits and rogues depicted in rather gruesome situations—the antithesis of the posh girls’ school for which England was famous.  The cartoons were incredibly popular and inspired a series of films.

Sadly, this genius is no longer with us.  Ronald Searle recently passed away on December 30, 2011.  

Sculpture of the Day: The Congress Medal for the 1992 Fédération Internationale de la Médaille

Medal by Ronald Searle, 1992
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here we see the official Congress medal for the 1992 Fédération Internationale de la Médaille which was designed and modeled by Ronald Searle.  The celebrated artist had previously produced several medals for the British Art Medal Society.  This medal was struck at the Royal Mint and was issued in limited edition in silver and bronze. The design, as was typical of Searle, is humorously and affectionately based on a portrait medal of Antonio Pisanello, the famed Fifteenth Century Italian painter and medal-maker.

Searle, as was his habit, plays with convention.  This, however, isn’t unusual.  In contemporary medals, designer often question the traditional format, appearance and purpose. Here, Ronald Searle wittily pokes fun at the traditional medal format. Traditionally in a medal, a portrait graces one side with a different image on the reverse. When this medal is turned over, the reverse reveals the back of Pisanello’s head.