'Modern Art - Herbert Boeckl' - Austria, 2017

'Modern Art - Herbert Boeckl', posted on Jun 7th, 2017 from Klagenfurt, Austria to New York, USA with special and date postmarks. The additional stamp is from 2016 Young Artists in Austria - Martha Jungwrith. Thank you Mr. Shunyang. 

I have to admit I knew nothing about this artist. So that's what I understand off the internet: He was a prominent artists representing Austria Modernism. Critics were sharply polarized over his work, a love-or-late situation. His paintings have not yet achieved international acclaim as reflected from the lack of English translation under his name in Wikipedia.

Anyways, this is a well made FDC with all the thoughtful ingredients: neat handwriting, two first day postmarks, relevant stamp, e-sticker, and nice layout.

'Ukiyo-e Series 6' - Japan 2017

Japanese Ukiyo-e covers from Kobe, Tokyo, and Yokohama, Japan to New York, USA, posted on Sep 6th with special postmarks and day postmarks. Thank you Masako, Ye, Kouichi, Mitsuhiko, and Ban-No!

Ukiyo-e (浮世絵) is one of my favorite oriental art genre. Popular from 17th - 19th century, it often depicts female beauties, landscape, flora, fauna, and sometimes erotic themes. Compared with Chinese paintings, Ukiyo-e style is more explicit, decorative, and rich in color, thus much more attractive to western artists.

This sheet is the 6th (I hope it never ends) in a series of Ukiyo-e issued by Japan Post. It showcases female beauty paintings/wood block prints by various artists (菊川英山, 喜多川歌麿, 鳥文斎栄之) on one side, and landscape painting/wood block prints by (歌川広重) on the other. It is simply a beauty.

Note that on the last cover, the US Post Office just cannot help adding their personal touch to the otherwise perfect cover.

'Cozy Worthies Map' - China, 2016

'Cozy Worthies Map', issued by China, posted Apr 2nd, 2016, from People's Park in Shanghai, China, and Mt. Quaiji in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, to Shenayang.

The 'Cozy Worthies Map' is the official translation of the painting, aka painting of hermits. This is a rare painting from the Tang Dynasty by Su Wei, which measures 168.7 cm long and 45.2 cm and wide. It depicts four of the seven famous intellectuals (worthies) including Shan Tao, Wang Rong, Liu Ling and Ruan Ji from the Wei and Jin dynasties, a period known for its tolerance and respect of various schools of thoughts.

The first cover was sent from Mt. Quaiji, where the stories in the painting occurred. The second painting was sent from People's Park, where the Shanghai Museum, home to the painting, resides.

'Princely Treasures: Peter Fendi (1796-1842)' - Liechtenstein, 2017

'Princely Treasures: Peter Fendi (1796-1842)' - Liechtenstein, 2017, posted from Liechtenstein to U.S. on Jun 6, 2017, with special postmarks.

The stamp set consists of three paintings from Austrian artist Peter Fendi, including “Request for Admission” (value: CHF 0.85), “Sneaking a Peak” (value: CHF 1.00) and “A Child’s Prayer” (value: CHF 1.50). The paintings were completed during an era known as Biedermeier (1815 - 1848) when the middle class enjoyed prosperity and drew artists to depict common sensibilities.

Peter Fendi was a leading artist during the Biedermeier period. He was also an engraver and lithographer, who engraved a series of Austrian banknotes. The first time I saw his paintings, I thought his style was rococo. There are some resemblance, but the subjects are quite different.

It is interesting how Philatelie Liechtenstein make up the postage by writing the value on the cover. I think it is pretty nice. Also all the USPS sorting codes were sprayed on the top of the cover, which does not happen very often.