Aesop's Fables > Aesop's Artifacts > Other Printed Materials > Painting Reproductions

Painting Reproductions

1878?  "The Grasshopper and the Ant.  From the painting by J.G. Vibert."  Black and white engraving.  14" x 10.2".  J. Pelissier.  F(ortuné) Méaulle. "French Section."  Unknown source.

There seem to be multiple black-and-white copies of Vibert's oil painting.  Perhaps the most interesting feature of this rendition is the monk's face.  Is it here more detailed than in the original painting?  And is his rosary's crucifix even more pronounced?

 

1985? Velazquez' portrait of Aesop (large format) from the Prado. From the Milwaukee Antique Center, Jan., '88.

Who would ever think that someone would make a poster of Aesop!

 

2015?  “The Blind Leading the Blind,” rolled canvas copy of the painting by Pieter Breughel the Elder.  Image 18.5” x 12”.  Canvas 19” x 13”.  From an unknown source.

I have long debated whether this brilliant painting belongs in the collection.  Probably somebody somewhere called it a fable, and that description would not be totally wrong.  It is usually labeled a parable, but I think that is not closer to the mark than is “fable.”  My conclusion is, if one is trying to be strict, that it is a simile.  But the simile is so active and telling, even though brief, that the mind easily expands it to be a story.  I have learned that copies like this are abundantly available on the web.