A couple of weeks ago, I posted a photo from Celeste Giuliano Photography and mentioned that the image struck me as being very reminiscent of Gil Elvgren‘s work. Then I saw the photo below, which immediately made me think of Alberto Vargas.
The photo, and the painting it reminded me are both below. See what you think.
Since I mentioned Gil Elvgren last week, it really would be remiss of me not to mention Alberto Vargas this week. He was possibly the most most famous and prolific pin-up artist of all time. Born in Peru, Vargas arrived in the US in 1916 where he found a job drawing fashion illustrations.
In the 1930s, he moved to Hollywood where he was hired by Twentieth Century Fox to paint pastel portraits of their stars. By 1935 Vargas was working for Warner Brothers and, before the decade was over, for MGM.
In December 1939 he was invited to an interview with David Smart, the publisher of Esquire Magazine, to discuss the possibility of his replacing George Petty, whose contract was to expire in December 1941. Agreeing to drop the “s” from his last name in all his work for the magazine, his first painting was published in the October 1940 edition.
The Varga Girl was born.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Last week I mentioned Gil Elvgren in passing, at which point I realised that I hadn’t mentioned him at all before that. This is something of an oversight because, as The Pin-up Files points out, Elvgren was probably the most significant pin-up artist of the twentieth century. He is also many people’s favourite artist.
A Gil Elvgren model was seldom portrayed as a femme fatale – she was the girl next door whose charms were revealed in that fleeting instant when taken by surprise. Did anybody see? Of course they did!
Celeste Giuliano graduated with a BFA in Photography from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 2001. After graduating, she became a photo editor for a weekly newspaper in the Philadelphia area, working by day as a photo-journalist and, in the evenings, as a portrait photographer.
In 2005 she started Celeste Giuliano Photography and has been photographing pinups and theatrical styled portraits ever since.
The photo below – which struck me as being very reminiscent of Gil Elvgren‘s work – is part of a special edition of Retro Lovelies.
There isn’t a great deal I can say about Czech artist, Michal Suchánek but his digital art does have a wonderfully cinematic feel to it. And I’d love to see a Rocket Girl movie.
I mentioned Vampirella last week, and Dave Stevens last month. But both the artist and the character are well worth returning to – especially when they come together as well as here. The below image comes from the cover of Vampirella: A Scarlet Thirst.
Frank Frazetta‘s work really should need no introduction. His career started in 1944 at the age of sixteen in the comic industry. He then joined Playboy, doing the parody strip Li’l Annie Fannie and, in 1964, Frazetta started producing paintings for paperback editions of pulp novels. From this point on, Frazetta’s work was in great demand and he earned the admiration of many.
Inevitably, Hollywood beckoned and he ended up working with Ralph Bakshi on Fire and Ice which released in 1983. Although the film turned out to be a commercial disappointment, I would be interested in seeing it. But until then, here’s Vampirella.
And to finish up this short Bettie-inspired splurge, I turn to Bettie-inspired artist Jim Silke who’s book, Bettie Page Queen of Hearts is a very readable exploration of Bettie Page’s influence on everything from pulp novels to fine art.
Continuing my temporary theme of Bettie Page inspired pin-ups, one person I really can’t ignore is Olivia De Berardinis, a Californian artist with a stunning portfolio spanning 30 years.
If memory serves me correctly (but I couldn’t find a link to confirm this), Olivia produced a number of paintings clearly inspired by Bettie Page early in her career. She subsequently obtained a licence to use Bettie’s image in her work, which led to a book in which this painting, among many others, was included.
Sticking with the Bettie Page theme for a bit, Inkwell Studios is…
An eclectic graphic arts studio specializing in editorial illustration, poster design, concept art, character development, logos & typography and, well, just about everything else.
Their portfolio includes both a Fun and a Retro section, and the Retro section is a lot of fun indeed.
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