Golden Leaves

Golden Leaves, Remo Savisaar

Isle of the Dead

Arnold Böcklin, Isle of the Dead: "Basel" version, 1880

This was so popular that the artist did several different versions of it. Read all about it at Wikipedia. Here's a bit.

All versions of Isle of the Dead depict a desolate and rocky islet seen across an expanse of dark water. A small rowboat is just arriving at a water gate and seawall on shore. An oarsman maneuvers the boat from the stern. In the bow, facing the gate, is a standing figure clad entirely in white. Just behind the figure is a white, festooned object commonly interpreted as a coffin. The tiny islet is dominated by a dense grove of tall, dark cypress trees—associated by long-standing tradition with cemeteries and mourning—which is closely hemmed in by precipitous cliffs. Furthering the funerary theme are what appear to be sepulchral portals and windows penetrating the rock faces.

A Lane

John Atkinson Grimshaw, A Lane

John Atkinson Grimshaw's work all seems wonderfully gloomy, which is perfect for this time of year. Who is that figure in the moonlight, dwarfed by the trees and sky? An innocent traveler out late? Someone sinister? Someone in need? We are left to wonder.

St. James Church Cemetery

St. James Church Or Goose Creek Church And Cemetery, 1872 Engraving

Deliciously spooky!

Herbsttraum (Autumn)

 

Daniel Stark, Herbsttraum (Autumn), some rights reserved

Pirates

Illustration from page 141 of Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates

 Terrifying, am I right?

Fleeing Skeleton

Fleeing Skeleton by Władysław Podkowiński, 1892.

You could think of this as a bit of memento mori (an artistic or symbolic trope acting as a reminder of the inevitability of death)! Or just as a nice scary piece of art for October!

El Gato Negro

Sometimes foreign movie posters capture the essence of the thing so much better than the American ones. That cat looks like a panther, ready to strike!

Kohada Koheiji

Kohada Koheiji, Hokusai
from the series Hyaku Monogatari [One Hundred Ghost Stories] (ca. 1830)
via J.R.'s Art Place

Based on a real event, the cuckold and murder victim Kohada Koheiji returns from the dead to torment his cheating wife and lover. Here he grins over the top of the mosquito netting that surrounds the bed of his killers.

See more at Public Domain Review.

Carving the Pumpkin

Carving the Pumpkin by Franck Antoine Bail, 1910
via J.R.'s Art Place

The Witches' Ride

The Witches' Ride by William Holbrook Beard, 1870.
Via J.R.'s Art Place

All Decorated

Decorated House, Weatherby, Pennsylvania

Is there such a thing as being too decorated for Halloween? The answer is no, definitely not.

Snap-Apple Night

Snap-Apple Night, painted by Daniel Maclise in 1833,
shows people feasting and playing divination games on Halloween in Ireland.

Halloween

Halloween, Grandma Moses
via WikiArt

You know, I've never been a Grandma Moses fan. However, I do love this painting because of all the little details of what the community is doing for Halloween. And that made me take another look at more of her paintings. Along that same line of thinking, I actually can appreciate them more now. Go to the link to see more of her work. And take a look at this one up close. Very enjoyable and Halloweeny.

Rip Van Winkle

Rip Van Winkle. N. C. Wyeth, 1921
via Books and Art

In October  my thoughts naturally turn to Washington Irving's masterpieces The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. And I don't think anyone ever illustrated them better than N.C. Wyeth. Or maybe that comes of having books with covers like these scattered around my grandparents' house.

Fall Landscape

Julian Onderdonk, Fall Landscape

Double Date

Double Date, Karin Jurick

Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves, Edward Okuń

 It has gotten just a touch chilly for our morning walks. We won't have autumn colors until next month probably, but that's what paintings are for!

Spooky Art from Victor Hugo

 Victor Hugo was a prolific writer, but also a prolific artist with around 4,000 pieces of art to his name. Click through on the link to see more selections of his spooky art thanks to J.R.'s Art Place.

It's October! The Garden of Death

The Garden of Death by Hugo Simberg, 1896.

Typically symbols of death, these skeletons are instead gardening - which is a symbol of life.