I took a look at the "Stamp Collecting" article on Wikipedia today and found this public domain painting,"Le Philatelist" by François_Barraud. Nice, eh? Makes me want to collect stamps on paintings!
* Translation (courtesy of Google Translate, and hopefully correct!): "But, my darling man, we must sell your stamp collection in order to pay the rent for our humble bachelor apartment!"
I think the facial expressions and the posing of the characters are meant to emulate or parody Jan Vermeer's "The Letter." The wikipedia page for Barraud says that his style was influenced by the Dutch and Flemish Old Masters (it shows through in the painting's style)
Does anyone know where this painting can be found? It would be interesting to visit a museum and see it in person.
Here is a link to the wikipedia page for Vermeer's version:
For those who have been around Stamporama for a long time, I have a feeling that this may be the only portrait of Arthur and Philatelia before they started their many adventures, or even perhaps on a stopover in Paris.
(By the way Bob you're being unkind to Wikipedia - it's their article not Google's)
Ah, Arthur and Philatelia, I often wondered what they looked like? Philatelia is sure cute, but Arthur is a sourpuss.
I think Philatelia is saying, "Not tonight dear, as I have a headache."
We ought to continue the saga of Arthur & Philatelia. It was fun, and lightened up the dreary days.
