tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post1537784371473295023..comments2024-03-26T16:11:44.515-04:00Comments on All Things Ruffnerian, a Design Blog and More: Remembering Ronald SearleMark D. Ruffnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-36055209776698330502012-01-13T20:58:31.748-05:002012-01-13T20:58:31.748-05:00Dear Rosemary,
Thank you for filling me in on Mr...Dear Rosemary, <br /><br />Thank you for filling me in on Mr. and Mrs. Mole. Ronald Searle sounds like a most devoted partner, and his personality shines through on the video of his 90th birthday interview.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-44480342067724052342012-01-13T08:44:21.212-05:002012-01-13T08:44:21.212-05:00In the 1970s Searle made a drawing each time his w...In the 1970s Searle made a drawing each time his wife underwent treatment for cancer, ‘to cheer every dreaded chemotherapy session and evoke the blissful future ahead’. In the drawings he was Mr Mole and Monica was Mrs. Mole. They depict the dilapidated house the Searles had bought together in the south of France a few months before Monica’s diagnosis, and which they restored over the next five years. Following her death a few months ago, Searle published all 47 drawings in a little book called Les Très Riches Heures de Mrs Mole. You can see some of the images on Amazon.Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814070177137076757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-88149312248886491062012-01-13T08:30:28.371-05:002012-01-13T08:30:28.371-05:00So I understand. My own connection to Ronald Searl...So I understand. My own connection to Ronald Searle was a great appreciation of his work; I've actually learned more about his life in his passing ...Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-39315925532648187032012-01-13T05:25:36.563-05:002012-01-13T05:25:36.563-05:00A sad au revoir and farewell to Ronald Searle - He...A sad au revoir and farewell to Ronald Searle - He was a very unhappy 'Mr. Mole' and really missed his 'Mrs Mole' when she died last summer.Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814070177137076757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-1917210631554054152012-01-12T20:03:18.751-05:002012-01-12T20:03:18.751-05:00Hi, Yvette - Another long-lived illustrator/cartoo...Hi, Yvette - Another long-lived illustrator/cartoonist/caricaturist was Al Hirschfield — I believe he lived to 100. Yes, there's hope for us yet!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-5742992183885637642012-01-12T19:57:38.377-05:002012-01-12T19:57:38.377-05:00Hello, Jane and Lance:
Now there's something ...Hello, Jane and Lance:<br /><br />Now there's something to blog about! I trust there were no beheadings at the schools in which you worked!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-47092519466872637222012-01-12T13:37:39.653-05:002012-01-12T13:37:39.653-05:00I am a fan also, Mark. I'd read about his deat...I am a fan also, Mark. I'd read about his death and was saddened. Yet, having made it to 91, he would probably have felt that he'd had a big enough bite of life. <br /><br />I've often noticed that working artists tend to live nice long lives. The joy of the work maybe. Or maybe the necessary active imagination. Who knows.<br /><br />I like the way you used the word 'baroque' to describe Searle's style. Yes. Exactly.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-9175182707506719382012-01-12T11:43:09.504-05:002012-01-12T11:43:09.504-05:00Hello Mark:
We completely agree with you. Ronald S...Hello Mark:<br />We completely agree with you. Ronald Searle was indeed a most gifted artist with the ability to capture the very essence of his subjects with a sparsity of line and colour that was quite extraordinary.<br /><br />We shall always remember him fondly for his St Trinians' work. It captured perfectly several schools in which we have worked in our time!!Jane and Lance Hattatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16831890261259302647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-78930974449003677362012-01-12T10:49:40.882-05:002012-01-12T10:49:40.882-05:00Hello, Parnassus - One of the things that distingu...Hello, Parnassus - One of the things that distinguishes Ronald Searle's work is that he often depicted modern situations with a style that was quite Baroque, literally glorifying his subjects' faults and foibles. I spent some time looking through his work to find a good example of that, and settled on the illustration above.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-19548037688619939312012-01-12T10:36:02.059-05:002012-01-12T10:36:02.059-05:00I've been following the links and finding that...I've been following the links and finding that there was quite a lot to Ronald Searle. One site mentioned his admiration of Annibale Carracci, and I could immediately see the connection/influence. Both artists feature odd angles and perspectives, a similar use of crowded detail and open space, and a way of using caricature to show the dark or odd side of things.<br />--Road to ParnassusParnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.com