Friday, December 11, 2015

Arty Farty Friday ~ René Bull

René Bull. I'd never heard of him, but maybe I should have - he illustrated, among other publications, an edition of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, something I've longtime loved. However, oddly my 2013 post featuring various illustrators of The Rubáiyát didn't mention him. He was just one of many brilliantly talented illustrators working during that same time period.

To see the whole Rubáiyát as illustrated by Bull go HERE then follow the link that says "Browse the rest of it here".


So...who was he?




From here.
René Bull was born in Dublin
on 11 December 1872; his parents weren't Irish, his father was English, his mother French. Bull initially set out studying engineering in Paris, but his innate artistic streak propelled him in other directions. He took drawing lessons from a then famous cartoonist, Emmanuel Poiré (pseudonym Caran d’ Ache).

Having settled in London in 1892 he drew cartoons for various well-known publications. In 1896 he became war artist for The Black and White news magazine, covered campaigns in the Afghan War, the Armenian Massacre and the Greco-Turkish War. He was wounded while covering the Boer War.

Back in England Bull worked as a book illustrator as well as cartoonist. His illustrations for The Arabian Nights (1912), The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (1913) and Gulliver's Travels (1928) being some of his best known. He died in 1942.

For a little more detail and more illustrations see this 2010 post by Gordon Howsden at a blog called Bear Alley.

Examples of his illustrations:










ASTROLOGY

Born 11 December 1872, Dublin, Ireland. Natal chart set for 12 noon as no time of birth is known.


So many harmonious trines in Bull's chart! One might expect him to have led a rather charmed life. If he did there's nothing much online about it. Among the commentary following the article at Bear Alley (linked above) there is a note that "René Bull did marry and was divorced. (Katherine Shields was his wife). An acrimonious split, and even in later census returns he describes himself as "single" rather than "divorced", i.e. as if it never happened." So, in spite of all those harmonious trines it seems he encountered much the same problems as the rest of us!

From his natal chart, in general, I suspect he was an amiable, practical kind of guy, industrious in his chosen calling - making art. That's indicated by the trine from his Sagittarius Sun to creative Neptune. Travel-loving Sagittarius Sun could also be credited for the ease with which Mr Bull was able to illustrate so many scenes from foreign lands, many of which he had, himself, experienced during his work as illustrator in war zones.

His practical nature shows through Mercury, Saturn and Venus in Capricorn, with Moon somewhere in Taurus, Jupiter in Virgo - all Earth signs. He had no planet in a Water sign, which reflects a nature led strongly by practicality rather than emotionality - though the sign rising at time of his birth could, possibly, indicate otherwise.

10 comments:

Sonny G said...


His art is pleasant to look at. I expect he was quite intuitive and lived much of his life inside his own head, but kept that part very private.

mike said...

I'm familiar with his illustrations and do appreciate and like them. I'm not sure how to describe his style, though he displays his own. Maybe neo-nouveau in his earlier illustrations, if there is such a term.

The comment section you reference regarding his potential marriage is questionable. One individual commenting has personal knowledge of Bull and states a correction declaring "her" his sister, another comment declares he was married. A paucity of biographical information is available for Rene Bull. You've featured a number of artists that have no recorded past or perhaps no biographical historian has taken them on. Surprising too, that there are those individuals that weren't overly famous, yet ever detail of their biography has been recorded.

Yes, as you indicate, Bull has one of those easy-come, free spirit, natal charts (but not entirely...see next paragraph). Those inconjuncts can provide discombobulation and scatter-brains. However, his natal chart is prone to upset by transits and progression (progressed Sun square natal Mars at 20 years old; conjunct natal Saturn and square Neptune at about 30 years old, etc).

BTW - Your software is peculiar, as we've discussed in the past. I know that you're working with a fragment of your original software. I'm just saying...LOL. Bull's Saturn sq Neptune is clearly marked, yet his Venus square Neptune is not and it is 1* closer to square. It doesn't indicate the Sun inconjunct Pluto aspect, or Mercury-Uranus, or Moon-Mars (though Moon may not be at 10* Taurus in reality, depending on time of birth).

Something to mention about Mercury in relation to your post from yesterday. You mention the three potential signs Mercury could occupy in relation to the Sun. There is a consideration of Mercury's speed, too. Bull's Mercury is retrograde, slowing, and moving toward inferior conjunction with the Sun. His mental acuity may have been more inwardly directed...an individual more interested in mental pursuit than social pursuit...a more reserved, perhaps intellectualized individual.

Twilight said...

Sonny ~ I like his artwork too - easy on the eye and encouraging a bit of fantastical daydreaming. :-)

Twilight said...

mike ~ His marital state does remains foggy, the commenter doesn't state his source of information, so it can't be checked. Yes, Bull is another artist largely overlooked in the bio department, because I suppose, so little was left for them as a guide - no letters, interviews, offspring to relate stories of his life.

I like to put up a chart for some of these occasionally forgotten mortals. You mention my software being peculiar (matches its owner then don't it...lol!) Well, I take the square aspect indicated on the chart as relating to both Saturn and Venus squaring Neptune. The data chart associated with the chart image tells that Venus square's Neptune 3.04, Saturn squares Nep at 3.52. Perhaps when the degree remains the same only one red square line is shown...just a guess. Also I have the software set to show only main aspects so it's not showing inconjuncts - mainly for simplicity and clarity. For some of the charts I used years ago I used to use all kinds of aspects and it was impossible to see t'other from which.

I think we can be pretty certain that Bull was not any kind of social butterfly - otherwise there'd be more information available about his doings.

DC said...

...thank you...I had seen his work before but I never knew his name... :)

mike (again) said...

Off topic - Matt Taibbi wrote a commentary-critique of The Donald for Rolling Stone magazine:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/its-too-late-to-turn-off-trump-20151209

I thought it was succinct, but most likely, alarmingly correct in assessment. Also, now Dr Ben is threatening to take his show on the road as an independent...I hope he does. The Donald may take his arrogance and bigotry on the independent circuit, too, particularly as the GOP camp is threatening to blockade The Donald's potential nomination, should he garner the primary election votes. The Republicans have become a made-for-TV reality program. Schadenfreude at its finest, I tell ya!

Twilight said...

DC ~ Hi there! Glad it was of interest! :-)

Twilight said...

mike (again) ~ Good one, yes! Matt T. is always a good read. It must be painfully embarrassing for regular conservative-types to watch this farce - still, my heart doesn't bleed for 'em! ;-/

Matt T. wrote a nice piece on Bernie last month - it ends like this:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-case-for-bernie-sanders-20151103

I first met Bernie Sanders ten years ago, and I don't believe there's anything else he really thinks about. There's no other endgame for him. He's not looking for a book deal or a membership in a Martha's Vineyard golf club or a cameo in a Guy Ritchie movie. This election isn't a game to him; it's not the awesomely repulsive dark joke it is to me and many others.

And the only reason this attention-averse, sometimes socially uncomfortable person is subjecting himself to this asinine process is because he genuinely believes the system is not beyond repair.

Not all of us can say that. But that doesn't make us right, and him "unrealistic." More than any other politician in recent memory, Bernie Sanders is focused on reality. It's the rest of us who are lost.


There's a "Rolling Stone" interview with Bernie too:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/bernie-sanders-political-revolution-20151118

mike (again) said...

I've read them...very good. It's obvious Matt & Rolling Stone mag are not Republican-friendly. "Jimmy Kimmel Live" has aired Killer Mike's (a famous rapper) introduction for Bernie several times in the past weeks. Killer Mike was on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last night and the segment was aired yet again. I'm glad that Bernie is receiving TV and in-print support, though not in the typical from-the-news-media kinda way.

Killer Mike's intro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DFgUhtewq8

Twilight said...

mike (again) ~ I shall watch the video in the morning - thanks! Last night I think we caught some part (very end) of Jimmy Kimmel's show, and I think it was there that as the show ended all were grouped waving g'bye and a big black guy shouted "Bernie for President" - that must have been Killer Mike then. I said "Awww bless his heart!" ;-)