Anthropomorphic Art + Easy Nutella Cream Cheese Turnovers Bonus Recipes (Continued)

Click here to return to main article.

Anthropomorphic portraiture - (pronounced, an·thro·po·mor·phic) is the combination of animals' heads superimposed upon human bodies, or the reverse - is a genre that appears and reappears throughout the history of painting. The satyr of classical mythology, a man's head upon a horse's body, and the devil were frequently portrayed as part human, part animal. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, monkeys were often the focus of this quirky and essentially tongue-in-cheek form of art, and later, the development of political caricature offered another outlet, with public figures ridiculed in appropriate - and always recognizable - animal form.

A contemporary artist has taken this genre of portraiture a lighthearted step farther. Thierry Poncelet, started as a picture restorer and artist, and started searching out old portraits in poor condition and painting an appropriate animal's head - usually a dog, cat, or monkey - onto the original sitter. He then restores the rest of the canvas, creating a delightfully humorous new-from-old work of art.


Painting dogs and cats in classic human poses, Poncelet’s paintings are beautiful homages to 18th and 19th century aristocratic potraits. Simple and comical on the surface, the paintings are actually detailed masterpieces. No dogs playing poker here.

Poncelet’s site has a gallery of his dog and cat portraits along with some background on the Belgian artist now painting in Monaco. 

---

"I love the idea of taking a traditionally formal

piece . . . revitalizing it . . . and altering it to be a bit

 more fun and contemporary."  ~  Angela Rossi

From 'Beat Up Creations,'  Angela Rossi is a self-taught, outsider artist that works with recycled, abused, broken and forgotten items creating altered antique plates, raw assemblage sculptures and mixed media portraits.

Angela Rossi has painted this anthropomorphic art style on antique plates but expanded it to include random, diverse collections of subjects:

• Mr. T
• Frankenstein
• President George Washington wearing a Mickey Mouse Hat 
• PeeWee Herman 

If some of this interests you and if you would like to read more about collecting art, go to this article:  

Art And Artwork On A Budget:

To me art and artwork represent the soul of a home yet I've found that especially in the United States, people tend to be nervous about art and collecting art.

I understand. Check this out.  

---

Easy Nutella Cream Cheese Turnovers From Country Cleaver Bonus Recipe

Yield: 9
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 sheet Puff Pastry, thawed
1/4 c Cream Cheese, softened
2/3 c Nutella, divided
2 T flour, for dipping fork to crimp turnover edges
1 egg
1 T water
2 T powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. On silicone baking mat, or floured surface, roll out puff pastry into a 12" x 12" square. Cut into 9 equal square shapes
3. In bowl, whisk together cream cheese and 1/2 cup of Nutella until smooth and evenly mixed
4. Drop 1 T of cream cheese/Nutella mixture into the corner of puff pastry. Leave a small edge on the puff pastry so when you fold the squares over the edges can be crimped together. Fold opposite side of the square over the Nutella/cream cheese mixture. Using a fork dipped in flour press the edges of the turnovers with the tines of the fork to seal the edges together.
5. Place the turnovers onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking sheet.
6. In small dish, whisk together egg and water to make an egg wash. Brush each turnover with the egg wash.
7. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle with additional warmed Nutella. Serve warm.

Click here to see Country Cleaver

---

Enjoy! Click here to see other articles about Art And Artwork

---