The Edison lightbulb company commissioned American illustrator Maxfield Parrish to create paintings for a series of calendars, which were published starting in 1921.
The theme was the history of humanity's relationship to light.
The calendars were extremely popular, in part because they came out during a time when electricity was making its way to rural America.
The name Mazda comes from Ahura Mazda, the chief deity of Zoroastrianism, which divided the world into realms of light and darkness.
I've seen one of MP's paintings in person, from his private collection at The Vose Galleries in Boston. It's really quite a different experience to see these in that context with proper lighting, where the colors show right through with his technique.
ReplyDeleteThese are incredible.
ReplyDeletelinnaea borealis rose Parrish's works remind me of photo negatives, especially in his trees. Lovely of course.
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