Artist: George Rodrigue
Title: Love Among the Ruins
Medium: Silkscreen
Size: Image 22" x 34"
Inscription: Signed and numbered on bottom
Year: 2008
Edition: 25/90
Condition: Excellent good condition overall, please request condition report for full details
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity
George Rodrigue's "Love Among the Ruins" features the artist's iconic blue dog in yet another unexpected setting. Two blue dogs are posed next to a semi-reclined nude figure that is both stylistically and symbolically borrowed from another time. The figure is further differentiated by the use of a different medium, color pallet, and artistic technique. Juxtaposed with the saturated colors and graphic lines of the blue dog, the classical style nude exhibits Rodrigue's range and creativity. George Rodrigue's "Love Among the Ruins" is signed and numbered by the artist and comes with a gallery certificate of authenticity. The image is currently unframed, but we do offer the option to work directly with our framer at our gallery discount.
An artist who found great inspiration in his native Louisiana, George Rodrigue is celebrated for his iconic and long-running Blue Dog series of paintings. Drawn from a ghost story of his homeland, the Blue Dog became a ubiquitous motif and one of the most recognizable icons in American contemporary culture.
Expressing a personal relationship with Louisiana and his spiritual and cultural ideas as they pertained to his homeland, George Rodrigue gave meaning to a new phrase: Cajun Artist. Visually interpreting the landscape and the rich history of Cajun people, he painted bayou scenes with Louisiana oak trees, family gatherings in the open and local myths. It was one myth in particular that launched Rodrigue into stardom. The myth of a loup-garou, a werewolf-type dog who lurked in the swamps around Louisiana, gave rise to the acclaimed Blue Dog character. Modeled after his late dog Tiffany, a melancholy blue mutt with yellow eyes allowed the artist to jump from a dark, dreary landscape to a very bright Pop Art, contemporary color palette.
Rodrigue was awarded an Honorable Mention from Le Salon in Paris in 1975, an honorary doctorate at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2009, the Distinguished Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts of America in 2011 and received the Opus award from the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in 2013. In 2009, the artist formed the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts, a non-profit organization which advocates the importance of the visual arts in children’s development and supports a variety of art educational programs.
With each of his series, Rodrigues developed a new mode of expression in a contemporary way, but always rooted in Louisiana and it timeless symbols. His works are about life and the humanity searching for answers.
Born in New Iberia, Louisiana in 1944, George Rodrigue had spent the majority of his life in his native country. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 69 after a long battle with cancer. The value of Rodrigue’s art continues to rise after his death. In April 2015, the Blue Dog painting was sold at the Neal Auction Company of New Orleans for $173,000.