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Paul Jacob Naftel (1817-1891)text by Stephen Furniss ISBN 1 871560 84 5 Cover illustration - Creux Harbour, Sark (detail) |
The Naftel family has its origins deep in Guernsey history for the name of Navetel is first recorded in the island around the 15th century. It was a fairly common medieval surname meaning 'little turnip', and it reflects the family's distinctive pointed features and unusually sallow complexion...
It is recorded that as an artist Naftel was entirely self taught. If this is so, and there seems no reason to doubt it, then the skill and talent he possessed were quite outstanding.
...The Victorians knew what they liked and Paul, aware of his limitations and their demands, was able to satisfy this market with a staggeringly large output estimated at between 1,000 and 2,000 works during his lifetime.
...Paul Jacob Naftel was Guernsey's only locally born professional artist of this period. The 1991 Centenary Exhibition at Guernsey Museum & Art Gallery celebrated the life and work of an artist whose paintings are now appreciated and collected in his native island.
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