Engraving of De templo Hierosolymitano from Jacob Judah Leon’s book on the subject, published by Johannes Saubertus (Latin Edition), Helmstadt, 1665, engraving, 6.1” x 4.3”, this artwork is in the public domain.
The Temple of Solomon has great significance in Jewish history since it was the first Jewish temple constructed in Jerusalem. Built by Salomon, King of the Israelites, in the 10th century BCE on the Temple Mount, it housed the Ark … Continue reading
St. Matthew from the Gospel Book of Archbishop Ebbo of Reims, 816-835, ink and colors on vellum, 10¼” x 8¾”, Municipal Library, Épernay, France, Pulbic Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
The ninth-century French emperor, Charlemagne the Great, promoted learning and culture by supporting several monasteries throughout his empire that collected and produced manuscripts. These monks in their scriptoria became the cultural army for the emperor. One of the most unique … Continue reading
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Swing, 1876, oil on canvas, 36.2” x 28.7”, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Like other Impressionist artists, Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted outside, or en plein air, in order to capture the light and atmosphere of a split second. His painting entitled, The Swing depicts his brother, a fellow painter, his favorite model and a little girl … Continue reading
Parmigianino, Madonna with the Long Neck, c. 1535-1540, oil on wood, 85” x 52”, Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
It’s not that the Italian artist Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, a.k.a. Parmigianino, was horribly confused and thought that the baby Jesus suffered from a rare disease that made him the size of a four-year-old child when he was only an … Continue reading
Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare, 1781, oil on canvas, 40” x 49 ⅞”, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
The Romantic art movement in European art endured approximately sixty years, from the late eighteenth century until the middle of the nineteenth century. Romantic artists attempted to elicit strong emotions from a viewer by presenting dramatic, exotic and sometimes frightening … Continue reading
Doryphoros, Roman copy after an original by Polykleitos from c. 450-440 BCE, 6'6" high, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
You won’t get out of Art History 101 alive without knowing who this guy is. This is the Doryphoros, which means “spear bearer,” a Roman copy of a sculpture from the High Classical period of Ancient Greece. At one time, this … Continue reading
Otto Dix, Portrait of Sylvia von Harden, 1926, oil and tempera on wood, 47⅗” x 35”, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Photo by Clapagaré via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution License.
Film often imitates art and it’s fun to find references to famous paintings or sculptures when watching movies. One of the more obvious adoptions of a painting into film is Bob Fosse’s use of Otto Dix’s Portrait of Sylvia von … Continue reading
Wang Ximeng, Detail of A Thousand Li of River, 1113, ink on silk, 2’ x 39’ (full scroll size), Palace Museum, Palace Museum, The Forbidden City, Beijing, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Wang Ximeng was a prodigy artist working in China during the Northern Song Dynasty during the early twelfth century. He painted his masterpiece, A Thousand Li of River, a long landscape scroll painting, when he was only eighteen years old in … Continue reading
Joachim Patinir, St. Jerome in the Desert, c. 1515, oil on panel, 30.7” x 53.9”, Musée du Louvre, Paris, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Joachim Patinir created this image just as landscape painting was coming into its own as a separate and distinct subject in art for the first time since the ancient Roman era. This painting by Patinir and others like it really … Continue reading
Vincent van Gogh, Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, 1888, oil on canvas, 35.8" x 28.3", Neue Pinakothek, Munich, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
He very well may have been. Click here to read a fascinating article about vision expert Kazunori Asad’s explosive hypothesis. You’ll find many good illustrations in the article.
Fayum Portrait, c. 200 CE, encaustic paint on limewood, 13¾” x 6¾”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
This is a portrait painted on a piece of wood that was affixed to the head of a mummified body. This fayum portrait, a type of portrait named for the Fayum region of Lower Egypt, and others like it are … Continue reading
The Arch of Constantine, Rome, 312-315 CE, Photo by Xerones via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution license.
Actually, only some of the sculptures are bad… and only compared to others on the same monument. Art historians refer to this as a problem. At the very least, it’s curious. The Emperor Constantine built this triumphal arch to commemorate his … Continue reading