Crowds Gaze in Awe at a Comet, detail of the Bayeux Tapestry, wool embroidery on linen, 20” high, Centre Guillaume le Conquérant, Bayeux, France, Image on website of Ulrich Harsh, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
The Bayeux Tapestry – which is not actually a tapestry, but an embroidered cloth – is not the first continuous narrative in Western art history. The Romans created them about 1000 years earlier (see, for example, the sculptural decoration on … Continue reading
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, c. 1485, tempera on panel, 5'9
Believe it or not, there are different kinds of Venuses. Figures from ancient mythology often have different aspects or characteristics that artists emphasize in art. The Roman goddess Venus, who is also known as Aphrodite in Greek Mythology, represents different … Continue reading
Kehinde Wiley, Le Roi a la chasse, 2006, oil on canvas, 8’ x 6’, Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Photo by زرشک, Creative Commons Attribution License via Wikimedia Commons.
During the Baroque era, artists painted religious and political heroes in a style that was intended to impress upon the viewer the supremacy of the subjects and the divine blessings bestowed upon them. This Old Master style is perfectly suited … Continue reading
Qi Baishi, Cicada, c. 1950
The Chinese artist, Qi Baishi (1864-1957), created the most expensive painting sold in the world last year. His Eagle Standing on a Pine Tree with Four-character Couplet in Seal Script, which he painted in 1946, sold for $65 million. The … Continue reading
Kallikrates and Iktinos, The Parthenon, 447-438 BCE, marble, Acropolis, Athens, photo by Florestan via Wikimedia Commons, GNU Free Documentation license.
Okay, it’s grossly incorrect to call the Parthenon “wonky,” but the truth is that the horizontals and verticals in the structure are not straight. Actually, the architects did that on purpose. The Parthenon, which stands atop the highest point of the … Continue reading
Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist painting (with black trapezium and red square), 1915, oil on canvas, 40” x 24½”, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Ironically, the paintings that Kazimir Malevich intended to be easily understood are perplexing to many people. He painted crisp, geometric shapes on white fields in his fully developed suprematist paintings. Malevich’s paintings are intended simply to convey the dynamic relationship … Continue reading
Aullus Metellus, early 1st century BCE, Bronze, 5’9”, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Perhaps the Romans were not the most original artists, but they really knew how to work with what they borrowed. This is the first Roman emperor, Augustus, which means, “Supreme Ruler.” He was the grandnephew and adopted son of Julius … Continue reading
Michelangelo Buonarroti, The Creation of Adam, 1508-1512, detail of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, The Vatican, Rome, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
This is on the short list of the most famous images in the world. It is a fresco painting, which means that it actually is part of the ceiling itself in the Sistine Chapel. These are only two of more … Continue reading
Frank Lloyd Wright, Robie House, 1910, Chicago, IL, photo by Dan Smith, Creative Commons attribution license via Wikimedia Commons.
It’s hard to believe that Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built this modern home over 100 years ago. The popular style of architecture at the time was the Edwardian style, which was slightly more pared down than the Victorian style, … Continue reading
Helen Frankethaler, Jacob’s Ladder, 1957, oil on canvas, 9’ 5⅜” x 69⅞”, Museum of Modern Art, NY, JamesKidsArts-Flickr
The American-born, Abstract Expressionist artist Helen Frankenthaler died on Tuesday. Today, she is a prominent figure within the Abstract Expressionist movement, but early in her career she was known as Mrs. Robert Motherwell. As a woman, it was not easy … Continue reading
Menorahs and Ark of the Covenant, Jewish Catacomb in the Villa Torlonia, Rome, 3rd century C.E., Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
In the Late Antique period, when the Roman emperors were still in power and the official religion included the cult of the emperor and the pantheon of Roman gods, several religions were practiced in secret, among which were Judaism and … Continue reading
Jan van Eyck, Arnolfini Double Portrait, 1434, oil on panel, 32.4” x 23.6”, National Gallery, London, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
This is one of those works of art that represents an era, yet it is totally unique. Double portraits were quite rare in the fifteenth century, and so art historians have had a difficult time interpreting this one by Jan … Continue reading