Travel Posters, Japanese Style

Andō Hiroshige, Snow at Kambara from the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō Highway series, c. 1833, woodblock print, 9.9” x 14.8”, Brooklyn Museum, New York, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Inspired by Hokusai’s success with his views of Mount Fuji, Japanese artist Andō Hiroshige created prints of the various locales in Japan capturing the mood and character of each setting.  In his Snow at Kambara from his Fifty-Three Stations of … Continue reading →

Just a Second: Combination Print

Oscar Gustave Rejlander, Two Ways of Life, 1857, albumen print, 31

Combination Print (noun) A printing technique in photography, popular in the nineteenth century, in which a photographer would compose a final image using more than one negative.  To make the combination print, the photographer would expose only a section of … Continue reading →

In Their Own Words: Umberto Boccioni

Umberto Boccioni, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, 1913, bronze, 48

“A portrait, to be a work of art, neither must nor may resemble the sitter… one must paint its atmosphere.” Umberto Boccioni Happy New Year from The Art Minute.  

Barocci’s Silent Night

Federico Barocci, The Nativity, 1597, oil on canvas, 52.75

Working near the end of the Mannerist era, Federico Barocci was given to unusual compositions and colors, as is seen in his Nativity with the steep, diagonal recession into space where Joseph opens the door to let the shepherds into … Continue reading →

Just a Second: Shetani

Carving by the Makonde tribe of East Africa of an Elephant Shetani, c. 1974, African blackwood, Photo by Gadfium, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Shetani (noun) The Makonde tribe that lives in Tanzania are master sculptors who create unique and powerful objects that are collected by museums as well as tourists. These works of art that are based upon tribal myths and stories are … Continue reading →

Arthur Dove Shows Us What a Sunrise Feels Like

Arthur Dove, Sunrise, 1924, oil on wood, 18¼” x 20 ⅞”, Milwaukee Art Museum, Photo by Micah & Erin, via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.

Arthur Dove was a member of a small circle of artists in New York City, including Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O’Keeffe, that introduced modernism to America. Dove developed a highly original form of abstraction based upon the natural landscape and … Continue reading →

Rebuilding Solomon’s Temple

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 →

The Ebbo Gospel: Inspiring and Inspired

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 →

Swingin’ with Renoir

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 →