Newly discovered art by Caravaggio? Let’s hope so!

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Crucifixion of Saint Peter, c. 1601, oil on canvas, 7’6” x 5’7”, Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Two art historians recently announced that they discovered about 100 paintings and drawings by Caravaggio.  Surely, scholars will debate the authenticity of these works of art in the coming months.  If they are originals, this is quite a coup. So, … Continue reading →

Make the Time: Beauty in Genetics by Geraldine Ondrizek

Gerladine Ondrizek, Chromosome 17, 2009, sateen and cotton voile, 9’ x 36”, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, reproduced with permission from the artist.

Today is your last day to see Geraldine Ondrizek’s paintings of chromosomes and DNA at the Kirkland Arts Center in Kirkland, Washington.  If you miss it there, you can see it at Western Washington University’s Western Gallery or the University … Continue reading →

In Their Own Words: Paul Strand

Paul Strand, Wall Street, platinum print, 9 15/16" x 12 5/8", Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

“The artist’s world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away.  It is always on his doorstep.” Paul Strand

The Really, Very Banal Gerhard Richter

Gerhard Richter, Two Candles, 1982, oil on canvas, 47¼” x 39½”, Art Institute of Chicago, photo by rob golkosky, Creative Commons Attribution License via Flickr.

By many standards, Gerhard Richter is the most successful living painter in the world.  Ironically, he achieved that status by questioning the value of painting itself. Many postmodern artists acknowledge the demise of innovation in certain media, especially in painting.  … Continue reading →

Turning up the Heat: The Feds Have Intensified Their Investigation of the Gardner Museum Heist

Jan Vermeer, The Concert, c. 1664, oil on canvas, 28½” x 25½”, stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

According to Boston.com, federal officials have intensified their activity in the investigation of the theft of several masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum that occurred over two decades ago. On March 18th 1990, two thieves posing as police officers … Continue reading →

Just a Second: Verism

Head of a Roman Patrician from Otricoli, c. 75-50 BCE, Marble, 1’ 2” high, Museo Torlonia, Rome, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Verism (noun) From the Latin word meaning “true,” verism is the name of a style of portraiture that is hyperrealistic and emphasizes individual features. The Romans created veristic portraits of older men most likely because the style conveyed experience as … Continue reading →

Vincent van Gogh and Jean-François Millet: Let’s Drink to the Salt of the Earth

Vincent van Gogh, Sower at Sunset, 1888, oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

 Jean-François Millet’s The Sower was Van Gogh’s favorite painting.  He loved the way the French artist from the Barbizon School painted the peasant in such a way that he is ennobled, yet the scene is unemotional; his face is largely concealed.   Millet presented the laborer as … Continue reading →

In Their Own Words: Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe, Oriental Poppies, 1928, oil on canvas, 30" x 40", Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, Photo by 6-3-2, Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution License.

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Georgia O’Keeffe  

Peter Paul Rubens Needs a Lesson in Romance

Peter Paul Rubens, Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus, c. 1617, oil on canvas, 88.2” x 83.1”, Alta Pinakothek, Munich, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, the international gentleman from Antwerp, in many ways define the Baroque style.  They are dynamic in composition and subject matter.  The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus has this classic combination.  It depicts a story … Continue reading →

Just a Second: Pagoda

Wenbi Pagoda in Changzou, 10th century, wood, Changzou, China, Photo by Jakub Hałun, Creative Commons Attribution License via Wikimedia Commons.

Pagoda (noun) A pagoda is a tiered building with multiple eaves found most commonly in the Far East.  More often than not, a pagoda is a religious building used for the practice of Buddhism. The Wenbi Pagoda in Changzhou, built … Continue reading →