Kazimir Malevich: Easy Access?

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 →

Augustus of Primaporta: Spin City

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 →

Just a Second: Ukiyo-e

Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave, Edo Period, c. 1831, woodblock print, 9⅞” x 14⅝”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Ukiyo-e (noun) Click here for pronunciation. Japanese for “pictures of a floating world,” a Ukiyo-e is a type of woodblock print that was produced by an artist, a woodblock carver, and a printer.  Katsushika Hokusai designed many popular Ukiyo-e, of … Continue reading →

Michelangelo Buonarroti: Sparks will Fly

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 →

Take Five: Why Bother with Art History?

Jeff Koons, Michael Jackson and Bubbles, 1988, ceramic, 42” x 70½” x 32½”, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Photo by artgrad, Flickr.

Last month, philosopher Alva Noë wrote an interesting article about art and neuroscience that the New York Times published in its Opinionator section.  In the article, he took issue with the assumptions and methods of a field called “neuroaesthetics,” which … Continue reading →

Frank Lloyd Wright: The Robie House

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 →

RIP Helen Frankenthaler

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 →

Travel with The Art Minute – A Few Spots Left!

Jan van Eyck, Detail of The Madonna with Canon George van der Paele, 1434-36, oil on panel, 48" x 62", Groeningemuseum, Bruges, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

There are only a few places remaining on this trip in April to Belgium and Amsterdam! The Art & Culture of Northern Europe A Handcrafted, Escorted Travel Program to Belgium and Amsterdam 18-25 April 2012 (8 days, 7 nights)   … Continue reading →

Just a Second: Fresco

Giotto, The Nativity, 1305-1306, fresco, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel, Padua, Italy, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

 Fresco (noun) Italian word for “fresh,” fresco is a technique of painting in which an artist mixes ground pigments with water and paints them onto wet plaster. Giotto’s beautifully expressive fresco paintings are actually part of the wall of the … Continue reading →

Jewish Art in the Catacombs

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 →

Just a Second: Pointillism

Georges Seurat, Circus Sideshow, 1888, oil on canvas, 39¼” x 59”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Public Domain

Pointillism (noun) Click here for pronunciation. Also called Divisionism and Chromoluminarism, this is a style of painting in which very small dots of contrasting color are placed next to one another on a canvas.  When a viewer stands back from … Continue reading →