Take Five: Artificial Intelligence and Art History

Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893, Casein/waxed crayon and tempera on paper (cardboard), 35 7/8” x 29”, National Gallery, Oslo, Norway, Public Domain via Wikipedia. Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893, Casein/waxed crayon and tempera on paper (cardboard), 35 7/8” x 29”, National Gallery, Oslo, Norway, Public Domain via Wikipedia.

The Washington Post recently printed an article describing an algorithm that Ahmed Elgammal from Rutgers University used to identify the creative worth of a work of art. Working at the school’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Associate Professor Elgammal devised a system … Continue reading →

Happy Birthday Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit, watercolor on paper, Beatrix Potter, Illustration from The Tale of Peter Rabbit, c. 1901, watercolor on paper, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Helen Beatrix Potter, the English author, illustrator, and natural scientist, was born on July 28, 1866 in London into a wealthy Unitarian family. As a child, she kept many small pets and had a collection of insects and butterflies that she frequently … Continue reading →

Happy Birthday Alphonse Mucha

Alphonse Mucha, Advertising Poster for Job Cigarettes, Art Nouveau Alphonse Mucha, Advertising Poster for Job Cigarettes, 1896, color lithograph, 26.25

Alphonse Mucha, the Art Nouveau painter from the Czech Republic, was born on July 24th, 1860. While he was attending school in Paris in the late 19th century, he became a highly successful commercial artist, designing posters, advertisements, and book illustrations. His … Continue reading →

Levina Teerlinc’s Mastery of Miniatures

Levina Teerlinc Levina Teerlinc, Portrait of Katherine Grey, Countess of Hertford, c. 1555-60, 1.3” diameter, watercolor on vellum, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Artwork in the Public Domain.

Levina Teerlinc is credited with the rise of miniature painting of royals in the 16th century. She was born in Bruges and probably received her artistic training from her father, the well-known illuminator Simon Bening. In 1545, she and her husband … Continue reading →

The Art Minute Now Is An Equal Opportunity Blog

Tracy Emin Tracy Emin, With You I Breathe, 2010, neon lights, Photo by Saaleha Bamjee via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

The June 2015 issue of ARTnews is dedicated to women in the art world over 40 years after the same magazine published Linda Nochlin’s seminal essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” The lead article by Maura Reilly … Continue reading →

Happy Birthday Gustave Courbet

Gustave Courbet, Self-Portrait with Pipe, Gustave Courbet, Self-Portrait with Pipe, 1848-9, oil on canvas, 45 x 37 cm, Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France, Photo in Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Gustave Courbet French Realist Painter Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet was born on June 10, 1819 to Régis and Sylvie Oudot Courbet in Ornans, France. The charismatic leader of the Realist Movement rejected the artificiality of Neoclassical art and the prevailing Romantic style, preferring … Continue reading →

Leonardo da Vinci: The Hair and The Nose

Marcantonio Raimondi, Leonardo da Vinci Marcantonio Raimondi, Orpheus Charming the Animals (Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci?), 1505, engraving, 21.4 x 17.3 cm, Cleveland Museum of Art, Photo via artnet news.

Live Science reported yesterday that Ross Duffin, a music professor at Case Western University, claims that the figure playing the lira da braccio (a stringed instrument) in a print created by Marcantonio Raimondi is not the Greek hero Orpheus but … Continue reading →

RIP Mary Ellen Mark

Mary Ellen Mark, photography Mary Ellen Mark, Amanda and her Cousin Amy, North Carolina, 1990, gelatin silver print, Photo by J. Scott 2 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

The photographer Mary Ellen Mark passed away yesterday. Mark is best known for her arresting images of people who live on the edge. She paid the rent by photographing celebrities for Look and Life magazines, but it’s the photographs of … Continue reading →

California Dreamin’ with David Hockney

David Hockney, Pop Art David Hockney, A Bigger Splash (Detail), 1967, acrylic on canvas, Tate Gallery, London, Photo by Ian Burt via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

Memorial Day weekend is upon us and many Americans will gather poolside to enjoy a picnic while celebrating the memory of American soldiers. No one has captured the appeal of the American poolside setting better than British Pop artist, David Hockney. … Continue reading →

Happy Birthday Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí Salvador Dalí, The Anthropomorphic Chest of Drawers, 1936, oil on wooden panel, 25.4 x 43.1 cm., Kunstsammlung Nordheim-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, Photo by Jordan5k via Flickr,

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marqués de Dalí de Pubol, better known as Salvador Dalí, was born on May 11, 1904. The Spanish artist worked in variety of media, but is best known for his Surrealist paintings. Because … Continue reading →

In Their Own Words: Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol quote Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, oil and silkscreen ink on canvas, 45 in. x 67 1/2 in. , Collection SFMOMA, Photo by Thomas Hawk via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 2.0 License

“An artist is somebody who produces things that people don’t need to have.” Andy Warhol

The Art that ISIS Destroyed

Lamassu from Khorsabad, ISIS Lamassu (winged bulls) from Khorsabad, restored and housed in the Louvre, Paris, Photo by gulfuroth via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License.

In recent months, the media has released videotapes of members of ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) destroying irreplaceable artifacts from ancient civilizations with sledgehammers and jackhammers inside the Mosul Museum in Iraq. Thankfully, many of these works … Continue reading →