© 2021 Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD. All rights reserved.
Here’s a nice love story for Valentine’s Day – it comes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a poem written in the 8th century in Rome that is based on a story from Greek mythology. Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with his statue … Continue reading
Gerrit Dou, The Young Mother, 1658, oil on panel, 28.9” x 21.8”, Mauritshuis, The Hague, Image in the Public Domain via Wikimedia.
During the Dutch Golden Age, artists specialized in different subjects in order to compete in the new art market. Early in the 17th century, artists developed specializations within their specialization to carve out a market niche for themselves. Within the … Continue reading
Gentile da Fabriano, The Adoration of the Magi, 1423, tempera paint and gold on panel, 80
Epiphany, the church festival that celebrates the visit of the three Wise Men twelve days after the birth of Jesus, was for centuries the most important festival of the Christian year because it is the event that marks the revelation … Continue reading
Grandma Moses, Christmas at Home, early 20th century, Photo via Wikiart.com
Nothing conveys holiday warmth like a Christmas scene by Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Robertson Moses, 1860-1961). It wasn’t long after she began her painting career in her late 70s that this self-taught artist attracted the attention of Hallmark Cards, Inc. … Continue reading
Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Mama, Mummy and Mamma (Predecessors #2), 2014, Photo by the New Church Museum, Cape Town, South Africa.
The artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby was one of three artists who won the 2017 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. This generous grant is awarded to “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity … Continue reading
Edward Hopper, Automat, 1927, oil on canvas, 28” x 36”, Des Moines Art Center, IA, Artwork in the Public Domain via Wikipedia.
American artist Edward Hopper was born on this day in 1882. His easily recognizable style did not change for most of his long career that began in 1895 and continued until his death in 1963. Hopper mostly painted scenes that … Continue reading
Sandro Botticelli, Detail of Venus, c. 1490, Oil on canvas, Galleria Sabauda, Photo via Wikimedia Commons
If you are in Boston anytime before July 9th, make the time to see the exhibition, “Botticelli and the Search for the Divine” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Sandro Botticelli is today, as he was during his lifetime, … Continue reading
Joan Brown, The Kiss, 1976, enamel on canvas, 96" x 78", Estate of Joan Brown, Photo via Wikiart
“A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.” Ingrid Bergman Happy Valentine’s Day from The Art Minute
Suor Plautilla Nelli, The Lamentation, 1550, oil on canvas, Museum of San Marco, Florence, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
On March 8, 2017, the Uffizi in Florence will dedicate an exhibition to the earliest known female Renaissance painter, Suor Plautilla Nelli. This is part of an initiative of the museum’s new director, Eike Schmidt, to highlight work by women … Continue reading
Frida Kahlo, Thinking About Death, 1943, oil on canvas, 17.5
Frida Kahlo’s compelling surrealist self-portraits that are filled with personal iconography have a broad relevance. Her work was championed by early feminists who adopted the slogan “the personal is political,” meaning that one woman’s experience is representative of the experiences … Continue reading
Grace Hartigan, Grand Street Brides, 1954, oil on canvas, 73” x 102”, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Grace Hartigan exhibited under the name George Hartigan, following in the footsteps of female writers George Eliot and George Sand, so that she would be taken seriously as an artist. She was from the second generation of Abstract Expressionist artists, … Continue reading
Caravaggio, Judith Beheading Holofernes, 1598-99, oil on canvas, 57
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio would have been 545 years old today. He actually only lived to be 38 years old, which is somewhat miraculous considering his tumultuous life. We know more about him from law books than anything else. He was brought to … Continue reading