“In visual perception a color is almost never seen as it really is – as it physically is. This fact makes color the most relative medium in art.” Josef Albers
Josef Albers, On Tideland, 1947-1955, oil on fiberboard, 27 1/4
Tag Archives: painting
Josef Albers, On Tideland, 1947-1955, oil on fiberboard, 27 1/4
Anonymous Artist, Elizabeth Clarke Freake and Baby Mary, c. 1674, oil on canvas, 42.5” x 36.8”, The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Freake Show
Mrs. John Freake, of the Boston Freakes, was a real show-off. Colonial Americans were suspicious of art, judging it too aristocratic, but they did commission portraits because they were an excellent way to demonstrate wealth, especially if you were Elizabeth … Continue reading
Joan Miró, Personages with Star, 1933, oil on canvas, 78” x 97”, Art Institute of Chicago, Photo by Xevi V via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial -Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.
Winging it with Joan Miró
Surrealist artists wanted to incorporate chance into their artwork because they thought it would be a powerful means of self-revelation and catharsis. They believed they could set free certain aspects of their subconscious this way. Spanish artist Joan Miró, a … Continue reading
Hans Holbein the Younger, Anne of Cleaves, c. 1539, oil on parchment mounted on canvas, 25.6" x 18.9", Louvre Museum, Photo in the Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
In Their Own Words: King Henry VIII
English King Henry VIII to Thomas Cromwell, regarding the reason he ended his fourth marriage to Anne of Cleaves from Flanders with an annulment: “You have sent me a Flanders mare!”
© 2013 Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD. All rights reserved.
In Their Own Words: Paul Gauguin
“There are two sorts of beauty; one is the result of instinct, the other of study. A combination of the two, with the resulting modifications, brings with it a very complicated richness, which the art critic ought to try to … Continue reading
Philip Johnson and Mark Rothko, The Rothko Chapel, 1971, Houston, TX, Photo by Darren Milligan via Flickr, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.
Make the Time: The Rothko Chapel
If you find yourself in Houston, TX, where there is a lot of great art to see, consider making the time to visit the Rothko Chapel. The famous modern architect Philip Johnson designed the octagonal building, but the building is … Continue reading
© 2013 Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD. All rights reserved.
Gerard David: Oh Man, That’s Gotta Hurt!
This large and impressive painting by Gerard David stops nearly all visitors to the Groeningemuseum in Bruges, Belgium in their tracks. Viewers look upon the two large panels with a mixture of abhorrence and fascination while they wonder what is … Continue reading
Berthe Morisot, The Cradle, 1872, oil on canvas, 22" x 18.1", Musée d'Orsay, Paris, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
In Their Own Words: Berthe Morisot
“It is important to express oneself… provided the feelings are real and are taken from your own experience.” Berthe Morisot Happy Mother’s Day from The Art Minute.
Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942, oil on canvas, 33 ⅛” x 60”, Art Institute of Chicago, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Edward Hopper: Lonely Town
The American artist Edward Hopper had the uncanny ability to make his brightly lit spaces rather cool. It suited the desolate mood of his realist images of the urban environment in the 20th century. The fluorescent lighting in this painting … Continue reading
© 2013 Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD. All rights reserved.
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
You can still visit McSorley’s Bar (15 East 7th Street, New York, NY 10003) and it looks very similar to the way it did just over 100 years ago when John Sloan, a founding member of The Eight (also known … Continue reading
© 2013 Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD. All rights reserved.
Marcel Duchamp: Leading the Modern Art Invasion
The impact of The Armory Show, the modern art exhibition that opened at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City on February 13, 1913 and toured the country 100 years ago this spring, cannot be overstated. It was a … Continue reading
Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-Portrait, 1659, oil on canvas, 33 ¼” x 26”, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Image Courtesy of 1000Museums.com.
Rembrandt van Rijn: The Magnet in the Room
When you walk into any gallery of 17th-century paintings and one by Rembrandt is in the room, you will be drawn to the Rembrandt. His paintings glow. In a word, they are “rich,” like a dessert can be rich. They … Continue reading