If your exposure has been primarily to Western art, it can be difficult to fully appreciate the artistry of icons. Knowing something about the underlying iconography and typologies, and putting aside expectations of artistic originality and realism, will make these deeply symbolic images more accessible. […]
He’s such an obscure figure today that he doesn’t even warrant a Wikipedia entry — but he must have been Somebody, to have been the subject of this outsized painting by Charles LeBrun, court painter to King Louis XIV. In 2014, at the time of its acquisition, Thomas P. Campbell, then-Director of the Metropolitan Museum of […]
The “inside story” about works of art always get my attention, especially if it’s a lost-work-now-found, or a flea-market discovery that turns out to be worth millions! This story is both. […]
On the weekend of September 28 & 29, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), in Salem MA, will offer FREE admission to celebrate the opening of its 40,000 sq ft addition and a new, evocative garden. […]
A collection of 20th-century cars traces ways automotive design — like all good design — reflects changing cultural needs and aspirations.
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