It is a testament to Rubens’ extraordinary skill that he could convey such tenderness and devotion without any hint of sentimentality. The Descent from the Cross shows the artist moving away from his exuberant Baroque compositions to a more Classical approach. […]
Category: Art History
Art in Context: Peter Paul Rubens’ Altarpiece, The Raising of the Cross
With this sensational painting, Rubens introduced the Baroque into Northern European art. In composition, iconography and size (15’ x 20’) it is resplendent with the artistic ideals of the Counter-Reformation. Imagine the effect this must have had when it was unveiled in 1610! […]
Patron Saints of Pestilence
We see these saints in Medieval and Renaissance art, but can we fully grasp the profound meaning embedded in the works? Will today’s pandemic help us better comprehend the faith, the fear, and the hope that spawned these Patron Saints in art? […]
A Quick History of Landscape Painting in Western Art
Take a quick 5-minute romp through Landscape Art history, covering 3500 years, from the Bronze Age to the modern age.
[…]
An Awesome Surprise: The Morse Museum of American Art
The Morse is world-renowned for its comprehensive collection of works by the American artist and designer, Louis Comfort Tiffany, revealing that his creative talent and the output of his workshop soared well beyond jewel-like lamps and leaded glass windows. […]
Art of Native America: An exhibition of masterworks of indigenous art
A spectacular collection of Native American art is on long-term view at New York’s Metropolitan Museum. We couldn’t ask for more in an exhibition, for the purely aesthetic pleasure these objects give, for gaining a fuller understanding of their cultural significance, and for seeing indigenous art in the context of American art history. […]
Emil Hoppé: Photographs from the Ballets Russes
The names of two men — both sons of considerable wealth, born in the 1870s, and both culturally- and creatively-inclined — were widely recognized in the early years of the 20th century. Their celebrity was well-deserved at the time — and deserves to live on. Sergei Diaghilev (1872 – 1929) was a Russian art critic, […]
The Art of Rube Goldberg
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg is not a name everyone would recognize. But drop half the letters and it becomes an adjective in the dictionary! Every English dictionary has a “Rube Goldberg” entry. Ours says, “ingeniously or unnecessarily complicated in design or construction.“ You know his name, you know his whacky contraption illustrations, you may even […]
Guercino: Virtuoso Draftsman
His nickname translates to either “Squinty” or “Cross-Eyed” but in spite of his in-turned eye – or perhaps because of it – Guercino is regarded as one of the greatest Italian draftsmen of the 17th century. […]
John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal
This is the first major exhibition since 1925 to explore Sargent’s expressive drawings in charcoal, illuminating the magnitude of his abilities as a portrait draftsman. The drawings in the John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal exhibition at the Morgan Library and Museum represent an important yet often overlooked part of Sargent’s practice. John Singer Sargent […]