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. […]
Guercino: Virtuoso Draftsman
Category: Art History
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 […]
Félix Vallotton: Painter of Disquiet
In graphically spare prints and startlingly realistic portraits, darkly suggestive interiors, luscious still lifes and brooding landscape paintings, Félix Edouard Vallotton was a highly original Early Modernist artist. On view in an exhibition of some 80 works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC, through Jan 26, 2020. […]
St. Paul the Hermit Has Arrived at Notre Dame University
A quick study: Who was Jusepe de Ribera? Who was St. Paul the First Hermit? And why did the artist paint the saint? The Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, has recently received an exciting long-term loan — from the Cummins Family Collection — of the painting St. Paul […]
Is it Chiaroscuro or is it Tenebrism?
Tenebrism is a word surprisingly seldom used in discussions of Caravaggio and other 17th-century painters. When it is, it is often thought to simply be another word for chiaroscuro. But it actually has a distinct characteristic that defines it. […]
Manet and Modern Beauty: The Artist’s Last Years
Best known today for large-scale paintings that were provocative in the early 1860s, Manet shifted his focus and produced a different, though no less radical, body of work In the late 1870s and early 1880s. A major exhibitin at the Getty looks at these later years. […]
Delacroix Lost and Found
The whereabouts of a masterwork by 19th-century French painter Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) were unknown between the time of its recorded sale in 1850 until 2018, when it was discovered in a Paris apartment. Now it’s coming to live in the US. […]
Praising Sacred Icons as Art
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. […]
‘An Orphan No More’: A Recently-Discovered Oil Sketch by Anthony van Dyck
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. […]
The Art History of Cars
A collection of 20th-century cars traces ways automotive design — like all good design — reflects changing cultural needs and aspirations.
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