Rembrandt van Rijn, two impressions of Jacob’s Ladder, 1655, etching and drypoint, 4⅝” x 3⅛”, Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
In printmaking, a burr is made of the metal that remains on a printing plate after it has been displaced in the process of carving an image. This often happens when using drypoint as a printmaking technique. When creating a … Continue reading
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1622-25, Apollo and Daphne, Marble, 93”, Galleria Borghese, Rome, Photo by By Alvesgaspar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Looking at Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne, we can see characteristics of the over-the-top Baroque style. For example, the sculpture illustrates the point of highest tension in the story, which is when the nymph Daphne is “saved” by her … Continue reading
Rembrandt van Rijn, Abraham Entertaining the Angels, 1656, etching and drypoint, 6 ½” x 5 ½”, Image via Wikiart, artwork in the Public Domain.
Abraham is an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each of the three monotheistic religions, meaning that followers believe there is just one God, either emphasizes Abraham or traces their origins to the tribal patriarch. Jews believe that … 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
© 2016 Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD. All rights reserved.
The website for the Metropolitan Museum of Art has many interesting and inspiring pages to explore. A current favorite of mine is The Artist Project which has a series of videos of artists talking about various works of art in the museum. It … 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.
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
Peter Paul Rubens, Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus, c. 1617, oil on canvas, 88.2” x 83.1”, Alta Pinakothek, Munich, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, the international gentleman from Antwerp, in many ways define the Baroque style. They are dynamic in composition and subject matter. The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus has this classic combination. It depicts a story … Continue reading
Gianlorenzo Bernini, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, 1645-1652, marble, life-size, Coronaro Cahpel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome. Photo from Flickr available under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
This is a little awkward. This spiritual event looks like something altogether different.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, The Grand Odalisque, 1814, oil on canvas, 37 ⅞” x 63”, Musée du Louvre, Paris. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
It appears that deep down, we humans are a sentimental lot. The Daily Mail Online published news of a study by Professor Semir Zeki, chair in neuroaesthetics at University College London, that indicates that looking at paintings by John Constable, … Continue reading