On 4 Jul, 2018 With
Article by Jimena Escoto
It is well known that the Renaissance was a period of rediscovery of classical culture. As a result, artists started depicting mythological scenes, even though they never forgot Christian themes. With this new liberty and excitement to create, subjects that were formerly censured flourished. One particular theme that I have noticed frequently used in Italian Renaissance is that of Leda and the swans. One of the major subjects during this time was eroticism, of which Leda’s story belongs to.
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On 23 Jun, 2018 With
Article by Jimena Escoto
Have you ever wondered how did we go from the sculpted columns in the Gothic cathedrals to Michelangelo’s David?
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On 8 Jun, 2018 With
Article by Jimena Escoto
The Renaissance must have been a wonderful time to live in, if you were wealthy, of course. And to live in Florence at that time meant two things. The first one was that everybody knew who the Medicis were; and the second one, the streets were full of artists, architects, sculptors in hopes that the Medicis would commission them an artwork. Indeed, the Medicis were big fans of fine art and they spent as much as they wanted in expensive masterpieces of any kind.
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On 5 Jun, 2018 With
Article by Rachael Concessio You may have never picked up a paintbrush before and know next to nothing about fine art. However, the name Michelangelo is not lost on you. To this day, he remains one of the greatest artists produced by the Renaissance movement. In this article, I am taking an in-depth look at Michelangelo’s life and art career….
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On 9 Apr, 2018 With
Article by Jimena Escoto
So few personalities of the history of humanity have transcended as much as Alexander the Great has. He lived 2,300 ago and he still is one of the greatest conquerors ever. His empire went from Macedonia and Greece to the Indus valley. His life is full of amazing stories that get mixed with mythology. As a matter of fact, this issue about the Greeks telling their story with gods and fantastic creatures make, on the one hand, hard to believe some events, but, on the other, makes it very interesting and fun. Nonetheless, his story served as inspiration for major works of art since he was alive. In this article, I will be focusing on the old Masters and a few representations of Alexander’s incredible life.
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On 1 Apr, 2018 With
Article by Anders E. Johnson
From the collection of Van Gogh’s earlier works, the drawing Worn Out, completed in 1882, resonates the earnestness of the beloved artist Vincent Van Gogh.
We are confronted with a sketch of a Dutch farmer peasant. Drawn with pencil on paper, Van Gogh employed light strokes of graphite as well as bold lines to define the edges of the chair and the farmer’s pants. Crosshatching is also visible throughout the piece, giving a sense of texture, especially as seen on the dirt floor surface and the clothes. The entire composition is structured vertically with the main element being the man centered in the foreground in a rectangular fashion.
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On 25 Mar, 2018 With
Article by Anders E. Johnson
Completed in 1865, the painting, Dan Les Bois, by the celebrated Swiss artist, Albert Anker, is a striking example of the serene naturalness found within the realism art movement.
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On 22 Mar, 2018 With
Article by Anders E. Johnson
We are onlookers to a window of another age. A time when things were simpler, as some might argue, and when life still held that ‘old-world charm’ and fuzzy-warm sentiment. Yet although nowadays we may have more advanced technologies which better our life and we can no longer relate to the asperous day-to-day living of Scandinavia during the early 20th century; we, however, nonetheless still possess the same human spirit which our ancestors have felt just the same as we.
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On 20 Mar, 2018 With
Article by Anders E. Johnson
Albrecht Dürer’s Salvator Mundi, although not completely finished, is in its own right a marvelous display of the draftsman work of arguably one of the most skilled artists the German lands has ever produced. Come, dear reader, and let us admire this glistening pearl of a painting!
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On 17 Mar, 2018 With
Article by Jimena Escoto
One of the most famous women in Christian tradition is Mary Magdalene. Her presence in Jesus’ life has been debated since the beginning. While some people, mainly followers of Christianity, have no doubt that she was a prostitute who Jesus helped and redeem herself to the point that she became a saint, other are not so sure about this narration. There are some people who have said that contrary to the known tale in the bible, Mary Magdalene was in fact Jesus’ wife or that she was one more of his apostles. There is no surprise in the reaction that the Church has towards this declaration. The implications are huge! But, I am not here to talk about Mary Magdalene’s true story. In this article I will explore how the Old Masters have managed to depict her.
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