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Image title: The Card Players Medium: Oil on canvas Date: 1890–92 Source: The Met Collection   “ A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers. ” — Plato Mushrooms on Canvas: Mycology’s Strange Influence on Modern Aesthetics   Introduction: The Hidden Kingdom Beneath the Brush From their mysterious growth in the shadows to their intricate organic forms, mushrooms have fascinated artists for centuries. Long considered symbols of decay and regeneration, fungi possess Read more…

Image title: The Crucifixion; The Last Judgment Medium: Oil on canvas, transferred from wood Date: ca. 1436–38 Source: The Met Collection   “ Things are as they are. Looking out into it the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations. ” — Alan Watts The Night the Stars Fell Into Canvas: Astronomy’s Hidden Influence on Romanticism   Introduction: When Science Met the Sublime Read more…

Image title: The Return from the Hunt Medium: Tempera and oil on wood Date: ca. 1494–1500 Source: The Met Collection   “ Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. ” — Douglas Adams From Cave Walls to Code Walls: The Eternal Return of Human Mark-Making   I. Marks of Origin: The Handprints of Prehistory Long Read more…

Image title: The Birth of the Virgin Medium: Tempera and oil on wood Date: 1467 Source: The Met Collection   “ To lead people walk behind them. ” — Laozi Optical Illusions in Oil: The Science Behind Baroque Perspective Tricks   Introduction: When Art Met the Eye In the grand candlelit halls of 17th-century Europe, visitors often found themselves lured into painted worlds so real that they prompted disbelief. Baroque painters were the master illusionists Read more…

Image title: Hercules and Achelous Medium: Ivory Date: probably mid-17th century Source: The Met Collection   “ A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be. ” — Albert Einstein The Politics of Restoration: Who Decides What Art Should Look Like?   Introduction: The Fragile Curtain of Authenticity Every brushstroke of history is vulnerable—not only to the erosion of time, but to the shifting values of those who preserve Read more…

Image title: Cihuateotl Medium: Volcanic stone (porphyritic andesite), pigment Date: 15th–early 16th century Source: The Met Collection   “ The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. ” — Abraham Lincoln Mesoamerican Maps of the Soul: Reading Aztec Codices as Visual Philosophy   Introduction: Decoding the Painted Cosmos Long before the Western world conceived of philosophy as a written discipline, the civilizations of Mesoamerica were Read more…