Image title: Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560) Medium: Oil and gold on oak Date: 1532 Source: The Met Collection “ One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent. ” — Epictetus “The Frame Is a Lie”: Meta-Artworks That Refuse to Read more…
Image title: Barberini Cabinet Medium: Oak and poplar veneered with various exotic hardwoods, with ebony moldings and plaques of marble, slate (paragon); pietre dure work consisting of colored marbles, rock crystal, and various hardstones Date: ca. 1606–23 Source: The Met Collection “ When in doubt, don’t. ” — Benjamin Read more…
Image title: The Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John Medium: Oil on canvas Date: ca. 1624–25 Source: The Met Collection “ I am not bothered by the fact that I am unknown. I am bothered when I do not know others. ” — Confucius The Unknown Muses: Forgotten Read more…
Image title: The Wedding Feast of Cupid and Psyche Medium: Painted enamel on copper, partly gilt Date: 1558 Source: The Met Collection Introduction: Shimmering Devotion and the Touch of Desire In the cool chapels and candlelit alcoves of medieval Europe, there flickered not only the light of religious devotion Read more…
Image title: Prayer in the Mosque Medium: Oil on canvas Date: 1871 Source: The Met Collection Introduction: Kafka’s Shadow in Oil and Ink In the dim corridors of Cold War Eastern Europe, between the echoing typewriters and rubber stamps of endless paperwork, a distinct form of visual art emerged—one Read more…
Image title: Holy Family with an Angel Medium: Tempera on canvas, transferred from wood Date: ca. 1490 Source: The Met Collection Introduction: When Machines Dream in Color Art has always moved in tandem with its times, reflecting both cultural tides and technological revolutions. Today, one of the most compelling Read more…
Introduction: The Art of Ephemerality Long before the rise of blockchain technology and the speculative buzz of NFTs, a different kind of disruption was quietly detonating within the art world. In the 1950s and 60s, a group of radical visionaries began creating artworks that were not meant to last. They Read more…
Introduction: The Surrealist Threshold From melting clocks to dreamscapes of impossible geometries, surrealism has long invited viewers to suspend the logic of the waking world in favor of the unconscious and fantastical. Now, as artificial intelligence generates strikingly bizarre images at the click of a button, the question arises: can Read more…
Introduction: Earth’s Fiery Palette The creative force of nature has long inspired human expression, but few elements have played as paradoxical a role in art as volcanoes. Both destroyers and givers, volcanoes have left behind not only reshaped landscapes but also pigments that have made their way into frescoes, canvases, Read more…
Introduction: Art in the Time of Fear Throughout the 20th century, authoritarian regimes across the globe sought to silence dissident voices. Yet while guns and laws could suppress speech, the visual language of art proved far more elusive. In countries like Francoist Spain and Pinochet’s Chile, artists were forced underground, Read more…