Image title: Fish hacha Medium: Stone, shell, traces of plaster, pigment Date: 600–900 CE Source: The Met Collection “ Pitching is the art of instilling fear. ” — Sandy Koufax ‘Smell This Painting’: The Lost Scent Worlds of Classical Art Introduction: Unlocking the Forgotten Sense Visual art has Read more…
Image title: Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560) Medium: Oil and gold on oak Date: 1532 Source: The Met Collection “ A passion for politics stems usually from an insatiable need, either for power, or for friendship and adulation, or a combination of both. ” — Fawn M. Brodie Read more…
Image title: The Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John Medium: Oil on canvas Date: ca. 1624–25 Source: The Met Collection “ Sports do not build character. They reveal it. ” — Heywood Broun Ultraviolet Saints: What Hidden Layers in Medieval Paintings Reveal Introduction: Shedding New Light on Read more…
Image title: The Dormition of the Virgin; (reverse) Christ Carrying the Cross Medium: Oil and gold on fir Date: ca. 1510 Source: The Met Collection “ The cause is hidden. The effect is visible to all. ” — Ovid Invisible Masters: The Hidden Hands Behind Renaissance Workshops Introduction: Read more…
Image title: Paolo Giordano II Orsini, Duke of Bracciano Medium: Bronze, partially silvered Date: ca. 1632 Source: The Met Collection “ Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. ” — Seneca the Younger The Sculpted Mind: Neuroscience Meets Marble in Bernini’s Works Introduction: A Mind Carved in Read more…
Image title: Eagle relief Medium: Andesite or dacite, Maya blue, stucco, red pigment Date: 900–1200 CE Source: The Met Collection “ The sum of wisdom is that time is never lost that is devoted to work. ” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Maya Blue and Other Sacred Colors Lost 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…
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…