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18901_T

Immigrant Mother

Focus on Immigrant Mother and discuss the Historical information.

William George Bruce (1856-1949) was the force behind the creation of Immigrant Mother. Bruce was a newspaper business manager in Milwaukee born from German parents. He established the Bruce Publishing Company, and is best known for his efforts in developing and administering the Milwaukee Auditorium. The esteemed businessman was president of the Milwaukee Harbor Commission and instrumental in developing Milwaukee's position as a world port on the Seaway. He even published a three-volume history of the City of Milwaukee. "Due to his distinguished public service career, Bruce gained the sobriquet 'Mr. Milwaukee."Bruce bequeathed $30,000 to the city of Milwaukee for the creation of a sculpture that symbolized universal motherhood. It was to be dedicated to his mother, Apollonia Becker Bruce, as well as to all immigrant mothers bringing up children in the New World. "Bruce's heirs chose Ivan Meštrović to carry out this commission as Meštrović had immortalized his own mother's image in many of his religious sculptures; Milwaukee's Immigrant Mother may be an example of this homage." Immigrant Mother was placed in Cathedral Square in recognition of Bruce's lifelong devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. The sculpture demonstrates the dignity of motherhood. It depicts a mother carrying one child, with another child at her side, in a simple figural style. Tool marks are apparent on the sculpture's rough surface. This piece was dedicated in honor of immigrant mothers on October 1, 1960 by the Modern Art Foundry.

18901_NT

Immigrant Mother

Focus on this artwork and discuss the Historical information.

William George Bruce (1856-1949) was the force behind the creation of Immigrant Mother. Bruce was a newspaper business manager in Milwaukee born from German parents. He established the Bruce Publishing Company, and is best known for his efforts in developing and administering the Milwaukee Auditorium. The esteemed businessman was president of the Milwaukee Harbor Commission and instrumental in developing Milwaukee's position as a world port on the Seaway. He even published a three-volume history of the City of Milwaukee. "Due to his distinguished public service career, Bruce gained the sobriquet 'Mr. Milwaukee."Bruce bequeathed $30,000 to the city of Milwaukee for the creation of a sculpture that symbolized universal motherhood. It was to be dedicated to his mother, Apollonia Becker Bruce, as well as to all immigrant mothers bringing up children in the New World. "Bruce's heirs chose Ivan Meštrović to carry out this commission as Meštrović had immortalized his own mother's image in many of his religious sculptures; Milwaukee's Immigrant Mother may be an example of this homage." Immigrant Mother was placed in Cathedral Square in recognition of Bruce's lifelong devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. The sculpture demonstrates the dignity of motherhood. It depicts a mother carrying one child, with another child at her side, in a simple figural style. Tool marks are apparent on the sculpture's rough surface. This piece was dedicated in honor of immigrant mothers on October 1, 1960 by the Modern Art Foundry.

18902_T

Girl in a Blue Dress

How does Girl in a Blue Dress elucidate its Provenance?

In 1912 the wealthy merchant and art collector Mari Paul Voûte (1856–1928) became chairman of the Vereniging Rembrandt. At the end of World War I, when Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg was forced to abdicate and needed to downsize, his art collection came on the market and in 1923 the Vereniging Rembrandt formed a consortium with senior members to purchase artworks from this collection at their own risk in order to give them to the Amsterdam museum. The Girl in Blue was one of these artworks purchased by Voûte. Rather than giving it directly to the museum, however, he kept it until he died, whereupon he bequeathed it to the Vereniging Rembrandt for them to make over to the Rijksmuseum, which they did.The painting is very similar in composition to a pendant marriage portrait painted by Verspronck the year before, today in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Twenthe:

18902_NT

Girl in a Blue Dress

How does this artwork elucidate its Provenance?

In 1912 the wealthy merchant and art collector Mari Paul Voûte (1856–1928) became chairman of the Vereniging Rembrandt. At the end of World War I, when Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg was forced to abdicate and needed to downsize, his art collection came on the market and in 1923 the Vereniging Rembrandt formed a consortium with senior members to purchase artworks from this collection at their own risk in order to give them to the Amsterdam museum. The Girl in Blue was one of these artworks purchased by Voûte. Rather than giving it directly to the museum, however, he kept it until he died, whereupon he bequeathed it to the Vereniging Rembrandt for them to make over to the Rijksmuseum, which they did.The painting is very similar in composition to a pendant marriage portrait painted by Verspronck the year before, today in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Twenthe:

18903_T

Six Tuscan Poets

Focus on Six Tuscan Poets and analyze the abstract.

Six Tuscan Poets is an oil-on-panel painting by the Florentine visual artist and writer Giorgio Vasari, created in 1544. The poets depicted in the painting from left to right are Cristoforo Landino, Marsilio Ficino, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Dante Alighieri, and Guido Cavalcanti. In 2021 it was lent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, for the exhibition The Medici: Portraits and Politics, 1512–1570.The work was commissioned from Vasari by the Tuscan arts patron Luca Martini.Today the painting is in the permanent collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

18903_NT

Six Tuscan Poets

Focus on this artwork and analyze the abstract.

Six Tuscan Poets is an oil-on-panel painting by the Florentine visual artist and writer Giorgio Vasari, created in 1544. The poets depicted in the painting from left to right are Cristoforo Landino, Marsilio Ficino, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Dante Alighieri, and Guido Cavalcanti. In 2021 it was lent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, for the exhibition The Medici: Portraits and Politics, 1512–1570.The work was commissioned from Vasari by the Tuscan arts patron Luca Martini.Today the painting is in the permanent collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

18904_T

View of Olinda (Post)

In View of Olinda (Post), how is the abstract discussed?

View of Olinda is a painting by Frans Post, a Dutch painter who was one of the first European-trained painters to depict landscapes of the Americas during a trip with John Maurice of the WIC. The painting depicts Olinda Cathedral in ruins, damage that was sustained when the Dutch seized a portion of Brazil from the Portuguese. The painting is notable for its depiction of Brazilian animals and plant life, based on drawings Post made from life in Brazil. The painting has its original frame, which is also decorated with motifs from nature.

18904_NT

View of Olinda (Post)

In this artwork, how is the abstract discussed?

View of Olinda is a painting by Frans Post, a Dutch painter who was one of the first European-trained painters to depict landscapes of the Americas during a trip with John Maurice of the WIC. The painting depicts Olinda Cathedral in ruins, damage that was sustained when the Dutch seized a portion of Brazil from the Portuguese. The painting is notable for its depiction of Brazilian animals and plant life, based on drawings Post made from life in Brazil. The painting has its original frame, which is also decorated with motifs from nature.

18905_T

View of Olinda (Post)

Focus on View of Olinda (Post) and explore the Background.

Post was part of Johan Maurits' (aka John Maurice)’s entourage when he visited Brazil from 1637-1644. Johan Maurits was Prince of Nassau-Siegen, a state within the Holy Roman Empire at the time, and governor of the Dutch West India Company (WIC). Post was just 23 years old and relatively unknown at the time he embarked for Brazil in October 1636, and the journey across the Atlantic took about two months. Not much is known about his formal training or how he was chosen for the expedition. The goal of the journey was to grow Dutch territory and ease conflict in the region. At the time there were about 2,000 European colonists in Brazil, and the majority of them were affiliated with WIC. Post was brought along as part of Maurits' entourage which consisted of other artists, scientists, and naturalists, their job being to document Brazil's natural life and landscape. The trip yielded hundreds of drawings.Upon Post's return to the Netherlands, he enjoyed success as a painter.

18905_NT

View of Olinda (Post)

Focus on this artwork and explore the Background.

Post was part of Johan Maurits' (aka John Maurice)’s entourage when he visited Brazil from 1637-1644. Johan Maurits was Prince of Nassau-Siegen, a state within the Holy Roman Empire at the time, and governor of the Dutch West India Company (WIC). Post was just 23 years old and relatively unknown at the time he embarked for Brazil in October 1636, and the journey across the Atlantic took about two months. Not much is known about his formal training or how he was chosen for the expedition. The goal of the journey was to grow Dutch territory and ease conflict in the region. At the time there were about 2,000 European colonists in Brazil, and the majority of them were affiliated with WIC. Post was brought along as part of Maurits' entourage which consisted of other artists, scientists, and naturalists, their job being to document Brazil's natural life and landscape. The trip yielded hundreds of drawings.Upon Post's return to the Netherlands, he enjoyed success as a painter.

18906_T

View of Olinda (Post)

Focus on View of Olinda (Post) and explain the Description.

View of Olinda is widely regarded as one of Post's most successful works, created during a prolific time in his career. It is also one of his largest canvases, at approximately 3.5 by 5.5 feet. In the foreground, thick tropical vegetation is teeming with animal life: an iguana, an armadillo, a sloth (Choloepus didactylus), an anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), a monkey who appears to be dozing off while holding a banana, and several birds and insects can be seen. There are many leaves of dark green, a pineapple, cacti, scattered flowers, and on the left, a tall papaya tree frames the composition. Atop a shrub, a bird clutches an insect in its beak as it crouches, presumably about to take flight. Post's signature is subtly inscribed on what appears to be a very large gourd which sits in the bottom left foreground, reading: "F. Post."In the middle ground, a stone building is perched on a modest incline surrounded by palm trees, with vines growing up the sides. A meandering line of people are seemingly heading into the building which appears to be a Catholic church, though aspects of the structure look broken. In fact, large pieces of broken stone pillars are visible on the right, being overtaken by lush blue shrubbery. It can be assumed that the structure was damaged during the Dutch takeover from the Portuguese. An altarpiece is visible through an archway into the church space. The figures appear to be a mixture of Portuguese colonizers and enslaved African people, according to their dress and skin color. The women in line wear long veils, some men wear large hats, and cassocked preachers stand by the door and greet attendees. Downhill and further away (nearing the background), a different small group of people can be seen, appearing to be several enslaved African people, with a few more-clothed presumably-Dutch persons standing nearby. The African people appear to be carrying a palanquin, which most likely had a Portuguese woman inside. There are also a few structures that look like two-story homes populating the downward slope of the hill, and there is a small quite ruined-looking structure uphill from and behind the church. Bluish shrubbery grows around and on top of it, enhancing the quality of dilapidation. In the background, the gently undulating terrain recedes toward the horizon line, where Post utilized atmospheric perspective (e.g. a monochromatic color scheme, lightening in value near the horizon) to convey great distance. Some fluffy white clouds drift overhead in the mostly blue sky.

18906_NT

View of Olinda (Post)

Focus on this artwork and explain the Description.

View of Olinda is widely regarded as one of Post's most successful works, created during a prolific time in his career. It is also one of his largest canvases, at approximately 3.5 by 5.5 feet. In the foreground, thick tropical vegetation is teeming with animal life: an iguana, an armadillo, a sloth (Choloepus didactylus), an anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), a monkey who appears to be dozing off while holding a banana, and several birds and insects can be seen. There are many leaves of dark green, a pineapple, cacti, scattered flowers, and on the left, a tall papaya tree frames the composition. Atop a shrub, a bird clutches an insect in its beak as it crouches, presumably about to take flight. Post's signature is subtly inscribed on what appears to be a very large gourd which sits in the bottom left foreground, reading: "F. Post."In the middle ground, a stone building is perched on a modest incline surrounded by palm trees, with vines growing up the sides. A meandering line of people are seemingly heading into the building which appears to be a Catholic church, though aspects of the structure look broken. In fact, large pieces of broken stone pillars are visible on the right, being overtaken by lush blue shrubbery. It can be assumed that the structure was damaged during the Dutch takeover from the Portuguese. An altarpiece is visible through an archway into the church space. The figures appear to be a mixture of Portuguese colonizers and enslaved African people, according to their dress and skin color. The women in line wear long veils, some men wear large hats, and cassocked preachers stand by the door and greet attendees. Downhill and further away (nearing the background), a different small group of people can be seen, appearing to be several enslaved African people, with a few more-clothed presumably-Dutch persons standing nearby. The African people appear to be carrying a palanquin, which most likely had a Portuguese woman inside. There are also a few structures that look like two-story homes populating the downward slope of the hill, and there is a small quite ruined-looking structure uphill from and behind the church. Bluish shrubbery grows around and on top of it, enhancing the quality of dilapidation. In the background, the gently undulating terrain recedes toward the horizon line, where Post utilized atmospheric perspective (e.g. a monochromatic color scheme, lightening in value near the horizon) to convey great distance. Some fluffy white clouds drift overhead in the mostly blue sky.

18907_T

View of Olinda (Post)

Explore the The Frame of this artwork, View of Olinda (Post).

The painting is still paired with a frame believed to be made specifically for this painting, the creator of which is unknown. It features wood-carved depictions of flora and fauna, such as passionflower, watermelon, hops - European and non-European plants - with laurel and acanthus throughout, a nod to Classicist style. It also features animal life, such as the praying mantis, tarantula, scorpion, centipede, and snake, among others. It has been theorized that some of the creatures have been modeled after plants and animals Post had painted in prior landscapes, as well as from naturalist illustrations of the time. Though now the frame looks like untreated wood, it is believed that it was at one point either gilded or painted.

18907_NT

View of Olinda (Post)

Explore the The Frame of this artwork.

The painting is still paired with a frame believed to be made specifically for this painting, the creator of which is unknown. It features wood-carved depictions of flora and fauna, such as passionflower, watermelon, hops - European and non-European plants - with laurel and acanthus throughout, a nod to Classicist style. It also features animal life, such as the praying mantis, tarantula, scorpion, centipede, and snake, among others. It has been theorized that some of the creatures have been modeled after plants and animals Post had painted in prior landscapes, as well as from naturalist illustrations of the time. Though now the frame looks like untreated wood, it is believed that it was at one point either gilded or painted.

18908_T

A Lane near Arles

Focus on A Lane near Arles and discuss the abstract.

A Lane Near Arles was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1888, while he was living in Arles. It depicts a lane surrounded by trees running between the fields outside Arles, France.

18908_NT

A Lane near Arles

Focus on this artwork and discuss the abstract.

A Lane Near Arles was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1888, while he was living in Arles. It depicts a lane surrounded by trees running between the fields outside Arles, France.

18909_T

A Lane near Arles

How does A Lane near Arles elucidate its Description?

A yellow house stands at the side of the lane. The use of color in the painting is typical of Van Gogh in this period. The colors are bright and alive, lighting up the canvas and offering a view that is more perceived than experienced. The idyllic nature of the moment is thus conveyed in the use of colors. A Lane Near Arles is currently in the collection of the Pommersches Landesmuseum, Greifswald, in Germany.

18909_NT

A Lane near Arles

How does this artwork elucidate its Description?

A yellow house stands at the side of the lane. The use of color in the painting is typical of Van Gogh in this period. The colors are bright and alive, lighting up the canvas and offering a view that is more perceived than experienced. The idyllic nature of the moment is thus conveyed in the use of colors. A Lane Near Arles is currently in the collection of the Pommersches Landesmuseum, Greifswald, in Germany.

18910_T

Polyphemus (sculpture)

Focus on Polyphemus (sculpture) and analyze the abstract.

Polyphemus is an 1888 sculpture by Auguste Rodin, showing Polyphemus and his love for the Nereid Galatea, as told in Book XIII of Ovid's Metamorphoses.

18910_NT

Polyphemus (sculpture)

Focus on this artwork and analyze the abstract.

Polyphemus is an 1888 sculpture by Auguste Rodin, showing Polyphemus and his love for the Nereid Galatea, as told in Book XIII of Ovid's Metamorphoses.

18911_T

Polyphemus (sculpture)

In Polyphemus (sculpture), how is the Gates of Hell discussed?

It was an initial study for the group of Polyphemus, Acis and Galatea at the centre of the right panel of The Gates of Hell. Several bronze studies of Polyphemus' torso survive, but there is no known monumental version of the complete group.

18911_NT

Polyphemus (sculpture)

In this artwork, how is the Gates of Hell discussed?

It was an initial study for the group of Polyphemus, Acis and Galatea at the centre of the right panel of The Gates of Hell. Several bronze studies of Polyphemus' torso survive, but there is no known monumental version of the complete group.

18912_T

Bernward Column

Focus on Bernward Column and explore the abstract.

The Bernward Column (German: Bernwardssäule) also known as the Christ Column (German: Christussäule) is a bronze column, made c. 1020 for St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim, Germany, and regarded as a masterpiece of Ottonian art. It was commissioned by Bernward, the thirteenth bishop of Hildesheim in 1020, and made at the same time. It depicts images from the life of Jesus, arranged in a helix similar to Trajan's Column: it was originally topped with a cross or crucifix. During the 19th century, it was moved to a courtyard and later to Hildesheim Cathedral. During the restoration of the cathedral from 2010 to 2014, it was moved back to its original location in St. Michael's, but was returned to the Cathedral in August 2014.

18912_NT

Bernward Column

Focus on this artwork and explore the abstract.

The Bernward Column (German: Bernwardssäule) also known as the Christ Column (German: Christussäule) is a bronze column, made c. 1020 for St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim, Germany, and regarded as a masterpiece of Ottonian art. It was commissioned by Bernward, the thirteenth bishop of Hildesheim in 1020, and made at the same time. It depicts images from the life of Jesus, arranged in a helix similar to Trajan's Column: it was originally topped with a cross or crucifix. During the 19th century, it was moved to a courtyard and later to Hildesheim Cathedral. During the restoration of the cathedral from 2010 to 2014, it was moved back to its original location in St. Michael's, but was returned to the Cathedral in August 2014.

18913_T

Bernward Column

Focus on Bernward Column and explain the Original location and history.

The Bernward Column was made for St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim, the foundation and final resting place of Bishop Bernward. It initially stood in the east choir, behind the altar, with a triumphal cross. This location under the triumphal arch was proposed by Gallistl using literary sources and confirmed in 2006 by excavations. In addition, in front of the altar stood a column of eastern Mediterranean marble covered in copper. According to later sources, it was a gift from Emperor Otto III to Bernward. The altar was equated with the offering table in the forehall of the Temple of Solomon, which also stood between two columns (Boaz and Jachin). A large wheel chandelier, which was also meant to have been a gift from Otto III to Bernward, hung above the Bernward Column until 1662, with a porphyry jug in the centre that was claimed to derive from the Wedding at Cana. This arrangement of a column topped with a cross, an altar and a wheel chandelier was modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was also equated with the forehall of the Temple of Solomon. Furthermore, the distance of roughly 42 metres (138 ft) between the original location of the column and the grave of Bernward in the west crypt of St. Michael's matched the distance between the Rotunda of the Resurrection and Golgotha in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, according to the reports of pilgrims.In 1544, during the chaos of the Reformation in Hildesheim, the cross on top of the column was removed by iconoclasts. It was melted down and recast as a cannon, suggesting that it was of considerable size. After the demolition of the east choir of St. Michael's in 1650 and the resulting collapse of the east crossing, the column's capital, which "weighed about a hundred pounds", was also melted down and replaced by a wooden capital of identical shape and size, meant to hide the replacement. An engraving by Johann Ludwig Brandes (1730) indicates that it was decorated with figures. Since figural capitals of this kind are otherwise only attested from the twelfth century, it has been suggested that the capital that was melted down was not the Bernwardian original either, and that this original was replaced during the renovation of the cloister church in the second half of the twelfth century. The rest of the column was not melted down in the following years (despite its value as raw material) because of its ancient significance as a contact relic, since it was believed to have been made personally by St. Bernward. In 1810, after the secularisation of the Catholic cloister (1803) and the abolition of the Protestant parish of St. Michael's (1810), the column was removed on the private initiative of diocese officials and installed in the north of the Domhof between the cathedral and the Bishop's house. In 1870 the Hildesheim sculptor Karl Küsthardt gave the column a new bronze capital, which was meant to imitate the wooden capital or an illustration of it and to indirectly preserve the appearance of the old bronze capital, which had supported an impost topped by a bronze crucifix. In 1893 it was moved into the cathedral. On 30 September 2009 it was moved back to St. Michael's for the duration of the cathedral renovations, which lasted until August 2014.

18913_NT

Bernward Column

Focus on this artwork and explain the Original location and history.

The Bernward Column was made for St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim, the foundation and final resting place of Bishop Bernward. It initially stood in the east choir, behind the altar, with a triumphal cross. This location under the triumphal arch was proposed by Gallistl using literary sources and confirmed in 2006 by excavations. In addition, in front of the altar stood a column of eastern Mediterranean marble covered in copper. According to later sources, it was a gift from Emperor Otto III to Bernward. The altar was equated with the offering table in the forehall of the Temple of Solomon, which also stood between two columns (Boaz and Jachin). A large wheel chandelier, which was also meant to have been a gift from Otto III to Bernward, hung above the Bernward Column until 1662, with a porphyry jug in the centre that was claimed to derive from the Wedding at Cana. This arrangement of a column topped with a cross, an altar and a wheel chandelier was modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was also equated with the forehall of the Temple of Solomon. Furthermore, the distance of roughly 42 metres (138 ft) between the original location of the column and the grave of Bernward in the west crypt of St. Michael's matched the distance between the Rotunda of the Resurrection and Golgotha in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, according to the reports of pilgrims.In 1544, during the chaos of the Reformation in Hildesheim, the cross on top of the column was removed by iconoclasts. It was melted down and recast as a cannon, suggesting that it was of considerable size. After the demolition of the east choir of St. Michael's in 1650 and the resulting collapse of the east crossing, the column's capital, which "weighed about a hundred pounds", was also melted down and replaced by a wooden capital of identical shape and size, meant to hide the replacement. An engraving by Johann Ludwig Brandes (1730) indicates that it was decorated with figures. Since figural capitals of this kind are otherwise only attested from the twelfth century, it has been suggested that the capital that was melted down was not the Bernwardian original either, and that this original was replaced during the renovation of the cloister church in the second half of the twelfth century. The rest of the column was not melted down in the following years (despite its value as raw material) because of its ancient significance as a contact relic, since it was believed to have been made personally by St. Bernward. In 1810, after the secularisation of the Catholic cloister (1803) and the abolition of the Protestant parish of St. Michael's (1810), the column was removed on the private initiative of diocese officials and installed in the north of the Domhof between the cathedral and the Bishop's house. In 1870 the Hildesheim sculptor Karl Küsthardt gave the column a new bronze capital, which was meant to imitate the wooden capital or an illustration of it and to indirectly preserve the appearance of the old bronze capital, which had supported an impost topped by a bronze crucifix. In 1893 it was moved into the cathedral. On 30 September 2009 it was moved back to St. Michael's for the duration of the cathedral renovations, which lasted until August 2014.

18914_T

Bernward Column

Explore the Description of this artwork, Bernward Column.

The Bernward column, which is 3.79 metres (12.4 ft) high and 58 centimetres (23 in) in diameter, is a victory column that Bernward had cast from bronze in conscious imitation of the marble Trajan's Column and the Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. Just as those stone columns depict the military deeds of the Emperor in an upward spiralling frieze, so the Bernward column depicts the peaceful deeds of Christ, beginning with his baptism at the Jordan and ending with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The column was originally crowned with a triumphal cross.The column is significant for the vitality of the figural relief, which is unusual for the time. The relief complements the Bernward Doors, which picture the Nativity, Passion, and resurrection of Jesus. Both artworks, like the rest of Bernward's artistic and architectural programme, reflect his efforts to put his seat in the position of a northern Rome in the context of the Ottonian dynasty's renewed Christian Roman Empire and also to emphasise Christ as a model of just and godly kingship for the rulers. For this reason, the execution of John the Baptist by the weak and unjust king Herod Antipas is given a great deal of space. The individual biblical scenes on the Bernward column: From bottom to top.The Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan (Mt 3, Mk 1, Lk 3) Temptation of Christ (Mt 4, Lk 4) The calling of Simon Peter and Andrew (Mt 4, Mk 1), The calling of the sones of Zebedee (James and John) (Mt 4, Mk 1) The Wedding at Cana John 2 Jesus cleansing a leper (Mt 8, Mk 1, Lk 5) Uncertain: Brandt: Confession of Peter (Mt 16, Mk 827–30, Lk 9) Gallistl: Mission of the twelve (Mt 10, Mk 6, Lk 9) Less likely: Commissioning of the Twelve Apostles (Mt 10, Mk 3, Lk 6) The Samaritan woman at the well John 4 John the Baptist's admonition of Herod Antipas and Herodias (Mt 14, Mk 6, Lk 3) Arrest of John the Baptist (Mt 14, Mk 6, Lk 3) The dance of Salome and the Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Mt 14, Mk 6, Lk 9) Jesus healing the bleeding woman and the Raising of Jairus' daughter (Mt 9, Mk 5, Lk 8) Healing of the Blind man of Bethsaida Mk 8 Jesus and the woman taken in adultery John 8 Raising of the son of the widow of Nain Lk 7 Temptation of Jesus on Mount Tabor (Mt 17, Mk 9, Lk 9) Uncertain: Brandt: Little Commission Mt 10 Gallistl: Discourse on Defilement (Mt 15, Mk 7) Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus - Lazarus at the table of the rich man Lk 16 Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus - The rich man in Hell and the poor man in the Bosom of Abraham Lk 16 Jesus and Zacchaeus Lk 19 Cursing the fig tree (Mt 21, Mk 11) Uncertain: Brandt: Healing the two blind men in Galilee Mt 20 Gallistl: Healing the sick of Gennesaret (Mt 14, Mk 6, John 6) Jesus saves the sinking Peter Mt 14 Uncertain: Brandt: The Feeding of the 5,000 (Mt 14, Mk 6, Lk 9,John 6) Gallistl: The Feeding of the 4,000 Mt 15 Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, before Jesus John 11 Raising of Lazarus John 11 Anointing of Jesus (Mt 26, Mk 14, John 12) Jesus' Triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mt 21, Mk 11, Lk 19, John 12)

18914_NT

Bernward Column

Explore the Description of this artwork.

The Bernward column, which is 3.79 metres (12.4 ft) high and 58 centimetres (23 in) in diameter, is a victory column that Bernward had cast from bronze in conscious imitation of the marble Trajan's Column and the Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. Just as those stone columns depict the military deeds of the Emperor in an upward spiralling frieze, so the Bernward column depicts the peaceful deeds of Christ, beginning with his baptism at the Jordan and ending with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The column was originally crowned with a triumphal cross.The column is significant for the vitality of the figural relief, which is unusual for the time. The relief complements the Bernward Doors, which picture the Nativity, Passion, and resurrection of Jesus. Both artworks, like the rest of Bernward's artistic and architectural programme, reflect his efforts to put his seat in the position of a northern Rome in the context of the Ottonian dynasty's renewed Christian Roman Empire and also to emphasise Christ as a model of just and godly kingship for the rulers. For this reason, the execution of John the Baptist by the weak and unjust king Herod Antipas is given a great deal of space. The individual biblical scenes on the Bernward column: From bottom to top.The Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan (Mt 3, Mk 1, Lk 3) Temptation of Christ (Mt 4, Lk 4) The calling of Simon Peter and Andrew (Mt 4, Mk 1), The calling of the sones of Zebedee (James and John) (Mt 4, Mk 1) The Wedding at Cana John 2 Jesus cleansing a leper (Mt 8, Mk 1, Lk 5) Uncertain: Brandt: Confession of Peter (Mt 16, Mk 827–30, Lk 9) Gallistl: Mission of the twelve (Mt 10, Mk 6, Lk 9) Less likely: Commissioning of the Twelve Apostles (Mt 10, Mk 3, Lk 6) The Samaritan woman at the well John 4 John the Baptist's admonition of Herod Antipas and Herodias (Mt 14, Mk 6, Lk 3) Arrest of John the Baptist (Mt 14, Mk 6, Lk 3) The dance of Salome and the Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Mt 14, Mk 6, Lk 9) Jesus healing the bleeding woman and the Raising of Jairus' daughter (Mt 9, Mk 5, Lk 8) Healing of the Blind man of Bethsaida Mk 8 Jesus and the woman taken in adultery John 8 Raising of the son of the widow of Nain Lk 7 Temptation of Jesus on Mount Tabor (Mt 17, Mk 9, Lk 9) Uncertain: Brandt: Little Commission Mt 10 Gallistl: Discourse on Defilement (Mt 15, Mk 7) Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus - Lazarus at the table of the rich man Lk 16 Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus - The rich man in Hell and the poor man in the Bosom of Abraham Lk 16 Jesus and Zacchaeus Lk 19 Cursing the fig tree (Mt 21, Mk 11) Uncertain: Brandt: Healing the two blind men in Galilee Mt 20 Gallistl: Healing the sick of Gennesaret (Mt 14, Mk 6, John 6) Jesus saves the sinking Peter Mt 14 Uncertain: Brandt: The Feeding of the 5,000 (Mt 14, Mk 6, Lk 9,John 6) Gallistl: The Feeding of the 4,000 Mt 15 Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, before Jesus John 11 Raising of Lazarus John 11 Anointing of Jesus (Mt 26, Mk 14, John 12) Jesus' Triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mt 21, Mk 11, Lk 19, John 12)

18915_T

Bernward Column

Focus on Bernward Column and discuss the Liturgical significance.

An important indicator of the liturgical significance of the Bernward column is its original location on the central axis of St. Michael's, near the altar, where Holy Communion was distributed and where the sacrament was kept. In the reliefs the importance of the gospels on Palm Sunday is emphasised, which might be connected with the Cluniac reforms. The references to the Lenten and penitential rites, which are also found in the imagery of the Bernward Doors, support this.

18915_NT

Bernward Column

Focus on this artwork and discuss the Liturgical significance.

An important indicator of the liturgical significance of the Bernward column is its original location on the central axis of St. Michael's, near the altar, where Holy Communion was distributed and where the sacrament was kept. In the reliefs the importance of the gospels on Palm Sunday is emphasised, which might be connected with the Cluniac reforms. The references to the Lenten and penitential rites, which are also found in the imagery of the Bernward Doors, support this.

18916_T

Bernward Column

How does Bernward Column elucidate its Cast?

Since 1874 there has been a plaster cast of the column in the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London, bought for £18 from one F. Künsthardt.

18916_NT

Bernward Column

How does this artwork elucidate its Cast?

Since 1874 there has been a plaster cast of the column in the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London, bought for £18 from one F. Künsthardt.

18917_T

The Valley of Tears (Doré)

Focus on The Valley of Tears (Doré) and analyze the abstract.

The Valley of Tears (French: La Vallée de Larmes) is an oil-on-canvas painting by French artist Gustave Doré, from 1883. It is very large (413.5cm x 627cm). It was bought by the city of Paris in 1984 and is currently in the collection of the Petit Palais. It was one of a great number of works Doré completed on biblical themes. It was begun at the time of his mother’s death, and completed only very shortly before he himself died.

18917_NT

The Valley of Tears (Doré)

Focus on this artwork and analyze the abstract.

The Valley of Tears (French: La Vallée de Larmes) is an oil-on-canvas painting by French artist Gustave Doré, from 1883. It is very large (413.5cm x 627cm). It was bought by the city of Paris in 1984 and is currently in the collection of the Petit Palais. It was one of a great number of works Doré completed on biblical themes. It was begun at the time of his mother’s death, and completed only very shortly before he himself died.

18918_T

The Valley of Tears (Doré)

In The Valley of Tears (Doré), how is the Subject discussed?

The subject of the painting is inspired by a verse in the Gospel of Saint Matthew (11:28) “ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” It depicts those experiencing intense suffering turning towards the distant figure of Christ, who is carrying his cross and indicating to them to follow him. The light radiating from the Christ figure reveals a barren, steeply sloping mountain landscape through which presses a mixed crowd of people, princes and paupers, children and old people. Their clothes evoke the Middle East, the birthplace of Christianity. Unusually for a religious picture, Christ is in the background, with the foreground emphasizing the weeping crowds of the destitute. This is an example of the humanism that also characterised many of his secular works.

18918_NT

The Valley of Tears (Doré)

In this artwork, how is the Subject discussed?

The subject of the painting is inspired by a verse in the Gospel of Saint Matthew (11:28) “ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” It depicts those experiencing intense suffering turning towards the distant figure of Christ, who is carrying his cross and indicating to them to follow him. The light radiating from the Christ figure reveals a barren, steeply sloping mountain landscape through which presses a mixed crowd of people, princes and paupers, children and old people. Their clothes evoke the Middle East, the birthplace of Christianity. Unusually for a religious picture, Christ is in the background, with the foreground emphasizing the weeping crowds of the destitute. This is an example of the humanism that also characterised many of his secular works.

18919_T

The Valley of Tears (Doré)

Focus on The Valley of Tears (Doré) and explore the History.

The painting was one of twenty large canvasses commissioned from Doré in 1867, following the enormous success of his illustrated Holy Bible. They were exhibited in London at the Doré Gallery from 1869 to 1892, where they were seen by around two and a half million visitors. Most of the paintings, including this one, were then sent on tour in the United States, where they were shown in a traveling exhibition until 1898. After that they were apparently forgotten until they were found in 1947 in a Manhattan warehouse, sold at auction and dispersed. Three of these paintings, including the current one were bought by the Petit Palais, in 1984-1985. In 2005 it underwent conservation work and was remounted, going back on display in 2006.A study for the work by Doré also exists. It was acquired in 1992 from the Samuel Clapp Fiduciary Company Ltd. and is in the collection of the Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

18919_NT

The Valley of Tears (Doré)

Focus on this artwork and explore the History.

The painting was one of twenty large canvasses commissioned from Doré in 1867, following the enormous success of his illustrated Holy Bible. They were exhibited in London at the Doré Gallery from 1869 to 1892, where they were seen by around two and a half million visitors. Most of the paintings, including this one, were then sent on tour in the United States, where they were shown in a traveling exhibition until 1898. After that they were apparently forgotten until they were found in 1947 in a Manhattan warehouse, sold at auction and dispersed. Three of these paintings, including the current one were bought by the Petit Palais, in 1984-1985. In 2005 it underwent conservation work and was remounted, going back on display in 2006.A study for the work by Doré also exists. It was acquired in 1992 from the Samuel Clapp Fiduciary Company Ltd. and is in the collection of the Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

18920_T

Oblique (Vasarely)

Focus on Oblique (Vasarely) and explain the abstract.

Oblique (in Hungarian: Ferde) is a collage by Hungarian artist Victor Vasarely from 1966 to 1974.

18920_NT

Oblique (Vasarely)

Focus on this artwork and explain the abstract.

Oblique (in Hungarian: Ferde) is a collage by Hungarian artist Victor Vasarely from 1966 to 1974.

18921_T

Oblique (Vasarely)

Explore the Description of this artwork, Oblique (Vasarely).

Its dimensions are 78 x 77 centimeters. The picture is part of the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary.

18921_NT

Oblique (Vasarely)

Explore the Description of this artwork.

Its dimensions are 78 x 77 centimeters. The picture is part of the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary.

18922_T

Oblique (Vasarely)

Focus on Oblique (Vasarely) and discuss the Analysis.

The Op art work is a grid of squares arranged with strong diagonals. Some trimming of the shapes adds to the vibrant effect.

18922_NT

Oblique (Vasarely)

Focus on this artwork and discuss the Analysis.

The Op art work is a grid of squares arranged with strong diagonals. Some trimming of the shapes adds to the vibrant effect.

18923_T

Trojeručica

How does Trojeručica elucidate its abstract?

Bogorodica Trojeručica (Serbian Cyrillic: Богородица Тројеручица, Greek: Παναγία Τριχερούσα, Panagia Tricherousa, meaning "Three-handed Theotokos") or simply Trojeručica (Тројеручица, Three-handed) is an Eastern Orthodox wonderworking icon believed to have been produced in the 8th century in Palestine by John of Damascus. It depicts Theotokos (Virgin Mary) with young Jesus in the hodegetria position, and is covered with a riza. On the back of the icon is the painting of St Nicholas. It is today found in the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos, Greece, and is the most important icon of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

18923_NT

Trojeručica

How does this artwork elucidate its abstract?

Bogorodica Trojeručica (Serbian Cyrillic: Богородица Тројеручица, Greek: Παναγία Τριχερούσα, Panagia Tricherousa, meaning "Three-handed Theotokos") or simply Trojeručica (Тројеручица, Three-handed) is an Eastern Orthodox wonderworking icon believed to have been produced in the 8th century in Palestine by John of Damascus. It depicts Theotokos (Virgin Mary) with young Jesus in the hodegetria position, and is covered with a riza. On the back of the icon is the painting of St Nicholas. It is today found in the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos, Greece, and is the most important icon of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

18924_T

Trojeručica

Focus on Trojeručica and analyze the History.

According to tradition, the icon was in the possession of John of Damascus in the early 8th century and it is associated with his miraculous healing around the year 717. According to tradition, while he was serving as Vizier to caliph Al-Walid I, he was falsely accused of treachery and his hand was cut off. The accusation was, allegedly, made by Byzantine Iconoclast emperor Leo the Isaurian, who was indeed a great opponent of St John, and friend of Al-Walid I. Upon praying in front of an icon of the Theotokos, allegedly, his hand was miraculously restored. In thanksgiving, he had a silver replica of his hand fashioned and attached it to the icon. After this, the icon became known as "three-handed" (Tricherousa), because it had three hands (two of Theotokos plus one more).John Damascene became a monk at Mar Sabbas monastery outside of Jerusalem and gave the icon to the monastic community there. Later the icon was given as a present to St. Sava when he visited the monastery, together with another icon of Theothokos in the style of Nursing Madonna, and with the crosier of Sabbas the Sanctified, the founder of the monastery. Sava brought the icon to Hilandar monastery where he lived. It remained there until 1347 when it was taken by Dušan of Serbia during his visit to Hilandar and brought with him to Serbia. At the end of the 14th century, the icon was in the possession of the Studenica monastery. In the early 15th century, Trojeručica was back in Hilandar. Until very recently the icon was formally the abbot of Hilandar, with monks elected to serve as its deputy. This icon has two feast days: June 28 [O.S. July 11] and July 12 [O.S. July 25]. Art historians think the style of the icon is more likely from the 14th century, and that it may be a copy or re-painting of an earlier prototype. Another version brought to Moscow in 1661 became famous, and resulted in many Russian copies.

18924_NT

Trojeručica

Focus on this artwork and analyze the History.

According to tradition, the icon was in the possession of John of Damascus in the early 8th century and it is associated with his miraculous healing around the year 717. According to tradition, while he was serving as Vizier to caliph Al-Walid I, he was falsely accused of treachery and his hand was cut off. The accusation was, allegedly, made by Byzantine Iconoclast emperor Leo the Isaurian, who was indeed a great opponent of St John, and friend of Al-Walid I. Upon praying in front of an icon of the Theotokos, allegedly, his hand was miraculously restored. In thanksgiving, he had a silver replica of his hand fashioned and attached it to the icon. After this, the icon became known as "three-handed" (Tricherousa), because it had three hands (two of Theotokos plus one more).John Damascene became a monk at Mar Sabbas monastery outside of Jerusalem and gave the icon to the monastic community there. Later the icon was given as a present to St. Sava when he visited the monastery, together with another icon of Theothokos in the style of Nursing Madonna, and with the crosier of Sabbas the Sanctified, the founder of the monastery. Sava brought the icon to Hilandar monastery where he lived. It remained there until 1347 when it was taken by Dušan of Serbia during his visit to Hilandar and brought with him to Serbia. At the end of the 14th century, the icon was in the possession of the Studenica monastery. In the early 15th century, Trojeručica was back in Hilandar. Until very recently the icon was formally the abbot of Hilandar, with monks elected to serve as its deputy. This icon has two feast days: June 28 [O.S. July 11] and July 12 [O.S. July 25]. Art historians think the style of the icon is more likely from the 14th century, and that it may be a copy or re-painting of an earlier prototype. Another version brought to Moscow in 1661 became famous, and resulted in many Russian copies.

18925_T

Statue of Eugene Skinner

In Statue of Eugene Skinner, how is the abstract discussed?

Eugene Skinner is an outdoor bronze sculpture of the founder of the city named after him, installed outside the Eugene Public Library in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States. The life-sized statue was created by local artist Jim Carpenter, who estimated Skinner's height to be around five feet, four inches, based on the distance between the butt and trigger of the rifle which appeared in photographs of the pioneer. Skinner is depicted sitting with a hat in his hand; the sculpture rests on a basalt block, quarried from Skinner Butte. Carpenter has said of the statue:I kind of thought that the big, standing, fist-in-the-air hero kind of thing was maybe a little too much. This is more modest. He is sitting there holding his hat and looking off in the direction of Skinner Butte. There is some public art that is not accessible or not very friendly. It seems to get ignored or walked past or spray-painted. I thought this would be a nice scale for kids. They could sit down next to him.

18925_NT

Statue of Eugene Skinner

In this artwork, how is the abstract discussed?

Eugene Skinner is an outdoor bronze sculpture of the founder of the city named after him, installed outside the Eugene Public Library in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States. The life-sized statue was created by local artist Jim Carpenter, who estimated Skinner's height to be around five feet, four inches, based on the distance between the butt and trigger of the rifle which appeared in photographs of the pioneer. Skinner is depicted sitting with a hat in his hand; the sculpture rests on a basalt block, quarried from Skinner Butte. Carpenter has said of the statue:I kind of thought that the big, standing, fist-in-the-air hero kind of thing was maybe a little too much. This is more modest. He is sitting there holding his hat and looking off in the direction of Skinner Butte. There is some public art that is not accessible or not very friendly. It seems to get ignored or walked past or spray-painted. I thought this would be a nice scale for kids. They could sit down next to him.

18926_T

Statue of Eugene Skinner

Focus on Statue of Eugene Skinner and explore the Reception.

The Register-Guard's Bob Keefer said, "With its informal sitting pose, that statue has a certain anti-heroic quality."

18926_NT

Statue of Eugene Skinner

Focus on this artwork and explore the Reception.

The Register-Guard's Bob Keefer said, "With its informal sitting pose, that statue has a certain anti-heroic quality."

18927_T

Madonna and Child with Saints (Signorelli, Arezzo)

Focus on Madonna and Child with Saints (Signorelli, Arezzo) and explain the abstract.

The Madonna with Child and Saints is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance painter Luca Signorelli, executed around 1519-1523. It is housed in the Museo nazionale d'arte medievale e moderna, in Arezzo. The picture is a traditional Holy Conversation composition.

18927_NT

Madonna and Child with Saints (Signorelli, Arezzo)

Focus on this artwork and explain the abstract.

The Madonna with Child and Saints is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance painter Luca Signorelli, executed around 1519-1523. It is housed in the Museo nazionale d'arte medievale e moderna, in Arezzo. The picture is a traditional Holy Conversation composition.

18928_T

Madonna and Child with Saints (Signorelli, Arezzo)

Explore the History of this artwork, Madonna and Child with Saints (Signorelli, Arezzo).

The painting was commissioned by the Brotherhood of St. Jerome in Arezzo for their seat. The work was executed in Cortona and was brought to Arezzo by the painter himself, who was then in his seventies (here, he resided in the Vasari family's house and met the young Giorgio Vasari, his future biographer, who started to practice painting after Signorelli's suggestion). It is the last work by Signorelli, who died after returning to Cortona.

18928_NT

Madonna and Child with Saints (Signorelli, Arezzo)

Explore the History of this artwork.

The painting was commissioned by the Brotherhood of St. Jerome in Arezzo for their seat. The work was executed in Cortona and was brought to Arezzo by the painter himself, who was then in his seventies (here, he resided in the Vasari family's house and met the young Giorgio Vasari, his future biographer, who started to practice painting after Signorelli's suggestion). It is the last work by Signorelli, who died after returning to Cortona.

18929_T

Miracle of the Jealous Husband

Focus on Miracle of the Jealous Husband and discuss the abstract.

The Miracle of the Jealous Husband is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance master Titian, executed in 1511 as part of the decoration of the Scuola del Santo in Padua, northern Italy.It portrays a man stabbing his wife after she has been unjustly accused of adultery. When the man discovers the truth, he begs for pardon to St. Anthony, who resuscitates the woman (this scene is portrayed in smaller size on the right). The idyllic background is inspired by Giorgione's paintings. The young Titian described the volume of the wife's raised arm, in the center of the action, by actually sculpting it in relief rather than describing it illusionistically.

18929_NT

Miracle of the Jealous Husband

Focus on this artwork and discuss the abstract.

The Miracle of the Jealous Husband is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance master Titian, executed in 1511 as part of the decoration of the Scuola del Santo in Padua, northern Italy.It portrays a man stabbing his wife after she has been unjustly accused of adultery. When the man discovers the truth, he begs for pardon to St. Anthony, who resuscitates the woman (this scene is portrayed in smaller size on the right). The idyllic background is inspired by Giorgione's paintings. The young Titian described the volume of the wife's raised arm, in the center of the action, by actually sculpting it in relief rather than describing it illusionistically.

18930_T

The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio)

How does The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio) elucidate its abstract?

The Fortune Teller is a painting by Italian Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. It exists in two versions, both by Caravaggio, the first from c. 1594 (now in the Musei Capitolini in Rome), the second from c. 1595 (which is in the Louvre museum, Paris). The dates in both cases are disputed.

18930_NT

The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio)

How does this artwork elucidate its abstract?

The Fortune Teller is a painting by Italian Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. It exists in two versions, both by Caravaggio, the first from c. 1594 (now in the Musei Capitolini in Rome), the second from c. 1595 (which is in the Louvre museum, Paris). The dates in both cases are disputed.

18931_T

The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio)

Focus on The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio) and analyze the Fortune teller's deceit used as metaphor for Caravaggio's seductive illusionism.

Caravaggio's painting, of which two versions exist, shows a well-groomed, vain young man having his palm read by a Romani woman. The wily Romani woman is guilty of deceit, however: her seductive smile is false, and because the young man has been charmed off his feet by her beauty, he does not notice that she has meanwhile slipped the ring from his finger. In 1603 the poet Gaspare Murtola dedicated a madrigal to Caravaggio's Fortune Teller, in which he compares the deceit of the sensuous Romani woman with the illusionistic manner of Caravaggio, therefore implying that the viewer, like the young man, is the victim of duplicity. The madrigal is addressed to Caravaggio himself: `Non so qual sia più maga / O la donna, che fingi, / O tu che la dipingi. / Di rapir quella è vaga / Coi dolci incanti suoi / Il core e ’l sangue a noi. Tu dipinta, che appare / Fai, che viva si veda. Fai, che viva, e spirante altri / la creda.' (I don't know who is the greater sorcerer / The woman you portray / Or you who paint her. Through sweetest incantation / She doth desire to steal / Our very heart and blood. Thou wouldst in thy portrayal / Her living, breathing image / For others reproduce, That they too may believe it.)

18931_NT

The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio)

Focus on this artwork and analyze the Fortune teller's deceit used as metaphor for Caravaggio's seductive illusionism.

Caravaggio's painting, of which two versions exist, shows a well-groomed, vain young man having his palm read by a Romani woman. The wily Romani woman is guilty of deceit, however: her seductive smile is false, and because the young man has been charmed off his feet by her beauty, he does not notice that she has meanwhile slipped the ring from his finger. In 1603 the poet Gaspare Murtola dedicated a madrigal to Caravaggio's Fortune Teller, in which he compares the deceit of the sensuous Romani woman with the illusionistic manner of Caravaggio, therefore implying that the viewer, like the young man, is the victim of duplicity. The madrigal is addressed to Caravaggio himself: `Non so qual sia più maga / O la donna, che fingi, / O tu che la dipingi. / Di rapir quella è vaga / Coi dolci incanti suoi / Il core e ’l sangue a noi. Tu dipinta, che appare / Fai, che viva si veda. Fai, che viva, e spirante altri / la creda.' (I don't know who is the greater sorcerer / The woman you portray / Or you who paint her. Through sweetest incantation / She doth desire to steal / Our very heart and blood. Thou wouldst in thy portrayal / Her living, breathing image / For others reproduce, That they too may believe it.)

18932_T

The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio)

In The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio), how is the Style discussed?

Caravaggio's biographer Giovanni Pietro Bellori relates that the artist picked the Romani girl out from passers-by on the street in order to demonstrate that he had no need to copy the works of the masters from antiquity:"When he was shown the most famous statues of Phidias and Glykon in order that he might use them as models, his only answer was to point towards a crowd of people saying that nature had given him an abundance of masters."This passage is often used to demonstrate that the classically trained Mannerist artists of Caravaggio's day disapproved of Caravaggio's insistence on painting from life instead of from copies and drawings made from older masterpieces. However, Bellori ends by saying, "and in these two half-figures [Caravaggio] translated reality so purely that it came to confirm what he said." The story is probably apocryphal – Bellori was writing more than half a century after Caravaggio's death, and it doesn't appear in Mancini's or in Giovanni Baglione, the two contemporary biographers who had known him – but it does indicate the essence of Caravaggio's revolutionary impact on his contemporaries – beginning with The Fortune Teller – which was to replace the Renaissance theory of art as a didactic fiction with art as the representation of real life.

18932_NT

The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio)

In this artwork, how is the Style discussed?

Caravaggio's biographer Giovanni Pietro Bellori relates that the artist picked the Romani girl out from passers-by on the street in order to demonstrate that he had no need to copy the works of the masters from antiquity:"When he was shown the most famous statues of Phidias and Glykon in order that he might use them as models, his only answer was to point towards a crowd of people saying that nature had given him an abundance of masters."This passage is often used to demonstrate that the classically trained Mannerist artists of Caravaggio's day disapproved of Caravaggio's insistence on painting from life instead of from copies and drawings made from older masterpieces. However, Bellori ends by saying, "and in these two half-figures [Caravaggio] translated reality so purely that it came to confirm what he said." The story is probably apocryphal – Bellori was writing more than half a century after Caravaggio's death, and it doesn't appear in Mancini's or in Giovanni Baglione, the two contemporary biographers who had known him – but it does indicate the essence of Caravaggio's revolutionary impact on his contemporaries – beginning with The Fortune Teller – which was to replace the Renaissance theory of art as a didactic fiction with art as the representation of real life.

18933_T

The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio)

Focus on The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio) and explore the Genre.

The Fortune Teller is one of two known genre pieces painted by Caravaggio in the year 1594, the other being Cardsharps. The Fortune Teller is believed to be the earlier of the two, and dates from the period during which the artist had recently left the workshop of the Giuseppe Cesari to make his own way selling paintings through the dealer Costantino. The subject of the painting was not unprecedented. In his Lives of the Artists, Giorgio Vasari notes that one of Franciabigio's followers, his brother Agnolo, painted a sign for a perfumer's shop "containing a gipsy woman telling the fortune of a lady in a very graceful manner".

18933_NT

The Fortune Teller (Caravaggio)

Focus on this artwork and explore the Genre.

The Fortune Teller is one of two known genre pieces painted by Caravaggio in the year 1594, the other being Cardsharps. The Fortune Teller is believed to be the earlier of the two, and dates from the period during which the artist had recently left the workshop of the Giuseppe Cesari to make his own way selling paintings through the dealer Costantino. The subject of the painting was not unprecedented. In his Lives of the Artists, Giorgio Vasari notes that one of Franciabigio's followers, his brother Agnolo, painted a sign for a perfumer's shop "containing a gipsy woman telling the fortune of a lady in a very graceful manner".

18934_T

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

Focus on Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups and explain the abstract.

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups are a pair of larger-than-life, multi-figure groups by American sculptor George Grey Barnard, that flank the west entrance to the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Barnard was commissioned to create the sculptures in 1902, and modeled them in clay and plaster over several years in France. Piccirilli Brothers carved them in white Carrara marble in New York City, and installed the finished sculptures at the Capitol in 1911.The south group is titled The Burden of Life: The Broken Law, and is overseen by a heroic size bas relief of Adam and Eve. It portrays life struggles and negative emotions – widowhood, toil, grief, despair – but with the possibility of consolation and hope. The north group is titled Love and Labor: The Unbroken Law, and is overseen by a heroic size bas relief of a prosperous farmer and his wife. It portrays life accomplishments and positive emotions – familial love, education, parenthood, religion – and the promise of the future generation.

18934_NT

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

Focus on this artwork and explain the abstract.

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups are a pair of larger-than-life, multi-figure groups by American sculptor George Grey Barnard, that flank the west entrance to the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Barnard was commissioned to create the sculptures in 1902, and modeled them in clay and plaster over several years in France. Piccirilli Brothers carved them in white Carrara marble in New York City, and installed the finished sculptures at the Capitol in 1911.The south group is titled The Burden of Life: The Broken Law, and is overseen by a heroic size bas relief of Adam and Eve. It portrays life struggles and negative emotions – widowhood, toil, grief, despair – but with the possibility of consolation and hope. The north group is titled Love and Labor: The Unbroken Law, and is overseen by a heroic size bas relief of a prosperous farmer and his wife. It portrays life accomplishments and positive emotions – familial love, education, parenthood, religion – and the promise of the future generation.

18935_T

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

Explore the History of this artwork, Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups.

Joseph Miller Huston, the Capitol's architect, chose Barnard in 1902 to create exterior sculpture for the building. The initial sculpture program, conceived by Barnard and Huston, called for eight sculpture groups – a pair flanking each of the building's four entrances – as well as an "enormous bronze composition along the skyline of the main entrance façade." The latter was to represent the Apotheosis of Labor and be supported by four pairs of caryatids depicting different types of laborers. The groups flanking the main entrances on the east and west facades were to depict "primitive people." The groups flanking the entrances to the House and Senate wings (on the west façade) were to depict early settlers of Pennsylvania— English, Quakers, Scotch-Irish, and Germans. The estimated cost for this program, about $700,000, was enough to ensure that it was never executed. By the time Barnard signed a three-year contract in December 1902, the sculpture program had been reduced to the two large groups flanking the main entrance (west façade), and his fee had been reduced to $300,000. The sculptor and his family then moved to France, where they obtained a large barn that was converted into a studio in which the groups were created.In his studio at Moret-sur-Loing Barnard hired as many as fifteen assistants, including a plaster caster who transformed Barnard's clay figures into plaster. However, the contracted funds were slow in arriving and eventually stopped, and in 1906 a huge scandal erupted involving massive financial irregularities that eventually landed Huston and others in jail. Barnard's assistants continued to work for him in the hope that they would eventually be paid, and this was accomplished by Barnard's collecting old Gothic and Romanesque sculpture remnants from the French countryside and selling them. There remained the problem of purchasing the marble that would be needed to carve the figures. Eventually, a group of New York luminaries advanced funds for that purpose, as well as paying the bond that Barnard had lost because he had not delivered the works on time.

18935_NT

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

Explore the History of this artwork.

Joseph Miller Huston, the Capitol's architect, chose Barnard in 1902 to create exterior sculpture for the building. The initial sculpture program, conceived by Barnard and Huston, called for eight sculpture groups – a pair flanking each of the building's four entrances – as well as an "enormous bronze composition along the skyline of the main entrance façade." The latter was to represent the Apotheosis of Labor and be supported by four pairs of caryatids depicting different types of laborers. The groups flanking the main entrances on the east and west facades were to depict "primitive people." The groups flanking the entrances to the House and Senate wings (on the west façade) were to depict early settlers of Pennsylvania— English, Quakers, Scotch-Irish, and Germans. The estimated cost for this program, about $700,000, was enough to ensure that it was never executed. By the time Barnard signed a three-year contract in December 1902, the sculpture program had been reduced to the two large groups flanking the main entrance (west façade), and his fee had been reduced to $300,000. The sculptor and his family then moved to France, where they obtained a large barn that was converted into a studio in which the groups were created.In his studio at Moret-sur-Loing Barnard hired as many as fifteen assistants, including a plaster caster who transformed Barnard's clay figures into plaster. However, the contracted funds were slow in arriving and eventually stopped, and in 1906 a huge scandal erupted involving massive financial irregularities that eventually landed Huston and others in jail. Barnard's assistants continued to work for him in the hope that they would eventually be paid, and this was accomplished by Barnard's collecting old Gothic and Romanesque sculpture remnants from the French countryside and selling them. There remained the problem of purchasing the marble that would be needed to carve the figures. Eventually, a group of New York luminaries advanced funds for that purpose, as well as paying the bond that Barnard had lost because he had not delivered the works on time.

18936_T

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

In the context of Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups, discuss the 1908 Boston exhibition of the History.

Five heroic-size plaster sculptures for the Pennsylvania Capitol groups – The Prodigal Son, Brothers, The Young Parents, Kneeling Youth, Forsaken Mother – were part of an exhibition of Barnard's work at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in October–November 1908. Also exhibited were his plaster scale models of the complete sculpture groups. In a review in The International Studio, critic J. Nilsen Laurvik compared Barnard to Auguste Rodin and the recently deceased Augustus Saint-Gaudens, concluding: "[H]e is the one man most needed in the art life of our country; his work is like an invigorating breath of fresh sea air that must surely have its influence in giving a more vital and higher meaning to both life and art. ... [H]e is a unique personality in the art life of our country and one of the few truly great sculptors of our time." Critic William Howe Downes also enthusiastically praised his work:Wherever Mr. Barnard touches humanity in his work, it is with the desire and the power to glorify it, to show its greatness, to bring out all that is heroic and tender and lovable in it. Nothing is more certain than that this is understood, that the appeal has met with an instant response. The understanding thus established between the artist and his public is the more to be welcomed because, up to a quite recent period, it had been felt by many observers that the modern school of sculpture was a hollow sort of survival, without much reason for being. Saint-Gaudens did much to modify such an impression in this country by uniting in a serious and touching way the strands of national consciousness with aesthetic sensibility. It remained for Mr. Barnard to create a still more universal artistic language for still more universal ideas, and to place before us the nude human being transformed into new shapes of undying beauty and majesty.

18936_NT

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

In the context of this artwork, discuss the 1908 Boston exhibition of the History.

Five heroic-size plaster sculptures for the Pennsylvania Capitol groups – The Prodigal Son, Brothers, The Young Parents, Kneeling Youth, Forsaken Mother – were part of an exhibition of Barnard's work at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in October–November 1908. Also exhibited were his plaster scale models of the complete sculpture groups. In a review in The International Studio, critic J. Nilsen Laurvik compared Barnard to Auguste Rodin and the recently deceased Augustus Saint-Gaudens, concluding: "[H]e is the one man most needed in the art life of our country; his work is like an invigorating breath of fresh sea air that must surely have its influence in giving a more vital and higher meaning to both life and art. ... [H]e is a unique personality in the art life of our country and one of the few truly great sculptors of our time." Critic William Howe Downes also enthusiastically praised his work:Wherever Mr. Barnard touches humanity in his work, it is with the desire and the power to glorify it, to show its greatness, to bring out all that is heroic and tender and lovable in it. Nothing is more certain than that this is understood, that the appeal has met with an instant response. The understanding thus established between the artist and his public is the more to be welcomed because, up to a quite recent period, it had been felt by many observers that the modern school of sculpture was a hollow sort of survival, without much reason for being. Saint-Gaudens did much to modify such an impression in this country by uniting in a serious and touching way the strands of national consciousness with aesthetic sensibility. It remained for Mr. Barnard to create a still more universal artistic language for still more universal ideas, and to place before us the nude human being transformed into new shapes of undying beauty and majesty.

18937_T

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

In Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups, how is the 1910 Paris Salon of the History elucidated?

The groups were carved in marble by the Piccirilli Brothers in New York City in 1909 and 1910, and shipped to France to make their public debut at the Paris Salon. Barnard's sculpture groups were given the place of honor at the 1910 Salon de Champ de Mars at the Gran Palais in Paris.

18937_NT

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

In this artwork, how is the 1910 Paris Salon of the History elucidated?

The groups were carved in marble by the Piccirilli Brothers in New York City in 1909 and 1910, and shipped to France to make their public debut at the Paris Salon. Barnard's sculpture groups were given the place of honor at the 1910 Salon de Champ de Mars at the Gran Palais in Paris.

18938_T

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

In the context of Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups, analyze the Nudity controversy of the History.

Barnard's vision of twin sculpture groups of profuse nude figures was controversial from the start. Each group was composed of 8 individual sculptures featuring 1 to 4 figures. Of the 30 total figures, 27 were nude & dash; the angel was gowned, and both infants were swaddled in cloth. Some Pennsylvania legislators and local religious leaders opposed the nudity of Barnard's sculptures. He responded:There has been some criticism because these 30 figures I have executed are nude. Only in the nude could I have given adequate expression to these figures. Drapery would have spoiled the effect. Only through delineation of the nude human form can great emotions be shown. You cannot drape a symbolic figure in an overcoat and expect it to be anything but a marble dummy. It is curious that this criticism should come from men, while women approve of the work as is. Women have better artistic sense than men. They are inspired by the human form, but men are not similarly inspired. They think the nude is suggestive. I understand that the Pennsylvania state authorities are going to drape them. I shall make no protest, but I am sorry. Initially, plaster of Paris short trousers were applied to the male figures, but the results proved unsatisfactory. Two tents were erected on Friday, May 12, 1911, one around each sculpture group, to mask that day's removal of the plaster trousers. On Sunday, the canvas walls of the tents were cut down by art lovers who wished to view the sculptures before plaster loincloths were applied on Monday— "the great majority of the crowd being women," according to The Chicago Tribune. Instead of short trousers or loincloths, the Piccirilli Brothers carved marble sheaths to cover the genitals of the male figures, for which they charged $118.50.

18938_NT

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

In the context of this artwork, analyze the Nudity controversy of the History.

Barnard's vision of twin sculpture groups of profuse nude figures was controversial from the start. Each group was composed of 8 individual sculptures featuring 1 to 4 figures. Of the 30 total figures, 27 were nude & dash; the angel was gowned, and both infants were swaddled in cloth. Some Pennsylvania legislators and local religious leaders opposed the nudity of Barnard's sculptures. He responded:There has been some criticism because these 30 figures I have executed are nude. Only in the nude could I have given adequate expression to these figures. Drapery would have spoiled the effect. Only through delineation of the nude human form can great emotions be shown. You cannot drape a symbolic figure in an overcoat and expect it to be anything but a marble dummy. It is curious that this criticism should come from men, while women approve of the work as is. Women have better artistic sense than men. They are inspired by the human form, but men are not similarly inspired. They think the nude is suggestive. I understand that the Pennsylvania state authorities are going to drape them. I shall make no protest, but I am sorry. Initially, plaster of Paris short trousers were applied to the male figures, but the results proved unsatisfactory. Two tents were erected on Friday, May 12, 1911, one around each sculpture group, to mask that day's removal of the plaster trousers. On Sunday, the canvas walls of the tents were cut down by art lovers who wished to view the sculptures before plaster loincloths were applied on Monday— "the great majority of the crowd being women," according to The Chicago Tribune. Instead of short trousers or loincloths, the Piccirilli Brothers carved marble sheaths to cover the genitals of the male figures, for which they charged $118.50.

18939_T

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

Describe the characteristics of the 1911 dedication in Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups's History.

The sculptures were installed by Giulio Piccirilli. Their official unveiling was on October 4, 1911.

18939_NT

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

Describe the characteristics of the 1911 dedication in this artwork's History.

The sculptures were installed by Giulio Piccirilli. Their official unveiling was on October 4, 1911.

18940_T

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

In the context of Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups, explore the The Prodigal Son of the History.

Barnard exhibited a marble version of The Prodigal Son at the Armory Show in 1913. That sculpture is now in the collection of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Another marble version is in the collection of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.

18940_NT

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups

In the context of this artwork, explore the The Prodigal Son of the History.

Barnard exhibited a marble version of The Prodigal Son at the Armory Show in 1913. That sculpture is now in the collection of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Another marble version is in the collection of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.

18941_T

The Feast of the Gods

How does The Feast of the Gods elucidate its abstract?

The Feast of the Gods (Italian: Il festino degli dei) is an oil painting by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, with substantial additions in stages to the left and center landscape by Dosso Dossi and Titian. It is one of the few mythological pictures by the Venetian artist. Completed in 1514, it was his last major work. It is now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., which calls it "one of the greatest Renaissance paintings in the United States".The painting is the first major depiction of the subject of the "Feast of the Gods" in Renaissance art, which was to remain in currency until the end of Northern Mannerism over a century later. It has several similarities to another, much less sophisticated, treatment painted by the Florentine artist Bartolomeo di Giovanni in the 1490s, now in the Louvre.

18941_NT

The Feast of the Gods

How does this artwork elucidate its abstract?

The Feast of the Gods (Italian: Il festino degli dei) is an oil painting by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, with substantial additions in stages to the left and center landscape by Dosso Dossi and Titian. It is one of the few mythological pictures by the Venetian artist. Completed in 1514, it was his last major work. It is now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., which calls it "one of the greatest Renaissance paintings in the United States".The painting is the first major depiction of the subject of the "Feast of the Gods" in Renaissance art, which was to remain in currency until the end of Northern Mannerism over a century later. It has several similarities to another, much less sophisticated, treatment painted by the Florentine artist Bartolomeo di Giovanni in the 1490s, now in the Louvre.

18942_T

The Feast of the Gods

Focus on The Feast of the Gods and analyze the Commission.

The painting is signed by an inscription on the fictive paper attached to the wooden tub at the lower right: "joannes bellinus venetus / p MDXIIII" ("Giovanni Bellini of Venice, painted 1514"), and his payment that year is recorded. Based on a narrative by Ovid, it is the earliest of a cycle of paintings, all major works, on mythological subjects produced for Alfonso, I d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara, for his camerino d'alabastro ('chamber of alabaster') in the Castello Estense, Ferrara. The subjects had been chosen by 1511, by the Renaissance humanist Mario Equicola, then working for the Duke's sister Isabella d'Este, and instructions apparently including some sketches were sent to the artists. Later commissions were four large Titians (one now lost), and ten smaller works by Dosso Dossi, probably placed above them. The three surviving Titians painted for the room are Bacchus and Ariadne (National Gallery, London), The Bacchanal of the Andrians and The Worship of Venus (both Prado, Madrid).

18942_NT

The Feast of the Gods

Focus on this artwork and analyze the Commission.

The painting is signed by an inscription on the fictive paper attached to the wooden tub at the lower right: "joannes bellinus venetus / p MDXIIII" ("Giovanni Bellini of Venice, painted 1514"), and his payment that year is recorded. Based on a narrative by Ovid, it is the earliest of a cycle of paintings, all major works, on mythological subjects produced for Alfonso, I d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara, for his camerino d'alabastro ('chamber of alabaster') in the Castello Estense, Ferrara. The subjects had been chosen by 1511, by the Renaissance humanist Mario Equicola, then working for the Duke's sister Isabella d'Este, and instructions apparently including some sketches were sent to the artists. Later commissions were four large Titians (one now lost), and ten smaller works by Dosso Dossi, probably placed above them. The three surviving Titians painted for the room are Bacchus and Ariadne (National Gallery, London), The Bacchanal of the Andrians and The Worship of Venus (both Prado, Madrid).

18943_T

The Feast of the Gods

In The Feast of the Gods, how is the Alterations discussed?

It had been suggested that Bellini made a preliminary set of alterations before or soon after 1514 to make the painting more compatible with the original Latin of Ovid, having previously been working from an Italian Ovidio volgarizzato version, and that at this point Bellini changed most of the characters to gods rather than people from Thebes, giving them attributes and lower necklines for the women. But this view was based on a misunderstanding of the early x-rays taken in 1956. It is now thought that the figures are as originally painted by Bellini. Bellini died in 1516, soon after completing the painting, and some years later Dosso Dossi and perhaps Titian modified the landscape on the left to match it to his The Bacchanal of the Andrians (1518–1523), also in Alfonso's Camerino, adding the rocky hill behind the figures and the brighter foliage on a tree at the right. A more thorough reworking by Titian in about 1529 added more landscape, overpainting the earlier changes. But all the work on the figures remains Bellini's. A pheasant in a tree on the right, above Priapus, may have been painted by Alfonso himself, an amateur painter.

18943_NT

The Feast of the Gods

In this artwork, how is the Alterations discussed?

It had been suggested that Bellini made a preliminary set of alterations before or soon after 1514 to make the painting more compatible with the original Latin of Ovid, having previously been working from an Italian Ovidio volgarizzato version, and that at this point Bellini changed most of the characters to gods rather than people from Thebes, giving them attributes and lower necklines for the women. But this view was based on a misunderstanding of the early x-rays taken in 1956. It is now thought that the figures are as originally painted by Bellini. Bellini died in 1516, soon after completing the painting, and some years later Dosso Dossi and perhaps Titian modified the landscape on the left to match it to his The Bacchanal of the Andrians (1518–1523), also in Alfonso's Camerino, adding the rocky hill behind the figures and the brighter foliage on a tree at the right. A more thorough reworking by Titian in about 1529 added more landscape, overpainting the earlier changes. But all the work on the figures remains Bellini's. A pheasant in a tree on the right, above Priapus, may have been painted by Alfonso himself, an amateur painter.

18944_T

The Feast of the Gods

Focus on The Feast of the Gods and explore the Subject.

The painting shows the incident of the attempted rape of Lotis. She was a nymph mentioned by Ovid, the daughter of Neptune or Nereus. During a festival in honor of Liber that she attended, Priapus tried to rape her while she was asleep, but she was awakened by a sudden cry of Silenus's ass and ran off, leaving Priapus in embarrassment as everyone else woke up too and became aware of his intentions. The story is shown at the edges of the composition, in a somewhat undramatic fashion presumably showing a moment shortly before the key incident, with Silenus and his ass at left and Priapus and Lotis at right (and everyone but Lotis still wide awake). The subject had been depicted in the first illustrated edition of Ovid in Italian, published in Venice in 1497. Another depiction of this rare subject in a Venetian print of 1510 has a very similar pose for Lotis but places much greater emphasis on the erotic nature of the story, including Priapus's outsize penis, here only a hint under the drapery.The figures shown are usually taken to be (left to right): a satyr, Silenus with his ass, his ward Bacchus as a boy, Silvanus (or Faunus), Mercury with his caduceus and helmet, a satyr, Jupiter, a nymph serving, Cybele, Pan, Neptune, two standing nymphs, Ceres, Apollo, Priapus, Lotis. Some of the figures may be portraits of people at the Ferrara court, including Alfonso and his wife Lucrezia Borgia.Another suggestion is that the couple in the center, the male with his hand between the female's thighs, are a bridal pair, as shown by their intimacy and the quince she is holding, a fruit recommended for brides to increase their sexual appetites. If he is still Neptune, this would make her Amphitrite.

18944_NT

The Feast of the Gods

Focus on this artwork and explore the Subject.

The painting shows the incident of the attempted rape of Lotis. She was a nymph mentioned by Ovid, the daughter of Neptune or Nereus. During a festival in honor of Liber that she attended, Priapus tried to rape her while she was asleep, but she was awakened by a sudden cry of Silenus's ass and ran off, leaving Priapus in embarrassment as everyone else woke up too and became aware of his intentions. The story is shown at the edges of the composition, in a somewhat undramatic fashion presumably showing a moment shortly before the key incident, with Silenus and his ass at left and Priapus and Lotis at right (and everyone but Lotis still wide awake). The subject had been depicted in the first illustrated edition of Ovid in Italian, published in Venice in 1497. Another depiction of this rare subject in a Venetian print of 1510 has a very similar pose for Lotis but places much greater emphasis on the erotic nature of the story, including Priapus's outsize penis, here only a hint under the drapery.The figures shown are usually taken to be (left to right): a satyr, Silenus with his ass, his ward Bacchus as a boy, Silvanus (or Faunus), Mercury with his caduceus and helmet, a satyr, Jupiter, a nymph serving, Cybele, Pan, Neptune, two standing nymphs, Ceres, Apollo, Priapus, Lotis. Some of the figures may be portraits of people at the Ferrara court, including Alfonso and his wife Lucrezia Borgia.Another suggestion is that the couple in the center, the male with his hand between the female's thighs, are a bridal pair, as shown by their intimacy and the quince she is holding, a fruit recommended for brides to increase their sexual appetites. If he is still Neptune, this would make her Amphitrite.

18945_T

The Feast of the Gods

Focus on The Feast of the Gods and explain the Interpretation.

The work is atypical of Renaissance mythological painting in the down to earth treatment of the main deities, which may be accounted for by the figures beginning as ordinary citizens of Thebes, and by Bellini's inexperience in the emerging conventions of mythological art. The work was a considerable departure from his usual subject-matter of religious scenes and portraits for Bellini, who was over 80 when he began it. He had previously been reluctant to paint mythological stories, wriggling out of a commission from Isabella d'Este, Alfonso's sister, in 1501–04 (she had to be content with a Nativity at a lower price than she had offered for a storia). He was perhaps then reluctant to compete with his brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna, who specialized in classical subjects. But Mantegna had died in 1506.As the first work produced for the camerino, Bellini determined many elements of the style for the cycle, which Titian needed to harmonize with in his later canvases. The room as a whole "constituted a large novelty in the European imagination", as the paintings "established in visual form the picture of the ideal, mythical Mediterranean idyll, made up of charming people enjoying themselves in a gorgeous landscape" and "presented figures from classical mythology as laymen engaged in lay pursuits of love and war, embodied in the new realistic naturalism which had only just been developed... Secular life came into high art by the back door as the representation of the stories of the classical gods, in whom no one believed, but who, since they were not real gods, could be placed in embarrassing situations. The pictures in the Camerino were perhaps the crucial stage in this revolution".

18945_NT

The Feast of the Gods

Focus on this artwork and explain the Interpretation.

The work is atypical of Renaissance mythological painting in the down to earth treatment of the main deities, which may be accounted for by the figures beginning as ordinary citizens of Thebes, and by Bellini's inexperience in the emerging conventions of mythological art. The work was a considerable departure from his usual subject-matter of religious scenes and portraits for Bellini, who was over 80 when he began it. He had previously been reluctant to paint mythological stories, wriggling out of a commission from Isabella d'Este, Alfonso's sister, in 1501–04 (she had to be content with a Nativity at a lower price than she had offered for a storia). He was perhaps then reluctant to compete with his brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna, who specialized in classical subjects. But Mantegna had died in 1506.As the first work produced for the camerino, Bellini determined many elements of the style for the cycle, which Titian needed to harmonize with in his later canvases. The room as a whole "constituted a large novelty in the European imagination", as the paintings "established in visual form the picture of the ideal, mythical Mediterranean idyll, made up of charming people enjoying themselves in a gorgeous landscape" and "presented figures from classical mythology as laymen engaged in lay pursuits of love and war, embodied in the new realistic naturalism which had only just been developed... Secular life came into high art by the back door as the representation of the stories of the classical gods, in whom no one believed, but who, since they were not real gods, could be placed in embarrassing situations. The pictures in the Camerino were perhaps the crucial stage in this revolution".

18946_T

The Feast of the Gods

Explore the Later provenance of this artwork, The Feast of the Gods.

The paintings stayed in the room for which they were painted until 1598 when they were confiscated and taken to Rome by Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini ("junior") as Papal Legate. The group was separated in 1623, and the Feast left the Aldobrandini family in 1796–97, passing to the Camuccini family. The painting left Italy for England in 1853 and was bought by the 4th Duke of Northumberland, then sold in 1916 by the 7th Duke to the London dealer Thomas Agnew and Sons. It was bought in 1922 by the estate of the American magnate Peter A. B. Widener (d. 1915) and in 1942 entered the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. with the rest of his collection.

18946_NT

The Feast of the Gods

Explore the Later provenance of this artwork.

The paintings stayed in the room for which they were painted until 1598 when they were confiscated and taken to Rome by Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini ("junior") as Papal Legate. The group was separated in 1623, and the Feast left the Aldobrandini family in 1796–97, passing to the Camuccini family. The painting left Italy for England in 1853 and was bought by the 4th Duke of Northumberland, then sold in 1916 by the 7th Duke to the London dealer Thomas Agnew and Sons. It was bought in 1922 by the estate of the American magnate Peter A. B. Widener (d. 1915) and in 1942 entered the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. with the rest of his collection.

18947_T

The Feast of the Gods

Focus on The Feast of the Gods and discuss the Exhibitions.

It was exhibited in 1856 at the British Institution in London (as The Gods feasting on the Fruits of the Earth). Since it came to Washington it has travelled to Venice in 1990, London and Madrid in 2003 (reuniting all four large works in the cycle, with three of the Dossi works), and Vienna in 2006.

18947_NT

The Feast of the Gods

Focus on this artwork and discuss the Exhibitions.

It was exhibited in 1856 at the British Institution in London (as The Gods feasting on the Fruits of the Earth). Since it came to Washington it has travelled to Venice in 1990, London and Madrid in 2003 (reuniting all four large works in the cycle, with three of the Dossi works), and Vienna in 2006.

18948_T

The Feast of the Gods

How does The Feast of the Gods elucidate its Painting materials?

The painting was thoroughly investigated in 1985 and an extensive pigment analysis was undertaken in the course of the cleaning and conservation work on the painting. All three painters, Bellini, Dosso and Titian employed the pigments available in that time period such as natural ultramarine, lead-tin-yellow, malachite, verdigris and vermilion. The Feast of Gods is one of the few examples of the use of orpiment and realgar in the Renaissance oil painting in Italy. The very detailed and extensive scientific investigation of this painting has been made accessible to broader audience on the Internet by WebExhibits and also more recently by ColourLex.

18948_NT

The Feast of the Gods

How does this artwork elucidate its Painting materials?

The painting was thoroughly investigated in 1985 and an extensive pigment analysis was undertaken in the course of the cleaning and conservation work on the painting. All three painters, Bellini, Dosso and Titian employed the pigments available in that time period such as natural ultramarine, lead-tin-yellow, malachite, verdigris and vermilion. The Feast of Gods is one of the few examples of the use of orpiment and realgar in the Renaissance oil painting in Italy. The very detailed and extensive scientific investigation of this painting has been made accessible to broader audience on the Internet by WebExhibits and also more recently by ColourLex.

18949_T

Dora Maar au Chat

Focus on Dora Maar au Chat and analyze the abstract.

Dora Maar au Chat (English: Dora Maar with Cat) is an oil-on-canvas painting by Pablo Picasso. It was painted in 1941 and depicts Dora Maar (original name Henriette Theodora Markovitch), the artist's lover, seated on a chair with a small cat perched on her shoulders. The painting is listed as one of the most expensive paintings, after achieving a price of $95 million at Sotheby's on 3 May 2006. It is currently the sixth-highest-selling painting by Picasso.

18949_NT

Dora Maar au Chat

Focus on this artwork and analyze the abstract.

Dora Maar au Chat (English: Dora Maar with Cat) is an oil-on-canvas painting by Pablo Picasso. It was painted in 1941 and depicts Dora Maar (original name Henriette Theodora Markovitch), the artist's lover, seated on a chair with a small cat perched on her shoulders. The painting is listed as one of the most expensive paintings, after achieving a price of $95 million at Sotheby's on 3 May 2006. It is currently the sixth-highest-selling painting by Picasso.

18950_T

Dora Maar au Chat

In Dora Maar au Chat, how is the Background discussed?

The canvas is one of many portraits of Dora Maar painted by Pablo Picasso over their nearly decade-long relationship. Their relationship began when Picasso met Maar on the set of Jean Renoir's film Le Crime de Monsieur Lange, where she was working as a movie photographer. They were formally introduced by the French Surrealist poet Paul Éluard. Picasso fell in love with the 29-year-old Maar at the age of 55 and the couple began living together. Picasso was drawn to Maar not only for her beauty, but also for her intellect and artistic nature. Like Picasso, Maar was an artist, photographer and poet. She shared Picasso's political views and also spoke Spanish. Their relationship was intensely passionate and tempestuous and she challenged Picasso both intellectually and artistically. Maar assisted Picasso with his artwork, particularly during his creation of Guernica, which she documented with photographs.This painting was made in 1941, at the beginning of World War II. Picasso had already painted Maar many times before creating this painting. When the Nazis occupied France, the tension between Maar and Picasso increased, resulting in Picasso portraying Maar in a much more abstract way, sometimes depicting her in tears.

18950_NT

Dora Maar au Chat

In this artwork, how is the Background discussed?

The canvas is one of many portraits of Dora Maar painted by Pablo Picasso over their nearly decade-long relationship. Their relationship began when Picasso met Maar on the set of Jean Renoir's film Le Crime de Monsieur Lange, where she was working as a movie photographer. They were formally introduced by the French Surrealist poet Paul Éluard. Picasso fell in love with the 29-year-old Maar at the age of 55 and the couple began living together. Picasso was drawn to Maar not only for her beauty, but also for her intellect and artistic nature. Like Picasso, Maar was an artist, photographer and poet. She shared Picasso's political views and also spoke Spanish. Their relationship was intensely passionate and tempestuous and she challenged Picasso both intellectually and artistically. Maar assisted Picasso with his artwork, particularly during his creation of Guernica, which she documented with photographs.This painting was made in 1941, at the beginning of World War II. Picasso had already painted Maar many times before creating this painting. When the Nazis occupied France, the tension between Maar and Picasso increased, resulting in Picasso portraying Maar in a much more abstract way, sometimes depicting her in tears.