art history RSS
Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)
Blindness in Art
One of the first blind persons that was depicted in art appeared in an Egyptian mural. They started the cliché of blind musicians. Homer was another blind folk that was depicted often in ancient art, and even in neoclassical paintings. During medieval times, only blind folk that appeared in the bible were depicted. This changed with the Renaissance period. Mythological folks and poor blind folks started appearing in western art. Sometimes they were depicted in satirical fashion. Europeans were quite meanspirited back in the day. They would love to poke fun at anyone that was blind. Blind folk depictions started...
Clever Use of Mirrors in Art
Mirrors have made sporadic appearances in art, since their inception. Around the Renaissance period, mirrors started to be used to have paintings within paintings. They were also used to engage the audience. In the Arnolfini wedding, the tiny mirror shows the spectators of the wedding. We are also there within it. In Caravaggio’s Narcissus, the mirror effect is done with the lake. Based on the angle, he is seeing a shimmering reflection of the audience. The same thing was done in the Mirror of Venus of Rubens. In Las Meninas, it uses a mirror similar to the Arnolfini wedding. In...
The Old Plantation - Jose Rose 1785
The Old Plantation is a late 18th-century watercolor painting attributed to John Rose, dated between 1785 and 1795, and currently held at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Old Woman by Candlelight - Unknown Artist, circa 19th Century
This painting shows an old woman sitting quietly in front of a candle. Her hands are folded on her lap. The candle’s flame is small, but it lights up her face and part of her shawl. The rest is mostly in darkness. It’s not dramatic like Rembrandt or anything. The light is soft, like she’s just waiting. There is no name written for the artist. No title either. It just shows up in a page labeled “Plate XXVI” inside a 1901 book about European painting. She don’t look famous, and the painting ain’t signed. The light is the main part....
The Girl With a Watering Can
I was browsing thru Renoir stuff when I found this cool painting. One painting caughted my eye, it’s called “A Girl With a Watering Can” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The painting lives in the National Gallery of Art now.