Category: art history
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Time Out
Achilles and Ajax Playing a Game by Exekias, Greek amphora c. 540 BCE.
In this scene on a Greek pot we see warriors of the Trojan battle taking time out to play a quick game of dice. We know who they are because the artist put their names by them and signed the pot with “Exekias made me.”
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Rapid Leg Movement
Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, Giacomo Balla, 1912.
A member of a group of Italian artists who struck by the changing world around them at the dawn of the 20th century, Balla vowed to paint dynamically and to portray movement on canvas. The movement was known as “Futurism.”
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Quite Illuminating
“Zodiac Man” from the calendar pages of the Tres Riches Heures of Jean Duc de Berry, 15th Century, France.
Found at the end of the calendar pages in this beautifully illustrated Book of Hours, the “zodiac man” illustrates the alignment on the body of the signs of the Zodiac.
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The Inspiration
A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai), Jeff Wall, 1993.
Ejira in Suruga Province, Hokusai, from Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji, c, 1831.
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Look Out Below
Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt, Tomb of Ti, Fifth Dynasty, Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2450 – 2325 BCE.
Ti was a commoner, but a very rich commoner since he was able to build a large tomb for himself that contained this wonderful painting/sculpture. Ti is the large figure standing on the boat with all of the “river creatures” depicted below and the “land creatures” among the papyrus on the shore.
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Race Day
Regatta at Cowes, Raoul Dufy, 1934, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
I could not resist posting this, it is so wonderful with the colors and the boats. Dufy is one of the fauve painters and each piece of his is better than the last.
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Free Reign
Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, designed by James McNeill Whistler, 1876-77.
Whistler was asked by the room’s owner to paint the room to compliment the painting that Whistler had done that is seen over the fireplace. When the owner returned he was stunned and horrified at what Whistler had done. Luckily, he did not destroy it and the room is now found at the Freer Gallery in Washington D.C.
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Looking Inside Yourself
Taizoki (Womb World) of Ryokai Mandara, Early Heian period, Japan.
Made of 12 zones that represent the world of Buddha with the figure in the middle being the Cosmic Buddha. There are more than 400 figures in the surrounding areas including deities, animals and spirits.
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