Art

What’s the story with Renoir’s Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando?

• Truth about his real acrobat models
• What oranges represent
• Darkness lurking nearby

What makes Whistler’s portrait Harmony in Gray and Green Miss Cicely Alexander special? Many things… including:

• Butterflies and muted tones = bros
• Disappearing into the woodwork
• Whose jacket brings the green to Harmony in Gray and Green?

Why is Stag at Sharkey’s much more than a boxing painting? Here are a few reasons:

• Stag night & wild stags
• A thrilled, expectant arena
• George Wesley Bellows – Ashcan art star

What’s the story behind this Count’s smug mug?

• Son of a revolutionary lady
• The challenge of Amédée David the Comte de Pastoret
• Bad reputation and Legion of Honor
• Symbols vs. substance

Table of Contents for art blog on Madame de Pastoret and Her Son:

• Aristocrats vs. revolutionaries
• Symbols in Madame de Pastoret and Her Son
• Working mothers of the French Revolution
• Prison, exile, and a missing needle

Fascinating insights about the Gray and Gold Painting lie ahead, including:

• John Rogers Cox: Bank Teller-Painter-Soldier-Painter
• Fences and distance in Gray and Gold
• Magic mixed with Realism
• A meticulous method

This art blog on Rousseau’s The Fight of a Tiger and a Buffalo includes:

• Bottoms up bananas – reality is overrated
• Fight? What Fight?
• Rousseau’s self esteem
• Flowers and animals paired in The Fight of a Tiger and Buffalo
• Jungle mystery

Contents for The Parasol painting by Goya include:

• Trapped lady and free servant
• Greenery versus greys
• Color and the duty in the Spanish royal court
• Six tiny, hopeful, leaves

My blog piece about the painting Portrait of a Young Man in his Study explores:

• Details as personae in the Young Man in his Study painting.
• Lorenzo Lotto’s secretive, telling lizard.
• This Young Man’s dating profile.

In this evaluation of the painting Primavera by Botticelli I cover the following concepts:

• Why Primavera is such a popular painting
• Mythical characters featured in Primavera
• Love stories in the Primavera painting
• My Primavera YouTube video
  

In this piece on Lady With a Unicorn by Raphael you’ll find answers to:

• Frequently Asked Questions including, “Who is the woman portrayed in the Lady With a Unicorn painting?”
• What do Unicorns represent?
• Why does Lady With a Unicorn have such a smudgy looking example?
• What’s the story behind Lady With a Unicorn?

In this analysis for the painting Calling of St. Matthew by Caravaggio I include:

• Caravaggio’s everyday perspective.
• The biblical story behind Calling of St. Matthew.
• Which guy in Calling of St. Matthew is the future saint?
• A selection of Frequently Asked Questions including, “Why did Caravaggio paint Calling of St. Matthew?”

In this piece on Portrait of a Lady by Correggio I answer these questions:

• What’s the symbolism in Correggio’s Portrait of a Lady?
• Why is Portrait of a Lady a significant painting?
• Who did Correggio paint in Portrait of a Lady?

Why Black Sea by Philip Guston is an important painting:

• The inspiration behind Black Sea by Philip Guston.
• What’s controversial about the painting Black Sea?
• Wait a second, this is just a badly painted boot heel…

Today’s discussion of Wayne Thiebaud’s 1963 Pop Art masterpiece Display Cakes includes:

• The precarious balance on display in Display Cakes.
• Why Display Cakes is better than actual cake.
• Frequently Asked Questions, like “Why did Wayne Thiebaud paint Display Cakes?”

Here’s why Bonjour Monsieur Courbet was kind of a big deal.

• Characters details in Bonjour Monsieur Courbet.
• Courbet’s giant ego.
• Courbet’s prominent landscape.

This investigation of the Thomas Eakins painting The Biglin Brothers Racing includes:

• Challenges on The Biglin Brothers Racing canvas and off.
• After rainfall, a rushed riverside sketch.
• My Biglin Brothers Racing YouTube video.
• With Frequently Asked Questions such as, “Who are the two men in The Biglin Brothers Racing painting?”

Quaker Edward Hicks’s painting Cornell Farm features:

• Control freak tendencies or animalistic urges?
• A glowing warmth of holy light.
• Popular pastor, sign-maker, and famous painter.
• Frequently Asked Questions include, “What kind of painting is The Cornell Farm by Edward Hicks?”

Fancy lady, Catherine Brass shines in her portrait as Mrs. Richard Yates thanks to:

• A jaunty and proud lady mustache.
• Attitude, guts, class, and of course…. money.
• Gilbert Stuart’s portrait mastery.

Learn more about the painting M-Maybe (A Girl’s Picture):

• Lichtenstein’s use of newspaper comics-style technique.
• Representation and commentary in Pop Art.
• Frequently Asked Questions like, “What is M-Maybe (A Girl’s Picture) worth?”

Learn truths behind the false spectacle of West’s painting The Death of General Wolfe such as:

• The General’s bloodless blouse after a three musket ball death.
• Soldiers paid to be in this history painting.
• And the surprising answer to Frequently Asked Question, “Why did Benjamin West paint The Death of General Wolfe?”