Bleu II 1961 – Joan Miro

bleu ii by Joan Miro

What makes Joan Miro’s painting Bleu II so groundbreaking in the art history canon?

– Miro breaks the Bourgeoisie’s guitar
– A red slash stops abstract traffic
– The vast, cobalt sky highlights our insignificance on Earth

Yellow-Red-Blue 1925 by Wassily Kandinsky

Yellow-Red-Blue by Wassily Kandinsky

What makes Yellow-Red-Blue such a perfect exemplar of Wassily Kandinsky’s special color theory?

– Joy in a yellow bottle
– A heroic blue marble
– The transitional magic of messy red

Black Sea by Philip Guston

Black Sea by Philip Guston

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…

The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even

The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass) 1915-23, reconstruction by Richard Hamilton 1965-6, lower panel remade 1985 by Marcel Duchamp 1887-1968

Marcel Duchamp’s painting The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even has two frames. The top encapsulates a delicate silvery bride. She’s isolated and fragile. In fact, it feels a bit forlorn up there, as if our lady’s gazing out the window.

EOW on Her Blue Eiderdown II by Frank Auerbach

Frank Auerbach - EOW in Her Blue Eiderdown

The painting EOW on Her Blue Eiderdown II presents us with seductive obscurity. Frank Auerbach was a true romantic and it shows here. This painting may seem blunt at first. But the piece demands a deeper look.

Death and Fire by Paul Klee

Death-and-Fire-1940 - Paul Klee

War and death ruled Paul Klee’s life when he painted Death and Fire. Torn asunder by World War II and a seering case of scleroderma – Klee suffered while painting this. His pain shows.