It is no surprise that taste and knowledge sometimes go hand in hand. But claiming a preference for Bach or Bruce Springsteen can be directly correlated with one’s social status (e.g. education, wealth, social connections) seems patronizing at best. So, when the social scientist Pierre Bourdieu published Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of [...]
In Goethe’s Faust, Mephistopheles takes Faust to a mountain where he witnesses a Witch’s Sabbath (a.k.a. Witch’s Shabbat). The unholy meeting of demons and humans featured satanic offerings and resulted in plagues. Stories of these gatherings have a long history in European literature. (For more,
The recent exhibition, Acts of Mercy, at the National Gallery has brought well-deserved attention to Federick Cayley Robinson (British, 1862-1927). Despite his remarkable abilities and relationship with still-celebrated artists, the majority of Robinson’s works are in museum storage or private collections.
(Like works reproduced on this blog, these paintings are three dimensional objects. In person the [...]
Gordon was considered by many to be one of the world’s foremost authorities of European and Asian ceramics. He dedicated the last and best years of his life to teaching new generations of experts, who are now writers, dealers, curators and directors of museums all over the world.
Does this guy deserve the Turner Prize? I think so http://j.mp/ckBay7Painting bought by couple 50 years ago for £100 sells at auction for £185,000 http://bit.ly/aA3OV0 (via @fludapp)Cleaning a painting by Jan Gossart http://t.co/r652Hpb via @youtubeA few shots of me + Lisbon: http://bit.ly/9R1XhlJust landed in Lisbon, Portugal. I’ll be here for 30 hours to see [...]
With art historians earnestly looking for prominent female artists, it is surprising that so little is written about Fanny Fleury (French, 1848-1920). With the exception of Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822-1899), Fleury was perhaps the most successful female exhibitor in the history of the Paris Salon, having works accepted consistently from 1869 to 1882, and in many [...]
Many obituaries have been written since his death four days ago. Rather than repeat the long lists of accomplishments printed in numerous obituaries (NY Times, for example), I’d like to share a personal experience I had with Arnold Friberg five years ago, when he was 91.
My wife and I were invited to have dinner with [...]
Recently, I was asked to judge the annual Springville Museum of Art Spring Salon. The contest has taken place for nearly 90 years, with over 2,000 annual submissions exclusively from full-time artists.
For a full PDF catalogue, click below:
Full Catalogue LARGE size (30 mb)–featuring higher quality images of each work.
Full Catalogue, REDUCED size (2 mb)–Due to the reduction, [...]
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Recently, I received an email from a BeardedRoman reader asking me for list of books on my nightstand. I thought I would post my answer here. And, I would love to know what is on your nightstand too.
I regularly get book recommendations from readers, and I love it. Through their suggestions and my own research [...]
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30, 1825 – August 19, 1905) Pietà (1876) 230 × 148 cm (90 1/2 × 58 1/4 in). For sale at Christie’s Auction House, NY.
A friend sent me this link today. There are other masterworks at the auction. It is worth a visit.