A Moment in Art History Video: The Great Wave off Kanagawa – How Much Influence Can a Simple Woodblock Print have on World Culture?
Today we’ll be looking at The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Japanese woodblock print artist Hokusai. The piece started showing up all over the world in the late 19th century,…
Degas’ Little Dancer – the mixed media sculpture experiment nearly everyone hated
Edgar Degas’ Little Dancer Aged Fourteen was pretty controversial when it was first shown in the 1880s. In this Moment in Art History we’ll discuss the sculpture, the criticism, and…
A Moment in Art History – Auguste Rodin’s “Adam” – Incomplete Perfection
When Auguste Rodin decided that Adam would be part of his Gates of Hell, he didn’t anticipate that the sculpture of the Biblical first man would never stand in a…
A Moment in Art History: “American Gothic” – The U.S.A.’s Most Iconic Painting?
Like many of you, I’ve found myself with a bit more time on my hands lately. Being a lover of art history, I decided to start a new video project,…
Whistler’s Mother – Do the Artist’s Intentions Matter?
Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 In my first Moments in Art History video, I talked about American Gothic, one of the most iconic paintings in American history. Whistler’s…
Hiawatha and Minnehaha – How Edmonia Lewis overcame prejudice to become a successful artist in the nineteenth century
Edmonia Lewis and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow There’s been a longstanding relationship between art and literature. From numerous works based on mythology to storybook illustrations to Millais’ Ophelia, artists have often…
The Mystery of Johannes Vermeer’s “Woman Reading a Letter”
Johannes Vermeer is best known for his paintings of serene domestic scenes, like “The Milkmaid” and “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” The paintings are excellent examples of the delicacy and…
The Hidden Meaning of Velazquez’s “Las Meninas”
The Painting Diego Velazquez’s “Las Meninas” is one of the world’s most iconic and well-known paintings. Painted in the mid-17th century, the work is a masterful example of the Spanish…
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte – A look at Georges Seurat’s masterpiece and its predecessor
“Art is harmony. Harmony is the analogy of contrary and of similar elements of tone, of color and of line, conditioned by the dominate key, and under the influence of…
Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer – The Woman in Gold”: The painting at the center of a Nazi controversy
Gustave Klimpt’s painting “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer – The Woman in Gold” has a long and complicated history, involving Nazis, legal battles, and finally, a new home in New York….