Author: A Scholarly Skater
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Nativity by Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (December 25th)
The Christmas Day edition of an art history Advent calendar features a Nativity painting by French artist Jean Baptiste Marie Pierre.
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Christmas Eve by Edmund Restein (December 24th)
As soon as I saw this work, I knew I had to feature it today. It’s not just the name that makes it appropriate. It so perfectly captures the spirit of Christmas Eve, at least as I’ve always experienced it – the early darkness, the inviting light from the church windows, and the well-dressed families…
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Christkindlmarkt Am Hof by Carl Wenzel Zajicek (December 23rd)
For an art historical Advent calendar, a beautiful, snow-filled painting of a Viennese Christmas market by Austrian painter Carl Wenzel Zajicek.
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A Young Girl Dressed Up for Christmas (December 22nd)
For a fine art Advent calendar, a charming illustration of a well-dressed little girl by Kate Greenaway.
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Merry Christmas by Viggo Johansen (December 21st)
Day 21 of a fine art Advent calendar is a lovely painting of a family dancing around the Christmas tree by Danish artist Viggo Johansen.
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A Still Life by Johanna Helena Looisen (December 20th)
Today’s painting, Still Life with Christmas Pudding, Holly and Wine, is my first Advent Calendar work by a female artist. I wasn’t specifically looking for a work by a female painter today, just as I wasn’t intentionally avoiding female artists for the first nineteen days. I’m featuring the painting because I love it; it’s compelling for…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of the Tower of London
This weirdly-misshapen face is one of several gargoyles or grotesques located on the infamous Tower of London. Considering the many horrifying things that have happened inside that castle-turned-prison, I would say that his somewhat-twisted appearance is appropriate, though I’m sure this wasn’t intentional. Interestingly, the other Tower of London gargoyles I found, though all still disembodied…
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Christmas-Time, the Blodgett Family (December 19th)
Eastman Johnson, Christmas-Time, The Blodgett Family, 1864. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. It’s very difficult to find genre paintings (scenes of everyday life) with Christmas settings. I assume that’s because the Christmas traditions we are familiar with today have only come into being relatively recently when compared with the entire the history of art. I had…
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Madonna d’Orleans by Raphael (December 18th)
For the 18th day of a fine art Advent calendar, one of Raphael’s famous Madonna and Child paintings – the Orleans Madonna of 1506.
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New Year’s Night by Julius Kronberg (December 17th)
A mysterious painting of a figure in the midnight snow on New Year’s Eve, by Swedish Symbolist Julius Johann Ferdinand Kronberg. For a fine art Advent Calendar.
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Winter by Alphonse Mucha (December 16th)
A personification of winter by Alphonse Mucha. Mucha’s elegant female figures are synonymous with Art Nouveau even today.
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The Nutcracker scenery by Konstantin Ivanov (December 15th)
Two sketches by Konstantin Ivanov showing his scenic designs for the famous Nutcracker ballet’s first-ever production, which took place in Russia in 1892.
