Category: Art History Basics
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This Stuff’s Expensive: A Fun Fact About Colors
Not all paint colors are made the same way, so at one time, some colors were much more difficult to get than others. What was the rarest color?
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Ask the Scholarly Skater
Cover image: Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew, 1308-1311. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (CC0) I recently polled my Facebook friends about their burning art-related questions. I got four great questions, for which I hope I gave four good answers. Do you have an art question you want answered?…
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An Art Quote for the Quote Challenge
The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. – Pablo Picasso Thanks to Belinda O. and her excellent taste in quotations, I was inspired to find and post a meaningful quote relating to the theme of my blog. This one is both relevant and true. No matter your preferred medium…
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Writing Prompt #9: What Manet’s Girls Saw
For today’s prompt about writing from a different point of view, I decided to describe a work of art from the perspective of a figure depicted in the work. I have chosen Edouard Manet’s Railroad (Gare St-Lazare) at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., a painting noted for its opaque psychology, unclear narrative, and…
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Writing Prompt #8: Evocative Worlds in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Today’s prompt involves describing a place with the added challenge of doing so without using adverbs. The prompt specifies that I go to a place and describe it while I’m there, but I will describe someplace from memory because the weather is crummy, I competed this morning, and I have no desire to go back…
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Writing Prompt #3 – thoughts on art
Today’s prompt told me to write stream of conscious for at least 15 minutes in order to develop a habit of writing every day. The topic I was given was to write about three songs that affect me and how they make me feel. I did the assignment and was pleased with what I wrote,…
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A Strange Connection
I’ve always seen parallels between Indian or Southeast Asian and ancient Egyptian statuary. The styles, poses, clothing, and modes of representation all seem very similar to me, yet no one has ever been able to give me a satisfactory explanation as to why. When I was at the Met last week, I saw the Lost Kingdoms:…
