Category: European Art
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Giorgio Vasari, the First Art Historian
Giorgio Vasari is considered the father of art history. A new biography of Vasari, published in 2017, takes a complete look at his life and work.
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Skating Through Time on a Snow Day
Snow day! Who doesn’t love those words? Here in the northeastern United States, we are currently having a nice snow day, which makes it seem like a perfect time to do the second part of the winter paintings series I started around Christmas time. While part one was about winter landscapes, part two is about ice skating paintings!…
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Four Magical Christmas and Winter Paintings
Eager to get into the holiday spirit? Enjoy this selection of winter and Christmas-themed paintings by American, British, and European artists.
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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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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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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.
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Ball at the Russian Imperial Court (December 13th)
If you are seeing this (and I set the timer correctly), it means I am currently at a holiday ball. I figured the Advent Calendar should get in on the action, too. Interestingly, it is far easier to get a ticket to a glamorous and elegant holiday party than an artistic representation of one. It took me…
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The Magi by Joseph Binder (December 11th)
I looked at a lot of Magi/Three Wise Men paintings today, but something about this one particularly stood out for me. It is by Austrian artist Joseph Binder (1798–1864). I think it’s a combination of things – the clarity of the image, the colors (particularly the blues in the sky), the varying reactions of the…
