The Allentown Art Museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania has recently celebrated the addition of a painting by Rembrandt van Rijn to its collection. The catch? The museum has already owned this painting for sixty years! What follows is the completely crazy, totally true story of how the Allentown Art Museum gained, lost, and then gained a Rembrandt again.
Tag: Dutch
Frick Madison Shines New Light on Old Friends
On the afternoon of March 4th, I was one of the very first people to experience Frick Madison, the Frick Collection's new installation in the Whitney Museum's former home at 945 Madison Avenue. The surprisingly-wonderful combination of historical art and Brutalist structure literally shines a new light on the Frick's beloved artworks.
The Sleeve Should Be Illegal – A Unique New Book from the Frick
Next month, The Frick Collection and DelMonico Books/D.A.P. will publish The Sleeve Should Be Illegal & Other Reflections on Art at the Frick, a book of short essays responding to works in the Frick's collection. I was lucky enough to receive an early pdf copy, and I really liked it!
The Hyde Collection – Masterpieces in the Adirondacks
The Hyde Collection is a world-class art collection in the unassuming Adirondack town of Glens Falls, New York. It really was the most delightful little surprise, and I had a wonderful visit.
The Joys of the Dutch Golden Age
In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces at the Met is an ongoing exhibition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's paintings from the Dutch Golden Age. It provided the chance to view the works up close at my leisure, which gave me a new appreciation for this type of artwork.
Art That Inspires Me: Still Life Painting
I recently enjoyed an art exhibition at my local library. I saw many wonderful works there, but I noticed that the majority of the pieces I was drawn to were still lives. So I started to think about why that is. Back in the days of the European and American artistic academies, still life was considered the least prestigious of the painting genres, but it's one of my personal favorites.
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!… Continue reading Skating Through Time on a Snow Day
December 20th: Still Life with Christmas Pudding, Holly and Wine by Johanna Helena Looisen
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… Continue reading December 20th: Still Life with Christmas Pudding, Holly and Wine by Johanna Helena Looisen
Text in Manuscripts – Day Four of Medieval Manuscripts
Art historians and art lovers primarily see manuscripts as works of art, but we shouldn't forget that the are books intended to convey texts. This post explores text in manuscripts and why it's much more interesting than you might think.
Gargoyle of the Day: St. John’s Cathedral, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Technically, these little fellows are grotesques rather than true gargoyles, but who cares when they're so charming? Apes, monkeys, and related creatures had rather poor connotations in the Middle Ages, symbolizing a variety of evils and sins including greed and lust, but this pair is depicted with a touching humanity nonetheless.