Konrad Dielitz's "Wotan Takes Leave of Brunhild"

Nationality: German
Creation Date: 1892
Media: Typogravure(?) on Paper

Johannes Vermeer's "The Love Letter"

Nationality: Dutch
Born-Died: 1632-1675
Creation Date: c. 1669
Size: 17 × 15.2 inch (44 × 38.5 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

I think the efficacy of this wonderfully benevolant view of life comes from the fact that it doesn't shy away from including some hint of the possibility of unhappiness.  The girl has a worried look on her face as if she is unsure whether the letter brings good or bad tidings.  However, the woman delivering it is smiling, indicating that it's good news and thereby giving the final word on the entire narrative.

Norman Rockwell's "The Gift"

Nationality: American
Born-Died: 1882-1925

Creation Date: 1935

Media: Oil on illustration board (?)

Raphael's "Self Portrait with a Friend"

Nationality: Italian
Born/Died: 1518-1519

Creation Date: 1518-1519
Size: 39 × 33 in. (99 × 83 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Louvre, Paris, France

Atul Kapur's Pick: Louis Hersent's "Daphnis and Chloe"

A special thanks to Atul Kapur for hosting this blog for a day. If you there is a work of art that you would like to share here, feel free to drop me a line.

Nationality: French
Born/Died: 1777-1860

Creation Date: 1817
Size: 55.1 x 68.9 in. (140 x 175 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Louvre, Paris, France



Why I like Daphnis and Chloe:

One of my favorite paintings is "Daphnis and Chloe" by a 19th century French painter Louis Hersent.

I like the painting for its depiction of a passionate couple engaged in a life-affirming moment. Let me define that moment by briefly describing the painting as we see it (i.e. without any reference to the story that it's based upon).

Raimundo de Madrazo y Garetta's "Masqueraders"

Nationality: Spanish
Born/Died: 1841-1920

Creation Date: 1875–78
Size: 40 x 25.5 in. (101.6 x 64.8 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, USA

I just discovered this wonderful painting and instantly fell in love with it. It seems to be a corner of a costume party that has just started getting a little out of hand. Coats have been shed, gloves slipped off, and already a little foot-rest has been knocked over.

Photos by me.

Jennifer Kern's Pick: Lady Gaga's "Judas"

Please enjoy Jennifer's fascinating take on this unusual work. If you would like to host this blog for a day, feel free to drop me a line.

Nationality: AmericanBorn/Died: 1986-
Creation Date: 2011Media: Musical recording and video recording

Lady Gaga is a rare performer who is both wildly popular and wildly underrated. I first recognized the "wildly underrated" part when I tried convincing a couple people that the song Bad Romance is an utterly transcendent song by someone who obviously knows "the total passion for the total height." They remained unconvinced.

Now, Lady Gaga has turned out a video that's a jaw-dropping allegory of virtue and vice. Not a simple song "advocating Satan-worship," as some YouTube commentators think, nor a slightly-less-simple ditty about a girl who likes the bad boy, Lady Gaga makes it abundantly clear that in this song, "Jesus is my virtue; Judas is the demon I cling to."

I invite you to watch the video now, before reading this analysis, as many times as you like. The more you notice on your own, the more fun this will be.

Jan Van Eyck's "The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait"

Nationality: Flemish
Born/Died: c. 1395-1441

Creation Date: 1434
Size: 32.4 × 23.6 in. (82.2 x 60 cm)
Media: Oil on panel
Location: National Gallery, London, UK

One of the many things I enjoy about this painting is that despite being about love between two people, it is incredibly stoic, reserved, poised and brilliantly clear. There's no mushy, sentimentality in van Eyck's style.

Positive Portrayals of Sex in Art: Pompeiian Fresco

This image was painted on a bedroom wall in Pompeii and it was buried when Vesuvius erupted. It appears to be an inter-racial couple and there is evidence to suggest that the figures are intended to be Pygmalion and Galatea. In the Greek myth, Pygmalian was a Cypriot sculptor who did not think the women he saw in the world were good enough, so he carved a perfect woman out of ivory. Falling in love with the statue, he asked Venus to make her real and she granted his wish. Apparently the feeling was mutual!

Positive Portrayals of Sex in Art: Muhammad Qasim's "Shah Abbas"

Today's post is not one that I have any strong feelings about as a work of art, but I am posting it simply because I am so shocked that it was made at all. This is an image, painted in 1627, of a former Shah of Iran with the title (descriptive title?) "Shah Abbas I and his page." It's shocking for me to see such a tender, informal portrayal from that region of what appears to be a homosexually suggestive scene. Considering also that it is a depiction of the historical ruler of the country is beyond my comprehension. I am not a scholar of Middle Eastern history in any sense, but this image certainly stands in stark contrast to what I would have guessed the former Shah of Iran would have thought about homosexual behavior.

Positive Portrayals of Sex in Art: Francois Boucher's "Hercules and Omphale"

Although there are thousands and thousands of sexual works in art museums, this is painting is particularly explicit for a Western oil painting. The stylized, wriggling lines, warm colors, overall composition and the gestures of the figures are all nicely integrated into the scene. A wonderful and sexy work of art.

Angelia Stone Parish's Pick: Justine H. Parish's "Justin with Rowdy"

Today is a very special posting because the piece was selected by a guest-blogger, Angelia Stone Parish. If would like to host this blog for a day, feel free to email me here.



Angelia: "This is 'Justin with Rowdy', completed 2008, the last painting by Justine H. Parish. It was an honor to have known Justine for part of her full and beautiful life. Her family portraits are treasures, each one a project of love."

Justin Wisniewski: Because of Angelia's intimate connection with this painting, I asked her a few questions about it...

Emil Doerstling's "Prussian Happy Love"

I know nothing about this painting except the ideas it embodies and implies. I think it is a wonderfully unusual, joyful and surprising treat to see a wonderful, surprising and joyful couple from a less wonderful and happy time.

George deForest Brush's "Mourning Her Brave"