"Qianlong Emperor" by Unknown Artist

Nationality: Chinese
Media: Ink(?)  on paper
Location: The Palace Museum, Beijing, China

Art I Hate and Why: John Silk Deckard's "Eternal Vigilance"

Nationality: American
Born-Died: 1938-1994

Creation Date: 1978

Size: 25.125 x 34.875 inch (63.8 x 88.5cm)

Media: Larger than life size

Location: The Erie Art Museum, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA

I have never seen a less inviting work of art adorning the entrance of any building, let alone an art museum.  I would be lying if I said I felt anything but loathing for this sculpture, which is appropriate considering it stems from a loathing of man and of self.  It sits outside the old entrance of the Erie Art Museum in Erie, Pennsylvania.  The museum’s collection is small but nice, the new wing is beautiful and I even am proud to have briefly worked there.  However, I would shudder at the thought if going inside if I only saw this sculpture without knowing that the Erie Art Museum is such a nice place.

Ingres' Tomb by Jean-Marie Bonnassieux

Nationality: French
Born/Died: 1810-1892

Creation Date: After 1867
Media: Stone (?)
Location: Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France

Special thanks to Atul Kapur for identifying the artist for me.  Photo by me.

Unknown Roman "Head of a Woman"

Nationality: Roman copy after a Greek sculptor

Creation Date: 200-300 BC
Media: Marble (?)
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, USA

This is a Roman (?) copy of a Hellenistic sculpture. Very strange stylizations here. All photos by me.

Unknown Sculpture by Unknown Scottish Artist

Nationality: Scottish
Size: 88 in. (224 cm)
Media: Sandstone
Location: Edinburgh, UK

I saw this nice example of architectural decoration while walking around Edinburgh. It's made of the red sandstone that is used all over Edinburgh, and unfortunately that type of stone doesn't seem to hold up too well. Any fine detail work this piece may have had is obviously long gone. The torso is nicely sculpted but the hands are awkward, so maybe it did not have much detail to loose. Although I don't always like this kind of decorative choice, being from a country where representational architectural decorations are rare I though it was interesting to see.

Justin Wisniewski's "Laura"

Nationality: All American

Born/Died: 1978

Creation Date: 2007

Media: Oil on foamcore

Location: Collection of the artist

Oil sketch.

Justin Wisniewski's "Megan"

Nationality: American
Born/Died: 1978

Creation Date: 2007
Size: 13 x 9.75 in. (33 x 24.8 cm)
Media: Oil on MDF panel
Location: Resipole South Gallery, Suffolk, UK

Cat Sculpture by Unknown Egyptian Artist

Nationality: Egyptian

Media: Stone
Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Albrecht Dürer's "Self Portrait"

On this Day in the History of Art: Nathaniel Dance-Holland born (1735), Bertalan Székely born (1835), Paramount Pictures founded (1912), Saul Bass born (1930), “The Fountainhead” published (1943)

Nationality: German
Born-Died: 1471-1528
Creation Date: 1787
Size: 26.1 in × 19 in. (66.3 cm × 49 cm)
Media: Oil on wood panel
Location: Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany

Thomas Cooper Gotch's "The Child Enthroned"

This painting is very unusual for its strict symmetry, which is a wonderful and powerful stylistic device that is rarely used to this extent. If you look carefully, however, you'll notice that there are subtle non-symmetrical areas, such as the positions of the hands (the hand on the right is slightly lower) and the lighting on the dress. This extreme unification lends an obvious seriousness and a purposefulness to the character of the child.

Through design, this painting perfectly exemplifies Ayn Rand's words: "Art brings man’s concepts to the perceptual level of his consciousness and allows him to grasp them directly, as if they were percepts."

Unusual Depictions of Jesus Week: Claude Mellan's "Sudarium of Saint Veronica"

(Special thanks to Angelia for her donation!)

Throughout history Christan mythology has been depicted with great variety. Because images of Jesus are so common in the history of art, I thought it would be interesting to explore some of the more unusual works.Although I consider this piece to be a mediocre work of art, this engraving is one of the most technically proficient, and in that regard, visually spellbinding works I have ever seen. It is a depiction of a depiction--an image of Veronica's veil that, according to the myth, was said to bear the likeness of Jesus after he wiped his face on her cloth. Playing off the "miraculous" nature of that image, Mellan used it as an opportunity to demonstrate his "miraculous" skill. I'm fortunate to have seen a print from this block in person. You really have to see the close-up image of it to appreciate it and I suggest clicking on the full image below as well to really experience the artist's technique and the "optical" effect that occurs while looking at it.

Thomas Cooper Gotch's "The Child Enthroned"

John Singer Sargent Week: "Portrait of Miss Elsie Palmer" (a.k.a. "Young Lady in White")