Poetry, stories and strange odds and ends from the desk of a writer
Salvatore Mundi1500High RenaissanceOil on wood panelLouvre, Abu Dhabi, UAE It is probable that Salvatore Mundi was commissioned by King Louis XVII of France following his 1499 conquest of Milan. The painting portrays Christ in the role of saviour of the world and master of the cosmos. To reflect this da Vinci uses such as the … Continue reading Salvatore Mundi by Leonardo Da Vinci
El Khasné, Petra1874RomanticismOil on canvasOlana State Historic Site, New York Church created several paintings following his travels across the Middle East during late 1860s and early 1870s. Capturing the vista of El Khasné in a dramatic glimpse of the neoclassical columns Petra emerging from the towering dark avenues of stone the revelation of the façade … Continue reading El Khasné, Petra by Frederic Edwin Church
Artist: Frida Kahlo Born: 6 July 1907, Mexico City, Mexico Nationality: Mexican Movement: Naïve art, Modern art, Surrealism, Magical Realism, Symbolism, Naturalism, Primitivism, Social realism, Cubism Died: 13 July 1954, Mexico City, Mexico...
Form: Ivorian Sonnet 1 Paint that spirals from the brush tells a taleFrom his eye the image his holy grailAs the turbulent clouds churn up the skyThe golden heads of wheat quiver and callTo where the shady green cypress trees sighOf an artist’s longing in the landscapeAnd he walks for miles to find nature’s viewWithin … Continue reading Cypress Tree
Beginnings1958Colour field PaintingMagna on canvasHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., USA Beginnings, on a perfectly square canvas, Noland places concentric circles, thus marking the artist’s first attempts at basic forms and archetypal patterns. The circles are slightly irregular which may or may not have been intentional in its effect. The colours complement or contrast … Continue reading Beginnings by Kenneth Noland
Dada Bowl1916DadaVarnished/Lacquered WoodMuseum of Modern Art, New York, USA With this almost-minimal object of turned wood Taeuber-Arp demonstrates the possibilities of infusing a functional every day thing with a radical aesthetic. Using the nascent Dada strategy she attacks the bourgeois sensibilities of the corrupt world to the decorative arts. The Dada Bowl straddles boundaries. It … Continue reading Dada Bowl by Sophie Taeuber-Arp
Partition1962Color Field PaintingAcrylic paint on canvasTate Modern, London, UK ‘Partition’ is one of Louis’ Stripe series, all of which were painted in the last months of his life. The works were part of the artists interest in the optical effects of colour relationships at the same time his simplification of non-representational form to extremes. The … Continue reading Partition by Morris Louis
Repeat and Reverse1963BauhausStainless steel on concreteArt and Architecture Building, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut Albers created the Repeat and Reverse sculpture at the request of Paul Rudolph, the architect of the Art and Architecture Building at Yale University. Albers used a simple arrangement of steel bars to produce a three-dimensional illusion of planes that seemingly … Continue reading Repeat and Reverse by Josef Albers
Form: Italian Octave 2 The masts chatter casually on the breezeFrom where there have been to where they will goThe trials and tribulations that flowAnd how the ever-changing tides at easeAs the weather-worn hands tack to the windTo follow the stars to a distant landThe white sails on the course he had plannedAns time shines … Continue reading White Sails
Canyon: Broadway and Exchange Place, New York City, July 16, 19361936Modern PhotographyGelatin silver printCollection of Museum of the City of New York, New York, New York, USA The focus on the façade of the Exchange Court Building appears to define the space in-between the Adams Building and the North American Building. Abbot captured the narrow … Continue reading Canyon: Broadway and Exchange Place, New York City, July 16, 1936 by Berenice Abbott
Nightview, New York1932SurrealismGelatin silver printCollection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, USA In this 1932 photograph by Abbott the white lights in the buildings and headlights of cars contrast starkly with the solid structures of the buildings that dominate the city. Abbot captured New York at night as a representation of the … Continue reading Nightview, New York by Berenice Abbott
Roadsign, Route 1, Maine1954Modern PhotographyVintage gelatin silver printCollection of Syracuse University Art Collection, Syracuse, New York, USA A lone male figure walking down the middle of a two-lane highway as though he owns the road in Maine, USA. Situated in the middle ground of the picture Abbott used to clear grey light to tie the … Continue reading Roadsign, Route 1, Maine by Berenice Abbott
Revolving Torsion Fountain1972-3Kinetic ArtStainless SteelSt Thomas's Hospital, London, UK A public artwork, elegantly constructed from curved, stainless steel plates, Revolving Torsion represents the culmination of Kinetic art first explored over 50 years earlier by Gabo’s Kinetic Construction. The central abstract form makes a full rotation every ten minutes as water plumes emerge with various pressure … Continue reading Revolving Torsion Fountain by Naum Gabo
A Bigger Message2010British ArtOil on 30 canvasesThe David Hockney Foundation " A Bigger Message is the culmination of a series of works by Hockney inspired by Claude Lorrain’s the Sermon on the Mount (1656). Hockney spent three weeks digitally cleaning the original painting on his computer, a process that enabled him to get know the … Continue reading A Bigger Message by David Hockney
Winter Timber2009British ArtOil on 15 canvassesGuggenheim, Bilbao, Spain Many of Hockney’s most renowned works were inspired by photographs, however, ‘Winter Timber’ was painted in front of the motif, at the corner of an old Roman road in Yorkshire. The purple palette generated a contemporary landscape and an eternal, almost like a computer-generated illusion of a … Continue reading Winter Timber by David Hockney
Artist: Fernand Léger Born: 4 February 1881, Argentan, France Nationality: French Died: 17 August 1955, Gif-sur-Yvette, France...
Mama, Papa is Wounded!1927SurrealismOil on CanvasMuseum of Modern Art, New York, USA The vast space, pale palette, and dark shadows cast by airborne objects in the eerie light evoke a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Typical of the correlation between words and images in Surrealism, the title does nothing to clarify the meaning of the work, in fact … Continue reading Mama, Papa is Wounded! By Yves Tanguy
William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River1876-77RealismOil on CanvasCollection of Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA The painting depicts Philadelphian sculptor and ship carver, William Rush, in his studio as he carves a female figure based on the woman posing in the foreground. A woman sits, knitting, as she serves as … Continue reading William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River by Thomas Eakins
Bathsheba at Her Bath1654Baroque, Dutch Golden AgeOil on canvasThe Louvre, Paris, France A life size canvas presenting the biblical character Bathsheba in a shallow space, illuminated from the left in front of a darker background. The Old Testament tells how King David noticed a woman bathing outdoors when he was on the terrace of his … Continue reading Bathsheba at Her Bath by Rembrandt
After the Rain1933SurrealismPhotograph Maar travelled to various places in Europe ii the early 1930s working as a photojournalist, and she also began taking her own pictures. Her focus on street scenes and glimpses of isolated city life, these works are melancholic and quietly piquant. ‘After the Rain’ depicts a mother and child walking along a … Continue reading After the Rain by Dora Maar
Noses and Ears, Etc.: The Gemini Series: Profile with Ear and Nose2006Conceptual ArtScreen print on paper mounted on Sintra with hand painting. © John BaldessariNational Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia Baldessari exposes an isolated nose and ear on a profile in silhouette in this piece. He views the anatomical elements of the individual organs, rather … Continue reading Noses and Ears, Etc.: The Gemini Series: Profile with Ear and Nose by John Baldessari
Viewing Matters: Upstairs1996Conceptual Art, Institutional CritiqueInstallation and storage props (lather, drill, toll box, crates, etc)Collection of the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum, Netherlands Both a curated exhibition and an installation, Haacke juxtaposes works from the collection of the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum to create new relations between them. In seemingly iconoclastic manner he mixed works from … Continue reading Viewing Matters: Upstairs by Hans Haacke
The American Dream I1961Abstract ArtOil on canvasMuseum of Modern Art, New York, USA The American Dream I is four circles depicted in two rows of two. Each circle contains the common elements of Indiana’s paintings, including stars, text, and numbers. Indiana’s characteristic use of stencils to create text and numbers in bold colours is also … Continue reading The American Dream I by Robert Indiana
A Bigger Splash1967Pop ArtAcrylic on canvasTate Gallery, London, UK Painted while at the University of California in Berkley, ‘A Bigger Splash’ was a result of two smaller paintings in which Hockney developed his ideas, ‘A Little Splash’ and ‘The Splash’. One of the first artists to make extensive use of acrylic paint, a relatively new … Continue reading A Bigger Splash by David Hockney
La Fornarina and Raphael1814Neo-ClassicismOil on canvasHarvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Massachusetts, USA Conceived as part of a series of paintings illustrating the life of Ingres’ idol, Raphael, La Fornarina depicts the Renaissance master in the arms of his mistress. Ultimately Ingres abandoned the project, however he painted five or six versions of this scene, showcasing both … Continue reading La Fornarina and Raphael by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Weeping Coconuts (Cocos gimientes)1951Naïve artOil on boardLos Angeles County Museum of Art, USA Weeping Coconuts is exemplary of the late work by Kahlo. She is best known for her psychological portraiture but she painted still life throughout her career. She created paintings of fresh fruits and vegetable produce as well as Mexican objects in her … Continue reading Weeping Coconuts (Cocos gimientes) by Frida Kahlo
I Am Making Art1971Conceptual ArtPerformance video https://youtu.be/u4YJfGmtAH8 In this video, Baldessari makes several arm movements reciting the phrase ‘I am making art’ after each movement. Baldessari, always aware of the power of choice in artistic practice such as choosing to paint something red and not blue or green, is carefully associating his arm movements with … Continue reading I Am Making Art by John Baldessari
View of the Kremlin from the Krymsky Bridge in Inclement Weather1851RealismOil on canvasTretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia One of the first of Savrasov’s paintings after he left art school View of the Kremlin from Krymsky Bridge during Inclement Weather depicts storm clouds, pushed relentlessly by strong winds, rushing from right to left. The same winds have … Continue reading View of the Kremlin from the Krymsky Bridge in Inclement Weather by Alexei Savrasov
Kinetic Construction (Standing Wave)1920Kinetic ArtMetal, wood and electric motorTate, London, UK A simple construction of a steel rod affixed to a wooden base, but when an electric motor sets it in motion the oscillations generate a complex image of a freestanding, twisting wave. Kinetic Construction was the first motorizes sculpture by Gabo and demonstrated his … Continue reading Kinetic Construction (Standing Wave) by Naum Gabo
Flower Geometry1917ExpressionismPainted Plaster ReliefPrivate Collection Janco answered Tzara’s call for artists to create directly in the media of stone, wood and iron with this abstract plaster relief. He creates tension by juxtaposing Cubist elements with Expressionist elements. The irreconcilable contradictions of Dada, the meeting of geometry and nature, breaking down the traditions of fine art. … Continue reading Flower Geometry by Marcel Janco
Untitled2004The Pictures GenerationColour photographMetro Pictures Posing as a sad clown, Sherman is wearing elaborate make-up and costumes. Positioning herself in front of digitally manipulated backgrounds she explores the clown character extremes with intense yet superficial humour. Set up as a glamour shot the photograph focuses on the face of the clown as its character stares … Continue reading Untitled by Cindy Sherman
Form: Italian Octave At noon, the neap tide and the hourAnd black shires were leading the wayPerhaps like any other dayThe hay wain crossed over the StourWith his paint he caught the pow’rIn strokes of oil on canvas layA thousand words speak artists sayAnd time stood still held in that hour The Hay Wain by … Continue reading Black Shires
First1961Abstract ExpressionismAcrylic on woodBaltimore Museum of Art, Maryland, USA Initially, ‘First’ resembles a section of an everyday suburban picket fence., however, on close examination the posts reveal subtle variations from on another in height, width, and the shape of the point, giving them a fragile, human quality. The central pillar is tallest of the three … Continue reading First by Ann Truitt
FauvismStarted: 1899Ended: 1908 Luxe, Calme et Volupte by Henri Matisse, 1904. Oil on canvas. Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, France The first movement in modern art of the 20th century, the examples of Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne, and Georges Seurat inspired Fauvism. A loosely allied group of French painters with shared interests … Continue reading Serenity Through the Significance of Ideas
Achille-Etna MichallonBorn: 22 October 1796, Paris, FranceNationality: FrenchMovement: RomanticismDied: 24 September 1822, Paris, France Michallon was a prodigiously talented artist who tragically died at the very young age of 25. He was the son of a sculptor and studied under Jacques-Louis David and Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes. In 1817, he won the Prix de Rome for … Continue reading The Prodigious Painter
Watercolour Sketch ©JGFarmer2008
Form: Quatrains As moonlit midnight skies drift in wonderTo the dawn of the new sapphire sunrise,My dreams turn to the muse that lies yonder,My brush seeks out her cerulean eyes. The artist lost to her cold heart of steel,As paint so creates the cloudless figures.My indigo tears flow, each stroke I feelOf portrayals, she greets … Continue reading Playing the Blues
Form: Quatrains For July 8th I have just one wishTo spend an hour with Percy ByssheTo hear him speak and share a whileMaybe even see my hero smile. His works of beauty, I have them allWords from a romantic that often call.Magic images that release my mindSo much inspiration for a painter to find. Verses … Continue reading July 8th
Form: Painting ©JGFarmer2008
Form: Watercolour Painting ©JGFarmer2008
Innocent eyes flicker open Startled by cold water A child, the gift of love...
A man and wife revealing wealth and style Amid restrained luxury holding hands Echoes of richness lay scattered around...
A mission to England for the French King To calm the rising of religious storm The Pope said no, there’s the root of the thing...
For all those years you sat in pose, your love endured to meet my art. My muse you were, I saw no rose...
The shepherds came from their sheep on the hills And peasants came too; a moment to see The animals joining in, angels in frills...
The warmth of sun-kissed upon the earth To welcome a new bloom Beautiful face kissed by the gods...
The artist in confident pose Dressed in affluent clothes Reflecting the renaissance...
Paddles Dipping slowly In and out of the waves...
What is strength compared To beauty’s power to hold Destiny and in her hand...
Paint and canvas, pencils and water, four simple things...
