A city like Berlin is an ill-mannered, impertinent, intelligent scoundrel, constantly affirming the things that suit him and tossing aside everything he tires of. Here in the big city you can definitely feel the waves of intellect washing over the life of Berlin society like a sort of bath. An artist here has no choice but to pay attention. Elsewhere he is permitted to stop up his ears and sink into willful ignorance. Here this is not allowed. Rather, he must constantly pull himself together as a human being, and this compulsion encircling him redounds to his advantage.

Barack Obama has some of his most powerfully political work hanging in the White House. Now, Glenn Ligon’s bringing his personal museum to the UK. Here are its subversive highlights

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"Mort" or "Reaper Man"? "Pyramids" or "Small Gods"? WHICH IS THE BEST?

Edward Hopper – beeldend kunstenaar Erwin Olaf – fotograaf

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Heide curators and friends of the late artist Mirka Mora share lessons from an individual who had an extraordinary capacity to be truly individual in her life and work.

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Artist: Jessie Willcox Smith

THE 200th anniversary of the birth of the great Franco-Polish composer Frederick Chopin will be celebrated by a concert of his music in the Town Hall Theatre this Saturday at 8pm.

eric ravilious (1903 – 1942) was an english painter, designer, book illustrator and wood engraver. i especially love his design work for wedgwood ceramics. though this first image is what caught my…

Francesca Woodman era una joven fotógrafa estadounidense que en pocos años desarrolló una carrera extensa y muy fructífera. Sus obras suelen ser autorretratos si bien a veces aparecen otros personajes: amigos de ella en la mayoría de los casos. La mayoría son en blanco y negro, en espacios interiore

Rue the day the word "decorative" ever passed your lips. These works found in Phaidon's new ceramics compendium 'Vitamin C' will make you do a double take.

𝘰𝘩, 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 // 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 (pls click the image for fullview!)

A travelling scientist is shown demonstrating the formation of a vacuum by withdrawing air from a flask containing a white cockatoo, though common birds like sparrows would normally have been used. Air pumps were developed in the 17th century and were relatively familiar by Wright's day. The artist's subject is not scientific invention, but a human drama in a night-time setting. The bird will die if the demonstrator continues to deprive it of oxygen, and Wright leaves us in doubt as to whether or not the cockatoo will be reprieved. The painting reveals a wide range of individual reactions, from the frightened children, through the reflective philosopher, the excited interest of the youth on the left, to the indifferent young lovers concerned only with each other. The figures are dramatically lit by a single candle, while in the window the moon appears. On the table in front of the candle is a glass containing a skull. Joseph Wright was born in Derby, the son of a local lawyer. Among his patrons were Wedgwood and Arkwright. Although some of his paintings have been associated with the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, Wright's principal interest was in the dramatic rendering of light and shade offered by such subjects. [Oil on canvas, 183 x 244 cm] gandalfsgallery.blogspot.com/2010/12/joseph-wright-of-der...

Fruto de Amor , 1926. Cazadores Primitivos , 1953. Pepita , 1929. Juventud de Baco , 1932. Pasión , 1926. ...

One of John Bauer’s magnificent illustrations for Agneta and the Sea King. One of my favourite collections of stories is Swedish Folk Tales illustrated by John Bauer, and published most recently by...

a gorgeous one of a Tudor woman

Photographed at the Legion of Honor Museum of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California.

The Lesson The Bathing Hour The Arbour Mother And Child Déjeuner