Tag Archives: art history
The Calendar of the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
Hey, I’m an art pilgrim; I’m always going to want to see the original. But when it came to Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, I was going to have to settle for looking at reproductions. This delicate manuscript has been preserved out of view in the Musée Condé in Chantilly France and […]
The Adonis of the Cell Phone Charging Station: A brief history of free-standing Greek sculpture in Athens
I guess I had a decent understanding of Greek sculpture before visiting Athens, but it helped me a lot to see it in person. So here’s a quick art history lesson from my visits to National Archeological and the Acropolis Museums, broken down into three time periods: The Archaic Period (650 – 480 BC) If […]
Empress Theodora in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna deserves her halo
If there was Venn diagram of things I can’t get enough of: Byzantine architecture, Western art history and Sears catalogs from the 1980’s, The Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna would be right in that sweet spot where they come together. It was built 540 in a double octagonal Byzantine-stye design that was all the […]
Art history tumbles forward with Giulio Romano’s giants in Mantua
Here’s how they did things in Italy for around 1400 years; popes, baby Jesus, really fancy places to put the popes and all the church people in, saints, more baby Jesus, everyone dies from the plague, more baby Jesus, oh hey, look— some ancient stuff—maybe we should rediscover it, let’s make some art and buildings […]
The icons of Svaneti are Sumerian and I can prove it (sort of)
If I were to pick anywhere in the world to hide Sumerian art in plain sight, I would choose Svaneti. Svaneti, the Republic of Georgia’s mountainous northwest region, is so remote that it was often used as a kind of safe house for art during times of conflict. Back in 2016, after two flights, an […]
Sculptures have weird necks in Tallinn
Tallinn is a beautiful city. Tallinn is a beautiful city full of sculptures with weird necks. HOB and I were checking out St. Nicholas Church in Tallinn and we saw this sculpture by the front door. “Whoa!” I said, in my most eloquent and sophisticated tone “that dude has a weird neck!!!” Then, on realizing that […]
The entirely real glory of the Viet Stoss altarpiece in Krakow
When it comes to looking at altarpieces, I consider myself a professional. I have so much experience, I could teach a class. Hmmm, how about it? Let’s have a quick class, right this minute. How to View a Famous Altarpiece by the Wife of Bath Show up early and buy a ticket to see your […]
Living an art history lover’s fantasy in Svaneti, Georgia
Over dinner at our guest house in Kashveti I asked our host Vaktang about the village church. “We have an 11th century church with original frescos” he informed me, “but it’s closed to the public.” Naturally, I was disappointed, but of course there were so many other wonderful sites in this UNESCO protected region of Georgia, […]
My ten favorite works of art in situ and why you should see art in its original context
Of course I had a conversion experience: it happened in Florence, back when I wasn’t such a prepared traveler. HOB and I were on our honeymoon eating too much gelato and wandering through the art historical wonders of this Renaissance city. We entered the Museum of San Marco on a whim and were instantly drawn […]
Palazzo Schifanoia: boredom sucks, why not take a ride on a swan boat?
One day at work I made friends with an intern. His cube was across from mine and when I was walking by his desk I noticed this artwork as the background image on his computer: “Oh hey” I belted out “that’s from Palazzo Schifanoia!” You should have seen this intern’s face. “You know about Palazzo Schifanoia?!?!?!” As it […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 