Tag Archives: Painting

Touched by the Devil

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I have long been fascinated by the astounding paintings of the Dutch master of the grotesque Hieronymus Bosch. The documentary (below) Hieronymus Bosch: Touched by the Devil takes a deep dive into his phantasmagorical paintings and his life. In 2016, the … Continue reading →

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In The Garden of Death

Posted on September 10, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve been a fan of the Symbolist painter Hugo Simberg (1873-1917) since I first saw his work in his native Finland decades ago. His best known work The Garden of Death (above) was created for the Tampere Cathedral along with a … Continue reading →

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Venice Through The Eyes of Monet

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Claude Monet first discovered Venice in 1908 when he was 68 years old. The two months Monet spent there are documented in letters he and his wife Alice sent to friends and family in France. They tell of the highs … Continue reading →

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The Parable of the Blind

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

“The Parable of the Blind” by William Carlos Williams This horrible but superb painting the parable of the blind without a red in the composition shows a group of beggars leading each other diagonally downward across the canvas from one … Continue reading →

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Self-Portraits (with and without hats)

Posted on July 17, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Vincent Van Gogh was known to have painted over 30 self-portraits between the years 1886 and 1889. That is until this week when it was revealed that a hidden self-portrait by the artist has been discovered behind one of his … Continue reading →

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Test Your Artistic Acumen

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

If you have been swept up in the Wordle craze, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, has created Artle, an art-guessing game for those who want to test their artistic acumen. Like Wordle, Artle offers up just one puzzle a … Continue reading →

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Hotel Art

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I have stayed in literally hundreds of hotel rooms over the years, but I rarely pay close attention to the furnishings or amenities. Unlike Japanese architect Kei Endo who focuses intently on her hotel surroundings. She then creates beautifully rendered … Continue reading →

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Love, Desire, Death

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

In the fascinating video below, Peter Schade, the Head of the Framing department at Britain’s National Gallery, shows the process of creating six huge matching frames for the Titian: Love Desire Death exhibition. Matthias Wivel, Curator of 16th-century Italian paintings, … Continue reading →

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Le village des sirènes

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

“Paul Delvaux: The Village of the Mermaids” by Lisel Mueller Who is that man in black, walking away from us into the distance? The painter, they say, took a long time finding his vision of the world. The mermaids, if that … Continue reading →

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Sunday Plans

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

No one knows who the solitary man smoking a cigar in this paintings by Edward Hopper titled  “Sunday”  was, but for many viewers he embodies the ennui of a Sunday morning. Painted  in 1926, the work has often been seen … Continue reading →

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