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The Wyeths: The only family who didn’t fight at Christmas
Such a family imbued by fame and public praise could only have lively and refined discussions at the table during Christmas, right? That’s how I imagine them at least. Holding glasses of wine while lifting their little fingers, fondling the mustaches they probably didn't have, and taking turns to offer their aesthetically cultured opinions. Or, they could just be like the rest of us: tipsy at holiday parties and slightly aggressive with each other at family gatherings.
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Rivalen unter sich
Ein die Renaissance charakterisierendes Thema war die Auseinandersetzung mit der Antike. Man entdeckte das antike Erbe durch erste archäologische Ausgrabungsfunde und deren Dokumentation wieder, die die Künstler inspirierten, sich fortan am antiken Schönheitsideal zu orientieren. Zu dieser Zeit gehörten zu den herausragenden Genies die Italiener Raffael da Urbino, Michelangelo Buonarotti und Leonardo da Vinci. Raffaels Figuren in seinen Meisterwerken sind harmonisch und von ausgewogener Komposition; er malt bevorzugt liebliche Madonnenbilder mit einem antikisierten Schönheitsideal. Seine Kunst besitzt einen hohen ästhetischen Wert, da nur sie der an sich unvollkommenen Natur zur Vervollkommung verhelfen kann. Seine Vorbilder waren auch gleichzeitig seine Rivalen: Michelangelo und Leonardo. Ähnlich erging es auch dem etwa acht…
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What Boston Loves
In an attempt to manipulate the power of the Internet, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston used crowdsourcing to select pieces for its ongoing exhibition, Boston Loves Impressionism. During the month of January, the MFA held an online vote every week, garnering up to 41,000 votes. This exhibition explores the predominating artistic taste of Bostonians. It neither focuses on the Impressionist movement nor on the individual artists, but rather highlights the connection Boston feels towards each piece. The top three selected works are undeniable favorites. Van Gogh’s Houses at Auvers received the most votes, surpassing Claude Monet’s Water Lilies by at least 1,000 total votes. The only sculpture in…
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Etch a Sketch
Raphael undoubtedly played a role in Renaissance art. One cannot think of that era without thinking of the beautiful Madonnas and little, fat cherubs done by Raphael. His talent, however, goes beyond that of painter, as he played a significant role in the development of reproductive print. Although Raphael never produced any prints himself, he created many drawings for the sole purpose of being engraved by Marcantonio Raimondi. Together, Raphael and Raimondi created some of the most famous Italian prints of the century and gave rise to print publishing in Rome. Just as the Gutenberg Press made printed word available to the general audience, through easily and affordable reproduction, the…
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Please Deceive Me
We love trickery. Or rather, we love the quest for innovation, the unexpected, and the impossible. When the impossible turns out to be, well, impossible, then we settle for illusion. What better way to explain the success of Harry Houdini, David Blaine, David Copperfield, and illusion within photography (check out the Huffington Post for some really trippy images)? Of course, Photoshop is the bee’s knees, or so they say, when it comes to manipulating an image to give you a photo which deceives the eye and makes you say Wow! Or is it?
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De Charlize Theron à Nam June Paik
Il est difficile de mesurer l’impact que l’image a sur nous. Certains vont avec plaisir se laisser séduire par une affiche pour peu qu’elle attire l’œil. Je me flatte à penser que la publicité n’a aucun impact parce que je ne regarde pas la télévision, ne passe pas mon temps libre à arpenter les magasins ou éplucher les magazines de mode. Cependant, il me faut toute la volonté du monde pour ne pas céder à l’appel d’un sublime sac à main ou autre élément comestible vu sur un panneau d’affichage alors que je n’ai pas faim et deux douzaines de sacs. Mais malgré tout cela, je sais. Je sais que…
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Buddhismus zwischen Trend und Tradition
„Wenn der Eisenvogel fliegt und die Reitpferde auf Rädern rollen, wird der Mann aus dem Schneeland seine Heimat verlassen müssen und die buddhistische Lehre wird die Länder des rotwangigen Mannes erreichen.” Mit dieser verblüffend realitätsnahen Prophezeiung sagte einer der Begründer des Buddhismus, der Mönch Padmasambhava, bereits vor über 1200 Jahren den Erfolgskurs des buddhistischen Glaubens in Richtung Westen voraus. Ob er damals bereits ahnte, in welcher Form die spirituellen Weisheiten hierorts praktiziert werden würden, ist jedoch fraglich. Eines ist jedenfalls sicher: Der Buddhismus liegt bei uns mittlerweile voll im Trend. Die einen dekorieren mithilfe von exotischem Massivholz-Interieur und diversen Accessoires aus dem Asiashop die eigenen vier Wände zum privaten Shangri-La…
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A Searching Truth
Question for the day: What brings us to make particular choices? Choices which range from our music preferences to major life decisions? Religion is one such important life choice. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism… the Big 5 (in terms of the most well-known religions). Today I shall be looking at Buddhism. What is the draw? Why is it becoming more and more popular in the Western world?
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Don’t just do something – sit there.
In theory yoga is this beautiful, wonderful, spiritual experience that is meant to cleanse mind, body, and soul. In practice yoga causes a slew of frowned upon words to come flying out of my mouth at record speeds. It is a deep, dark torture which we, as masochists, inflict upon ourselves day after day of shaking cores, trembling arms, and ready-to-collapse legs. We stretch ourselves in ways we never thought possible, only to discover they are possible, but will we be stuck this way forever? The idea of sitting still long enough to have my portrait painted makes my muscles ache in a way that I’ve only known through Downward-Facing…
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Y nosotros bailamos
Glorias deportivas aparte, tenemos poco que celebrar en estos tiempos en los que términos como «prima de riesgo», «rescate», «crisis de deuda» y «medidas de austeridad» retumban en nuestros oídos a diario. La situación del desempleo en el mundo se ha vuelto alarmante; casi mil millones de personas padecen hambre y desnutrición; las ventas y las inversiones de Coca-Cola en la India aumentan de forma pronunciada mientras unos 200 millones de indios no disponen de acceso a agua potable; Irán persiste en sus amenazas a Israel; Siria y Turquía movilizan aviones de guerra; los grandes centros comerciales, los automóviles de lujo y los pomposos rascacielos proliferan en países donde la…
This is an interactive art blog in multi languages, you will find new articles on artists, art history, exhibitions, etc. Contributions welcome.
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