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The Good, the Bad, and the 17th Century
Here we are again at the 17th century, the time of Master Rembrandt and his many self-portraits. But, frankly, when I consider wanting to go back in time, I don’t fancy returning to the 17th century. There were a tonne of wars. Famines in Russia, France, and Finland and a plague in both Seville and London. Shakespeare died, for crying out loud – I’m still mourning this loss. The Good: Jamestown, Virginia was established – which later led to a massacre of 347 English settlers by the natives (essentially score one and only) St Peter’s Basilica was completed Torture was outlawed in England (we’re still waiting for that…
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In Love … With Myself
Online profiles are essentially shameless self-promotion – things you like, things you do, endless photos of yourself, etc. However, I find when my skinny friends post too many photos of themselves in swimsuits, or newly-engaged friends post endless photos of rings and partners, and my married friends post hundreds of photos of their new babies, I start to feel badly about myself. That’s not to say that I’m not doing cool things or that I want children (Any. Time. Soon.), but sites like Facebook have opened many doors to jealousy, self-loathing, and endless comparison of ourselves to others. Stop it! You know who would have been shamelessly good…
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The Self-Indulgence of the Self-Portrait
The self-portrait: an frank insight into the soul of an artist or a web of lies? Self-Portraits are the epicentre of the Metropolitan Museum’s current exhibition: ‘Rembrandt and Degas: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’, presenting early self-portraits by the artists side by side for the first time. Featured below: left, Rembrandt van Rijn, Sheet of Studies with Self-Portrait (detail), 1630-1634 and right, Edgar Degas, Self-Portrait (detail), c. 1855-1857: With the mass production of improved glass mirrors, the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century saw a wave of self-portraits amongst painters, sculptors, and printmakers alike. A range of self-depictions were produced, from the humble sketch to extravagant biblical…
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