Art History
But What About Isaac?
Mar 26, 2023 by Tim Pingelton
Several well-known artists painted the biblical scene from Genesis in which Abraham, in a divine test, took his only son Isaac out into the wilderness to sacrifice him. At the last second, an angel stayed Abraham’s hand, which was clutching a knife, and tells him to sacrifice a nearby ram instead. I wonder what Isaac thought about this moment. Let's investigate how these artists apparently viewed Isaac's thoughts at that crucial moment in his life.
A Pricey Cat Door
Mar 11, 2023 by Tim Pingelton
Joseph Mallord William Turner used one of his paintings, which would be worth mucho dinero today, as a cat flap. One of his cats scratched it up, and now it is restored and is in in the Tate Gallery, London. That's all.
The School of Athens Needs a New Superintendent
Mar 05, 2023 by Tim Pingelton
Behold the wonderous fresco painted by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (better known as Raphael) from 1509 to 1511. It is in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, not far from the chapel in which Michelangelo spent so much time on his back high on scaffolding during the same time. It’s a large painting, measuring about 17 by 25 feet, and it went nameless until the 17th Century. I guess, until then, it was just referred to as the painting on the wall of the library. Now we call it The School of Athens.
If I were one of those superintendents who really know their district’s policies, here is what I would report to the school board after evaluating The School of Athens...
If I were one of those superintendents who really know their district’s policies, here is what I would report to the school board after evaluating The School of Athens...
The Science of Pointillism
Feb 20, 2023 by Tim Pingelton
George Seurat created the easy-going feel of Pointillistic park scenes by following the hard-science-based color theories of Benjamin Thompson and Michel Eugène Chevreul. The influence of color theory was and is enormous, allowing visual artists to convey deep emotion through studying wavelengths of visible light.
