Just because a President announces he’s agreed to a two week ceasefire moments before he threatened to commit war crimes, does not mean he is suddenly fit to serve. #25thAmendment

In 1895 Remington's friend, the Philadelphia writer Owen Wister, published an article in Harper's Monthly titled, "The Evolution of the Cow-Puncher."" A number of illustrations, including this painting, accompanied the article. Remington had advised Wister to write about the cowboy's passing, for the open ranges where "he literally fought his right of way" were no more. "Don't mistake the nice young men who amble around wire fences for the wild rider of the Plains," he warned. The passing of the open-range cowboy is mourned in this painting, which is infused with the slow rhythms and somber tones of an elegy. The mythic image of the cowboy was to be further immortalized seven years later with the publication of Wister's influential novel The Virginian.

The Fall of the Cowboy by Frederic Remington, 1895, AmonCarter Museum of American Art (Fort Worth, TX)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Impressionism #AmericanImpressionism

That was my first thought. "Tune in Tuesday at 8. We have a great show for you."

Light sculpts the worn surfaces of faces and textiles, defining the volumetric presence of figures gathered around rough-hewn tables. A collection of individuals, many with beards and heads cloaked in headscarves, occupies the foreground, engaged in eating and conversation. Their postures suggest a shared moment of sustenance amidst the bustling marketplace. The deliberate thickening of paint in the folds of clothing anchors the figures, giving their garments a tangible weight. This textural density imbues the scene with the materiality of everyday life, the very fabric of existence for those depicted. The broad, confident brushstrokes that render the market stalls and distant buildings suggest a rapid capture of atmosphere. This swift execution speaks to a keen observational acuity, a desire to convey the fleeting immediacy of communal experience. The bright, high-key illumination that washes over the scene, particularly on the figures' heads and shoulders, accentuates their grounded presence. Such rendering, unburdened by overt idealization, presents an unvarnished vision of peasant life. Makovsky charts the social interactions of a post-emancipation Russia, where communal gatherings and shared meals forge collective identity. The scene, steeped in the realism of its era, foregrounds the dignity of ordinary people through their daily rituals. The painting is a key example of Russian Realism, a movement that emerged in the mid-19th century as a reaction against Romanticism and Academic art. Russian Realists sought to depict everyday life, particularly the hardships faced by the lower classes, with unflinching honesty. Makovsky's work aligns with the "critical realism" branch, which aimed to expose social injustices and provoke social change. It emerged during a period of significant social and political upheaval in Russia, marked by industrialization, urbanization, and growing social inequality.

The Meal by Vladimir Makovsky, 1875, State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow, Russia)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Realism #RussianRealism

The dense layering of oil builds a visceral surface that registers the physical presence of the subject. A regal head, crowned and adorned, confronts the viewer. The artist's vigorous brushwork excavates the contours of the face, revealing a network of lines etched by time and position. These thick applications of color solidify the flesh, anchoring the royal regalia to the palpable human form. The light catches the impasto, defining planes and carving out the features with unflinching directness. This textural solidity speaks to an enduring, almost immutable position within the public consciousness. The crown, rendered with a fragmented brilliance, suggests both the weight of tradition and the multifaceted nature of sovereignty. The pearls, small points of reflected light, punctuate the established order. The gaze, direct and unwavering, holds the observer captive. This stark presentation cuts through accumulated iconographic layers. It confronts the viewer with an unvarnished humanity beneath the symbols of power. The portrait emerged during a period of shifting attitudes towards the monarchy in Britain. While the royal family remained a symbol of national identity, there was increasing public interest their lives as individuals, rather than solely as representatives of the Crown. Freud's work, part of a broader trend in 21st-century portraiture, challenged traditional conventions and embraced a more psychological and realistic approach. It builds on the tradition of realist portraiture, but pushes it further with its uncompromising depiction of the subject. It also reflects a move away from the romanticized portraiture of earlier eras.

Queen Elizabeth II by Lucian Freud, 2001. It was a personal gift to the Queen, and so considered her private property, but the painting is often linked to the Royal Collection

#ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #Expressionism

Mill in Sunlight: The Winkel Mill by Piet Mondrian, 1908, Gemeentemuseum den Haag (Hague, Netherlands)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Fauvism #NeoImpressionism #Luminism

See www.piet-mondrian.org/the-windmill... for more on this work

This painting represents an illustration of the famous Ramayama epic which recounts the story of Rama, a mortal and an ideal ruler who eventually became deified as an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. The scene shows Rama and his consort, Sita, is in front of a straw hut, accompanied by four female attendants, as they make their way to see a priest to set their wedding date. This series is known as the "Shangri" set, which takes its name from the place of residence of the Kulu royal family. Originally the set consisted of approximately 270 miniatures and was divided into four distinct groups. This painting represents Style II, characterized by a sparse composition with the figures and objects crisply delineated against a solid yellow background.

Rama and Sita Being Taken to the Priest to Fix the Wedding Date; page from the Ramayana (Tales of God Rama), c.1700-1710, The Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, OH)

#ArtHistory #PahariPainting

Redbud Tree in Bottom Land, Red River Gorge, Kentucky, April 17, 1968 by EliotPorter, 1968 AmonCarter Museum of American Art (Fort Worth, TX)

#ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #Photography

The luminous quality of the sky anchors the composition. Small fishing boats and figures occupy the foreground. Layers of thick application define the sun-drenched facades of the buildings. This creates a tactile immediacy, drawing the eye across the rough textures of plaster and stone. The deep blues and whites of the architecture recall the luminous clarity of Mediterranean light, while diluted washes define the distant sea and the hazy mountains beyond. The clustered buildings suggest a communal existence, their forms pressing close to the water's edge. Loose brushwork captures the fleeting nature of light and shadow. This scene unfolds with the confident brushstrokes of an artist attuned to the atmosphere of a specific locale. The composition organizes the bright Mediterranean scene with a European sensibility. Gorbatov renders the everyday in a manner that elevates to timeless presence.

Fishing Street, Capri by Konstantin Gorbatov, 1930, New Jerusalem Museum - Moscow Regional Museum of History and Arts (Russia)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #PostImpressionism

The diffuse light defines the atmospheric presence of this scene. Figures, suggested by smudged forms, gather near the vessel's deck and amidst the rigging. Broad, swiftly applied strokes of pale blue and white create a hazy sky. These energetic marks, layered loosely, convey the immediacy of fleeting moment. Their every facture evokes dynamism of industrial progress, a world transformed by steam and steel. The stark vertical of the smokestack pierces the composition, a monument to mechanical power. Oblique lines of rigging fragment the upper register, hinting at a complex network of human endeavor, The deck itself, rendered in earthy tones and broken planes, anchors the vessel to a solid, yet restless, reality. This visual vocabulary speaks to an era wrestling with the implications of modernity. The fragmented forms and shifting planes chart a new way of seeing the industrialized world. The steam billowing across the right side dissolves solid boundaries, suggesting impermanence. Its ethereal quality softens the otherwise robust machinery.

Aboard a Steamer by John Henry Twachtman, 1891, Private Collection

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Impressionism #AmericanImpressionism

Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson, 1970, Rozel Point, Great Salt Lake (Utah)

#ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #Earthworks #EnvironmentalArt

For everything you could want to know from materials and inspiration to scholarly texts or visiting the site, see holtsmithsonfoundation.org/spiral-jetty

Spring in the Country by Grant Wood, 1941, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Regionalism

Please see www.thehistoryofart.org/grant-wood/s... for more information

A mind is a terrible thing to waste

Mr. Blue Head by David Michael Hinnebusch l, 2004, Private Collection

#ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #NeoExpressionism

BLM opens comment period on proposal to shrink or remove Chaco Canyon buffer zone A 20-year buffer zone of 10 miles around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park prohibits new mineral leasing in the area.

The Bureau of Land Management took a step this week toward potentially ending Chaco Canyon's protections from oil and gas drilling, a move that raised concerns among Pueblo people with ties to the area and drew sharp criticism among environmental advocates and New Mexico's congressional delegation.

A fashionable and wealthy crowd that includes many artists and intellectuals has gathered in the Tuileries Gardens to listen to one of the twice-weekly concerts given there. Manet himself stands at the far left of the picture holding a cane, his body cut by the edge of the canvas and partly obscured by the man in front of him, the animal painter Comte Albert de Balleroy. Manet participates in the scene while also being slightly detached from it. Painted in 1862, this was Manet’s first major painting of contemporary life in Second Empire Paris (1852–1870) and is an early example of his interest in urban leisure, a subject that would preoccupy him for the rest of his life, as it would the Impressionists. But it is also a group portrait of Manet and his family, friends and associates. The painting has the status of an artistic manifesto and has justifiably been described as the earliest example of modern painting due to its subject matter and technique.

Music in the Tuileries Garden by Édouard Manet, 1862, National Gallery (London, UK)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Impressionism

When Amiet first portrayed 19 year old Gertrud Müller (1888–1980) from Solothurn, she was one of his painting students. The whole upper half of the picture is occupied by the hat with the monumental bow, the head, the shoulder section and the still life motifs are assigned only the lower half. Equally radical is the painterly treatment of the portrait. While a flowing contour line elegantly surrounds the figure, the energetic application of paint in short strokes and the color with hard contrasts prove Amiet’s familiarity with the painting of Vincent van Gogh.

The Violet Hat (Portrait Gertrude Müller) by Cuno Amiet, 1907, Kunstmuseum Solothurn (Solothurn, Switzerland)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #ArtNouveau #Divisionism

The artwork illustrates a whimsical and colorful scene, characteristic of Prendergast’s style, with an idyllic setting. Central to the piece are human figures and animals interspersed within a vibrant landscape, featuring lush trees, an elaborate house, and a serene, meandering path. The prominent red rooftops and blue architectural elements add to the visual dynamism of the scene. The playful arrangement and the lively palette effectively evoke a sense of fantasy and simplicity, reflective of the Naïve Art movement’s embrace of folk-like charm and straightforwardness.

Figures and Donkeys (also known as Fantasy with Horse) by Maurice Prendergast, c. 1913 - c. 1915, Private Collection

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Post-Impressionism #NaïveArt #Primativism

The luminous surface of the lake dominates composition. A distant village and fortified embankment occupy the middle ground, their forms softened by the atmospheric haze. Thin, parallel strokes of blue and white define the restless water. These marks break the illusion of a smooth expanse, acknowledging the fluid nature of the depicted element. The careful rendering of diffused light through the clouds and its subsequent reflection on the water captures a fleeting moment of summer clarity. Structures cluster on the elevated terrain, small red-roofed buildings and a prominent church spire anchoring them against the vast sky. Broad, textured dabs suggest burgeoning vegetation along the right bank. The vastness of the sky, populated by billowing clouds, presses down on the landscape. The painting's rendering of Russia's natural beauty aligns with a burgeoning national consciousness. The quiet stillness of rural life pervades the scene.

Lake by Isaac Levitan, 1899-1900, State Russian Museum (Saint Petersburg, Russia)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Realism

Painted in October 1909, the remarkably expressive and dynamic "Both Members of This Club" is the third and largest of Bellows's early prizefighting subjects. The painting's title is a reference to the practice in private athletic clubs of introducing the contestants to the audience as "both members" to circumvent the Lewis Law of 1900 that had banned public boxing matches in New York State. Boxing was a controversial subject, but the interracial theme made this painting even more so, especially since the Black boxer appears to be winning the match. It is likely that Bellows intended "Both Members of This Club" as an allusion to the recent and much-publicized success of the African American professional prizefighter Jack Johnson, who had won the world heavyweight championship in 1908. The idea of a black boxing champion was so unsettling to the prejudiced social order of the time that many thought interracial bouts should be outlawed. Painted at the height of the Jim Crow era, Bellows' powerful delineation of a White fighter about to be defeated by Black opponent was an exceptionally daring and provocative piece of social commentary.

Both Members of This Club by George Bellows, 1909, National Gallery of Art (Washington DC)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Realism #NewRealism #AmericanRealism #AshCanSchool #TheEight

In her frequent depictions of children, Mary Cassatt invested relatively quiet and unexceptional moments with considerable dynamism in handling and composition. "Child in a Straw Hat" is one of many paintings Cassatt made of little girls appearing to play dress-up. But where Cassatt often portrayed girls taking pleasure in the act of role- playing, here the child's expression suggests that she is not enjoying herself, Isolated and required to stand still, her demeanor conveys a mixture of pensiveness, frustration, and boredom. While the subject matter captures a languid moment, the paint is handled energetically. Broad, visible brushstrokes are used throughout the composition, forming abstract patterns in some areas, such as the white sleeves of the blouse and smock. The paint was applied quickly and directly to the canvas, in a manner referred to as "alla prima," which lends an appearance of spontaneity to the work.

Child in a Straw Hat by Mary Cassatt, c.1886, National Gallery of Art (Washington DC)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Impressionism

Hillside was one of the first works by Nakamura purchased by the National Gallery of Canada-it was acquired in 1955. This depiction of a dense forest along the side of a hill is yet another stylistic variant in the artist's exploration of the line between figuration and abstraction, appearance and underlying structure. Hillside is an interesting combination of the brushwork found in the background of Autumn, c. 1950, which would recur in some of his contemporary landscapes, such as Landscape, Green Hillside, 1954, and the spidery lines in his drawings and in Morning Mist, 1951. In this painting, Nakamura seems to be trying to match up a rectilinear application of colour, likely informed by the late work of Paul Cézanne, such as in Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1902-4, with line loosely enclosing the color. He continues to limit his palette to a very small range of colors, predominantly green in this painting, but also some blue. Like Morning Mist, it has a striking a similarity to the greens and blues Vincent van Gogh preferred late in his career. Nakamura admired van Gogh, and his palette may have inspired the yellow color that we find in Hillside.

Hillside by Kazuo Nakamura, 1956, National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa)

#ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #AbstractExpressionism

Bert Lancaster as Emler Gantry

I watched Elmer Gantry Friday night on Tubi but it may be available on other platforms, too. It's pretty terrific. If you haven't seen it, or seen it lately, I urge you to add it to your list.

I think Red Barber was the best

Escape attempt? Alice the Elephant briefly roams free inside BioPark Zoo Zoo officials say the situation forced the BioPark Zoo to delay opening on Sunday. Normal operations have resumed

My favorite part of this article? "No other elephants were involved."

koat.com/article/esca...

The inspiration of this work was by a biblical poem in which a bride reveals her face to her lover. The women surrounding her are modeled by Ellen Smith, an English laundress, Fanny Eaton, of Jamaican heritage, and Kiome Bonnet, of Romany descent. The young boy, whose name is unknown, was brought to London by an American around the time slavery was abolished there. Rossetti's choice of models often challenges rigid Victorian beauty ideals. Yet, the central placement of the white sitter, modelolitical theory. By producing titanic icons of classical liberal, romantic,led by Mary Ford, suggests a racial hierarchy. The luxurious fabrics and jewelery from North Africa and East Asia reflect Victorian fantasies of cultures outside of Europe.

The Beloved by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1865-1866, Tate Britain (London, UK)

#ArtHistory #Romanticism

Horse’s Skull with Pink Rose by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1931, LACMA - Los Angeles County Museum of Art (CA)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Precisionism

How nice that Brad had the $ to move to Italy

But not Bernie, right?

The vibrant, undiluted fields of color assert an undeniable surface presence. A reddish-brown horse occupies the foreground, its head turned away, revealing a long, curvilinear blue mane. Expanses of luminous yellow dominate the þackground, interrupted by sweeping bands of green and thin, cerulean streaks suggesting water. The fluid application of broad strokes creates undulating planes across the landscape. These simplified forms, divorced from representational fidelity, communicate an essentialized experience of the natural world. The bold juxtaposition of saturated hues carves the scene into distinct emotional territories. This radical implification strips away superficial detail to reveal underlying energies. The dynamic interaction of color fields and organic shapes suggests a spiritual connection to the land. Such intense chromatic declarations participate in the era's embrace of subjective perception. The unblended colors amplify the direct emotional impact of the scene. This artwork is a key example of German Expressionism, specifically the 'Blaue Reiter' (Blue Rider) group, which Franz Marc co-founded with Wassily Kandinsky. Expressionism emerged in the early 20th century as a reaction against perceived materialism and alienation of modern life. It sought to express subjective emotions and experiences rather than objective reality. 'Horse in a Landscape' reflects the shift away from representational art towards abstraction and the exploration of inner states. It bridges the gap between Impressionism's focus on light and color and the more radical abstraction of later movements like Cubism and Abstract Expressionism.

Horse in a Landscape by Franz Marc, 1911, Museum Folkwang (Essen, Germany)

#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Expressionism #GermanExpressionism #BlaueReiter