Today, Sylvester is going to tell us about the Toreador Fresco and the Palace of Knossos. That’s right, the one with the Minotaur from ancient Greek mythology. Did you know the palace there actually exists?! Up until the late 1800’s, almost everything we knew about ancient Aegean … Continue readingThe Toreador Fresco and the Palace of Knossos
Charles-André van Loo was born on February 15, 1705 in Nice, France. He painted religion, mythology, history, allegory, portraits, and genre scenes, and is considered to be the most famous in a whole dynasty of Dutch painters. Van Loo was a member of the Académie Royale … Continue readingThe Adoration of the Magi by Charles-André van Loo
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta was born on February 13, 1682 (or 1683). He was an Italian Rococo artist who painted religious scenes. Piazzeta studied under Giuseppe Maria Crespe, whose influence greatly shaped the student’s style. Perhaps the most striking thing about Piazzeta’s work is his use … Continue readingThe Ecstacy of St. Francis by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta
Thomas Moran was born on February 12, 1837 in England but was considered to be an American artist. He is best known for his majestic landscapes, and he focused particularly on scenes in the Rocky Mountains. He was hired as an illustrator for Scribner’s Monthly, eventually becoming … Continue readingShoshone Falls on the Snake River by Thomas Moran
Ary Scheffer was born on February 10, 1795. Though of Dutch origin, he was a French Romantic painter. He typically painted works of literature from authors such as Dante and Byron, and religious scenes, and he was also a prolific portrait painter.
Egyption art is seemingly always high quality, and that’s because it was created for purposes sacred to the culture. Most of what we still have is from the tombs of kings, buried with them to ensure that they moved on to the afterlife. Because of … Continue readingThe Palette of King Narmer
Guercino was born on February 8, 1591 as Giovanni Francesco Barbieri. He is known as an Italian Baroque painter with a lively nature in his paintings. Guercino received the nickname by which he is best known because he was cross-eyed, and the word is Italian for … Continue readingReturn of the Prodigal Son by Guercino
Today, Sylvester is going to tell us about the Royal Standard of Ur! What is a royal standard, you might ask? Is that the royal way in which Ur is to behave? Sylvester insists that’s not quite it. Actually, Ur is a city in Mesopotamia, … Continue readingThe Royal Standard of Ur
Carl Spitzweg was born on February 5, 1808 in Bavaria. He was an important part of the German Romantic movement in art, and especially in the Biedermeier era in which art grew to appeal to middle class people. Spitzweg was trained as a pharmacist, but ironically … Continue readingThe Butterfly Hunter by Carl Spitzweg
Norman Rockwell was born on February 3, 1894 in New York City. Most people recognize him as the illustrator of The Saturday Evening Post magazine cover, a weekly dispatch to which he contributed for more than fifty years. Rockwell left high school to join the Chase Art … Continue readingCobbler Studying Doll’s Shoe by Norman Rockwell