Something Beautiful

Lukas site [Death of the Virgin (van der Goes)

Lukas site

Search: Artist, Century, Collection

Example:  this extraordinary Death of the Virgin, c. , by Hugo van der Goes.  Check out the zoom and you'll see what I mean. 

Same: Altarpiece of St. Nicholas, by the Master of the Legend of St. Lucia

Ghent Altarpiece, by Jan van Eyk

Death of Peter Paul Rubens  1800s?

20th-century Last Supper 

Collections

Themes

 

Grisaille

Before the Internet and all its wonderful artwork came along, I had never heard of grisaille.   Grisaille is the use of monochromatic painting in shades of gray. It often gives the impression of a sculpture. Once exposed to it, I quickly learned to love works done in grisaille, and hope that you do (or will) too.  

This Annunciation diptych, done by Jan van Eyk c. 1435, is probably my favorite work in grisaille. 

Still Life (Google Art Project)

If you plug the simple phrase "still life" into the Search feature at Google Art Project, a total of 843 art works will be returned!    Not surprisingly, a great many will be lovely.  Works include the classical and the modern, and were done by the famous and the obscure.  A true treasure house.  

There are so many wonderful works in this large selection that it would be impossible to choose a 'best' or 'most beautiful.'  It would be hard, in fact, even to choose a  top 'personal favorite.'   If I really, really had to choose just one, though, it would probably be Flower Still Life, done in 1614 by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder. 

Italian Renaissance

I just happened upon a lovely ebook of works by Italian Renaissance artists.   It is based on essays taken from Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists and is therefore called "The Vasari Companion."   If you're into the Italian Renaissance, you'll definitely enjoy this tasteful, understated presentation.   

Carthusian Monk

Yesterday, for some reason, I wanted to post a link to this painting, Carthusian Monk, 1446, by Petrus Christus.   Why?   Maybe because I've been hanging out with monks lately?  (twice a week at a nearby monastery)  Because I've finally begun to understand something about it?   I just really don't know. 

I first came across this work about twelve years ago, in my early years of exploring art on the Web.  At that time I was attracted to it, but also slightly repelled.  There is something about the young man's eyes.  I feel he is both at home in his Carthusian habit and somehow struggling against it.  He is not at peace, as I want him to be.   His beard is also somewhat unsettling to me.  I like a neat beard, not one like his. 

Now, all these years later, this painting has risen, suddenly, and unexpectedly, mysteriously, into my mind again.  I appreciate it much more than I did formerly.  Probably the artist has captured precisely the young man's ambivalence about his life at the monastery.  The very thing that once put me off turns out to be the artist's real achievement. 

I wonder how this young man's life turned out?  I hope it went well and that he died in peace, full of years and goodness. 

NGA's 25 most requested images

I love this page. It displays the thumbnails of the 25 most requested images at the website of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Just seeing so many great works on one page somehow has an effect on one's body. (Note that 25 more images are available on the very next page.)

Google Art Project (v. 2)

So, you've heard about the updated Google Art Project, right? This extraordinary undertaking appeared in version 1.0 in February 2011. Version 2.0, just made public, is a substantial expansion. Last year only 17 museums were represented. This year a grand total of 151 institutions and collections make appearances. More than 32,000 artworks are included! (Further background is available in this New York Times article.)

You can explore the art through several approaches:

- Artists 

- Artworks

- Collections

As one might expect with Google, there is also a Search feature.

 

Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder

The Hoogsteder site is another long-time personal favorite. I discovered it more than ten years ago and it still feels like a personal secret. The Hoogsteders bill themselves as "Specialists in Dutch and Flemish Old Master Paintings" and their site reflects that.

Current works on offer are listed under four headings:

Genre

Landscape

Portrait

Still Life

One of my favorite still-lifes is among these paintings -- Summer Flowers in a Vase, by Rachel Ruysch.

Prado gallery

The Prado Museum in Madrid holds one of the world's finest art collections. One good way of accessing its holdings is to use the the Museum's own Online gallery, currently offering 1,076 works of art. One way to explore the Online gallery is to check out this page and go from there.

The Gemäldegalerie (Berlin)

The Gemäldegalerie in Berlin is one of the world's great museums. You can get a feel for what it might be like to spend a day there by reading this long blog entry, complete with photos. The photos are not always great and a few of the comments are unfortunate. On the whole, though, this page will give you a real sense of being at the Museum and viewing the fabulous works mounted on its walls.