[vincent-van-gogh-paintings]

-Avenue with Flowering Chestnut Trees at Arles-

[icecreamwithjackdaniels]

Ferdinand von Wright (Finnish, 1822–1906), "Smews"

[petaltexturedskies]

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, A Sense of Life

[nobrashfestivity]

George Baxter, 1856.

[memories-of-ancients]

Silver inlaid coral mounted relief chiseled flintlock pistol, North Africa, early 19th century

from Rock Island Auctions

[worldsandemanations]

Wm. Woollams & Co. - 1897

[eirene]

Le Bain, 1913 Charles Martin

[paintingses]

Bouguereau + Fruits, flowers, foliage, etc…

[uwmspeccoll]

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat: and The Art of Storytelling was edited by Hans Werner Holzwarth and was published in 2018 in Cologne, Germany by TASHEN. This very large, very heavy art book contains several high-quality color reproductions of Basquiat’s art and includes an essay by art historian and curator Eleanor Nairne. 

Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) was born in Brooklyn, New York and died 27 years later in the same city. Basquiat is one of the most well-known contemporary artists of our time; right next to his friend, Andy Warhol (who he collaborated with on the tenth image). Despite dying young, Basquiat’s artistic career is expansive—his paintings and sketches number in the hundreds, each in the unique style that made him sought after. He was first invited to appear in New York/New Wave in 1981 by Mudd Club co-founder Diego Cortez. From there, Basquiat’s career would take off, and he began to appear in galleries throughout the country. Many publications and articles reference his time graffitiing under the name SAMO. However, Basquiat himself rejected this, stating that he was not a graffiti artist. Despite this, it has become a part of his legacy and is used to highlight his role in the “underground” art scene before breaking out into the public sphere. Today the name SAMO is synonymous with Basquiat; along with his iconic crown, his apparent fascination with bones, and the footprints he left behind on his prints.

Much of his art references his experience as a Black man in America and his Afro-Caribbean heritage. His art mixes drawn figures with fragments of phrases, speeches, and words. Some art historians have compared Basquiat’s style to being almost childlike in the way he sketches; however, I think this is a simplistic way of looking at his art especially when considering the subjugation and systematic oppression of Black Americans he often represents in his art.

Following the death of Andy Warhol, Basquiat’s drug use increased and he overdosed in 1988. We do not know how his art would have further evolved, but his approach to art continues to inspire new artists.

See more Staff Picks

--Olivia, Special Collections Art History Field Worker

[classicalcanvas]

Weeping Willow (1919) by Claude Monet

[rosieandthemoon]

by Alfred Zimmermann

[danskjavlarna]

Source details and larger version.

[bobemajses]

Tim N. Gidal, "Night of the Cabbalist", 1935

In this photograph, which also has been called Night at Meron or Lag B'Omer on the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, a man sleeps atop a small building, waiting for the night to pass and the moon to wane. In a surreal way, time seems to stand still, and yet it marks Lag B'Omer, the thirty-third day of the counting of the omer, which begins on the second day of Passover and continues until Shavuot. The photograph documents the major celebration held in Meron, in Upper Galilee, believed to be spot where Bar Yohai, the second-century rabbinic scholar and mystic whom kabbalists consider to be the author of the Zohar, is buried. The man on top of the roof is one of thousands of Hasidim and kabbalists who gather to celebrate, sing, and dance. It is not unusual for Jewish pilgrims to travel to Meron and other burial sites to prostrate themselves on the tombs of holy people, where they beseech the deceased to intercede with God on their behalf.

[hillbillybubbeleh]

Hallel (1978) by Bill Aron; gelatin silver print; in From the Corners of the Earth

[findlight]

Fritz Lang, woodcut prints of cornflowers and red carnations, circa 1910s-1923.

[mybeingthere]

Poland, 19th century. Egg decorated with micrographic text from the Song of Songs, handwritten in ink, 7 x 5.

“From the 18th century, and perhaps even earlier, hollow eggs on which sacred texts had been written in micrography were used to decorate European sukkahs. Not all the texts related directly to the holiday of Sukkot, the Festival of Booths: this example has Song of Songs 1-4:7 inscribed in minuscule letters. At times feathers were added to the hanging egg, so that it looked like a bird in flight."

[metmuseum]

Rio della Verona, Venice. 1883. Credit line: Gift of Mrs. Andrew Fisher Bunner, 1899 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/10301