How To Talk About Art History

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'Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus) and a False Coral Snake (Anilius scytale)' (1705) by Maria Sibylla Merian . Maria Sibylla Merian was a German illustrator. She mostly created zoological and botanical illustrations, and is famous for her dedication when observing the animals and plants around her. She would, for example, raise live insects to observe them rather than drawing from dead specimens. . At one point, she and her daughter undertook a research trip to Suriname to draw the local flora and fauna without a male companion - an unprecedented move at the time. She was able to do it because it was unofficial and self-funded. . #art #arthistory #germanart #femaleartists #botanicalillustration #zoologicalillustration http://ift.tt/2iqEJkZ

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After a bit of a holiday break, How To Talk About Art History is back with a new post answering a reader question: "Why was Cimabue considered important?" This time, the answer has a lot to do with the Renaissance and our understanding of it. Did you know that many of our widespread (perhaps flawed) ideas about the Renaissance largely come from a single 16th century art historian? (Pictured is a comparison between Cimabue and his pupil, Giotto.) . http://ift.tt/2iBi6Hx . #art #arthistory #renaissance #cimabue #giotto #vasari http://ift.tt/2hU5r5l

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Iyoba Queen Mother Pendant Mask (16th century), unknown Nigerian Edo artist . This mask, showing a woman's face, was allegedly made to depict and honour Idia, the mother of the the King or "Oba" Esigie, king of Benin. The colour white is a symbol of purity associated with the Olokun, god of the sea, and the carved mudfish - representing the king's dual nature as human and divine - bring spiritual meaning to the depiction, suggesting that it was possibly worn during spiritual ceremonies. . #art #arthistory #africanart #nigerianart #mask http://ift.tt/2gY4Uxo

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Like many other regions, the Middle East has a long artistic tradition of decorative calligraphy. Over the centuries, several different regional variants of Arabic cursive developed - pictured is an example of the regional Nasta'liq style of calligraphy. This piece was created between 1554 - 1615 by Mir Emad Hassani, one of the most well-known historical Persian calligraphers. Do you think of calligraphy or cursive when you think of art history? Do you consider it a form of art? Why/why not? . #art #arthistory #calligraphy #islamicart #persianart http://ift.tt/2hi7z32

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Old-school 1960s Minimalism right now at the Gagosian, Hong Kong: 'the nominal three (to William of Ockham)' by Dan Flavin, a now-deceased Minimalist artist who is famous for using commercial fluorescent lights in his works. #art #minimalism #danflavin #gagosiangallery #gagosian #hongkong #danflavinlights http://ift.tt/2gLV5DC

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'Still glides the stream, and shall for ever glide' (1890), Arthur Streeton . Arthur Streeton, along with Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin and Charles Conder, belonged to a group known as the Australian Impressionists (or the Heidelburg School). Like many Impressionist groups in the late 19th century, they used outdoor painting and rapid brushstrokes to try and evoke a naturalistic light in the nature around them. This became linked to emerging nationalist attitudes: each country's Impressionist/Naturalistic painters tried to find the light that best represented their unique environment. The Australian Impressionists, of course, worked hard to accurately represent the Australian landscape and its distinctive dry light. . Also, as I'm sure you'll notice from the title, Streeton was a big fan of poetry and often used it as inspiration. . #art #art history #australianart #australianimpressionism #heidelberg #arthurstreeton http://ift.tt/2foUJ3U

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NEW POST on How To Talk About Art History: "Why is 'Tim's Vermeer' so Controversial?" . I answer a reader question about "Tim's Vermeer", a documentary film about a man's quest to recreate a Vermeer painting. The film has been surprisingly controversial amongst art historians and art critics, and asks some difficult questions about art, genius and technology. What do you think about its theory about Vermeer's use of mirrors? . Read it here: http://ift.tt/2fHbeqj . #art #arthistory #vermeer #timsvermeer #dutchart #dutchgoldenage http://ift.tt/2fHcERo

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Today I'm reminded of my visit to Yoko Ono's 'Wish Tree' (1996/2011) in Wanås Sculpture Park, Sweden. Although they probably couldn't vote, the numerous people I saw who wished against a Trump presidency will, at least, have their wishes recorded, collected, and stored forever under the Imagine Peace Tower in Viðey Island, Iceland as part of Ono's project. . #art #yokoono #wishtree #uselection #uselection2016 #donaldtrump https://www.instagram.com/p/BMl79ENhgNU/

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'The Cyclops' (1898) by Odilon Redon . Odilon Redon was a French Symbolist artist. Symbolist art is similar to Surrealism in that it doesn’t seem to make any sense. However, there is one big difference between Symbolism and Surrealism: In Surrealism, it’s not supposed to make any sense. But in Symbolism, everything means something. . For most of his career he worked only with a monochromatic black pencil works. In his late artistic career he did a complete 180 and started using amazingly bright colours in his art, working mostly with pastel. . Find out more about Odilon Redon here: http://ift.tt/2cPjesl . #art #arthistory #odilonredon #cyclops #symbolism #frenchart http://ift.tt/2fJUCSJ

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The Sulawesi cave in Indonesia contains the oldest art in Asia, and some of the oldest art in the entire world. Discovered in the 1950s, it was originally estimated to be less than 10,000 years old. However, recent analysis has established it to be an astounding 39,000 - 35,000 years old, older than the cave paintings in Chauvet caves in France and almost as old as the El Castillo cave wall in Spain. According to Wil Roebroeks, an expert in human origins at Leiden University in the Netherlands, this suggests that the making of cave wall paintings was already a widely shared practice 40,000 years ago. . The pieces in this image show a hand stencil and a babirusa (also known as a 'deer-pig'). They were made with natural ochre pigment, ground into powder and mixed with water or other liquids to create paint. . #art #arthistory #cavepainting #indonesia #indonesianart #sulawesi http://ift.tt/2ffhMwz

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NEW on How To Talk About Art History! We mostly hear about contemporary examples of cultural appropriation, but it's nothing new. In fact, about a century ago there was an entire art movement based on cultural appropriation: Primitivism. . http://ift.tt/2eaLem3 . #art #arthistory #primitivism #culturalappropriation #picasso #gauguin http://ift.tt/2ffFSdc

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Gold was used in the Philippine kingdom Butuan to make funerary masks to be placed over the face of the dead. Butuan was known for its metallurgic industry and was the first part of the Philippines to establish diplomatic relations with China in the beginning of the 11th century. This particular mask comes from somewhere between the 10th - 13th centuries and was found in the Agusan del Norte province. Currently exhibited at the Ayala Museum, Manila. . #art #arthistory #funerarymask #gold #goldleaf #philippines #manila #butuan #ayalamuseum #philippinoart http://ift.tt/2eFZfsZ

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'Trett' ('Tired') (1885) by Christian Krohg . Christian Krohg was a Norwegian Realist painter who closely adhered to the tenets of 19th century Realism: subjects were chosen from everyday life and painted as objectively as possible. Such objectivity was, of course, impossible to achieve, and most Realists - including Krohg - specifically chose subjects from working class life, often painting people who were marginalised and poor in an effort to make their paintings more "authentic". In Krohg's case, his work also reflected his more radical political views. . 'Trett' depicts a sewing worker who has fallen asleep after a long night of working on a commissioned dress. At the time, sewing was considered one of the only acceptable forms of work for women. Although the industrial revolution in Europe meant that textile work was increasingly done in factories, poor women in the slums still worked with sewing commissions from home, often working 14 hour days to be able to compete with the factories. . #art #arthistory #skagensmalerne #christiankrohg #norwegianart #norwegianartist #realism http://ift.tt/2de0Svt

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'Seated Figure', 13th century . This hauntingly emotional terracotta sculpture comes from Mali, and is made by an unknown artist. The figure sits with their arms wrapped around their legs. The sculpture seems to be an expression of either anxiety and depression or deep prayer (or, of course, both). The raised bumps on the figure's back are found on several other statues from the site, and could represent body ornaments or even pustules from a disease. . The sculpture comes from a site called Djenné-Jéno, which lies slightly outside the modern-day city of Djenné. Djenné-Jéno is the oldest known city in Sub-Saharan Africa - it was abandoned in 1400, but the excavation of artefacts such as this tells us that it was a highly sophisticated urban society. . #art #arthistory #history #mali #djenne #djenné #sculpture #maliart http://ift.tt/2dCG1nZ

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'Holy Trinity' (17th century) by Gregorio Vásquez de Arce y Ceballos is a fascinating example of colonial-era Colombian art history. Gregorio Vásquez was born in Colombia of Spanish origin, and is considered a leading figure in the Colombian Baroque period. . Vásquez depicted the Holy Trinity as a single figure with three faces, which was a way of representing the Trinity that was unique to Latin America. Interestingly, this method of depition would be later condemned because it resembled Hindu deities and was considered heretic. . #art #arthistory #colombia #colombianart #colombianarthistory #latinamericanart #bogota #baroque #baroqueart http://ift.tt/2cM42vl

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Lesbianism and Queer Women in Art History: Where Are They? - How To Talk About Art History

Lesbians and queer women have always existed, in different social contexts. Lesbianism in art history appears in multiple forms: erotic, social, political.

This is an important topic for me. That’s because I, the art historian behind this blog, happen to be a queer woman. (Not exactly a big shocker to anyone who knows me.)

This means that I’m always on the lookout for representations of relationships and identities like my own in art, media and pop culture. But while art history is filled with opposite-sex love stories, what about lesbian and other queer female visibility in art? Is it even there at all?

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In 2010 the Museum of Copenhagen installed “The Wall”, a large touch-screen multimedia installation placed at various locations throughout Copenhagen. It allowed the public to explore the cultural history of the city through browsing the images, records and information provided by the museum, as well as upload their own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlxIa0OUcYc