Posted in American, Arts and Culture, tagged art, mystery on October 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Did Jackson Pollock hide a message in his “Mural”?
According to art historian Henry Adams, the answer is “Yes!”
Just in time for Halloween, a new case of a famous artist hiding information in one of his famous paintings. Not as exciting a mystery as in The Davinci Code, but, writing exclusively for Smithsonian magazine, Adams, a [...]
Posted in American, Arts and Culture, History, tagged art, women, WW II on October 1, 2009 | 4 Comments »
One of the famous iconic images from World War II is Norman Rockwell’s poster of Rosie the Riveter. The painting, for which now-79 year old Mary Doyle Keefe posed twice and was paid $10, came to embody the can-do attitude of American women whose work helped win the war. Full story here .
post updated [...]
Posted in Book Review, tagged art, books, Italy, mystery, WW II on September 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Acqua alta
Venice, city of mystery, filled with great art, ancient religious relics, churches, and, sometimes, sea water. In The Thief of Venice, Homer attends a rare book conference and Mary sets out to acquaint herself with the dreamlike city. Her dreams turn into nightmares when she is pursued by a handsome but nefarious oncologist [...]
Posted in Book Review, tagged art, France, WW II on August 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
1939. Max Berenzon is the son of one of the premier art dealers in Paris, and when his father tells him he doesn’t have what it takes to inherit the business, Max doesn’t know what to think or do. Max settles on med school, where he does only enough to get by. When his father [...]
Posted in Book Review, History, tagged art, historical fiction, Italy, religion on July 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The nature of sin
Simon Raikes is restoring an enigmatic stone Madonna that graces the front of a medieval church in Venice. As he prepares his work, he is overtaken by visions, and he soon becomes obsessed with discovering the history of the unusual, subtly erotic statue. Simon’s own fate becomes inextricably enmeshed with [...]
Posted in Movie/DVD Review, tagged art, biography, England, literature on February 22, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Classic
Reading Peter Rabbit and company to children is one of life’s simple pleasures, as was watching Chris Noonan’s treatment of the middle years of author Beatrix Potter’s life. Not content to become the wife of a “suitable” man to fulfill the expectations of Edwardian society, Miss Potter remained single until well into her forties. [...]
Posted in Arts and Culture, History, tagged art, France, medieval on February 16, 2009 | 1 Comment »
The page for December depicts the end of a wild boar hunt in the forest of Vincennes, with the chateau in which the Duke de Berry was born, on November 30, 1340. At that time, the Château de Vincennes had not reached the proportions shown here, having been completed nearly 25 years later by Charles [...]
Posted in Arts and Culture, tagged art, France, medieval on December 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
November’s scene shows the traditional system of pannage, driving the herd of swine into the woods to feast upon fallen acorns, fattening them for slaughter. Acorns and other nuts and fruits were also harvested for human consumption. Atypically, the setting is an ordinary one, depicting none of the grand properties of the Duc.
In the background [...]
