Paintings of an artist who has loved one woman and one city for 60 years
It is not often that fate favors artists with benefits at the same time in all areas of life. Few people manage to walk a life and career on a…

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What are the secret meanings of the image of a parrot in the paintings of great artists of different eras
For artists of the Gothic, Early Renaissance and High Renaissance, birds were part of a rich visual symbolism. In a society with limited literacy, allegorical images were vital for the…

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“Love Letter” by Jan Vermeer: Why the lute is central to the picture
At the first glance at Jan Vermeer's famous painting “Love Letter”, the name seems far-fetched, because the letter itself is hardly noticeable. But the lute in the hands of a…

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Monthly Archives: September 2019

How the primitive paintings of Grandma Moses influenced the course of the Cold War

Having crossed the age limit for 60 years, many no longer expect any fateful changes from life and quietly live out their lives. However, history knows many cases when older people achieved tremendous success at a very respectable age. Most often this happened when they took up brushes and paints. So, one of the most popular artists of America in the mid-twentieth century – Grandmother Moses, who first painted at 76, had a stunning world-wide fame as a painter for her 100th birthday and was drawn into the intrigues of American propaganda.

Grandmother Moses (1860-1961), whose real name is Anna Mary Moses, nee Robertson, is a well-known American amateur artist, one of the most famous representatives of primitivism in the history of painting in the United States. The farmer’s wife and mother of 10 children, five of whom died before reaching the age of one, became famous when she was over eighty. Continue reading

Two brides for one groom: The riddle of a picturesque plot about the mystical betrothal of St. Catherine

The American artist Marilyn Sunderland covers her pumpkin sculptures with the plexus of leaves, flowers and berries, figures of fantastic fish, birds and butterflies, turning a regular vegetable grown in the garden into a masterpiece. These amazing carved exhibits are undoubtedly works of art, they delight and delight the audience with the delicate painstaking handwork of the craftswoman.

American artist Marilyn Sunderland is a native of Columbia, Missouri, but has been living and working in Utah for more than thirty years, known for its picturesque places surrounded by mountains, juicy vibrant colors of the natural landscape, plenty of rivers and fresh air. Marilyn loved drawing as a child. And at one time she graduated from the art department of the University of Missouri-Columbia and received a bachelor’s degree. And after years, two-year Art Instruction courses on vegetable carving and wood carving. Continue reading

Two brides for one groom: The riddle of a picturesque plot about the mystical betrothal of St. Catherine

Among the works of Renaissance masters and later periods in the history of painting, there are often those that depict “the mystical betrothal of St. Catherine.” At the same time, the essence of what is happening may seem vague – after all, betrothal in the usual sense of modern man does not occur on canvas. It turns out that two different women could be brides in such paintings, but the groom is always alone.

First bride – St. Catherine of Alexandria

St. Catherine of Alexandria lived in Egypt in the 3rd century AD. Before the adoption of Christianity, she bore the name of Dorothea and was the daughter of the ruler of Alexandria. The girl was famous for her extraordinary beauty, wisdom, spiritual qualities, and was, of course, an enviable bride, but in grooms she wanted only the most worthy – the one who will surpass her in everything. Then Catherine’s mother took her to the old hermit, who was praying in a cave near the city. He told the girl that he knew the one who is better in everything. Continue reading

How Peter Konchalovsky managed to avoid repression and why the artist was called the Soviet Cezanne
Not many painters who disobeyed the socialist regime in times of bloody repression managed to escape punishment. Today I would like to recall the name of one of them -…

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Creativity for the Mentally Ill: A Book That Changed History
Sometimes you can hear such a statement that in order to create a masterpiece, you must be either a genius or a madman. Tarragon - the hero of the play…

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Was there a boy, or what they argue about for many years, looking at Chardin’s picture “Prayer before dinner”
He was called the "artist of animals and fruits." He had a significant influence on Henri Matisse and Paul Cezanne. In art, this artist sought naturalness and humanity as opposed…

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