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A to Z of Landscapes: Valleys
In this alphabet of landscape painting there are several strong contenders for the letter v. Volcanoes make for thrilling views, but are unusual apart from those of Vesuvius. Views of Venice, or...
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Celebrating the bicentenary of Eugène Boudin: Pioneer of Impressionism 2
Two hundred years ago today, on 12 July 1824, the French artist Eugène Boudin was born. In the first of these two articles celebrating his life and work, I looked at his formative influence on French...
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Commemorating 100 years since the death of Henrietta Ward, Victorian history...
A century ago yesterday, on the 12 July 1924, one of the few highly successful women painters of Britain died: Henrietta Mary Ada Ward. Although almost forgotten today, and barred from joining the...
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Painting underwater
Painters can be intrepid, carrying their pochade box up mountains, deep into caves, across deserts, and in boats, but there’s one place that very few have painted, underwater. Breath-hold diving for...
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Commemorating the centenary of the death of Kuroda Seiki, Japanese...
A century ago today, on 15 July 1924, one of the most influential Japanese Impressionist painters died: Viscount Kuroda Seiki (黒田 清輝) (Kuroda Kiyoteru). For more than a quarter of a century he was one...
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Changing Paintings: 28 Philomela’s revenge
Ovid’s last substantial story in Book 6 of his Metamorphoses continues the gory trend of the slaughter of the Niobids and the flaying of Marsyas, in one of his grimmest stories of rape and its...
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Reading visual art: 141 Swan
If you find geese daunting, then what about swans? Although usually seen as graceful if not regal, fully grown adults can weight over 15 kg (33 pounds), and can put up a real fight. They feature in one...
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Sea of Mists: Influenced, Arkhyp Kuindzhi
The influence of German Romanticism, as expressed in the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich and JC Dahl, extended well beyond the confines of modern Germany. Among those thought to have been...
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A to Z of Landscapes: Wind
In this alphabet of landscape painting, we’ve covered two of the four ancient elements, in earth and various bodies of water, but not yet touched on air. Therefore the letter w is for wind, a real...
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A painted visit to Istanbul and Turkey 1
There can be few cities in the world as exciting as Istanbul, as it straddles the Bosporus Strait joining Europe to Asia, and connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean. This weekend I invite you...
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A painted visit to Istanbul and Turkey 2
In the first of these two collections of paintings of the city of Istanbul and its surroundings, I looked a little at its history, then views painted by European visitors during the nineteenth century,...
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Changing Paintings: 29 Boreas and Orithyia
Following Ovid’s long account of the grim story of the rape and mutilation of Philomela, he brings Book 6 of his Metamorphoses to its end on a lighter note, forming a bridge to the opening theme for...
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Reading visual art: 142 Apes and monkeys, narrative
Monkeys and apes are some of the oldest motifs in European painting, and have been significant features in every century’s art since the 1400s. Until little more than a century ago, though, they were...
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Reading visual art: 143 Apes and monkeys, singerie
Not only were monkeys and apes featured in some early European paintings, but in the early 1600s they featured in their own sub-genre of singerie, French for monkeying, as in monkeying about. In these,...
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Sea of Mists: Influenced, Hans Fredrik Gude
The last of these artists who were influenced by the German Romantic painters, notably Caspar David Friedrich and J C Dahl, is the Norwegian Hans Gude (1825–1903). Born and initially educated in...
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A to Z of Landscapes: X marks the spot
On all good maps of buried treasure, X marks the spot, so for the letter x in this alphabet of landscape painting, I’ll consider some fine paintings of the Palace of Westminster (better known as the...
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Commemorating the death of Muggur, an Icelandic painter
Earlier this month, I looked at the life and work of Þórarinn B. Þorláksson, one of the founding fathers of painting in Iceland. Today I remember one of the following generation, Guðmundur...
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On Scottish beaches with William McTaggart
If you’ve never visited a remote Scottish beach, now is the time to do so. To give you a taste of those in Kintyre, on the west coast, this article shows a small selection of the paintings of William...
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Changing Paintings: 30 Jason, Medea and the Golden Fleece
Ovid starts the seventh book of his Metamorphoses with myths concerning Jason, Medea, and the Golden Fleece. Although these take up the first half of this book, he only summarises long and complex...
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Reading visual art: 144 Human flight
It seems that humans have always wanted to fly like the birds, although it’s clear that few birds have ever wanted to walk far on two legs. As is often the case, our aspiration has been transformed...
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