Are they part of a narrative, or staffage? Do they provide scale, or enhance the effect? Are the figures part of the landscape, or even the landscape itself?
Category Archive: General
Where land, sea, and sky meet. Sought-after and hugely popular in fine weather, the forces of nature are most obvious in storms. The cradle of Impressionism and more modern painting.
In memory of Richard Dadd: ten of his best, and thoughts about his life and work. Would we have been any better towards him even now?
The decline and fall of Medea, as her sorcery is used for murder, and she kills her own infant sons. Paintings by Delacroix, Turner, and others.
Friend and biographer of Gustave Moreau, his story and works have now all but vanished. Here are some enigmatic Symbolist paintings.
Let Consolation 3 colour your log extracts: it makes a huge difference in reading and understanding them.
Classical history paintings are rarer than those of myth. Even fewer show the most anomalous of classical societies: the Spartans.
Two recent retail experiences remind me of my mis-spent youth, when I learned the hard way what it takes to sell to customers.
In 1864, he was transferred to the newly-built Broadmoor Asylum. Despite that disruption, he continued to paint.
Domenicus van Wijnen’s paintings are radically original, quite unlike other works before him, and not matched for more than a century after. Why don’t we know him and these paintings better?
