A woman spinning in front of her bed, a view of a street, a waterfront, marketplace, boats on the river, canals, windmills, a sandy beach, clouds, and frozen rivers – everyday life in the Golden Age.
painting
In peinture à l’essence, the drying oil binder is removed from oil paint, and the remaining pigment is diluted with turpentine. This creates a fragile paint layer that is ephemeral.
The three Furies appear on top of the gate to Dis, and try to turn Dante to stone using the face of Medusa. Once allowed in, they meet some of the heretics in their burning tombs.
Is this Hecate, triple-headed goddess of the night, with owl and bats, or another of Blake’s mythology, representing spiritual beauty? A misidentified painting explained.
God seen as a master craftsman, forming the world, or a symbol of reason drawn from Blake’s own personal mythology? A painting explained.
Guards throwing dice in the Crucifixion, gambling in Bosch’s vision of Hell, in a dingy tavern, losing an entire estate, and being played by young street urchins.
An active socialist from 1883, for a few years his paintings had social undertones, then from 1887 they showed the forces of nature in elemental play.
Expressing a weariness with this life and yearning for the next, they originated in Flanders, but soon became popular in the Dutch Republic in its Golden Age.
Made of almost pure pigment, soft pastel painting didn’t start until after 1650. They excel in representing flesh, so became popular for portraits, and have since extended to other genres.
They descend past Plutus to the circle of misers and spendthrifts rolling boulders around, then down to the Stygian lake of the angry and miserable. They cross the Styx in Phlegyas’ boat.
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