The Red Jackson photograph by Gordon Parks sent me into a whirlwind of reactions from the first time I saw it. Encountering this black and white masterpiece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art feels like a lucky break at first. It’s a thoughtful photographic version of a Vermeer that’s still […]
Why is James Stuart wearing such fanciful duds in his Anthony Van Dyck portrait?
– The Order of the Garter
– Man’s best friend steals the show
– Performative emptiness
Why is the Robert Frank photograph Trolley New Orleans so important?
– Segregated seating in black and white
– A complex framework of composition
– Truth, hard work, and hope
What’s the story behind Manet’s painting Mademoiselle V. in the Costume of an Espada?
– Manet’s favorite model dresses the part
– Realness and violence in a blurred background
– A lurking unconscious portrayed in paint
Why is Haystacks Autumn an important painting?
– The cycle of man’s connection with nature
– Green grass, haystacks and sheep backs
– Farmer as wizard of all he surveys
What does The Hunter (Catalan Landscape) Joan Miró painting mean?
– An unconscious pastel landscape of earth, sea and sky
– Earthy manliness on the left
– Sardine seascape on the right