ἕν οἶδα, ὅτι οὐδέν οἶδα
All I know is that I know nothing
Allegedly said by Socrates
So true, 30 years in Education, and I still feel like a kindergarten student, curious and inquisitive, questioning, interested, prying …
Félix Ziem’s painting of Constantinople
Félix Ziem, French Artist, 1821-1911Constantinople, 1857-58, Oil on Canvas, 58 x 93.4 cm, Private Collectionhttps://www.christies.com/en/private-sales/privateitems/private-item-SN00656940-001 …Once out of nature I shall never take / My bodily form from any natural thing, / But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make ...
Pair of Byzantine Gold Perikarpia from Thessaloniki
Pair of Wristbands with Birds and Palmettes, made in Constantinople, 800s–900s. Gold with granulated decoration and enamel, Height 7 cm and Diameter 8.6x6.6 cm, Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki, Greecehttp://vizantinaistorika.blogspot.com/2014/03/blog-post_19.html In Byzantine culture, bejewelled perikarpi ...
Grandma Moses’ The Old Oaken Bucket in 1800
Anna Mary Robertson 'Grandma’ Moses, American Artist, 1860-1961The Old Oaken Bucket in 1800, 1943, Oil on Masonite, 61 x 71.1 cm, Private Collection https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6286877 A fitting poem to complement Grandma Moses' The Old Oaken Bucket in 1800 would be The Old Oaken Bucket by Samuel Woodworth ...
Stukas returning from their mission at Crete
Hans Liska, Austrian Artist, 1907-1984Sketchbook by Hans Liska, 1942-43, published in 2 albums by the house of Carl Werner in Reichenbach, and sponsored by Junkers Flugzeug und Motorenwerke AG, with sketches and colour illustrations by the artistStukas returning from their mission at Crete in the first light of the ri ...
Saint Demetrios in prayer position with Patrons
Wall mosaic with Saint Demetrios in prayer position and patrons, 5th-6th cent., Detached Mosaic from the North Inner Aisle of Saint Demetrius Church in Thessaloniki, Glass tiles in Mortar, 98x83 cm, Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki, Greece https://www.mbp.gr/exhibit/entoichio-psifidoto-me-ton-agio-dimitri/ ...
Fruit Still Life with Chinese Export Basket
James Peale, American Artist, 1749-1831Fruit Still Life with Chinese Export Basket, 1824, Oil on Wood, 37.8 x 45.6 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USAhttps://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.71370.html Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, / Close bosom-friend of the maturing ...
Adam’s Statue by Tullio Lombardo
Tullio Lombardo, ca. 1455–1532Adam, ca. 1490–95, Marble, Height: 191.8 cm, the MET, NY, USA https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/197822 In his epic poem Paradise Lost, the English poet John Milton (1608–1674) laments, "O miserable mankind, to what fall / Degraded, to what wretched state reserved! ... Can ...
The ‘Council of the Gods’ by Rubens and Renoir
Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish Baroque Artist, 1622 - 1624The Council of the Gods, 1621-25, Oil on Canvas, 394x702 cm, Louvre, Paris, France https://www.wikiart.org/en/peter-paul-rubens/the-council-of-the-gods-1624Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French Impressionist Artist, 1841–1919Copy after “The Council of the Gods” by Peter Pa ...
Talos the ancient Greek automaton
The Death of Talos by the Talos Painter, 425-400 BC, Attic Red-Figured Volute Krater, Τerracotta, Height: 75 cm, Archaeological Museum Jatta, Ruvo di Puglia, Italy - Photo Credit: Amalia Spiliakou, February 18, 2024, ‘Meanings’. Personifications and Allegories from Antiquity to Today Exhibition, Acropolis Museum, Athe ...
‘October’ Stained Glass Roundel
October, ca. 1480, Clear and coloured glass with painted details in brown/black pigment and yellow (silver) stain, Diameter: 29.2cm, V&A Museum, London, UK https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O7620/october-roundel-unknown/ I’m not sure if you enjoy Japanese Haiku, those brief poems with 3 lines and 17 syllables. ...
Palacio de Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo
Palacio de Santa María del Naranco, consecrated in 848, Mount Naranco, Spain – Photo Credit: Amalia Spiliakou, May 2024St. Michael of Lillo, completed in 842, Mount Nranco, Spain – Photo Credit: Amalia Spiliakou, May 2024 Nestled in the heart of Asturias, Spain, Mount Naranco stands as a majestic sentinel overlooki ...
Bust of Prince Ankhhaf
Bust of Prince Ankhhaf, reign of Khafra 2520–2494 BC, Egyptian Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, Findspot: Egypt, Giza, tomb G 7510, Painted Limestone, Height: 50.48 cm, Museum Fine Arts, Boston, USA https://www.ancient-egypt.co.uk/boston/ankhhaf/pages/boston_03_2006%20444%201.htm In the world of ancient Egyptian art, true p ...
Painter Lorenzo Lotto and Collector Andrea Odoni
Lorenzo Lotto, ca. 1480-1556Portrait of Andrea Odoni, 1527, Oil on Canvas, 104 x 117 cm, Royal Collection, Hampton Court, UK https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%91%CF%81%CF%87%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%BF:Lorenzo_Lotto_-_Andrea_Odoni_%281488-1545%29_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg In the rich tapestry of Renaissance art, few relations ...
A Gorge in the Mountains (Kauterskill Clove)
Sanford Robinson Gifford, American Artist, 1823–1880A Gorge in the Mountains (Kauterskill Clove), 1862, Oil on Canvas, 121.9 x 101.3 cm, the ET, NY, USAhttps://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/10946?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&high=on&ao=on&showOnly=openAccess&ft=*&a ...
Education in Byzantium
Teaching scene with teachers and students during the reign of the scholarly Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (944-959) by a Sicilian Illuminator identified as B1, 12th century, Illuminated Manuscript version of the Synopsis of Histories, or Σύνοψις Ἱστοριῶν (in Greek) by John Skylitzes, which covers the reigns ...
The Rampin Rider
The Rampin Rider, Archaic Period, around 550 BC, Marble from Paros, Height: 1.08 m, Length: 0.77 m, Width: 0.38 m, Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece https://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/statue-rider-rampin-rider …Come, take the Dorian lyre down from its peg, if the splendor of Pisa and of Pherenicus placed your mind ...