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 …
Areskon is my Name and I am an Actor
Funerary Altar-Shaped Stele of Actor Marcus Varinius Areskon, 170-200 AD, Marble with traces of the original paint, 1670x70-72x52-66 cm, Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki Photo Credit: Kostas Papantoniou https://www.amth.gr/en/exhibitions/highlights O man, with your wonderful dower, / O woman, with genius a ...
Unidentified Byzantine Church in Constantinople known today as Atik Mustafa Paşa Camii
Unidentified Byzantine Church in Constantinople known today as Atik Mustafa Paşa Camii, original Byzantine construction date: 842-867Photograph by Dick Osseman, East Façade, https://pbase.com/dosseman/atikmustafaEast Façade, Analysis of Masonry (after Mathews) https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291520?seq=8#metadata_info_t ...
Nofernoferuaton and Nofernoferure
PRINCESS FRESCO - The idyllic life of the daughters of Pharaoh, circa 1343-1335, painted plaster, 40x165, Ashmolean Museumhttps://www.ashmolean.org/princess-fresco “With the move to Amarna the art becomes less exaggerated, but while it is often described as 'naturalistic' it remains highly stylised in its portrayal ...
Teaching with Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck, before 1395-1441Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?), 1433, oil on wood, 25,5 x 19 cm, National Gallery, Londonhttps://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/e/eyck_van/jan/01page/13turban.html When the time comes for me to introduce my students to Jan van Eyck’s oeuvre I start with his remarkable motto, Als Ic ...
The Labours of the Months: February
By an unknown Venetian artist…The Labours of the Months: February, about 1580, oil on canvas, 13.6 x 10.6 cm, National Gallery, Londonhttps://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/italian-venetian-the-labours-of-the-months-january#painting-group-info The Labours of the Months: February POST will start with In Februa ...
Constantino Brumidi
Constantino Brumidi, 1805-1880The Apotheosis of Washington, 1865, Fresco, 4,664 square feet, United States Capitol Building's Rotunda, Washington, DC Myrtle Cheney Murdock, the wife of John R. Murdock, the elected congressman from Arizona, was a teacher and an enthusiastic tour guide at the United States Capitol. S ...
Pilastri Acritani and European 19th century Art
Spoils of War…Pilastri Acritani (piers from the 6th century Church of the Holy Martyr Polyeuktos in Constantinople) and the Tetrarchs (from Constantinople, c. 305, porphyry) on the South-West side of the Basilica of San Marco, in Venice https://venicewiki.org/wiki/Colonne_d%27Acri “In December 1826, the German ...
The Artist’s Psyche
Nikolaos Gyzis, 1842 – 1901The Artist’s Psyche, 1893, coloured drawing on paper, 31x23,5 cm, G. Maillis Collection The Artist’s Psyche… “What sort of draining challenge is an artist’s lifelong struggle to retain individuality and independence? …How badly do criticism and rejection hurt an artist’s morale? What exac ...
Teaching with Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1449-1494An Old Man and his Grandson (detail), c. 1490, Tempera on wood, 62 x 46 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris https://paintersonpaintings.com/clarity-haynes-on-domenico-ghirlandaio/ Domenico di Tommaso del Ghirlandajo, who, from his talent and from the greatness and the vast number of his ...
House of Venus in the Shell
Venus in the Shell (detail), 1st century AD, fresco, House of Venus in the Shell, Pompeii Archaeological Site, Pompeii, Italy, 2017 Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese http://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R2/2%2003%2003%20part%2011.htm …Ah, goddess, when the spring / Makes clear its daytime, and a w ...
The Labours of the Months: January
By an unknown Venetian artist…The Labours of the Months: January, about 1580, oil on canvas, 13.6 x 10.6 cm, National Gallery, Londonhttps://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/italian-venetian-the-labours-of-the-months-january#painting-group-info Twelve months in a row, / Use them well and let them go ...
The Legendary Shield of Achilles
Philip Rundell (1746-1827) for Rundell, Bridge & RundellPhilipShield of Achilles, 1821-22, Silver-gilt, 90.5 x 90.5 x 18.0 cm (whole object), Royal Collection Trust https://www.rct.uk/collection/51266/shield-of-achilles “First of all he forged a shield that was huge and heavy, /&nb ...
Christmas-Time
Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906Christmas-Time, The Blodgett Family, 1864, oil on canvas, 76.2 x 63.5cm, the MET, NYhttps://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11258 I heard the bells on Christmas Day / Their old, familiar carols play, / And wild and sweet / The words repeat ...
Church of the Holy Martyr Polyeuktos
The Church of the Holy Martyr Polyeuctus, built by Anicia Juliana in the 520s, on the northern branch of Constantinople’s Mese, between the Forum Tauri and the Church of the Holy Apostles, today in the Saraçhane area of Istanbul. Photo by Dick Osseman https://pbase.com/dosseman/polyeuktos “The empress Eudocia, in ...
Teaching with Domenico Veneziano
Domenico Veneziano, c. 1410-1461 Madonna and Child enthroned with St. Francis, John the Baptist, St. Zenobius and St. Lucy, c. 1445, tempera on panel, 209 x 216 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence “(Domenico was) …a good and affectionate fellow, fond of singing and devoted to playing on the lute, he wo ...
Matisse and Jazz
Henri Matisse once said… “Jazz is rhythm and meaning.” My students love to explore Matisse's oeuvre and his Illustrated Book Jazz is a particular favourite. They like the brightly coloured pochoirs, his fluid lines and the energy every single illustration transmits. My new BLOG POST, Matisse and Jazz is inspired b ...