Replicated panels from Lukhang temple

Panel depicting the disciples of Guru Padmasambhava

Stockholme cityhall murals

 

Temppeliaukio Church, Helsinki

Designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen unveiled in 1969.

The Rock Church aptly named after well being literally dugged out from a rock. What amazing design! Panelled sunlight rotates around the hall throughout the day. This church was built in the 60s as evidenced by the 60s aesthetics oozing from every corner. The new concept in design and worship (a small and humble cross and altar) subsequently inspired many churches around the world to model after it. A must for achiteture aficiandos.

Buddha Vairocana from Tang dynasty, 700-800, Metropolitan Museum, New York, Sculpture.

Taken at The Metropolitan Museum

What a fantastic specimen. I used to think that chinese buddhist art is inferior to the nepalese and tibetan... until i learnt tibetan appropriated many styles from China.

Donatello, Mary Magdalene,1453-1455, White poplar wood, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence, Italy, Sculpture, Renaissance.

 Taken at Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Sculpture made of White popolar wood presumingly for the Baptistery in Flroence.

Carlo Cignani, 1628-1719, The Fall of Man

Taken at the Musuem of Fine Arts, Budapest. Sensual piece

Siena

I had a realisation of the sublime during my trip to Siena. This scene simply captivated me. Totally unexpected. I do not know what Siena is about. I walked up along a hill totally unaware of what to expect and suddenly this view appeared before my eye. The timing couldn't be more perfect; shadowy dusk with all the shades of brown. It was quiet with no tourists. I came to realise how important the perfect moment is. Also beauty is even more so when untainted by expectation.

Alvaro Pirez d'Evora, 1410-1434, The Resurrected Christ, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Early Renaissance.

Look at the the Patina. One of the picture of christ that appeals to me. Taken at Musuem of fine arts, Budapest.

Duccio (attributed) 1255-1315, The Coronation of the Virgin

The way the paint is peeling off makes the piece even more beautiful i think. Also looks like Virgin mary is tearing doesnt it? Taken at Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.

Vaszary Janos, Golgota, 1930s

Again a powerful modern interpretation! And I like how all the colours blends in so well. Taken at Hungarian National Gallery.

Vaszary Janos, Raising of Lazarus, 1912

Taken at Hungarian National Gallery. This is definitely my favourite modern art piece on a religious theme. Modern art seldom depicts religious theme in manner that fascinates me. This certainly does.

Brutally distorted, symbolism of war? Picasso's Woman tieing her hair 1940.

An afternoon studying vajrayana buddhist sculptures at the British Museum: Mahakala trampling on the deity of wealth Ganesha. The 'Great Black One' therefore aids practitioners in the destruction of worldy attachment to wealth. An exquisite speciman.

Jars and Lemon is one of my favourite in Tate Britain's Picasso exhibition. Interestingly Xray revealed that underneath this painting was a study for Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. In 1911 it was sold for 4 pounds. Picasso was often ridiculed when he first started out. His work was once described as 'a piece of paper on which Mr Picasso has had the misfortune to upset the ink and tried to dry it with his boots.'

Carravagio's Supper at Emmaus

Richard Wilson's 1987 20:50. The only installation work that blows my mind away!

Pics taken from saatchi gallery

Homoerotic sculptures in Berlin (1)

banksy at Bristol

Kaws: toys as art?

Dissected companion
Various proportions of this figure can be bought and i almosted bought one of it then.

Ai Wei Wei and defaced antiques

neolithic vases being given a new lease of life with coating of industrial paint.

raining on the clouds: Magritte

beautiful stained glass at St Vitus Cathedral Prague

Digital Porn as art? Murakami

My Lonesome cowboy

David Lacapelle's Retrospective at Gallery Rudolfino

Would be Martyr and 72 Virgins

homoerotic sculptures

Torso of Banovic Strahinja
Banovic Strhinja was a mythical Serbian Hero renowned for his beauty. Mestrovic was influenced by Rodin in his style.

Yayoi Kusama Fruits!

Somehow Kusama's pixelated pics always bring a smile to me. Perhaps because of the cheerful colours.

Da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine

Lady with an Ermine, 1489-90

Saw this mesmerizing painting at National Gallery's 'Painter of the Milan court' exhibition. The lady is identified as Cecilia Gallerani, the wife of the duke of Milan, who commissioned the painting. In the arms of Cecilia is a small white-coated Stoat known as an ermine and it steeped with multifarious meanings. The ermine traditionally symbolizes purity because of the belief that the ermine would rather face capture by hunters than take refuge in a dirty lair in order not to stain its purity. It could also refer to the Duke's position in the Order of the Ermine. The animal could also be a ferret, indicative of Gallerani's prenancy at the time. Regardless of the symbolism, the addition of the ermine in this composition adds an intriguing dimension to an already alluring piece.

Rembrandt and lighting

Nightwatch, 1642
At the Rijksmuseum, this massive painting is given prominent status hung in a room of it own and specially lighted by Philips' LED lights. The environment affects so much in bringing out a piece of artwork. But how did the artist see his painting? In which light?

Jackson Pollock: Action Painting

no 5, 1948

Jackson Pollock belonged to the art movement 'abstract expressionism". One can almost see the poetic dance of the artist across the canvases, hence the term 'action painting' to this art form.

John Martin's The explusion

The explusion of Adam and Eve from Paradise

Bosch: The garden of Earthly pleasures

There was a print at the hotel room in Berlin. Didn't know it is one of Bosch's more famous painting.

John Martin at Tate

The Great Day of His Wrath 1851-3

Gunther Uecker flowing nails

I saw Gunther's work at the German Parliament and the image of reliefs made of nails was vividly captured. You could see the flow in the sea of nails creating interesting patterns depending on where you are positioned before the work.

Georges De la Tour: Realism not naturalism

Saint Sebastian Tended by St. Irene. c. 1634-1643
Saw a picture of Georges de la tour on the front of a book and brought back memories. The artist paint mainly religious themes. From his chiaroscuro techniques of sharp constrasts of light and shade, Georges de la tour is a follower of the great Carravagio. As a practicetioner of realism, de la tour used real life people and settings to paint but avoided naturalism with his colouring technqiues that did not mimick the exacting reality of nature as viewed from the eyes.

Rene Magritte painting papercuts

The Spirit of Comedy 1928
With many paper cuts, collage-like forms in his paintings, Max Ernst aptly described Magritte as 'a painter of collages'.

Max Ernst, the third founder of Surrealism

Forest and Dove 1927
Ernst, another founding member of the Surrealist movement, uses the forests as a symbol of 'enchantment and terror' in his world. The little dove is a projection of Ernst trapped amongst the trees. A technique "grattage" is used whereby paint is scraped off from the canvas

Dali's dreamscapes

Two Adolescents 1954
Is this going to be a sexual encounter? The sitted boy's pose is suggestive. Is he slightly aroused with his penis stiring or is he idolising the other's body? Perhaps he cannot imagine the face of an encounter in full detail as is often the case when we are thinking about somebody.

Giorgio de Chirico, The father of surrealism

The Uncertainty of the Poet 1913

Saw this at Tate Modern. De Chirico was a role model for Surrealism. His style of dream like landscapes adorned with perplexing objects was particulary influential as a model for Surrealism.

Rene Magritte's early cubist style painting

The Horsewoman (L'Écuyère) 1922

Magritte was inspired by Freud's theory of psychoanalysis where dreams and the unconscious formed the foundation of surrealism.
I immediately like this piece when i saw it although its not classic Magritte. Its visually pleasing on the eye.