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.