Girodet’s “Belley” is #fancy
Today we have another portrait to celebrate #fancyfriday, and that’s Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson’s Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Belley! Painted in 1797, the portrait aims to showcase Citizen Belley’s grandeur, a rare benefit from the tumultuous years of the French Revolution. Jean-Baptiste Belley was a former slave in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, better known today as Haiti. […]
Lord B for #fancyfriday
With all the hubbub in the art world left over from the Met Gala this past week, we’ve decided to step things up for #fancyfriday. Today’s special: Thomas Phillips’ portrait of the notorious George Gordon, better known as Lord Byron! Born in 1788, Lord Byron (or, as I like to call him, Lord B) is […]
Insta-Art!
Tired of scrolling past endless selfies in your Instagram feed? Annoyed by the amount of your friends who are “addicted to the gym lol” and feel the need to share how much more fit they are than you? Sick of pictures of artisan hipster toast and salad clogging up your feed? Fear not–there are plenty […]
Holbein’s Anne of Cleves for Fancy Friday!
After a brief hiatus, Fancy Friday is back and better than ever with this week’s contender, Hans Holbein’s Anne of Cleves! As the last Fancy Friday honoree was the portrait from Holbein’s workshop of Henry VIII, we thought it was only fair to honor a portrait of one of Henry’s wives. He did have six […]
London’s V&A Debuts Radioactive Vases
On April 25, London’s Victoria and Albert museum is debuting something you never knew you needed to see—vases made out of radioactive sludge. Featured in the V&A’s exhibition What is Luxury, the ceramic vases were envisioned and created by The Unknown Fields Division, a collective whose website describes them as a sort of “nomadic design […]
Henry VIII Gets Fancy on #fancyfriday
This Friday, we’re taking a moment to honor this portrait of Henry VIII from the workshop of Hans Holbein for this week’s #fancyfriday title! You’ve probably seen this painting of Henry VIII before. It’s generally the most famous portrait of the infamous monarch, and is usually the one that pops up in history textbooks. That’s because […]
Fabergé Eggs- A Special #fancyfriday
In honor of spring, we’ve decided to give this week’s #fancyfriday title to Peter Carl Fabergé! Generally, the #fancyfriday champion of any given week is recognized for their achievements in portraiture. But due to the fact that it’s now spring and the Easter holidays are in full swing, this Friday’s winner is a bit different. […]
Judith Leyster’s “Self-Portrait” for #fancyfriday
After much deliberation, the results are in: today’s #fancyfriday piece is Judith Leyster’s Self-Portrait! Judith Leyster was an artist working in the Low Countries in the mid-1600s. She specialized in scenes of everyday life, also known as genre scenes. Painted around 1635, Leyster’s self-portrait gives us a lot of information about women in the arts […]
What’s that Mystery Painting in “The Little Mermaid”
Disney almost certainly has a crack team of artists working for them. And I’m pretty sure after re-watching The Little Mermaid that whoever’s in charge of artwork over there had a pretty extensive education in art history as well. And this viewing is what led to my quest to unearth just how much Disney relies […]
Rigaud’s “Louis XIV” for #fancyfriday
Our next #fancyfriday contender is Hyacinthe Riguad’s portrait of Louis XIV. Louis XIV (that’s Louis the fourteenth for those of you who get as mixed up with Roman numerals as I do) reigned as king of France from 1643 to 1715. That’s 72 years, the longest of any monarch in European history to date (though […]