The Father of Modern Art
“With an apple, I shall astonish Paris.” Paul Cézanne (French, 1839-1906) While it was not his apples that first astonished me, Cézanne continues to captivate and charm me, as the father of modern art. I first became acquainted with Cézanne in an art history survey course in 1992 and all the versions of Mont Sainte-Victoire. Specifically, it was and is the cubes, the blues, the greens, the trees, the clouds, all shifting in countless ways that caught me. Seeing this painting in person for the first time at the 1996 Philadelphia retrospective was more revealing than his other hanging at the National Gallery, my second classroom during my college years.
“Mont Sainte-Victoire,” 1902-1904, oil on canvas, 28 3/4 × 36 3/16 in., Philadelphia Museum of Art
Remember to: always embrace art, never be afraid to be an art geek; and, most importantly ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS.
A much enjoyed artwork from a current read
Filippino Lippi and Rome, Alexander J. Noelle, Cleveland Museum of Art, 2025
Italian Renaissance ceiling fresco featuring books and actively gaining knowledge: Four sibyls with their prophecies on banners with the donor Cardinal Oliviero Carafa as envisioned by the glorious Filipino Lippi (b. ca. 1457, Prato, d. 1504, Firenze) “The Ceiling of the Carafa Chapel,” 1489-91, Fresco, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome
Remember to: always embrace art, never be afraid to be an art geek; and, most importantly ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS.
Welcome to my latest obsession
Still-Life Paintings from The Master of the Grotesque Vases, Italy, 17th Century, each oil on canvas, approximately 30 × 20 in., and available at or sold by Christie’s. The obsessively sculpted vases along with the butterflies, insects and tulips, peonies, narcissi have my eyes wandering in delight over several viewing sessions. Remember to: always embrace art, never be afraid to be an art geek; and, most importantly ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS.
All the wonder of artistic brilliance.
Parmigianino (b. Parma, 1503, d. Casalmaggiore, 1540) “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror,” ca. 1524, oil on wood, 9.6 in. diameter @kunsthistorischesmuseumvienna (In situ image courtesy of @smarthistory_official) #ArtHistorianForHire #ItalianArt #CuratorForHire #ArtGeek YES, all this beauty and brilliance in only 9.6 inches!
Goodbye. Hello. Wishing all a bountiful life amongst the passage of time.
Helen Searle (American, 1830-1884) Still Life with Fruit and Champagne, 1869, oil on canvas mounted on canvas, 11 1⁄8 x 14 1⁄8 in. @americanart Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1983.69. #Vanitas #AmericanArtHistory #ArtHistorianForHire #CuratorForHire #ArtGeek 👋🏻 🥂🍾
