IDA

06/02/2022

04/21/2022

"The Know-How of Cartooning" (1946) by Disney animator and comic book artist Ken Hultgren. The entire book has now been scanned, and you can find all the pages in the album at http://bit.ly/kenhultgren

02/01/2022

Starting on redrawing Michaelangel's Last Judgement the way it was before censored. It will take me 8 years to finish, then it will be shown at an art gallery for all to see. Prayers needed for me.

01/01/2022

Since it is created by God, the human body can remain naked and
uncovered, yet retains untouched its splendour and beauty.

12/23/2021

Great interview on Dony Mac Manus on artist drawing nudes. Great read for artists.

12/19/2021

As celebrated as the artists of the Italian Renaissance have become, they were not the only ones producing great art in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Far to north in the Low Countries, that other pole of the transalpine trade, another revival of the art of painting was also underway. In the period from about 1420 to 1550 artists working in the Burgundian capital of Bruges and the flourishing commercial center of Antwerp produced an uninterrupted series of works that were without equal in their verisimilitude, their technical and coloristic virtuosity, and their heightened expressive power. This gallery presents a representative sample of that achievement.

We begin with 60 works by the van Eyck brothers, Hubert and Jan. Jan (c. 1390-1441), perhaps more than any other artist in the 15th c., extended the boundaries of painting into areas hitherto unimagined, crafting works of a subtlety and nuance that has rarely been matched since. As the eminent critic Robert Hughes has said of him, "he extended detailed information about things far past the ordinary limits of scrutiny; his eye acted 'both as a telescope and as a microscope,' and it left us with too much, not the suggestive too little of other realist art. "

The rest of gallery presents over 250 works by other Flemish artists of the period, including such masters as Robert Campin, Rogier van der Weyden, Dieric Bouts the Elder, Petrus Christus, Hans Memling, Gérard David, Quentin Metsys, Lucas van Leyden, and Marinus Claeszon van Reymerswaele.

As is the custom with all MWW galleries, the works are presented in chronological order, with many "close-up"/detail images of selected paintings, and the majority are accompanied by commentaries. (Click "See More" to the right of the full-screen image to access these.)

See also these MWW companion galleries:
* Bosch & Breugel -- Landscapes of the Post-Medieval Subconscious
* Going for Baroque: Rubens & 17th c. Flemish Art

12/04/2021

" Peace Be Unto You "
Leaving His burial clothes in the Tomb
----- this is where we find Mary mistaking Jesus as a gardener do to his nakedness because most gardeners tended to duties in a naked state of being.
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John 19:40-42 (KJV)

40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
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John 20 (KJV)

20 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

11/24/2021

"Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving." — Johann Wolfgang Goethe, 23 August 1787

The multi-talented Michelangelo -- sculptor, painter, architect, poet -- has, over the years, become the emblematic figure of the entire Renaissance, and even art in general. Without a doubt, the magnificent Sistine Chapel frescoes are his signature work and perhaps the most monumental achievement in the history of any artistic medium. Commissioned by Pope Julius in 1508 to decorate the ceiling, Michelangelo drew up a bold and ambitious plan which would take him four-and-a-half years of back-breaking labor to complete. The personal and political difficulties he had to overcome have been dramatized in the novel and film, "The Agony and the Esctacy." "The Last Judgment" fresco on the wall above the altar which, by itself, would have cemented his reputation as one of the world's great artists, was added in 1536.

The Sistine Ceiling may be the most complex of all art works. In our presentation here we have tried to present every glorious detail without sacrificing essential context. The frescoes on the ceiling can be divided into eleven transversal sections: nine bays as well as the spandrels and pendentives over the entry door and the altar, respectively. In this gallery we will present the ceiling frescos in this order:

* The nine biblical frescoes in the center of the ceiling, in chronological order (e.g., right to left in this diagram)
* The spandrels and prophets of sibyls of each transverse bay, starting from the entrance and moving towards the altar.
* The ignudi and medallions which surround some of the biblical scenes
* The lunettes of the ancestors of Christ, in chronological order (e.g., right to left in this diagram)

There will be "close-ups" of each. The ceiling frescos will be followed by a detailed look at the Last Judgment.

If you visited the Chapel before its restoration was completed in 1993 (or did not think to bring a pair of powerful binoculars along), you are in for a new experience. The descriptive comments to the pictures -- a book in themselves -- will also tell you everything you wanted to know about the pictures.

The Sistine Chapel was not barren of great art when Michelangelo took up residence there to paint its ceiling. Two decades before, Pope Sixtus IV (after whom the chapel was named) had commissioned some of the finest painters of his day -- Botticelli, Perugino, Ghirlandaio, Pinturicchio & Cosimo Rosselli -- to decorate the side walls of the Chapel with murals depicting the stories of Moses and Christ. The Moses frescoes are on the left wall (as one faces the altar and Last Judgment mural); the Christ frescoes on the right. Each story begins with the fresco nearest the altar. All twelve frescoes are included at the end of this gallery, with many close-ups.

These MWW exhibits/galleries/albums also deal with classic Italian art:
* Michelangelo -- MWW Great Sculptors #1
* Trecento: The 14th c. Italian Masters
* Quattrocento : The 15th c. Italian Masters
* Sandro Botticelli - All the Paintings
* Cinquecento I: Raphael - The Paintings & Vatican Frescos
* Cinquecento II: The High Renaissance (1500-40)
* Cinquecento III: The Mannerists (1540-80)
* From Caravaggio to Tiepolo -- Italian Painting in the 17th & 18th c.
* Renaissance People I: A Portrait Gallery (1450-1525)
* Renaissance People II: A Portrait Gallery (1526-80)

as well as the MWW Sculpture and Prints Special Collections, which both include many works by Italian artists.

11/24/2021

There were two poles of Early and High Renaissance art, represented by Piero della Francesca and Botticelli respectively. The heroic, virile figures of Piero reached their epitome in the art of Michelangelo. The gracefulness and ideal beauty of Botticelli's figures lived on in the art of Michelangelo's contemporary and rival, Raffaello Sanzio, known to us today simply as Raphael. The Umbrian prodigy learned his craft from Perugino, whose work his mirrors in many ways, but his singular achievement and great popularity during his own times stems from his ability to synthesize the lyricism and pictorial richness of Botticelli and Leonardo with the dramatic composition and sculptural solidity of figure of a Piero or Michelangelo. Though in our own day the women may "come and go talking of Michelangelo," in 1505 they were probably talking of the virtues of Raphael, whose "courtesy and grace, agreeableness and pleasantness" so impressed the artist-biographer Giorgio Vasari.

Though Raphael died in his prime, his body of work is still exceptionally impressive. Indeed, though Michelangelo was and is still recognized as the great genius of the High Renaissance, Raphael remains to this day the best representative of its style, and the epitome of its particular virtues. It's no coincidence that, when a group of mid-Victorian artists wanted to recapture the spirit of the art that flourished before the High Renaissance came to dominate, they chose to call themselves "Pre-Raphaelites."

The first part of this gallery presents 190 of his paintings -- almost all his extant work -- arranged as is MWW custom in rough chronological order of ex*****on. Most also contain commentary about the work which the viewer may find useful. (You need to click "See More' to the right of the large image to access these.)

Michelangelo Buonarroti's frescos for the Sistine Chapel are justifiably recognized as one of the greatest achievements in the cultural history of the Western World. What is lesser known and appreciated is that it upstaged the equally magnificent series of frescos by his rival Raffaello Sanzio, executed at the same time in the same building for the same patron, in a contest that surely merits the title of "the Super Bowl of Renaissance Art." These works by Raphael and his assistants form the second part of this gallery. For each fresco there are several "close-ups" of significant or interesting details. There are 130 images in all, most of which contain background commentary about what's being depicted.

These MWW exhibits/galleries/albums also deal with classic Italian art:
* Michelangelo -- MWW Great Sculptors #1
* Trecento: The 14th c. Italian Masters
* Quattrocento : The 15th c. Italian Masters
* Sandro Botticelli - All the Paintings
* The Sistine Chapel Up Close
* Cinquecento II: The High Renaissance (1500-40)
* Cinquecento III: The Mannerists (1540-80)
* From Caravaggio to Tiepolo -- Italian Painting in the 17th & 18th c.
* Renaissance People I: A Portrait Gallery (1450-1525)
* Renaissance People II: A Portrait Gallery (1526-80)