12 Jul 2012

Ink Flies in a Mind

If anyone doubts that St. Sebastian holds a special place in the creative mind as a symbol of the artist’s self and the idea that every painter paints himself, then take a look at Jaff Seijas’ self-portrait above. It is not proof but it is t

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21 Dec 2011

The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini #5

Continuing our series in honor of the Metropolitan Museum's current exhibition of Renaissance portraits we have Botticelli's portrait of Michele Marullo Tarcaniota on the left compared to Botticelli's earlier self-portrait on the rig

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21 Oct 2011

The World’s Oldest Studio and the Birth of Venus

Just three weeks ago I argued that the shell in Botticelli's Birth of Venus referred to the shells artists used in their studios to store paint and that Venus was, so to speak, being born from an artist's palette. Now comes word that arc

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