Ancient Egyptian Pillars

Temple of Esna, Egypt

Interior of the Hypostyle Hall at the Temple of Khnum, Esna. Photo: Wolfgang Kaehler

Hypostyle hall, in architecture, interior space whose roof rests on pillars or columns. The word means literally “under pillars,” and the design allows for the construction of large spaces—as in temples, palaces, or public buildings—without the need for arches. This particular temple was built of red sandstone, and its portico consisted of six rows of four columns each, with lotus-leaf capitals, all of which however differ from each other. The temple contains very late hieroglyphic inscription, dating from the reign of Decius (249–251 AD).

Getty Museum Art Challenge

I don't remember when I have been more entertained by art masterpieces reenacted at home while in quarantine.

Here is the link, keep scrolling to make sure you see 35 or 36 examples. The girl with the black eye by Normal Rockwell above is one of my favorites.

You can also see a few more at Getty Museum. There is also an application if you want to enter a creation of your own.

Have fun looking. I shared the first link with numerous friends yesterday and everyone loved it.

Etchings Exhibit at the Met in NYC

This creepy 15th-16th century etching is entitled “Death and the Devil surprise two women.” The antiquarian print shows Death and the Devil interrupting the lives of two wealthy women. Daniel Hopfer, 1470?-1536, is the artist. This exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum on The Renaissance of Etching opens on October 23rd. 

More Information here.

Mushroom Studio: At The Toronto Sculpture Garden

Art Studio of Katie Bethune-Leaman commissioned by The Toronto Sculpture Garden. See another photo and read more about this delightful fairy-tale structure here.

Antiquarian Print: Rabbit circa 1809

Perfect 19th century Easter Bunny

Full size Natural History plate. Napoleon I, 1809-17, Description de l'Egypte: Histoires Naturelles Planches. Volume 1. Mammifères. Plate 6. Egyptian Mongoose and Lepus aegyptiacus from the rare book collection at Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, Missouri.

19th Century Handmade Southern Crafts: High Museum Atlanta Exhibit

Unknown African-American Maker: A North Carolina Quilted Bedcover, ca. 1875–1900, cotton top, linen back, and cotton stuffing. High Museum of Art, Atlanta; on view through August 4, 2019

HAND TO HAND: SOUTHERN CRAFT OF THE 19TH CENTURY 

Stoneware water cooler attributed to Thomas Chandler, Phoenix Factory, South Carolina, c. 1840. This photo is from an article in The Magazine Antiques about the High Museum exhibition. See more items and read the article here. 

I thought these wonderful images would be a good contribution to African-American History Month.

Kep the Dog by Beatrix Potter 1909

This study of ‘Kep’, one of Beatrix Potter’s sheepdogs, dates from a visit to Near Sawrey in March 1909, when Potter made a number of studies of the Lakeland landscape in snow. Potter gave this drawing to Stephanie Hyde Parker, the daughter of her cousin Ethel, who stuck it in an album: remnants of the album can be seen in the floral motif adhered to the lower left of the design, and in a drawing by Amy Hyde Parker attached to the back of the study.

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) is one of the world's best-loved children's authors and illustrators. She wrote the majority of the twenty-three Original Peter Rabbit Books between 1901 and 1913. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 1902) is her most famous and best-loved tale.

Beatrix Potter purchased Hill Top in Near Sawrey, her first Lake District farm, in 1905. After this date she visited Hill Top regularly for holidays, eventually settling permanently in nearby Castle Cottage following her marriage in 1913.

In the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. Click on photo to enlarge.

Kate Greenaway Tile 1881

Earthenware tile, transfer-printed and hand-coloured. Designed (1881) by Kate Greenaway. Made by T. & R. Boote. Image and text information courtesy V&A. via This is lovely, isn't it?

© Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017. All Rights Reserved

Eastman Johnson Painting

The Girl I Left Behind Me

Wouldn't you love to know the story behind this painting?

Jonathan Eastman Johnson, an American painter and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art via

Happy Christmas: Beatrix Potter 1890

Rare original watercolor by Beatrix Potter, 1890

A happy Christmas to you.

My sentiments exactly.

I blogged about this bunny family gathered around the table to enjoy their Christmas pudding several years ago. I worked on the old photo so it would stand out more than the faded original in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. View the provenance and the museum's copy here. I love the little chairs and the way the bunnies are sitting in them. And those bibs!

Celestial Globe 1579 Vienna

Celestial clockwork globe. 1579, Vienna, Austria, Met Museum via

This made my day. Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?

William Morris Wallpaper Designs

Brother Rabbit - William Morris - 1882

Marigold, William Morris, 1875
photo credits: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Guinea Pigs Gardening: Beatrix Potter

via

These two Beatrix Potter watercolors are new to me. Have you ever seen them? These gardening guinea pigs are in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Colorful Pennsylvania German Folk Art at Winterthur

Exhibit at Winterthur: March 1, 2015–January 3, 2016

A Colorful Folk: Pennsylvania Germans & the Art of Everyday Life

Samuel F. B. Morse, Painter

It would probably surprise Samuel F. B. Morse, and not pleasantly, that future generations know him for his invention of Morse code and his services to telegraphy, rather than for his paintings, produced over six decades, that were the serious business of his life. The size of the painting below blows me away .... it measures 6 feet x 9 feet. I can't even begin to count the paintings within this masterpiece that took him two years to complete.

Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872), Gallery of the Louvre (1831–33), oil on canvas, 73-1/2" x 108". Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago. Read more ... article in The Magazine Antiques ... Morse at The Huntington Library.

A Peek into an Edward Gorey Pop Up Book

I could watch this all day. Don't you love it? Edward Gorey's "The Tunnel Calamity" at Cal Poly's Kennedy Library. via

George Inness: Home at Montclair 1892

George Inness, American, 1825–1894

Inness painted the landscape around his property in Montclair, New Jersey, in many of his late works. In this winter scene, he captured the stillness of twilight in layers of thinly applied paint, evoking an atmosphere rather than recording topographical details. The artist’s son wrote of the painting: “There is nothing startling in this great work of art, and yet you are filled with a sense of bigness, grandeur, and the very conviction of truth and nature.”
The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown MA

Museum Portraits Taking Selfies

Fun at the art museum. via and via

Aren't these clever? Are you smiling yet? 

'Tis The Season For Snow Buntings

Link: both images.

Snowflake or Snow bunting illustrated by R. Bruce Horsfall from ‘Bird Biographies’ (1923) by Alice E. Ball (1867-1948).

Snow Bunting (1890–1948). Watercolour by Charles Emile Heil (1870–1950). Image and text courtesy MFA Boston.

Simpkin at the Tailor's Bedside - Beatrix Potter Watercolor

One of twenty-two original watercolors circa 1902 for The Tailor of Gloucester, Beatrix Potter's second and favorite book. The collection is in the Tate in London. via