What do I know...?

Etruscan Sarcophagi

2008-11-29T11:49:00.017-06:00

Group of Etruscan Sarcophagi lidsLarth Tetnies and his wife Thanchvil Tarnai (350 - 300 BCE)Etruscan art seems the product of a culture rich in self-awareness, in the pleasures of life - especially to include those of conjugal love - and in the vivid appeal of fine craftsmanship. Their elegant mirrors might be a good metaphor for their civilization, about which sadly too little is known. They may

Some Topics in Greek Art

2007-12-30T10:05:00.003-06:00

Funerary SteleRepresentation of human consciousness Greek artists inherit from the Egyptians and from art of the near east generally – going back to the Neolithic - a tradition of figural representation that shows faces with abstract looks, with eyes that seem to stare out – presumably they are looking at a god, or watching out for the gods - but which reveal nothing about any thoughts inside.

Greek Art by Periods and Styles

2007-12-30T09:28:00.003-06:00

Exaltation de la Fleur, 470 - 460, now in the LouvreGreek Art Survey Geometric period 9th – 7th century BCE For several hundred years in Greece, between around 1100 to around 800 BCE (the so-called “Dark Ages”) few or no sculptures are made, and decoration on pottery is purely geometric with no figural representations, even of animals. The earliest pieces of sculpture in the round are quite

Thinking about Greek Art

2007-12-30T08:14:00.001-06:00

Reconstruction of Athena and Marsyas, Myron, Classical Period GroupGreek art makes use of and derives from mythic materials – many pieces created by artists are votive objects intended as gifts for the gods in exchange for some sort of patronage. It is therefore important in beginning a study of Greek art to help identify the subject matter, which often concerns the Greek gods and heroes of myth

Preaching Blues - Robert Johnson

2007-09-21T13:50:00.000-05:00

Preaching Blues (1936) by Robert Johnson Robert Johnson (1911 - 1938) is generally acknowledged to be one of the most influential, personal, and creative of the country blues singers. He has plenty of competition in this, including from Charley Patton, Blind Willie McTell, Bukka White, Skip James, Son House, and Sonny Boy Williamson.But still... Johnson is the true legendary bluesman of the

One O'Clock Jump - Count Basie

2007-09-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

...one can jump to a stomp and swing; stomp to a jump and swing; or swing to a jump and a stomp. - Albert MurrayCount Basie and His Orchestra: Buck Clayton, Ed Lewis, Bobby Moore, trumpetsGeorge Hunt, Dan Minor, trombonesCaughey Roberts, alto sax,Jack Washington, alto and baritone saxLester Young, Herschel Evans, tenor sax, clarinetsCount Basie, piano, orchestra leaderFreddie Green, guitarWalter

The Francois Vase

2007-07-10T16:22:00.000-05:00

The Francois Vase, made by Ergotimos, painted by Kleitias, 570 BCE,As you can see, this large volute krater has been reconstructed. It may perhaps have been smashed by thieves looking for gold or silver, thus leaving this exceedingly fine piece in ruins. It was discovered in the 19th century in pieces, painstakingly put back together by archaeologists, only to be smashed again by some peevish

When You're Smiling, Billie Holiday and Lester Young

2007-06-26T16:54:00.001-05:00

When You're Smiling, Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, January 6, 1938Song by Fisher/Goodwin/ShayBuck Clayton, trumpetBenny Morton, tromboneLester Young, tenor saxTeddy Wilson, pianoFreddy Green, guitarWalter Page, bassJo Jones, drumsBillie Holiday, vocalBillie Holiday was a singer for the Basie Orchestra, but as luck would have it, they made no recordings. This is a sad poverty, because in spite

This Year's Kisses, Billie Holiday and Lester Young

2007-06-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

This Year’s Kisses, Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, January 25, 1937 Song by Irving Berlin Buck Clayton, trumpet Benny Goodman, clarinet Lester Young, tenor saxophone Teddy Wilson, piano Freddy Green, guitar Walter Page, bass Jo Jones, drums Billie Holiday, vocal This is perfection. The composer is America's premier songwriter of the 20th century. The performers, many from the wonderful

Billie's Blues, Billie Holiday

2007-06-26T10:22:00.000-05:00

Billie’s Blues, Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra, July 10, 1936 Bunny Berigan, trumpet Artie Shaw, clarinet Joe Bushkin, piano Dick McDonough, guitar Pete Peterson, bass Cozy Cole, drums Billie Holiday, vocal This is a good song to listen to for getting the jazz blues idiom into our ears. When we can identify a chorus structure we can consider a song by its shape, and by learning to pay

Miss Brown to You, Billie Holiday

2007-06-21T22:01:00.000-05:00

Miss Brown to You, Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra, July 2, 1935 Song by Leo Robin / Richard Whiting / Ralph Rainger Roy Eldridge, trumpet Benny Goodman, clarinet Ben Webster, tenor sax Teddy Wilson, piano John Truehar, guitar John Kirby, bass Cozy Cole. drums Billie Holiday, vocal Note…two clichés of the Swing era:…that the title of the song is often the final lyric of the a phrases,

What a Little Moonlight Can Do, Billie Holiday

2007-06-20T07:14:00.000-05:00

What a Little Moonlight Can Do, Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra, July 2, 1935 Song by Harry Woods Roy Eldridge, trumpetBenny Goodman, clarinetBen Webster, tenor saxTeddy Wilson, pianoJohn Truehart, guitarJohn Kirby, bassCozy Cole, drumsBillie Holiday, vocal "This one was taken at a cracking pace, as quick a beat as Billie ever sang over, but of course Goodman and Billie made it sound easy,

I Wished on the Moon, Billie Holiday

2007-06-19T10:10:00.000-05:00

I Wished on the Moon, Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra, July 2nd, 1935 Song by Dorothy Parker and Ralph Rainger Roy Eldridge, trumpetBenny Goodman, clarinetBen Webster, tenor saxophoneTeddy Wilson, pianoJohn Truehart, guitarJohn Kirby, bassCozy Cole, drumsBillie Holiday, vocal Donald Clarke says this: Billie clearly liked the words and the sentiment of “I Wished on the Moon.” On her very first

Listening to Billie Holiday

2007-06-19T07:15:00.000-05:00

Billie HolidayBillie Holiday is one of America’s great artists of the 20th century. In jazz her peers include the other jazz innovators such as Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and a small handful of others. Like them, much of her greatness stems from what she could uniquely bring to this style of music with her instrument, in this case her voice. Like them, the

Blue Horizon, Sidney Bechet

2007-06-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

Blue Horizon, Sidney Bechet and His Blue Note Jazzmen, December 30, 1944 Sidney de Paris, trumpetVic Dickenson, tromboneSidney Bechet, clarinetArt Hodes, pianoPops Foster, string bassManzie Johnson, drums Sidney Bechet is another New Orleans jazz artist; he started earlier than Louis Armstrong and also pioneered in the jazz idiom and, in particular, the jazz solo. This tour-de-force is one of

Dipper Mouth Blues, King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band

2007-06-15T09:45:00.000-05:00

Dipper Mouth Blues, King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, April 8, 1923King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, cornetsHonore Dutrey, tromboneJohnny Dodds, clarinetLil Hardin Armstrong, pianoBill Johnson, banjoBaby Dodds, drumsJoe "King" Oliver was Louis Armstrong's mentor. He brought him into his band in New Orleans and later, after establishing his band in Chicago, sent for young Louis to join him. This

Reckless Blues, Bessie Smith & Louis Armstrong

2007-06-14T09:29:00.000-05:00

Reckless Blues, Bessie Smith & Louis Armstrong, January 14, 1925Bessie Smith, vocalLouis Armstrong, cornetFred Longshaw, harmoniumThis is a wonderful song, where both Louis and Bessie seem exactly in tune with each other's approach and feelings. I wonder if the shorter vocal lines give them both a little more room to be expressive without bumping up against each other. In any case, it is a

Listening to the Blues Part 2

2007-06-13T07:28:00.000-05:00

Listening to the blues, part 2 (in which much of what I said in another post repeats) The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking, 'Is there a meaning to music?' My answer would be, 'Yes.' And 'Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?' My answer to that would be, 'No.' (Aaron Copland) A musical education is necessary for musical judgment. What most people enjoy is hardly

St. Louis Blues, Bessie Smith & Louis Armstrong

2007-06-12T17:06:00.000-05:00

Eads Bridge, St. Louis, 1905St. Louis Blues, Bessie Smith & Louis Armstrong, January 14, 1925Bessie Smith, vocalLouis Armstrong, cornetFred Longshaw, harmonium (reed organ)Here is a song that is claimed as a classic in both blues and jazz circles. The song had been written back in 1914 by W. C. Handy, the "father of the blues." It has been recorded many times; this is the classic recording. The

Muggles, Louis Armstrong

2007-06-12T08:15:00.000-05:00

From the FBI file on Louis ArmstrongMuggles, Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, Chicago, December 7, 1928.Louis Armstrong, trumpet, vocalFred Robinson, tromboneJimmy Strong, clarinetEarl Hines, pianoMancy Carr, banjoZutty Singleton, drums. Muggles means marijuana, which Louis smoked any time he could get his hands on some; or maybe it refers to a reefer high.First 12-bar blues chorus 0 -

West End Blues, Louis Armstrong

2007-06-12T07:51:00.001-05:00

West End Blues, Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, Chicago, June 28, 1928.Louis Armstrong, trumpet, vocalFred Robinson, tromboneJimmy Strong, clarinetEarl Hines, pianoMancy Carr, banjoZutty Singleton, drums. The West End refers to a New Orleans neighborhood. Louis was born and grew up in New Orleans, much like jazz itself.You can hear a clarion call in Louis's trumpet from the very first notes

Weather Bird, Louis Armstrong

2007-06-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

Weather Bird, Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines, Chicago, December 5, 1928 This duet with Earl Hines is one of the high points of jazz recordings, anticipating elements of the music to come, even decades later. To understand this piece as improvised duet means to gain some awareness of how improvisation works. It is both a self-spur to greater achievement and a competition with others in the band

Savoy Blues, Louis Armstrong

2007-06-10T11:25:00.000-05:00

Savoy Blues, Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, December 13, 1927Louis Armstrong, trumpetKid Ory, tromboneJohnny Dodds, clarinetLil Hardin Armstrong, pianoJohnny St. Cyr, banjoLonnie Johnson, guitarOne of my personal favorites, this recording has hundreds of little things that set it (and me) off. It might be on in the background so I'm barely paying attention, and then something happens in the

I'm Not Rough, Louis Armstrong

2007-06-10T09:01:00.000-05:00

I'm Not Rough, Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, December 10, 1925Louis Armstrong, trumpet, vocalsKid Ory, tromboneJohnny Dodds, clarinetLil Hardin Armstrong, pianoLonnie Johnson, guitarJohnny St. Cyr, guitar - banjoThe Hot Fives and Hot Sevens are among the greatest recorded music in America. Generally, as you might expect, the Hot Fives refers to recordings made with five players and Hot Sevens

Hotter Than That, Louis Armstrong

2007-06-08T15:55:00.000-05:00

Hotter Than That, Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, Chicago, December 13, 1927. Louis Armstrong, trumpetKid Ory, tromboneJohnny Dodds, clarinetLil Hardin Armstrong, pianoJohnny St. Cyr, banjoLonnie Johnson, guitarIt is impossible to overstate the impact of Louis Armstrong on the art and culture of the 20th century. Although he is one of those important and innovative artists who show up once in

Figural Sculpture in Greek Art

2007-06-04T19:05:00.000-05:00

Torso, the Knidia, Praxiteles, 4th CTorso, Dionysos, 3rd C [not featured on this blog]Links to Some of the Principal Pieces of Figural Sculpture in Greek Art(found on my blog)Dates, as usual, are approximate. Pieces are presented in roughly chronological order.Male FiguresThe Mantiklos Apollo c. 700 - 675 BCEIvory Youth c. 640 - 640The New York Kouros, c. 600 – 575Kleobis and Biton c. 580

The Aphrodite of Melos (Venus de Milo)

2007-06-04T15:16:00.001-05:00

The Aphrodite of Melos (Venus de Milo)The most celebrated, or at least the best known, statue from antiquity is this superb Aphrodite, found in the early 1820s. She is commonly called the Venus de Milo.In the first century BCE, Vitruvius defined the three basic elements of architecture, naming them firmitas, meaning it needs the durability to stand up, utilitas, meaning it needs to be useful to

The Belvedere Torso

2007-06-04T14:12:00.000-05:00

The Belvedere Torso A mind elevated to the contemplation of excellence perceives in this defaced and shattered fragment... the traces of superlative genius, the reliques of a work on which succeeding ages can only gaze with inadequate admiration. - Sir Joshua Reynolds This fragmentary work may be more celebrated for how it has influenced other artists than for anything else.Michelangelo, for

Gaul Killing Himself & The Dying Gaul - the Attalid Monument

2007-06-04T13:16:00.000-05:00

Gaul Killing Himself & The Dying GaulThe so-called "Gaul Group" or "Attalid Monument" was a war memorial, apparently consisting of a central statue showing this Gaul about to kill himself, after having just killed his wife to prevent her capture, surrounded by four dying Gauls. The first important point to understand here about the monument itself is that the Gauls were the enemy; here they are

The Laocoon Group

2007-06-04T08:06:00.000-05:00

LaocoonThe discovery in Rome of this well-known tour-de-force in 1506 confirmed for the Renaissance artists and scholars who flocked to see it what extraordinary achievements had been made by artists from the Classical world. By then, of course, confirmation was hardly needed, but its obvious power struck a chord. It is a compelling masterpiece that exemplifies the passionate glories of art in

Hanging Marsyas

2007-06-04T06:27:00.000-05:00

Hanging MarsyasThe story of Marsyas is one of those common to Greek myth in which a contest between a mortal and an immortal ends poorly for the mortal. He is a faun who discovers the flute cast down by Athene in disgust - it makes her face screw up when she plays it, and she would prefer not to look silly, especially when Aphrodite and Hera laugh at her. Perhaps she places a curse on the flute.

Dancing Faun & Barberini Faun

2007-06-02T12:58:00.001-05:00

The Barberini Faun, 200 BCEDancing Faun, PompeiiEmotionality is big in the Hellenistic age, as is excess. We are a long way from what might be regarded as the stoical, almost grim severity of the Classical era. Two very different states of consciousness are presented in these two masterpieces of Hellenistic art. The Barberini Faun is sleeping one off, dead to the world; the Dancing Faun, by

The Venus Kallypygos and the Three Graces

2007-06-02T09:35:00.001-05:00

The Venus KallipygosThe Three GracesHellenistic art was for long considered..., well, if not degenerate and trite, perhaps prurient and superficial. The significant difference between this style and styles from the Classical period seems to be that now a far less rigorously geometric aesthetic applies. Out with any canon of proportions and abstract harmonies - which somehow put us in tune with

The Winged Victory of Samothrace

2007-06-02T09:13:00.000-05:00

The Nike, or Winged Victory of Samothrace, Pythokritos of Rhodes, 250 - 180 BCEWe lived in Paris when I was 15 and visited the Louvre several times. Like any kid, I was struck by innumerable scenes and images, but clearly the most powerful, dramatic, and effective image for me was the Winged Victory from Samothrace, which stood at the top of a flight of stairs and looked for all the world as if

The Aphrodite of Kyrene

2007-06-01T09:23:00.000-05:00

Aphrodite of KyreneThe carving of this Roman copy based on the Knidia is especially fine. It is also a good piece by which to appreciate again the lines of the female contrapposto.The missing head and arms do nothing, for my part, to reduce the human agency present in this piece. As with the Aphrodite of Vienne, the fragmentary nature serves to focus our attention on the delicate naturalism and

The Crouching Aphrodite

2007-06-01T08:41:00.000-05:00

The Crouching Aphrodite, or the Venus of Vienne, Diodalsas of Bithinia, 3rd C BCEHere is another relative of the Knidia in a pose that became extremely popular in Hellenistic, Roman, and Renaissance art, and beyond. She is presumably bathing, perhaps under a shower of water. For me, it is one of the glories of art in any age - if we could just remove that pesky strut underneath the right leg,

The Capitoline Aphrodite and the Venus de Medici

2007-05-31T09:02:00.000-05:00

The Capitoline Aphrodite (left)The Venus de Medici (right)Both of these female nudes illustrate the Classic pose known as the Venus Pudica, or Modest Venus, as it appears she is trying to cover her breasts and genitals with her hands. Both derive from the idea first exploited by Praxitiles in the Aphrodite of Knidos, but in a more compact and distinctive manner. Lord Clark contrasts the

Head of Alexander

2007-05-31T06:42:00.000-05:00

Head of Alexander, Lysippean tradition c, 200This is a portrait of Alexander the Great. One of his generals is said to have done a double take when he passed the statue, after Alexander's death. The dreamy look, with the eyes cast upward and the mouth slightly open, was widely copied.Alexander, of course, was the most significant, world-changing leader of the Classical world. From Macedonia, just

The Theater at Epidauros

2007-05-31T06:26:00.000-05:00

Theater at Epidauros, c. 300 BCEGreek art begins in geometry. By the time of the 3rd century BCE and later, after the death of Alexander the Great - known as the Hellenistic age - artists were moving away from the expression of abstract geometric harmonies. This design, however, is geometric through and through.Theatrical productions began in Greece with ritual and communal dances performed by

Apoxyomenos, Lysippos

2007-05-30T10:03:00.000-05:00

Apoxyomenos, The Scraper, Lysippos c. 330 BCEThis is an athlete who has doused himself with olive oil and is now scraping off the dirt and sweat after, presumably, working out. So it would be the equivalent, I presume, of watching someone take a shower. Olive oil was also used to eroticize the body, so that its glistening surface highlights what we call the sculpted look.Watch, though, how the

Bronze Youth from Antikythera

2007-05-30T07:25:00.000-05:00

Bronze Youth from Antikythera, 350-330 BCEIs it unfair to compare how much more successful is this piece to the stale and flat Belvedere Apollo? Well, yes. This is a bronze original, found at the site of a shipwreck. And it is, however fair or unfair, a much better realized work. Although it might not have changed Winkelmann's mind concerning the Belvedere Apollo, I think he would have

Apollo Belvedere

2007-05-29T17:34:00.000-05:00

The Belvedere Apollo, marble copy of Bronze from late 4th centuryThe Apollo Belvedere is one of the best known ancient statues. It gives us a youthful, trim Apollo, whose gaze takes us to one who, er, is just looking. There's nobody inside. I never got this piece. I thought it was dull, and kind of embarrassing. It was supposed to be great art and I didn’t see it. Then I read Kenneth Clark on its

Grave Stele, Ilissos

2007-05-29T14:41:00.000-05:00

Illissos Stele, Athens, 350 - 330 BCEDeath remains a compelling subject for Greek artists; this is one of their masterpieces. The stele marks a grave, often creating in the relief a quality that calls forth both life and its passing from us. We've seen this in the Hegeso stele. Here a vivid and surprising group portrait - of idealized types, there are few if any real portraits as we know them at

The Venus of Arles and the Venus of Capua

2007-05-29T08:13:00.000-05:00

The Venus of Arles, Roman copy of Praxiteles originalThe Venus of Capua, Roman copy of 4th C originalThe Venus of Arles is probably a copy of an original statue by Praxiteles. The Venus of Capua is a variation on the pose. The pose here is what interests us; it. Like the Knidan pose, it was widely copied in later art, with its most successful interpretation the Venus de Milo.Aphrodite here is

Beauty and the Knidian Aphrodite

2007-05-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

Marble head from Chios, Praxitelean modelTorso, Praxiteles' Aphrodite of CnidosThe Aphrodite of Knidos - known as the Knidia - comes to us, eventually, in so many shapes and sizes, and has such a large and beautiful progeny, with all those different copies in so many states of wholeness and repair, and all those many Venuses - we start calling them that rather than Aphrodites because of their

The Knidian Aphrodite, Praxiteles

2007-05-27T07:52:00.002-05:00

The Aphrodite of Knidos, Praxiteles, c. 340 - 330 BCEShe is the most celebrated piece of sculpture in the Classical world. The work was said to have been controversial - she is the first nude goddess in sculpture - and was rejected by its original commission; the town of Knidos gratefully accepted it. She became a celebrated tourist attraction - as usual, the original is missing - and was the

Apollo Sauroktonos, Praxiteles

2007-05-26T15:11:00.000-05:00

Apollo Sauroktonos, Lizard-slayer, Praxiteles, c. 350 - 275In the myth, of course, Apollo, has many attributes, including several combinations of opposites and contrasts: sickness and healing, life and death, masculinity and femininity. I think this piece - another iteration of the myth - draws on contrasts of that sort.Apollo is the god of plagues, that Sminthian "mouse god" the priest Chryses

Hermes and Dionysos, Praxiteles

2007-05-26T07:38:00.000-05:00

Hermes and Dionysos, copy ? or original ? by Praxiteles, 343 BCEWith Praxiteles it becomes possible (for me) to look back at some of the other sculptors who preceded him. I think this is because it seems, and not just to me, that his work is a deliberate counter to that of Polykleitos, for example. Kenneth D. S. Lapatin's good, long, review article is worth reading. In any case, let's

Amazon Frieze, Mausoleum of Halicarnasus

2007-05-25T11:25:00.000-05:00

Amazonomachy, Frieze, Mausoleum of Halicarnasus, mid 4th C BCEIn the Province of Caria, in southwest Asia Minor, there lived, and then died, a man named Mausolos, satrap of the Persian king. His widow, Artemesia, summoned the great artists of the day - including Skopas - to design his tomb for Halicarnasus, which is the birthplace of the first historian, Herodotus. It was such a grand enterprise,

Maenad, Skopas

2007-05-25T07:35:00.000-05:00

Maenad, Skopas, 4th CThis is one of those pieces that can sweep you up - as she is being swept up. A maenad is a following of the god Dionysos, known as Bacchus to the Romans; he is the god of wine and drunkenness, of ecstasy, as we see here, which literally means "out of the body." In their search to explore and represent human consciousness, artists like Skopas bring us to the edge of

The Auxerre Goddess

2007-05-24T13:36:00.000-05:00

The Auxerre Goddess, 650-625 BCEI needed to get over the strict formality of the wigs of the Daedalic conventions - which are really easy to spot - perhaps they were too Eastern (Orientalizing), or Egyptian, for my tastes, but I have learned to love them; I think it was the Auxerre goddess who taught me. She comes from a limestone workshop in Crete; as you might imagine, limestone is a lot easier

Priam Head

2007-05-23T13:24:00.000-05:00

The Priam Head, East Pediment, Temple to Asclepius, Epidaurus, perhaps by HectoridasThis is a fragment from a representation of the sack of Troy, one of those earth-shattering myths for which Homer in the Iliad provides essential background, then going on in the Odyssey to trace some of the personal and political consequences for Odysseus, his family, his crew, his kingdom. This bust, then,

Stele of Hegeso

2007-05-23T12:34:00.000-05:00

The Stele of Hegeso, c. 420 BCEThis grave marker commemorates the domestic life of Hegeso, a wealthy woman - wealthy enough in life to have one of her servants hold her jewelry box for her to select something, and in death for someone to pay for this touching, and rewarding, stele. As on the Parthenon frieze and elsewhere, the drapery falls gracefully from the bodies of the two women, and

Venus Genetrix

2007-05-16T14:14:00.000-05:00

The Venus Genetrix, Roman copy of 5th century originalHow hard, or soft, is marble?The Venus Genetrix is the name given by Julius Caesar to the god he presumed was his ancestor, Venus, who is, of course, the Roman version of Aphrodite. It is probably not the correct name to use for the fifth century sculpture - presumably from the school of Pheidias - of which this is a Roman copy.Lord Clark

Statuette of a Girl in Munich

2007-05-16T13:59:00.001-05:00

Statuette of a Girl in Munich, c. 400 BCELord Clark points out that she is in the same contrapposto pose as that used by Polykleitos for his nude males:the weight resting on the right leg, the left bent as if to move; and the girl in Munich is in this attitude. The pose was invented for the male figure, but by one of those happy accidents which often accompany the

The Esquiline Venus

2007-05-16T13:46:00.000-05:00

The Esquiline Venus Scholars are uncertain just when she might have been created. Here is how Lord Clark of Civilization describes her:“...there was produced a bronze figure of a nude girl, perhaps a priestess of Isis, blinding her hair, which must have been a masterpiece. It is known to us in two marble replicas, of which the more complete is the statue in Rome known as the Esquiline Venus, the

Wounded Niobid

2007-05-16T13:26:00.000-05:00

Wounded Niobid, late 5th century (?) Niobe has twelve children, six boys and six girls. This is one of the girls who, along with all of her siblings - the Niobids - are being slaughtered by Leto’s two children, Artemis (for the girls) and Apollo (for the boys). The slaughter avenges the insult Niobe hurled at Leto for only having two children, compared to her own twelve – another instance of

Nike Adjusting Her Sandal, Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis

2007-05-16T10:44:00.000-05:00

Nike Adjusting Her Sandal, Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis.Sculptures in stone used a variety of chisels – pointed, flat, and clawed – to chip away at the stone, using hammered blows at various angles to create their effects. The running drill, in use about the 5th century, permitted sculptors to shape finely crafted grooves and channels, thus allowing for some of the more exuberant and

The Flying Nike of Paionios

2007-05-16T08:48:00.000-05:00

The Flying Nike by Paionios of Mende, c. 420 How much does stone - marble, say - weigh? Roman copies of Greek bronze originals can come across as heavy in contrast to the bronzes we know of. During the High Classical period of Greek sculpture in the fifth century BCE artists began to recognize methods of making stone seem to weigh less, to weigh almost nothing at all. They were discovering how

The Diadumenos - Youth Binding a Fillet - of Polykleitos

2007-05-16T03:24:00.000-05:00

The Diadumenos - Youth Binding a Fillet on His Hair - by Polykleitos, c. 440 BCEPolykleitos, of Doryphoros - Spear-carrier fame, again turns to the portrayal of human proportions, again with a male nude in contrapposto stance. The scene is an athlete binding his brow with the fillet signifying victory. Again, this is no portrait, but rather a portrayal of gently flowing rhythms in contour and

Are Blues Songs Sad?

2007-05-14T10:57:00.000-05:00

A lot of people think the blues are sad. Are they? In a word, No. Or, at least, not necessarily.Query: “Isn’t the blues just a feeling?”Martin Williams: “Only in the sense that sonata is just a feeling.”The blues describes a musical form, as we have seen. We don't know the origin of the term blues as used to describe a form of music, but it doubtless has some relation to our use of the term -

The New Orleans - Chicago Style Combo

2007-05-14T07:57:00.001-05:00

From left to right: Jack Teagarden - trombone, Dick Carey - piano, Louis Armstrong - trumpet, Bobby Hackett - trumpet, Peanuts Hucko - clarinet, Bob Haggard - bass fiddle, Sid Catlett - drums.The New Orleans - Chicago style combo ("Dixieland" style) of the early jazz era has two sections: the front line and the rhythm section.Generally speaking, the front line instruments – trumpet (cornet),

Listening to Jazz

2007-05-11T17:24:00.000-05:00

Romare Bearden, Profile/Part II, The Thirties: Uptown Sunday Night Session, 1981collage of various papers with foil, paint, ink, and graphite on fiberboard The basic difference between classical music and jazz is that in the former the music is always greater than its performance—Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, for instance, is always greater than its performance—whereas the way jazz is performed

Jelly Roll Morton - Listening to Black Bottom Stomp

2007-05-11T14:20:00.001-05:00

Jelly Roll Morton's Hot Peppers, in Chicago, 1926The structure for this piece, after the introduction, is AAABBBBBBB. The letters refer to sections of the song - in this case, choruses. In jazz there are basically two sorts of songs. Black Bottom Stomp is sectional, meaning it is composed of one section (chorus) following another with no return. Strophic songs, by contrast, are those which return

Jelly Roll Morton - Black Bottom Stomp

2007-05-11T10:37:00.000-05:00

Black Bottom Stomp steps Jelly Roll Morton (1890 – 1941) is one the first great figures of jazz, along with Bessie Smith, Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong, though Morton might have resented having to share the billing. Jelly Roll Morton was a flamboyant and seemingly irrepressible figure in his heyday, a dandy, a self-promoter, and a sharp customer. Like Bessie, Jelly Roll always made

Listening to the Blues - Blues Chorus

2007-05-09T16:23:00.000-05:00

That’s my livin’ and my life. I love them notes. That’s why I try to make ‘em right, see? - Louis Armstrong I don't read music or play an instrument; I listen. Or, try to. The goal of this unit, then, is to listen, and to learn how to listen better, or, try to.DefinitionA good definition of the blues is this one from the Oxford Companion:The blues that Handy developed was twelve bars with the

Bessie Smith - Jailhouse Blues

2007-05-09T15:09:00.001-05:00

Former City Jail, Chillicothe Texas. photos by Theresa ByrdIn this song, Bessie Smith makes it sound as if she's been everywhere and done all of it.Introduction Minutes/Seconds 0 – 30 Bessie starts this one out with a rousing warning to the assembled audience: “Lord, this house is gonna get raided! Yessir!” With this she establishes rapport with the audience, or, pretends to, and says, in

Bessie Smith - Introduction

2007-05-09T15:07:00.001-05:00

Bessie Smith is always the best place to start. Whenever you listen she becomes an immediate, fully realized presence - that's the nature of her art. Most people know her already, or at least have heard of her. She's definitely one of those artists who weren't meant for the background. At the start of her career, Billie Holiday, whose style and singing were influenced by Bessie Smith yet who

The Parthenon Sculptures - East Pediment

2007-05-08T06:22:00.000-05:00

The Three Fates, or Three Goddesses, East Pediment Sculptures, The ParthenonThey may be the three Fates - the Moirae, Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos - but it seems unlikely that those grim sisters, spinning, measuring, and cutting the threads of life, would ever convey such a buoyant, engaging spirit; they must be three gods: Hestia, of the hearth, the motherly Dione, and her daughter Aphrodite. The

The Parthenon Sculptures - East Pediment

2007-05-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

The Horse of Selene, East Pediment, the ParthenonThis is as much of a portrait as I think we ever get from Greek art in the Classic period. The horse is a vivid individual, albeit almost scarily mythological as well. If ever anything was moonstruck it was this horse, one of the two that draw Selene's chariot as she makes her dark way across the sky, following in the nighttime after the daytime

Parthenon Sculptures - The Frieze

2007-05-06T18:54:00.001-05:00

Horses and horsemen, west frieze, Parthenon,The Parthenon frieze is, for me, the hardest part of the Parthenon sculptures to grasp. Though I have been able to see them up close - thanks, BM! - I have no personal impression to impart, except - again, I am grateful to Pollitt for insights here - that they do seem to be as abstract as Greek sculpture gets. He says, "No two figures are alike; each

Parthenon Sculptures - The metopes

2007-05-06T17:28:00.000-05:00

Metope XXVII, The Parthenon, (447-431)I first learned the term metope in the ordinary sense, I thought, of its role as what alternates with triglyphs to form the visual rhythm of the Doric frieze, the middle element of the entablature in a classical Temple, or architecture based on that model. Sometimes they were left blank, sometimes minor reliefs of, perhaps, animal skulls. The metopes of the

Song of Songs Chapter 8

2007-05-04T12:18:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, The Open WindowThe Song of Songs Chapter 88:1 If he were her brother she could kiss him openly. Also, she would be close to him as they nursed at their mother’s breasts. 8:2. Here she is clearly, as in 6:11, ready to make love, as indicated by the condition of nature around her. As in 3:4, this seems to be a departure from tradition; ordinarily the man brings the woman to his house.

Song of Songs Chapter 7

2007-05-04T12:14:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, Nude in Front of a Mirror The Song of Songs Chapter 77:1 In this section the Shulamite dances, and is admired as she does. It is the first time we hear the young woman referred to as the Shulamite. The question is posed why the young man gazes at her, which prompts his response. Her thighs are singled out for praise because of their quality of bringing to mind fine workmanship. This

Song of Songs Chapter 6

2007-05-04T12:06:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, Panoramic View of Le Cannet, 1941The Song of Songs Chapter 66:1 Presumably the daughters of Jerusalem ask where her lover has gone to. 6:2 See 2:16, 4:16, 6:3 for more on the image of gardening and pasturing. 6:3 Another wasf, a song of praise. Gathering lilies also has an erotic sense in the poem, since the flowers are linked to her body. 6:4 Tirzah is an ancient, opulent city.

Song of Songs Chapter 5

2007-05-04T11:57:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, Peaches and Grapes, 1943The Song of Songs Chapter 55:1 Here, at the poem’s center, sexual consummation is equated with eating and drinking. It is not certain who is speaking here, though it is presumably the lover, now the bridegroom. This is perhaps an earthy call to friends to head the call from Ecclesiastes 8:15 to eat, drink and be merry, but most of all, to become drunk on the

Song of Songs Chapter 4

2007-05-04T11:54:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, Horse-hair Glove, 1939The Song of Songs Chapter 44:1 This section, to 4:5, is a song of praise known as a wasf, found in Egyptian, Syrian, Sumerian and Arabic love poems. In the wasf, typically, the husband praises his bride’s beauty by singling out her physical features in a series of elaborate comparisons. [Samuel Krauss, “The Archaeological Background of Some Passages in the Song of

Song of Songs Chapter 3

2007-05-04T11:45:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, The Terraces, 1941Song of Songs Chapter 33:1 She searches for her beloved in what some take to be a nightmare sequence, since she stays in bed all night. 3:2 She looks in a city—perhaps a city of dreams—for her love. 3:3 She asks the town watchmen if they have seen him. She has been unable to find her lover, yet the watchmen have found her. 3:4 As soon as she asks the watchmen about

Song of Songs Chapter 2

2007-05-04T11:44:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, Iris and LiliesThe Song of Songs Chapter 22:1 She compares herself with flowers that may be considered quite important symbolically. Possibly, the lily is the sort of lovely flower most likely to be missed by others. The original “rose” is probably something more like a crocus. 2:2 Here, he takes up her image, and may be saying that she may be a lily, but all the other women are thorns

Song of Songs Chapter 1

2007-05-04T11:35:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, The Dining Room in the CountryThe Song of Songs Chapter 11:1 - 1:4 The headline associates the Song with Solomon, asserting its excellence and sublimity by the phrase Song of Songs. Solomon did not write it, but the association may have preserved the text and permitted its inclusion in the canon. Would you let anything that might be by wise King Solomon vanish?Association with King

The wasf in the Song of Songs

2007-05-04T08:47:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, Standing Nude, 1922-30Like the story of Adam and Eve from Genesis 2, the lovers in the Song of Songs pass into the world of adult sexual maturity in an idealized and fertile landscape. In the Song, however, the only consequences for the lovers—as distinct from in the earlier creation story in Genesis—are the pleasures of sensual love. Indeed, one of the many truly unique qualities of the

Figurative language in The Song of Songs

2007-05-04T08:38:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, Cherry Pie, 1908The poetry of the Song is based primarily on metaphors and similes. Metaphor is the figurative expression in language also known as the trope, in which ordinary language shifts from its normal, day to day meanings to evoke new meanings by way of reference to something else with some sort of shared characteristic. If the ordinary sense of a word does not make sense we look

"...not to teach but to please, and to delight"

2007-05-04T08:07:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, The Bathroom Mirror, 1906I embrace her and her arms open wide; I am like a man in Punt, like someone overwhelmed with drugs. I kiss her and her lips open; and I am drunk without beer.(Ancient Egyptian love song, James Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament 3rd edition [New Haven: Princeton University Press, 1967], 467-69).The Song of Songs is

The Song of Songs Introduction

2007-05-04T08:01:00.000-05:00

Bonnard, Flowers on a Red Carpet, 1928Three things I marvel at,four I cannot fathom:the way of an eagle in the sky,the way of a snake on a rock,the way of a ship in the heart of the sea,the way of a man with a woman. —Proverbs 30:18-19 The Song of Songs is one of the most powerful and influential pieces of literature in the world. It seems to tell of the first sexual awakenings of a beautiful

The Parthenon 2

2007-05-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

The Parthenon Refinements, 447-432).The lines of the Parthenon, essentially, or apparently, verticals and horizontals, were designed by way of subtle yet significant variations from the norm, so that what appears to be straight is in fact curved, and thus the stylobate, as Pollitt points out, becomes a “subtle dome” (72) I love that notion. The dome is there, but only if you measure for it.

The Parthenon 1

2007-05-02T14:16:00.000-05:00

The Parthenon, Athens, 447-432Beauty, I suppose, would be the answer, if the Parthenon were a question or riddle. Here as everywhere, but even more so, we regret having to talk about something that is not here, or, rather, about something where we are not there. Though I suppose our best reactions to a work like this are not, as we walk about and breathe it in, to start talking. Still, the

The Doryphoros - Spear-Carrier - The Canon of Polykleitos

2007-04-29T16:43:00.000-05:00

Doryphoros, Polykleitos, 450-440Galen, [de placitis hippocratis et platonis 5]: “Beauty arises…in the proportion (symmetria) of the parts of the body, such as that of finger to finger, and of all the fingers to the palm and the wrist, and of those to the forearm, and of the forearm to the upper arm, and, in fact, of everything to everything else, just as it is written in the Canon of

Rhythmos & Symmetria

2007-04-29T07:20:00.000-05:00

Myron is the first sculptor who appears to have enlarged the scope of realism, having more rhythms [rhythmos] in his art than Polycleitus and being more careful in his proportions [symmetria]. Yet he himself so far as surface configuration goes attained great finish, but he does not seem to have given expression to the feelings of the mind, and moreover he has not treated the hair and the pubes

The Diskobolos, Myron

2007-04-28T10:47:00.000-05:00

Diskobolos, The Discus-thrower, Myron, 460-50Nobody doesn't know this work of art, though not always, perhaps, as a work of art. As with the Artemision Zeus, the artist - in this case identified as Myron - has sought, with enormous success, to capture a moment in time as it is expressed through the human form in action. Specifically, an athlete is poised just at the moment of greatest contortion

Artemision Zeus

2007-04-28T09:39:00.000-05:00

The Zeus or Poseidon of Artemision (c. 460 BCE)This iconic piece explains as it demonstrates the Early Classical ("severe") ideal. The body is captured at a precise moment - and a momentous precision it is. The god's entire body, and his mind, which we can begin to comprehend, are both alert and supremely focused. It is an exhilarating piece to admire, in part because we can begin to participate

The Ludovisi Throne

2007-04-28T07:58:00.000-05:00

Something can happen to marble, under the right hands, as here in the Birth of Aphrodite panel of the Ludovisi Throne, that seems to introduce entirely new ideas about the material itself. Here, the hard and dry evoke the soft and wet. To me this is one of those uncanny works of extraordinary appeal at which worship would not be out of order. The patterning is extraordinary; notice the interplay

Kenneth Clark's Study in Ideal Form

2007-04-27T15:45:00.000-05:00

The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form, by Kenneth Clark (aka Lord Clark of Civilization) Doubleday Anchor Books, Garden City, New York, 1959While I was growing up, in Bloomington, Indiana, we frequently visited friends who had this book in one of their bookshelves. As a lad, I would take it down, thumb through it, and invariably put it back. I was always so disappointed. I did try reading it, but

Krater by the Niobid Painter

2007-04-27T14:42:00.000-05:00

This krater by the Niobid Painter - the name comes from the other side of the vase, which shows the death of Niobe's children at the hands of Leto's two kids -is an interesting example of painterly composition. The figures are arranged on different planes, so that there is more than one ground line, the original ground line firmly established by the reclining figure. Presumably, this is done to

Aspasia Type

2007-04-27T14:25:00.000-05:00

This statue, a Roman copy of a Greek original from perhaps 460 BCE, is misnamed. It apparently does not represent the celebrated mistress of Pericles, named Aspasia. It may represent a god. It is, in any case, a severely draped woman, almost totally wrapped in a himation, with almost none of the woman's body beneath revealed. What is revealed by these stunning drapery effects, however, is

Zeus and Ganymede, Temple of Zeus at Olympia

2007-04-27T13:31:00.000-05:00

This terracotta statue of Zeus (c. 470 BCE) transporting Ganymede to Mount Olympus, where eternal youth will be his, has always struck me as slightly absurd. Both characters adopt stiff, artificial poses, and the scene is unconvincing either as rape or as seduction. However, I believe it is an effective acroterion, and I can well assume it looks better from below looking up. Zeus' archaic smile

The Herakles Metopes, Temple of Zeus at Olympia

2007-04-27T10:17:00.000-05:00

The Herakles metopes at the Temple of Zeus in Olympia (470 - 456 BCE) are justly renowned. They depict the hero performing each of his labors over the course of his career, so that, biography-like, the images take us from the young hero to the tired old man.Tired, however, probably best describes even the young man as he looks down quizzically at the Nemean lion he has just slain - his first

West Pediment, Temple of Zeus, Olympia

2007-04-26T10:18:00.000-05:00

The West pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia shows a marked contrast to the East pediment. The East pediment shows a relatively static scene, albeit one fraught with anticipation. This scene presents a wild and woolly battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs, with the god Apollo calmly exerting his authority with his extended right arm - though he is conceivably intended to be invisible

Seer, Kladeos, East Pediment, Temple of Zeus at Olympia

2007-04-26T08:36:00.000-05:00

Seer (left) and Kladeos (right) from the East Pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, (462-457 BCE)The temple itself has crumbled, but its fine sculptures, or at least some of them, in various states of ruin, remain. These two heads are especially interesting, in particular because of what they suggest by way of comparison.The first head -the seer - shows us part of a story, one of the many

Krater, the Pan Painter

2007-04-26T08:10:00.000-05:00

Krater, the Pan Painter, c. 470Red-figure technique gives the artist more control over details than the earlier black-figure technique. This krater shows Artemis aiming her arrow, somewhat pointlessly it would appear, at an Actaeon who is being viciously devoured by his own hunting dogs. The familiar story, widely illustrated throughout western art because of Ovid's masterful tale, has the

Temple at Paestum

2007-04-26T07:11:00.000-05:00

Temple of Athena, Paestum, c. 500 BCETo me this is one of the most satisfying works of art in the world. I can only think of it as we have it now, a ruin; its spare, bare qualities and open roof emphasize and at the same time diminish its immense physicality and weight. The rhythmic nature of the peripteral colonnade sets a standard. It presents Doric strength with the most compelling and