Art Interpretations

Reliquary of Sainte-Foy, 9th century with later additions, gold, silver, gemstones, and enamel over wood, Romanesque France Shiva as Lord of Dance (nataraja), Hindu, India (Tamil Nadu), Chola Dynasty, 11th century, cast bronze Shiva as Lord of Dance (Nataraja) is a bronze sculpture from the Chola Dynasty in India. It is a Hindu sculpture from the 9th-13th century. The Reliquary of Sainte-Foy depicts a young girl who was martyred because she was killed when she was fighting f

The Alhambra, Granada, Spain, Nasrid Dynasty, 1354-1391, white-washed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint, and gliding The Alhambra in Granada, Spain was a fortress complex made in the Nasrid Dynasty of Islamic Spain and it was created sometime during 1354 to 1391 with white washed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint, and gliding. It was a palace made for the caliphate, the leaders of an Islamic government, but also acted as a military fortress. Because of this, it had characteristi

Slave Ship, 1840s, Romanticism, oil on canvas Slave Ship is an oil on canvas painting that was made in 1840 by Joseph Mallord William Turner as part of the romanticism art movement. It was first unveiled at the Royal Academy exhibition and made after slavery was banned in England. Turner was inspired by Clarkson’s “History of the Rise, Progress, and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade by the British Parliament” (1839) and Thomson’s poem, “Summer” (1729

A Tête à Tête, 1743, Rococo, oil on canvas A Tête à Tête is an oil painting from the collection, Marriage à la Mode, by William Hogarth. Marriage à la Mode translates to “modern marriage” or “marriage of the day.” It is part of the rococo and satire art movement. The rococo art movement focused on the lives of aristocracy and usually uses lighter colors. The satire art movement refers to art that is sarcastic and usually making fun of someone. Marriage à la Mode is made up o

The Seated Boxer , late fourth to second century BCE, Hellenistic period, bronze with inlaid copper The Seated Boxer is a bronze...

The Water Lily-Pond , Claude Monet, 1899, Impressionism, oil on canvas Claude Monet, a French Impressionist painter and founder of...

Van Gogh Self-Portrait (1889), Vincent Van Gogh, 1889, post-impressionism, oil on canvas Vincent Van-Gogh was a post-impressionist artist inspired by Dutch genre painting, realist paintings of Millet, and Japanese woodblock prints. He began creating art at the age of twenty-seven and continued on until the age of thirty-seven. Although he did not paint for a while, he was able to create over three-hundred pieces. He is known for his art’s connection to his mental disorders. I

Girl With the Pearl Earring , Johannes Vermeer, 1665, oil on canvas, Dutch Baroque Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch Baroque Period painter...

A Sunday Afternoon of the Island of La Grande Jatte, Georges Pierre Seurat, 1859-1891, post-impressionism, oil on canvas Georges Pierre Seurat was a French post-Impressionist artist who lived from 1859-1891. He was mainly known for inventing an art style called “Pointillism,” inspired by the then-developing optical and color theory research. He primarily studied the research of Michel Eugène Chevreul and physicist Ogden Rood, who believed that two chromatically different colo

Primavera , Sandro Botticelli, 1481-1482, tempera on canvas, early Italian Renaissance The beginning of the 15th century, Italy...

Vivienne Westwood logo Vivienne Westwood, also known as the high priestess of punk fashion, was an English fashion designer and...

Guernica , Pablo Picasso, 1937, Cubism, oil on canvas Pablo Picasso is a well-known artist who greatly influenced 20th-century art and...