Journal of Art in Society
@artinsociety.bsky.social
Philip McCouat writes in-depth articles on art, history and social change in the Journal of Art in Society at http://artinsociety.com
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JUST PUBLISHED! In our latest article we examine the 17th century craze for writing and reading letters, and how this became a major feature in Dutch art, featuring in masterful paintings by artists such as Gabriel Metsu and Jan Vermeer www.artinsociety.com/gabriel-mets...
Admiring the precise delicacy of these studies of flowers by Leonardo da Vinci, created in pen and ink over a preparatory sketch in red chalk (late 15C, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice)
November 11, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Admiring the precise delicacy of these studies of flowers by Leonardo da Vinci, created in pen and ink over a preparatory sketch in red chalk (late 15C, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice)
JUST PUBLISHED! In our latest article we examine the 17th century craze for writing and reading letters, and how this became a major feature in Dutch art, featuring in masterful paintings by artists such as Gabriel Metsu and Jan Vermeer www.artinsociety.com/gabriel-mets...
November 10, 2025 at 7:08 AM
JUST PUBLISHED! In our latest article we examine the 17th century craze for writing and reading letters, and how this became a major feature in Dutch art, featuring in masterful paintings by artists such as Gabriel Metsu and Jan Vermeer www.artinsociety.com/gabriel-mets...
French artist Raymond Wintz specialised in marine and coastal views in Brittany. Here, almost 100 years ago, he looks through an open doorway to the harbour beyond (The Blue Door, 1927)
November 9, 2025 at 7:09 AM
French artist Raymond Wintz specialised in marine and coastal views in Brittany. Here, almost 100 years ago, he looks through an open doorway to the harbour beyond (The Blue Door, 1927)
Van Gogh’s ‘Field with Poppies’ was painted from an elevated viewpoint during his stay in Saint-Paul Asylum. Its acquisition in 1911 by a German gallery was criticised as being part of a perceived “foreign infiltration of German art” by French paintings (Kunsthalle Bremen, 1889)
November 8, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Van Gogh’s ‘Field with Poppies’ was painted from an elevated viewpoint during his stay in Saint-Paul Asylum. Its acquisition in 1911 by a German gallery was criticised as being part of a perceived “foreign infiltration of German art” by French paintings (Kunsthalle Bremen, 1889)
17th century French artist Louise Moillon achieved fame with her beautifully precise still-lifes ~ here’s her Basket of Plums (1629)
November 7, 2025 at 7:06 AM
17th century French artist Louise Moillon achieved fame with her beautifully precise still-lifes ~ here’s her Basket of Plums (1629)
Bacchus, liberally festooned with grapes, casually pours drink for his little panther (!), wine trellises adorn the slopes of a deceptively-slumbering Vesuvius, & serpent Agathodaemon represents ‘good spirit’ of vineyards (Wall fresco, House of the Centenary, Pompeii)
November 6, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Bacchus, liberally festooned with grapes, casually pours drink for his little panther (!), wine trellises adorn the slopes of a deceptively-slumbering Vesuvius, & serpent Agathodaemon represents ‘good spirit’ of vineyards (Wall fresco, House of the Centenary, Pompeii)
I always enjoy an opportunity to post this ~ Alphonse Bertillon, pioneer of the front-&-profile criminal mugshot, did some practice runs with his nephew, a notoriously hardened criminal, aged 2. His crime? 'Nibbling pears' (Silver albumen print, 1893 MoMA)
November 5, 2025 at 7:02 AM
I always enjoy an opportunity to post this ~ Alphonse Bertillon, pioneer of the front-&-profile criminal mugshot, did some practice runs with his nephew, a notoriously hardened criminal, aged 2. His crime? 'Nibbling pears' (Silver albumen print, 1893 MoMA)
Extreme close-up of Manet’s In the Conservatory (1879) reveals not only his technique but also the fine cracking in the paint (‘craquelure’) & the texture of the canvas itself blog.iliou-melathron.de/deutsche-mus...
November 4, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Extreme close-up of Manet’s In the Conservatory (1879) reveals not only his technique but also the fine cracking in the paint (‘craquelure’) & the texture of the canvas itself blog.iliou-melathron.de/deutsche-mus...
Barcelona-born UK-based artist Miriam Escofet’s portrait of her mother, An Angel at my Table. winner of the prestigious 2018 BP Portrait Award. At R, a close-up / a joint viewing by mother & daughter © Miriam Escofet
November 3, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Barcelona-born UK-based artist Miriam Escofet’s portrait of her mother, An Angel at my Table. winner of the prestigious 2018 BP Portrait Award. At R, a close-up / a joint viewing by mother & daughter © Miriam Escofet
Cornish painter Harold Harvey used the sunny view of Mount’s Bay from the porch of his home in this painting of two women chatting over tea, as cat looks on / & used the same setting to depict woman standing knitting at the door as man plays accordion (The Blue Door 1931, 1934)
November 2, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Cornish painter Harold Harvey used the sunny view of Mount’s Bay from the porch of his home in this painting of two women chatting over tea, as cat looks on / & used the same setting to depict woman standing knitting at the door as man plays accordion (The Blue Door 1931, 1934)
If you look long enough at Albrecht Dürer’s pen studies of creased pillows, you may well see faces ~ pillow corners transform into noses, chins or horns, while creases become mouths and brows (1493) publicdomainreview.org/collection/d...
November 1, 2025 at 7:06 AM
If you look long enough at Albrecht Dürer’s pen studies of creased pillows, you may well see faces ~ pillow corners transform into noses, chins or horns, while creases become mouths and brows (1493) publicdomainreview.org/collection/d...
Another side of ‘decorative’ Alphonse Mucha ~ here he depicts exhausted Slavic peasant woman as she sits, hopelessly alone, in frozen, famine-struck field, throwing back her head in resigned despair. As the wolves move in, does the star represent hope? (Winter Night, 1920s)
October 31, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Another side of ‘decorative’ Alphonse Mucha ~ here he depicts exhausted Slavic peasant woman as she sits, hopelessly alone, in frozen, famine-struck field, throwing back her head in resigned despair. As the wolves move in, does the star represent hope? (Winter Night, 1920s)
The Japanese word “tsundoku” describes the secret habit of acquiring books and then letting them pile up without necessarily ever reading them. I plead guilty! For some, just possessing a book is sometimes enough (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
October 30, 2025 at 7:02 AM
The Japanese word “tsundoku” describes the secret habit of acquiring books and then letting them pile up without necessarily ever reading them. I plead guilty! For some, just possessing a book is sometimes enough (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
French actress/opera singer Louise Jacquet looks up at us engagingly from reading an admiring letter, in this exceptional pastel portrait by Jean-Étienne Liotard (c 1750). Such a lively & natural expression! Check out the fine detailing on her clothes, too
October 29, 2025 at 7:04 AM
French actress/opera singer Louise Jacquet looks up at us engagingly from reading an admiring letter, in this exceptional pastel portrait by Jean-Étienne Liotard (c 1750). Such a lively & natural expression! Check out the fine detailing on her clothes, too
Back in the 12th century, French sculptor Gislebertus carved this angel as (s)he appears to the three Magi as they dream, waking one with the delicate touch of a finger, and pointing her other forefinger toward the Bethlehem star (Cathedral of St Lazare, Autun)
October 28, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Back in the 12th century, French sculptor Gislebertus carved this angel as (s)he appears to the three Magi as they dream, waking one with the delicate touch of a finger, and pointing her other forefinger toward the Bethlehem star (Cathedral of St Lazare, Autun)
Raoul Dufy displays his characteristic lively and colourful touch in this travel poster for Normandy, commissioned by the French Railways (c 1952)
October 27, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Raoul Dufy displays his characteristic lively and colourful touch in this travel poster for Normandy, commissioned by the French Railways (c 1952)
US realist artist Richard Maury specialises in precisely-detailed interior scenes of ordinary life (My Interpretation of the Manner of DFE, 2003)
www.catherinelarosepoesiaearte.com/2012/09/rich...
www.catherinelarosepoesiaearte.com/2012/09/rich...
October 26, 2025 at 8:27 AM
US realist artist Richard Maury specialises in precisely-detailed interior scenes of ordinary life (My Interpretation of the Manner of DFE, 2003)
www.catherinelarosepoesiaearte.com/2012/09/rich...
www.catherinelarosepoesiaearte.com/2012/09/rich...
Enjoying the intense light effects in contemporary US artist Dan McCaw’s depiction of a woman in a sunroom
October 26, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Enjoying the intense light effects in contemporary US artist Dan McCaw’s depiction of a woman in a sunroom
On his exile to Elba, Napoleon vowed he’d return to Paris the next year, just as his favourite flower, the violet, did each spring. Here, Jean Canu celebrated that return in March 1815 by hiding silhouettes of Napoleon, his son & 2nd wife Marie Louise in bunch of violets (clues at R)
October 25, 2025 at 5:59 AM
On his exile to Elba, Napoleon vowed he’d return to Paris the next year, just as his favourite flower, the violet, did each spring. Here, Jean Canu celebrated that return in March 1815 by hiding silhouettes of Napoleon, his son & 2nd wife Marie Louise in bunch of violets (clues at R)
On his exile to Elba, Napoleon vowed he’d return to Paris the next year, just as his favourite flower, the violet, did each spring. Here, Jean Canu celebrated that return in March 1815 by hiding silhouettes of Napoleon, his son & 2nd wife Marie Louise in bunch of violets (clues at R)
October 25, 2025 at 5:57 AM
On his exile to Elba, Napoleon vowed he’d return to Paris the next year, just as his favourite flower, the violet, did each spring. Here, Jean Canu celebrated that return in March 1815 by hiding silhouettes of Napoleon, his son & 2nd wife Marie Louise in bunch of violets (clues at R)
With the world on his shoulders ~ magnificently-bearded 15C mason/sculptor Adam Kraft’s strikingly naturalistic depiction of himself, holding chisel and mallet, supporting the intricate gothic tabernacle he created at St Lorenz, Nuremberg (1490s)
October 24, 2025 at 6:23 AM
With the world on his shoulders ~ magnificently-bearded 15C mason/sculptor Adam Kraft’s strikingly naturalistic depiction of himself, holding chisel and mallet, supporting the intricate gothic tabernacle he created at St Lorenz, Nuremberg (1490s)
An opening scene in Taylor Swift’s video for her latest single release ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ is based on Friedrich Heyser’s 1900 painting ‘Death of Ophelia’ ~ and has led to a large spike in visitor numbers to the Wiesbaden museum where it’s hung www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...
October 22, 2025 at 6:07 AM
An opening scene in Taylor Swift’s video for her latest single release ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ is based on Friedrich Heyser’s 1900 painting ‘Death of Ophelia’ ~ and has led to a large spike in visitor numbers to the Wiesbaden museum where it’s hung www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...
Wonderfully-detailed reconstructed depiction of a pied kingfisher, found in the ruins of a royal palace in ancient Egypt, painted over 3,300 years ago
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
October 21, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Wonderfully-detailed reconstructed depiction of a pied kingfisher, found in the ruins of a royal palace in ancient Egypt, painted over 3,300 years ago
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Dutch artist Willem Claeszoon Heda’s superb still life of wineglasses & beakers, a pewter plate, with knife, lemons, olives, hazelnuts, walnuts & paper twist of tobacco ~ I’m particularly enjoying the effect of light on the glass & metal surfaces (1633) www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/...
October 20, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Dutch artist Willem Claeszoon Heda’s superb still life of wineglasses & beakers, a pewter plate, with knife, lemons, olives, hazelnuts, walnuts & paper twist of tobacco ~ I’m particularly enjoying the effect of light on the glass & metal surfaces (1633) www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/...
Katsushika Ōi, the talented, overlooked daughter/collaborator of famous woodblock artist Hokusai, painted this night scene in Tokyo’s notorious Yoshiwara district. Passers-by gaze through latticed windows at brightly-dressed women in a clever interplay of light & shade (c 1850)
October 19, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Katsushika Ōi, the talented, overlooked daughter/collaborator of famous woodblock artist Hokusai, painted this night scene in Tokyo’s notorious Yoshiwara district. Passers-by gaze through latticed windows at brightly-dressed women in a clever interplay of light & shade (c 1850)