Art Mirrors Art
@art-mirrors-art.bsky.social
History of mirrors in art. A bit of history of mirrors themselves, as a technology. And history of ideas and practices related to mirrors, in different cultures and times. Also the stories about our mistakes in interpreting all the above.
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AMA, or Art Mirrors Art, is my hobby research project about (the history of) #mirrors in #art; by extension, it goes into history of mirrors as a #technology, and further still, into history of *ideas* about mirrors - how mirrors have been used and understood in different cultures and times.
WordPress warns me that this whole #Art_Mirrors_Art project is 14 (!) years old; in reality, it’s much older, of course, I only transferred it to this blogging platform at that time. Before that, AMA had already enjoyed two or three glorious infancy years on LiveJournal (a big name back then)
September 15, 2025 at 7:00 AM
WordPress warns me that this whole #Art_Mirrors_Art project is 14 (!) years old; in reality, it’s much older, of course, I only transferred it to this blogging platform at that time. Before that, AMA had already enjoyed two or three glorious infancy years on LiveJournal (a big name back then)
TIL Yuri (百合, literally "lily") #art_mirrors_art (of course). Also #appropriation (or 'Rokeby Venus' in this case)
July 28, 2025 at 10:50 AM
TIL Yuri (百合, literally "lily") #art_mirrors_art (of course). Also #appropriation (or 'Rokeby Venus' in this case)
Ah, the first contemporary #art_mirrors_art work that I found on BSky! Kudos etc
April 28, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Ah, the first contemporary #art_mirrors_art work that I found on BSky! Kudos etc
Bronze Etruscan mirror (c. 4th–3rd century BCE) from the Guarnacci Museum in Volterra, Italy. The engraved scene is know as Hermes and the Egg of Destiny.
According to the legend, Zeus, disguised as a swan, seduced (or if you follow a feminist reading, raped) Leda, the queen of Sparta.
According to the legend, Zeus, disguised as a swan, seduced (or if you follow a feminist reading, raped) Leda, the queen of Sparta.
April 27, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Bronze Etruscan mirror (c. 4th–3rd century BCE) from the Guarnacci Museum in Volterra, Italy. The engraved scene is know as Hermes and the Egg of Destiny.
According to the legend, Zeus, disguised as a swan, seduced (or if you follow a feminist reading, raped) Leda, the queen of Sparta.
According to the legend, Zeus, disguised as a swan, seduced (or if you follow a feminist reading, raped) Leda, the queen of Sparta.
This little-known early ‘mirror painting’ by Pierre Bonnard (Femme à demi-nue, ou Nu se coiffant devant la glace (1915) was recently auctioned by Christie’s. I've studied Bonnard’s work (see Amber Intimism of Bonnard artmirrorsart.wordpress.com/2015/12/18/b...) but don’t recall seeing this artwork.
April 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
This little-known early ‘mirror painting’ by Pierre Bonnard (Femme à demi-nue, ou Nu se coiffant devant la glace (1915) was recently auctioned by Christie’s. I've studied Bonnard’s work (see Amber Intimism of Bonnard artmirrorsart.wordpress.com/2015/12/18/b...) but don’t recall seeing this artwork.
Steven Klein - Gisele Bündchen for Balenciaga (2014)
April 26, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Steven Klein - Gisele Bündchen for Balenciaga (2014)
Simon de Vos and Workshop - The Immaculate Conception (1636) and the detail with putti holding a mirror, one of Madonna’s attributes (Speculum sine macula):
April 26, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Simon de Vos and Workshop - The Immaculate Conception (1636) and the detail with putti holding a mirror, one of Madonna’s attributes (Speculum sine macula):
Hortense Haudebourt-Lescot - Un enfant se regardant dans un miroir (c.1821) Lescot was a French painter, but this work, like many others, depicts the life and costumes of Italian peasants, reflecting (sic) the many years she spent in Italy.
April 26, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Hortense Haudebourt-Lescot - Un enfant se regardant dans un miroir (c.1821) Lescot was a French painter, but this work, like many others, depicts the life and costumes of Italian peasants, reflecting (sic) the many years she spent in Italy.
Francesco Oliva - Reclining nude with a mirror (1858)
The painting was presented at TEFAF 2025 by the Berardi Gallery from Rome. I have many questions about this work - starting from its over-restored condition and incorrect optics that we see depicted here - but finishing with mirrors, of course:
The painting was presented at TEFAF 2025 by the Berardi Gallery from Rome. I have many questions about this work - starting from its over-restored condition and incorrect optics that we see depicted here - but finishing with mirrors, of course:
April 26, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Francesco Oliva - Reclining nude with a mirror (1858)
The painting was presented at TEFAF 2025 by the Berardi Gallery from Rome. I have many questions about this work - starting from its over-restored condition and incorrect optics that we see depicted here - but finishing with mirrors, of course:
The painting was presented at TEFAF 2025 by the Berardi Gallery from Rome. I have many questions about this work - starting from its over-restored condition and incorrect optics that we see depicted here - but finishing with mirrors, of course:
The Immaculate Conception, attributed to Miguel González, 17th-century Mexican painter, was one of four panels offered for sale at #TEFAF'25. It is painted in oil with inlays of mother-of-pearl on wood, ~ 45 x 60 cm
April 26, 2025 at 5:56 PM
The Immaculate Conception, attributed to Miguel González, 17th-century Mexican painter, was one of four panels offered for sale at #TEFAF'25. It is painted in oil with inlays of mother-of-pearl on wood, ~ 45 x 60 cm
This woodblock by Shinsui Itō (伊東 深水) is known as Mayuzumi (眉墨) - which literally means ‘eyebrow ink’, or 'eyebrow blackening pencil’ (c.1928) #TEFAF'25
April 26, 2025 at 5:41 PM
This woodblock by Shinsui Itō (伊東 深水) is known as Mayuzumi (眉墨) - which literally means ‘eyebrow ink’, or 'eyebrow blackening pencil’ (c.1928) #TEFAF'25
Thomas Couture - The Supper after the Masked Ball (c.1857) #TEFAF'25 This is not a painting itself but a wood-block printed wallpaper (185 x 235 cm), designed after Couture’s composition and printed by Desfossé & Karth company in Paris.
April 26, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Thomas Couture - The Supper after the Masked Ball (c.1857) #TEFAF'25 This is not a painting itself but a wood-block printed wallpaper (185 x 235 cm), designed after Couture’s composition and printed by Desfossé & Karth company in Paris.
Jan 'Willy' Sluiter - Dancing Hall Hotel Adlon, Berlin (c. 1926) #TEFAF'25 Apparently, Sluiter was a prominent Dutch painter famous for his depictions of high society. Never heard of him before, I should look for more of his 'art mirrors'
April 26, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Jan 'Willy' Sluiter - Dancing Hall Hotel Adlon, Berlin (c. 1926) #TEFAF'25 Apparently, Sluiter was a prominent Dutch painter famous for his depictions of high society. Never heard of him before, I should look for more of his 'art mirrors'
I learned about this 'Toilette' by Max Pechstein not long ago (when I was working on a piece about Kirchner's mirrors) and was shocked (pleasantly) to see it with my own eyes at TEFAF'25
April 26, 2025 at 4:13 PM
I learned about this 'Toilette' by Max Pechstein not long ago (when I was working on a piece about Kirchner's mirrors) and was shocked (pleasantly) to see it with my own eyes at TEFAF'25
This is a more recent work by Pistoletto, c. 2010, called Partitura in Nero - E (or Ritratto di Eunmi Lee). I didn’t realize that his mirror figures can also cast shadows - into 'our' world. In hindsight, it is, Yes, but of course! But it wasn’t so obvious, until I saw it on the picture.
April 26, 2025 at 3:51 PM
This is a more recent work by Pistoletto, c. 2010, called Partitura in Nero - E (or Ritratto di Eunmi Lee). I didn’t realize that his mirror figures can also cast shadows - into 'our' world. In hindsight, it is, Yes, but of course! But it wasn’t so obvious, until I saw it on the picture.
What was unusual is to spot many different ‘mirrors’ by Michelangelo Pistoletto at #TEFAF'25 - I counted at least five, and likely missed a few more. He’s been prolific with this mirror works, but I didn’t realized just how many of them are on the market.
April 26, 2025 at 3:41 PM
What was unusual is to spot many different ‘mirrors’ by Michelangelo Pistoletto at #TEFAF'25 - I counted at least five, and likely missed a few more. He’s been prolific with this mirror works, but I didn’t realized just how many of them are on the market.
It’s impossible to imagine today’s major art fairs without at least one of Anish Kapoor’s “mirrors.” They’ve become omnipresent, and their number only seems to grow with years. This one, Dark Lime to Clear, is very recent, c. 2024. #TEFAF'25
April 26, 2025 at 3:25 PM
It’s impossible to imagine today’s major art fairs without at least one of Anish Kapoor’s “mirrors.” They’ve become omnipresent, and their number only seems to grow with years. This one, Dark Lime to Clear, is very recent, c. 2024. #TEFAF'25
Seated woman at a commode with a mirror (c.1900) by Carl Holsøe at #TEFAF'25. The piece of furniture was called spejlkommode in Danish - I know because I recently wrote a large post about the mirrors in Holsøe and Hammershøi (øi-øe, or Storyless Mirrors artmirrorsart.wordpress.com/2024/02/02/o...)
April 9, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Seated woman at a commode with a mirror (c.1900) by Carl Holsøe at #TEFAF'25. The piece of furniture was called spejlkommode in Danish - I know because I recently wrote a large post about the mirrors in Holsøe and Hammershøi (øi-øe, or Storyless Mirrors artmirrorsart.wordpress.com/2024/02/02/o...)
I’ve written a few times already about Degas’ Café-Concert aux Ambassadeurs, and on the role of #mirrors in this series. It was a treat to see the original at #TEFAF'25. It’s actually quite small, about the size of a modern postcard (and yet it was seeking nearly a half of million $US)
April 9, 2025 at 8:23 PM
April 8, 2025 at 8:42 PM