H.B. Cavalcanti
@hbcf.bsky.social
Professor emeritus, writer, art lover
The National Gallery in London will be holding the “Waldmüller: Landscapes” exhibition next summer. Of all his landscapes, this is my favorite…
(photo: Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, “Landscape – Austria,” 1835, oil on panel, in the Belvedere Gallery collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fe...)
(photo: Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, “Landscape – Austria,” 1835, oil on panel, in the Belvedere Gallery collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fe...)
December 1, 2025 at 1:49 PM
The National Gallery in London will be holding the “Waldmüller: Landscapes” exhibition next summer. Of all his landscapes, this is my favorite…
(photo: Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, “Landscape – Austria,” 1835, oil on panel, in the Belvedere Gallery collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fe...)
(photo: Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, “Landscape – Austria,” 1835, oil on panel, in the Belvedere Gallery collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fe...)
Kusama's retrospective featured nearly 200 works…
(photo: Yaoi Kusama, “Infinity Mirrored Room – The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe,” 2025, retrospective at NGV Melbourne, Australia; www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...)
(photo: Yaoi Kusama, “Infinity Mirrored Room – The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe,” 2025, retrospective at NGV Melbourne, Australia; www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...)
November 30, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Kusama's retrospective featured nearly 200 works…
(photo: Yaoi Kusama, “Infinity Mirrored Room – The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe,” 2025, retrospective at NGV Melbourne, Australia; www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...)
(photo: Yaoi Kusama, “Infinity Mirrored Room – The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe,” 2025, retrospective at NGV Melbourne, Australia; www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...)
“Winter Tales: An Immersive Experience” is an exhibition with artwork from the museum’s collection. This one caught my attention…
(photo: Everett Longley Warner, “Mount Laurel and Black Alders,” 1912, in the Westmoreland Museum of American Art collection; thewestmoreland.org/upcoming-exh...)
(photo: Everett Longley Warner, “Mount Laurel and Black Alders,” 1912, in the Westmoreland Museum of American Art collection; thewestmoreland.org/upcoming-exh...)
November 29, 2025 at 3:17 PM
“Winter Tales: An Immersive Experience” is an exhibition with artwork from the museum’s collection. This one caught my attention…
(photo: Everett Longley Warner, “Mount Laurel and Black Alders,” 1912, in the Westmoreland Museum of American Art collection; thewestmoreland.org/upcoming-exh...)
(photo: Everett Longley Warner, “Mount Laurel and Black Alders,” 1912, in the Westmoreland Museum of American Art collection; thewestmoreland.org/upcoming-exh...)
In the summer of 1864, Moran visited the Juniata River, a major tributary of the Susquehanna. He used multiple levels of near-and-far details to capture the area…
(photo: Thomas Moran, The Juniata, Evening, 1864, oil on canvas, in the National Gallery, DC collection; www.nga.gov/artworks/153...)
(photo: Thomas Moran, The Juniata, Evening, 1864, oil on canvas, in the National Gallery, DC collection; www.nga.gov/artworks/153...)
November 28, 2025 at 2:45 PM
In the summer of 1864, Moran visited the Juniata River, a major tributary of the Susquehanna. He used multiple levels of near-and-far details to capture the area…
(photo: Thomas Moran, The Juniata, Evening, 1864, oil on canvas, in the National Gallery, DC collection; www.nga.gov/artworks/153...)
(photo: Thomas Moran, The Juniata, Evening, 1864, oil on canvas, in the National Gallery, DC collection; www.nga.gov/artworks/153...)
Diego Rivera’s last mural in the U.S. was painted before a live audience in an airplane hangar in San Francisco…
(photo: Diego Rivera, “Pan American Unity,” 1940, 22-by-74-feet ten steel-frame cement panels; in the City College of San Francisco collection; www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/p...)
(photo: Diego Rivera, “Pan American Unity,” 1940, 22-by-74-feet ten steel-frame cement panels; in the City College of San Francisco collection; www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/p...)
November 27, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Diego Rivera’s last mural in the U.S. was painted before a live audience in an airplane hangar in San Francisco…
(photo: Diego Rivera, “Pan American Unity,” 1940, 22-by-74-feet ten steel-frame cement panels; in the City College of San Francisco collection; www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/p...)
(photo: Diego Rivera, “Pan American Unity,” 1940, 22-by-74-feet ten steel-frame cement panels; in the City College of San Francisco collection; www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/p...)
Once in the collection of Otto Krebs collection, the painting appeared After World War II, in the Hermitage Museum, USSR…
(photo: Vincent van Gogh, “Landscape with a House and a Ploughman,” 1889, oil on canvas, in the Hermitage Museum collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Go...)
(photo: Vincent van Gogh, “Landscape with a House and a Ploughman,” 1889, oil on canvas, in the Hermitage Museum collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Go...)
November 26, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Once in the collection of Otto Krebs collection, the painting appeared After World War II, in the Hermitage Museum, USSR…
(photo: Vincent van Gogh, “Landscape with a House and a Ploughman,” 1889, oil on canvas, in the Hermitage Museum collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Go...)
(photo: Vincent van Gogh, “Landscape with a House and a Ploughman,” 1889, oil on canvas, in the Hermitage Museum collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Go...)
Haanen was known for blending realism and romanticism in his works, using light and color to add depth to everyday scenes…
(photo: Remigius Adrianus Haanen, “A Night Landscape with a Sailboat where a Fire is Being Lit,” after 1860, oil on canvas; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Re...)
(photo: Remigius Adrianus Haanen, “A Night Landscape with a Sailboat where a Fire is Being Lit,” after 1860, oil on canvas; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Re...)
November 25, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Haanen was known for blending realism and romanticism in his works, using light and color to add depth to everyday scenes…
(photo: Remigius Adrianus Haanen, “A Night Landscape with a Sailboat where a Fire is Being Lit,” after 1860, oil on canvas; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Re...)
(photo: Remigius Adrianus Haanen, “A Night Landscape with a Sailboat where a Fire is Being Lit,” after 1860, oil on canvas; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Re...)
Known for his work as Disney background director, in the 1960s Eyvind Earle pivoted to painting California landscapes from the Santa Inez valley…
(photo: Eyvind Earle, “Grenn Hillside,” 1970, acrylic on board, in private collection; www.wikiart.org/en/eyvind-ea...)
(photo: Eyvind Earle, “Grenn Hillside,” 1970, acrylic on board, in private collection; www.wikiart.org/en/eyvind-ea...)
November 24, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Known for his work as Disney background director, in the 1960s Eyvind Earle pivoted to painting California landscapes from the Santa Inez valley…
(photo: Eyvind Earle, “Grenn Hillside,” 1970, acrylic on board, in private collection; www.wikiart.org/en/eyvind-ea...)
(photo: Eyvind Earle, “Grenn Hillside,” 1970, acrylic on board, in private collection; www.wikiart.org/en/eyvind-ea...)
Enjoying Roberto de la Selva’s art today. A woodcarver from Nicaragua, he melded pre-Hispanic techniques with modernist painting…
(photo: Roberto de la Selva, “At the Fair,” 1934, in the San Antonio Museum of Art collection)
(photo: Roberto de la Selva, “At the Fair,” 1934, in the San Antonio Museum of Art collection)
November 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Enjoying Roberto de la Selva’s art today. A woodcarver from Nicaragua, he melded pre-Hispanic techniques with modernist painting…
(photo: Roberto de la Selva, “At the Fair,” 1934, in the San Antonio Museum of Art collection)
(photo: Roberto de la Selva, “At the Fair,” 1934, in the San Antonio Museum of Art collection)
In addition to paintings, Fantin-Latour created imaginative lithographs inspired by classical music. He honed his art skills copying works at the Louvre Museum…
(photo: Henri Fantin-Latour, “Chrysanthemus,” 1879, in the Kelingrove Art Gallery and Museum, UK; www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1...)
(photo: Henri Fantin-Latour, “Chrysanthemus,” 1879, in the Kelingrove Art Gallery and Museum, UK; www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1...)
November 22, 2025 at 3:01 PM
In addition to paintings, Fantin-Latour created imaginative lithographs inspired by classical music. He honed his art skills copying works at the Louvre Museum…
(photo: Henri Fantin-Latour, “Chrysanthemus,” 1879, in the Kelingrove Art Gallery and Museum, UK; www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1...)
(photo: Henri Fantin-Latour, “Chrysanthemus,” 1879, in the Kelingrove Art Gallery and Museum, UK; www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1...)
Wegmann was the first woman to join the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. This is probably the most luminous of her works…
(photo: Bertha Wegmann, “Interior with a Bunch of Wild Flowers, a Palette, Paint Box and a Cheroot, Half Smoken,” ca. 1882; www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...)
(photo: Bertha Wegmann, “Interior with a Bunch of Wild Flowers, a Palette, Paint Box and a Cheroot, Half Smoken,” ca. 1882; www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...)
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Wegmann was the first woman to join the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. This is probably the most luminous of her works…
(photo: Bertha Wegmann, “Interior with a Bunch of Wild Flowers, a Palette, Paint Box and a Cheroot, Half Smoken,” ca. 1882; www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...)
(photo: Bertha Wegmann, “Interior with a Bunch of Wild Flowers, a Palette, Paint Box and a Cheroot, Half Smoken,” ca. 1882; www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...)
Constantin immigrated to Italy in 1922 to escape Soviet Russia. By 1940 he and his wife had settled in Manhattan…
(photo: Constantin Westchiloff, “Maine Seascape,” 1930-45, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ma...)
(photo: Constantin Westchiloff, “Maine Seascape,” 1930-45, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ma...)
November 20, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Constantin immigrated to Italy in 1922 to escape Soviet Russia. By 1940 he and his wife had settled in Manhattan…
(photo: Constantin Westchiloff, “Maine Seascape,” 1930-45, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ma...)
(photo: Constantin Westchiloff, “Maine Seascape,” 1930-45, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ma...)
This was the first Wyeth exhibition I saw personally at the National Gallery. It was like discovering a new way to look at the world…
(photo: Andrew Wyeth, “Wind from the Sea,” 1947, in the National Gallery of Art collection, in Washington, DC; fineartconnoisseur.com/2017/10/andr...)
(photo: Andrew Wyeth, “Wind from the Sea,” 1947, in the National Gallery of Art collection, in Washington, DC; fineartconnoisseur.com/2017/10/andr...)
November 19, 2025 at 2:35 PM
This was the first Wyeth exhibition I saw personally at the National Gallery. It was like discovering a new way to look at the world…
(photo: Andrew Wyeth, “Wind from the Sea,” 1947, in the National Gallery of Art collection, in Washington, DC; fineartconnoisseur.com/2017/10/andr...)
(photo: Andrew Wyeth, “Wind from the Sea,” 1947, in the National Gallery of Art collection, in Washington, DC; fineartconnoisseur.com/2017/10/andr...)
The ability to look deep into one’s self and portray it without pulling punches is a rare virtue among painters…
(photo: Rembrandt van Rijn, “Self-Portrait,” 1659, oil on canvas, in the National Gallery of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Re...)
(photo: Rembrandt van Rijn, “Self-Portrait,” 1659, oil on canvas, in the National Gallery of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Re...)
November 18, 2025 at 3:02 PM
The ability to look deep into one’s self and portray it without pulling punches is a rare virtue among painters…
(photo: Rembrandt van Rijn, “Self-Portrait,” 1659, oil on canvas, in the National Gallery of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Re...)
(photo: Rembrandt van Rijn, “Self-Portrait,” 1659, oil on canvas, in the National Gallery of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Re...)
Known for his sense of observation as well as the forceful statements in his work, here Scheyer depicts peasant life in Wallachia and Moldavia…
(photo: Adolphe Scheyer, “Peasants and Horses,” ca. 1860, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ad...)
(photo: Adolphe Scheyer, “Peasants and Horses,” ca. 1860, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ad...)
November 17, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Known for his sense of observation as well as the forceful statements in his work, here Scheyer depicts peasant life in Wallachia and Moldavia…
(photo: Adolphe Scheyer, “Peasants and Horses,” ca. 1860, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ad...)
(photo: Adolphe Scheyer, “Peasants and Horses,” ca. 1860, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ad...)
Painting seascapes is tricky. Conditions change. Light changes. Shapes and forms too. But Homer loved the sea…
(photo: Winslow Homer, “Northeaster,” 1895, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:No...)
(photo: Winslow Homer, “Northeaster,” 1895, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:No...)
November 16, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Painting seascapes is tricky. Conditions change. Light changes. Shapes and forms too. But Homer loved the sea…
(photo: Winslow Homer, “Northeaster,” 1895, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:No...)
(photo: Winslow Homer, “Northeaster,” 1895, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:No...)
Hokusai was Japan’s leading expert on Chinese painting, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker…
(photo: Katsushika Hokusai, “The Bridge of Boats at Sano in Kozuke,” 1834, woodblock print, in the Guime Museum collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Br...)
(photo: Katsushika Hokusai, “The Bridge of Boats at Sano in Kozuke,” 1834, woodblock print, in the Guime Museum collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Br...)
November 15, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Hokusai was Japan’s leading expert on Chinese painting, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker…
(photo: Katsushika Hokusai, “The Bridge of Boats at Sano in Kozuke,” 1834, woodblock print, in the Guime Museum collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Br...)
(photo: Katsushika Hokusai, “The Bridge of Boats at Sano in Kozuke,” 1834, woodblock print, in the Guime Museum collection; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Br...)
Stevens portrayed the protagonists of “In the Studio” to pose a counterpoint to the male-dominated French art world…
(photo: Alfred Stevens, “In the Studio,” 1888, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...)
(photo: Alfred Stevens, “In the Studio,” 1888, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...)
November 14, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Stevens portrayed the protagonists of “In the Studio” to pose a counterpoint to the male-dominated French art world…
(photo: Alfred Stevens, “In the Studio,” 1888, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...)
(photo: Alfred Stevens, “In the Studio,” 1888, oil on canvas, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection; www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...)
Ms. Lewis worked most of her career in Rome. She was the first African American woman to receive national and international recognition…
(photo: Edmonia Lewis, “Portrait of a Woman,” 1873, in the Saint Louis Art Museum collection; www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...)
(photo: Edmonia Lewis, “Portrait of a Woman,” 1873, in the Saint Louis Art Museum collection; www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...)
November 13, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Ms. Lewis worked most of her career in Rome. She was the first African American woman to receive national and international recognition…
(photo: Edmonia Lewis, “Portrait of a Woman,” 1873, in the Saint Louis Art Museum collection; www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...)
(photo: Edmonia Lewis, “Portrait of a Woman,” 1873, in the Saint Louis Art Museum collection; www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...)
In the 1870s Richards started concentrating on seascapes. As the century wore on, he produced a large and varied body of these views…
(photo: William Trost Richards, “Coast of Maine,” 1887, oil on canvas, in private collection; www.shannons.com/auction-lot/...)
(photo: William Trost Richards, “Coast of Maine,” 1887, oil on canvas, in private collection; www.shannons.com/auction-lot/...)
November 12, 2025 at 2:45 PM
In the 1870s Richards started concentrating on seascapes. As the century wore on, he produced a large and varied body of these views…
(photo: William Trost Richards, “Coast of Maine,” 1887, oil on canvas, in private collection; www.shannons.com/auction-lot/...)
(photo: William Trost Richards, “Coast of Maine,” 1887, oil on canvas, in private collection; www.shannons.com/auction-lot/...)
“My work is the embodiment of dreams in one form or another.” William Morris
(photo: illieeart.com/products/wil...)
(photo: illieeart.com/products/wil...)
November 11, 2025 at 2:24 PM
“My work is the embodiment of dreams in one form or another.” William Morris
(photo: illieeart.com/products/wil...)
(photo: illieeart.com/products/wil...)
Studying art in Paris, Walden met Kimo Wilder, a Honolulu artist who invited him to the island. Walden would become Hawaii’s finest seascape artist…
(photo: Lionel Walden, “Hawaiian Seascape,” 1928, oil on canvas, in the Hawaii State Art Museum; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%2...)
(photo: Lionel Walden, “Hawaiian Seascape,” 1928, oil on canvas, in the Hawaii State Art Museum; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%2...)
November 10, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Studying art in Paris, Walden met Kimo Wilder, a Honolulu artist who invited him to the island. Walden would become Hawaii’s finest seascape artist…
(photo: Lionel Walden, “Hawaiian Seascape,” 1928, oil on canvas, in the Hawaii State Art Museum; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%2...)
(photo: Lionel Walden, “Hawaiian Seascape,” 1928, oil on canvas, in the Hawaii State Art Museum; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%2...)
Trained in both Western and Japanese art traditions, Yoshida reimagined traditional woodblock for the modern age…
(photo: Yoshida Hiroshi, “Kumoi Cherry Trees,” 1926, woodblock print, in the Toledo Museum of Art collection; emuseum.toledomuseum.org/objects/5074...)
(photo: Yoshida Hiroshi, “Kumoi Cherry Trees,” 1926, woodblock print, in the Toledo Museum of Art collection; emuseum.toledomuseum.org/objects/5074...)
November 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Trained in both Western and Japanese art traditions, Yoshida reimagined traditional woodblock for the modern age…
(photo: Yoshida Hiroshi, “Kumoi Cherry Trees,” 1926, woodblock print, in the Toledo Museum of Art collection; emuseum.toledomuseum.org/objects/5074...)
(photo: Yoshida Hiroshi, “Kumoi Cherry Trees,” 1926, woodblock print, in the Toledo Museum of Art collection; emuseum.toledomuseum.org/objects/5074...)
“A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfect plain, you end up boring people.” Edgar Degas
(photo: Edgar Degas, “Orchestra Musicians,” 1872-76, in the Städel Museum collection; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ed...)
(photo: Edgar Degas, “Orchestra Musicians,” 1872-76, in the Städel Museum collection; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ed...)
November 8, 2025 at 2:39 PM
“A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfect plain, you end up boring people.” Edgar Degas
(photo: Edgar Degas, “Orchestra Musicians,” 1872-76, in the Städel Museum collection; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ed...)
(photo: Edgar Degas, “Orchestra Musicians,” 1872-76, in the Städel Museum collection; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ed...)
Nari Ward’s approach blends Jamaica’s folk traditions (where he was born) and Harlem’s material textures of Harlem (where he has lived for the past 25 years)…
(photo: Nari Ward, “We the People,” 2019, exhibited at The Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY; www.seegreatart.art/louisvilles-...)
(photo: Nari Ward, “We the People,” 2019, exhibited at The Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY; www.seegreatart.art/louisvilles-...)
November 7, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Nari Ward’s approach blends Jamaica’s folk traditions (where he was born) and Harlem’s material textures of Harlem (where he has lived for the past 25 years)…
(photo: Nari Ward, “We the People,” 2019, exhibited at The Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY; www.seegreatart.art/louisvilles-...)
(photo: Nari Ward, “We the People,” 2019, exhibited at The Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY; www.seegreatart.art/louisvilles-...)