Sarah Jaffray
@sarahj.bsky.social
Art historian C19/20 | drawing, paper & prints | philosophy & process | cinema | choses français | London via L.A.
We are, in fact, not running out of good ideas.
There are no short cuts to new ideas, but late-stage capitalism wants 'em quick and is palpably desperate to rip all full, meaningful time from us to feed its machine.
There are no short cuts to new ideas, but late-stage capitalism wants 'em quick and is palpably desperate to rip all full, meaningful time from us to feed its machine.
December 17, 2025 at 10:44 AM
We are, in fact, not running out of good ideas.
There are no short cuts to new ideas, but late-stage capitalism wants 'em quick and is palpably desperate to rip all full, meaningful time from us to feed its machine.
There are no short cuts to new ideas, but late-stage capitalism wants 'em quick and is palpably desperate to rip all full, meaningful time from us to feed its machine.
I thought of Bruegel's Magpie on the Gallows, the figure in the bottom left side taking a dump. It may be a reference to the phrase 'sh*tting on the gallows', which meant taking a dump on government power.
October 19, 2025 at 6:37 PM
I thought of Bruegel's Magpie on the Gallows, the figure in the bottom left side taking a dump. It may be a reference to the phrase 'sh*tting on the gallows', which meant taking a dump on government power.
Good morning from Berenice Abbott, Jean Cocteau and this robot mannequin head (1927)
October 16, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Good morning from Berenice Abbott, Jean Cocteau and this robot mannequin head (1927)
She really did paint in that exact pose. A photo by Emily Andriesse of van der Freer painting the artist David Cornelis c. 1945.
October 8, 2025 at 12:20 PM
She really did paint in that exact pose. A photo by Emily Andriesse of van der Freer painting the artist David Cornelis c. 1945.
Today: researching Anneke van der Freer (1902-1956), part of the De Nieuwe Zakelijkheid (New Objectivity) in Amsterdam, staunch anti-fascist and feminist.
Self-Portrait, 1938
Self-Portrait, 1938
October 8, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Today: researching Anneke van der Freer (1902-1956), part of the De Nieuwe Zakelijkheid (New Objectivity) in Amsterdam, staunch anti-fascist and feminist.
Self-Portrait, 1938
Self-Portrait, 1938
Sonia Delaunay, Robe simultanée, 1913 and the artist wearing her creation (via @labnf.bsky.social)
September 3, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Sonia Delaunay, Robe simultanée, 1913 and the artist wearing her creation (via @labnf.bsky.social)
It is Rembrandt's birthday and I will never get tired of looking at this drawing. A self-portrait from 1629 (he's about 23). He's drawn the contour in brown ink and pen and then added grey wash that hasn't been completely absorbed by the paper because he likely used a semi-dry brush.
July 15, 2025 at 1:57 PM
It is Rembrandt's birthday and I will never get tired of looking at this drawing. A self-portrait from 1629 (he's about 23). He's drawn the contour in brown ink and pen and then added grey wash that hasn't been completely absorbed by the paper because he likely used a semi-dry brush.
Dr Magnus Hirschfeld protected his transgender patients from harassment by presenting them with a medical certificate that explained their gender expression was aligned with their true nature. This is Gerd Katter's certificate via the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, more here: bit.ly/3RRRPq4
May 6, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Dr Magnus Hirschfeld protected his transgender patients from harassment by presenting them with a medical certificate that explained their gender expression was aligned with their true nature. This is Gerd Katter's certificate via the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, more here: bit.ly/3RRRPq4
It is what would have been Keith Haring's 67th birthday. 'Untitled Painting' (1989) was painted when he knew he would not survive HIV/AIDS. It is such a beautiful painting, in every sense.
May 4, 2025 at 5:10 PM
It is what would have been Keith Haring's 67th birthday. 'Untitled Painting' (1989) was painted when he knew he would not survive HIV/AIDS. It is such a beautiful painting, in every sense.
My fave tomato soup - very easy to make (from Felicity Cloake's Completely Perfect). It is good cold or hot ❤️ to you.
May 4, 2025 at 12:10 PM
My fave tomato soup - very easy to make (from Felicity Cloake's Completely Perfect). It is good cold or hot ❤️ to you.
Lectured on Hiroshige today & could barely keep it together from burn out (it's week 1 of the term), but it is spring and I am lucky to be here so I am holding on to his poem in his print of Red Plum Blossoms (1847):
The drowsy air of springtime relaxes our most determined efforts.
The drowsy air of springtime relaxes our most determined efforts.
May 2, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Lectured on Hiroshige today & could barely keep it together from burn out (it's week 1 of the term), but it is spring and I am lucky to be here so I am holding on to his poem in his print of Red Plum Blossoms (1847):
The drowsy air of springtime relaxes our most determined efforts.
The drowsy air of springtime relaxes our most determined efforts.
I am now completely obsessed with this painting by Noah Davis, 1975 (1), 2013. Memory, photography, space, light, fiction, perception. . .filled several pages of my notebook.
April 24, 2025 at 12:57 PM
I am now completely obsessed with this painting by Noah Davis, 1975 (1), 2013. Memory, photography, space, light, fiction, perception. . .filled several pages of my notebook.
Because I have had a tough week. I've chosen the 18th century way home via Dr Johnson's house and Ye Old Cheshire Cheese. Proud of my choices.
February 7, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Because I have had a tough week. I've chosen the 18th century way home via Dr Johnson's house and Ye Old Cheshire Cheese. Proud of my choices.
I'm connected to the moon 🌕
January 17, 2025 at 8:15 AM
I'm connected to the moon 🌕
David Lynch started doing his weather report on Joe Escalante's 'Last of the Famous International Morning Shows' on 103.1 FM L.A. in 2006. He would call in at random, describe the weather in L.A. in some poetic fashion and then abruptly hang up and it was my favourite thing in the world.
January 16, 2025 at 8:47 PM
David Lynch started doing his weather report on Joe Escalante's 'Last of the Famous International Morning Shows' on 103.1 FM L.A. in 2006. He would call in at random, describe the weather in L.A. in some poetic fashion and then abruptly hang up and it was my favourite thing in the world.
Grisaille painted head on glass - black and grey pigment with yellow stain, c. 1320. Made for St Denis, removed during French Revolution, now in V&A.
January 15, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Grisaille painted head on glass - black and grey pigment with yellow stain, c. 1320. Made for St Denis, removed during French Revolution, now in V&A.
I aspire to this level of meticulous dishevelment, especially the knot in the hair.
Foolish Virgin, Martin Schongauer, c. 1470 (via met museum)
Foolish Virgin, Martin Schongauer, c. 1470 (via met museum)
January 14, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I aspire to this level of meticulous dishevelment, especially the knot in the hair.
Foolish Virgin, Martin Schongauer, c. 1470 (via met museum)
Foolish Virgin, Martin Schongauer, c. 1470 (via met museum)
Dorothea Tanning and Max Ernst photographed by Irving Penn in 1947.
December 8, 2024 at 5:22 PM
Dorothea Tanning and Max Ernst photographed by Irving Penn in 1947.
Anni and Josef Albers photographed at home by Henri Cartier-Bresson in 1968.
December 8, 2024 at 5:22 PM
Anni and Josef Albers photographed at home by Henri Cartier-Bresson in 1968.
First Bluesky post. . .make it positive. . .beautiful art couples: Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence and Jacob Lawrence photographed by Irving Penn in 1947.
December 8, 2024 at 5:22 PM
First Bluesky post. . .make it positive. . .beautiful art couples: Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence and Jacob Lawrence photographed by Irving Penn in 1947.