Merry Christmas
Leonardo da Vinci, Adoration of the Magi, 1481, oil on panel, 246 x 243 cm., Florence, Uffizi.
Open Sesame. Habibi and its Critics
I used to write a regular column at Hooded Utilitarian called DWYCK. Then stuff happened. And the column didn’t happen, for way too long. But now I’m back! Er, at least for the moment. No, I’ll really make an effort! Anyway, the essay I have up now is on Craig Thompson’s remarkable new comic Habibi…
The Week
The Week in Review So, the US and its allies finally left Iraq. It seems they’ve been there forever. Whether the country will eventually become a better place to live than it was during the terrible decades of war, tyranny and crippling sanctions remains to be seen, though one might at least hope. I suspect…
Erik Fischer 1920-2011
Yesterday I received the sad news that the great oak of Danish art history Erik Fischer has died. More thorough obituaries will surely be forthcoming, so I just want to note briefly how important his work and example has been to myself as an art historian. Fischer’s distinctions and honors are many: among other things,…
The Cabinet of Mabuse
Flemish Renaissance painting is known for its sharp focus on reality. The first great master of oil painting, Jan van Eyck (active 1422, died 1441), was widely admired in his day for his ability illusionistically to reproduce the seen.
The Week
The Week in Review Amidst the turmoil in Brussels, which I’ve found rather hard to make sense of, one piece of less equivocally positive news emerged this week, namely that Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has spent thirty years on death row in Pennsylvania has finally had his death sentence revoked in favor of life behind bars.…