Pompeii, painted walls

While visiting Pompeii, you’ll find plenty of marvels, from the theater to the villas to the brothel, not to mention the technological wonders like the baths. What strikes the eye, however, are the interior decorations of the villas, specifically the painted walls.

DSC_3154One gets the sense of how the Roman people adorned their living spaces.

DSC_3186The scenes can be quite lively or rather mundane, no doubt based upon the resident’s taste.

DSC_3187

The artists of the era must have been extremely busy because there were paintings after paintings covering large walls in all the villas. And these are only the ones recovered from the disaster. Surely there were more.

Published in: on October 30, 2018 at 11:20 am  Leave a Comment  
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Sistine Chapel

As part of the “Waking the Vatican” tour, one can enjoy the Sistine Chapel with a few dozen other visitors. This is a marvelous experience, seeing the work of Michaelangelo in an almost private moment. As large as the chapel is, it does feel private. Here’s a video showing the chapel.

Amazing. Seriously. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend this experience. Do your homework about the art and history of the place in order to get the most out of it. Linger as long as possible.

Joe Miklojcik, visual artist

Aruba has the good fortune to have Joe Miklojcik in residence. Mr. Miklojcik is a visual artist and recently I had the pleasure of seeing his work on display at the Westin Hotel’s gallery space. All the works were oil on canvas for this show. Below is one of my favorites that evokes the many Divi trees found on the island.

This was another one that caught my eye.

Of course these paintings are better seen in person. Better yet, you can purchase them. So if you’re visiting Aruba soon, check out the gallery and make your purchase.

Rembrandt at the Prado

The Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain is currently hosting an exhibition of Rembrandt’s work. Of course, he has to be one of the most famous Dutchmen the world has ever known. And he deserves it. His paintings are nothing short of spectacular. I remember studying them while in film school. Much can be learned about story telling from his work. Here is a video showing some of the paintings on display. (Spanish speakers will enjoy the commentary.)

Sadly, the exhibition ends on 6 January 2009. The good news is that you can find a few Rembrandt’s in most great museums. If not, there are excellent books which render the images true to the originals. Every respectable home library should have a book like this on the shelf.

Who is your favorite painter?

Published in: on January 3, 2009 at 2:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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