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The Course of Empire
Starting in 1833 Thomas Cole spent 3 years creating The Course of Empire, a series of five paintings describing the arc of human culture from ‘savage wilderness’ through high civilization and its inevitable destruction. The 1830s were an optimistic time in America. The Erie canal had been completed, and the first US locomotive was making its first trips. Industrialization, baby. read more
The Course of Empire, Politics
The Etruscans, 400BCE
Chimera of Arezzo
This is an undeniably modern interpretation. The chimera, like most beasts of antiquity, was the bad guy. Child of the giant serpent Typhon and the half woman half snake Echidna (you know her from the Starbucks logo) the Chimera was an abominable thing, unnatural combination of lion and goat, with the head of a snake for a tail. Her brothers and sisters live in legend. read more
Chimera of Arezzo, The Etruscans
Toyen
What's in a name?
Names are assigned to us before we are aware of their meaning, and we grow into them as much as they come to reflect us. In Japan artists often changed names after milestones in their lives, but in the west, once you've been given a name, you're usually stuck with it—a rigidity that makes claiming a new name even more powerful magic. read more
Toyen, The Artists
Sascha Schneider, 1904
Hypnosis
To Sascha Schneider the male body was perfection, and the world its antagonist. Schneider worked in Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during the development of Freikörperkultur, free body culture, also called the Health and Hygiene movement. Freikörperkultur aimed to counteract the restraint and stress of industrialization with a restorative mix of open air nudity, exercise, and healthy diet. read more
Hypnosis, Sascha Schneider
Born on November 9
Varvara Stepanova, The ArtistsPortrait of Varvara Stepanova

Varvara Stepanova

Art for the people, people for the state

1894 – 1958
Paul Sérusier, The ArtistsPortrait of Paul Sérusier

Paul Sérusier

1864 – 1927

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