Welcome to Obelisk,
a place to discover art.
ArtistsArtworkMovementsThemesMediumsEssaysQuizzes
HomeAboutStoreDiscordMembership

Obelisk

The Virgin Mary, Religion

The Virgin Mary

Why is the Madonna so popular in art?

The Virgin Mary, or the Madonna, is one of the most popular tropes in Western religious art. Since 431 CE, when a council of Christian bishops met in Ephesus and canonized Mary as Theotokos, or the God-bearer, her holy figure has been used to represent a wide range of virtues. read more
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 October 11
Mária Medvecká
The unchanging world of Orava
Artwork of the modern era is inextricable from the artist. In the west, artwork is expected to be an expression of the artist’s personal history, their introspection and interpretation of the world—their ego. It’s an expectation that must be dropped when looking at the work of Mária Medvecká. read more
Mária Medvecká, The Artists

Artwork

Artists

Movements

By continuing to browse Obelisk you agree to our Cookie Policy