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Hippolyte Bayard, 1842
Arrangement of Specimens
By exposing photosensitive paper soaked in iron salts to light, Hippolyte Bayard created some of the first direct positive prints—beautiful impressions of ferns and lace laid. Sadly, Sir John Herschel invented the Cyanotype the same year, stealing another photography milestone from the unlucky Bayard. read more
Arrangement of Specimens, Hippolyte Bayard
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 December 14
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
The Forgotten Master
You can be conservative in art, but then history leaves you behind. Pierre Puvis de Chavannes founded the French artist society Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and painted so many public commissions he was known in his day as “the painter for France.” Yet poor Pierre has all but disappeared from the canon of popular art history. read more
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, The Artists

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