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The beauty of Amanda Gorman's poetry and inspirational reading match her unique beauty. The slant of her eyes, the angle of her chin complement her strong character. They're reminiscent of a beautiful Egyptian queen, Queen Tiye, the grandmother of King Tut. Queen Tiye may have been Nubian (corresponding to modern Sudan). The comparison is daunting. However, the downturned lips of Queen Tiye reflect the fact that she was older when most images of her were made. She was middle-aged at the height of her power and probably died in her 50s. Queen Tiye was also the mother of the iconoclastic pharoah, Akhenaten, who changed the capital of Egypt, the style of art and the religion during his reign. Egypt was conservative, and so course, changing the country's art and religion wouldn't last. As for running for president in 2036, Amanda Gorman should realize that poets are infinitely more inspiring than politicians. Stick to poetry and that is where you'll have the mos

Heironymous Bosch, The Tree Ma n, detail, pen and ink, The Albertina, Vienna My last post of 2017 shows why ART is a better form of escapism than Star Wars .  Bosch's Tree Man has body of a crab held up by tree trunk legs riding in boats.  The world is not as it expected.  The many who made this fantasy portrait more than 500 years ago still gets more viewers than nearly any other other artist of any time period. Why?  Because he is so much fun. Two exhibitions last year celebrated the 500th anniversary of Heironymus Bosch's death.  One million people were expected to visit two different exhibits, first in the Netherlands, then in Spain. The Prado exhibition was so popular that the museum extended it an extra two weeks and kept the doors open until 10 p.m. The other exhibition had been held earlier that year in Bosch's birthplace, s-Hergotenbosch .     Currently, The National Gallery of Art in Washington has a show of "Dutch Drawings from Bosch to Bloemaert."  Th

The vineyards surrounding San Patrignano, in the province of Rimini, Romagna I recently had the pleasure of experiencing a drug rehabilitation community in Italy, a very special place called San Patrignano.  Founded in 1978, it's a few miles off the eastern coast of Italy, near Rimini, in the Romagna region.  The tiny country of San Marino can be seen in the distance.  And while it may seem strange that I'd write about this on an art blog, there are reasons I feel drug prevention connects to the world of art. Youth congregating for "WeFree" October 10-11 San Patrignano is also committed to drug prevention.  Specifically I was there to participate on a panel for parents, policymakers during the "WeFree" days, on "Educate by leaving a positive sign." The program brought about 3,000 teens from Emilia-Romagna and throughout Italy on October 10-11. The teens had two days of activities which concentrated on teaching joyful experiences without the need fo

"Cézanne et Moi."  L- Guillaume Canet as Emile Zola, R-Guillaume Gallienne as Cézanne The French film, "Cézanne and I" or "Cézanne et Moi," is excellent, but will be of most interest to those who know the story of Cézanne's lifelong friendship with Émile Zola. Guillaume Gallienne, an actor of the Comédie Francaise gives an outstanding performance which zeroes in on his character as well as possible. As Émile Zola, Guillaume Canet is also very believable. The film direction and production tells the story extremely well, but also captures the colors and aesthetics well enough to make the viewer feel to almost be there. A studio that Cezanne kept within the Bibemus Quarry Cézanne was the very first artist who really interested me--probably because of his colors.  The most influential 20th century artist, Picasso, said he owed everything to Cézanne.  Matisse claimed "he's kind of a god of painting." His popularity is similar to that of Van Go

Maxfield Parrish, Daybreak , 1922 An Object of Beauty , is a surprising novel by a man of many talents, Steve Martin.  Last year, in the Spring, I had seen a musical by him in New York and was then surprised to get this book as a Mother's Day present. Not only is it an original novel, but it shows that Steve Martin is a gifted interpreter of both art and the art world.  The novel exposes the mystique and glamor of the art world, together with its sleaze. To be honest, valuing art primarily for its monetary or investment value really offends me.  I briefly worked in the 80s at the art gallery considered one of Chicago's leading contemporary galleries at the time.  It was surprising to go from a show of DeKooning's latest works (painted with mayonnaise) to one of photographs of Racquel Welch (by an important photographer).  Although these exhibitions generated a ton of publicity, they actually sold very little -- just one DeKooning and none of the Racquel Welch photographs. (

The Artisan Moderne. 1896, Lautrec was asked to advertise a jeweler/home goods designer He manages to add some of his own thoughts and observations about human nature.  This is the last weekend of Phillips Collection's exhibition, Toulouse-Lautrec Illustrates the 'Belle Epoque.'   The Phillips organized the show with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, its only other venue North America. This exhibition is different and distinguished from other exhibitions of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (and I've seen a few of them), because it's primarily graphic art and contains some works that we don't normally see. There are trial proofs alongside the finished prints, and a few very rare prints. The entire show comes from one private collector in France and we're very lucky to have it for a short time in Washington.  Mademoiselle Eglantine's Troupe, 1895- 1896  Brush, spatter and crayon lithograph in three colors.  The dance troup included Jane Avril, seen below Toulouse