Santa Claus hasn’t always been the jolly, red-suited, grandfatherly gift-giver with a reindeer-drawn sleigh we all know. Here’s a look at how art has reflected the changing face (and waistline) of Santa over time influenced by stories about St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas, and Father Christmas.
Art News
Art Encounter, a father-son art gallery based out of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been tasked with the sale of a bronze cast of Leonardo Di Vinci’s last known surviving beeswax sculpture. The 10-inch by 9-inch piece, entitled Horse and Rider, is thought to be a maquette of a full-scale bronze statue dedicated to Di Vinci’s friend and patron, Charles d’Amboise, completed in 1508.
Both consciously and subconsciously, we associate specific meanings with different colors. In Western culture, black is synonymous with death, relaying our sorrows through the darkened hues of funeral processions, while white has been selected as the honorary color for brides to be gowned on their wedding day. In turn, whether realized or not, these color associations translate to an emotional response.
Art, Roy Lichtenstein’s unframed 1989 serigraph printed in recognition of The American Federation of Arts 80th anniversary, is priced at $15,000 at the online gallery Art Wise, also known as Rare Posters Inc.
The sky and the universe, with its stars and planets, held a primal spot in ancient Egyptian ontologies with the gods and goddesses of this domain featured prominently in both written myth and visual culture. According to ancient Egyptian myth, the sky and all it contained was one of the first things to be created.
As November auctions kick off in New York with Sotheby's Modern Art Evening— led by one of Monet’s Nymphéas (circa 1914–17) and Picasso’s La Statuaire (1925)— Sotheby's Geneva had a special lot last week that surprised bidders and spectators.
Paul Mpagi Sepuya is a photographer based in Los Angeles. He takes photographs of friends, acquaintances, and colleagues, communicating with the vast history of figurative photography and portraiture.
Founded in 1913 “for the benefit of all the people forever,” the Cleveland Museum of Art opened in 1916. With more than 600,000 people visiting each year, the CMA is one of the most visited art museums in the world.
Two ideally organized art events in Japan, Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK) and Art Week Tokyo (AWT), gave local and international audiences a chance to learn about these cultural capitals in exciting new ways.
Outside the Denver Art Museum (DAM), a banner printed with a detail from an Alma Thomas (1891-1978) painting proclaims one of the celebrated artist’s quotes: “Light is the mother of color.”
