Ebook Gallery

One of the top Internet trends is undoubtedly cats. Pictures of felines wearing absurd clothes or doing funny stunts run rampant in the virtual world.

Becoming the crazy cat-lady was everyone single girl’s worst nightmare, but owning cats is now the cool thing? I mean, if you don’t instagram a photo of your cat wearing tights, do you even exist? If fifty people don’t like the video you posted of your cat chasing its tail, does that mean your Facebook friends aren’t actually your friends?

Cat Wearing Tights (I’m sure this counts as animal cruelty)

It seems that people have to validate their existence by constantly posting pictures and videos online. And for some reason cats are the best subject.

But before becoming popular on Instagram and Facebook, felines prevailed in ancient Egyptian culture. Feline imagery can be found in numerous ancient Egyptian artifacts, as cats were considered divine creatures. The deep reverence bestowed onto cats during ancient times is widely disparate to the facetiousness found in modern feline imagery.

Cat with Kittens (detail), reportedly from Saqqara, Egypt, Dynasty 26 or later, c. 664–30 B.C.E.
Bronze, solid-cast and wood, 6.1 x 8.8 x 5 cm. Brooklyn Museum, New York.

Cat’s Head, 30 BCE – third century CE.
Bronze, gold, 6 x 4.4 x 4.6 cm. Brooklyn Museum, New York.

Cats are probably great subjects because, unlike other livelier animals, such as dogs, they aren’t pleased when they’re showered with attention or when they’re paraded around in ridiculous attire. Their aloof demeanor and their angry faces make them ideal for comical situations.

Happy dog just isn’t as funny as grumpy cat.

Grumpy Cat

To learn more about the cat cult of ancient Egypt, visit the Brooklyn Museum’s long-term exhibition entitled Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt. Or if you’ve had enough with cats, you can grab a copy of Parkstone International’s Beauty of the Beast, which celebrates the presence of animals in art.

-D.R.

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

Sorry, this entry is only available in German.

Before Arnold Schwarzenegger made it to Sacramento, or even to Hollywood, he could be found lifting weights at Muscle Beach in Venice.

Very much like its Italian namesake, Venice Beach in Los Angeles is home to the artistic and the creative. But unlike the artists from the original Venice, those of the Los Angeles beach town paint beyond the canvas, and onto the streets.

(Mural, Venice Beach)

Amongst the street art found along the walls is Homage to Starry Night. The large mural replicating Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, occasionally the ‘tagged’ over, is found on the side of an apartment building, behind a ‘No Parking’ street sign.

(Homage to Starry Night, found at 1531 Ocean Front Walk, Venice Beach)

The treatment and placement of the mural is a stark contrast to the reverence the original receives. But it serves a similar purpose. Van Gogh painted Starry Night from memory and invented part of the scenery as his response to nature. The cityscape was not an accurate depiction of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, but rather a portrayal of Van Gogh’s view of his surroundings.

Vincent van Gogh, Starry Night, June 1889.
Oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Similarly, the street art found on Venice Beach is the artists’ and the community’s response to their environment.

Venice Beach is a place of extremes. One on side of town, one finds man-made canals and gondolas meant to channel the charm of Italy; and on the other, one finds Muscle Beach, a bull pen of oversized men working out. Luxury homes rest atop the hills bordering the beach, while fortune tellers, street performers, and homeless people crowd the beach promenade. And Homage to Starry Night embraces these dichotomies. It combines the etherealness and beauty of Starry Night, with the eccentricity of urban spaces.

(Street art in Venice Beach)

To learn more about the artist who inspired Homage to Starry Night, visit the exhibition at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., entitled Van Gogh, Repetitions. The exhibition while run until 2 February 2014, before moving to the Cleveland Museum of Art from 2 March to 26 March 2014. If you can’t make your way over the US, you can grab a copy of one of Parkstone’s numerous publications on Van Gogh. Or if you are curious to learn more about street art, American Graffiti by Margo Thompson offers an extensive look at graffiti throughout the US.
chateau gonflable eau

-DR

Sorry, this entry is only available in Spanish.

Think of Turner, and you think of the sea. Beaches, ports, sunrises, sunsets, raging storms, crashing waves and heavy battles, conjured up in a swirling mist of colour and light. You might be surprised to learn, then, that the National Maritime Museum’s current exhibition is in fact the first major one dedicated to this theme.

Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying – Typhoon Coming On, 1840. Oil on canvas, 91 x 138 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The sea has been a subject of fascination for many of the greatest artists, from Brueghel and Rembrandt to Signac and Monet. But it was Turner whom the subject gripped with the most fervour, pulling him in with its charms and relentless metamorphosis. Watch the sea from a cliff top for an hour or two and it is easy to see how- its dramatic moods and changes of cloak are enough to keep any artist chasing after it, trying to fix on canvas even one enigmatic incarnation.

The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838, 1839. Oil on canvas, 90.7 x 121.6 cm. Turner Bequest, National Gallery, London.

Upon his death, ‘the Painter of Light’ bequeathed much of his work to the British nation, in the largest ever donation of artworks to the National Gallery. They can be seen today on display at Tate Britain. On gifting his works, Turner requested that two of these, Dido building Carthage and Sun Rising through Vapour, should be displayed alongside two by Claude, the Old Master he so much admired. Turner strove to be compared to this Master, hoping even to outdo him. His wish is granted even today, and in their normal hanging the two artists vie with one another side by side.

Claude Lorrain, Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba, 1648. Oil on canvas, 149.1 x 196.7 cm. National Gallery, London.

Dido Building Carthage; or, the Rise of the Carthaginian Empire, 1815. Oil on canvas, 155.5 x 232 cm. Turner Bequest, National Gallery, London.

It is said that so dedicated was Turner to capturing the magnificence of the sea, that on one occasion he went so far as to tie himself to the mast of a ship, just to secure the best possible view. To see for yourself the works of this great British master, hurry along to the National Maritime Museum before 21 April 2014. If you’d like to read more about Turner, check out Eric Shanes’ The Life and Masterworks of J.M.W. Turner.

G.A.

Every so often, a new trend takes Hollywood by storm, and of course every person must follow suit. I will not deny being impervious to trend-following. Actually, my greatest flaw is not that I follow trends, it’s that I follow them to late, once a new trend has already arrived. At this stage when people are raving about krav maga and cronuts, I am barely beginning yoga and devouring cupcakes.

In honour of my newfound love of yoga, here is a list of my favourite poses:

1. Child’s Pose: this one has rescued me numerous times. Whenever poses become too difficult for me, I just child-pose it out.

2. Pigeon: I think I like this one mostly for its name. It is a good stretch, with an even better name.

3. Plank: Just a basic one, but so difficult. After holding this position for one minute, your core will surely throb – but in a good way.

4. Warrior: This one also worked its way into this list because of the name. But thinking of it, how many warriors actually assume this position? It is not very fearsome, nor is it logical to fight in this stance.

Although new workout trends continue to arise, yoga is an age-old practice originating from ancient India. For this, the Smithsonian is holding an exhibition, Yoga: The Art of Transformation, running until 26 January. And while you’re getting into a Zen state with all the yoga vibes why not grab a copy of 1000 Buddhas of Genius by Victoria Charles and Klaus H. Carl.

-D.R.

Sorry, this entry is only available in German.

Infamous for cutting off his own ear and likely causing his own death by shooting himself in the stomach, Vincent van Gogh is the undisputed embodiment of the mad artist. Combine this image with his frenzied brushstrokes and vivid colours, and it is unsurprising that his artistic method is seen as impulsive and somewhat violent.

The Starry Night, Saint-Rémy, June 1889. Oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm. The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

So you may be surprised to learn that Van Gogh actually spent much time thinking carefully about his works, reconsidering his style and compositions. He did this especially through repetitions. You may well recognise his portrait of Joseph Roulin, the postman- but you might not be recognising quite what you think. There are six of them.

Left: Portrait of Joseph Roulin, 1889. Oil on canvas, 64.4 x 55.2 cm.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Right: The Postman Joseph Roulin, February–March 1889. Oil on canvas. Collection Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo.

The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. has dedicated their current exhibition to exploring Van Gogh’s numerous répétitions and their role in his art. Often, it is the case that he first painted a scene outside, from life, and then later reworked and refined the composition in the studio. This can be seen with his two versions of The Road Menders, for example (from which the idea for this exhibition originated). Other times, it seems that perhaps the artist made another version of a painting as a gift, such as with one of his portraits of his friend, Joseph Roulin.

Left: The Road Menders, Saint-Rémy, November 1889. Oil on canvas, 71 x 93 cm. The Philips Collection, Washington, D.C.
Right: The Large Plane Trees (Road Menders at Saint-Rémy), 1889. Oil on fabric, 73.4 x 91.8 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Source: http://www.clevelandart.org

There is certainly much to be learnt about Van Gogh from this exhibition, but the curators hope that visitors to it will also learn something about their own approach to art. In being asked to put aside our preconceptions about this artist, we are forced to look again, to reconsider, and to learn how to see art in a different way. For a fresh look at one of the world’s most famous artists, hurry along to The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. before 2 February 2014. If you miss it here, the exhibition will then be showing at The Cleveland Museum of Art from 2 March until 26 May 2014.

If you’d like to read more about Vincent van Gogh, check out Victoria Charles’ in-depth look at the great master, or Van Gogh in his own words, in our book from the Mega Square collection.

G.A.

Sorry, this entry is only available in German.