On May 24, 2023, the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued a Grand Jury indictment against two members of the American eco-extremist group “Declare Emergency.” Timothy Martin and Joanna Smith, both 53, were charged with “willfully” committing “an offense against the United States,” by injuring an object of art and an exhibit “within the National Gallery of…
Years ago I visited the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy. Built in the mid-1700s and located in the Piazza di Trevi square, it is a breathtaking structure bursting with history and glorious art. Like most tourists, I tossed a coin into the fountain pool… legend says those who do so will visit Rome again. I’m infuriated to get the news…
This essay will broach the subject of The Last Supper, a controversial artwork by photographer Elisabeth Ohlson. Deemed blasphemous by many, it was exhibited at the European Union Parliament in Brussels, Belgium in May of 2023. I will contrast Ohlson’s irreverent photo with a brief overview of how visual artists in the West have portrayed The Last Supper—the final meal…
What new works has the eminent world renown artist Hunter Biden been working on lately? As reported by the New York Post, he has just finished “an intricately patterned painting of an Aztec god.” When it comes to Aztec deities Hunter But didn’t pick just any old god, he went right for “the big guy.” I instantly recognized the deity…
In the late 1700s the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) created a series of eighty etchings he titled Los Caprichos (The Caprices). An irrational thought or action can be a “caprice,” and Spanish society at the time provided Goya with myriad examples of ferocious caprices. For instance, Goya created paintings and prints that wryly scrutinized the Spanish…
On this day, March 30, 1890, Vincent van Gogh was born in Zundert, Netherlands. He once wrote: “What am I in the eyes of most people… a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person, somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then… even if that were absolutely…
Today’s chaos in France evokes vivid memories of President Charles de Gaulle repressing the student and worker rebellion of Paris, May 1968. As you may or may not know, French President Emmanuel Macron used Article 49.3 of the French Constitution to ram a bill through the National Assembly without giving the Parliament the right to vote on it. That bill…
