Christmas Greetings!

The first Christmas card was commissioned by Henry Cole in 1843, London.  The image  can be found on this video – see if you can spot it.  Early Christmas cards were rarely religious, the focus was fairies, flowers and the approach of Spring.  Cards could be sentimental featuring humour and children. I  have started the video with some religious paintings

A Portrait of Jane (Austen)

Today is the 235th birthday of British writer Jane Austen b.1775 – 1817.  Austen is one of  the most well-known  female author of  English Literature.  Her shrewd observations, wry wit and social commentary give us an insight into Georgian society.  She came from a  close large  family consisting of Father George Austen, mother Cassandra Leigh and six brothers

Happy Birthday (again) Edvard Munch!

Today is the birthday of Edvard Munch (1863 – 1944) Norwegian Symbolist artist and printmaker and a forerunner of the Expressionist art movement .  There a quite a few videos to choose from which feature his work, but I rather like this one because of the way the music seems to capture the mood of his work. The music sounds

Picasso Pops up

Art pops up in the most unexpected places (see my post about Michaelangelo’s work found behind a sofa…).   271 pieces of Pablo Picasso‘s work have now turned up in a garage on the French Rivera.  They have lain there in a cardboard box for 40 years. Retired electrician 71-year-old Pierre Le Guennec sought to have them authenticated