Carrying on the fun Renaissance debate about which art form is the best. Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) was a goldsmith, sculptor, revenge-killer, likely a rapist, and party animal. Check out his Autobiography for all the energetic and sordid true-confessions details. Cellini did the bronze Perseus with the Head of Medusa, now in the Loggia dei Lanzi […]
Is sculpture the best art form? Read More »
[Humor alert.] I’ve taken to heart all the left-leaning outrage at the unequal distribution of wealth — 1% versus 99% !!! — as well as all the social conservative angst over the breakdown of the traditional family. Sobering stuff. In all modesty, however, I believe that I’ve hit upon a totally awesome solution that will
A modest proposal — Let’s ban women from the workplace and make everyone happy Read More »
Why some cultures become great explorers and others stay home: the role of metaphysics. “And as for trying to sail down the west African coast, everyone knew that as soon as you passed the Canary Islands you would be in the Mare Tenebroso, the Sea of Darkness: ‘In the medieval imagination [writes Peter Forbath], this
The dangers of exploration — medieval version Read More »
In the Crito, Socrates is in prison awaiting execution for impiety and corrupting the youth. His impiety was judged to be a matter of questioning and possibly disbelieving the traditional gods, and his corrupting the youth was a matter of his teaching them to do the same. (See Apology.) Crito arrives at the prison, having
Socrates’ two bad arguments for not escaping Read More »
“Black people will never gain full equality in this country.” Critical Race Theory is based in part upon a pessimistic, anti-progress view of race relations. Derrick Bell, one of CRT’s founders, thus urged a rejection of Martin Luther King’s “’We Have a Dream’ mentality”, to be replaced with a strategy “to harass white folks.” Here
Derrick Bell | “Racial Realism” | Stephen Hicks’s *Philosophers, Explained* series: Read More »
Following up on a series of posts about Michelangelo, Beethoven, and Liszt. From Frederic V. Grunfeld’s very good Rodin: A Biography, the answer in the case of August Rodin is education and self education. Rodin was born into a French culture in which the large majority of the population was illiterate or semi-literate. The fact
How great artists become great: Rodin Read More »
The allegory is a full philosophical illustration of a dualistic metaphysics, a “purified” cognitive theory, a pessimistic assessment of (most) humans’ ambitions, and a justification of compulsion in education and politics. The full series:
An Artist’s View: Michael Newberry on Key Works of Art in History Michael Newberry is a figurative painter, teacher, and author of Evolution Through Art and Newberry Color Theory. The full 29-work list is below. Michael Newberry, Commentaries on 29 Great Art Works: 1. Geometric Warrior, 8th century BCE 2. Kroisos, 540-515 BCE 3. Aphrodite
Van Gogh | “Irises” (1890) [Newberry on Great Art series] Read More »