The Writer As Explorer

The Cradle  This painting was created in 1872 by Berthe Morisot. It depicts her sister, Edma Portillon, watching over her baby daughter Blanche. This work has become one of Morisot’s most famous paintings but was not very well received when it was created. Morisot was unable to sell it and it stayed in the family, […]

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Eugène Manet on the Isle of Wight This painting is of Eugène Manet looking out a hotel window at 2 passing women and a few boats at the shore. The work is by Berthe Morisot, who is the wife of the subject and the artist I am focusing on for my story. Morisot and Manet […]

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One of Sally Mann’s Early works was At Twelve. A collection of photos about young gurls on the edge of adulthood. Young girls were often caught in the middle of wanting to be a child and wanting to grow up. Sally captures these photos of close family friends and relatives. These pictures are intended to show […]

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Proud Flesh by Sally Mann is a collection of photos that show the decomposition of the body overtime. Sally Mann’s husband, Larry Mann, sufferers a disease called muscular dystrophy. Basically, that means your muscles weaken over time. He mostly has been losing muscle in hir right leg and left arm. The things he once was able […]

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One of the several portraits Élisabeth Vigée LeBrun painted of her daughter, Self Portrait with Her Daughter, Julie is one of various meanings. Painted in 1789, it is a symbol of love for her daughter as well as a defense of herself. As someone who was close with the aristocracy, Vigée LeBrun was scrutinized during the early […]

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  Name of Piece: Flying Home: Harlem Heroes & Heroines (downtown) When Created: 1996 Where Created: 125th street station Harlem Meaning Behind Painting: The painting was a mural to pay respect and acknowledge the great performers, painter, and sports figures from Harlem. Medium: Mosaic tiles Subject: Black inspirational figures in Harlem history who deserved recognition Reaction […]

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The Birth Project:  This is one of many pieces that Judy Chicago made while collaborating with over 150 needleworkers.  The work was a combination of paint and needlework.  Chicago and the needleworkers created dozens of images surrounding motherhood and birth. They covered the painful aspects of it, the mythical feelings, and the beauty of motherhood. […]

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This is the Bigamy Hood by Judy Chicago. It was made in 1965, two years after her husband’s shocking and abrupt death. Bigamy Hood is an abstract artwork created using Acrylic lacquer and then sprayed with acrylic support, following that, a fusion of color and surface occurs. The artwork symbolizes the severed connection between Chicago, […]

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The painting Marie Antoinette in a Chemise Dress by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, painted 1783, is a graceful and delicate portrayal of the famous queen of France. Vigée Le Brun’s skill in portrait painting was unmistakable to anyone who saw her works. At fifteen, according to her memoirs, she was already painting portraits and mingling with great artists. Her […]

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Camille Claudel’s The Age of Maturity (L’Âge mûr) stands as one of her most significant sculptures, deeply intertwined with her personal life and artistic journey. Created between 1893 and 1900, this piece is often interpreted as an emotional response to her relationship with Auguste Rodin, the renowned sculptor who played a pivotal role in her […]

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This particular portrait is of Calonne, the minister of general finances for the French King, which is what the letter in his hand portrays. It states the words Au Roi (To the King), symbolizing the royal confidence with which he was given and emphasized his importance within the royal court. The painter is also described to […]

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 The painting is about Marie-Gabrielle de Gramont, Comtesse de Caderousse. It is painted on an oak panel, using oil paints as the medium, in the Neoclassic style which Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun was noted to have contributed heavily to. In Le Brun’s memoirs, she notes that she persuaded the Duchess to not wear powder, […]

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 Self Portrait was first introduced to the world in 1802 at the Paris Salon. Marie-Denise Villers, being one of the only thirty women to present artwork at the Paris Salon, displayed various artworks she had produced within the past few years. The Self Portrait is a depiction of Marie, who is seemingly tying her shoes. […]

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Marie-Denise Villers’ Portrait of Charlotte du Val d’Ognes is credited to be her most famous work to date. This portrait depicts a young woman, Charlotte, sitting in front of a broken window with a canvas in hand. Similarly to other works of Villers, this piece had been mistaken as a work by one of her […]

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  Name of Piece: Black Light Series #11 US America Black When Created: 1969 Where Created: Europe Meaning Behind Painting: Medium: Oil paints Subject: Black facial features and the tones, the colors of melanated skin, and the experience of being a black woman in America Reaction to work: Many received her work well especially though it […]

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The Waltz (La Valse) by Camille Claudel is a crucial work in her career, created between 1889 and 1905. This bronze sculpture beautifully captures human emotions and movement with remarkable detail. It portrays a couple engaged in a close, swirling dance, their bodies intertwined in a way that suggests intimacy and tension. The fluidity of […]

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Upon first reading this book it was almost unbearable to finish. The level of condescending and droning made it hard for me to finish the book. One of the hardest parts of the book was reading about Schmidt’s many attempts to sabotage and trash-talk the main characters’ work. In a way, each time that Schmidt […]

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The Girl with the Pearl Earring. The very first scene is important when considering how the characters will interact with each other for the rest of the novel. The author does a remarkably ood job of making it clear the basic characteristics of each person. Greet is a perfectionist, Caterina is clumsy and foolish, Vermeer […]

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“On Little Terry Road” by Tom Franklin was an extraordinary read. The damsel in distress and its parallel of using Dibbs as a scapegoat was a cunning and vicious turn of events. It was a fun and abnormal technique wielded by the author to elicit a visceral response in the reader. I was struck by […]

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    On Little Terry Road, Ferriday is driven by addiction. This addiction drives her to Little Terry Road, which is declared to be “where you went if you wanted trouble” (Franklin 10). Often in literature, addiction can symbolize isolation, deception and despair, which could easily be argued to be a fair representation of Ferriday’s […]

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As a character, Griet is so well written, the more I read it the more I learned just how clever she is. One of her most amazing abilities is her affinity for colors and her frankly unexplained ability to identify what a painting is missing. For example; in the opening scene, when questioned about her […]

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Griet’s and Vermeer’s Relationship Since a majority of the book focuses on Griet and Vermeer’s relationship, it’s only right to speak on it. Griet and Vermeer’s relationship as the story progresses becomes more complex in my opinion and it’s something that makes you uncomfortable as you read more. However, what I notice from the beginning is that the […]

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Themes within the 16th century Reformation is a key piece to Tracy Chevalier’s Girl With A Pearl Earring. Historically, The Reformation of this time is credited to splitting Western Christianity into two different practices: Roman Catholics and Protestants. While both originating with Christianity, these two different practices expected different from their church. Separating the church in such […]

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The first time that I read “Soir Bleu” by Robert Olen Butler, I had a hard time understanding the plot of the story. Upon a second read through, I realized that the emotional depth of the story far outweighed the slightly strange plot. When I first read the piece, I had been bored until Pierrot […]

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  Soir Bleu is a story of obsession and revenge. Butler is careful when crafting the inner thoughts of our narrator, who himself represents deep obsession and desire.  The narrator is in close proximity to Solange, who he feels some sort of ownership over. He credits himself as her “savior” and is obsessed with the image he […]

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