ALEKSANDRA JANISZEWSKA-CARDONE
Whatever you would like to write about Józef Mehoffer’s “Strange Garden”, everything ends with a question about a huge dragonfly filling the upper part of the composition. It is disturbing not only because of the large size, but also the reason why it was painted. What is it actually? Let’s start from the beginning. The…
Looking at the “The Triumph of Death” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, I wonder what exactly is this picture about. The triumph of death as a subject functioned in art from the fourteenth century and was most often presented in the form of a triumphal procession, in which death proved its invincible power. In its…
In the common imagination, the person of Mary Magdalene does not have too flattering connotations. As saint, she is a patron of the religious orders for “fallen women” who sought redemption for their sins. To this day, the creators of popular culture most often use her character as the personification of a converted harlot who…
With great joy I took up the challenge set by one of the Readers and took a fresh look at the painting which I pass almost every day. Willem Claesz. Heda’s “Dessert” is for me one of those works that I respect, but with some indifference. However, I know that others are fascinated by it…
Until recently that painting by Sandro Botticelli has been for me a puzzle difficult to solve. The title, “Calumny of Apelles”, clearly indicates the allegorical meaning of the composition. Where, however, is the personification of the title Calumny? Until now, it seemed to me that she was the woman dressed in black. Ugly, old, looking…