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The Cultural Tutor

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Nov 20

This painting is nearly 500 years old.

It was made by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, one of the strangest (and funniest) artists who ever lived...

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born in Milan in the year 1526, and he spent his life working in the court of the Holy Roman Emperors.

His unusual career — during which he painted things like Four Seasons in One Face, below — came just after the High Renaissance:

During the High Renaissance painters like Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo had seemingly perfected art — in their shadow, what more could be achieved?

Their work had been graceful and harmonious, defined by mellow colours and highly idealised human figures:

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The Cultural Tutor

@culturaltutor

Nov 17

The Colosseum wasn't the biggest stadium in Ancient Rome — it was the Circus Maximus, where chariot races took place.

It once held 250,000 spectators.

Why so big? Because chariot racing — not gladiatorial combat — was the most popular Roman sport...

The Ancient Romans were serious about mass entertainment.

They built hundreds of arenas and theatres all over their empire, and most of them would be major venues even by today's standards.

Many had capacities of more than 30,000.

But, rather than gladiatorial combat, chariot racing was the most popular sport in Ancient Rome.

There were four teams: the Greens, Reds, Blues, and Whites.

Each were professional organisations with patrons, managers, coaches, breeders, and contracted racers.

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The Cultural Tutor

@culturaltutor

Nov 14

A short introduction to Gothic Architecture:

When talking about Gothic Architecture — the architecture of Medieval Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries — people tend to focus on the outward appearance of buildings.

We say Gothic Architecture is about things like pointed arches, flying buttresses, and gargoyles.

But there is more to Gothic Architecture than that.

Because people didn't just decide to create "Gothic" cathedrals — these buildings, and every part of them, were the logical conclusion of a whole worldview.

Such was the argument made by a writer called John Ruskin in 1853.

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The Cultural Tutor

@culturaltutor

Nov 11

The First World War ended 106 years ago today.

Here are some ways it has been remembered since, in art and architecture — beginning with this simple but moving memorial in Hungary...

It's almost impossible to understand the scale of the First World War, which lasted from 1914 to 1918, until you've seen the cemeteries that had to be created after it ended.

At the Douaumont Ossuary in France, for example, 146,000 soldiers are buried.

And so the former battlefields of France and Belgium are now home to an endless procession of memorials dedicated to the First World War, each attempting in their own way to commemorate, teach, and endure.

From the soaring spires of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial:

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The Cultural Tutor

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Nov 7

The Museum of Modern Art in New York opened 95 years ago today.

So, from Vincent van Gogh to Minecraft, here's a brief tour through MoMA...

New York's Museum of Modern Art — opened on 7th November 1929 — was founded by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan.

First based in the Crown Building, MoMA changed location several times and quickly grew in scale, popularity, and influence.

In 1939 it finally moved to a purpose-built museum, which has been expanded and added to over the last nine decades.

MoMA now holds over 200,000 works of art, from the late 19th century through today, along with masses of other materials relating to art history and design.

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The Cultural Tutor

@culturaltutor

Nov 5

A short history of purple:

The best place to begin is with the word itself.

The English word purple descends from the Latin "purpura", which also meant "purple-dyed" rather than just referring to the colour.

Purpura came from the older Greek word "porphyra", which had the same meaning.

Now, porphyra referred to a very specific purple dye produced by treating the secretions of a snail called the spiny dye-murex.

Thousands of these snails — which are only found in certain parts of the Mediterranean — had to be harvested to make even a small amount of this dye.

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