A little taste of history, one morsel at a time.
Today on Museum Bites we’re sampling crockery with a twist. These deceptively simple mugs and jugs were crafted for pure trickery and played a starring role in the 18th-century’s version of beer pong. Join me for a look at three of these clever devices…
Today on Museum Quick Bites we’re taking a closer look at a Biblical bargain. Jephthah’s Daughter (1874) by Chauncey Bradley Ives is a stunning sculpture depicting a young woman’s grief upon learning she will be sacrificed (spoiler alert!)…by her father. With head downcast, a tambourine grasped loosely in one hand, she contemplates her tragic fate.
Today on Museum Quick Bites we’re winding back the clock to the 6th century and taking a closer look at Byzantine bling.
We’re getting our glam on today at Museum Quick Bites with a stunning Bukharan headdress crafted in the mid to late 1800s. Made of gilt silver and decorated with rubies, mardjon and colored glass, this ceremonial headdress has an exotic vibe.
Today on Museum Quick Bites we're heading back into the great outdoors. Please enjoy this Reboot of Comfort Outside originally posted on April 3, 2020.
Today on Museum Quick Bites we’re taking a stroll with Alberto Giacometti’s, Three Men Walking II (1948-1949), on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. Gaunt and gangly, Giacometti crafted a series of these bronze figures to symbolize the physical and emotional trauma he and others were experiencing after World War II.
Today on Museum Quick Bites we’re digging into Salvador Dalí’s, Inventions of Monsters (1937). This eerie, desolate dreamscape portrays a world gone mad. Which seems especially relevant given our current events. Dalí’s surrealist paintings are heavy on symbolism and filled with bizarre juxtapositions, and Inventions of Monsters does not disappoint.
Today on Museum Quick Bites we’re diving headfirst into a whimsical wave of color. Series I-No. 3 (1918) by Georgia O'Keeffe features a lush, multi-colored swirl that brings to mind candy canes and lollipops. Its Willy Wonka vibe conjures up a world of pure imagination.
Today on Museum Quick Bites we’re sinking our teeth into some comfort food with a dash of Dutch flavor. Pieter Claesz’s Still Life with a Pie, Sweetmeats, and Wine Glasses (c1625) beckons us to grab a plate and indulge. Lemons, olives, nuts, a crusty loaf of bread, and a meat pie—its citrusy filling tumbling out—are so exquisitely realistic, it looks as if you could reach in and gobble them up.
Dear Readers –Today on Museum Quick Bites, we’re continuing to seek out comfort, this time through dance. Bacchante with Infant Faun (1894) by Frederick W. MacMonnies (1863-1937) features a young woman kicking up her heels in a lively dance. She is a bacchante, a follower of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, symbolized by the grapes clutched in her right hand. A baby faun, a mythical creature that is half human and half goat, is cradled in her left arm. The infant stares hungrily at the grapes, unfazed by the bacchante’s exuberance. Together, the two are a blend of joy and yearning.
Museum Bites 