Cats in Japanese Woodblock Prints
Ukiyo-e artists throughout the Edo period explored a variety of genres, including historical events, kabuki actors, folk tales, beautiful women, and the natural environment. One recurring subject in Japanese woodblock prints that encompasses multiple genres is cats....
800 Concubines and a Saint: A Depiction of Prince Vladimir on a Russian Porcelain Easter Egg
Russian Porcelain Egg with Sterling Stand, for sale May 20th A saint, Prince Vladimir the Baptizer of Kievan Rus, is doubtless an appropriate image for a finely decorated, Russian porcelain Easter egg. Vladimir’s clothing is simple yet regal, swathed in a blood red...
Namikawa Yasuyuki; the Golden Age of Japanese cloisonné revealed in a wisteria vase
A full moon illuminates draped wisteria vines that seem to float along a dark blue sky. The delicate composition is unbroken, smooth, and betrays no hint of the complexity behind its existence, except for the golden white moon. This moon plays a larger role than just...
WHERE TO SELL PAINTINGS IN MINNESOTA?
Before you sell a painting it is important that you have information about it that will enable you to make the best decision.. Many people have been given or have acquired an old painting at some point in their lives. You may have purchased it at an estate sale,...
An Appendix to Euclid’s Elements: a story of many years and many miles of mathematical innovation
John Lodge Cowley’s An Appendix to Euclid's Elements is a fascinating book. It’s incredibly visually attractive, with pages of beautifully executed copperplate etchings that fold up into interactive geometrical diagrams. It’s even remarkably compelling for a math...
Alphonse Mucha’s Prints & Posters
Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), father of le style Mucha, or Art Nouveau, is perhaps best known for his print and poster designs. He began as an apprentice scene painter in Vienna, then as a portrait painter in Mikulov. Eventually, Mucha gained patronage from two local...
Mysterious Maps: California as an Island
Imagine sailing off to a land so beautiful it was compared to the Garden of Eden. This island was, to sea-weary sailors, nothing short of paradise. Many tried to map it, but it was hundreds of years and many attempts before cartographers fully understood its elusive...
The Yoshida Family of Artists
Born in 1876 as Hiroshi Ueda in Kurume to a school teacher father, Hiroshi Yoshida grew up during the Meiji period (1869-1912), a time in Japanese history that was strongly influenced by Western culture. At the age of fifteen he was adopted by his art teacher, ...
Scholar’s Rocks
Scholar’s rocks, or Gōng shí (供石) in Chinese, are naturally occurring rocks that are often sanded, carved, polished, and altered in some way for a desired appearance and have been cited as a source of inspiration by many Chinese writers throughout history. Also known...
Getting Your Painting Appraised in Minnesota
An Art Appraisal in Minneapolis Being in the business of selling, valuing, and appraising art, antiques, jewelry, and sculpture in Minnesota people contact us for a variety of reasons. Some of the most common painting appraisal questions we get are: “How much does a...