da Vinci’s portraits of women; understated elegance.
The original painting, Virgin of the Rocks (1483–1486, Oil on panel (transferred to canvas), 199 cm × 122 cm), is in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci
* April 15, 1452, Vinci, Italy
† May 2, 1519, Amboise, France
Rembrandt is famous for his self-portraits. I could not resist drawing one them.
The original painting by Rembrandt is titled Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar (1659, oil on canvas, 84.4 cm × 66 cm). The painting was gifted to the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC, USA) in 1937 by the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
* July 15, 1606, Leiden, Netherlands
† October 4, 1669, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Something new for the coming new year… portraits.
The original L’Émeraude, created by Alfons Mucha, was a poster in the series titled The Precious Stones (1900, lithograph, 67.2x30cm). His paintings and illustrations were first called the Mucha Style, but soon became to be associated with the Art Nouveau style; a style that emphasized flowing, natural forms.
Alfons Mucha
* 24 July 1860 Ivančice, Moravia (now Czech Republic)
† 14 July 1939 Praha (Prague), Czech Republic
Too many castles, so little time. Falkenstein was a fair-sized castle in it’s day. I caught it as the late afternoon sun was coming through the big windows.
This castle is in the German State of Rhineland-Palatinate and should not be confused with the other seven Falkenstein Castles in Germany, nor the other six Falkenstein Castles in surrounding countries! It doesn’t even make the Wikipedia list of Falkenstein Castles. Either those old-time Falkensteins got around, or they weren’t very adept at thinking up new names.
Regardless, it’s a cool place to visit because it’s free, has great views of the surrounding valley, you can drive to it, and there is a restaurant right next door (weekends only).
