Art Kaleidoscope

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

According to some specialists (physicians, dentists, surgeons, ophthalmologists) – Mona Lisa medical diagnosis includes strabismus, hemiatrophy, discrepancy, congenital idiocy, diseases of the spine, excess of cholesterol in the blood, alopecia, lack of teeth. On the “Mona Lisa” or “Portrait of Mrs. Lisa del Giocondo,” Leonardo da Vinci allegedly worked 16 years, from 1503 to 1519. Some experts believe that the painting remained unfinished. According to the most popular version, it captures Lisa Gherardini – the third wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a cloth merchant from Florence.
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Mother cat with her kittens. Felted composition by Russian artist of applied art Irina Andreeva

They are not toys, not souvenirs and not even interior decoration items, this is felted sculpture by Irina Andreeva, Russian artist of applied art. All that is shown below, made ​​of simple material suitable for creativity – felt. Irina has created the whole gallery of cows, butterflies, pieces of furniture, dolls, and finally, the whole composition of felt. Talented craftswoman Irina Andreeva graduated from graphic arts department of the Pedagogical University in the city of Izhevsk, Russia. Recently, along with her husband and young son she has moved to Moscow and became at once a participant of art festivals. Her art works made her the winner of the International Festival of the author textile dolls “Eve’s Rib”.
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Bedroom in Arles, 1888, Van Gogh Museum

Empty beds of Van Gogh. In this bedroom, Van Gogh wanted to see in the same bed the woman he loved, in the other – a friend, Paul Gauguin. Dream came true partially and briefly. It is believed that Van Gogh was crazy. It is believed that he was a genius. Neither this nor that his compatriots saw on time. Although some oddities in his behavior were evident. He rented his four-wing apartment for 15 francs a month (one franc in those years was worth about 50 cents) and bought furniture for 300 francs. A strange attitude to money, whom Van Gogh never had: a furnished room in a hotel cost five francs. But the occasional small inheritance allowed him to realize a dream. And in May 1888, Van Gogh got a small workshop in Arles, southern France, where he had fled from his uncomprehending Parisian artists and critics.
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Sandro Botticelli painting Spring (Primavera)

Italians are great philosophers, even in this painting, which is an allegory of spring and love, is encrypted message for humanity. Sandro Botticelli painting Spring was a wedding gift of Lorenzo de ‘Medici to his second cousin Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici. He was going to marry Semiramis – a girl from Appiani family . “Spring” was supposed to hang over the sofa-inlaid chest – lettuchcho. The painting is actually not just about spring and love, it is a kind of illustration of the instruction compiled for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco by the famous Florentine philosopher Marsilio Ficino. In it, he calls upon the obstinate young man to earnestly behold the Humanitas («humanity”) as the highest virtue.
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Fruit Shop. Between 1618 – 1621. Flemish painter Frans Snyders (11 November 1579 – 19 August 1657). State Hermitage Museum, Russia

At the end of the Renaissance in northern Europe decorative still life genre has turned into a philosophical statement in painting. XVI-XVIII century – the golden time in the history of European still life. In those years, there were two main schools of art, specializing in the image of flowers, fruits and objects – Flemish and Dutch. Despite the fact that Flanders (Belgium) and the Netherlands (Dutch) were the neighboring states and their artists had different meanings in the “nature morte” (the so-called still life in Flanders), or “quiet life” (as referred in the Netherlands).
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Dry trees carved sculpture in Simferopol, Russia. Art work by Crimean self-taught artist Igor Dzheknovarov

Crimean self-taught artist wood carver Igor Dzheknovarov adorns his native city – Simferopol with statues of people, gods and angels, which he cuts from the dry trees. The master woodcarver admits that he stopped counting his art pieces after the first three dozens of sculptures. The tallest of them reaches 5 m, and there is a composition of 10-12 wooden pieces. Popularity came to Dzheknovarov not immediately, because for more than six years instead of old dry trees appeared statues in different parts of the city, as anonymous. During this time, the city has changed beyond recognition, many wonderful wooden sculptures do not leave anyone indifferent. Interest in the mysterious master increased after the public have learnt about the creator of these beautiful works of art – Simferopol wood carver Igor Dzheknovarov.
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Button ‘Cat trying to catch a lizard’. copper

Antique buttons art. Button for a long time served as a decorative ornament. Buttons were made ​​from precious metals, coral, amber, pearls. The shape, size, decoration and number of buttons on clothing informed about a person’s wealth and social status. Some garments were often more than a hundred buttons. Fur coat might be cheaper than the existing buttons on it. Historically, fashions in buttons have also reflected trends in applied aesthetics and the applied visual arts, with button-makers using techniques from jewellery making, ceramics, sculpture, painting, printmaking, metalworking, weaving and others.
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