September 2, 2019

Interview: Designer Restores Beloved 19th-Century Botanical Catalog and Places It Online

Designer Nicholas Rougeux has spent the last year combining his love for data visualization with his tech skills to lovingly restore and place 19th-century texts online. After the success of Werner's Nomenclature of Colours and the geometry tome Byrne's Euclid, Rougeux is tackling a new topic—botanical illustration. After scouring the internet for different 19th-century botanical catalogs, Rougeux set his sights on Illustrations of the Natural Orders of Plants by Elizabeth Twining.

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September 1, 2019

Interview: Expressive Paintings Capture the Graceful Elegance of the Female Form

Romanticism originated in Europe during the end of the 18th century, but it's still well and alive today. Contemporary Russian artist Anna Razumovskaya manages to capture the romantic style of Renaissance portraiture in her own, modern way. As an artistic movement with emphasis on expressing emotion, the subject matter in paintings from Romanticism varied to include landscapes, religion, and portraiture, but the brushstrokes remained loose and expressive.

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August 30, 2019

You Can Spend a Night in a Room Inspired by an Edward Hopper Painting

You may have wondered what it would be like to step inside a painting, but what about sleeping in one? Recently, museums, galleries, and even homestay companies have started offering people the chance to snooze inside recreations of masterpieces, from Vincent van Gogh's beloved Bedroom in Arles to one of Edward Hopper's iconic motel rooms. This fall, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)

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August 29, 2019

Brilliant Artist Creates Incredibly Realistic Little Animals Entirely Out of Wool

Russian artist Anna Yastrezhembovskaya crafts adorable, needle-felted animals by hand. The mother of two first began felting when she came across toys made from wool and felt inspired to try making some herself. From textile birds to a tiny fuzzy hedgehog, her growing portfolio of handmade toys pays homage to the many creatures that inhabit the artist’s nearby forests. “My first toy wasn’t nearly as pretty, it was rather funny,” confesses Yastrezhembovskaya.

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