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The artist at work
The artist at work On the picture by Ernst Scheidegger in the back we see Giacometti at work in his studio, surrounded by his sculptures. And on my picture you see Giacometti’s picture in turn surrounded by one of his sculptures and its reflections, creating layers of representation. Photo of the week: Alberto Giacometti, Bust…
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Alberto paints Annette
Alberto paints Annette The fact that the artist (Alberto Giacometti) paints a picture of his wife on this photo by Ernst Scheidegger is nothing special. She was his favourite female model. Still it gives the scene a touch of intimacy, a feeling that is intensified by the incident light in the otherwise dark wooden atmosphere…
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Kunsthaus window
Kunsthaus window When taking in and digesting art works in a museum there is always a moment that I pass a window and look through it at the world outside with an art-infused eye. This time it happened in the Kunsthaus in Zürich. It was winter and it had snowed a bit. Photo of the…
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Piet Mondria(a)n
Piet Mondria(a)n Mondria(a)n belongs to the canon of modern art. In the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam I saw the two top paintings exposed, in the Kunsthaus in Zürich the two bottom ones. The resemblance in choice of the two museums is striking. Mondria(a)n’s abstract work has become so commonplace and has been violated to such…
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Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh Two peasant women work the land with dedication, bent over in unison. With their postures and central position they energize the painting. That was at least what I felt when seeing it in the Kunsthaus in Zürich. The devotion of the peasant women is matched by each of Van Gogh’s vibrant brushstrokes.…
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Kijken Zien Schilderen
Kijken Zien Schilderen To Look See Paint Looking is what we do all the time, at the other, at the world around us. When we look with attentive concentration we start seeing the other, the world, in full consciousness. That’s what Dutch painters in the 17th century were good at and were perfecting ever more…
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Mosquito meditation
Mosquito meditation “How funny, the mosquito in my cup looks like one of the characters on my bib”, thus the Jizo seems to think. Or is it not a mosquito? Or does the character on the bib refer to something completely different? Or is the Jizo amused about my silly thoughts when I took his…
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From statues to stones
From statues to stones Jizo protects the souls of untimely deceased children – even the ones that never saw the light of day – and he guides them on their way to a peaceful afterlife. Each Jizo statue was once placed here by the grieving parent(s) of one of those little children. “Falling freely, tears…
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Chisaku-in garden
Chisaku-in garden Sen no Rikyu, the legendary Japanese Tea master, is said to have loved the garden of the Chisaku-in temple. Rikyu died in 1591, while the temple was constructed in 1601. So the garden must have been layed out well before. I can imagine Rikyu sitting on a rock, contemplating the beauty of the…
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Procession
Procession In 2022 I was passing through the Museo Correr in great hurry when my eye fell on this relief fixed on a wall in one of the rooms. I quickly took a photo but had no time to search for a description of the work and I haven’t been able to find information about…
καιρός remembered
… the right moment, position chosen, shoot …
καιρός remembered 