Save Idaho's Wolves From Aerial Gunning

Save Idaho's Wolves From Aerial Gunning Here we go again slaughter by cowards who don't even have the decency to hunt fair. Afraid of the wolves actually excaping or beating them in the wilderness! Not in my name. Not one more tax dollar for this cowardly murder project.

Florentine painting and more

Finally had a moment to catch the show at the Met. I was enchanted as always by the aesthetic considerations of these portraits but this time around more impressed by Ghirlandaio and Bellini. Why? Because of their ability to access the most moving of human emotions with such simplicity and insight. First the wonderful portrait of an old man and little boy thought to be a grandfather and his grandson. Despite the old man's ugly face due to a chronic condition that distorted hin nose the angelic child looks up at him with adoring eyes. The gaze between these two is so touching in conveying the intimate connection, heartfelt connection that it takes your breath away. This is especially true in times like our own where true emotional connection and intimacy seem to be so rarely, authentically available for a variety of reasons too complex to get into in a blog. The Bellini is entirely a different matter. I remembered it vividly because a very talented painter friend of mine had based a painting of his lover on the Bellini. The original was a perfect blend of decorative motifs of lillies and various other symbols surrounding an old priest. The contrast of the super sized flowers with their brunished bronzed leaves, white flowers and upright stalks made a perfect setting for the realistically rendered head of this old man. The beauty of the composition, understanding of scale and color balance is damn near perfect. I would be hard put to find a better portrait in the entire history of art. The ability of Bellini to render character too is telling. He shows us a character that is resolute, inwardly focused and other worldly. The face is a map of this man's life, ambiitons and adaptations. In these two portraits each artist has been able to reveal the deepest human emotions before our eyes. What we do with what they have presented is part of how great art lives and transcends its time.