Art Heart History 🪬

A closer look at "Cain in the United States" by David Alfaro Siqueiros (1947). A critical statement against the racist murder and institutionalised incarceration of blacks in America.

Kids at a Puppet Show vs North Sea Seals.

A closer look at "The incubus leaving two sleeping young women" by Henry Fuseli (1780).

Romy Schneider photographed by Eva Sereny in Rome (1971).

ps. Eva Sereny also took black and white photos of Romy Schneider during their (pretty spontaneous) 1971 session in Rome.

Photographing Dancers in the 1920s.

Photographs of models in the Spanish painter Baldomer Gili i Roig's studio, 1899-1910 (taken by the artist).

"La Belle Noiseuse" (The Beautiful Troublemaker). A four hour masterpiece about the mystery and importance of art.

Orientalist Ballet Costume Designs by Léon Bakst.

Design Art for the Ballet Russes by Leon Bakst.

Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Diaghilev in 1926. The two had begun working together 16 years earlier in 1910, when Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write "The Firebird" for the Ballet Russes. Two more ballets followed: "Petrushka" (1911) and "The Rite of Spring" (1913).

That's a great portrait!

Igor Stravinsky.

Richard Strauss.

The British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

Portraits of Beethoven

Richard Wagner.

Giacomo Puccini.

Giuseppe Verdi.

Merle Oberon looking very dapper in publicity stills for "A Song to Remember" (1945).

ps. The character played by Merle Oberon was an incredibly popular 19th century female French novelist and journalist who went by the pen name "George Sands". She was a passionate feminist who was famous for wearing men's clothes even without an official "permit", which was required at the time.

The Female French Painter Marie-Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818)

WHAT IF .... Marilyn Monroe had played the French Lieutenant's Woman?

The French author, actress and journalist Colette (1873–1954). She was most famous in the English-speaking world for writing the novella "Gigi" that was turned into a blockbuster musical.

A closer look at "Frederick the Great Playing the Flute at Sanssouci" by Adolph Menzel. (An 1852 painting of a scene in the 1740s, showing the King of Prussia entertaining his guests before a banquet with one of his own musical compositions.)

ps. Anthony Quinn was creating art and architectural designs long before he became an actor. In fact, it was one of his art teachers who first recommended he take acting lessons – as a form of speech therapy after an operation.

Katharine Cornell and Basil Rathbone in a 1935 stage production of "Romeo and Juliet". Cornell was regarded as one of the greatest actresses of the American theatre. But unlike many other female stage stars of that era, she repeatedly turned down offers to appear in films.

The American Shakespearean Actor Thomas Wallace Keene (1840–1898) who also had his own brand of low-priced cigars.

Tamara de Lempicka

Art by Tamara de Lempicka