This is a portrait by Rembrandt of a young man whose name and background are unknown. Who is he? How might we tell by studying the portrait’s details and how Rembrandt presented them?
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A carving of a deer at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, New York. (Photo: Joseph Kellard)
What I'm Grateful for on Thanksgiving
While each Thanksgiving, I typically reflect on what I’m most grateful for during that particular year, there exists an ever-present undercurrent of gratitude that runs broader and deeper.
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What is "Freedom"?
Do you ever ask: “What is freedom?”
Independence Day in “the land of the free” is the most appropriate day to reflect on the ideas of freedom and liberty.
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During a summer trip down South, I visited the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., to view for the first time Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait Ginevra de’ Benci. (Photo: Brian Jones)
Meeting da Vinci’s Ginevra de’ Benci Eye to Eye
“Walk straight down the hall, turn right at the third room, and her eyes will meet yours,” an employee at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. told me when I asked her where I would find “the Leonardo da Vinci painting.”
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Thoughts on da Vinci’s Book on Painting
I reached a milestone in my research for an essay I plan to write about Leonardo da Vinci. I finished reading his treatise on painting
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I drew the picture on the left (Innsbruck, Austria) in a high school art class, after which I stopped drawing to focus on writing. Next to it is a picture of a park scene that I drew last summer, the first time I picked up a pencil to sketch anything since then.
Drawing on Past Passions for New Opportunities
Do you ever reflect on hobbies you once enjoyed but no longer practice?
Perhaps you passionately played a sport or musical instrument; pursued a craft such as pottery, sewing, or woodwork; engaged in intellectually challenging games; or enjoyed activities in the great outdoors.
Last summer, I started drawing for the first time in decades. Through this, I realized that reviving dormant hobbies can spark new creative endeavors and perspectives on life.
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Wall Art: Building From Bare
Welcome to the wall at my (unusually clean) desk at home. Drab and boring, right? Bookshelves once hung there until the brackets gave and my books tumbled down. I left the wall bare for a year until last summer.
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How Travel Can Foster a Personal Renaissance
I now know what people mean when they say that travel can improve your life considerably.
When I was a teen, my sister told me about an Italian artist and unique polymath who lived during the Renaissance: Leonardo da Vinci. Intrigued, I began reading about this staggeringly versatile man and visionary inventor, whose copious notebooks reveal that he studied everything from architecture to geology to aeronautics. I recognized his world-famous masterpieces, the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, from pop-art parodies, and I vowed to one day visit his homeland.
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Take Note of Three Good Things
It’s true, a cup of well-brewed coffee and the birth of a child have something in common. Both are equally worthy candidates to include as Three Good Things.
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