A Woman playing a Clavichord, Gerrit Dou, oil on panel, roughly 15 x 12 inches (38 x 300 cm); image is from Wikimedia Commons; the original is in the collection of the Dulwich Picture Gallery. There is also a zoomable version on the Google Art Project, but it’s quite dark, as is the one on the Dulwich site. Presumably they’re the same. I’ve...

Jules Bastien-Lepage was a French painter active in the late 19th century. His depictions of rural life were in a style called naturalism, an offshoot of realism, an art movement led by Gustave Courbet (as opposed to the more general use of the term today). His paintings of field workers and village life came from his own rural upbringing and...

View of the World from 9th Avenue, March 29, 1976 cover of The New Yorker, Saul Steinberg; ink, colored pencil and watercolor; 26 x 19 inches (71 x 48 cm). Whether you’re seeing this for the first time (in which case, you’re welcome), or you’ve seen it a hundred times and had the poster on your wall, it’s always worth looking at this delightful...

At various points in my life, I’ve had the delightful experience of encountering an unfamiliar artist whose work made me say: “Wow! How could I have not known about this painter before?!” 20th century English painter Edward Seago was one of those artists. I came across his work about 20 years ago, and he has since remained a favorite. It might...

As I’ve done every New Year’s Eve for the past 18 years, I’ll wish Lines and Colors readers a Happy New Year with one of J. C. Leyendecer’s New Year’s covers for the Saturday Evening Post, in this case marking the arrival of 1924. For more Leyendecker to while away your New Year’s day, check the list of Lines and Colors J C. Leyendecker posts...

View of Tiegem in winter, Valerius de Saedeleer; oil on canvas, roughly 39 x 45 inches (100 x 115 cm), liink is to Wikimedia Commons; image was sourced from past Christie’s auction, so presumably the original is in a ptivate collection. Belgian painter Valerius de Saedeleer, who was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was noted...