Articles

To hold a blue Colombian 2,000-peso banknote is to hold a tribute to one of the most revolutionary, rebellious, and fiercely independent voices in Latin American art. Gracing the obverse of this modern currency is the dignified, elderly face of Débora Arango Pérez. Her sharp, clear gaze is paired with a cardinal bird—a nod to her highly controversial painting Las monjas y el cardenal ("The Nuns and the Cardinal")—and a famous quote asserting that art has its own orbit, separate from restrictive moral codes. next...

Before the advent of photography, the task of capturing the intimate, personal likeness of an individual fell to the hands of highly skilled miniature portraitists. In the sweeping cultural landscape of 19th-century Austria—a period defined by the Biedermeier era and the political maneuvering of the Austrian Empire—few artists were as celebrated or as prolific as Moritz Michael Daffinger. Regarded as one of the finest Austrian miniature portrait painters in history, Daffinger’s delicate brushwork, remarkable precision, and psychological insight made him the favored artist of European aristocracy and royalty [1]. next...