Details from Arthur Rackham’s illustration "And now they never meet in grove or green," (1908) from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

Basket of Plums by Anne Vallayer-Coster

French, 1769 (exhibited at the Salon of 1771)

oil on canvas

Cleveland Museum of Art

Jean-Bernard Restout (1732-1797) "Sleep" (c. 1771) Oil on canvas Located in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Here's what our friends at the Cleveland Museum of Art write about these four 17th-century paintings entitled "Scenes of Witchcraft" by Salvator Rosa:

A huge upturn in interest in witchcraft emerged during the 1500s in Europe, but by the middle of the next century - at least among the cultured elite of Florence - a backlash arose against the many accusations of sorcery. Artists and writers explored the topic more out of curiosity and amusement, chief among them the poet, painter, and satirist Salvator Rosa, who examined witchcraft with gusto in numerous poems and works of art, including these four paintings. They show a range witch types - from the beautiful enchantress to the old crone to the male sorcerer - and represent activities commonly associated with black magic - levitation, love potions, devil worship, the invocation of demons, and transformation. 

If you think that's awesome, you should browse the museum's collection in JSTOR—lots of great art from a wide variety of cultures and eras, and it's open and free for everyone to view and download!

The Rose Cloud, Henri-Edmond Cross, 1896

Peonies, late 1200s. China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk; painting. Cleveland Museum of Art.

Internet Archive

Happy #InternationalDayOfTheSeal 🦭

Sea Lion Pup Vessel

Moche culture, Peru, 200–850 CE

Ceramic & slip, 19.7 x 15.5 x 16 cm (7 3/4 x 6 1/8 x 6 5/16 in.)

The Cleveland Museum of Art 2014.375

“Sea lions commonly appear in Moche art as effigy vessels, like this appealing pup, or in complex scenes that often show them as the targets of human hunters. They may have been prized in part for the beach pebbles found in their stomachs; modern Peruvian folk healers consider such pebbles to have powerful medicinal qualities. Also, colonial-period natives believed that sea lions carried the dead to off-shore islands, an idea that could date to Moche times.”

🆔 South American Sea Lion (Otaria byronia)

Love Gardens / Forbidden Fruit: Nature and Landscape before 1600 is at the Cleveland Museum of Art through October 29, 2023.

John Rogers Cox - Gray and Gold - 1942- (Cleveland Museum of Art)

[HISTORY OF ART]

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To what does the soul turn that has no therapists to visit? It takes its trouble to the trees, to the riverbank, to an animal companion, on an aimless walk through the city streets, a long watch of the night sky. Just stare out the window or boil water for a cup of tea. We breathe, expand, and let go, and something comes in from elsewhere. The daimon in the heart seems quietly pleased, preferring melancholy to desperation. It’s in touch. ~ James Hillman [alive on all channels]

The Book of the Dead of Hori. In the Third Intermediate Period, everyone got poorer, so papyri got shorter in both dimensions, and afterlife texts got abbreviated. Hori's artist still managed to squeeze in plenty of guardian demons.

Where: Cleveland Museum of Art

When: Third Intermediate Period, 21st Dynasty

head of saint john the baptist, c. 1550-1650. cleveland museum of art.

I have been sick for the past week and put myself in a very bad spot in terms of schoolwork, but I'm finally feeling better, so I took a little trip on Sunday!

Portrait of Anne Vallayer-Coster by François Dumont

French, 1804

watercolor on ivory in a gilt metal and enamel frame

Cleveland Museum of Art

William Harnett (1848-1892) "Memento Mori, 'To This Favour'" (1879) Oil on canvas Located in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, United States

This is your sign to go ahead and buy the $7 coffee you've been craving. Happy National Coffee Day (U.S.) from all of us at JSTOR!

"The Woman taking Coffee." Louis-Martin Bonnet (French, 1736-1793). From the Cleveland Museum of Art's Open Access collection, free and available to all on JSTOR.

The seated Buddha. Stucco sculpture from a stupa at the now-destroyed site of Hadda, Afghanistan, once part of the region of Gandhara. Artist unknown; ca. 300 CE (late Kushan period). Now in the Cleveland Museum of Art.