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Video:  How Artist Chakaia Booker Turns Car Tires Into Transcendence

Examine how Chakaia Booker’s artistic practice serves as a metaphor for Black American experiences of struggle, strength, and survival.

A woman and winged angel, both with pale, peach skin, are situated in a church interior in this tall, narrow painting. To our left, the angel has long, blond, curly hair, smooth skin, and is smiling. The wings are outlined in royal blue, and they blend from blue to green to yellow to crimson. The angel holds one hand, closer to us, up at chest height with the index finger subtly pointing upward. Holding a long scepter in the other hand, the angel angles their body toward the woman to our right. The angel wears a gold jewel and pearl-encrusted crown and a jeweled long, voluminous robe in scarlet-red and shimmering gold brocade. The neck and along the opening down the front are lined with pearls and jewels. The angel looks toward the woman, who wears a royal-blue dress tied with a red belt at the high waist. Her long brown hair is tied back but one tendril falls over her left shoulder, to our right. She kneels facing us with her raised hands facing outward. Her head is tipped a bit to our left, and she looks up and into the distance to our right with lips slightly parted. She kneels behind a book lying open on a low table. A vase of white lilies and a red cushion lies on the floor in front of the table, close to us. The floor is decorated with people and scenes outlined in black and set into square panels, as if inlaid with wood. The church behind and above the people has a row of tall, narrow arches with bull’s-eye glass windows. A walkway lined with columns runs above the arches, and sunlight comes in through arched windows under the flat wood ceiling. A white dove flies toward the woman on gold lines from a window at the upper left of the painting. Latin words painted in gold capital letters are exchanged between the people. The angel says, “AVE GRA PLENA.” The letters of the woman’s response are painted upside down and backward: “ECCE ANCILLA DNI.”

Interactive Article:  Stories and Symbols in Jan van Eyck’s "The Annunciation"

The work is a triumph of early Northern Renaissance painting—and storytelling.

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Interactive Article:  How the Index of American Design Kickstarted Edward Loper’s Art Career

The acclaimed Delaware artist first brought his artistic ambitions to life drawing decorative art objects for the Work Progress Administration project.

Interactive Article:  The Marvelous Details of Joris Hoefnagel’s Animal and Insect Studies

Scroll to discover tiny brushstrokes, hidden meanings, and the immense impact on our understanding of the natural world.

Article:  Seven Highlights from the Index of American Design

Peer into the American past with a collection of Great Depression–era watercolors.

Elizabeth Catlett in her studio, 1942

Article:  Who Is Elizabeth Catlett? 12 Things to Know

Meet a groundbreaking artist who made sculptures and prints for her people.

Article:  From Old Car Tires, Chakaia Booker Reveals Beauty and Devastation

Transforming discarded tires into monumental sculptures, the artist reflects on the environmental impact of our daily commutes.

Six women, eight men, two satyrs, and one child gather in pairs and trios in a loose row that spans the width of this nearly square painting. They are set within a landscape with craggy rocks, cliffs, and trees. Most of the people face us, and the men, women, and child have pale skin. The two satyrs have men’s torsos and furry goat’s legs, and they have darker, olive complexions. Most of the men wear voluminous, knee-length togas wrapped in short robes in shades of white, topaz blue, grass green, coral orange, or rose pink. Most of the women wear long, dress-like garments in tones of shell pink, apricot orange, or lapis blue over white sleeves. For all but one woman, their garments have fallen off one shoulder to reveal a round, firm breast. Several objects are strewn on the rocky, dirt ground in front of the group, including a wide, wooden bucket with a piece of paper affixed to its front to our right, a glass goblet, a pitchfork, a large blue and white ceramic dish filled with grapes and small yellow fruits, and an overturned cup near the center. Cliff-like, craggy rocks rise steeply behind the group to our left, filling much of the sky opposite a tall grove of leafy, dark green trees to our right. A few puffy white clouds float across the vivid blue sky. The slip of paper on the barrel has been inscribed, “joannes bellinus venetus p MDXIIII.”

Interactive Article:  Layers of Power in "The Feast of the Gods"

At first glance, this painting looks like a great party. But it’s more complicated than that. 

Videos

Catch up on our latest videos

Video:  Master Printmaker LaToya Hobbs Creates a Woodblock Print Inspired by Elizabeth Catlett

Master printmaker LaToya Hobbs creates a woodblock print portrait of Naima Mora, referencing the sculpture Naima created by Elizabeth Catlett.

Video:  Inside the Corcoran’s Incredible Art Collection

From 1869 to 2014, the Corcoran Gallery of Art was one of the oldest art museums in the United States, reflecting the country’s move from the ashes of the Civil War into the 21st century.

Video:  Oddly Satisfying: Cakes Inspired by Wayne Thiebaud

Indulge your senses as an amazing baker delves into the delectable world of Wayne Thiebaud's iconic Cakes still-life painting.

Video:  How Impressionism Began with Cassatt, Degas, Monet, Morisot, and the Société Anonyme

Dive into the world of Paris in 1874 and discover how a movement that was reviled at the time changed the landscape of art forever.

Video:  How Does Seurat Connect Pointillism to Workers Rights?

New York Times art critic Aruna D’Souza discusses the work of painter Georges Seurat.

Video:  D.I.Y. Art: Fabric Stamps Inspired by Henri Matisse

Watch and learn how to make fashion stamps on fabric inspired by Henri Matisse’s 1953 work Large Decoration with Masks.

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