Oh my goodness! I’ve just found the most amazing art history website I’ve seen in a while, and I’m pretty picky, I have to say. Plus, if it’s related to something you’re supposed to be writing a 20-page paper on, it’s not procrastinating, right? Anyway, the website is EssentialVermeer.com, and though it doesn’t seem to have been updated in a while, it’s absolutely a treasure trove of Vermeer goodies. My favorite part is the virtual museum (although they don’t call it that) of all of Vermeer’s works of art in scale with each other. A truly wonderful use of the internet—most of Vermeer’s works are much too fragile to travel far, and most will probably never travel out of their home museums, so being able to see them all like this is just awesome.  (Almost as good as the real thing, though there is nothing like seeing an actual Vermeer!)

Brief post, since it’s finals week! But I owe many more posts during winter break, before I go off to Italy (!)– it’s been quite an exciting semester, full of awesome art seen, tours given, and people I’ve met (Arthur Wheelock! Possibly the coolest art-historian-AND-museum-person ever born? Yes, I’d say that’s no exagerration). So all that to come, but for now…

I just found this interesting article about the links between phsyical ailments and/or psychological disorders and artists and their output. I think that a lot of this information has been floating around the edges of art historical research for a while, but it’s interesting that this doctor takes the study to a distinctly scientific level, discussing Cassat’s cataracts, Degas’ arthritis, and van Gogh’s many issues, as they relate to the artists’ work. Cool study!