Laia was a groundbreaking female artist in a male-dominated era. Born in Cyzicus (present-day Turkey) in the 1st century BCE, she earned her place in history with her exceptional portraits of women, a rarity at that time. Pliny the Elder praised her quick and high-quality work, noting she could crush her male peers in both quality and speed. With both quality and speed at her command, Laia earned more coin than any of the male painters. Her art focused on female subjects and self-exploration. Though none of her works survive, ancient texts like Pliny’s and Boccaccio’s elaborate at length about her artistic superiority, marking her importance in history as a great dame in art.
Unfortunately, Laia was born minutes before the Romans invented wifi, so she doesn’t have a professional webpage or social media presence. I can’t even find her on YouTube. I found only a few articles about her, and the apparent variety of articles all seem to be quoting from one source article, so basically I found one article and some copies. There are a few mentions of Laia in association with this painting, but Encyclopedia.com, perhaps the most reputable source from the handful I found, said there are no (as in zero) remaining images of her works. The pic above is credited to Laia by many, but actually was likely painted in the medieval era by Maria, possibly the same person who painted this one but who the heck really knows:
This concludes another installment of “no one really knows” art history. At least the painting was interesting. More questionable but well illustrated facts coming soon!
Seattle Artist League student Judy Chia Hui Hsu has 18 abstract paintings in Gage Academy of Art’s Holiday Small Works Exhibition. Hsu is among about 40 artists exhibiting in the show. Please join her at the opening reception Saturday, November 19 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. The show can be viewed on Saturday, November 19 from 10:00 am to 4:00 …
Alice Mao, a 17 year old student at the League, teamed up with her 15 year old classmate Taylor Wang, to mastermind “Student Art Spaces” a venue for young artists like themselves to show their work. The League is mentoring Student Art Spaces (SAS), and will showcase their curations. We are proud to support SAS in …
Recently I posted about Edward Hopper’s influences in painting and printmaking. This is part three of four (I think). Today is all about Hopper’s process. There is some of my own actual near-thinking and observation, plus a lot of internet research went into this, but I had trouble finding much for details that went beyond …
[image_with_animation image_url=”7901″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] I learned from the fabulous Suzanne Walker that this narrative painting “The Story of Joseph” by Biagio d’Antonio uses space as a representative for chronological time. The painting illustrates a story that follows a sequence clockwise around an ellipse, starting at the upper left. The scenes that happened farther back in …
Laia’s Selfie (maybe)
Laia was a groundbreaking female artist in a male-dominated era. Born in Cyzicus (present-day Turkey) in the 1st century BCE, she earned her place in history with her exceptional portraits of women, a rarity at that time. Pliny the Elder praised her quick and high-quality work, noting she could crush her male peers in both quality and speed. With both quality and speed at her command, Laia earned more coin than any of the male painters. Her art focused on female subjects and self-exploration. Though none of her works survive, ancient texts like Pliny’s and Boccaccio’s elaborate at length about her artistic superiority, marking her importance in history as a great dame in art.
Unfortunately, Laia was born minutes before the Romans invented wifi, so she doesn’t have a professional webpage or social media presence. I can’t even find her on YouTube. I found only a few articles about her, and the apparent variety of articles all seem to be quoting from one source article, so basically I found one article and some copies. There are a few mentions of Laia in association with this painting, but Encyclopedia.com, perhaps the most reputable source from the handful I found, said there are no (as in zero) remaining images of her works. The pic above is credited to Laia by many, but actually was likely painted in the medieval era by Maria, possibly the same person who painted this one but who the heck really knows:
This concludes another installment of “no one really knows” art history. At least the painting was interesting. More questionable but well illustrated facts coming soon!
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Judy Chia Hui Hsu
Seattle Artist League student Judy Chia Hui Hsu has 18 abstract paintings in Gage Academy of Art’s Holiday Small Works Exhibition. Hsu is among about 40 artists exhibiting in the show. Please join her at the opening reception Saturday, November 19 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. The show can be viewed on Saturday, November 19 from 10:00 am to 4:00 …
SAS – These kids are rockin’ it!
Alice Mao, a 17 year old student at the League, teamed up with her 15 year old classmate Taylor Wang, to mastermind “Student Art Spaces” a venue for young artists like themselves to show their work. The League is mentoring Student Art Spaces (SAS), and will showcase their curations. We are proud to support SAS in …
Edward Hopper’s Process
Recently I posted about Edward Hopper’s influences in painting and printmaking. This is part three of four (I think). Today is all about Hopper’s process. There is some of my own actual near-thinking and observation, plus a lot of internet research went into this, but I had trouble finding much for details that went beyond …
SAL Challenge Day 29: Narrative
[image_with_animation image_url=”7901″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] I learned from the fabulous Suzanne Walker that this narrative painting “The Story of Joseph” by Biagio d’Antonio uses space as a representative for chronological time. The painting illustrates a story that follows a sequence clockwise around an ellipse, starting at the upper left. The scenes that happened farther back in …