Alexandra Kiely

Alexandra believes that enjoying the art of the past is the closest she can get to time travel, only much safer. When she's not being an art historian, she can usually be found ice skating and dancing. Visit her at ascholarlyskater.com.

Stories By Alexandra Kiely

Middle Ages

“Angel with Attitude”. Grumpy Angel from The Hyde Collection

By Alexandra KielyAugust 17, 2019

Angel is a painting by Niccolò di Ser Sozzo, c. 1350, owned by The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY. This is an unusual depiction of an angel with her* arms crossed. She’s not the serene...
Animals

The Medieval Bestiary – Cute, Quirky, and Weird Animals

By Alexandra KielyAugust 7, 2019

Of all the medieval manuscripts, bestiaries are definitely the most fun. A medieval bestiary is a book about animals. It’s full of unusual information and charming illustrations about a variety of creatures. Bestiaries were based on...
Baroque

A Secret Revealed in a Dresden Vermeer

By Alexandra KielyJuly 31, 2019

A major German art museum recently revealed an exciting new discovery – a hidden image of a Cupid in Johannes Vermeer’s Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, 1657-1659. Conservators at the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister...
Painting of the Week

Painting of the Week: Nicolas Maes, Young Woman Peeling Apples

By Alexandra KielyJuly 21, 2019

Today’s Painting of the Week is Young Woman Peeling Apples by Nicolas Maes (1634-1693). Maes was a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialized in small-scale domestic scenes and portraits. Like many Dutch genre scenes, this painting...
Museums And Exhibitions

A Special Appearance of Leonardo’s Saint Jerome

By Alexandra KielyJuly 13, 2019

A very special painting has just arrived in New York! To honor the five hundredth anniversary of the artist’s death, Leonardo da Vinci’s Saint Jerome Praying in the Wilderness is on loan from the Vatican to...
19th Century

Seven Luminist Seascapes to Make You Want a Beach Vacation

By Alexandra KielyJune 29, 2019

It’s finally summer, and that means it’s time to visit the beach! But if a trip to the lake or the ocean isn’t on your schedule, let these beautiful Luminist seascapes bring the beach to you....
dailyart

The Lewis Chessmen and Their Long-Lost Brother

By Alexandra KielyJune 10, 2019

The Lewis Chessmen are among the world’s most recognizable works of medieval art, right up there with the Unicorn Tapestries and the Book of Kells. Not only are reproductions of the chessmen best-selling chess sets, but...
dailyart

Painting of the Week: John Singer Sargent, Simplon Pass: The Lesson

By Alexandra KielyMay 26, 2019

Many people know John Singer Sargent for his beautiful oil paintings of turn-of-the-century high society. However, he also made many lovely watercolors, and they’re not nearly as well known. One example of a Sargent watercolor is...
Architecture

Ten Gorgeous French Churches (That Aren’t Notre-Dame de Paris)

By Alexandra KielyMay 15, 2019

For the past month, everybody has been talking about Notre-Dame de Paris, which suffered a horrible fire in April. Notre-Dame is by far France’s most famous church, but it isn’t the country’s only noteworthy one. France...
19th Century

The Hudson River School: Celebrating Nature, American-Style

By Alexandra KielyMay 4, 2019

The Hudson River School was a uniquely American art movement – the first to develop after the country gained its independence in 1776. It was a painting style that celebrated the American landscape. During the mid-19th...