The Easel

21st March 2023

‘The Ugly Duchess:’ How an unsettling Renaissance portrait challenges ideas of aging women and beauty

Marianna Cerini | CNN | 17th March 2023

At first glance, Massys’ famous portrait makes fun of its elderly female subject. Her odd face, ridiculous outfit and amorous intent certainly do that. Massys also had other intentions, though. He was riffing on a da Vinci drawing and tapping into Renaissance fascination with the grotesque. More subtly, Massys was subverting the uncritical praise of youth.  “[The painting’s subject] is not apologetic about herself. Elderly women in art [make] us look and think … There’s a lot of power in that”.

David Chipperfield: how the 2023 Pritzker prize winner creates buildings that last

Ano Souto | The Conversation | 10th March 2023

Architecture’s top award, the Pritzker, has gone to Chipperfield, whose architecture has “understated but transformative civic presence”. His signature projects, several in Berlin, create modern spaces that respectfully integrate with existing buildings. This means finding design solutions specific to each circumstance. Says he, “finding beauty in normality seems … very modern and very different from what contemporary society is doing.” Images are here.

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