Butterflies | Van Gogh series, 1889-1890

In May 1889, Van Gogh began work on Green Peacock Moth which he self-titled Death's Head Moth.

The moth, called death's head, is a rarely seen nocturnal moth.

He described the large moth's colors "of amazing distinction, black, grey, cloudy white tinged with carmine or vaguely shading off into olive green".

Behind the moth is a background of Lords-and-Ladies.

Vincent van Gogh | Emperor moth, 1889 (detail) | Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Papa Francesco: "Cari poeti, aiutateci a sognare!"

Pubblichiamo la lettera di Papa Francesco pubblicata nel libro “Versi a Dio. Antologia della poesia religiosa". (in inglese)

Cari poeti,

so che avete fame di significato, e per questo riflettete anche su come la fede interroga la vita. Questo “significato” non è riducibile a un concetto, no. È un significato totale che prende poesia, simbolo, sentimenti.

Il vero significato non è quello del dizionario: quello è il significato della parola, e la parola è uno strumento di tutto quello che è dentro di noi.

Musée des Beaux-Arts (Lione) | 5.000 anni di storia dell'arte

Il musée des Beaux-Arts di Lione è il principale museo della città ed uno dei più grandi musei d'arte in Francia.

Aperto dal 1801 - uno dei primi dopo il Louvre, il museo presenta collezioni di pittura, scultura, arte antica (egiziana, greca, romana, etrusca e orientale), oggetti d'arte, medaglie e monete, disegni e stampe.

James Pradier | Odalisque, 1841 | Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon

Louis Janmot | Fleur des champs, 1845

Flower of the Fields / Fleur des champs, is an 1845 painting on wood by Lyon artist, Louis Janmot (1814-1892).

It was acquired in 1893 by the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon where it has been conserved.

Depiction of a young woman

The painting shows a young woman who is sitting in a nature scene, surrounded with flowers and butterflies.

She has two flower bouquets in her hands: one laid down on her knees, composed of buttercups, daisies and cornflowers, the other one held vertically is composed of poppies.

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon | 200 years of history

Thanks to its proximity to the Lyon city hall, the abbey was not sold or destroyed during the French Revolution.

In 1792, the Municipal Council designated the building as a place to conserve medals, bronzes and other artistic monuments.

On 14 Fructidor in the year IX (1801), the Chaptal decree to establish painting collections in fifteen French cities enabled the founding of the Lyon Museum of Fine Art.

Joseph Bail | Au Jardin, 1880 | Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon

Dante Gabriel Rossetti | Roman Widow, 1874

Roman Widow or Dîs Manibus is an oil on canvas painting executed in 1874 by the English Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

It is in the collection of the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico.

It depicts a young Roman widow, modelled by Alexa Wilding, sitting in a sepulchre by her late husband's cinerary urn, around which is wound her bridal girdle.

She is dressed in classical mourning drapery and playing an elegy on two small harps, one with each hand.

Pink roses, the flowers of Venus and symbolic of love, wreath both the harp and the urn.

Hermann Corrodi | Night on Mount Athos, 1905

Hermann David Salomon Corrodi (1844-1905) was an Italian painter of historical and orientalist scenes.

Corrodi received commissions for history paintings from the British royal family.

He was acquainted with most of the European royalty of the time, including a friendship with Queen Victoria, and traveled widely in the Far East, including Egypt, Syria, Cyprus and Istanbul, which provided the subject matter for many of his paintings.