GrizzlyBryce

this is kind of misleading I fear, (sorry for the long post) The final one would be part of the realism movement as it depicts manual labour in an un-glamourised fashion. The second could be baroque or romantic depending on the subject - baroque focused more on strong movement and lighting, romantic focused more on the representation of violence and strong emotions. The first /could/ be from the renaissance period but I'd be surprised. The angle and facial expression feel more romantic and the renaissance "leading lines" would have been defined by the scenery not by the subjects. As the background does not have strong, obvious perspective I'm gonna go with it not being from the renaissance period. An important thing to note is that there are multiple distinct styles/movements during the Renaissance period. The art during the Italian renaissance was defined by its references to the antiquity and by the mathematical approach to perspective. There were two Italian schools of thought when it came to painting. One prioritised use of colour (leaving a soft, almost blurry sensation). These were the modernists who considered that there needed to be more innovation in artwork. The others, the classicists prioritised shapes and references to the antiquity much more than the modernists. Finally the art of the Flemish Renaissance period prioritised symbolism and realism and had a much less mathematical approach to perspective. Flemish paintings of the period had an incredibly high level of detail. Examples of Baroque paintings: (please note that I have not studied this particular movement in depth - go do your own research about this movement too!)

Annibale Carracci, The Lamentation of Christ, c. 1604

Charles Lorrain, The Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba, 1648

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Calling of Saint Matthew, c. 1599 Note how all of these paintings have religious themes and have a fixation with light and movement. Examples of Romantic paintings:

Theodore de Géricault, the Raft of the Medusa, 1818/1819 (this is the painting that started the romantic movement)

Eugène Delacroix, The Death of Sardanapulus, 1627 Note the fixation on violence and strong emotions as well as the more controversial subject matter - romantic paintings were often very badly received at the time. Examples of Renaissance paintings: Italian Renaissance period:

Raphael, The School of Athens, 1509 (note the very strong perspective in the scenery as well as the antiquity-inspired decor and subject)

Titian, The Venus of Urbino, 1538 Flemish Renaissance period:

Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Wedding, 1434 (take a moment to zoom around and try and pick up the symbolism... it's one of those works where you can spend hours trying to find all the hidden details the painter put in - also note the slightly wonky perspective)

Hubert and Jan Van Eyck ,The Ghent Altarpiece, completed in 1432 (this is an example of a polyptych, a common format for paintings during the larger Medieval Renaissance periods) Note the heavy concentration of symbolic imagery, the use of atmospheric perspective (which was also used in works during the Italian Renaissance), the more "realistic" representation and a use of more earthy tones Examples of Realistic paintings:

Gustave Courbet, A Burial at Ornans, 1849-1850

Jean-Francois Millet, The Gleaners, 1857 Note the representation of more prosaic subjects and a focus on manual labour.

I know this is going to make me sound pretensions but I have to get it off my chest. I feel an unimaginable rage when someone posts a photo and is like "this picture looks like a renaissance painting lol" when the photo clearly has the lighting, colors and composition of a baroque or romantic painting. There are differences in these styles and those differences are important and labeling every "classical" looking painting as renaissance is annoying and upsetting to me. And anytime I come across one of those posts I have to put down my phone and go take a walk because they make me so mad

Beware!

do you know much about creating and maintaining an artificial biotope? More specifically, how does bacteria help in maintaining these ecosystems in the long term?

Hello, thank you for the marvellous question! Biotope is a very broad term but generally refers to an area where environmental conditions are the same/quite consistent, or a small ecosystem. Fish tanks are a good example of this.

I have not tried to create one and unfortunately cannot provide much information from my research, but it’s worth thinking about what bacteria normally do in ecosystems. Breaking down organic matter, nitrogen fixing, chilling out and getting me sick…they may also have symbiotic relationships with other organisms, like how humans have microbes that support our immune and digestive systems (I’m NOT explaining the complexities of the microbiome here, this is a huge simplification).

How you do it will also affect what you need to do — is it a butterfly garden interacting with the great outdoors? Is it an aquarium? Is it one of those sealed terrariums? (very cool, I want one). All these will have different things to consider.

Sorry I can’t be of more help! I hope you’re able to find some answers soon — and please let me know if you do! I’m also very interested in bacteria ecology.

Astronaut readjusts to life back on Earth

> Don’t give him a baby for a while.

The thing about parrots is that they will fuck with you for fun. On the outside a parrot is a small flying dinosaur with bolt cutters on its face. On the inside a parrot is a toddler with a GED who you might have unwisely trapped in your house. Humans are usually the most entertaining thing in a parrot's environment (aside from other parrots).

My parrot knows all the words for his favorite foods: peanut, berry, carrot, and noodle are the most frequently requested. I often demonstrate how good he is at naming foods when I have guests over by saying, "Ripley, what is this?" And Ripley, seeing a roasted, unsalted peanut in my hand, will answer, "a peanut." He does this for many foods, multiple times a day, knowing that if he answers correctly I'll give him several of whatever he can name.

I also offer my houseguests a chance to participate, holding a treat about a foot away from Ripley and asking him what it is. Ripley is always very gentle when treats are involved. But for the past few months, when someone he doesn't know attempts this trick with him, he deliberately gets the answer wrong.

"What is this?" my friend asks Ripley as she holds out a peanut. He confidently answers, "a berry." We laugh. "No, what is it!" she tries again. "A berry." She laughs.

I hand her dried cranberry. "What's this?" she asks, holding it up. Without hesitation Ripley answers "a peanut." She holds up the peanut again. "What is it!!" "A berry," he answers. Both my friend and my parrot laugh. Apparently this joke is worth more to my bird than getting the treat.

Dress by Félix

c. 1885

France

Chicago Historical Society

Dress

c. 1900-1910

Hallwylska museet

@madgrad

Another stone/creature.

I made a small series of these, I'm pretty sure I've posted these before - but I'm looking at them again because I like it when the edge becomes so important in a piece, and want to capture that in some new work.

Dress

c. 1800-1820

unknown maker, American

Newfields