Jesse Locker
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jessemlocker.bsky.social
Jesse Locker
@jessemlocker.bsky.social
22K followers 1.9K following 2.9K posts
Professor of art history at Portland State University. Author of Artemisia Gentileschi: The Language of Painting (Yale University Press) and some other stuff. 2 parts Weltschmerz, 1 part vermouth
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Jesse Locker @jessemlocker.bsky.social · 2d
Welcome new followers! Here are a few tips for succeeding on Bluesky from the Speculum principis, c. 1512:
jessemlocker.bsky.social
LACMA Unframed: 50 Works 50 Weeks: Lavinia Fontana’s “The Holy Family with Saint Catherine of Alexandria”
50 Works 50 Weeks: Lavinia Fontana’s “The Holy Family with Saint Catherine of Alexandria”
As LACMA prepares for the 2026 public opening of the new David Geffen Galleries, the future home of the museum’s permanent collection spanning a breadth of eras and cultures, we’re sharing 50 iconic a...
unframed.lacma.org
January 15, 2026 at 4:30 AM
Reposted by Jesse Locker
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Attributed to the Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds, A Peasant Boy Eating Pasta, 1630-50, Oil on canvas, 77 x 64 cm
(Private collection)
"This depiction of a peasant boy eating pasta captures a curious sub-genre of Neapolitan culture. As meat prices rose in the 17th century, pasta became less expensive and provided a more affordable alternative. Maccheroni (as all types of Neapolitan pasta were then termed) was sold by street vendors and often cooked in a meat broth, giving much-needed sustenance to peasants, who traditionally ate it with their hands. So-called mangiamaccherroni (macaroni-eaters) became a familiar spectacle in the streets of Naples, so much so that in the 18th and 19th centuries, tourists would pay for plate of hot pasta in order to watch peasants scoop it with their hands and swallow it whole. From the 16th century, these mangiamaccheroni became a popular subject in Neapolitan painting, at times used as a humorous personifications of "taste" in representations of the five senses. The small boy in the present painting, however, instantly recalls one of the young urchins in Bartolomé Estaban Murillo's iconic Two Boys Eating Pie and Boys Eating Grapes and Melon, both in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich. The boys' poses are very similar, with right arm raised, head tilted upward and eyes fixed on the next mouthful, pinched between finger and thumb. This impish pasta-eater probably pre-dates the painting by Murillo. Given the distinct likeness of the respective figures, it is possible that Murillo used the present figure as a model for the boys in the Munich pictures." https://www.wga.hu/html/m/master/annuncia/eating.html
January 14, 2026 at 6:37 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Attributed to the Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds, A Peasant Boy Eating Pasta, 1630-50, Oil on canvas, 77 x 64 cm
(Private collection)
"This depiction of a peasant boy eating pasta captures a curious sub-genre of Neapolitan culture. As meat prices rose in the 17th century, pasta became less expensive and provided a more affordable alternative. Maccheroni (as all types of Neapolitan pasta were then termed) was sold by street vendors and often cooked in a meat broth, giving much-needed sustenance to peasants, who traditionally ate it with their hands. So-called mangiamaccherroni (macaroni-eaters) became a familiar spectacle in the streets of Naples, so much so that in the 18th and 19th centuries, tourists would pay for plate of hot pasta in order to watch peasants scoop it with their hands and swallow it whole. From the 16th century, these mangiamaccheroni became a popular subject in Neapolitan painting, at times used as a humorous personifications of "taste" in representations of the five senses. The small boy in the present painting, however, instantly recalls one of the young urchins in Bartolomé Estaban Murillo's iconic Two Boys Eating Pie and Boys Eating Grapes and Melon, both in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich. The boys' poses are very similar, with right arm raised, head tilted upward and eyes fixed on the next mouthful, pinched between finger and thumb. This impish pasta-eater probably pre-dates the painting by Murillo. Given the distinct likeness of the respective figures, it is possible that Murillo used the present figure as a model for the boys in the Munich pictures." https://www.wga.hu/html/m/master/annuncia/eating.html
January 14, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Jesse Locker
peterpaulrubens.bsky.social
A basket of plums never looked so aesthetically perfect as when painted, in 1629, by Louise Moillon of Paris. Today is her day.
January 14, 2026 at 4:11 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Online event with author Carmen Ripollés discussing Portuguese painter Josefa de Óbidos. Free for National Gallery members www.nationalgallery.org.uk/events/a-bar... #earlymodern #nationalgallery
A Baroque star: The life and work of Josefa de Óbidos Talks and conversations | Talk Date Tuesday, 21 April 2026 Time 6 - 7 pm BST Location Online Audience For Members
January 14, 2026 at 2:52 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
"and a special hello to all the ladies out there"

[José de Ibarra, Cristo en el jardín de las delicias o el Divino esposo (Christ in the Garden of Delights or the Divine Spouse),
1728, oil on canvas, (Museo Nacional del Virreinato, Tepotzotlán)]
In the center, Christ is reclining in a garden, resting his head on his right hand, holding flowers in his left hand, and with his feet crossed. In the sky above are angels with flowers https://arca.uniandes.edu.co/obras/1024
January 13, 2026 at 10:34 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Attributed to Gonzales Coques, Unfinished portrait of a man, full-length, handing a letter to a boy in an interior, 1640s? (Orsay Collection)
A full length portrait of a man in 17th-century costume in an interior looking out at the viewer and a boy handing him a letter. The costumes are unfinished, revealing blue underpainting
January 13, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by Jesse Locker
peterpaulrubens.bsky.social
Sculpture speaks to the blind man while painting says nothing. Sense of touch, as painted for the sighted by Jusepe de Ribera, born on this day in 1591.
January 12, 2026 at 3:23 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Exhibition of dreamy Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi coming to the Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid and the Kunsthaus Zürich in 2026
Hammershøi. The Eye that Listens
The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza presents the first retrospective in Spain devoted to the Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916), which will o...
www.museothyssen.org
January 13, 2026 at 3:32 AM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Welcome new followers! Here are a few tips for succeeding on Bluesky from the Speculum principis, c. 1512:
January 12, 2026 at 5:20 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Adam Elsheimer, Flight into Egypt, with a remarkable depiction of the Milky Way, 1609, Oil on copper, 31 x 41 cm, Alte Pinakothek, Munich
A small painting of the Holy Family traveling across a nocturnal landscape on a donkey with the Milky Way visible above and the moon reflected in the water
January 12, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Jesse Locker
sjmcdonough.bsky.social
I like to think that this is the would-be diva.
Close up of papyrus showing figure in dress with arms flung wide and mouth wide open.
January 11, 2026 at 10:17 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Caravaggio's "Boy with a Basket of Fruit" in Focus at the Morgan Library January 16 through April 19, 2026
Caravaggio’s ‘Boy with a Basket of Fruit’ in Focus
A baroque masterpiece leaves Rome for the Morgan Library & Museum in New York to hang alongside works by Arcimboldo and Annibale Carracci
apollo-magazine.com
January 11, 2026 at 5:34 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Coptic spell to Acquire a Beautiful Voice, 6th–7th century CE, Egypt, ink on papyrus, 37.3 x 25.4 cm (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven)
archives.yale.edu/repositories...
Worn papyrus with drawings of figures, symbols, and writing in Coptic. More here https://smarthistory.org/coptic-magical-text/
January 10, 2026 at 10:20 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Louise Hollandine, Princess Palatine, Self-portrait holding a paintbrush, c. 1650, oil on panel (formerly Sotheby’s)
“The sitter was the seventh child and second daughter of Frederick Elector Palatine and his wife Elizabeth. She was born in The Hague, shortly after her parents' arrival in the Netherlands following Frederick's defeat in Bohemia in 1620. She was christened Louise after her paternal grandfather and Hollandine as a tribute to the States of Holland, her godfathers, and the country of her birth. She was a talented artist who studied with Honthorst and painted a number of members of her family. In December 1657 she left her home in disguise and became a Catholic nun. In 1664 she became Abbess of the convent of Maubuisson, and continued to live there until her death at the age of eighty-eight. This elegant self-portrait dates from c. 1650.”
January 10, 2026 at 4:25 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
I searched for "sprezzatura" on Amazon and I think they got the right idea
An ad for tight, tan bell-bottomed pants with the caption "70s Disco Pants for Men, Jeans for Men"
January 9, 2026 at 9:11 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Counterpoint: There is no “race” to find Leonardo’s DNA. Why would there be? To build an army of super Leonardo da Vincis? And anyway “a chalk drawing attributed by some to Leonardo” is probably not the best way to find it.
The Race to Find Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA Just Took a Major Twist
Scientists have uncovered genetic evidence that they say may be linked to the Renaissance master, but some experts are more skeptical
www.scientificamerican.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:18 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Happy birthday to Elisabetta Sirani, who had the right idea. Born January 8, 1638.
Elisabetta Sirani, Timoclea Throwing the Captain of Alexander the Great into a Well, 1659, oil on canvas, 228 cm (89.7 in) s 174.5 cm (68.7 in) in the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples
January 8, 2026 at 9:44 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Symposium at the @museodelprado.es: "Protagonistas femeninas en la formación de las colecciones del Museo del Prado. Isabel de Farnesio," March 6-7 www.museodelprado.es/recurso/prot...
January 8, 2026 at 5:57 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, Sad Forebodings of What is to Come (plate one from The Disasters of War series), 1814/20, published 1863, Etching, burin, drypoint and burnishing on ivory wove paper with gilt edges, Art Institute of Chicago.
"The lone figure kneeling in a garden evokes Christ in the garden of Gethsemane before the Crucifixion. Ill-defined chaos swirls in the dark background, as the man’s outstretched arms signal his apprehension of and abandonment to the unknown future." https://www.artic.edu/artworks/79014/sad-forebodings-of-what-is-going-to-happen-plate-one-from-the-disasters-of-war
January 8, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Jesse Locker
literaryhub.bsky.social
“i want back my rocking chairs, / solipsist sunsets, / & coastal jungle sounds...”

A poem by Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered by ICE earlier today.

lithub.com/renee-nicole...
Renee Nicole Good, murdered by ICE, was a prize-winning poet. Here’s that poem.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, mother to a six-year-old boy, was murdered earlier today by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, a few blocks from her home. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune: [An ICE agent] s…
lithub.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:54 AM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Small, groundbreaking exhibition on 16th-century painter Catharina van Hemessen coming to Antwerp and London next year
First-ever oil painting depicting an artist at work to star in female Old Master exhibition
Catharina van Hemessen’s self-portrait will be presented at the National Gallery, as interest in early women painters grows
www.theartnewspaper.com
January 7, 2026 at 7:07 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Jacopo Ligozzi, Jerboa, c. 1580-1600, drawing, 260 x 341 mm (Gabinetto disegni e stampe degli Uffizi, Florence)
A drawing of a jerboa, a hopping desert rodent, in an empty background
January 7, 2026 at 4:58 PM
jessemlocker.bsky.social
Julius Exner, A girl from Fanø, Denmark, in traditional dress and mask (strude) for the harvest, 1899, oil on canvas, 31 cm (12.2 in) x 23 cm (9 in), Private collection
A painting of a woman in a harvest costume, holding a basket and a wooden rake, and wearing a dress, scarf, apron, and a traditional mask (strude) that covers all of her head except her eyes
January 6, 2026 at 3:36 PM