Jesse Locker
@jessemlocker.bsky.social
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
I wish I would be there in time!
January 13, 2026 at 3:55 AM
I wish I would be there in time!
In this case it's because Pythagoras believed beans contained human souls!
January 12, 2026 at 6:47 PM
In this case it's because Pythagoras believed beans contained human souls!
Don't Feed Things That Have Sharp Claws!
!["Feed Not Things That Have Sharp Claws" [fol. 38 recto]
1512/1514, French early 16th Century(National Gallery of Art) - A jester feeding lions inside an enclosure https://www.nga.gov/artworks/86052-feed-not-things-have-sharp-claws-fol-38-recto](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xkjqfvtcfakukddedpzrefm2/bafkreib73oswtwjdmnaacco3irs3zc4kk32cddam7tlecd3kg2atieuhqi@jpeg)
January 12, 2026 at 5:41 PM
Don't Feed Things That Have Sharp Claws!
Don't eat beans!
![Pythagoras shunning fava beans, accompanying the advice, "Do Not Eat Beans!" from Speculum principis (Mirror of Princes) [fol. 25 recto], French, 1512/1514 (National Gallery of Art) 'Drawn using pen and brown ink on cream-colored paper, a robed man to our right holds up both hands and looks away from a plant in this vertical composition. A hood covers the man’s head, and he has a long beard. His hands shield his face from the plant to our left, which is painted with watercolor to give it green leaves and stems and dark pink flowers. A handwritten name above the man reads, "Pythagoras." The plant is labeled “Fabe.” A crack splits the ground from the bottom right corner of the paper across the page.'
https://www.nga.gov/artworks/86044-do-not-eat-beans-fol-25-recto](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xkjqfvtcfakukddedpzrefm2/bafkreib4gzvxfkke3tw6dop4wdaaeqa3yr4mr2ahoyh6zablreevutpnpq@jpeg)
January 12, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Don't eat beans!
Friendship Is Equality; A Friend Is Another Self!
!["Friendship Is Equality; A Friend Is Another Self" [fol. 10 recto]
c. 1512/1515, French early 16th Century (National Gallery of Art) Two male friends holding a heart, above them allegorical figures of ANIMUS holding a scale and the hands of two blindfolded women with their hands on a wheel https://www.nga.gov/artworks/86038-friendship-equality-friend-another-self-fol-10-recto](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xkjqfvtcfakukddedpzrefm2/bafkreidnbk5qbwn5zfebokcwv72p3kcypbc7f5zcdtfeaqehkvzamf2xou@jpeg)
January 12, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Friendship Is Equality; A Friend Is Another Self!
Do Not Put Food in a Chamber Pot!
!["Do Not Put Food in a Chamber Pot" [fol. 24 recto], c. 1512/1515, French early 16th Century (National Gallery of Art). A jester pours wine in a chamber pot https://www.nga.gov/artworks/86051-do-not-put-food-chamber-pot-fol-24-recto](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xkjqfvtcfakukddedpzrefm2/bafkreicmib2tzcrh22h2b2ueke5mdnfa3q2lrud5bvzoovtiulctw66fdq@jpeg)
January 12, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Do Not Put Food in a Chamber Pot!
Not usually considered to be one
January 12, 2026 at 1:07 AM
Not usually considered to be one
It's a real hat. She's dressed in the "gypsy" style. Another example here. dia.org/collection/r...
Reading the Fate of the Christ Child | Detroit Institute of Arts Museum
Reading the Fate of the Christ Child
dia.org
January 10, 2026 at 4:41 PM
It's a real hat. She's dressed in the "gypsy" style. Another example here. dia.org/collection/r...
Could you write a more annoying headline if you tried?
January 10, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Could you write a more annoying headline if you tried?
I just hope the accidentally build an army of super Bernardino Luinis
January 9, 2026 at 3:26 PM
I just hope the accidentally build an army of super Bernardino Luinis
Not a great sign when Goya feels topical
January 8, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Not a great sign when Goya feels topical