The Gaze

Saint Livinus and Saint Stephen became victims of “Hold this random object for eternity because ✨symbolism ✨” One got stoned, the other lost his tongue, and Jan van Eyck was like: perfect, now stand still and pose. Classic. 🖼️ The Ghent Altarpiece, Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, 1432 👨🏻‍🎨 Jan Van Eyck 📍 Cathedral of Saint Bavo, Ghent

👁️🐽👁️ Oh my God, this sheep looks weird. No it doesn’t, it’s a perfectly good looking little lamb that also happens to symbolize Jesus. 🖼️ The Ghent Altarpiece 👨🏻‍🎨 Jan van Eyck 📍Sint-Baafs Kathedraal, Ghent

🌸 What do you give a newborn as a gift? If you're Vincent van Gogh: a canvas filled with blossoms, life, and love. This is the story of Almond Blossom. 🖼️ Almond Blossom 👨🏻‍🎨 Vincent van Gogh 📐 73.5 cm × 92 cm (28.9 in × 36 in) 📍 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam Photo of Engineer Vincent van Gogh and his second wife Nel van Gogh-van der Groot in their house in Laren, 1949. 📸 Peter Pollack, © the Art Institute of Chicago All other photos: copyright Vincent van Gogh Foundation #arttok

At first glance, it looks like a sunset at sea. But look closer, and you’ll see human limbs shackled in the water, tossed overboard into the waves. Turner painted this to expose one of the most horrifying events in British maritime history: the Zong massacre. In 1781, the British slave ship Zong was en route to Jamaica when its captain, facing a navigational error and a supposed shortage of water, ordered more than 130 enslaved Africans to be thrown into the sea. The motive? Insurance. The enslaved people were treated as cargo, and the ship’s owners could only claim compensation if the “goods” were jettisoned to save the vessel, not if they died of illness or dehydration. A legal case followed. But it wasn’t a murder trial, it was about insurance liability. The court eventually rejected the claim, not because of the human cost, but because the water shortage was deemed avoidable. Turner exhibited the painting in 1840 at the height of the abolitionist movement in Britain. He wanted to confront viewers with the horror they had tried to forget. The blood-red sky, the violent sea, the barely visible drowning figures, it’s all a furious indictment of greed, cruelty, and inhumanity. Nearly 200 years later, that sunset still burns. Not just as art, but as a warning. 🖼️The Slave Ship, 1840 👨🏻‍🎨 J.M.W. Turner 📍MFA Boston 📐90.8 x 122.6 cm (35 3/4 x 48 1/4 in.)

This is what LinkedIn looked like in 1750. 🖼️ 50 coloured plates, 18th century 👨🏻‍🎨 Martin Engelbrecht 📍 Wellcome Collection #artmemes #weirdart

#ad 🙃 These tiny plaster people are stuck to the ceiling in Park Abbey in Leuven, one of the best preserved abbey sites in Western Europe. 😍 In 1679, the abbots asked the Southern Netherlands artist Jan Hansche to decorate the abbey's refectory. Hansche depicts Old and New Testament tales that emphasize the importance of food. The Last Supper refers to the Eucharist, a topic carefully chosen, since the monks ate in the dining hall twice a day. 👌🏻 Museum Parcum is one of the many unique locations part of “Flemish Masters in Situ”. This project has mapped dozens of paintings, sculptures, altarpieces and other works that are still at the place for which they were originally created. Go visit flemishmastersinsitu.com to browse through this beautiful collection. 🖼️ Stucco Ceiling by Jan Hansche 📍Museum Parcum, Abdij van Park 7, Leuven This video was made with the support of Flemish Masters. @Visit Leuven

💅 HEY LU-CYYY! 🎶 Why so many jamming angels? Well, in medieval and Renaissance art, angels with instruments symbolized heavenly praise and divine harmony. Music was seen as the sound of paradise: eternal, perfect and always in tune. So, if heaven has a soundtrack, it’s organs, harps and the occasional divine bagpipe. 🖼️ Musical Angels, 14th century 👨🏻‍🎨 Stefano da Verona 📍 Museo Correr, Venice Other artworks: - Mary, Queen of Heaven, Master of the Saint Lucy Legend, c. 1485/1500, National Gallery, Washington D.C. - Coronation of the virgin with Angels and Saints, c. 1328, Giotto di Bondone, Basilica of Santa Croce - Christ with singing and music-making Angels, Hans Memling, 1483-1494, KMSKA, Antwerp - Musical Angels from the Ghent Altarpiece, Jan van Eyck, 1432, Cathedral of Saint Bavo, Ghent, - Angel Playing the Bagpipe, Francesco Botticini, c. 1475 - 97 - Allegory of hearing, after ‘La Dame à la Licorne’, 15th century tapestry, Musée de Cluny

📚🚽  This is probably one of the most special toilets in the world. 😅 😍 The Book Toilet is part of the gorgeous Garden Room in Antwerp, one of the many unique locations featured by “Flemish Masters In Situ”. This project has mapped dozens of paintings, sculptures, altarpieces and, apparently, book toilets, that are still at the place for which they were originally created.  🖼️ “The Book Toilet” and “The Gods on Mount Olympus” 📍De Hofkamer, Oude Beurs 27, Antwerp, Belgium 🕰️ From 6 April to 26 October 2025, open every Sunday from 11.00 to 17.00 hrs. Script and host: @thegaze_ Shot and edited by Anton Olbrechts #FlemishMastersInSitu #VisitFlanders #VisitAntwerp Video produced with the support of Flemish Masters.

🤔 Well, well, well… what do we have here? At Abby Kortrijk two tiny Roman dog skulls are casually sitting on a shelf in the museum shop. What’s that all about? Before you ask: no, they’re not for sale. Archaeologists uncovered these pups during the museum’s construction, along with a whole parade of Roman artifacts. They date back to the 2nd century, when Kortrijk was just a small Roman settlement. And now? They’re right back where they belong, guarding the spot they once called home. Isn’t that just lovely? 🐶 Waffus and Blaffus, 2nd century AD 📍 Abby Kortrijk, Begijnhofpark, 8500 Kortrijk 🕰️ Tuesday through Sunday, 10am - 6pm Video made with the support of Toerisme Leiestreek. Photo’s Abby Kortrijk by Capture (Jonas Vandecasteele) #romanhistory #romanempire #arthistory

🐒 At @National Gallery Singapore you’ll find these beautiful illustrations. They are part of the largest collection of Southeast Asian art in the world. 🌿 Here’s the story. In the early 1800s, the British Major-General William Farquhar had a mission: document every weird and wonderful creature in Malacca and Singapore. Why? Because a detailed visual record of local nature was useful for research, trade and, let’s be honest, impressing his British pals back home. 🎨 But Farquhar didn’t paint a single one of the images. Instead, he hired incredibly skilled Chinese artisans to do the work. Their brushwork was stunning and their style stands out. But their names? Completely forgotten. ✍🏼 The collection has 477(!) illustrations, all of which are preserved in Singapore’s National Collection. 📍Want to learn more? Check out The National Gallery Singapore’s Online Courses on Art and the Environment, which are available on FutureLearn. William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings: ⏳ Early 19th century 🖌️ Watercolour on paper 📍 Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board, Gift of Mr. G. K. Goh 🖼️ Full list of drawings: - Flying Squirrel, 38 x 54.6 cm - Mousedeer, 46.1 x 28.9 cm - Magpie-Robin, 46.3 x 29.8 cm - White-handed gibbon, 54.2 x 38 cm - Cocoa, 41.7 x 51.3 cm - Long Horned Grasshopper, Great Mormon Butterfly, Short Horned Grasshopper, Winged Stick Insect, 38.1 x 24.6 cm - Dollar Bird and Starfruit, 36.5 x 22.3 cm - Small clawed otter, 36.7 x 53.2 cm Additional images: - Portrait of William Farquhar, 1830, paper, 53.4 x 37.8 cm, Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board. - The Mustard Seed Garden manual of painting, Jie zi yuan hua zhuan, 1679-1701: a facsimile of the 1887-1888 Shanghai edition with the text translated from the Chinese and edited by Mai-mai Sze. 1977, ©1956. Princeton University Press. Lyrics and vocals: @thegaze_art Beat by Mixla

🏹 Meet Saint Sebastian: Roman soldier, secret Christian and human colander. He is one of the most depicted saint in art history, and with reason. Because his story is brutal. 🖼️ Saint Sebastian 👨🏻‍🎨 Andrea Mantegna 📐 68 cm (26.7 in) x 30 cm (11.8 in) 📍 Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna