Kuma The Curator

Last week I was looking for some art in the public domain to print at a local shop. You know how it goes – one minute you’re browsing for something specific, the next an Instagram ad for an online art print seller pops up. What started as a simple search quickly turned into an art history journey, leading me to some interesting works. I put them all in a database which I’ll keep adding to and will write about here.

From that initial dive, what really resonated with me at the time were the pieces set at night. So, in this post, I’m sharing four of those evocative works, plus a bonus at the end.

Monks Walk to the Mountain Monastery of Athos by Hermann Corrodi

Hermann Corrodi’s Monks Walk to the Mountain Monastery of Athos captures a serene, almost mystical journey that reminds me of Umberto Eco’s novel The Name of the Rose.

Mount Athos is a self-governed monastic state in Greece with a history spanning over a thousand years. It’s famous for its strict adherence to ancient monastic traditions. Its most well-known rule is the Avaton, which forbids access to any female, human or animal, to preserve the monastic purity and tranquility. Kaloka.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

View of Dresden by Moonlight by Johan Christian Dahl

The painting captures Dresden bathed in ethereal moonlight, creating a contemplative mood that sorta shares a similar meditative quality with Corrodi’s Monks Walk to the Mountain Monastery of Athos. This work holds a bit of historical significance because it documents Dresden’s skyline a hundred years or so before the devastating bombings of World War II.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Starry Night Over the Rhone by Vincent van Gogh

Starry Night Over the Rhone predates van Gogh’s more famous The Starry Night by about a year and I think I like this more. It’s part of the permanent collection of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Fishermen at Sea by Joseph Mallord William Turner

J.M.W. Turner reportedly tied himself to a ship’s mast during storms to experience their intensity. Looking at this work, I can believe that.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

A Classic with Cheese by Tyler Turnbull

I’ll end this set with something a bit lighter.

A Classic with Cheese is a reimagining of Edward Hopper’s iconic Nighthawks featuring Bobs Burgers characters. We have a print of this in our apartment.

Image from Tyler Turnbull Art