Chicago is a city of cultures.

Chinatown, USA. Near the CTA Red Line, Chicago.



The Art Institute of Chicago and it's world famous art collection. I used to work here when I last lived in Chicago back in 2012. It was a dream, on my breaks, to walk the gilded halls of the masters' greatness. As a devout lover of art history myself, I recommend it's a must-see on any city tour.



Inside The Art Institute of Chicago​, at the entrance of the Impressionism collection.



One of my favorite painters in history, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo did many ceiling frescos in and around Italy and Germany. His canvas pieces that live on today are some of the finest examples of early Rococo period artwork.






"Rinaldo and Armida in Her Garden" c. 1742















Francisco Goya, of Spain, was one of the first revolutionary painters in my education. I especially loved this time period during the Peninsular War (1808–1814) he painted a short series of plates as depicted above and the more famous "The Third of May 1808", recount the Spainish opposition to Napoleon's army invading their country. His visceral depictions of his people under the oppression of the State's forces are images long lasting in my memory.









Tintoretto was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, known for his exquisite depiction of human figures, mannerist gestures, and bold values that brought warmth to flesh and flourish to finishes. His works are comparable to the works of Titian, another painting Renaissance master.



Titian and his series on Danaë now spans worldwide, with over six surviving versions on display. Great deal of inspiration here comes from his "Venus of Urbino", which the familiar reclining pose echoes throughout.



Antonio Mancini.



Jean-Léon Gérôme, one of my all-time favorites was a master painter of light and depictions of the early Classical time period. His pieces, like the one below and "Pollice Verso", illustrate fantastic stories and legendary historic places in Classical Rome and Greece with stunning color and realism, it's hard to deny his talents.









The prodigal John Singer Sargent and his fine depictions of turn-of-the-century life. I particularly love his use of brushstrokes, as if by a pencil, loose and brash capturing the fullness of clothing.















Think this is a meme now.






The Art Institute of Chicago​'s huge collection of artisan paperweight glasswork.



The details are amazing!






Edgar Degas I find is one of the most celebrated French painters of all history. Most of his paintings are remarked with a dream-like ambiance and fanciful application of ornamentation. His figure seem to project from the canvas with a vibrancy only matched by his unique use of layered colors.









Degas continues to impress millions hundreds of years after his time.






Paul Cézanné and his distinct colorful brushstrokes in his many beautiful still-life paintings









William-Adolphe Bouguereau I've witnessed his works more notably during my time in Detroit, where some of his more famed paintings reside. His lush capture of flesh and deity figures are of the lasting impression of his works. See if you agree. :)



Edvard Munch, one of the most celebrated modern artists, here only one piece I found in the AIC. Another tortured soul I discover reading from his biography, he is best known for the powerfully impactful "The Scream".



Claude Monet, the utmost prolific French Impressionist painters. Aside from Auguste Rodin and Edgar Degas, he's of the few painters of his period where photographs of him survive into modern times. His brilliant works in the AIC are of the most numerous and well-documented.






Georges Seurat and his most celebrated work, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, changed history introducing to the world the masterful, mathematical application of pigment through his remarkable use of Pointilism .






Pierre-Auguste Renoir is of the most famed French painters, for his beautiful colors and wavering flutters of light against blossoming faces. His paintings, too, are in great number in the AIC collection.






Mary Cassatt and her gorgeous paintings of the intimate moments between a mother and her child. These particularly have a aura of familiarity everyone is drawn by and can easily relate to the welcoming maternity in each piece. There's a definite sense of humanism and love in every scene she paints.






John Constable and his wonderful example of landscape painting. I'm not particularly fond of landscape painting, for its tranquil detail and sanguine features, there's a certain tenacity in the his brushstrokes I find irresistable.



Auguste Rodin I and most are most familiar with his famed "The Thinker" sculpture, which a master copy resides in front of the Detroit Institute of Art in Detroit. I love his classical perspective on gesture and the fogue of the human figure, in a sort of augured position that the anatomy is prominently displayed. (Just look at those muscles!)



The luminous works of master Édouard Manet and his wonderfully human figures. His entire career set ablaze from his first masterworks, "The Luncheon on the Grass (Le déjeuner sur l'herbe)" and "Olympia", his style projects a certain rebellious honesty that of his time mainly parlayed by academically exacting techniques. I especially love his religious paintings for his capture of humanity.









The incredibly accomplished Frederic Remington and his visions of the dying American Old West.






Portrait of Marevna, c.1915, by Diego Rivera. He is best known for his grandiose murals of the Atomic Era and his tumultuous relationship with another famous painter, Frida Kahlo. I've seen his murals inside the Detroit Institute of Art, where resides the best example in the U.S the power and talent Rivera possessed.



Possibly my favorite modern art piece of all, Vincent Van Gogh's "The Room". Van Gogh and Gauguin were once roommates living in France. This painting is of the room in the apartment they shared. They eventually parted ways, leaving Van Gogh behind in the small town he painted until he died. You can see the loneliness and sadness in the very strokes.






Gustave Caillebotte's masterpiece, "Paris Street; Rainy Day"



Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's masterpiece, "At The Moulin Rouge."



Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and more perspectives of the rowdy Moulin Rouge in Paris.



Paul Gauguin, possibly the best scene painter I know. He was friend to Vincent Van Gogh and innovator to the French Impressionist style. His life famously punctuated by his numerous affairs with indigenous peoples in Tahiti, in which he gloriously died after contracting syphilis .



Grant Wood and his eponymous "American Gothic".



Georgia O'Keefe and one of her highly acclaimed flora paintings.






Archibald John Motley, Junior sending love for jazz across time in this stunning piece. The colors almost scream the sounds of horns, blaring sax, and the strike of the piano keys.



Edward Hopper and his instantly recognizable scenes of American life. This piece, "Nighthawks", my mom has always had hung up a copy by Helnwein that replaces the figures in the painting with famous film actors like James Dean and Elvis Presley and even has a working neon sign at the top. Growing up looking onto this piece, now older I have a deep appreciation for Hopper's paintings. I later read on that his career didn't take off until he was well into his 50s, proof it's never too late to realize your dream.



Last, but certainly, not least, one of my only favorite Abstract painters, Stuart Davis always got that jazz for that azz.



The Chicago Tribune!



The historic Wrigley Building.



The Chicago River, frozen in the winter.



The new Apple Store on the Miracle Mile.









At the historic Chicago Water tower, I remember my past beautiful summer in the city when I was posing for this photo.









Looking on this incredible city, wishing I could stay, Chicago is from the past with one step in the future. This has been my love letter to the Windy City.

Time is art. In Life, all we have is time. Why not make Art all the time?

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