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Connections: Intimacy

Paintings conservator George Bisacca contemplates the little details that create a feeling of familiarity in a work of art.
5 min. watch

"You can see the kind of effort that it costs her to do very simple things in her life. It immortalizes, in a way, the human condition."

Paintings conservator George Bisacca contemplates the little details that create a feeling of familiarity in a work of art.

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Art Mentioned

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Honoré de Balzac, Auguste Rodin French, Terracotta, French
Honoré de Balzac
Auguste Rodin
1891
Madonna and Child with Angels, Antonio Rossellino Italian, Marble with gilt details on halo and dress, Italian, Florence
Madonna and Child with Angels
Antonio Rossellino
ca. 1455–60
Marble statue of an old woman, Marble, Pentelic, Roman
Marble statue of an old woman
Roman
14–68 CE
Bronze statuette of a philosopher on a lamp stand, Bronze, Roman
Bronze statuette of a philosopher on a lamp stand
Roman
late 1st century BCE
Carved amber bow of a fibula (safety pin), Amber, Etruscan
Carved amber bow of a fibula (safety pin)
Etruscan
ca. 500 BCE
Marble statue of Aphrodite, the so-called Venus Genetrix, Kallimachos, Marble, Roman
Marble statue of Aphrodite, the so-called Venus Genetrix
Kallimachos
1st–2nd century CE
A Maid Asleep, Johannes Vermeer Dutch, Oil on canvas
A Maid Asleep
Johannes Vermeer
ca. 1656–57
Figure of Isis-Aphrodite, Terracotta painted brown, black, red, and pink on white engobe
Figure of Isis-Aphrodite
2nd century A.D.