Incensed Professor: The Soft Sciences
Professor C. S. Lewis indicated we no longer burn witches because we no longer believe they can harm us. The corollary must be that we believe wholeheartedly in science [Read More]
Articles by TheIncensedProfessor
About TheIncensedProfessor
Hard to beat Japanese metal work
In considering the magnificent oeuvre of Peter Carl Fabergé, I may have given the impression that his creations are my favorite goldsmith’s work. In Western Art, that [Read More]
Sounding off on art collecting
If you can find something, like antique Japanese scroll paintings, for instance, that can still be acquired fairly cheaply (well, at least until recently – Westerners are [Read More]
Incensed Professor: Chinese art market
The operative word in “Art Market” isn’t “Art.” I learned this many years ago, and indeed some of the more modern stuff that sells for a fortune does not seem at [Read More]
Who Wrote Shakespeare’s Plays?
The important thing to recognize about Shakespeare scholarship is that it is an industry. Scholars know that they gain fame and academic clout by “discovering” things [Read More]
East brush, west brush
The thing about Japanese and Chinese paintings is that they are more like Western water colors than they are like painting in oil. Once the brush touches the paper, there [Read More]
Lists by Sei Shōnagon; and Errors of youth
Heian Japan is a fascinating period in world history, not because of its politics (the Fujiwara family had more power than the Emperor), but because it was an age in which [Read More]
Movies and tasty dialogue
A Man for All Seasons, which was for a long time my favorite movie, has for a number of years been challenged by Babette’s Feast. Before that it may have [Read More]
Still life
The mention of Zurbarán in my last essay leads me to recall another Zurbarán masterpiece, The Crucifixion in the Art Institute of Chicago. When I went to see the [Read More]
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