medieval:

The Ladder of Ascent and Descent of the Intellect, not tree-like at first glance, but certainly branching dichotomously, the steps labeled from bottom to top, with representative figures on the right and upper left: Lapis (stone), Flamma (fire), Planta (plant), Brutum (beast), Homo (human), Caelum (sky), Angelus (angel), and Deus (God), a scheme that shows how one might ascend from inferior to superior beings and vice versa. After Ramon Lull (1232–1315), Liber de ascensu et descensu intellectus, written about 1305 but not published until 1512.
from Trees of Life: A Visual History of Evolution
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Alessandro Pessoli
05.30.12 /14:49
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cavetocanvas:

Piero della Francesca, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, 1451
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brazenswing:

Edvard Munch: Madonna, 1894.
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A Brief History of John Baldessari

cavetocanvas:

Edmund Dulac, illustration for The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
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Elizabeth Peyton at Regen Projects
via CAD
05.15.12 /11:54
cavetocanvas:

Georg Baselitz, Untitled, 1983
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poboh:

Apple Tree 1, Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)
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paintmeblack:

Untitled (1963) by Mark Rothko
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NINANIN

theossuary:

The Huffington Post has a fabulous slideshow of preserved tattoo specimens and an interview with Gemma Angel, of Life and Six Months.

Photo by Gemma Angel.

Via Flickr
05.11.12 /04:04
Canvas  by  andbamnan