A boxing stag

I enjoyed this painting the first time I saw it, but I appreciated it more when I saw the lithograph version Bellows created of the same scene.

(I originally thought the lithograph was a study for the painting, but it was actually created 7 years after the painting.)

The lithograph is a much cleaner and more detailed version of this scene, but I think the finer, more realistic detail of the lithograph also makes it feels more static.

The earlier, painted version feels more kinetic. Just a blur of skin as these faceless, nearly naked bodies collide. Their lack of identifiable features and the sketchy clothing (really only the impression of fabric), focuses attention on their contortions and communicates an impression of raw violence. It's a completely absorbing piece.

And if you don't know what a "stag" is in this context, check out the museum's description of the painting.

The Mushroom Color Atlas

By Julie Beeler.

This Mushroom Color Atlas doesn't really fit into the "article" category I usually include in this newsletter, but I think it's a fascinating experimental color project:

The Mushroom Color Atlas is a resource and reference for everyone curious about mushrooms and the beautiful and subtle colors derived from dyeing with mushrooms. 

The project is also published as a book, which makes this beautiful, exhaustively informative website feel all the more generous. Go check it out.

VIDEO: Did people used to look older?

By Michael David Stevens. Vsauce.

The answer? They actually kind of did, yeah. But not for all the reasons you might expect. This video unpacks both the biology, the medical reasons, and the cultural reasons we look at previous generations and think they looked much older than we look, or looked, at the same age.