Roman Depiction of Christ, Hinton St Mary, The British Museum, London

This is the central roundel of a 4th-century CE mosaic floor from a villa at Hinton St Mary. Dorset. It is one of the most important early Christian remains from the Roman Empire.

The roundel is probably the earliest known mosaic picture of Christ. It is the focal point of the main floor in the position usually occupied by a figure of a pagan god or goddess. However, the Greek letters X and P (chi and rho) behind the head indicate that the person is probably Christ. They are the first two letters of the word Christ in Greek and the usual symbol of early Christianity. At either side are pomegranates, signalling immortality.

he does look fun to draw

The Picts were actually Really Really Good at engraving fish. And dogs. And birds. And cattle. Which makes the Pictish Beast all the more delightful. I’ve seen it be referred to as the Pictish dragon and the Pictish elephant but I don’t think it’s supposed to be those things either. It’s just a whimsical critter fr.

Sometimes an art meme is an art meme

Those posthumous 16th century portraits of pre-Tudor English kings: ranked!

You know the ones: Dark backgrounds, generic outfits, unnecessarily pointy crown. Usually, they’re the only pictures you can find of some of the kings, but usually they’re as accurate as something you drew on a cocktail napkin.

Richard III

I lovvve this one. Such striking contrasts of that epic red background against his dark hair and clothing, sumptuous detail (check out those hand veins!) and an overall outfit that Seems Accurate. This one really doesn’t count as one of those generic portraits because it was probably at least copied from a painting from life. Also we get the added history of later Tudor artists painting in a bit more of a hunchback and Angry Face lines. 10/10 gold swirlies

Edward IV

This one has a lot of what made the Richard portrait great (slappin outfit, sweet detail) but it’s a bit flatter and has less going on. On the plus side, that pearl chest thing shows up in other portraits, so it’s probably something he actually had, which gives Accuracy Points. 10/10 proto-Hawaiian shirts

Henry VI

We’re still working within living memory here, so it’s possible this one was a copy of something from life. But the detail is receding, and the most specific thing in the painting is the golden collar, which they might have actually had to look at. Nice hands tho. 7/10 red shadowboxes for trapping kings

Friggin’ iconic. This one HAD to be copied from a contemporary original. If nothing else, the nasty-ass era-appropriate bowlcut, which I thought for years had to be a hat until I saw other guys with the same hair, dates it soundly. Also, Henry has a massive scar on one side of his face, so if he actually sat for a portrait, he would have made sure they didn’t show it. 10/10 baby thumbs

Henry IV

We are now no longer painting from life for sure. This is clearly one of a commissioned series of kings no one had pictures for, and this one is the most detailed because they at least remembered how people dressed back then. So hard points for the bitchin headgear and the snazzy sleeves, which at least distinguishes him very clearly from the other portraits. 7/10 fancy moustaches

Edward V

Annnnd here’s where we see the abrupt cutoff in quality. I’ve been going in roughly chronological order here, but this one doesn’t get to sit with the others because it has Not Earned It. I mean, to be fair, no one ever really saw Edward in his 12 years of life, and he was never crowned. So this is just clearly some kid, which is like fine okay whatever, but they could have at least made him three-dimensional. 5/10 paper orb cutouts

Richard II

Oh no, baby, what is you doin. You got no excuses here; there’s a perfectly nice contemporary portrait to work from. But you had to go put his chin way the heck over there, and then give it the saddest pubey beard ever. The collar is nice, and the crown is okay, but nothing else is working here. 4/10 places on this painting that are shaded

Edward III

Whoever painted these was just not a good painter, there’s no way around that. Either that or he was way ahead of his time and was a forerunner of Picasso. You ever draw one eye and it’s okay but then you draw the other eye and it’s no longer okay? Yeah. They did at least have a fairly detailed effigy in Westminster Abbey to work from, so they could confirm that he did Have A Beard. 5/10 surprisingly well done pearl buttons

Edward II

Here we come to the era of the Spiky Crown. It seems to be cut straight from sheet metal and wrapped into a vague circle. Do not touch the presumably razor-sharp edges of the Spiky Crown. Again, they had a nice effigy to work from, so we get a chiseled nose, smoochable lips, and a truly spectacular lumberjack beard. 6/10 fuzzy little hat-hair fringes

John

We skip a bit because there doesn’t seem to be one for Edward I or Henry III (please enlighten me if I’m wrong) and we come to John. The effigies are more generic now, so there’s only imagination to work with. So we know that John was a nasty bastard, so we paint a nasty bastard. Grrr, look at those frowny lines, he looks ready to strangle a nephew or two for sure. Again with the eyes, though. Pick a direction to look, and look in that direction. 5/10 puny sceptres 

Henry II

What do we know about Henry II to put in a portrait? He might have had red hair. He was definitely a king at some point. Get out the Spiky Crown, because that’s all we’ve got. Throw some more spikes in there for attitude. Sure. Henry II. 4/10 jewels that also go on the spikes now because we had a lot of time left over on this one

Henry I

See Henry II. There are fewer spikes and pearls on the end of the spikes now, though, so clearly there was an accident. 4/10 safety pearls

William I

One last burst of trying here, since we’re almost done. Let’s splurge and get fancy; here’s some shiny anachronistic armour, and a pointy anachronistic beard, and a very strange sword that has clearly gotten a lot of use because it’s getting banged right off its hilt there. Boom, done, at least the eyes are okay. 5/10 armour pearls because that’s definitely a thing

Stephen

He’s out of order again, but I had to save the best for last. I love you, Portrait of Stephen. I love you forever. I love your crossed eyes and your mom hair and your stepped-on face and your disco cape. I love that a jewel somehow fell out of your crown even though you’re a painting. Come live with me and be my love, O confused Portrait of Stephen, and we will outlive the stars. 150/10 safety pearls to protect that befuddled lil head

@kitforever I guess I hadn't found one that seemed to come from that exact collection, so I skipped him. This one is likely from a similar set of portraits, so let's have a look at it:

He got a background! Kind of! Very colorful. Sure is Rufus. He looks like ginger Richard III. If you're gonna pick one characteristic to identify the guy, it's better than an arrow. 5/10 anachronistic crown pompoms.

Bonus bargain-basement knockoff of the first one:

(-2 for lack of detail/shading/everything, +2 for BIG PUPPYDOG EYES)

Collection of Pressed Flowers ❀

 by George Marr (1917)

These pressed flowers were collected by George Marr whilst serving as a soldier in Salonika, Greece, during the First World War.

“Suddenly, Terry realized that his life as a good natured gardener from Sussex, attending his club meetings and harvesting his turnips from the local communal vegetable plot was a lie. He could smell the jungle in his memory, and feelings of the hunt…”

Sampler (England, late 17th century).

Signed 'Margaret Collier Aged Eight Years.'

Linen and silk.

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Wikimedia.

doré's depictions of london are like an emotion of themselves to me

As with previous polls in this genre, I presume that the "average" sheep would have equal proportions of each part. The degree to which each deviates from the average will determine its size on our Final Sheep.

The Final Sheep indeed.

Ceramic inkstand depicting St. George and the Dragon, Italy, circa 1475

from The Victoria & Albert Museum

The return of George and his weak-ass dragons

Horse thoughts: I don't even gotta move for this one

“Cats Instructed By an Owl in the Art of Mouse-Catching” (1700)

there is a whole lotta wow in this painting even before you get to the fairy with a brass horn up his ass

"Miss Sukey and her Nursery" is the title of a hand-coloured mezzotint made by John Raphael Smith in 1772. It shows a young woman holding a swaddled cat on her lap and preparing to feed it with a spoon.

Housed at the British Museum

Medieval Grotesque, Caerlaverock Castle, Dumfries and Galloway

It is thought that the carving may be a comic depiction of a stone mason involved in the construction of the castle.

Phenakistoscope - England - 1833 - Published by Thomas McLain, London

“Poppies, Harebells and Mayweed, August 1906″ 

by Edith Holden (1871-1920)

Source: morning-earth.org

Summer Day Dress, 1880

Worn by Madame Bartholomé in the painting In the Conservatory, by Albert Bartholomé (ca. 1881)

via The Met

Saint George and the Dragon, ca. 1350

Vitale da Bologna, 1289-1359

Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Italy

I rate this George as Cool (for George). Also, nice Cutiemark.