How Classical Painting Liberates us from the Shackles of the Senses

An exploration of Schiller’s Aesthetics as it pertains to political revolutions past and future By Matthew Ehret This article is based on a RTF lecture given on Feb. 11, 2019 in Montreal Canada. German poet Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) wrote his twenty six Letters on the Aesthetical Education of Man in 1794 in order to address…

Why Must Aesthetics Govern A Society Worthy Of Political Freedom? Ask the CIA

By Matthew Ehret In the mid-1990s, a series of exposés featured on the London Independent and elsewhere brought a dark secret to light. Many were startled by the revelation that the entire evolution of 20th century modern art was directed in large measure by the CIA! This not only included the direct financing of abstract painters like Jackson Pollock…

Unifying Spirit between East and West: Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), Italian Renaissance painter in the Forbidden City.

By Matthew Ehret “In pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative, we should ensure that when it comes to different civilizations, exchange will replace estrangement, mutual learning will replace clashes, and coexistence will replace a sense of superiority. This will boost mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual trust among different countries” -Xi Jinping, Belt and Road…

How the Hudson River School of Canadian Painting was Derailed

At a historical inflection point during the American Civil War, it was uncertain what Canada would become… would we become an independent republic, or a part of Lincoln’s America or would we remain a Northern anti-American confederacy under British control? (Britain’s other confederacy did fail in 1865 after all). Nowhere was this battle over our…

RTF Review: Ballet’s Secret Code

By Nicholas Jones Ballet’s secret code is a documentary about the Origins and principles behind Maestro Enrico Cecchetti’s lifetime of work and devotion to the Classical humanist art form: Ballet. Madam Julie Cronshaw takes us through the depths of his character, education and philosophy and his work as a Ballet Master under Diaghilev for the…

Francisco de Goya: Master Critic of the Human Condition

By Adam Sedia Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) is one of Spain’s best known painters. Heir to the tradition of El Greco, Velázquez, Murillo, and Zurbarán, textbooks consider him the last of the Old Masters and simultaneously first of the moderns. But Goya’s importance derives from a deeply individual approach to his subject matter,…