{"id":1902006,"date":"2026-04-23T10:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T07:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1902006"},"modified":"2026-04-23T10:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T07:00:10","slug":"can-art-feel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1902006","title":{"rendered":"Can Art Feel?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><main class=\"gh-main\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"gh-article post tag-daily-newsletter tag-newsletter no-image\">\n<header class=\"gh-article-header gh-canvas\">\n<p>                Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"gh-article-title is-title\">Can Art Feel?<\/h1>\n<p class=\"gh-article-excerpt is-body\">The thorny relationship between art and personhood, Hans Holbein painted the human like no one else, the National Gallery of Art receives $116M, and horses, horses, horses. <\/p>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta\">\n<div class=\"gh-article-author-image instapaper_ignore\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-profile-image\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w160\/2025\/11\/hyperallergic-favicon-d-blank-r-g-s-500.png\" alt=\"Hyperallergic\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-wrapper\">\n<h4 class=\"gh-article-author-name\">Hyperallergic<\/h4>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-content\"><time class=\"gh-article-meta-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-23\">April 23, 2026<\/time><span class=\"gh-article-meta-length\"><span class=\"bull\">\u2014<\/span> 4 min read<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"gh-content gh-canvas is-body\">\n<p>Gen Z has recently reclaimed the word \u201caura\u201d \u2014\u00a0Walter Benjamin\u2019s term for the strange presence exerted by a work of art \u2014\u00a0to refer to some intangible \u201cit\u201d factor some people possess. Fitting, given that our featured piece today takes on the question of whether works of art can have personhood. Lisa Siraganian draws on everything from the 2010 <em>Citizens United <\/em>Supreme Court decision that deemed corporations people to Pierre Huyghe&#8217;s uncanny human &#8220;statues.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of artworks with personhood, Ed Simon takes on the Renaissance painter Hans Holbein the Younger, who painted the human like no one before and since. In classic Ed Simon fashion, his review of scholar Elizabeth Goldring\u2019s new book is an excellent primer on the artist if you\u2019re less familiar, and a complete recasting for even the most schooled academic. Plus, the incomparable Michael Glover introduces us to Whistlejacket, a &#8220;magnificent, rampant beast&#8221;; Scrub, a bay horse with a royal pedigree; and many other amazing equine portraits by English Romantic painter George Stubbs, on view at the National Gallery in London. <\/p>\n<p>Also today, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, received the largest gift in its history for an endowed program, a peek inside the new Victoria &amp; Albert Museum in East London, and many other goodies below. Enjoy!<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/1--2---1--1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Robot artist Ai-Da in front of its (or \u201cher\u201d) work (\u00a9 2025 Ai-Da Robot Studios via www.ai-darobot.com)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"can-an-artwork-have-personhood\">Can an Artwork Have Personhood?<\/h3>\n<p>Many of us yearn for intimate, almost human interactions with art objects. But the risks might outweigh the rewards. | Lisa\u00a0Siraganian<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/68713fea-3e89-11f1-8681-3ebce014ea99-copy.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1264x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><i><b><strong class=\"italic\">Byron Kim: A Little Deepness<\/strong><\/b><\/i><b><strong>\u00a0at James Cohan\u2019s 48 Walker Street Gallery<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><em class=\"italic\">A Little Deepness<\/em><\/i><span>\u00a0brings together early large-scale skyscapes, which illuminate the roots of Byron Kim\u2019s practice in the interplay between looking and memory, with a year of his\u00a0<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Sunday Paintings<\/em><\/i><span>\u00a0series. By turns intimate and universal, they chronicle Kim\u2019s lived experience in which clouds, children\u2019s milestones, political upheavals, and personal reckoning share the same quietly radiant surface.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"news\">News<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/Across-the-Nation--1-.jpeg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"700\"><figcaption><span>Students sketching Gerard Soest\u2019s \u201cLady Borlase\u201d at the Figge Art Museum in Iowa (photo courtesy National Gallery of Art)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>A historic $116M gift to the National Gallery of Art (NGA)\u00a0will endow a new artwork lending program. In its pilot year, the initiative reached an estimated 900,000 visitors across 10 institutions in the United States.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"feature\">Feature<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/va5.jpeg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>The new V&amp;A East building with outdoor sculpture by Thomas J Price (photo Naomi Polonsky\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"can-the-va%E2%80%99s-new-museum-fulfill-its-democratic-promise\">Can the V&amp;A\u2019s New Museum Fulfill Its Democratic Promise?<\/h3>\n<p>In contrast with the institution\u2019s behemoth architecture, its recently unveiled East London branches seem built on a human scale. | Naomi Polonsky<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/newsletter-ad-1.jpeg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>The International Center of Photography Presents Photobook Fest<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>This year\u2019s fest will feature over 80 publishers with a full weekend of workshops, panels, and book signings. May 8\u201310 in Manhattan\u2019s Lower East Side.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/Fig.151-2-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Holbein, \u201cJean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve (The Ambassadors)\u201d (1533) (photo courtesy Yale University Press)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"hans-holbein-painted-the-human\">Hans Holbein Painted the Human<\/h3>\n<p>He surpassed all of his colleagues in the sheer depth, visceral intimacy, and empathy conveyed in his renderings of nobles, aristocrats, and thinkers. | Ed Simon<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"tale-of-a-riderless-horse\">Tale of a Riderless Horse<\/h3>\n<p>When George Stubbs paints a horse, it comes alive. | Michael Glover<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"community\">Community<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-591794650-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Desmond Morris on October 15, 1990, in Paris (photo Ulf Andersen\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"remembering-desmond-morris-james-hayward-and-flo-oy-wong\">Remembering Desmond Morris, James Hayward, and Flo Oy Wong<\/h3>\n<p>This week, we honor a surrealist and zoologist, a monochrome abstractionist, and a pillar of Oakland\u2019s Chinatown. | Lisa Yin Zhang<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"icymi\">ICYMI<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-837008740--1--2-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1199\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Harry Bertoia photographed on one of his chairs on MAY 26, 1965 (photo Denver Post via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"harry-bertoia-gets-his-moment\">Harry Bertoia Gets His Moment<\/h3>\n<p>As a sculpture long thought lost resurfaces in Detroit, the artist and designer\u2019s alma mater sets its sights on a major retrospective. | Sarah Rose Sharp<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-tags\">\n<li>\n                        Daily Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<li>\n                        Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/main><\/p>\n<article class=\"gh-article post tag-daily-newsletter tag-newsletter no-image\">\n<header class=\"gh-article-header gh-canvas\">\n<p>                Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"gh-article-title is-title\">Can Art Feel?<\/h1>\n<p class=\"gh-article-excerpt is-body\">The thorny relationship between art and personhood, Hans Holbein painted the human like no one else, the National Gallery of Art receives $116M, and horses, horses, horses. <\/p>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta\">\n<div class=\"gh-article-author-image instapaper_ignore\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-profile-image\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w160\/2025\/11\/hyperallergic-favicon-d-blank-r-g-s-500.png\" alt=\"Hyperallergic\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-wrapper\">\n<h4 class=\"gh-article-author-name\">Hyperallergic<\/h4>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-content\"><time class=\"gh-article-meta-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-23\">April 23, 2026<\/time><span class=\"gh-article-meta-length\"><span class=\"bull\">\u2014<\/span> 4 min read<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"gh-content gh-canvas is-body\">\n<p>Gen Z has recently reclaimed the word \u201caura\u201d \u2014\u00a0Walter Benjamin\u2019s term for the strange presence exerted by a work of art \u2014\u00a0to refer to some intangible \u201cit\u201d factor some people possess. Fitting, given that our featured piece today takes on the question of whether works of art can have personhood. Lisa Siraganian draws on everything from the 2010 <em>Citizens United <\/em>Supreme Court decision that deemed corporations people to Pierre Huyghe&#8217;s uncanny human &#8220;statues.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of artworks with personhood, Ed Simon takes on the Renaissance painter Hans Holbein the Younger, who painted the human like no one before and since. In classic Ed Simon fashion, his review of scholar Elizabeth Goldring\u2019s new book is an excellent primer on the artist if you\u2019re less familiar, and a complete recasting for even the most schooled academic. Plus, the incomparable Michael Glover introduces us to Whistlejacket, a &#8220;magnificent, rampant beast&#8221;; Scrub, a bay horse with a royal pedigree; and many other amazing equine portraits by English Romantic painter George Stubbs, on view at the National Gallery in London. <\/p>\n<p>Also today, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, received the largest gift in its history for an endowed program, a peek inside the new Victoria &amp; Albert Museum in East London, and many other goodies below. Enjoy!<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/1--2---1--1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Robot artist Ai-Da in front of its (or \u201cher\u201d) work (\u00a9 2025 Ai-Da Robot Studios via www.ai-darobot.com)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"can-an-artwork-have-personhood\">Can an Artwork Have Personhood?<\/h3>\n<p>Many of us yearn for intimate, almost human interactions with art objects. But the risks might outweigh the rewards. | Lisa\u00a0Siraganian<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/68713fea-3e89-11f1-8681-3ebce014ea99-copy.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1264x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><i><b><strong class=\"italic\">Byron Kim: A Little Deepness<\/strong><\/b><\/i><b><strong>\u00a0at James Cohan\u2019s 48 Walker Street Gallery<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><em class=\"italic\">A Little Deepness<\/em><\/i><span>\u00a0brings together early large-scale skyscapes, which illuminate the roots of Byron Kim\u2019s practice in the interplay between looking and memory, with a year of his\u00a0<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Sunday Paintings<\/em><\/i><span>\u00a0series. By turns intimate and universal, they chronicle Kim\u2019s lived experience in which clouds, children\u2019s milestones, political upheavals, and personal reckoning share the same quietly radiant surface.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"news\">News<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/Across-the-Nation--1-.jpeg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"700\"><figcaption><span>Students sketching Gerard Soest\u2019s \u201cLady Borlase\u201d at the Figge Art Museum in Iowa (photo courtesy National Gallery of Art)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>A historic $116M gift to the National Gallery of Art (NGA)\u00a0will endow a new artwork lending program. In its pilot year, the initiative reached an estimated 900,000 visitors across 10 institutions in the United States.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"feature\">Feature<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/va5.jpeg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>The new V&amp;A East building with outdoor sculpture by Thomas J Price (photo Naomi Polonsky\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"can-the-va%E2%80%99s-new-museum-fulfill-its-democratic-promise\">Can the V&amp;A\u2019s New Museum Fulfill Its Democratic Promise?<\/h3>\n<p>In contrast with the institution\u2019s behemoth architecture, its recently unveiled East London branches seem built on a human scale. | Naomi Polonsky<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/newsletter-ad-1.jpeg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>The International Center of Photography Presents Photobook Fest<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>This year\u2019s fest will feature over 80 publishers with a full weekend of workshops, panels, and book signings. May 8\u201310 in Manhattan\u2019s Lower East Side.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/Fig.151-2-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Holbein, \u201cJean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve (The Ambassadors)\u201d (1533) (photo courtesy Yale University Press)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"hans-holbein-painted-the-human\">Hans Holbein Painted the Human<\/h3>\n<p>He surpassed all of his colleagues in the sheer depth, visceral intimacy, and empathy conveyed in his renderings of nobles, aristocrats, and thinkers. | Ed Simon<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"tale-of-a-riderless-horse\">Tale of a Riderless Horse<\/h3>\n<p>When George Stubbs paints a horse, it comes alive. | Michael Glover<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"community\">Community<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-591794650-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Desmond Morris on October 15, 1990, in Paris (photo Ulf Andersen\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"remembering-desmond-morris-james-hayward-and-flo-oy-wong\">Remembering Desmond Morris, James Hayward, and Flo Oy Wong<\/h3>\n<p>This week, we honor a surrealist and zoologist, a monochrome abstractionist, and a pillar of Oakland\u2019s Chinatown. | Lisa Yin Zhang<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"icymi\">ICYMI<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-837008740--1--2-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1199\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Harry Bertoia photographed on one of his chairs on MAY 26, 1965 (photo Denver Post via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"harry-bertoia-gets-his-moment\">Harry Bertoia Gets His Moment<\/h3>\n<p>As a sculpture long thought lost resurfaces in Detroit, the artist and designer\u2019s alma mater sets its sights on a major retrospective. | Sarah Rose Sharp<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-tags\">\n<li>\n                        Daily Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<li>\n                        Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<section class=\"gh-content gh-canvas is-body\">\n<p>Gen Z has recently reclaimed the word \u201caura\u201d \u2014\u00a0Walter Benjamin\u2019s term for the strange presence exerted by a work of art \u2014\u00a0to refer to some intangible \u201cit\u201d factor some people possess. Fitting, given that our featured piece today takes on the question of whether works of art can have personhood. Lisa Siraganian draws on everything from the 2010 <em>Citizens United <\/em>Supreme Court decision that deemed corporations people to Pierre Huyghe&#8217;s uncanny human &#8220;statues.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of artworks with personhood, Ed Simon takes on the Renaissance painter Hans Holbein the Younger, who painted the human like no one before and since. In classic Ed Simon fashion, his review of scholar Elizabeth Goldring\u2019s new book is an excellent primer on the artist if you\u2019re less familiar, and a complete recasting for even the most schooled academic. Plus, the incomparable Michael Glover introduces us to Whistlejacket, a &#8220;magnificent, rampant beast&#8221;; Scrub, a bay horse with a royal pedigree; and many other amazing equine portraits by English Romantic painter George Stubbs, on view at the National Gallery in London. <\/p>\n<p>Also today, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, received the largest gift in its history for an endowed program, a peek inside the new Victoria &amp; Albert Museum in East London, and many other goodies below. Enjoy!<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/1--2---1--1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Robot artist Ai-Da in front of its (or \u201cher\u201d) work (\u00a9 2025 Ai-Da Robot Studios via www.ai-darobot.com)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"can-an-artwork-have-personhood\">Can an Artwork Have Personhood?<\/h3>\n<p>Many of us yearn for intimate, almost human interactions with art objects. But the risks might outweigh the rewards. | Lisa\u00a0Siraganian<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/68713fea-3e89-11f1-8681-3ebce014ea99-copy.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1264x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><i><b><strong class=\"italic\">Byron Kim: A Little Deepness<\/strong><\/b><\/i><b><strong>\u00a0at James Cohan\u2019s 48 Walker Street Gallery<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><em class=\"italic\">A Little Deepness<\/em><\/i><span>\u00a0brings together early large-scale skyscapes, which illuminate the roots of Byron Kim\u2019s practice in the interplay between looking and memory, with a year of his\u00a0<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Sunday Paintings<\/em><\/i><span>\u00a0series. By turns intimate and universal, they chronicle Kim\u2019s lived experience in which clouds, children\u2019s milestones, political upheavals, and personal reckoning share the same quietly radiant surface.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"news\">News<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/Across-the-Nation--1-.jpeg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"700\"><figcaption><span>Students sketching Gerard Soest\u2019s \u201cLady Borlase\u201d at the Figge Art Museum in Iowa (photo courtesy National Gallery of Art)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>A historic $116M gift to the National Gallery of Art (NGA)\u00a0will endow a new artwork lending program. In its pilot year, the initiative reached an estimated 900,000 visitors across 10 institutions in the United States.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"feature\">Feature<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/va5.jpeg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>The new V&amp;A East building with outdoor sculpture by Thomas J Price (photo Naomi Polonsky\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"can-the-va%E2%80%99s-new-museum-fulfill-its-democratic-promise\">Can the V&amp;A\u2019s New Museum Fulfill Its Democratic Promise?<\/h3>\n<p>In contrast with the institution\u2019s behemoth architecture, its recently unveiled East London branches seem built on a human scale. | Naomi Polonsky<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/newsletter-ad-1.jpeg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>The International Center of Photography Presents Photobook Fest<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>This year\u2019s fest will feature over 80 publishers with a full weekend of workshops, panels, and book signings. May 8\u201310 in Manhattan\u2019s Lower East Side.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/Fig.151-2-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Holbein, \u201cJean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve (The Ambassadors)\u201d (1533) (photo courtesy Yale University Press)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"hans-holbein-painted-the-human\">Hans Holbein Painted the Human<\/h3>\n<p>He surpassed all of his colleagues in the sheer depth, visceral intimacy, and empathy conveyed in his renderings of nobles, aristocrats, and thinkers. | Ed Simon<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"tale-of-a-riderless-horse\">Tale of a Riderless Horse<\/h3>\n<p>When George Stubbs paints a horse, it comes alive. | Michael Glover<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"community\">Community<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-591794650-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Desmond Morris on October 15, 1990, in Paris (photo Ulf Andersen\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"remembering-desmond-morris-james-hayward-and-flo-oy-wong\">Remembering Desmond Morris, James Hayward, and Flo Oy Wong<\/h3>\n<p>This week, we honor a surrealist and zoologist, a monochrome abstractionist, and a pillar of Oakland\u2019s Chinatown. | Lisa Yin Zhang<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"icymi\">ICYMI<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-837008740--1--2-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1199\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Harry Bertoia photographed on one of his chairs on MAY 26, 1965 (photo Denver Post via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"harry-bertoia-gets-his-moment\">Harry Bertoia Gets His Moment<\/h3>\n<p>As a sculpture long thought lost resurfaces in Detroit, the artist and designer\u2019s alma mater sets its sights on a major retrospective. | Sarah Rose Sharp<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-tags\">\n<li>\n                        Daily Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<li>\n                        Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/04\/VideoDrawings_Boxing_RisingUp_Hyperallergic_4.22.2026-2.jpg\" alt=\"Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">Featuring works from antiquity to today, the exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art explores the Rocky statue and its impact on the city\u2019s culture, community, and public art.<\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">Philadelphia Museum of Art<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/04\/01_Shawn-Brigman_Concrete-sturgeon-nose-canoe-2.jpg\" alt=\"Parallax(e): Perspectives on the Canada\u2013US Border\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Parallax(e): Perspectives on the Canada\u2013US Border<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">Works by five Indigenous artists respond to the legacy of the Northwest Boundary Survey (1857\u201362) in this exhibition at The Reach. On view through May 30.   <\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">The Reach Gallery Museum<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/04\/DSCF2447--1-.jpg\" alt=\"The International Center of Photography Presents Photobook Fest\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">The International Center of Photography Presents Photobook Fest<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">This year\u2019s fest will feature over 80 publishers with a full weekend of workshops, panels, and book signings. May 8\u201310 in Manhattan\u2019s Lower East Side.<\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">International Center of Photography<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/04\/BFPL_GraphicRewilding_HyperallergicAdImage.jpg\" alt=\"Art by Graphic Rewilding Blooms at Brookfield Place in New York City\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Art by Graphic Rewilding Blooms at Brookfield Place in New York City<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">Bold and vibrant large-scale installations featuring blossoming flowers celebrate the natural world and bring the outside indoors. <\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">Brookfield Place<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/can-art-feel\/&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;&#8221;] Daily Newsletter Can Art Feel? The thorny relationship between art and personhood, Hans Holbein painted the human like no one else, the National Gallery of Art receives $116M, and horses, horses, horses. Hyperallergic April 23, 2026\u2014 4 min read Gen Z has recently reclaimed the word \u201caura\u201d \u2014\u00a0Walter Benjamin\u2019s term for the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,69],"class_list":["post-1902006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-hyperallergic-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1902006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1902006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1902006\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1902006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1902006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1902006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}