As I strolled around on the net I stumbled over pictures of cabinet of curiosities from the Baroque times and over this painter: Madeline von Foerster
Cabinets of Curiosities, or so called “Wunderkammern” are originally an invention of the era of enlightenment and the Baroque, where wealthy lords and patricians created collections of a wide variety of objects displaying the multi-faceted “wonders” of God’s creations: like amulets, (strange:) artwork, all kind of exoticism, dead animals, unexplained objects, etc. Furthermore they were mostly fetishistically contained and displayed.
I like the magic in those cabinets as stories were often told about the miracle context, where they were found and what they represent. I agree, they always have a kind of dark and satancic side- but that’s probably what makes them so interesting:)
Foerster’s paintings seemed old school to me, from the technique and the subject point of view: I found a lot of elements from the Italian Renaissance – but one can see from the detail work, style and the color that Forester is a contemporary artist. So i went further to check her Art out. She has a corny side, but I like it and as I can be quite old school in Art as well, I just loved that somebody is taking notice. Furthermore when I went to her website I discovered that she is really painting with an old technique of oil and egg tempera, developed by the Flemish Renaissance Masters. Thanks for honoring the old and transferring it to the present!
There we go: a closer look to Madame Foerster:

the artist: (looks super nice!:)

Foerster was born in San Francisco and studied art in California, Germany and Austria. She currently resides in New York City. Moreover she was named as one of the “Top Contemporary Surrealists” by Art and Antiques magazine.
Upcoming next exhibition is in a couple of days:
Group show called “DEATH AND THE MAIDEN”: June 8 – July 4, 2012
@Roq La Rue Gallery, Seattle
Wishing you all a lovely day and if you have the time take a tour here:
Website: http://www.madelinevonfoerster.com/
And here a last one that I found just stunningly beautiful: