Abstract

That red boxer shorts and socks do just as well as fig leaves for concealing modesty in Tom de Freston's recent paintings demonstrates that modesty can also be a source of comedy. Monumental figures and poses that might otherwise inspire awe instead elicit a grimace. Perhaps this humor is not strictly an aesthetic virtue of de Freston's work. Even so, there are many genuinely aesthetically relevant features that we might attend to: representational properties, expressive properties, formal properties, and art-historical properties. In this article, however, I wish to draw attention not to the aesthetic value of de Freston's work but to its educational value. Although these works might be experienced as part of a ..