Sunday, December 9, 2012

Sleepy Gypsy

         Henri Rousseau was a symbolist painter and painted Sleeping Gypsy in 1897 through an oil on canvas medium and can be found on the Museum Of Modern Art, New York. It is interesting to me how this picture has its characters looking like dolls and very unreal. Apart from the use of colors, i think this is something that an amateur would draw because of the way the characters are drawn, but I believe it is more about the symbols in this picture and not how it is drawn.

Paris: A Rainy Day

         In the Impressionism era, Gustave Caillebotte painted Paris: A rainy Day in 1877 through an oil on canvas medium, and can be found in the Art institute of Chicago, Chicago. I really just like how this painting seems so real, without a close look, I would have though this was actually a photography . From the definition of the characters, their dressing, the movements and even the wetness of the ground that can be seen to emphasis on the rainy day.

Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe (Luncheon on the grass)

Edouard Manet painted this song through an oil on canvas medium in 1863 and it can be found in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. The artist based all the characters on real people, but what is interesting and clearly controversial in this picture is how the artist dressed up the male characters very corporately but leaves the women completely naked. I find this a tad bit  disrespectful too.

The Nightmare

              Henry Fuseli painted The Nightmare in 1781 through an oil on canvas and can be found in the Detroit Institute of the Arts, and it was a transition from Neoclassicism to Romanticism which emphasis from reason to feeling. I have heard of sleep paralysis before, and this image just make me thinks of it, the way the demon was sitting on her, and she cant move obviously due to the pressure on her from the demon. She lays lifelessly on the bed, but you could tell that she is still alive. I am, not sure what the purpose of the horse in the picture is for though.

George Washington

      Horatio Greenough through a marble medium in the Neoclassicism era, it is a staute that can be found in Smithsonian American Art Museum, in Washington, D.C. I only just like this because of the way the artist dressed up george Washington, with his physical features showing unlike most art works of him where you would see him all dressed up in the proper American attire. If i saw this art work without seeing the description, i might have linked it to Napoleon and not George Washington.

Hall of Mirrors

         This beautiful art work was done by François De Cuvilliés, and is in the Amalienburg, Nymphenburg Palace park, Munich, Germany, in Rococo Europe. This art era produce elaborate and fancy over the top designs.I like how everything is all over the interior design. It is very rich and glamorous in its designs. I like how everything seems very exquisite.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Self Portrait

This self portrait was done by Judith Leyster by oil on canvas, She is also an artiste of the baroque in northern Europe era. I like the way the artist shows her self doing what she does best, perhaps to give her audience a better idea of who she really is. I also find it interesting that she is dressed rather elaborately just to work on an art work where her clothes would be bound to get smeared or destroyed. However, her clothes depicts that she might belong to a well to do or wealthy family.

Arrival of Marie de' Medici at Marseilles

Peter Paul Rubens was an exquisite artiste in the baroque in northern europe era. He did this painting through an oil on canvas medium, and it can now be found in Musée du Louvre, Paris. This painting shows the arrival of a member of the very prestigious Medici family of that time, In this painting, i find it interesting how all attention is on this very important guest, and also the distinction between the rich and well to do, and the people of lower class. I am convinced the artiste made this distinction by dressing up the people of the former class with elaborate clothing, while those of the later class are dressed in absolutely nothing.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Still Life with Game Fowl

Juan Sanchez Cotán made this painting still life with game fowl during the baroque era in spain and italy through an oil on canvas medium, and it can now be found in the Art Institute of Chicago. This artist established still life as an important genre in spain. Still life paintings are usually of objects that cant move or are inanimate. I like the randomness of this picture and how it has a dark shadowing and coloring to it, After all still life drawing usually represents things of that sort.

Ecstasy of Saint Theresa


This art piece, was done by Gianlorenzo Bernini through the medium of marble. It can be found in the Cornaro chapel in Rome, Italy. It was made in the Baroque era of Italy and spain. I like how this work looks very realistic, through the emotions on the characters body, movement and even the fullness of the clothing of the saint. It gives a vibe of realness and aliveness to the work.

Butcher's Stall

The painting Butchers stall was done by Pieter Aertsen with oil on wood. It may be found at the Uppasala university Art collection. Apparently, this painter tried to balance images of gluttony with allusions to salvation. As seen in the picture, the artist shows a lot of meat and beef in excess, but not very noticeable in the background is the Mary and Joseph. I like how the artist focused on two topics, but on one more than the other, the message it portrays is very interesting.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Burial of Count Orgaz

This painting was done by EL GRECO, in the High renaissance and mannerism era. It is an oil on canvas painting from sanzo Tomé Toledo. This picture is interesting to me because it seems like a dark and gory painting, it seems very chaotic and suggests that a lot of unhappy scenes are unfolding in this painting. It is interesting to me how a part of the painting is up, while some parts of it are down. I can help but to wonder if this should be taken literally, suggesting that the people that are up are in the heavens, and are looking down on the people below. I find this extremely interesting and creepy.

Madonna with the Long Neck

This painting is only interesting to me because i cannot help but wonder why the painter decided to give Madonna the long neck, unlike most other paintings that have Madonna as a subject, also i think the child on Madonnas child is a little to big and placed in an awkward position compared to other paintings in this era and past. This was done by Parmigianino and can be seen in Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. It is an oil on wood painting.

Portrait of the Artist's Sisters and Brothers

I simply just adore this picture because of how realistic it looks to me. The first time i saw it, i actually imagined them sitting down just in place while the artist painted this. I really like how the facial expressions, motions and even clothing is very realistic. This kind of painting might be considered as been secular just because it has nothing to do with biblical matters. This beautiful work was done by Sofonisba Anguissola, it is an oil on panel painting and is a part of the Methuen collection.

Battista Sforza and Federico da Montefelro

 Piero Della Francesca really got my attention with this painting done on oil and tempera on wood in a modern frame. This belongs in the renaissance times in quattrocento Italy. i was captivated by this, because at first i wondered why the supposed wife was very pale in color with a veil over a face. At first i though it was a marriage ceremony: which would hav explained the veil. Research shows that Battista was actually dead, and this painting was a kind of tribute to her memory done for her by her husband Frederico but of course with the help of Francesca. They are both on different panels i guess to show the distinction between the living and the dead. The artist also only showed on side of their faces as at technique to cover up and injury Frederico has on the bridge of his nose.

Foreshortened Christ

Andrea Mantegna's Foreshortened christ belongs in Renaissance in quattrocento Italy, it is Tempera on canvas and can be found in Pinacoteca di Berera, Milan. This painting is very interesting and different yet simple. The angle on which Jesus is showed manages to find his whole body is shown which i find very amusing. The painter also shows his physical features carefully. the marks from his crucifixion are also seen on his feet and hand.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Gionanni Arnofini and his bride.

This painting is found in the late medieval era, it is an oil on wood painting and can be found in the National Gallery in London. On looking at this piece for the first time, one might think that this is a man taking a oath to his wife, or them just having a normal discussion. However, it is claimed that this is some kind of wedding ceremony between the man and his wife with a lot of symbolic items in the picture. For instance, the man standing by the window suggests that he is more involved in the outside world, business and all that the entails while the woman standing by the bed might suggest her duties as a house wife who cooks and looks after the domestic features of the house. This painting is considered to be a marriage ceremony because in the convex mirror on the wall, two images can be seen in it, and one is considered to be the Artist himself, and right above it he signs his name on the wall. These other two people in the painting can be considered as witnesses to whatever that is going on between the man and woman.

Deposition

This painting was done by Rogier Van Der Weyden, and it is a central panel of a triptych from Notre-Dame-hors-les-murs, and can be located Louvian, Belgium. It is oil on wood, and belongs to Late Medieval and early renaissance. The use of bold colors in this picture really won me over with the bold usage of colors. the story it tells, as Jesus is obviously seen as been lifeless and his mother Mary in pain and sorrow on the floor. I think the paint used these choices of color to distinct each of the characters in the painting. There is also a lot of emotions that can be gotten from each of the characters in the picture.

Betrayal of Jesus

This painting belong to the late medieval art, it was painted by Duccio Buoninsegna, with its detail at the back of the Maesta altar piece. It is done on Tempera and gold leaf on wood.
     I like this painting because compared to other paintings in its era, there is a lot of motion and emotion on each and every character in the painting. This painting tells the story of how Jesus was betrayed, and the artist managed very well to put the sequence of events and emotions in one picture, and his use of colors and lines really helped in distinguishing each events from eachother.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Saint Francis Altarpiece.

        This artwork"Saint Francis Altarpiece," was created by Bonaventura Berlinghieri in San Francesco Italy in 1235. It was made out of tempera paints on a piece of wood. This Italo-Byzantine style is related to the Medieval ages.
         I don't necessarily adore this art work, but it certainly stands out to be interesting to me because i never seen anything like it, and it makes me wonder if this is an imitation of the famous painting of Jesus which happens to be very popular. I see this man dressed in a black robe with his hand in a stance a little bit like Jesus in his painting, and the circle behind him might also be like halo. This is an artwork I would like to know better details and meanings behind it from experts.