Art and Intention Checkpoint
Michelangelo’s sculpture of David was sculpted to represent David’s victory of the tyrant Goliath and was supposed to represent the Republican Florence (Sayre, 2010). Many of the citizens objected to the nudity and many threw rocks at the sculpture to the point where individuals had to be paid to watch over it. After all of the objection there was a skirt made to cover the mid section of David.
Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase artwork brought a lot of controversy among Americans when it was exhibited first in the Amory Show of 1913 (Sayre, 2010). Even though Duchamp did not pose a nude woman, his portrait Nude Descending a Staircase was to portray a nude woman walking down a flight of stairs. Many observers thought Duchamp was disrespectful to the audience. Many found it hard to interpret so therefore they found it hard to appreciate the abstraction. Duchamp motivation to create this art stroboscopic photography, or stop-motion photography, was Muybridge’s book Animal locomotion containing multiple photos of nude women. Duchamp was impressed by the movement used in these photographs and he went on to use these ideas to paint Nude Descending a Staircase.
There was a lot of thought placed behind these two pieces of art and knowing this helps bring more appreciation to each artist and their work. I believe the statue of David by Michelangelo is easier to understand, as someone who doesn’t look at art much I know what it is at first glance. When it comes to Duchamp there is an understanding of why he painted this piece of art but it is hard to find woman figures within the painting. Having more knowledge of the piece of art can bring more appreciation to the artist and the deeper meaning behind the piece of art.
References
Sayre, H. M. (2010). A world of art (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase artwork brought a lot of controversy among Americans when it was exhibited first in the Amory Show of 1913 (Sayre, 2010). Even though Duchamp did not pose a nude woman, his portrait Nude Descending a Staircase was to portray a nude woman walking down a flight of stairs. Many observers thought Duchamp was disrespectful to the audience. Many found it hard to interpret so therefore they found it hard to appreciate the abstraction. Duchamp motivation to create this art stroboscopic photography, or stop-motion photography, was Muybridge’s book Animal locomotion containing multiple photos of nude women. Duchamp was impressed by the movement used in these photographs and he went on to use these ideas to paint Nude Descending a Staircase.
There was a lot of thought placed behind these two pieces of art and knowing this helps bring more appreciation to each artist and their work. I believe the statue of David by Michelangelo is easier to understand, as someone who doesn’t look at art much I know what it is at first glance. When it comes to Duchamp there is an understanding of why he painted this piece of art but it is hard to find woman figures within the painting. Having more knowledge of the piece of art can bring more appreciation to the artist and the deeper meaning behind the piece of art.
References
Sayre, H. M. (2010). A world of art (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson