The piece of Art, Smiling Girl, a Courtesan Holding an Obscene Image, painted by Gerrit van Honthorst in 1625 can be seen at the Saint Louis Art Museum. I was initially drawn to this image from across the gallery mostly due to the subject’s bright red dress with gold sleeves, it was one of the brightest colored images in the gallery. It is about three feet tall and two feet wide, it is an oil on canvas painting. As I approached the image, I was still intrigued as the image she is holding is of a naked man facing away, the subject in the painting seems to get enjoyment from this. To me this piece of art makes me curious, I want to know who this woman was and why she is holding that image. The artist seems to be communicating the importance of…
Many see a work of art in front of them without ever giving a second thought about the artwork and move on to the next. It is essential for the viewer to fully understand the artwork to truly develop opinions about the work. Usually, making a thumbnail sketch of the work of art can serve a great purpose when it comes to visualizing the work in their eyes. A thumbnail sketch is similar to taking notes for a history class, so when it comes to the part where they have to study for the test, they have something to study off of. Thumbnail sketches help the viewer, who is trying to comprehend the artist’s work, draw conclusions, and develop legitimate opinions unlike statements such as “I like this piece of art.” Also, a thumbnail sketch helps the…
The Dutch emphasis on landscape had influenced many artists during the Renaissance period — Bruegel among them. This style of painting and Bruegel’s integration of social values in his paintings helped create many masterpieces.…
Pretty much as Vincent Van Gogh, I likewise thought amid his period that present-day life, with its steady social change and concentrate on advancement and achievement, estranged individuals from each other and from themselves. As we all know individuals experiencing an unbalance mental condition as Van Gogh did were not in contact with the truth. I think Van Gogh unbalance condition was overpowering while he searched for a puzzling impact to his depiction. Concerning myself, it is difficult to center when I drink alcohol so contrasting it with Van Gogh mental condition must had likewise been troublesome for him to center which is the reason he paint expressionism conceptual. The Starry Night, 1889, oil on canvas, 28 ¾ x 36 ¼", by Vincent…
A primary objective in measuring productivity is to improve operations either by using fewer inputs to produce the same output, or to produce:…
Epstein, D. (2004) The Wall Street Journal Napoleon, David, and the French Paradox Retrieved From: http://proquest.umi.com…
Impressionism started out in Paris around the 1860's, it is often referred to as one of the first modern painting movements. It started in Europe but quickly caught on and spread to the United States. The painting that started the movement was a painting by Claude Monet, Impressionism: Sunrise, this particular piece by Monet, was the first of its kind. This new style of painting allowed the artists to take their work outdoors, this allowed them to create more realistic landscapes and actually experience many of the elements they were trying to portray. Impressionist paintings put an emphasis on the visual sensations and were a more accurate portrait of what the artist was actually seeing and experiencing. Different painting techniques…
Another point of conflict between the painting and critics was the specificities of the scene painted. The maid pictured in the painting is presenting the courtesan with a bouquet of flowers, presumably offered to her as a gift from a client. Even though this situation was not uncommon, for it to be portrayed in mainstream art by one of the pre-eminent artists of the era was very controversial. I believe that this was one of the most important steps towards the evolution of art towards impressionism. This is because one of the most crucial aspects of impressionist art is the movement away from photorealistic paintings of shapes and scenes, and towards the depiction of contemporary situations and activities. To me, Olympia presents a complex…
You could look at a style of art such as graffiti or performance art and see when and where it began…
Pieter Bruegel the Elder was one of the most acclaimed painters of the Northern Renaissance who amazed his viewers with paintings of prosperous landscapes and showing the brighter side of the low class society of peasants by them enjoying the here and now of everyday life instead of them being in the misery of their labor. According to most art historians, Bruegel was born around 1525 in Berda which was one of the small neighborhoods in the town of Bruegel. Although there was unknown information about the area that the artist grew up in his early years, however, by viewing actual events that occurred in the artist’s life, Bruegel must have stated learning his craft by becoming a pupil under his future father-in-law Pieter Coecke van Aelst who…
As we all know, interpretation and perspective is the lens in which we see life, it is a part of everything we do. Thus, it is the foundation of how we view all kinds of art forms. Depending on who is analyzing a piece of art determines the meaning and worth the work has. The person or people who are analyzing the work are parts of an even bigger picture; what time period are they exploring the art and when was the work created. By knowing the time period, it can change the interpretation and significance of the art completely. I will be examine how the Epitaph of Seikilos, created in the first century C.E., and the Mycenaean Funerary Mask, created 1600-1500 B.C.E., interpretations affected the importance of the works of music and art and…
The French Revolution of the late 18th Century certainly changed the way people look at art, but it also changed how people look at societies and politics. The art during this time praised the past, the Classical past—the era of the Republic of Rome and the demos of Athens. This was essential to express the ideals of the French Revolution to the masses; it was this connection that fueled these art forms.…
By the end of World War I in 1918, artist had a remarkable change in their styles of art. Two very pronounced artists, Fernand Leger and Max Beckman, served in the war and impacted their art profusely. World War I was an era of industrialization in culture and in the economy, and as the world changed, so did European Art.…
If you think about it, the spread and development of ideas and beliefs can root all the way back to the creation of the printing press. Of course, there is some credit to be given to the Chinese and their creation of the woodblock printing that came before Johannes Gutenberg’s time. But, it was not as influential as the printing press. We have to stop for a moment and ask, “What led to the creation of the printing press?” and how did it become such a key “weapon” in the Protestant and Counter Reformation? In this essay I’ll be discussing the printing press and it’s impact on society and many different categories including: the transition from scripts to the printing culture,…
Verdaccio is an underpainting technique and color which came from the Italian fresco painters of the early Renaissance. Created traditionally from a mixture of Mars Black and Yellow Ochre pigments, Verdaccio was used to establish tonal values in fresco painting quickly, creating a soft greenish-gray for the shadows of flesh tones. Architectural details in frescoes were often left in the pure Verdaccio coloring, hence we are able to still see evidence of it today in works such as Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel.…