Art @ the Met

This painting titled "Cypresses" was made by post impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh. It was painted with oil paints on canvas and has circular textured strokes. It was said that he made this painting in the beginning of his stay at the Saint- Remy asylum in France. I chose this painting because although the scene itself its very serene. The colors and the textures are very loud and bold.

This painting is titled " Tilla Durieux" is by Auguste Renoir. Aguste Renoir was an impressionist artist. I was drawn to this painting because Tilla Durieux's facial expression is so welcoming. Renoir has captured the softness in her hands, posture and hair by using soft complimenting colors. 

IMPRESSIONISM/ POST IMPRESSIONISM

Impressionism began in the late 19th century and it can be identified by its short brush strokes, the way the artists uses the bright colors to indicate the natural lighting, and slightly rough surfaces.

In Edward Degas oil painting titled "Ballet rehearsal" we can see the how the bright white of the ballet dancers  dresses reflect the natural light that is coming in from the window while the short neutral brush strokes and slightly dark color on the top of the walls gives the painting a little more depth.

Post Impressionism came directly after as a reaction to the impressionism movement in 1886.Post impressionism art seemed to be a little more abstract and bolder in color. The figures aren't as polished and detailed.

Simon Schama's Rembrandt PT 1

Rembrandt's "The fur Merchant" is referred to as the business man's hero because of the detail in his characteristics. He is depicted as strong, solid, thoughtful, but weary man. Which may usually be the characteristics of a decent hard working man.  

 

The mood in the "83 year old women" is very dreary and somewhat somber. Rembrandt uses soft white and dark colors to create a bit of coldness in my opinion. The women's eyes are rough and looked troubled as if she is living out the rest of her days waiting to die.

In Rembrandt's Samson and Delilah I believe there is a sense of tenderness and weakness shown. Although Delilah is responsible to Samson's demise she still seems to be holding him protectively. Samson is also fully dressed as opposed to being shown naked and buff which gives him a more human image rather then a  strong warrior.

Design Elements and Principles (Online assignment 1)

   In our first online class assignment we were to watch the online lecture titled
" HarmonIntroDesignPrinciples".  In it were provided with a list of design principles as well as the meanings and visual examples if them. The paintings that I chose to use for my own references are both Van Gogh's and I have chosen them because I have gotten the chance to see them both in person. Starry Night on the left; I have seen at the Museum of Modern art and Cypresses I have seen at the Met recently.

Since I don't consider myself to have an experienced "artistic eye" I felt that I needed to find artwork where certain principles where obvious.

 Something that wasn't mentioned as a unification principle was texture. I'm not sure if someone can tell from this online picture of Van Gogh's Cypresses on the right but in person we can see that the painting is very rough and somewhat raised in most parts. Although the scene in the painting is calming and complete I feel that the texture gives this painting more personality or makes it a bit busy.

According to our lecture an artist may use balance to create an equilibrium but there are two types of balance and I chose Starry Night to represent "Asymmetrical balance".
Asymmetrical balance is when a piece is balanced by contrast. In Starry Night Van Gogh does just that by making the tree look bigger and closer while the moon seems  smaller and brighter on the other side.

 

 As a example of scale art I chose this photo of a large hand and a small Eiffel tower. Considering that when people see the Eiffel tower they think Paris... the city of light, love, and fashion it is rather odd to see it this small. By using scaling an artist can make something that usually seems so small rather large and vice versa.

David wojnarowicz @ the Whitney

One portrait that I have decided to analyze is David Wojnarowicz's self-portrait. From this portrait I interpret it as "Mankind killing its self". Most times in our country's history we tend to fret away from issues that are very important until they oppress others to great magnitude. Take for instance, the civil rights movement, women's suffrage movement, and the AIDS epidemic. For this day and age the me too movement, and the black lives matter movement. This shows that not only does time repeat itself but these issues tend to take new shapes in which people would need to make a call for change. This is what I see with Wojnarowicz painting. I see repetition of time, and repetition of world conflict. 

The next piece that I would like to analyze Is the photograph of Peter Hujar. The interpretation that I got from this photo was "Death". The Aids epidemic in the 80's was something that affected many people. From my interpretation Wojnarowicz wanted to debut the effects of AIDS, and how much pain it causes to the victims, along with others who mourn their deaths. The photo depicts Hujar with his mouth open encapsulating the realism of the moment every time viewers look at this photo.