Art History 110 Final Study List
Berthe MORISOT, Summer's Day, 1879, oil on canvas
Born to a middle class Parisian family. Could not study in Europe due to the fact that academies were permitted to teach women-took lessons from a private tutor- married Edouard Monet's brother, Eugene- became familiar with the Impressionists- subjects are always women or children- never sexual but aesthetically pleasing-- rejects contour lines- captures the freshness of a bright lit summer day
Paul CÉZANNE, Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1902-1904, oil on canvas
Cezanne's goal was not truth in appearance- he wanted the authentic style that wasn't conjured in a studio-set out to explore the properties and interrelationships of line, plane, and color- focused on colors to create three-dimensional depth- cool colors recede, warm ones advance- the mountain seems to be both near and far away
John Singleton COPLEY, Paul Revere, c. 1768-1770. Oil on canvas.
Copley settled in England- sense of directness and firmness to visual fact that marks the taste for honesty and plainness that defined America. Revere was not yet the familiar hero the Revolution and was a professional silversmith- the setting is plain, the lighting is clear and revealing- straight in the eyes glance- sense of moment- down to earth style character differentiate this work from European counterparts
Ludwig MIES VAN DER ROHE, Seagram Building, New York, 1956-1958.
Counterposed to Wright, Rohe created massive, sleek, and geometrically rigid buildings, Minimalist in nature but physically imposing, the large skyscrapers were appealing in structural logic, clarity, and style. The architects of the Seagram building intentionally designed it on a thin shaft, leaving the front quarter of its midtown site as an open pedestrian plaza. The tower appears to rise from the pavement on stilts- seems to have a glass skin only interrupted by thin strips of bronze structural support
Salvador DALÍ, The Persistence of memory, 1931, oil on canvas. Surrealist.
Dali was the most famous Naturalist Surrealist painter. He sought to materialize the images of concrete irrationality with the most imperialistic fury of precision- Dali creates a haunting allegory of empty space where time has ended- a never ending and barren landscape is seen with a amorphous creature- watches look like they are decaying or organic in form- sought to make the irrational concrete
Jacques-Louis DAVID, Oath of the Horatii, 1784, oil on canvas.
David believed that the subject of art should have a moral- paintings representing noble deeds in the past could inspire virtue in the present-return to Greek style- the process is much more important than the idea itself- instill civic virtue and patriotism- story from pre-Republican Rome- heroic phase of Roman history- Alba Longo and Rome were having a conflict and sent three representatives from each region to settle the quarrel- Horatius brothers versus Curatius- swear to win or die for Rome-oblivious to the anguish and sorrow of their sisters- sacrifice-stage setting-statuesque forms- men are courageous and strong- women are emotional- became a symbol of the Revolution
Frank GEHRY, Guggenheim Bilbao Museo, Bilbao, Spain, 1997.
Deconstructivism stemmed from architects attempting to disrupt the conventional categories of architecture- disorder, imbalance, irregularity, and confusion replace their opposites-harmony and balance- challenges the viewer's sense of functionality. Gehry was Canadien and created works by constructing models and cutting them up and arranging parts until he was satisfied. The Guggenheim appears to be a collapsing aggregate of units. Visitors approaching see an assymetrical and imbalanced forms- limestone and titanium clad exterior. Has a 165 foot glass window that looks weightless. Its disorder, its deceptive randomness of design, and the disequilibrium epitomize deconstructivism principles.
Edgar DEGAS, The Rehearsal, 1874, oil on canvas
Degas was not concerned with light or atmosphere and specialized in indoor subjects- interest in recording bodily movement- painting is the antithesis of a classic painting- center is empty, floor takes up most of the canvas- arranged figures in a seemingly random manner- inspired by Japanese art- diverging lines
Margaret BOURKE-WHITE, Fort Peck Dam, Montana, 1936. Gelatin silver print.
Depression era photojournalist. Worked for Fortune and Life- triumphs of 20th century engineering- instilled pride in the American public severely lacking in confidence. Her photo of the Fort Peck Dam appeared on the cover of Life- dam was unfinished- appears like a medieval fortress- largest earth filled damn in the world- sharp angle to show the height- almost abstract composition
Aaron DOUGLAS, Noah's Ark, c. 1927. Oil on masonite. Harlem Renaissance
Douglas adopted Synthetic Cubism to represent symbolically the historical and cultural memories of African Americans. Douglas was born in Kansas- spent time in Paris before settling in NYC- became a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance- aimed to cultivate pride among fellow African Americans about their celebrated cultural history- stressed transparent angular planes- flat planes to evoke a sense of mystical space and miraculous happenings- suggest deep space- coloring cancels any illusion of three dimensional space
Marcel DUCHAMP, Fountain, originally 1917. DADA. Porcelain plumbing fixture and enamel paint.
Duchamp was a Frenchman who became a central artist of New York Dada and displayed his first ready-made sculptures, which were mass produced common objects that artists rectified by modifying their substance- readymades were free of good or bad tastes, qualities shaped by society- the urinal is signed R. Mutt in reference to Mott's Plumbing Company and a popular comic-strip of the time- Mutt and Jeff
Vincent VAN GOGH, The Starry Night, 1889, oil on canvas
Failing as a minister, Van Gogh turned to painting to find comfort- innovative use of color- painted a year before his death- he was living in an Asylum in Saint-Remy- did not portray the actual sky but communicated his feelings about the electrifying vastness of the universe- sense of pervasive depression-"we take death to reach a star"
Paul GAUGUIN, Vision after the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel), 1888, oil on canvas
Gaugin rejected objective representation in favor of subjective expression- Gaugin lost his job as a stockbroker in Paris during the crash of 1882- the painting shows Breton women, wearing starched white Sunday caps and black dresses- Monk on the right has Gaugin's features- depiction of what his imagination thought- wrestling matches were common after high mass during the time- scene is abstracted into a pattern- tree branch symbolically divides the symbolic and real world- influenced by Japanese art
Vassily KANDINSKY, Improvisation 28 (Second Version), 1912. oil on canvas. German Expressionist.
German Expressionism- Kandinsky was born in Russia- moved to Munich in 1896- one of the first artists to explore complete abstraction- read modern scientific inquiries- convinced him that nothing is truly real- shattered belief in tangible items- artists must express their innermost feelings by orchestrating color, form, line, and space, much like composers create music- notes do not mimic the sounds of nature- sought to convey feelings solely by color juxtapositions, intersecting lines, and implied spatial relationships
Johannes VERMEER, Woman Holding a Balance, 1664, oil on canvas.
Highly idealized depiction of the moral values of Dutch society- women has her most valuable possessions on her desk-pearls- the orthogonals direct the viewer's attention to the balance she is holding- the scales are empty- the way Ignatius suggested to lead a temperate life-balance of sins with virtuous behavior- mirror may refer to self knowledge or vanity- last judgment painting appears in the background- shes weighing her options- pregnant-might be scandalous
Thomas COLE, The Oxbow (View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm), 1836. Oil on canvas.
In America, landscape painting was the emphasis of a group of artists known as the Hudson River School due to their emphasis on subject matter from the uncultivated regions of New York's Hudson Valley. Individual's relationship to the country and land- qualities that made America unique- America's direction as a civilization- a splendid scene opens upon the viewer, dominated by the lazy oxbow in the Connecticut River Valley near Northampton- dark stormy wilderness on the left and more developed civilization on the right- minuscule painter on the bottom turns to the viewer to ask what direction America should head in
Hannah HÖCH, Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife Through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany, 1919, photomontage, DADA. [Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife... is OK for the title!]
In Berlin, Dada took on a political edge and pioneered a variation of collage known as photomontage because their assemblages almost strictly consisted of pieces of magazine photographs- chance within creating art- highlighted the redefinition of women's social roles and the explosive growth of mass print media- the origin of Dada stemmed from from thrusting a knife into a dictionary by chance- key figures of the Weimar Republic in the upper right- Lenin and Marx- aligned with revolutionary tendencies- Hoch is in the portrait- lower right shows shows a map of Europe and the countries that had granted women the right to vote
Katsushika HOKUSAI, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, Edo period, ca. 1826-1833. Woodblock print, ink and colors on paper.
Landscape painting was immensely popular in China and in Korea but became increasingly popular in Japan during the 19th century- the huge foreground wave dwarf's the artists representation of the distant Fuji- whitecaps magnify the danger- the men in the boats dig low to power the oars- Western painting traditions with the incorporation of Prussian Blue(First things first, RIP Bob Ross)- low horizon typical of Western painting with a wave's more traditionally flat and powerful graphic forms
Frank Lloyd WRIGHT, Kaufmann House (Fallingwater), Bear Run, Pennsylvania, 1936-1939.
Llyod Wright moved to Chicago, where he led a firm headed by Louis Sullivan and believed in organic architecture- buildings designed to serve free individuals who have the right to move within a free space, which he envisioned as a nonsymmetrical design interacting spatially with its surroundings. Designed as a retreat for Pittsburg department store magnet Edgar Kaufman, perched on a rocky hillside over a small waterfall. Wright decide to build the house over a waterfall to desensitize the waterfall's presence and power if the viewer merely overlooked it. Abandoned all symmetry. The key element was space and not mass- very influential in both America and Europe
Édouard MANET, Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), 1863, oil on canvas.
Manet based all four figures on real people, one model and his brother. The nude female is distressingly unidealized and seems to be unfazed and almost inviting with her nudity- glances at the viewer unfazed- not truly realism because the subject is incomprehensible- allusions to many styles- outraged the French public- technique also elicited criticism
Frida KAHLO, The Two Fridas, 1939. Oil on canvas.
Mexican Mother and German father- married to Diego Rivera- psychological pain of human existence-associated with Surrealists but rejected all categorization with them-two portraits suggest different sides of the artist's personality- Kahlo was deeply nationalistic and a member of the Communist party and the painting comments on the struggle facing Mexicans about cultural heritage- white dress represents European ideals, Blue dress is traditional Mexican garbs. Heart was important to Aztec culture, the last truly independent kingdom in Mexico
MICHELANGELO Buanarotti, David, marble, 1501-04
Michelangelo chose to present the young biblical warrior not after his victory, but defiantly waiting for his foe, energy in reserve, coiled spring, his anatomy is impressive, rugged torso, sturdy limbs- inspired by Greco-Roman models- heroic physique - changes from antiquity style by turning David's head-towerin, pent up emotion rather than calm, ideal beauty
Claude MONET, Impression: Sunrise, 1872, oil on canvas
Monet often set up his easel on the banks of the Seine - instantaneous representation of atmosphere and climate- pioneered sketching and finishing his works outside- invention of readily available oil paints in tubes made it easier to paint outside- shadows are not black but a mixture of a number of colors in a reflection- most of Monet's criticism stemmed from his lack of polished surfaces and sharp contours characteristic of academic painting- forms only take on clarity when the eye fuses the brushstrokes at a certain distance
Edvard MUNCH, The Scream, 1893. Tempera and pastel on cardboard. Expressionist.
Munch was Norwegian and felt deeply the pain of human life and believed that humans were powerless to death and love- goal was to describe the conditions of the modern psychic life- Realism and impressionism focused too much on the real world- the man is simplified to almost skeletal form, emits a primal scream- landscape is almost an echo to his form- Munch was walking with two friends, the sun was setting- the sky turned blood red- he became paralyzed by fear- sensed a great, infinite scream pass through nature
SESSHU Toyo, Haboku landscape, Muromachi period, 1495, Ink on paper.
Muromachi painting displays great variety in both style and subject matter- Toyo was a Zen priest- Japanese painter who traveled to China and studied contemporary Ming painting- haboku- splashed ink style- the ink is sometimes dripped onto the paper- hovers at the edge of legibility- two figures appear in the bottom right in a boat- two swift strokes represent the pole and banner of wine shop
Pablo PICASSO, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907. oil on canvas. Proto-Cubist.
Picasso had boundless talent- radical new method of representing forms in space- began work as symbolic piece that was supposed portray two men intermingling with prostitutes - one was a sailor and one carried a skull- by the end, both men were eliminated- he fractured their shapes and interwove them with equally jagged shapes- space is virtually illegible - Ancient Iberian sculptures represent the forms of the three prostitutes on the left- two demonic figures on the left stem from Picasso's fascination with African sculpture- distorted the poses of the women to make them appear as if they are in multiple viewpoints and positions at once- stark departure from Western ideals- women are not beautiful but intimidating and terrifying
Walter GROPIUS, Bauhaus, Dessau, Germany, 1925-1926.
Promotion of the idea that art should be thoroughly incorporated into living environments. Gropius trained artists to anticipate and accept 20th century needs- wanted to achieve a marriage of art and industry- roots in Utopian principles- architecture should avoid all romantic embellishment and whimsy- "economy is the use of space"- free flowing undivided space- encouragement of the sharing of ideas and interaction
Andy WARHOL, Green Coca-Cola Bottles, 1962. Oil on canvas (painted using a stencil)
Quintessential American pop artist. Warhol initially worked in mass marketing as a commercial artist and understood what appealed to the general masses- Warhol favored reassuring objects and visuals. Used the silk screen printing technique to reproduce works almost endlessly. He did not produce most of his works. The repetition and redundancy of the Coke bottles shows its saturation into American culture
RAPHAEL, The School of Athens, fresco, Stanza della Segnatura ("Room of the Signature" or library of the Pope), Vatican, Rome, c. 1510-11.
Raphael was awarded with the honor of decorating the papal apartments- the four walls had different themes-theology, law, poetry, and philosophy- Pope Julius II wanted to be known as both a theological and philosophic leader- congregation of great philosophers- colossal statues of Apollo and Athena look over the intellectuals of the ancient world- Plato and Aristotle are the central figures of the painting- Plato holds his book Timaeus and points to the heavens- the source of his inspiration, while Aristotle points to the earth and holds his Nicomachean Ethics- philosophers concerned with the mysteries of the earth stand on Plato's side- philosophers concerned with practical matters such as mathematics- Raphael has a self portrait- figures convey balance - arranged in an ellipse- orthogonals lead to plato and aristotle- elements of classical humanism, christianity, and philosophy
Robert MAPPLETHORPE, Self-Portrait, 1980. Gelatin silver print.
Robert Mapplethorpe used his homosexuality as a key element of his works. Funded by the National Endowment of the Arts, his works were pornographic in nature and included children causing a court case on the meaning of freedom of expression. Mapplethorpe's technical mastery of the photographic medium was never questioned with his gelatin silver prints- helped create photography into a respected art form. The shock to the public was his intimate self portraits of his bodily transition from male to female in nature and his contraction of AIDs that eventually led to his demise in 1988- wanted to create social upheaval and promote change
JEONG Seon (1676-1759), True View of Diamond Mountains, Joseon dynasty, 1734. Hanging scroll, ink and colors on paper.
Seon was a great admirer of the Chinese Southern School of painting- aerial view of the Diamond Mountains in North Korea- true view painting- used sharper and more dark lines than Chinese painters
Georges SEURAT, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886, oil on canvas
Seurat depicted modern life in a strictly intellectual way- disciplined and painstaking process to display color- based on scientific color theory- pointillism- only viewable from a distance- introduced to the public at the eighth and final Impressionist exhibit- sunshine is present but is not the main source of light-abstract
Käthe KOLLWITZ, Woman with Dead Child, 1903. Etching. German Expressionist.
She had no formal association with an Expressionist group and explored overtly political subjects and deeply personal subject matter- maternal symbol of loss and grief- holding of the dead christ with an animalistic passion- the primal nature- not since the Gothic age had any artist portrayed a mother-son group with a comparable emotional impact- modeled the child after her son Peter- he died at the age of 21 in WW1
Cindy SHERMAN, Untitled Film Still #35, 1979. Gelatin silver print,
Sherman addresses her works in how Western artists have traditionally presented female beauty for the enjoyment of the male gaze- contemporary feminist theory- gender as a socially constructed concept- began producing untitled films that portrayed how women were stereotyped- Sherman produced, curated, and was depicted in her own works and constructed her own identity- although the artist is still the object of the viewer's gaze, in these photographs, the identity is one she alone chose to assume
Antoine-Jean GROS, Napoleon in the Plague House at Jaffa, 1804, oil on canvas.
Student of Jacques Louis David, contributed to Napoleon's mythic status- incident during an outbreak of the bubonic plague in Napoleon's Syrian campaign- struck French and Muslim forces alike-Napoleon visited victims in Jaffa- he is fearless and in control- sick are awed by his presence and authority- Napoleon touches a plague victim, suggesting that he has the power to heal- references to Christ- brighter colors and looser brushstrokes than David- Orientalism- start of Romanticism
Henri MATISSE, The Woman with the Hat, 1905. oil on canvas. Fauvist.
The dominant figure of the Fauve group was Matisse who believed that color could play a primary role in conveying meaning- Matisse's wife is portrayed in a conventional manner compositionally, but the viewer is startled by the arbitrary colors- colors produce jarring contrasts- pure colors
LE CORBUSIER, Villa Savoye, Poissy-sur-Seine, France, 1929.
The simple geometric aesthetic developed by Rohe became known as the International style that Corbusier perfected- influential theorist who sought to design a functional living space, which he described as a machine for livig. Villa Savoye near Paris is a cube of lightly enclosed ground floor- much of the interior is open space- strip windows run along the membrane like exterior walls provides illumination. the building has no traditional facade- does not have a defined entrance- inside and outside space intermingle- refused to enclose the ground story with masonry walls-able to do this with the invention of concrete
TITIAN, "Venus" of Urbino, c. 1538. Oil on canvas
The title elevates the status of the women portrayed- her softly rounded body contrasts with the sharp edge of the curtain- the lapdog would be a representation of cupid if it were in fact Venus- Titian used color not simply to record surface appearance but also to organize his placement of forms
Collective work by the SICHUAN FINE ARTS INSTITUTE and other institutions, Rent Collection Courtyard, 1965. Clay (100 yards long with 114 life-size figures). Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing
The triumph of Marxism in China in 1949 inspired a social realism that broke with the past- Ye Yushan and a collective of sculptures portrayed the hard times before the people's republic. Peasants, worn and bent by toil, bring their taxes ( in produce) to the courtyard of their merciless, plundering landlord. Feudal in nature. Exploitation of this nature cannot happen again- artists were anonymous to stay in tune with the Communist ethic- collective action, not individualistic initiative, was the best means to transform society
Jackson POLLOCK, Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), 1950. Oil, enamel, and aluminum paint on canvas. Abstact Expressionism.
Vigorous physical interaction between the painter and the canvas that characterized Jackson Pollock's paintings led one critic to deem his works action paintings. Critic Rosenberg added that, "at a certain moment the canvas began to appear to one American painter after another as an arena in which to act- rather than as a space to reproduce or express." Pollock added that he typically tacked the canvas to the ground and felt as if he was in the painting-"the painting has a life of it's own... the source of my painting is the unconscious"
Kara Walker Pastoral 1998
Walker is best known for her panoramic friezes of cut-paper silhouettes, usually black figures against a white wall, which address the history of American slavery and racism through violent and unsettling imagery.[13] She has also produced works in gouache, watercolor, video animation, shadow puppets, "magic-lantern" projections, as well as large-scale sculptural installations like her ambitious public exhibition with Creative Time called A Subtlety (2014). The black and white silhouettes confront the realities of history, while also using the stereotypes from the era of slavery to relate to persistent modern-day concerns.[14] Her exploration of American racism can be applied to other countries and cultures regarding relations between race and gender, and reminds us of the power of art to defy conventions.[15] She first came to the art world's attention in 1994 with her mural Gone, An Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred Between the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart. This cut-paper silhouette mural, presenting an old-timey south filled with sex and slavery was an instant hit.[16] At the age of 27, she became the second youngest recipient of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's "genius" grant,[17] second only to renowned Mayanist David Stuart. In 2007, the Walker Art Center exhibition Kara Walker: My Complement, My Oppressor, My Enemy, My Love was the artist's first full-scale U.S. museum survey. Walker currently lives in New York, where she has been a professor of visual arts in the MFA program at Columbia University since 2001.[9][11]
Piet MONDRIAN, Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1930. Oil on canvas. De Stijl.
Young Dutch artists created the De Stijil- total integration of art and life- not separate domains- the word art no longer means anything to us- Mondrian was exposed to cubism in Paris during WW1- sought to purge his art of every overt reference to individual objects in the external world- pure plastic art- reality is opposite to the spiritual- art should be above reality- Neoplasticism- limited to three primary colors (red, blue, and yellow), primary directions (horizontal and vertical, three primary values (black, white, and grey)- dynamic equilibrium with size, shape, and color
