Art History Final
A Solitary Temple Amid Clearing Peaks Artist: Li Cheng (919-967) Song Dynasty
1. Name: A Solitary Temple Amid Clearing Peaks 2. Location or Purpose: Landscape paintings served as metaphors for the well-regulated state. Fulfilled peoples' desire to escape their present existence and become one with nature. 3. Medium: Hanging Scroll (Ink and Light Colors on Silk) 4. Cultural Affiliation: Song Dynasty 5. Date: 919-967 6. Country of Production: China ______________________________________________________________ It is a monumental mountain landscape with a temple near its center and a flurry of human activity near the base of the painting. UTILIZED: 1.) "Three distances" level distance (plane), deep distance (depth), and high distance (height). 2.) Atmospheric perspective (a gradual decrease in intensity of color and in tonal contrast as objects recede further away from the picture plane). 3.) Textural strokes: Brushstrokes invented by Chinese artists use to indicate the texture of rocks and to capture the animation found in nature. 4.) Monumental composition to convey the scale and grandeur of the mountain. -> Li Cheng was celebrated as an artist for his ability to create REAL and NATURAL looking images that made people feel as if they were actually present at the location being painted. -> Quote from Imperial Painting Catalog of Xuanhe Era, 12th c.: "In term of painting, Cheng is versed with the rules of nature. He sweeps thousands of miles into one square foot and includes millions of flavors under his fingers...as to the forest, dense or sparse, and streams, deep or shallow, they are all depicted so naturalistic that when you look at them, you almost feel that you were at a real site."
Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains Artist: Zhao Mengfu (1295) Yuan Dynasty
1. Name: Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains 2. Location or Purpose: Painting was done by Zhao for his close friend (and elder) Zhou Mi who had never been to Shandong to see the mountains depicted in the painting. Supposedly done from memory, the painting was impactful for its' realistic style (while the two famous mountains are in reality thousands of kilometers apart). 3. Medium: Hand-scroll (Ink and Colors on Paper) 4. Cultural Affiliation: Yuan Dynasty 5. Date: 1295 6. Country of Production: China ______________________________________________________________ -> While the setting of the painting is in autumn, most trees are green, not red and/or yellow. Small people with fishing nets and goats can also be seen (an indication of the season). -> Artist was gifted in poetry, painting, and calligraphy. -> "Archaic and Awkward" - Painted in an intentionally naive and archaic manner in which Zhao sought to convey the scenery in terms of a classical elegance that conveyed the heritage and beauty of the region. "BLUE AND GREEN LANDSCAPE" -> Mountains were sparingly outlined and filled in with blue and green colors. -> Zhao sought to capture the beauty of antiquity (the ancient, great past). He believed that paintings that were able to capture aspects of the past were far superior. -> Innovative due to the "calligraphic" strokes utilized by Zhao in which each layer is inter-connected. These strokes create a sweet simplicity about the painting. -> The work brims with clarity, ease, and calm that evokes reactions from the mind and heart. -> Quote from Zhao about his paintings: "The spirit of antiquity is what is of value in painting. If there is no spirit of antiquity, then, though there maybe skill, it is to no avail... my own paintings seem to be quite simply and carelessly done, but connoisseurs will realize that they are close to the past and thus may be considered superior. This is said for the cognoscenti, not for the ignorant."
Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) Artist: Jackson Pollock (1950) Abstract Expressionalism
1. Name: Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) 2. Location or Purpose: Spontaneity. 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas (canvas is over 17 feet long!) 4. Cultural Affiliation: Abstract Expressionist 5. Date: 1950 6. Country of Production: United States __________________________________________________________________ -> There's no central point of focus, no hierarchy of elements in this allover composition in which every bit of the surface is equally significant. -> Thinned paint was applied to unprimed, unstretched canvas that lay flat on the floor rather than propped on an easel. -> Poured, dripped, dribbled, scumbled, flicked, and splattered, the pigment was applied in the most unorthodox means. -> Pollock also often added things such as screws to his various paintings to create a unique texture. -> Spontaneity was a critical element. -> The artist also used sticks, trowels, knives, and anything but the traditional painter's implement to build up dense, lyrical compositions of lines. -> The artist worked with the canvas flat on the floor, constantly moving all around it while applying the paint and working from all four sides. -> Pollock was often drunk while painting. __________________________________________________________________ QUOTE FROM JACKSON POLLOCK: Spontaneity was a critical element. But lack of premeditation should not be confused with ceding control; as Pollock stated, "I can control the flow of paint: there is no accident."
Cut with the Kitchen Knife Artist: Hannah Höch (1919) Dada Movement
1. Name: Cut with the Kitchen Knife 2. Location or Purpose: This photomontage reflected her views of the political and social issues that arose during the transitional time in Germany after WWI. 3. Medium: Photomontage 4. Cultural Affiliation: Dada Movement (European new, unusual, and experimental ideas/avant-garde). 5. Date: 1919 6. Country of Production: Germany __________________________________________________________________ -> Hannah Hoch was a prominent female artist within the Dada movement in Germany after WWI. -> Hoch's title for this piece illustrates her critique of the "bloated and heavy-handed" nature of the male-dominated Weimer Republic and German military. -> It combines images of political leaders with sports stars, mechanized images of the city, and Dada artists -> She chooses to give specifications, such as kitchen knife and beer-belly, to make it clear that this piece is social commentary regarding gender issues in post-war Germany. -> The Dada movement wished to critically examine German culture by not glossing over the negative aspects, but rather accentuating them. -> Hoch cut out pieces of images and text found in magazines, advertisements, newspapers, and journals. -> She carefully pieced all these clippings back together in a way that made sense to her and as she felt appropriately served her purpose of critical examination. -> The long drawn out war that had focused the countries attention for so long was lost and Germany was left in a state of political chaos. __________________________________________________________________ Combines three central themes in Höch's works: 1.) Androgyny 2.) The "New Woman" 3.) Political discourse
Day of the God Artist: Gauguin (1894) Post-Impressionism
1. Name: Day of the God 2. Location or Purpose: This picture derives its theme from Gauguin's study and imaginative interpretation of Polynesian mythology. The main figure is Hina, the central figure of the Maori (Polynesian) pantheon (of New Zealand) and the creator of the world. In his honor gifts are being brought by two maidens on the left, while on the right two girls perform a ritual dance. 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Post-Impressionism 5. Date: 1894 6. Country of Production: France ________________________________________________________ ->The painting shows the Tahitian goddess Hina in the heart of the picture. The three women at the water's edge possibly embody the three stages of life. -> The woman to the left in a fetal position with her toes barely touching the water is to represent birth and the beginning of life, the woman sat upright with her feet in the water represents living and the woman to the right completely out of the water represents death. -> The water in the painting represents life in its entirety. Gauguin was once quoted saying "Don't paint too much direct from nature. Art is an abstraction. Derive this abstraction from nature while dreaming before it, and think more of the creation that will result." ________________________________________________________ The composition of Gauguin's painting: 1.) Post-Impressionism style: ->The contrasting hues, flat surfaces, and abstract shapes were typical of Gauguin's style. 2.) Symbolism -> Although the arrangement of the trio of women seems symbolic (perhaps of birth, life, and death) Gauguin made its exact meaning an enigma (mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand).
Fountain Artist: Marcel Duchamp (1917) Dada Movement
1. Name: Fountain 2. Location or Purpose: Duchamp was submitted for an exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, the first annual exhibition by the Society to be staged at The Grand Central Palace in New York. While all artists who paid the entrance fee were supposed to have their art put on display, the "Fountain" was hidden from view from the art gallery. 3. Medium: Readymade Sculpture - A urinal placed on its side. 4. Cultural Affiliation: Dada Movement 5. Date: 1917 6. Country of Production: United States __________________________________________________________________ -> In Duchamp's presentation at the exhibition the urinal's orientation was altered from its usual positioning. -> Fountain was not rejected by the committee since Society rules stated that all works would be accepted from artists who paid the fee, but the work was never placed in the show area. -> Marcel Duchamp's Fountain is arguably the first piece of conceptual art ever, certainly the most famous ready-made in art history. -> The work is regarded by art historians and theorists of the avant-garde as a major landmark in 20th-century art. __________________________________________________________________ What is Readymade Sculpture? -> Ordinary manufactured objects that the artist selected and modified, as an antidote to what he called "retinal art". By simply choosing the object (or objects) and repositioning or joining, titling and signing it, the Found object became art.
Garden of the Unsuccessful Administrator Designer: Wang Xianchen (16th Century Ming Dynasty
1. Name: Garden of the Unsuccessful Administrator 2. Location or Purpose: Built by a retired official (mocking himself for being an unsuccessful administrator). 3. Medium: Garden 4. Cultural Affiliation: Ming Dynasty 5. Date: 16th Century 6. Country of Production: China ________________________________________________________________________ -> While it is small, this is the most famous Chinese garden. Chinese gardens (which were usually designed by governors and built in urban centers), were small in general because they were extremely expensive. Therefore, governors had to figure out how they could create an interesting garden with a lot of viewable points within little space. The result, like this garden, was a space that was viewable in its' entirety from one spot. -> Unlike symmetrical European gardens, this Chinese-style garden is asymmetrical (with no axis of any kind). This stressed the relationship between architecture and landscape (with Chinese gardens appearing to be more naturally occurring and European gardens appearing more artificial). -> European gardens also usually had a fountain of some sort in the middle which further highlighted the human labor which created the garden. The Chinese gardens hid human design by leaving plants un-manicured and attempting to highlight the natural/untampered look of the garden. WHY WERE CHINESE GARDENS BUILT THIS WAY? -> The design of Chinese gardens was based on the theory of Daoist Mysticism, which attempted to create/celebrate a harmony (or oneness) with nature. -> Built for scholars (poets, calligraphers, and painters), not for drinking or dance parties.
Guernica Artist: Pablo Picasso (1937) Cubism and Surrealism
1. Name: Guernica 2. Location or Purpose: In 1937 the Spanish Republican government commissioned Picasso to create a large mural for an art show at the World Fair in Paris. Through the creation of this painting, Picasso wished to express his disapproval for the Spanish military which he believed had sunk Spain into "an ocean of pain and death." 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Cubism and Surrealism 5. Date: 1937 6. Country of Production: Spain __________________________________________________________________ -> The painting was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, a Basque Country town in northern Spain, by Nazi Germany and Italian warplanes at the request of the Spanish Nationalists. The painting became famous and widely acclaimed, and it helped bring worldwide attention to the Spanish Civil War. -> While Picasso was living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II, one German officer allegedly asked him, upon seeing a photo of Guernica in his apartment, "Did you do that?" Picasso responded, "No, you did." __________________________________________________________________ PARTS OF THE PAINTING (NOT ALL) ARE DESCRIBED BELOW!: -> The scene is within a room where, on the left, a wide-eyed bull stands over a grieving woman who holds a dead child in her arms. -> The center of the painting is occupied by a horse falling in agony as if it had just been run through by a spear or javelin. There is a large gaping wound in the horse's side. -> Under the horse is a dead, dismembered, soldier. The palm of the soldier's open left hand contains a stigma, a symbol of martyrdom derived from the stigmata of Christ. -> A bare light bulb blazes in the shape of an evil eye over the suffering horse's head. -> To the upper right of the horse, a frightened female figure, who seems to be witnessing the scenes before her, appears to have floated into the room through a window. She carries a flame-lit lamp which is positioned close to the bare bulb. -> Daggers that suggest screaming have replaced the tongues of the bull, the grieving woman, and the horse.
Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing? Artists: Richard Hamilton and John McHale (1956) Pop Art
1. Name: Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing? 2. Location or Purpose: Use images of popular culture in fine art. 3. Medium: Collage (a piece of art made by sticking various different materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric onto a backing). 4. Cultural Affiliation: Pop Art (the movement presented a challenge to traditions of fine art by including imagery from popular and mass cultures, such as advertising, comic books, and mundane cultural objects). 5. Date: 1956 6. Country of Production: United Kingdom __________________________________________________________________ -> The collage consists of images taken mainly from American magazines. The collage itself has elements of satire - including the Tootsie Pop. -> It contained several elements from popular culture, including a working jukebox playing hit records and a large inflatable model of a Guinness beer bottle. -> The principal template was an image of a modern sitting-room in an advertisement in Ladies Home Journal for Armstrong Floors. -> In the main area of the room, an attractive, semi-naked couple anticipates a pleasurable evening together. The most prominent figure is the man - nude apart from a pair of tight white trunks. In his right hand, in place of a dumbbell, he holds an enormous lollipop wrapped in red cellophane with the brand name picked out in yellow: "Tootsie POP". -> This collage is often described as the first work of Pop Art.
Le Bonheur de Vivre (The Joy of Life) Artist: Henri Matisse (1905-1906) Fauvism
1. Name: Le Bonheur de Vivre (The Joy of Life) 2. Location or Purpose: Matisse first exhibited the canvas at the 1905 Autumn Salon (which was set up in opposition to the official Salon in Spring). 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Fauvism (a term coined by the critic Vauxcelles to describe artists he thought were "fauves" or "wild beasts"). 5. Date: 1905-1906 6. Country of Production: France __________________________________________________________________ -> It is a large-scale painting depicting a utopian landscape filled with brilliantly colored forest, meadow, sea, and sky and populated by nude figures both at rest and in motion. -> Curved lines meant to show joy. Everyone in the painting is carefree, with many dancing in the back to a colorful pink trumpet. -> Explosive colors and bold brushwork. -> As with the earlier Fauve canvases, color is responsive only to emotional expression and the formal needs of the canvas, not the realities of nature. -> It was the common interest of the fauvist artists to examine pure color as a means of addressing pictorial problems. -> Flat areas of unmixed colors also present with no shading and modeling, and with minimal delineation ( or precision). -> Quote from Matisse: "Expression, for me, does not reside in passions glowing on a human face or manifested by violent movement. The entire arrangement of my picture is expressive; the place occupied by the figures, the empty spaces around them, the proportions, everything has its share."
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon) Artist: Pablo Picasso (1907) Cubism
1. Name: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon) 2. Location or Purpose: The painting reflected his fascination with the African, Iberian, and Oceanic masks, as well as the lusts and anxieties, wrapped up in his own, complex relationships with women. 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Cubism 5. Date: 1907 6. Country of Production: France __________________________________________________________________ -> The work portrays five nude female prostitutes from a brothel on Carrer d'Avinyó (Avignon Street) in Barcelona. -> Each figure is depicted in a disconcerting confrontational manner and none is proportional or conventionally feminine (in fact they look masculine). -> Faces look like the Etobe mask of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Mbuya sickness mask of Zaire. -> The women appear as slightly menacing and rendered with angular and disjointed body shapes. -> The painting itself is widely considered to be a strong influence in the early development of both Cubist and Modern art. -> Les Demoiselles was revolutionary and controversial, and led to widespread anger and disagreement, even amongst the painter's closest associates and friends. -> Most also believe Picasso began work on this painting when Matisse's "The Joy of Life" was released in 1905 - aiming to be much more controversial and revolutionary. The two would go on to have a great rivalry over the rest of their careers.
Lotus Pavilion in a Summery Day Artist: Unknown (13th Century) Song Dynasty
1. Name: Lotus Pavilion in a Summery Day 2. Location or Purpose: To highlight the individuality and protective nature of Chinese mothers. 3. Medium: Hand-scroll 4. Cultural Affiliation: Song Dynasty 5. Date: 13th Century 6. Country of Production: China ______________________________________________________________ -> Unlike the previous picture where Zhou Fang was attempting to highlight feminine beauty, this artist was attempting to show the motherly/caregiving side of Chinese women. -> In the picture, a woman is turning her attention to her children who are messing with a little one. This displays her obvious motherly instincts. -> Additionally, the artist wanted to highlight interests and hobbies by including musical instruments on a table as well as books and scrolls (used for calligraphy). -> Visible bronze dings (from bronze age China) and bronze vessels signify she collects antiques. ______________________________________________________________ To summarize, the woman in the picture is: 1.) Attentive to the needs of her kids. 2.) A protective parent (keeping a watchful eye on rough-housing kids). 3.) Talented (musically). NOTE: Women were often associated with the lute while males were associated with the ching luther instrument. 4.) Literate. 5.) Talented (calligraphically). 6.) Interested in/a collector of fine antiques.
Ma Jolie (My Pretty Girl) Artist: Pablo Picasso (1911-1912) Analytical Cubism
1. Name: Ma Jolie (My Pretty Girl) 2. Location or Purpose: Ma Jolie (My pretty girl) was the refrain of a popular song performed at a Parisian music hall Picasso frequented. 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Analytical Cubism 5. Date: 1911-1912 6. Country of Production: France __________________________________________________________________ -> Analytical Cubism was a kind of Pictorial language that represents things without mimicking their outward appearances. -> Chiaroscuro (the treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting) did not model the objects, nor did it provide a clear delineation between the objects and the ground. -> The artist suggests this musical association by situating a treble clef and music staff near the bold, stenciled letters. -> Ma Jolie was also Picasso's nickname for his lover Marcelle Humbert, whose figure he loosely built using the signature shifting planes of Analytic Cubism. -> This is far from a traditional portrait, but there are clues to its representational content. The central triangular mass subtly indicates the shape of a woman's head and torso, and a group of six vertical lines at the painting's lower center represent the strings of a guitar, which the woman strums. __________________________________________________________________ -> In Cubist works of this period, Picasso and Georges Braque employed multiple modes of representation simultaneously, and the following in this painting: 1.) Language (in the black lettering). 2.) Symbolic meaning (in the treble clef). 3.) Near abstraction (in the depiction of his subject).
Marilyn Diptych Artist: Andy Warhol "Pope of Pop" (1962) Pop Art
1. Name: Marilyn Diptych 2. Location or Purpose: Like everyone else in America, Warhol was attracted to American movie stars like Monroe. 3. Medium: Acrylic Paint on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Pop Art 5. Date: 1962 6. Country of Production: United States __________________________________________________________________ -> Andy Warhol's Marilyn Diptych is made of two silver canvases on which the artist silkscreened a photograph of Marilyn Monroe fifty times. -> It was the first painting in which Warhol used the assembly-line technique of silk-screening photographic images onto a canvas, permitting him to create many versions of a single subject, instead of hand painting. -> Wanted to evoke the assembly-line nature of the manufacturing of everyday products. -> It has been suggested that the relation between the left side of the canvas and the right side of the canvas is evocative of the relation between the celebrity's life and death. -> The work was completed during the weeks after Marilyn Monroe's death in August 1962. -> The painting invites us to worship the legendary icon, whose image Warhol plucked from popular culture and immortalized as art. -> Inspired by the Diptych with the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion, 1275-1280. __________________________________________________________________ WHO WAS ANDY WARHOL AS AN ARTIST? -> Dealt with the relationship between art and popular culture. -> Saw art as a commodity—bought and sold on the market like other goods -> Made use of industrial materials and mechanical methods of production to evoke the assembly-line manufacturing of everyday products. __________________________________________________________________ QUOTE FROM ANDY WARHOL: "Making money is art, and working is art and good business is the best art."
Schröder House Artist: Gerrit Rietveld (1924) Neoplasticism
1. Name: Schröder House 2. Location or Purpose: Built by Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder (a Dutch socialite and pharmacist) and her three children. 3. Medium: Private residence. 4. Cultural Affiliation: Neoplasticism 5. Date: 1924 6. Country of Production: Netherlands __________________________________________________________________ -> A strict color palette was followed with surfaces in white and shades of grey, black windows and door frames, and a number of linear elements in primary colors. -> The rectilinear lines (lost of 90-degree angles) and planes flow from outside to inside, with the same color palette and surfaces. -> Inside there is no static accumulation of rooms, but a dynamic, changeable open zone with partisans in the living space to create bedrooms. -> Initially, when commissioned, the house was supposed to (preferably) be designed to not have walls. Presently, there is little distinction between interior and exterior space. -> Even the windows are hinged so that they can only open 90 degrees to the wall, preserving strict design standards about intersecting planes, and further blurring the delineation of inside and out.
Speeding Automobile Artist: Giacomo Balla (1912-1913)
1. Name: Speeding Automobile 2. Location or Purpose: To express the beauty of Futuristic art. 3. Medium: Oil on Wood 4. Cultural Affiliation: Futurism 5. Date: 1912-1913 6. Country of Production: Italy __________________________________________________________________ -> Futurism was an art and literary movement explicitly concerned with social and political issues. -> Painters borrowed Cubist techniques and forms for their own purposes. -> Futurists especially hated Classical art while people like Hitler hated Futurists and wanted to preserve Classical art. __________________________________________________________________ -> Quote from Marinetti's Futurist Manifesto from 1907: "We affirm that the world's magnificence has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed. A racing car whose hood is adorned with great pipes, like serpents of explosive breath—a roaring car that seems to ride on grapeshot is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace. We will destroy the museums, libraries, academies of every kind. We will fight moralism, feminism, and every opportunistic or utilitarian cowardice."
Starry Night Artist: Vincent van Gogh (1889) Expressionist
1. Name: Starry Night 2. Location or Purpose: After a mental breakdown in December 1888 in which he mutilated his own ear, van Gogh admitted himself into the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole insane asylum where he produced some of his best works such as this painting. The painting displays the view he saw out his east-facing window. 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Dutch Expressionist 5. Date: 1889 6. Country of Production: France ______________________________________________________________ The painting is famous for: 1.) Impasto (the thick application of pigment). 2.) Expressionism (the intensity of an artist's feelings overrides fidelity to the actual appearance of things). In this painting expressionistic swirls dominate the upper center portion of The Starry Night. ______________________________________________________________ -> While this painting was created in his studio during the day, it was not created from memory in the typical sense, as van Gogh had previously painted the same view at different times of day and under various weather conditions (i.e. sunrise, moonrise, sunshine, overcast, windy days, etc.). The Starry Night is based on van Gogh's direct observations as well as his imagination, memories, and emotions. -> Due to the swirling dabs of color that roll with the clouds around the starts and moon, the whole effect creates a sense of otherworldliness, imagination, and a dreamlike state.
Sunday Afternoon on La Grand Jatte Artist: Georges Seurat (1884-1886) Pointillism
1. Name: Sunday Afternoon on La Grand Jatte 2. Location or Purpose: Provided Seurat the ability to test out Pointillism on a HUGE scale (nearly 7 x 10 feet). 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Pointillism 5. Date: 1884-1886 6. Country of Production: France __________________________________________________________________ -> The painting depicts an island in the river Seine which is situated right up to the gates of Paris. -> Some believe that 'La Jatte' represents the French bourgeoisie, a decaying class that has fallen victim to lust and vice, and which is now in the shadows. -> In contrast, the sun looks to be shining on the working class bathers of Asnieres, who represent the bright future of France. -> The very immobility of the figures and the shadows they cast makes them forever silent and enigmatic. -> Seurat is sometimes criticised for what some consider a boring, uneventful, and mathematical interpretation of modernity in Paris. __________________________________________________________________ WHAT IS POINTILLISM? -> Seurat contrasted miniature dots or small brushstrokes of colors that when unified optically in the human eye were perceived as a single shade or hue. -> He believed that this form of painting, called Divisionism at the time but now known as Pointillism, would make the colors more brilliant and powerful than standard brushstrokes.
Tableau 2 Artist: Piet Mondrian (1921) Neoplasticism
1. Name: Tableau 2 2. Location or Purpose: Mondrian wanted to make a "pure" painting that could be universally understood by people from any culture on earth (i.e. an Australian aborigine or a European). 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Neoplasticism 5. Date: 1921 6. Country of Production: Netherlands __________________________________________________________________ -> To create his universal paintings, Mondrian decided he needs to simplify visual art to its essence and create perfect images that reflected pure visual harmony. -> The harmony and order were established through a reduction of elements to pure geometric forms and primary colors. -> It would have to be an art that depended on no illusions like depth but was flat and direct. __________________________________________________________________ NEOPLASTICISM MOVEMENT: -> The movement proposed ultimate simplicity and abstraction through which they could express a Utopian idea of harmony and order. __________________________________________________________________ OFTEN PAINTED USING THE FOLLOWING COLORS: 1.) Red 2.) White 3.) Black 4.) Yellow 5.) Blue
The Night Café Artist: Vincent van Gogh (1888) Expressionist
1. Name: The Night Café 2. Location or Purpose: Van Gogh often visited brothels and disreputable drinking establishments. The desolate setting of the Café de la Gare served as an inspiration for Van Gogh who wrote of the painting to his brother, Theo. 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Dutch Expressionist 5. Date: 1888 6. Country of Production: France ________________________________________________________ -> The slouched drinkers and lone figure (the owner, Joseph-Michel Ginoux) behind the billiard table, along with the skewed perspective (angles), unrealistic shadows, unidentifiable light source, and stark coloring, create a jarring and disturbing work. -> Van Gogh, troubled by his own isolation and inner torments chose to produce a disturbing environment. -> The subject matter conveys a sense of loneliness and desperation as well. Van Gogh, himself, compared the tone of the painting to the delirium he was facing. ________________________________________________________ YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF EXPRESSIONISM (the intensity of an artist's feelings overrides fidelity to the actual appearance of things). -> In this case, van Gogh used the colors of red and green (arbitrarily) to express himself more forcibly. -> Vincent van Gogh was quoted as saying: "I have tried to express the terrible passions of humanity by means of red and green. ... Everywhere there is a clash and contrast of the most disparate reds and greens, in the figures of little sleeping hooligans, in the empty, dreary room, in violet and blue. ...I use color more arbitrarily so as to express myself more forcibly."
The Persistence of Memory Artist: Salvador Dalí (1931) Surrealism
1. Name: The Persistence of Memory 2. Location or Purpose: First shown at the Julien Levy Gallery in 1932. The goal of the painting was similar to that of other Surrealist paintings in the way it explored peculiar subject matter, evoked dreams, and challenged perceptions. 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Surrealism (also influenced by the experimental and eccentric Dada Movement) 5. Date: 1931 6. Country of Production: Spain __________________________________________________________________ -> The clocks represent that even though time passed, the memories still prevail, supporting the idea that time is endless in memory. -> Salvador Dalí uses sarcasm in the title of the clocks painting, Persistence of Memory, to add a darker meaning to the painting. The clocks are losing their power in this dream world. They are literally melting away, and thus seem anything but "persistent" in Dali's depiction. -> Most associate the watches with the relation between actual time and remembered time. In reality, what Dalí was probably interested in doing was rendering the hardest, most mechanical of objects into its present soft, wilting form. -> Most also associate the ants that are on some of the watches with decay (possibly the decay of memory and/or the physical body). -> It is widely recognized and frequently referenced in popular culture. __________________________________________________________________ SURREALIST AUTOMATISM: A method of art-making in which the artist suppresses conscious control over the making process, allowing the unconscious mind to have great sway.
Unique Forms of Continuity in Space Artist: Umberto Boccioni (1913) Futurism
1. Name: Unique Forms of Continuity in Space 2. Location or Purpose: The form was originally inspired by the sight of a football player moving on to a perfectly weighted pass. The sculpture is depicted on the principle (or head side) of the Italian-issue 20 cent euro coin. 3. Medium: The original was made of plaster and bronze casts were made after the artist's death. 4. Cultural Affiliation: Futurism 5. Date: 1913 6. Country of Production: Italy __________________________________________________________________ -> In form, "Unique Forms of Continuity in Space" is similar to "Nike of Samothrace," yet the artist denied doing this on purpose. -> Similar (in a way) to cubism. -> Depicts a human-like figure apparently in motion. -> The sculpture has an aerodynamic and fluid form. -> As a pedestal, two blocks at the feet connect the figure to the ground. The figure is also armless and without a discernible (real) face. -> The Futurist movement was striving to portray speed and forceful dynamism in their art. For some, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space shows a figure striding into the future.
Untitled Artist: Mark Rothko (1952) Abstract Expressionalism
1. Name: Untitled 2. Location or Purpose: To express basic human emotions. 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Abstract Expressionism (This movement was characterized by simplified compositions formed from geometric shapes in unbroken color.) 5. Date: 1952 6. Country of Production: United States __________________________________________________________________ -> "Untitled" belongs to a series of works on paper that are often referred to as the Brown and Gray series. -> These paintings are characterized by a color field divided into two unequal areas. In each case the darker tone is positioned above the lighter tone, a configuration Rothko imposed to prevent the works from being read as landscapes. -> Although Rothko worked in vibrant hues in his early work, his palette became more muted and somber over time. -> Rothko encouraged viewers of his color-field paintings to get very close to his canvas while viewing his work in order to get the full experience. __________________________________________________________________ Color-field paintings: "Characterized primarily by large fields of flat, solid color spread across or stained into the canvas; creating areas of unbroken surface and a flat picture plane. Closely associated with 1940-50s Abstract Expressionism." __________________________________________________________________ Rothko: "[painting expresses] basic human emotions—tragedy, ecstasy, doom...if you, as you say, are moved only by their color relationships, then you miss the point."
Woman I Artist: Willem de Kooning (1950-1952) Abstract Expressionalism
1. Name: Woman I 2. Location or Purpose: Woman I was one of a series of six paintings centered upon a female figure that de Kooning worked on from 1950 to 1953. 3. Medium: Oil and Metallic Paint on Canvas (the canvas itself, at 6 feet by 5 feet, is huge) 4. Cultural Affiliation: Abstract Expressionism (a development of abstract art that originated in New York in the 1940s and 1950s and aimed at subjective emotional expression with particular emphasis on the creative spontaneous act (e.g., action painting)) 5. Date: 1950-1952 6. Country of Production: United States __________________________________________________________________ -> This painting, of plump, sexual females, knotted up in several layers of abstraction, took detours from earlier ladylike forms into a new and violent direction. -> Here, Kooning took the opportunity to further experiment with the wide-ranging methods of applying paint to canvas, exploring the physical possibilities of the medium. -> The surface of Woman I presents an almost encyclopedic display of the physical possibilities of paint, ranging from thick to thin, rough to smooth, and opaque to translucent. -> De Kooning prepared huge quantities of paint for this project, altering colors and textures continuously during the nearly two years he spent working on the composition. -> Although it may appear rapidly and intuitively executed, De Kooning made numerous preliminary studies then repainted the canvas repeatedly—scraping away and re-working the image, over nearly two years.
Impasto
A technique that involves applying paint as thickly as paste, creating a textured surface in which the marks of the brush are often clearly visible.
Befriending the Pines ***SPECIAL QUESTION - POSSIBLY AN ESSAY TOPIC!***
Question to Consider: How does the garden depicted in this painting exemplify the aesthetics and basic principles of a traditional Chinese garden? ______________________________________________________________ -> This hand-scroll depicts the dream compound of a Chinese scholar, including his residence on the right and a garden on the left. -> Everything in the painting is made to look natural including the many, every day, bamboo trees, coral-like rocks (which represented mountains), and water. -> All shapes formed by natural mediums are irregular (non-geometric) to prevent the landscape from looking fabricated. -> Nothing about the landscape is imposing or impressive, as the true beauty and connection with nature are understated. Bridges were often built from rough timber or stone-slab raised pathways, and were designed to view the gardens from different points of view (served no other practical purpose). The garden structures are not designed to dominate the landscape, but to be in harmony with it. -> Would often get water from Lake Tai.
Palace Ladies Wearing Flowers Artist: Zhou Fang (9th Century) Tang Dynasty
1. Name: Palace Ladies Wearing Flowers 2. Location or Purpose: Depicts what a beautiful/refined lady looked/acted like in Tang Dynasty China. 3. Medium: Hand-scroll (A painting or text on silk or paper that is held by the viewer and is rolled up when not in use. Popular format for painting and calligraphy in East Asia.) 4. Cultural Affiliation: Tang Dynasty 5. Date: c. 9th Century 6. Country of Production: China ______________________________________________________________ -> This horizontal scroll portrays five palace ladies and a maidservant amusing themselves in a garden scene. In the first section, two court ladies play with an adorable dog (Pekingese), one teasing it with a duster. -> In the middle section, a third palace lady rendered in hierarchal scale (depicted larger because of her higher status) is followed by a maidservant holding a long-handled fan. She gazes at a red flower that she holds in her hand and prepares to adorn her hair with it. A crane passes in front of the lady. -> It demonstrates how pictures of beautiful women can provide insight into the ideals of feminine beauty and the social customs of the Tang dynasty. ________________________________________________________________________ FOR INSTANCE, THE FOLLOWING QUALITIES WERE DEEMED ATTRACTIVE IN THE TANG DYNASTY, CHINA: 1.) In the Tang dynasty, a voluptuous body represented the ideal of feminine beauty (i.e. round faces and plump figures). 2.) Their eyebrows are painted in the shape of butterfly wings and they display slender eyes, full noses, and small, cherry-like mouths. 3.) Their hairstyle is done in a high bun adorned with delicate gold ornaments and artificial blossoms such as peonies or lotuses. 4.) The ladies' fair complexion comes from a white pigment that was applied to their skin. 5.) The court ladies are gracefully dressed in long, loose-fitting gowns covered by transparent gauzes and scarves—all fashionable at the time.
The Scream Artist: Edvard Munch (1883) Expressionist
1. Name: The Scream 2. Location or Purpose: The Scream is an autobiographical expressionist painting documenting an event in Munch's personal life when his agoraphobia (fear of wide-open spaces, or traveling) when two people he was walking with left him all alone on a walk. 3. Medium: Oil on Canvas 4. Cultural Affiliation: Norwegian Expressionist 5. Date: 1883 6. Country of Production: Norway ________________________________________________________ -> Like Van Gogh's Starry Night, the landscape of The Scream painting almost vibrates with a swirling and overwhelming feeling and emotion. -> In the manner of a true Expressionist painter, Munch uses bright colorful imagery to express his chaotic emotional state at that moment. -> While the creature in the foreground has been depersonalized and crushed into sexlessness, we know the figure in the painting to be Munch himself. -> Significantly, although it was Munch himself who underwent the experience depicted, the protagonist bears no resemblance to him or anyone else. -> The painting symbolizes the anxiety of the modern man. -> While the figure is slowly melting away, the only thing that is preventing him from falling into complete madness (to the right where the swirling colors are most severe) is the gate. -> Art historians often compare Da Vinci's Mona Lisa to the Scream in that it defined how we define the period of time in which we live. They argue the Mona Lisa evoked the Renaissance ideals of serenity and self-control, while Munch defined our own age with anxiety and uncertainty. -> Munch's account the incident: "I was walking along the road with two friends. The sunset. I felt a tinge of melancholy. Suddenly the sky became a bloody red. I stopped, leaned against the railing, dead tired, and I looked at the flaming clouds that hung like blood and a sword over the blue-black fjord of the city. My friends walked on. I stood there, trembling with fright. And I felt a loud, unending scream piercing nature."
De Stijl
A circle of dutch abstract artists who promoted a style of art based on a strict geometry of horizontals and verticals (Neo-Plasticism).
Handscroll
A long narrow scroll for displaying a series of scenes in East Asian painting and calligraphy. Presents an artwork in the horizontal form and can be exceptionally long.
Color-Field Painting
A style of abstract art that emerged in New York City during the 1940's and 1950's. Inspired by European modernism and closely related to abstract expressionism. Characterized primarily by large fields of flat, solid, color spread across or stained into the canvas creating areas of unbroken surface and a flat picture plane.
Action Painting
A technique and style of abstract painting in which paint is randomly splashed, thrown, or poured on the canvas. It was made famous by the Jackson Pollock, and formed part of the more general movement of abstract expressionism
Photomontage
A type of collage in which photographs are assembled into a single composition.
Automatism
Artist surpasses conscious control over the making process, allowing the unconscious mind to have great sway.
Readymade
First used by French artist Marcel Duchamp to describe the works of art he made from the manufactured objects. It has since been applied more generally to artworks by other artists made in this way.
