Apple Tree with Red Fruit

This painting is titled "Apple Tree with Red Fruit". It was created by post-impressionist Paul Ranson (1864-1926) in the year 1902. His paintings are often filled with metaphors and religious symbols as well as symbols of nature. While looking at Post-impressionist paintings on Google, I really liked this one. The warm colors gives the painting an oriental look. It seems as if its one of the last warm days of Fall, with the apples still on the trees, but the leaves of the tree and on the flowers dying.

Mont Sainte-Victoire

Mount Sainte-Victoire by Paul Cézanne (1885–1887)

Cézanne would often be inspired by the view from his house, which included this mountain in France. He would concentrate on the idea of creating depth, and using geometry, he used an organized system of layers to construct horizontal planes in order to build dimensions. This landscape picture in fact reminded me of a countryside that I once saw in Germany from a castle atop the mountain. It was a fantastic view of the terrain, therefore I captured the scenery using my camera (which only took a second), whereas Cezanne spent two years immortalizing the same image.

This oil on canvas painting titled "The Artist's Garden at Giverny" was created by Claude Monet (1840-1926) in 1900. This is a picture of his gardens at his home in Giverny, France. It was said that his garderns were a source of inspiration for him as well as many other artists to this very day. While looking through images on Google, this one really jumped out at me. It is a very soft picture that reminds me of the springtime, my favorite time of year. The picture gives me a feeling of warmth and calmness, just as if you were on that path walking through the purple flowers.

Setting Sun

Chiura Obata (1885–1975) painted the Setting Sun which is of the Sacramento Valley, California, in 1925. It is a Hanging scroll made with mineral pigments (distemper) and gold on silk. I found this painting through Google on some website about Asian-American modern art and thought that it was really cool. The sky looks like it is on fire but still has that tropical blue sunset sky behind it. It reminds me of sunsets in Ibiza, where went this past summer.

The Cafe Concert

"The Cafe Concert" was painted by Edouard Manet in 1878 and he used oil on canvas. Manet painted a few different cafe scenes trying to describe observations of social life in 19th century Paris. People in the painting are depicted drinking, listening to music, reading, or being waited on. Apart from the man with the black top hat, each person in this painting is either cut in half because of the frame or is overlapped by another person. It seems as though the man with the top hat is supposed to be our main focus in this painting, but in fact, I find the room itself to be the main focus. I find this painting very interesting but also a little complex.

Les Poseuses by Georges Seurat

Les Poseuses was done by Georges Seurat in 1888 with oil on canvas. Translated to english, the title is The Models which i found to be interesting becasue there has been controversy as to whether this is the same model posing in three different positions or three different models. The model(s) is posing in front of another one Seurat's paintings, A Sunday on La Grand Jette. The painting the nude models are in front of contain fully clothes women. I fell like the contrast almost empahsizes the models nudity by having them in front of such properly clothed women. If you look closely you can see that the painting was done in tiny little circles instead of smooth brush strokes. I personally like this style as opposed to straight smooth brush strokes. I like this painting, mainly becasue it is modern art that I actually understand. The figures and objects are clearly painted however the painting itself is mysterious. Why are there these naked women posing in front of another picture that he already made? Is he mocking he previous painting?

Dance Class

This painting is Dance Class by Edgar Degas. It was created in 1987 and is oil on canvas. This painting is a good example of Impressionism. In this painting Degas does not paint any of the figures to be looking at the viewer. This is unlike some of his fellow Impressionist painters. Since he painted his figures this way viewers see the painting as an unedited fragment of time and space. Degas added many figures into this painting yet they all seem to go together and because of this are often used in different combinations for related pictures. I enjoyed this painting very much because of the use of color and space. There is also so much going on in the picture yet it all works and keeps the viewer looking at the details of this work.

The Oath of Horatii

"The Oath of Horatii" was painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1784. It was considered a social commentary piece which precluded the French Revolution, depicting a scene from Roman history. This piece uses vivid colors and lighting to convey three-dimensional space. It is extremely detailed and precise. However, when I look at this painting the first thing I think is awkward. The whole feel of the piece is dramatic, which was probably the very intention of the artist. But the people within this piece look so stiff and uncomfortable. Not one person looks as if their placement was natural. I see this a lot with historical paintings, but it always kind of rubs me the wrong way. I always find it a little too overdone.

Mercury passing before the sun

"The Mercury passing before the sun as seen through a telescope" is one of Giacomo Balla's beautiful paintings. The artist uses a set of primary and secondary colors associated with a combination of bright complementary colors such as blue and orange. The application of tempera on paper gives the painting a nice texture especially with the different layers of paint, one on top of each other to create the different shapes (some organic, some geometric) and the use of black and white for light and shadow. The subject in the artwork doesn't seem like it could be easily or clearly be identified; I have never seen mercury passing before the sun through a telescope before, but the artist could have portrayed mercury the way he had perceived it artistically.

The Red Vineyard

The Red Vineyard by Vincent Van Gogh was painted in November of 1888 on oil on canvas. This painting is an extremely significant piece because it was supposedly the only piece of Van Gogh's that was sold while he was alive. The painting shows the hardships of workers harvesting crops under the bright sunlight. It is a historical representation of life on European vineyards. I also think that the painting may be expressing the issue of slavery. It is apparent that the people who are bending over and working in the fields are being supervised by others who posses fine carriages and appear to be dressed much more fashionably.

The Child's Bath- Mary Cassatt

This painting, "The Child's Bath" was painted by a female artist, Mary Cassatt. She is known to do mother and child paintings. It was painted in 1892 using oil on canvas. To be honest, I think the painting is boring. It wasn't like any other paintings other artist did that were shown. There is nothing exciting about the painting. I do however can appreciate that she draws mother and child paintings and the fact she is a female painter because normally you hear male painters.

Ballet Probe

This painting is Ballettprobe by Edgar Degas. it was an oil on canvas painting done in 1873. Degas is one of the most popular impressionist painters who was very outspoken about the needs of artists and their lifestyles. He organized what is now known as the first Impressionist exhibition and planned many of the subsequent shows. He initially called himself and his compatriots "realists," which pointed to their interest in drawing inspiration from their own environments and experiences. the reason i chose this painting was because i loved the dancers. although the painting seems a little blurry, the colors blend beautifully and you can still clearly see the picture. it also shows depth perception. the dancers in the front are larger than the ones in the back, and the musician in the front are even larger than all the dancers. i especially like the way the light is portrayed coming in from the windows. it allows light to be shed on the main focus of the painting, the dancers.

This painting is named "Luncheon on the grass" by Edward Manet. It was painted in 1863 using the medium oil on canvas. To be honest I didn't really like this painting. I find it weird that the women is just sitting there naked while the men are fully clothed. I know at that time a painting like this was considered very scandalous and thus intriguing. I however do not like it. I don't understand why a women would be picnicking naked with two men. I also do not like the look she is giving the viewers. It just gives me an uncomfortable feeling. I don't understand the women in the background either. It is believed that she is bathing, but why would someone do that at lunch. I just really don't understand it.

HE/SHE

He/She by Tim Noble and Sue Webster, is one of my favorite works of art. Though it is not a Modernism work of art, it is a work of art all the same. The medium is a mixture of welded metals into what looks like a deformed creation but when light is hit by it the shadows displayed on the wall are what the welded metal appear to be! Isn't it amazing?! I just absolutely love the way something that looks like trash can actually look like a real human being peeing! To me this is a true work of art. It keeps that saying alive: "that one persons trash, can be another persons treasure!" Though I would not display something like this in my house I just love the image that this came out to be. The artists Noble and Webster, did a series of different materials, one actually being trash! I encourage you to look into their artwork because the texture of their work turns into something oh so amazing! :)

Boulevard de Capucines by Claude Monet

Boulevard de Capucines was created by Claude Monet in 1873. The painting, which was done in oil paint on canvas exhibits the use of loose brush strokes which is commonly identified as a key element of painting during the impressionist movement. What fascinates me the most about this painting, and impressionism in general, is the ability to create an identifiable image without having to paint with significant detail. Particularly, in Boulevard de Capucines, the subject of the people on the snowy street don't truly or accurately resemble a detailed human figure, it's simply just a few brush strokes, but it still manages to successfully portray a crowded street full of people.

The Flaming Core of Love and Rage

This picture shows the similarities between love and rage. As everyone may have or have a little experience in love, we should have an idea that love isn't the easiest trait. So I definitely like this painting because it fits the title. Love and Rage is two words by itself but it compliments each other at times. The picture is a flame and flames can get a little out of control just like rage and love. If you have experience love then you can understand where i'm coming from with this picture. I like the fact that the blue in this picture stand out to me because the blue can mean sad and it can represent the color of the flame. When I look at this picture I also think about the sun because of the yellow and red. People can interpret this picture differently, but it depends on their experience and the way this picture makes them feel

The Scream

The Scream is by Edvard Munch created in 1893. It is oil, tempera and pastel on canvas. The reason that I liked this painting was because I thought it showed a true sense of human emotion. The figure in the painting seems to be screaming with agony. When people are truely that upset, it may seem that nothing else around them matters. I feel that he uses the blood red sky and the undistinguished lines to show that everything around this figure was becoming blurry. It seems almost as if the figure itself is blending into nature, that they are becoming one. To me this painting is the perfect example of how human emotions can control ones life and make things seem almost unreal at times.

Impression Sunrise 1872

Claude Monet was an artist in the Impressionist movement, which was the first movement in the Modern Art era. An artist Louis Leroy critiqued this painting and came up with the word "Impressionism". Impressionism was a style of painting that used color to enhance light in nature. As you can see in this painting, Monet used brighter colors to show light in the landscape. You are able to see short brush strokes, which was also a style used in impressionism. Most impressionists painted landscapes like this one, and they had to be painted in a timely fashion in order to capture the light in time. This is also why impressionist paintings look not so detailed because artists couldn't take the time to use accurate line and detail. Monet did a great job using color, and space in this landscape to capture light and nature.

Paul Serusier. The Talisman

Paul Serusier used a variety of colors in the painting. This is a painting of a landscape. The problem I have with the painting is that if I didn't read the description that says landscape than I would have no idea that the painting was a painting of landscape. To me it just seems that a bunch of colors where thrown onto the canvas. But, at the same time the painting catches my eye and intrigues me. That is probably because I am intrigued to see if I can make out the different elements in the painting. The colors blend together well and some of the colors even stand out to make your eye go to that particular area. I am conflicted about this painting I like it but at the same time I don't. This is a oil on cigar box cover.

Temptation and Fall

Michelangelo's Temptation and Fall from the Sistine Chapel Ceiling.

The story of Adam and Eve represents a symbolic transition of humanity from pure innocence to consequential truth. From their faces we can see a drastic change from ignorance, curiosity, and humility to utter shame, guilt, and vice. Once certain knowledge is acquired, a person is never the same, hence being banished from their original identity or sanctuary. Also notable is the depiction of the devil who takes on a humanistic-serpentine appearance at the center of the painting (perhaps representing a crossroad of choices).

Head VI

Francis Bacon - "Head VI" (1949) Oil on canvas

Francis Bacon captures physical and psychological horror by manipulating the perspective of the viewer and changing proportions of his subjects until they become nearly unrecognizable. In doing so, he creates fear in the viewer by exposing them to unknown views of everyday objects...many of his paintings incorporate meat or detached jawbones to add a sense of unease to otherwise more traditional pictures. I like how he used his paintings of popes and other religious imagery to create tension and discomfort, almost to the point where they're difficult to look at.

-Kristine O'Connell

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Enjoying Modern Art 2011

After Cole

"After Cole" 2010                                                                                Gary Jacketti

Welcome to the class blog.  This forum will be used to present you ideas concerning art.  They can be related to topics presented in the class, current event in the art world, or your opinions and ideas related to art. Blogs are a powerful and useful tool used in manhy fields.  Contemporary artists use blogs to instantly present new works for view and criticism.  You are responsible for posting a blog once a week, and you must include an image with your post.