African Mask

African Mask, unknown artist.

I picked an African Mask because i like the colors that was used on the mask. I like how you can tell there is a face and a mouth. It's more of a girlie mask

On White II - Kandinsky

Kandinsky's oil on canvas, is an expression of the artist's talent and passion for architecture. Geometric elements were of a great importance to his works after his teaching on plastic arts and color theory. The composition of the painting is characterized by a mixture of squares, rectangles, circles, curves and angles. The abstract painting, rich in color and in forms, triggers a deep curiosity on the nature and objective of the art work.

Mechanical Head - The Spirit of Our Time

Raoul Hasumann (1919)

Raoul Hausmann was a leader of the German Dada movement in which art became a reflection of the shattered explosions from WWI. From their perspective, the fragmentation of art was a measure of the fragmentation of life, which was grotesquely manifested by the war. Hence this work by Hausmann was constructed from a hairdresser's wig-making dummy with various measuring devices attached to it—including a ruler, pocket watch mechanism, typewriter, camera segments, and a crocodile wallet. Hausmann was inspired by his belief that the average German "has no more capabilities than those which chance has glued on the outside of his skull; his brain remains empty.” A critique in contrast said that “this is a head whose ‘thoughts’ are materially determined by objects literally fixed to it.” Personally I also feel that this represents our thoughts but projected into reality. Therefore it is a conceptual assemblage that is both laughable and political.

The Snail

"The Snail" by Henri Matisse was created in 1952-1953 as one of his later works, finished one year before his death. This piece consists of pieces of paper painted with gouache and then torn and arranged in the rough shape of a snail onto the background. From the early to mid-1940s Matisse began to suffer from arthritis. Eventually by 1950 he stopped painting and began creating these paper cut outs. I like that Matisse still used his vibrant colors in these paper cut outs as he did in his paintings.

Self portrait with Muse

"Self portrait with Muse" was painted in 1917 by Marc Chagall, oil on canvas 157 x 140 cm.Chagall was an early modernist who used varying mediums, including stain glass. He was a Russo-French Jew who lived through both World Wars and did many of his works focus around Jewish religious and social themes. This particular piece is of himself receiving inspiration from a muse which appears to be an angel. I find it interesting that he used only blue tones, it gives a lot of depth and contrast to the work. Also he shows himself and his vision in darkness, as if he is blind, and the angel in lightness as if it is giving him vision and inspiration. There is some definite cubist components to the piece, as well as hints of emerging surrealism.I like that his works as so bold and contrasting. His style is also very varied and different from painting to painting.

Gustav Klimt

'The Kiss'

1907

oil and gold leaf on canvas

Vienna, Austria

When he painted The Kiss, Klimt was 45 years old and still lived at home with his mother and two unmarried sisters. However, behind the respectable facade he was a man with a ferocious sexual appetite. Klimt fathered at least three illegitimate children and probably many more. He was obsessed by women and he had a fixation with redheads. It is no surprise that the woman in The Kiss has red hair.

Death Seizing a Women was done in 1934 by Kathe Kollwitz on lithograph. I felt that this particular work was very powerful and moving for the viewer. Death is most people's biggest fear, although it is inevitable. Death usually comes for older, sick people. however, this women appears to be younger; her face isn't wrinkly, her hair is a dark color, and she is clutching a new born. It looks like death is coming on her very quickly and violently. She is clutching her baby, I'm not sure if this is being done to protect her child or if the mother is trying to escape death by clinging to life. The actual death figure is very creepy, resembling something from a modern day horror film. What ever the story is behind this picture I think it is clear that this death is not welcomed or accepted, even the title indicates that death snuck right up on this poor mother. I think this was very well done but I would never in a million years hang this up in my house because I feel like I would never get a proper nights sleep.

I and the Village

This painting was made by Mark Chagall in 1911 and is oil on canvas. A lot of Chagall's work presents dreamlike imagery and this painting shows just that. In this painting there are images that are some what like a dream process of a cow which is placed on the left side of the painting. I think this painting is very interesting and cool to look at. There are so many images placed in it that a viewer is almost never bored looking for something new in the painting. The use of color also makes the painting very interesting. All the colors used are bright and fun to look at in the images they are used for.

The Seer

The Seer by Giorgio de Chirico is a 35 1/4 by 27 5/8 oil on canvas painting done in the 1915. He freezes the reality and distorts the tailor in the picture with no arms and distorts his face. This painting symbolizes a heroic past of antique statuary. Also it alludes the lost world of silence and poignant longing for human community. I like how neutral colors and the fact that the person looks like a tailor. This picture just stood out to me!

Woman in a Purple Coat

"Woman in a Purple Coat" is an oil on canvas painting done in 1937 by Henri Matisse. The woman in the picture is supposed to be Matisse's assistant and companion Lydia Delectorskaya. this painting is an example of his mature decorative style. Lydia is shown in an exotic Moroccan costume, surrounded by a complex of abstract design and exotic color. This is an example of one of the final groups of oil paintings in Matisse's career, in 1950 he stopped painting oil paintings in favor of creating paper cutouts. the reason i chose this painting is because it is one of Matisse's last paintings and although his arthritis was taking a toll on him, his talent still remains. i love the colors in this painting and especially how the purple coat stands out from the rest of the painting.

the snail

"The Snail" is a cutout picture done by Henri Matisse in 1952. it is pigmented with gouache on paper, and cut and pasted on to a base layer of white paper. it is found in the Tate Gallery in London. it consists of a number of colored shapes, arranged in a spiral pattern. From the early to mid-1940s Matisse was in increasingly poor health, and was suffering from arthritis. Eventually by 1950 he stopped painting in favor of his paper cutouts. "The Snail", is a major example of Matisse's final body of works known as the cutouts. the reason i chose this picture is because at first when i looked at the picture i didnt understand why it was considered famous, but when i read that it was part of the cutout collections from matisse i understood why he made that type of art.

Clothespin

I think this piece is awesome! How many times in your life do you get to see a 45' clothespin! I mean, its amazing. It stands in the Center Square of Philadelphia. It was create by Claes Oldenburg in 1976. I have been to Philly quite a few times in my life but have somehow missed a 45' clothespin when I am there. It is made of steel with a steel base and it just a true fascination for the eye. This is the kind of stuff you can't make up. If you do not believe this, something that must have taken hours to recreate is not art, then you don't know true art.

Bicycle Wheel

This was one of Marcel Duchamps created in 1951 in New York during the Dada movement. However, this is the 3rd version of it since the originals were lost. All it is is a metal wheel ontop of a painted wooden stool and you can find it today at the MOMA. The 1st version was created in 1913. This bicycle wheel was one of his "readymades". I didnt really quite understand the concept of it but i guess thats why Marcel was considered a surrealist. Some people can see a human in it, others think its funny, and if you flip it upside down it can be a unicycle. So far Im not a big fan of the Dada movement.

L.H.O.O.Q.

This is a work of art by Marcel Duchamp created in 1919. This is a type of art work that Duchamp called readymades. Readymades were taking objects that are not considered art and transforming them to what he thought was art. This is a cheap postcard of the Mona Lisa in which he added a mustache and titled it "L.H.O.O.Q" which if said fast in French sounds like the sentence "Elle a chaud au cul" which translates to "She has a hot ass". When we learned about this in class on Monday I thought that this was funny and wanted to see what it looked like myself. Obviously people of Duchamp's time did not find it funny and thought that it was an attack on a famous artwork. Duchamp however, felt that readymades were not making fun of art but were forcing people to look at art from a different perspective.

The Bathroom

This painting is called "The Bathroom" and it is by Pierre Bonnard. Its a oil on canvas and the size is 47 5/8 by 46 1/2. The painting is of Bonnard's bathroom at his home and the woman is his wife Marthe with their dog. The interesting thing is that Bonnard's wife appears in many of his paintings but her face is never visible. I think that is interesting that he paints his wife but the audience never sees her face. When he painted this he didn't have a sketch he did it by free hand and by memory. I like this painting a lot. I like the colors that he used and I like that he used his own family and bathroom in the painting. The painting is relateable to people who are looking at it. I also like how he did this by meomory and just a few small sketches as aides. Overall I really like the painting.

Wedding

The painting "Wedding" is by Marc Chagall. It was painted in 1918. It is said that Chagall had difficulty persuading his future wife's parents that he would be an acceptable husband for the daughter. His in-laws were afraid that a painter would be unable to support their daughter, but Chagall was confident that he would be able to. I like this painting because it is very light-hearted and romantic. I think the fact that they entire painting is black and white with the exception of the red cupid, helps to convey the concept of love. I also like how in the background there is a musician in the tree, serenading the happy couple on their wedding day.

Diego and Frida

This oil on masonite painting titled "Diego and Frida" was created by Surrealist, Frida Kahlo (1907-1954). She created it in 1944 for her 15th wedding anniversary to husband, Diego Rivera. I thought this was a very interesting painting when I came across it. It shows half of her face and half of Diego's face and when united, they make one. It also shows the moon and the sun as one as well as a conch and a scallop, which symbolize their union. I really like how the red color used for the background bring out the brown tones used throughout most of the painting.

Twilight Storm

Twilight Storm 20″ x 16″Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas
I never seen any abstract art like the one Zachary Brown paints. This one I like because I love the use of the colors and I am just curious what the symbols mean in the painting. But I really like this abstract painting.

Lemon Meringue

Lemon Meringue by Lee Price

Lee Price's work is one of my favorites! The way she can make a painting look so real is amazing to me. I like this painting because she makes the water look so real and her use of light. I like the fact she doesn't care what people think of her work, and she loves doing what she does. She just paints and doesn't second guess herself and that is what I think makes me appreciate her more.

Le Cowboy

Le Cowboy, or The Cowboy was a lithograph done in 1947 by Henri Matisse. Matisse was a part of the Fauves movement, so the bight crazy colors are a reflection of that. I really didn't know what this was until I read the title, then i could kind of see a cowboy in the left figure on the left side. What he is supposed to be roping on the right side I have no idea. It looks like some strange blob creature, nothing like a horse or a bull or anything else a cowboy may actually rope. Several of the websites said that as Matisse got older, he switched from painting to lithogrpah becasue he could no longer grasp the paint brush. Overall I dont really like this picture mainly due to the fact that i cant tell what that blob is. That may have been Matisse's whole point that since he was an abstract painter.

The Dream 1910

This oil on canvas painting by Henri Rousseau in 1910 is titled "The Dream", and it currently hangs at the MOMA. It is a huge painting almost 7 feet by 10 feet. He used imagination in his paintings, which is clearly depicted in this jungle scene with the nude woman. I liked this painting because he uses alot of color and magic to create a scene unheard of. A luteplayer in fine cloth stands in the backround behind a lion and bison. They all appear wide-eyed, and this painting was described as being supernatural.

Exploded Head - Karel Appel

The artist's painting is like an explosion of bright colors, yellow, red, blue and black and white.

The colors are all mixed together. It feels like the artist is trying to express his emotion by comparing the composition and the choices of colors with the stress and anxiety that someone could go through. The colors also look like a representation of all different parts and sections of the brain. The artist's beautiful art work is a symbol of an expression of reality.

The Two Fridas 1939

This first time I saw this painting I couldnt understand what it meant. Then we began watching the Frida movie in class and it all started comming together. She had painted this oil on canvas in 1939 after her divorce from Diego Rivera, and it represented how she was feeling at the time. I researched an analysis of this painting and found that: Shes wearing a mexican garb on the right, which is the woman Diego fell in love with. In her lab is a portrait of Diego, and this was found with her at the time of her death. Attatched to the portrait is an umbilical cord which could representing that Diego was her lover, and her child. The heart of the mexican on the right is whole, and that was when Diego still loved her. The linking vein and the collapsed hands represent her imaginary child hood friend whom she looked to when she was diagnosed with Polio at the age of 6 and experienced great pain. On the left she shows herself with a destroyed heart, and the surgical scissors are her way of disconnecting from him. The pool of blood on her lap represented numerous abortions, miscarriages, many surgeries, and the pain she felt from losing Diego. First impressions say alot about this painting but after reading why the artist painted it, it makes more sense, and makes it an amazing piece of art.

Henry Ford Hospital

The Henry Ford Hospital done by Frida Kahlo was painted in 1932 with oil on metal. The picture depicts Frida's second miscarriage in the Henry Ford Hospital. The background shows the Ford factories of Detroit, a city which Frida hated. There are six objects coming from her lower abdomen connected by her umbilical cord. there is a baby, a snail, a piece of medical machinery, an orchid, a broken pelvis, and the female anatomy. the baby represents the child Frida will not be able to conceive due to her previous injuries from the bus accident. the snail was meant to represent her slow agony at realizing she will never be able to have a child. The orchid was a gift from Diego, her husband, while she was at the hospital. the piece of medical machinery represented the cold, impersonal hospital staff she encountered. and the broken pelvis and female anatomy are thought to be pointing towards her back which was also broken in the bus accident. I think that the combination of the hospital and the Detroit sky line really emphasis Frida's pain of being in a city sh doesn't like and away from Mexico especially during such a time of sadness. The painting is very powerful and really expresses her feelings.

"Pollard Willows With Setting Sun"

"Pollard Willows With Setting Sun" was painted by Vincent Van Gogh in 1888, oil on canvas. He did a series of paintings of willows which were inspired by the willows around Etten, just south of the Netherlands, where his art career began. It is one of his later works, where he was very impressionistic with his style and focused less on what he was seeing so much as how he was seeing it.his first pieces were very detailed, dark and realistic. In his last years it was looser, brighter and borderline surreal. I love the colors and the clear brushstrokes. Something about the crosscutting lines is very appealing to me.

The Two Fridas

In Frida Kahlo’s oil painting entitled The Two Fridas created in 1939 Kahlo is portrayed being split in two placed in front of a cloudy and stormy setting. When this painting was created in 1939, Frida and Diego had just made their divorce final. The Frida on the left, in the white European dress, is clearly heart broken at the thought of their marriage having ended. The clamp symbolizing her cutting off her connection to him. The Frida on the right, dressed in traditional Mexican clothes is holding Diego, possibly intending to represent when they still loved each other. I like this painting because of the meaning behind it. The painting tells it's own story and shows two sides of who Frida was.

arist-Ezerd

2009

Beacon, NY

I was recently in Beacon with some friends for the 'second Saturday' art gallery showings. This painting was shown in the gallery Open Space. I loved the artist's theme, which was aliens portrayed with an innocence, like the painting shown here. Most of the paintings looked like they were pretty simple, and they were appealing in that there wasn't so much to have to figure out about them. They were 'cutesy' but not overly so to the point where they should have been on display at a children's daycare. The artist said that she was thinking of collaborating with a graphic animator to start doing cartoons, which I think is just down this artist's ally!

Diego and I

Frida Kahlo (1949), oil on masonite

Diego and I is an undeniable representation of Frida Kahlo’s complicated relationship with Diego Rivera. Although Diego had been expectedly promiscuous in the past, an affair with her sister, Cristina, was too much for Frida to bear. Based on this painting, it seems as if Diego had some sort of power over her (as showed by the third eye). Furthermore, Frida’s hair is wrapped around her neck suggesting that he is restraining or suppressing her. Even the red and scarlet colors convey the passion and pain that the couple shared. It is very unfortunate that she loved him unconditionally yet he remained unfaithful to her—even though loyalty was the only thing she desired.

bathers

Bathers by Seurat is an oil on canvas. the painting is in London. this painting was made in the movement of pointilism. I like the colors and the reflection inside the water. i like that Seurat put people on the grass and in the water. it looks like a nice hot summer day. i can not wait until summer because of this picture. thats why i chose to write about

Sacred Spring, Sweet Dreams

Sacred Spring, Sweet Dreams : Paul Gauguin

This painting is one of many created during his time in Tahiti. I like this painting because of the colors and the scenery which is different from a lot of the artists we have studied in class. the woman on the left seems to have a halo around her head and I wonder if that is leaning towards a spiritual sense. The colors are muted except for the orange clothes and reflections in the water. The personal story of Gauguin in Tahiti is very interesting and maybe thats why I like the painting.

Street in Dresden

Street in Dresden: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner oil on canvas

I like this painting because while it is a street scene the colors really pop. It seems happy through the use of color though the people in the painting have expressionless faces. It seems as though there are many women in this painting and I wonder if that was intentional or not. Looking at some of Kirchner's other work, it seemed to me that he liked to use color in his paintings

In the Car

I am not completely sure if this is in our textbook but I absolutely love this image. This is a cartoon comic strip called "In the Car" by Roy Lichtenstein. I love his work. though his characters are very similar to the ones from the bazooka gum comic strips, they are a classic. Each image is made with tiny dots just in some of the pointillism pieces and created to tell a story. Some have captions or bubble texts to them but not this one. It is a silent comic and I love the characters and the way it was created. Lichtenstein uses only bold primary colors in his pieces and is able to capture the eyes of his observers. It is an image that i have come to love ever since I was exposed to his work and I continue to look into his work regularly.

Number 1

The picture above is called Number 1 by Jackson Pollock. It was painted in 1950 using the medium enamel and aluminum paint on canvas. I personally do not understand this painting at all. The many random directions of colors are intriguing but I do not understand how he gained such fame from these paintings. They supposedly tell a story however I do not see it. I feel it would be fun to create one of these but I don't see how much talent is involved. It appears the paint is just randomly splattered about with little thought. Although this is probably not true it is how I feel when I view his artwork.

Sunflowers

This oil on canvas painting titled "Sunflowers" was created by Post-Impressionist, Vincent VanGogh . It was created in Arles in January 1889. I liked this painting because sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers. I also liked how the flowers stand out even though VanGogh used the around the same color throughout the whole painting. The dying flowers as well as the bright, open flowers gives the painting as sense of time because all flowers in a bouquet aren't all open or all dead at the same time.

Joan Miró - Dona i Ocell (1983)

I took this picture when I studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain when I lived near a park that had this Joan Miró sculpture/mosaic. For months I thought it was just a random, cool sculpture that I saw from the street until one day I took a walk through the park and realized that it was a Miró piece. In Catalan, "Dona i Ocell" translates to Woman and Bird. This is not part of the modern art era but I thought that it was cool that a random piece of art in a little park was actually something significant.

Soldier Take Warning

The painting "Soldier Take Warning" was created in 1942 by Salvador Dali. At first glance, the painting looks as if there is a soldier in the forefront looking back at two women. If you give the painting a closer look tho, it is apparent that the women are supposed to symbolize a skull. The painting was designed to warn soldiers about the possibility of contracting STDs. I think it is very clever how Dali was able to manipulate the image and I also like how the artist was able to create an influential painting, while at the same time providing a public service announcement.

Blue Morning Glories

Georgia O’Keeffe’s oil on canvas painting called Blue Morning Glories was done in 1935. O’Keeffe was a groundbreaking modernist painter who digressed from realism to express her own visionary style. She was raised in rural Wisconsin, which gave her a love of nature. She is best known for flower paintings, which made up a significant percentage of her work. She painted enormous close-ups of flowers and she highlighted their importance in a manner that attracted attention. I find this painting quite pretty and enjoy the use of shading.

Girl Before A Mirror

The painting "Girl Before A Mirror" by Pablo Picasso was painted in 1932 on oil on canvas. This painting is a true example of the Cubism that Picasso became famous for. The subject of the painting is said to be Marie-Therese Walter, who was a love interest for Picasso. The painter was preoccupied with confronted opposites and rich colors. I like how the woman's reflection is painted in darker shades of color. This may imply that the woman has a more sinister image of herself. It is also interesting how the woman's arm is outstretched and holding on to the side of the mirror, as if she could in some way hold onto herself.

Luxe, calme et volupte

Luxe, Calme et Volupté is an oil painting by artist, Henri Matisse, from 1904. The colors of this painting is what drew me in. The dark shading behind the standing figure nearest the tree, and the greenish shadows cast beneath the the seated and reclining figures should be admired. In the foreground we discover a beach which recedes to the left, leaving an open bay on the right. That margin of the picture is secured by the trunk of the tree which thought spatially ambiguous, is linked in design with the boat in the middle distance. The year the painting was created, Matisse had met Paul Signac, one of his collegues, and spent the summer working with him at Saint- Tropez on the French Riviera. After meeting Signac, Matisse began using the bright colors of Neo-Impressionism.

Blue Horses

Blue Horses was made by Franz Marc in 1911 and is oil on canvas. It is one of Franz Marc's typical paintings showing animal existence in nature. The use of color and shape in this painting makes it extremely beautiful and interesting. The colors used for the horses are not typical yet it works for the painting. I think this paining shows the beauty of these animals, from their body shape to their movements they may be making. I enjoy many of Franz Marc's paintings but this one is especially appealing to me.

Mom's Foot Blue and Orange

This painting is called "Mom's Foot Blue and Orange" by Sue Williams in 1997. This painting's medium is oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas. The painting is 8'2" x 9'. This painter uses a lot of sexual motifs in her paintings with a cartoon feeling. In the painting there are big toes popping out in floppy blue and orange shapes. When I first looked at the painting I had no clue what the painting was about. When I read the title I was taken back that there are suppose to be a foot in the picture. I don't see the foot. I do like how it looks cartoon like and that the strokes are flowing and not structured. I like the complementary colors that she used and stuck with only those two colors. I am not sure if I like this painting or not. I picked it because I wanted to see what other people thought of it and I was intrigued by the title. The artist used displaced sexual motifs such as spiky heels, pointy shoes, big toes, and pudendalike feet. This is a very interesting painting. The artist's inspiration came from Don Martin's magazine called Mad Magazine.

American Hailstorm

The image above is 'American Hailstorm' by Thomas Hart Benton. It was painted in 1940 using the medium tempra on pannel. I like this picture because it captures the excitement and fear felt if you've ever been caught outside in a storm. The technique the artist uses allows you to really feel as if the people in the picture are experiencing strong winds. The colors are similar to what you would see in a stormy situation. The artist allow us to really feel the panic of the horse and men, particularly the one closer. Overall I really like this piece.

Explosion

Explosion, by Salvador Dali was done on "ink on paper" in 1954. Soft Watch at the Moment of First Explosion, (also known as The Melting Watch, Clock Explosion, or simply Explosion) is an example of this surrealist movement. Dali used the presence of a dreamlike quality and ghostly appearance to accentuate the mysterious and unexplainable in his painting. Dali assimilates shadowy outlines of objects and uses the dreamlike quality in the way the watch twists and its broken pieces unexplainably float above it. Also, the ghostly way the watch drapes over one edge of the box as if melting. The watch seems to be pulling apart and stretching. It may denote Dali’s belief that time passing brings eventual destruction.

Fighting Forms

"Fighting Forms" is a painting by German expressionist Franz Marc. Along with Kandinsky, March founded the Blue Rider movement. This painting was created in 1914 and depicts a swirl of red that seems to be fighting with a swirl of black. I really enjoy this painting because I feel as if there is two contrasting images fighting against each other for their survival. Marc typically paints pictures of animals, specifically horses. I believe, that even though you can not tell what shape these swirling objects are, that they are indeed horses. This painting is an example of non-objective abstraction, which is what Kandinsky and he were famous for. March was noted for saying, “Objects speak: objects possess will and form, why should we wish to interrupt them! We have nothing sensible to say to them. Haven’t we learned in the last thousand years that the more we confront objects with the reflection of their appearance, the more silent they become?” I believe this quote sums of this painting in the sense that, yes there is two objects fighting in the painting. It is obvious that there are, however what they are is not obvious, and if you bring their true identity to focus then the painting just wouldn't be as powerful as it is.

Canephore (Nude woman with basket of fruit)

Georges Braque's Nude woman with a basket of fruit is a 5'3 x 2'5 oil on canvas. The art work portrays a woman half nude sitting while holdiong a basket of fruit. What seems to be odd about this painting is the shape of the woman's body. Her face looks pretty refined with long hair like most women would, but her upper body looks very muscular and manly. She seems to have a woman's chest but her core is tight and packed with abdominal muscles. The artist uses very dark and dull colors like brown, black and dark blue. The artist may not have wanted to focus on usual appearances but wanted to based his paintings on a certain mood.

The Statue of David

The Statue of David is a renaissance sculpture done by Michelangelo between 1501 and 1504. Its a 17 foot standing statue of a man nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favored subject in the art of Florence.Originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, the statue was instead placed in a public square, outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence, where it was unveiled on september 8th 1504. the statue was eventually moved to the Accedemia Gallery in Florence in 1873 and the original one outside was replaced by a replica. the reason i chose this statue was because i have a miniature statue of this in my house and its a prized possession in my family. I also am going to study italian art in florence in may and would love to see the original statue of David.

Northeaster by Winslow Homer

Winslow Homer’s painting Northeaster is an oil on canvas done in 1895. It’s absolutely beautiful and it caught by eye because of the earthquake and tsunami that just hit Japan recently. The colors or the waves and sky are very dark making it look like it is a bad storm. Winslow Homer is known for his sloshing dark sea- scenes. He was well liked during his lifetime but critics were taken a-back by the harsh images and lifestyles he depicted.

TROPICAL SUN

This picture by Emil Nolde was created in Seebull, Germany. This artist worked on contrasts of colors that showed some emotional problems. To me this picture showed some type of pain because the sky is orange and purple and it just showed alot of emotion when i first looked at it. i like this picture because of the colors and the depressed mood it puts me in when i try to figure out whats going on in the pic

Animal Destinies

Franz Marc (1913), oil on canvas

Inspired by the Impressionists, particularly Vincent Van Gogh, Francis Marc began his intensive study of animals in their natural setting. Among the Independent German Expressionist, his works in particular were characterized by bright primary colors, bold simplicity, and a profound sense of emotion. In The Fate of the Animals, he even displays a style that markedly resembles cubism. This has been known to be an apocalyptic image, showing the destruction of the natural world due to industrialization. It was painted on the eve of World War I, inspired by tensions of the prewar period. Marc even noted “it is like a premonition of this war, horrible and gripping.” Sadly, WWI would be the very instrument of his end when a shell splinter struck him in the head, killing him instantly.

A Critical Evaluation

A Critical Evaluation

Art Criticism

Art critics and art historians are actively involved in the practice of art criticism.  They attempt to put into words the ideas and concepts the artists are trying to convey.  Art Historians are interested in how the works interpret the culture and time, while art critics are more involved with contemporary issues.

Some Simple Rules for Art Criticism*

1. Description: What do you see?
1. Describing Subject Matter: What is the subject?  What is there?  Simply describe.wht is there.
2. Describing Presentation:  How is the subject matter presented?
3. Describing Medium: What is the object made of?
4. Describing Style:  Which modern movement is your image from?

2.      Analyzing:  What formally is going on?

1.      Elements of Art:  Which elements of Art are evident; Line, Shape, Form, Texture, Color, Value and Space?

2.      Visual Clues:   How, why, what is the artist trying to convey.  Is it symmetrical or asymmetrical?  What is important?

3. Interpretation: What is the artwork about?
1. The Point:  What is the point or meaning?
2. Intent:  What is the artist trying to say?

4. Evaluation: What is your opinion?
1. Judgment:  How do I judge the quality and value of the art work? 
2. Timeline:  When was it Made?  Is it related to a theory or movement?
3. Artistic Importance:  Does it stand the test of time, or is merely amusing.

* based partially on Terry Barrett's Criticizing Photographs, Mountain View, CA:, 1990.

The Persistence of Memory

"The Persistence of Memory" by Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali, was created in 1931 and used oil on canvas. Dali sometimes referred to his paintings as "hand-painted dream photographs" and this painting can definitely be characterized as this. Some art historians thought that the painting may be a visual depiction of the idea behind the Einstein's theory of relativity, that time itself is relative and not fixed. I personally like that he uses the colors of faint brown, yellow and different blue colors to create this painting. This painting is only 9 1/2 by 13" inches.