Week Ten: Post #9

I think that my artwork which consists primarily of painting and drawing is influenced most heavily by pop art in particular. I think my artwork is influenced also by modernism particularly modern architecture. My artwork consists of appropriated images from popular culture throughout the sixties, seventies, and nineteen eighties. I focus primarily on bohemian surf culture and modernism. I think that if in the nineteen fifties artists were beginning to create work out of appropriated imagery because the world was so flooded with pictures. How much more appropriate is it then now to create work from recognizable images? We now have the ability to add so much meaning beyond just the figure on the canvas because of all the preconceived ideas that are attached to so many images of the past.

Indirectly I can also see how the work of Pablo Picaso  has influenced my work allowing a certain level of abstraction that without his influence would not have been accepted; particularly the painting Les Demoiselles d’ Avignon in its abstraction and multiple views. The way that an image can be suggested with gesture and seen from multiple perspectives on a two dimensional surface has influenced art in general allowing me to be able to mix two dimensional art with three dimensional representation. I also see that the work of Dada and Constructivism have influenced my work through the collage process creating one image out a compilation of images to charge the picture with meaning or even meaninglessness, also with the use of text in an image. This influence can be seen best in the work of John Heartfield in War and Corpses- Last Hope of the Rich and Hannah Hock, Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany in their use of collage to charge meaning. Finally I can indirectly see the influence of surrealism in the work that I create, not so much in the interest in dreams but in the social and cultural values critiqued and explored through images that could not possibly exist on this world but are yet inspired by earthly objects and things.

Without these artist’s first creating their works of art I do not think that my art would appear the way it does today. I work heavily off of the influence of other artists to create my own work; I need inspiration in order to create. I love to look at other artists work to see how I can expand on what they have created in a different way. I would love to work towards creating images that are completely free of reference but right now being so heavily influenced by pop art and certain time periods I do not see that coming in the near future. I hope that my own work can continue to evolve though, as we have learned that it constantly does. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn more about these specific art movements and the ability to see how my art has been influenced. I hope to continue to expound on these influence now that I have a better understanding of where my inspiration lies.

Alan Kaprow week- 9

I chose Alan Kaprow specifically focusing on the piece An Apple Shrine. It is hard to talk about the work of Alan Kaprow without first acknowledging that he studied under John Cage who insisted on the idea of Zen and integration of art and everyday activity. Kaprow’s work was also heavily influenced by the painting of Jackson Pollock. Kaprow marveled at the way Pollock interacted with the painting as almost dance and performance. “Pollocks’s method of painting was choreographic, and the viewers themselves must feel the physical impact of his markings, allowing them to entangle and assault us, in form, technique and reception.” This is what Kaprow set out to do in his own work through the exploration of new ways of creating art.

Alan Kaprow’s work was a new type of art “Installation Art” or in Kaprow’s own language and term of the day “Happenings”. This new type of art had to be interacted with and experienced to fully understand or even view the piece. The idea behind this type of art was to invoke something in the viewer, to perhaps see the world or the piece in a different light a way. Kaprow was an extremely brash and passionate character he once said “I am convinced that painting is a bore. So is music and literature. What doesn’t bore me is the total destruction of ideas that have any discipline. Instead of painting, move your arms; instead of music, make noise. I’m giving up painting and all the arts by doing everything and anything.” Just like John Cage Alan Kaprow wanted artists to change and break down the walls that separated art and the rest of the world. Because this new type of art was experienced in the moment, he scoffed at the idea of creating something that should be so permanent as sculpture and painting. Because of this the only way that Kaprow’s work can be experienced now is by reproduction and thus the experience or happening can never be reproduced as it was when he first installed the work. One of the best ways to experience the works of Kaprow’s work today is through his compiled writings and the writings of first hand participants in the original happenings. This can be seen in the book The Blurring of Art and Life a compilation of essays written throughout his life. Alan Kaprow was once asked if the transience of his work concerned him he said, “No. If the work is of value it will stimulate the creation of related works later on… and thus the tradition will stay alive that way.”

In An Apple Shrine the viewer moved through a maze of clutter consisting of boards and wire built up with tar paper, newspaper and rags. This lead to a quieter and emptier space at the center of the room described by one viewer as having “the stillness… of a ghost town evacuated at the moment before an avalanche- where apples were suspended from a tray and signs read Apples, apples, apples.” The photos of the happening show that the viewer became almost lost in the clutter filling the extremely busy and grungy old house. Kaprow taught art until 1993 and died in 2006 while working on a major retrospective. Alan Kaprow’s work continues to be recreated and changed and shaped the way we view and define art as installation and performance as well as art in general.

Bishop, Claire. Installation Art: A Critical History. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print.

Kaprow, Allan, and Jeff Kelley. Essays on the Blurring of Art and Life. Berkeley: University of California, 1996. Print.

 "Allan Kaprow–Art as Life." Allan Kaprow–Art as Life. Web. 23 May 2012. <http://www.moca.org/kaprow/>.

Week Eight: Post #7 (The Effect of War on Art)

In my opinion both Dada and Surrealism changed the form, content, and concept of art. I see these movements as the shifts that made everything I love in art to be possible. While I do not think what Marcel Duchamp did in art can ever be produced with the same impact or meaning I do think his “readymade” sculptures led to a new way of talking and thinking about art. I believe that Dada led to more, loose and better compositions in graphic design and opened up two dimensional arts in to more of a sculptural realm. The way that paintings could be constructed and composed out of simple layered shapes in Dadaism brought the elements of construction and sculpting an image into the world of two dimensional art. Surrealism also influenced further than just the fine art world and into graphic design allowing images to be compiled to create something other than what it was originally. Surrealism also took art into a new realm by moving past the figurative way of depicting things or even the abstraction of literal things into a whole new world that exists only in the imagination or in these works of art.

In the composition Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife Through the Last Weimar Beer- Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany by Hannah Hoch many points are made and construed in a way that would not have been possible through the creation of a singular image. Hoch uses what feels like one hundred different images to create her composition and make her point. While Dada is a commentary and meant at times to be meaningless and humors I find Hoch’s composition to be extremely charged and filled with social statements. She seems to be making a statement about women and there place in Germany post war as well as commentating on the state of Germany specifically the Weimar Republic post war. I love the ability to address multiple issues through Dadaism I also find this work to be extremely visually pleasing in a new way that I did not find in art prior to this movement.

For surrealism I will be looking at Salvador Dali’s Metamorphosis of Narcissus. I can see how it could be easy to say that this sets art back toward more bourgeois ideals and compositionally can be kitsch; however I do not agree. I think that depicting what might be lurking in the subconscious is just as noble a pursuit as painting a still life or any other figurative subject. I love the dreamlike way that Dali composed this image through making a new world out of things recognizable to us yet arranged in a different way. I love to see the influence of this type of work in contemporary artwork. It reminds me of collage yet is somehow a higher art in my mind because it is painted on one surface.

I appreciate both of these sections of art and love the influence that both movements continue to have on contemporary art today. I believe that sculpture and graphic design and painting were all pushed forward in a huge way by the work of these artists and these movements.

Week Six: Post #6 (Gauguin and Primitivism)

Paul Gauguin’s painting The Yellow Christ, 1889 is in my opinion an avant-garde piece of art. The post impressionist artist Paul Gauguin painted The Yellow Christ in 1889. It has been thought of by some as a self portrait. If this is true I do not agree with the artist opinion of himself as a superior being or a “courageous ‘independent’ struggling against a philistine public”. Based on what we learned about Gauguin in the lecture he wanted to think of himself as a primitive man, yet missed the boat from time to time on what it means to actually be primitive. When he was living in among actual primitive people he would eat canned food as opposed to the local cuisine. However I do see how referencing Christ and historical painting in general does show an awareness of what is going on in the art world in terms of artistic traditions and conventions. This is according to Griselda Pollock’s concept of reference, deference and difference. As far as Deference is concerned I think that Gauguin is definitely giving reference here to the works and techniques of Vincent Van Gogh with the play between the contrasting and complementary oranges and blues as well as in the bottom part of the composition green and violet on the female figures hat. This seems very much to be giving reverence and respect to the latest and most radical developments of another artist who he did in fact know. Concerning difference he is flying in the face of historical painting as a genera by putting the crucifixion into a modern setting as well as taking the scene out of its correct place and setting. It is also a definite advancement on current issues regarding aesthetics and style because it is a clear departure from impressionist painting. He seems to be capturing a brief moment in an outdoor setting. However Gauguin takes it a step beyond capturing a moment, and obscures and simplifies things to the point of abstraction. I would say that Paul Gauguin is aware of the references that he is making both stylistically and in terms of subject matter both in relationship to art of the past and radical new art that is happening in the same time-frame. Gauguin composed the body of Christ or himself with dark outlines as if the composition was constructed of stained glass. This would have challenged the modern painting techniques of the day. In simple terms of line and color Gauguin is challenging authority and displaying unconventional techniques with modern subject matter juxtaposed with historic subject matter. Another way in which Paul Gauguin’s Yellow Christ embodies avant-gardism is the way in which it evokes thought as opposed to simply a beautiful scene as in impressionist painting. At first glance one might see just another depiction of the crucifixion. However Gauguin placed this into modern times as seen in the female figures and the dramatically simplified man climbing over the fence. Why is this man included? What is Gauguin saying with this composition? To me he is saying is that there is more to be communicated through art in a composition than beauty and references to the past. Through this new way of painting Paul Gauguin embodied avant-gardism in 1889 with the painting of The Yellow Christ.

Week Five: Post #5 (Modernity and Masculinity in 19th Century France)

I will be discussing the difference between the work of Gustave Caillebotte specifically Floorscrapers, 1875 and an impressionist work of Claude Monet On The Bank Of The Seine, Bennecourt, 1868. In the work of Caude Monet he is taking realism to an extreme while Caillebotte’s work seems to align itself more with realism. A clear line can be drawn between Floorscrapers and the work of Gustave Courbet in The Stone Breakers. Both pieces focus on the monotony and darkness of real work and the working class. Both images depict men down on the ground grinding it out in hard repetitive work. This contrasts Monet’s depiction of a seemingly rich bourgeois woman enjoying a beautiful afternoon without work or obligation. I find the Floorscrapers piece to be an amazing study of light and its effect in a poorly lit or unlit room. However it is not a scientific snapshot of the way that light effects reflection and shadow in the way that the Monet piece On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt does.

The Monet piece is a textbook example of impressionist painting featuring an outdoor depiction of urbanized Paris depicting a split second in time. Perhaps the woman sitting on this bank only sat down for a brief moment and surly the boats moved out of the frame moments later. Yet comparatively in the Caillebotte painting this has the weight and feeling of an activity that goes on all day or perhaps even days on end. In Contrast as well, this is an indoor scene, it reminds me again of the grittiness of realism because it shows reality. In order for these outdoor scenes of modernized, industrialized paris to exist the reality of the floorscrapers is what had to happen.

The Monet piece is painted in plein air and alla prima with speed and impasto brush strokes. While Caillebotte’s painting seems to have much more time spent with a thinner application of paint, again it is depicted indoors. Comparitivly the Floorscrapers also features illusionism in perspective with the room tilted up as in the woodblock prints from Japan while Monet’s piece features very straightforward linear perspective. Floorsrapers also depicts half naked men showing more of the academic interests in the celebration of the human form and nudity. Comparatively Monet depicts a woman very modestly covered.  While Caillebotte is aligning himself more with certain stylistic aspects that fit more with the academy, the way that the men’s faces are turned down and obscured by darkness would not have been approved of by the academy. It has that in common with the work of Claude Monet, I suppose that neither composition would have sat well with members of the academy. Both pieces seem to be inspired by photography.  Based on the cropping of each composition, the way the window and man on the left are cropped halfway in the Floorsrapers and the way that Monet’s piece looks like it is perfectly framed for a photograph. In conclusion while these paintings are similar in style, yet when examined more closely they are very different. They may draw from some of the same influences however the work of Caillebotte seems to me to have much more depth in composition.

Week Four- Monet vs. Manet

I will be Considering two paintings that depict the French festival of June 30^th, 1878. One being Claude Monet’s The Rue Montorgueil Festival, of 30^th June 1878 and the other being Edouard Manet’s The Rue Mosnier with Flags.  First of all Monet’s painting depicts a heavily crowded street the composition is so filled with people and three colored flags that the building and perspective end up taking a back seat to the movement and energy of the celebration.  France was celebrating that it was now on its feet, the city was now rebuilt and returned to its former glory or at least that is what they wanted to celebrate.  The Rue Montorgueil Festival of 30^th June 1878 is a very energetic and celebratory composition; there are so many people that they are reduced to being depicted by only black lines. It features thick seemingly quick application of paint that helps capture the celebratory atmosphere. According to the challenge of the avant-garde “If anything can be said to represent a sense of unalloyed celebration, then it is surely this spectacle of dancing colours, wherein the painting almost becomes itself a tricolour waved by the artist as the crowd waves its flags.” The perspective of Monet’s painting also lends itself to this feeling of celebration the view hovers high above the people on the ground and the buildings continue much higher up into the sky and continue on as far as the eye can see, thus leaving the viewer in awe of the magnificence of France in 1878, believing that everything is now perfect.

In contrast to the celebration of Monet’s Painting is Edouard Manet’s The Rue Mosnier with Flags. This composition gives a different feeling entirely it depicts a much quieter street still with tricolour flags everywere, but instead of a massive crowd it shows a crippled veteran in workers clothing and other figures that seem to me much more somber in attitude perhaps escaping the craziness of other areas of the city. Manet was more associated with realism and it is easy to see the raw reality of the other side of this celebration. Manet was known for using a stark juxtaposition of colors specifically black and white and he does so in this composition outlining the veteran in black and the openness of the street in contrast with the figures and the street light and carriage. The politics of the situation are addressed more in this painting perhaps because Manet himself saw firsthand the devastation of this conflict. The view is lower to the ground and the subject matter is somber and real. This is how Manet is able to both aspects of avant-gardism being political both in aesthetic and radicalism. In the end both painting are in the style of impressionism and both have similar paint application and subject matter however these are two very different paintings that have two entirely different moods in the same city on the same exact day just like reality. A celebration of the end of something that Manet was not anxious to forget.

Week Three: Post #3 (Impressionism)

For my formal analysis of an impressionist painting I will be writing about Paris Street, Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte. The painting depicts an intersection of streets in Paris on a rainy day with people out and about underneath umbrellas. This painting in my opinion embodies many of the important characteristics of Impressionistic painting. It is an excellent example of the influence of realism on impressionist works.

 According to Stokstad, Caillebotte uses an “unconventional, almost telescopic composition that tilts the perspective.” This leads me to believe that this composition is undoubtedly inspired and influenced by the invention of photography and realism. In my opinion through the perspective and the way you see off far into the distance is very much like the effect the glass of a camera lens might give, breaking it away from perfect linear perspective. Also the way that the scene is cropped is very much the way a camera would cut off a plane instead of thoughtfully placing each building and figure perfectly into the scene. This image is not just inspired by realism it is a new form of “extreme realism” it is a snapshot of a frozen moment depicting exactly what was happening that instant in Paris in 1877. Not only showing the period but a specific instant. This is seen in the glance to the side of the couple in the foreground mid stride, and all of the figures in the painting depicted frozen in motion.

Compared to works of the academy Caillebotte uses very loose brushstrokes. The composition is much more painterly and loose than what was thought of as professional perfect painting at the time and previously in history. While the scene is very tight as far as line is concerned there is much more texture in the way the objects in the foreground are depicted in comparison to the super clean and smooth historic paintings of the day. Caillebotte painted with more of an Impasto technique and you can see especially in the cobble stone street the much thicker application of paint.

I would consider this painting to be a study on the effects of muted light and reflection. It really shows how the light reacts on different surfaces like the difference between the cobble stones and the sidewalk and the fabric on the umbrella. I love the way that the shadow of the streetlight is obscured by the water and light on the sidewalk. These effects of light are rendered very nicely through the use of the impasto technique. The light and dark contrast is shown off very nicely in the figures in the foreground faces. I love the way the man’s face is much lighter below his eyes and in comparison to the way the light is obscuring the woman’s face and body.

Another reason this composition is a wonderful example of impressionistic painting is that it is depicting an outdoor scene in Paris with modern people. This scene could be considered a celebration of modernity through the way it is showing Paris Plein air (painted outdoors) and also through the immediacy of the composition (alla prima) showing the scene as if time has stopped. The composition is weighted very heavily on the right but the way that the street recedes into the distance on the left seems to make up the difference and give the composition a great sense of balance. The strange perspective helps to balance the composition allowing space for the sky on the top half. The road seems to be at the crest of a small hill the way it recedes off into the distance and then tapers to the right and left.

Overall I would say that there is no arguing that this painting, Paris Street, Rainy Day is an excellent example of impressionist painting. It depicts a modern scene with thick heavy brushstrokes while playing and experimenting with the effects light on different surfaces and reflections. The painting seems to be created alla prima or at once like a photograph, depicting a frozen moment celebrating the beauty and modernity of Paris even in the rain. The composition shows its influence of realism and even takes it further into hyper realism freezing almost every figure in the composition mid stride. In the end I find this scene an excellent example of impressionist painting.

Week Two: Post #2 (Realism and the Early Avant-Garde)

Gustave Courbet was working ahead of the bourgeois art society. The world in which Gustave Courbet lived was a cruel and unfair one, dominated by the rich. Art was created only for the rich, depicting only the things that they wanted to see.  Only classical imagery depicting mythological images or images from the past where depicted. If you wanted to see paintings that represented current times it was going to be a portrait of some rich guy or most likely a landscape of something he owned. In light of this Gustave Courbet and some other artists of the period began to paint what they could see. In doing so they did not only see a beautiful world of the supper rich, they saw poor people struggling to survive with almost nothing to help them, and the upper class working against them. 

Gustave Courbet called himself a realist and so when he came across and old man and a boy breaking rocks on the side of the road he just had to paint them in The Stone Breakers. Through this work and The Burial at Ornans Courbet was able to really upset the bourgeoisie. Everything about what he was doing was radically different to what was being depicted at that time in history.

Some things that were different about Courbet’s painting that would have really upset the status quo are first of all the size and scale of these paintings. It was bad enough that he wanted to depict these common poor people at all but he did so, on a grand scale five by eight feet for The Stonebreakers and a massive ten by twenty one feet for A Burial at Ornans. These large sized paintings were reserved for depictions of great historical and mythical characters not the common man. Also the subjects in The Stone Breakers faces are obscured and turned away from the viewer which is very different than the way the academy would paint a picture with the faces being of utmost importance facing straight ahead always. In the depiction of the funeral, this is not the burial of a rich man and it has no illusion of grandeur. It is a sad and awkward moment with common people burying a common man, not some sort of hero or royalty.

While being extremely politically radical Gustave Courbet’s paintings were also technically radical. This is shown in some of the first avant-garde methods of the day with rough application of paint and some disinterest in perspective and illusionistic depth.

Courbet also filled up his canvas with the figures he was depicting and cropped his scenes in a way that appears to be influenced by photography. These things were very different from the landscapes of the day absent of figures or extremely small and of little importance. Courbet also put his figures into motion or awkward yet realistic poses in contrast to the work of the academy that placed every figure perfectly to show them off and display their perfection. In all of these ways and more Gustave Courbet was purposefully trying to uproot the traditions of the day and did so very effectively and pointedly. Eventually being barred from the salon and putting up his own installation near by which eventually led to others breaking off as well.

Week One: Post #1 (Introduction to the Avant-Garde)

In my opinion the avant-garde was and is a new type of art that is contrary to the style and thought system that was prevalent in the nineteenth century and before. It is art that is conscious of itself as art, and is not trying to be a photograph or window into the realistic world. Originally it was thought of as means to lead society to good, and transitioned into something like creating art for the sake of art. Perhaps then avant-garde art attempts to better the world through beauty, aesthetics, being revolutionary, reactionary and innovative. Avant-garde art relies on tradition and art of the past in order to have something to react against, the heavy textured brush strokes of Manet for example.

I think for something to be avant-garde it needs to reference itself as art, through art history or through the technique used to create it. It also needs to be created in reaction to something, weather that is an art reference or a reference to the times I think it needs to speak to the viewer in a way that something is recognized in the style or aesthetics or in subject matter. When I think of avant-garde I automatically think of abstract expressionism, for some reason this is a deep association that I can not even trace… Now I realize there is so much more to the story going back to the artists Manet and Cezanne. Yet even in this understanding my mind immediately still jumps to abstract expressionism. I am excited to see this change and have my ideas broadly expanded.

As far as Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass is concerned I know that in its time it was extremely challenging to the viewer. I believe that even today it still poses challenges, especially to the person trying to understand how he was able to kick-start this new movement. Firstly the subject matter must have been startling to the original viewer; today it is out of context to the uninformed viewer. But to the original viewer seeing what to them was obviously a modern prostitute must have been wild. The men are wearing clothing that was not fit for the occasion, like the smoking hat for indoors for example. The woman’s clothing is right there for the viewer to see leaving no question that this is a modern woman. Then there are the stylistic differences like the perspective being much flatter and the woman in the background being much too large. The texture was completely unfinished in comparison with the works of the academy that were polished and finished with no visible brush strokes. This piece was avant-garde because it was challenging the school of thought and the academy and it was using modern day subject matter as well as new techniques that still required refined and amazing skills and craft yet were more, wild and would have looked messy to the viewer of the day.

Week Ten: Post #9

I will have to say that throughout all the time periods we studied I was most struck by the work from Northern Europe. In comparison to the work created in Italy and the south. I appreciated the darkness of the images created in a colder and more harsh environment. In particular I enjoyed the work from the fifteenth century in Northern Europe and the work of Jan van Eyck most of all. I found myself very drawn to the interest in naturalism and the high level of detail that the artists of this period were able to produce. I was also most impressed by the artist ability to create these paintings that seem so advanced in skill for a time when they did not even have a strong handle on how perspective works! I loved the luminous colors and rich textures that were able to be incorporated through the invention and use of oil paint. I think that most of all the naturalism and realness of the work is what attracted me to this period of art in the north compared to the more idealized work that was created in the south.

Particularly I love the piece, Double Portrait of a Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife the iconography used in the mirror is amazing to me. I have a real tendency to think of people in history as stupid or primitive and I think I enjoy this painting so much in particular because it proves me wrong. I am very drawn to the calculated way in which Jan van Eyck made every decision involved in creating this piece. I love what is spelled out clearly in the painting for example the fact that van Eyck included his own name above the mirror; Jan Van Eyck was here, but also what remains a mystery. Like, is the woman depicted pregnant? So much is crystal clear in this painting except for things that should seem obvious. What event is being portrayed in this painting I love the juxtaposition.

Another piece of Jan van Eyck that I really enjoyed was the self portrait Man in a Red Turban. This again blew my mind with the complexity of thinking behind the piece. The inscription reading “As I can, [but not as I would]” forming an anagram of his own name this seems so crazy to me for the period. It shows that I have a lot to learn about history in general. I love the extreme detail portrayed in this portrait. I also love the use of chiaroscuro and other techniques that did not even exist during the period. It is amazing how easy it is to see the influence of Jan van Eyck’s work throughout the future generations of artist in the north, Albrecht Durer in particular. All of the work created in the north in the fifteenth century I found to be amazingly beautiful and so advanced. This seems to be what I liked most of all the works of Jean Fouquet and Rogier van der Weyden really expanded my mind as far as what art could be in this time period.

Week Nine: Post #8 (Early 18th Century Art)

William Blake was not only an artist he was also a writer and a poet. Renowned not only for his works of art and paintings he is also famous for perhaps being eccentric, insane and even demented. Blake often lived a life of poverty and had few patrons throughout his life and career. His work was heavily influenced by the ideas of good and evil and the Romantic poets. Blake was heavily influenced by Durer and Michelangelo and these influences can be seen throughout the apocalyptic scenes he created throughout his career as well as his attempts at light and texture. Blake began his career as an engraver and was trained at the Royal Academy were he rejected his teachings and left under the thought that the intellectual atmosphere was to stifling.

His illustrations often depict an acute interest in the medieval art and the human anatomy. He often tapped into his broad imagination to create visions of wild creatures and demons perhaps of the spiritual realm.  In 1821 finished his work on the Book of Job in 1825, commissioned by his last patron John Linnell of which I will be focusing. Specifically Satan Smiting Job with Boils. The text attached to the image reads “Naked came I out of my mothers womb & Naked shall I return thither The Lord gave & the Lord hath taken away, Blessed be the Name of the Lord....and smote Job with sore Boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head”. In the story of Job God allows Satan to strike Job with a variety of afflictions to prove that Job loves God most of all and will not curse His name. And through all of the terrible things God allows to happen to Job he does not curse Gods name or turn away from him even though his life is shattered and broken and he wants to die.

The image depicted by Blake is one in which Job is being inflicted with boils by Satan himself who has red bat wings and appears to be almost casting a spell on Job who he consequently is standing on his chest which in my opinion is an accurate metaphor and great depiction of oppression. Blake used a lot of symbolism in his work one of the most notable instances is in the use of right and left limbs in figures to represent good on the right limbs of figures and evil on the left. In the image of Satan Smiting Job with Boils Satan is striking him with his left hand. This is happening through a jar of some type and pouring out onto job in what looks like wind almost blowing onto him. On the left a white figure is weeping this may be God looking on or Job himself mourning about his misfortune. The image is very saturated in color and used a lot of texture. The works of Blake appear to me to reflect Romanticism and show a true escapist look by being very inwardly focused and show Blake's own emotional fantastic and novelistic approach. Blake's Satan Smiting Job with Boils being an excellent example of this.

Merriman, C. D. "William Blake." - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss. Jalic Inc., 2006. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.online-literature.com/blake/>.

"Illustrations to the Book of Job, the Butts Set." Illustrations to the Book of Job (c. 1805-06 and C. 1821-27 C. 1805-06 (objects 1-16, 18-19, 21) and C. 1821-27 (objects 17, 20) ): Electronic Edition. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.blakearchive.org/exist/blake/archive/work.xq?workid=but550>.

"Exhibitions | Past." The Morgan Library & Museum. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/exhibition.asp?id=23>.

Week Eight: Post #7 (Baroque Art)

Caravaggio’s painting inspired a new style of painting throughout Europe in the seventeenth century. His personal touch on the new Baroque style of painting inspired painters in both southern and northern Europe in the seventeenth century. One painter in particular from Spain is Francisco de Zurbaran. His St. Serapion is an amazing example of Caravaggio’s influence. In St. Serapion first on foremost one must note the use of tenebrism the strong light and dark contrast in the figure and also more specifically in the deference between background and foreground. Through the use of tenebrism the figure is brought forward into a place of prominence the viewer is forced to face the subject and the scene at hand with no other visual elements to force the eyes attention. The use of the color red must also be noted in this painting. Red was often used by Caravaggio to set an intense mood and tone is this is also the case with the red emblem in the St. Serapion painting. Interest in naturalism was a strong part of the Baroque style as well as part of Caravaggio’s interest and this can be seen in the positioning of the figure and the realistic way in which both the hands hang from the ropes and the way that the fabric is draped and bunching up on the figure. The figure looks like a Spanish man and is therefore is not an idealized depiction of a man.

Another painter from a different part of Europe who was also clearly influenced by the painting of Caravaggio is Hendrick ter Brugghen of the Netherlands. Caravaggio’s influence can be easily seen in the painting St. Sebastian Tended by St. Irene. One of the first and most obvious signs of Caravaggio’s influence again is the use of tenebrism however in this painting there is a background. A distant sunset is visible as well as a large gloomy looking tree behind the figures. The figure in the foregrounds hand and body down to the tip of his toes in the bottom corner of the composition strongly reference the use of hard diagonals as did Caravaggio’s work and the Baroque style. This piece also has a strong use of naturalism that can be seen on the faces of the women the color of the figures skin as well as the blood running from the wounds and the way the figures skin is bunched up were it is bound. Caravaggio was very interested in dirty gritty and raw naturalism that could be seen on the grungy figures and dirty appendages in his paintings.

Both of these painting feature a high sense of drama and emotion that is accentuated through the use of tenebrism and the way the paintings show of a moment that is happening currently or just about to take place. Both painters still hold true to some classical styles and subject matter but the influence of Caravaggio is very strong in both paintings and they show that his influence was carried all over Europe throughout this period of art.

Week Six: Post #6 (16th Century Art in Northern Europe)

Albrect Dürer represents the Northern Renaissance and a major change in the school of thought and the way that paintings in the north were produced, after his paintings. He was one of the first artists to really harness the power of the printing press and is known for his wood block prints some of which are great examples of the way he was influenced by his trip to Italy. A great example of this would be Adam and Eve. He was also considered to be one of the first graphic artists as well as one of the first artists to brand himself with a logo. His logo, an upper case A, over and housing an upper case D for Albrect Dürer essentially created a brand. Albrect Dürer was a prolific painter who took important aspects from the earlier school of northern European traditions and blended them with techniques of the Italian Renaissance. 

 The piece that I have chosen to represent Albrect Dürer’s shift in style and technique I have chosen is The Suicide of Lucrezia painted in 1518. This painting depicts a female figure apparently Lucrezia who is nude covered only by some type of cloth sash and is committing suicide with a long knife or sword. The background is extremely dark and ominous perhaps setting a graven mood. While the foreground of the image is very light, there seems to be a very strong light source coming from out of the panel on the viewers left.

First off the figure is nude. This fact is a great example of his Italian influence this was not a Northern way of depicting a figure especially a female. This picture seems to be very humanist and shows a strong interest in the human figure as a subject that is worthy of high artistic attention and admiration. In my opinion the figure appears to be very bottom heavy and could be influenced by the Italian style of elongating and exaggerating the figure. There is a definite strong reference to the human figure as something to be idealized. The figure is also standing in a contrapposto pose and the composition is shaded very dark to light using the chiaroscuro technique which is a technique of the high Italian Renaissance. There is also some subtle attempt at foreshortening in the hand holding the sword and some of the fabric that is draped around the composition.

As far as the continuation of Northern traditions there appears to be symbolism in the subject matter itself and perhaps in the way the face is portrayed almost child like on the woman’s body. The interest in naturalism is seen in the way that the light is cast on the subject and the elements of the room. There also seems to be a continuation in extreme attention to detail in the shading, the floor, the perspective of the bed and background images. Albrect Dürer is a wonderful example of someone who furthered art in the North by applying things he had seen and learned from the Italians while continuing in the great traditions of the North with amazing attention to detail, naturalism and the use of iconography and symbolism.

Week Five: Post #5 (Late Renaissance/ Mannerism)

Two works of art from the Mannerist style I have chosen to compare are Pontormo’s Entombment (p. 661) and Parmigianino’s Madonna with the Long Neck (p. 662). Both of these works are great examples of the Mannerist style for a variety of diverse reasons they also share many key stylistic elements from the period. Both paintings were created within about twenty years of each other in the early to mid fifteenth century. Both works of art leave the viewer with unsettling feelings that perhaps the things that are included are exaggerated and as well as the since that some things may be missing from the composition.

In Pontormo’s Entombment the colors used are almost electric and do not seem to be an attempt at being realistic at all. Jesus and the other figures appear to be a strange mix of yellow and grey hues while the figure holding up the body of Christ is some type of strange Neon yellow. The figures in the composition are strangely distorted. Elongated and heavy in places while very delicate in others, their bodies are strangely twisted and contorted as well. There is a shallow depth in the composition but no real calculated use of perspective as was popular in the high Italian Renaissance. The figures also seem to be floating in mid air stacked on top of one another. These are all examples of elements that represent the Mannerist style, most of which are present as well in Parmigianino’s Madonna with the Long Neck.

Parmigianino’s Madonna with the Long Neck also has an extremely shallow depth of field as well as figures that are distorted in strange and un-human like ways. The Virgin's body for example seems to be very out of proportion between the top and bottom of her body. She also seems to be impossibly perched upon a thrown that does not exist. There is also a figure St. Jerome, holding a scroll in the bottom right of the composition placed almost only to balance the composition in my opinion. St. Jerome is standing in front of a pole that holds up nothing in front of a missing throne, great examples of an irrational distorted environment.

As far as subject matter is concerned both compositions include depictions of what appears to be Christ dead. In Madonna with the Long Neck Christ appears to be dead as a child which may be a foreshadowing while in Entombment Christ is being carried to the tomb. The background of both images seem to be very dark and heavy perhaps trying to creating a sense of sadness and mourning. Both compositions have a group of figures staring at Christ and the Virgin Mary.

In conclusion these are literally textbook examples of the mannerist style both portraying Christ and the Virgin Mary in mourning. Both also have contorted figures in proportions and the way their bodies are moving, an exaggerated color palette, and strange unsettling composition that defies physics and reality. Therefore both Pontormo’s Entombment and Parmigianino’s Madonna with the Long Neck are excellent examples of the Mannerist style of Italian Renaissance Art.