Social realism

Show me an angel and I’ll paint one

              -Courbet

 

Art history exam coming up

Must actually write some practice exams…

oh yeah, if you were wondering, the teachers chose to put my boxes into perspectives.

Conckaigne][Vincent Desiderio

I like this Painting~ By Manet (not Monet)

Homeless…

one of my studios

they might end up in perspectives

pitttures

I started stressing about TEE

how do I deal with this?

I find old drawings I’ve done, take photos of them and put them up on my blog haha.

oh I’m a strange child.

so here are my not so fabulous drawings that I get up to in my spare time. Or time I shouldn’t be doing art in.

A picture I drew while on tour, the ballroom gala

a bunch of snobs came at night and did some fabulous dancing.

flashing lights

fireworks

sparks everywhere

jazz

paper moon

Cathy Rothnie

just some of Cathy’s photos.

I really like them a lot.

a lot, not alot.

woot. Don’t they just make you happy?

Neoclassicism was an art movement that valued idealism, reason and naturalism and drew on antiquity in order to express ideals for a new society. Discuss the paintings of two artists whose work exemplified the main features of neo-classicism.

Jacques-Louis David and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres were leading artists in the Neoclassical period. The two paintings by David: The Death of Socrates and The Oath of Horatii illustrate Neoclassicism perfectly, through their strong colours and lines and emphasis of loyalty to the state and austerity. Both of Ingre’s paintings; Napoleon on his imperial throne and La Grande Odelisque demonstrate Neoclassicism through their aims (propagating Napoleon) and the use of bold colour and ornamentation.

Neoclassicism is the classical revival in European art, architecture, and interior design which lasted from the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. This movement saw the rebirth of ancient Rome and Greece and the Renaissance; the opposite to the pretentious Baroque and Rococo art that came after the movement. The style became particularly popular in France and England; however it eventually spread throughout all of Europe, promoting values such as nationalism and bravery. Neoclassicism emphasized austerity and the resurgence of tradition. Classical objects such as Columns, pediments, friezes, and other ornamental schemes were included in neoclassical art. Inspiration came from the work of Plutarch and Homer and illustrations from Greek literature such as Illiad and Odyssey done by John Flaxmann. Artists of this movement

put special effort into the costumes, settings, and intricate details of classical lifestyle with as much accuracy as possible. A lot of the subject matter was derivative of classical times and mythology. The movement emphasized line quality over color, light, and atmosphere. Contrasting with the Baroque and the Rococo, Neo-classical paintings are devoid of pastel colors and haziness; instead, they have sharp colors with Chiaroscuro. In the case of Neo-classicism in France, a prime example is Jacques-Louis David whose paintings often use Greek elements to extol the French Revolution’s virtues (state before family).

The Oath of Horatii is a good example of Neoclassical art as it emphasizes the importance of loyalty to one’s state and the use of elements such as bold lines and strong colours was typical of Neoclassicism. The soldiers in this painting are presented as models for the ideal soldier. Designed to excite and inspire, with grim determined faces, their body language is confident and bold. The political and moral message is clear: duty and discipline are the supreme virtues, and if needed the soldiers will die for them. Essentially, this painting is a piece of propaganda, used to convince others to dedicate themselves to their country. The focal point is the man in the middle, as the red coat makes him stand out and the hands of the other soldiers seem to reach out to him, making him the central figure. Colours have been used to symbolize and portray certain things. For example, the prominent use of red shows David was emphasizing the loyalty and sacrifice these men were about to make to their state (red symbolizing blood and death). Blues and greys have been used to show austerity and to contrast with the red. The lines in this painting are arranged into a triangular shape, the peak of the triangle being the top point of the swords. The arches in the background create unity and harmony through their repetition.

Oath of the Horatii (1784) by Jacques-Louis David was painted before the French Revolution, showing the Roman salute. There is a strong theme of patriotism and later became inspiration for future painters. The painting improved David’s fame, and permitted him to rear his own students. The painting shows the Horatii triplets who were fated to fight till death with the Curiatii triplets. This fight was intended to settle disputes between Romans and the Albans of the city Alba Longa. The French Revolution brought about paintings that promoted loyalty to the state. Although this painting was of a time nearly five years before the revolution, in France, the Oath of the Horatii became one of the defining images of the time.

The three brothers in the painting express their loyalty and solidarity with Rome before battle, entirely supported by their father. These are men willing to lay down their lives out of patriotic duty. The resolute men, with their determined gaze and taut, outstretched limbs are followers of republican patriotism. They are symbols of the highest merits of the Republic, even as the gentle-hearted women lay weeping and mourning.

The mothers and sisters, wearing silken garments, are drowning in their sorrow. Their despair is partly due to the fact that one sister was engaged to one of the Curiatii and another is a sister of the Curiatii, married to one of the Horatii. After the death of the Curiatii, the remaining Horatiis journeyed home to find his sister cursing Rome because of the death of her fiancé. He killed her; that Rome was being cursed. Originally David had intended to depict this episode, and a drawing survives showing the surviving Horatius raising his sword, with his sister lying dead. David later decided that this subject was too gruesome a way of sending the message of public duty overcoming private feeling, but his next major painting depicted a similar scene – Lucius Junius Brutus brooding as the bodies of his sons, whose executions for treason he had ordered, are returned home.

The painting shows the three brothers on the left, the Horatii father in the center and the sister/wives on the right. Starting from the left, the Horatii brothers, there are the three of them swearing upon (saluting) their swords as they take their oath. As members of a patriarchal society, the men show no sense of emotion. Even the father shows no emotions. He holds up three swords. On the right, there are three women weeping, one in the back and two up closer. The woman dressed in the white is a Horatii sister weeping for both her fiancée and her brother, as the one dressed in brown is a Curiatii sister who weeps for her husband and her brother. The woman in black in the back is holding two children of one of the Horatii husband and the Curiatii wife. The younger daughter hides her face in her nanny’s dress as the son refuses to have his eyes shielded.

The Death of Socrates is a painting of Socrates as he is about to take Hemlock: his death sentence. Surrounded by Crito, his grieving friends and students, he is teaching, philosophizing, and in fact, thanking the God of Health, Asclepius for giving him the hemlock, for it is his escape and freedom. The wife of Socrates can be seen grieving alone outside the chamber, unable to contain her sorrow. Plato is the man sitting at the end of the bed.

The focal point if this painting is Socrates’ face as the light is on his whole body and we immediately look towards the face. David mainly uses warm colours: reds, browns and a few greys and blues. Warm colours have been used to bring forward figures, such as Crito who is wearing a red cloak. Cool colours such as blue and grey have been used in the wall and hallway, to push it back. This use of colour has created perspective, although, linear perspective as well as atmospheric perspective has been used through the lines along the hallway moving away. Organic shapes and lines have been used with the people and the folds in their clothes. There are geometric shapes and lines in the brick wall, the ground and the seat that the person in the front is sitting on. The shadow in the far right corner, the general seating arrangement of the people and the archway has created an arrow pointing right and this has given the painting movement and unity with the shape and arrangements of people around Socrates being generally pleasing to the eye. The texture of this painting is fairly smooth; it is especially evident in the walls and the clothes on the people. Strong shadows have given the impression of real texture and harsh light is on Socrates to concentrate the attention on to him. The hallway and right top corner is almost blocked out with straight shadow; this adds drama and also focuses the attention back to Socrates.

David has used Oils on canvas and has painted it in a salon. His painting style is typical of the Neo-classical movement, bringing in older, classical styles. His brush marks were made with precision and detail was carefully added. To capture the emotions of this movement, many warm colours were used, these conveyed feelings of pride, anger, love, nationalism and loyalty.

David intended to convey the drama and tragedy that surrounded the sentencing to death of Socrates. Socrates was a philosopher who lived in Athens from 470 BCE to 399 BCE. He spent most of his days around the Athens square market area, where he would ask students and general civilians philosophical questions such as ‘What is Justice?’ and ‘What is knowledge?’ and just generally challenging people’s presuppositions through reasoning and his own Socratic method which is still used by all today. Socrates questioned the newly developed democracy that had been established throughout Rome and Greece. Socrates argued that common held beliefs were not necessarily right, people may make a decision through following others without giving it proper reason and consequentially, the minority with the right ideas will not have their say. Socrates was sentenced to death for many of his propositions, this being one of them. He was not an active rebel of the government and only sought to spread his ideas of reasoning and questioning one’s own belief. This however became his downfall and eventually Socrates spoke his last words: “Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Please, don’t forget to pay the debt.” Asclepius being the god for curing illness, Socrates was asking Crito to thank the god of curing illness and health because for him, this was Socrates’ release and he believed that the time for him to die. Socrates had been given the chance to escape his death sentence at the price of his beliefs, however he chose to stay and die for his beliefs, and Socrates can therefore be seen as a martyr for Western Philosophy.

In the painting Napoleon on his Imperial Throne by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Napoleon Bonaparte` is sitting on his throne at the age of thirty seven. He is wearing an ermine collar, the neoclassical olive wreath in gold. He is sitting on a dais above the people. He’s holding two staffs, one on the right probably representing truth and justice. Napoleon’s dress is ornamental and decadent, he is sitting on a chair and there is carpet below his feet.

The focal point is his face because it contrasts with the dark background and we naturally look to his eyes because we associate with it the best. The colours are mostly warm with reds, golds, oranges, whites and blacks. The lines in this painting are mainly organic because of the folds in his cloak. However, there are also geometric lines with the two staffs creating triangular shape around Napoleon. The texture of this painting consists of both very smooth, the texture of his cloak and rough in the gold ornamentation around the throne and elsewhere. The perspective of this painting is portrait style straight ahead, Atmospheric perspective has been used to create depth through the use of darker colours and less detail. Shapes in this painting mainly consist of circles, for example the arch of his throne lines up with the ermine around his neck. There are also two small circles, the two globes at the end of the arms of the chair. The repetition of circles creates unity and harmony in the painting. The tone in this painting is varied however, it all works together to create an overall realistic painting, almost photographic in its tonality. In the background there is no light and Ingre has block painted it black. There is light surrounding Napoleon creating dramatic shadow around the folds in his cloak.

This painting is an oil of canvas, painted in a salon. The brushstrokes cannot be seen and are smooth. This is, like David’s painting, reflecting typical Neo-classical style of painting that adopts older styles

Ingres aim was to convey a sense of grandness and superiority that was the attitude held towards Napoleon at the time. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769-5 May 1821) was a political leader who had a notable effect on the course of modern European History. During the French Revolution he was a general and he became the ruler of France as Premier Consul of the French Republic. He was King of Italy, Mediator of the Swiss Confederation and protector of the Confederation of the Rhine. Napoleon was born in Corsica and as and artillery officer, trained in mainland France. Leading several successful campaigns against the First Coalition and the Second Coalition arrayed against France, Napoleon moved his way up to prominence as a general of the French Revolution. In late 1804 Napoleon became the Emperor of France.

This painting is of a woman lying on a bed, her back to the viewer and face delicately gazing out at the viewer. In her hand there is what looks like a feather duster made of peacock feathers. In the right half of the painting there is a curtain that is partly draped over her legs. In this painting the focal point is her face as that is where all the lines are pointing towards (the lines on her back and her arm). Ingre has used colours like beige and peach to paint her skin and then in the background, mostly emerald green and blue.

This painting is particularly interesting because Ingre extended her back to make her look more beautiful. This was the first time an artist had forgone a real interpretation for aesthetics. It was this concept of ‘art for art’s sake’ that was beginning to come out.

Ryan Heywood

I really like this painting

Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth

This painting was of Wyeth’s wife, who had been crippled in childhood with polio. At first, the painting seems to harbour pastoral ideas, however, her condition and situation, seems to give the painting, once known, a persuasive undercurrent of loneliness, longing, and unease.

Art historian Sir David Piper said “It seems to express both the tragedy and the joy of life with such vivid poignancy that the painting becomes a universal symbol of the human condition”

I think that this quote marvelously sums up this painting.

in fact, I’ll just leave it there.

how did you feel when you first saw this painting?