impressionism and post-impressionism

Compare to conventional paintings, common qualities of impressionism artworks use small, point, short strokes. Its composition often have infinite background, and emphasis on the changes of lights over different periods of time. Impressionism painting introduced with more ordinary subjects in human’s day to day lives. Thus, the lights, the relationship between lights and colors, especially the impression implants in people’s mind with this relationship has become a crucial element of impressionism painting. 

 This is a modern impressionism palette knife oil painting. Artiest unknow. Evidently, it inherits certain important qualities of impressionism and design elements. It’s outdoor painting. Colors are darker near us, then lights up further away. On top of that, the size of these subjects, trees, for example, creates a depth and infinite feeling in this image.   The symmetric balance in this painting helps us easily locate the focal point; color changes gradually, but not vigorous or sudden. It creates a mood of calm and relaxing.

Post-impressionism evolved from impressionism. Late 1880s, artist were not content with the pursuit of light nor changes of color, instead, they believe arts should be created more subjectively, or at the very least, subjectively create from objective point of view. At this period of time, artists’ emotions and personal experience became the important elements of a painting. 

This is “the Waiting for The Spring”, 2010, from Sergey Lgnatenko. The presentation of wrinkled sheet does not have to make logical sense in various lights, but changes of color and lines creates a feeling of complication. As it of the girl’s mind, stewed in the irritation of waiting. The use of color is very limited. Plain and flatten, leads viewers to a solitary state of mind. We can almost feel an anxiety, an unstable touch growing underneath that white, grey cloth. And how much longer will it take? 

Rembrandt

Rembrandt

“They were made for each other, the painter and the city.” As it says in the flick of Simon Schama’s Rembrandt. If Rembrandt’s turbulent life was firmly tight with the city of Amsterdam, his paintings were connected with patrons. Especially portraits, for instance, the Nicolaes Ruts. Under Rembrandt’s strokes, this paintings acquires the essentials of any business men’s characters. While it has branded Nicolaes’s business, the use of light gives grasp of solidness and a shadow behind him. His eyes, brushed and slightly spaced out, imaging he is thinking of his trades. Delicate and thoughtful. This painting is in possession of a typical business man’s traits. It's the business man’s hero.

  The 83 years old woman is certainly in a mood of sorrow. The details surrounds her eyes, such as the trending down eyebrows, droopy eyelids and depressed sights have showed us her sense of vulnerability. And the solid background of hers creates a contrast on her soften face, makes her suffer what is in front of her.

      In his painting of Sampson & Delilah, Rembrandt was trying to express the relationships between characters and their fates within by highlighting gestures. Except the man in the further dark side, bright light is placed on Sampson’s back, Delilah’s face, hands and the standing man’s weapon-holding-hand. The facial expression of Delilah and the way she is touching Sampson’s hairs shows how much Sampson is in lack of strength. Showing nothing but Sampson’s back has also telling us that how vulnerable he has become. In his cloth, seems like he is trying to hide away from what is going to happen. Look at the man’s hand with brightness and veins popping out on the skin, it enhance the mood of madness, and stresses among everyone in the painting. 

House of de' Medici

  The existence of the Medici family was very much significant not only were a great number of fine artworks created; prestige artists were introduced during the period of Renaissance, the Medici family’s highly involvement in the city of Florence’s financials and politics had built a great fundamental for the blooms of art and architecture.

  The Medici family’s partnership, sponsorship supported numerous artists and their works. As at that time, artworks were created after a commission was paid. And the Medici certainly held a modest attitude for those artist who was really entitle of ability and creativity. Masters such as Michelangelo Buonarroti, Leonardo da Vinci etc.

  Looking at the Medicis’ relationship among socialites, artists and mainstream elite families during the Renaissance, we can easily discover that because Florence and its reign was driven to a prosperous stage, people were seeking for balances and accomplishment beyond food and clothing in a spiritual level. Fine arts and architecture had found their green house.

  And we are being able to see the shadow of a similar, typical society structure today. Developed countries’ citizen have always anticipate into art activities more frequently rather than developing, undeveloped ones. 

  One of the noblest artists affiliated with the Medicis was Donatello. And we shall not miss the statue David when it comes to Donatello. Its unprecedented attempting of creativity had become a representation of Renaissance’s artwork reaching its peak of times. David is in possession of several first attempting, such as first freestanding work, first nude male. On top of that, David’s helmet, feather and gestures were also given meanings. For instance, if we look at David from the side or his back, he could be identify as a woman when his leg or hip is blocking his genitals.

Design Principles of Artworks

  Lines, shapes, colors and sizes are significant elements of a piece of artwork. And cutting through these edges help us analyzing, understand an image comprehensively from a design principle perspective.

  And I like to illustrate some techniques of how artists resembling viewers’ feelings by utilize design principles in artworks.

 

Size is definitely the very first thing an artist would consider while creating a piece of art. The Following piece is called “Toy Tank”, presented by Amy Cheung from Hong Kong contemporary art at Saatchi Gallery, London, 2013. This is a full size wooden tank, and there is actual space inside of the tank for people to get in and operate. By assembling a same scale wooden tank as a real one, she was creating a sense of condescending that a war can be so near to people, even fit into a room with ones. The use of material, for instance, is also diversifying the meaning of war itself, that the intrinsic of a battle can be changed on top of its location.

  This image below is fulfilled of meanings by using the contrast of scales. It’s named Boy Reading to Elephant, by Gregory Colbert. This form of art often called anthropomorphic. Viewers are easily relate themselves as the boy, because we are all human. And the elephant is anthropomorphic, because it is given a gesture of kneeing down. By using the contrast of scales between the boy and the elephant, and different languages between species, knowing the elephant must not understand the words of mankind, he is expressing the power and strength of knowledge. The plain flat background also helps to stand out his point of view.

 

 

  A feeling of unity can also be given by colors and shapes used in an artwork. In one below, Mediterranean Landscape by Pablo Picasso. Similar shape and colors are utilized in this painting. The repetitive use of triangles throughout the whole picture as if everything there is made out of triangles. And constantly use of color yellow, not only brings a unity to the image, but diversifies it by applying color yellow on irregular shapes besides triangle.

 

 

 

 

  There are many ways to create a sense of unity in an artwork. In this printing, named Twisting Love, by Megan Aroon Duncanson. It is giving us a feeling of unity through the repetition use of curves. The moon is round as well as the branches. The waves of colors are also following this practice as if the whole piece of work is finished by nothing but curves.

  Another way of sending a feeling of unity in art is to create symmetrical balance. And a most common method of achieving that is by leading viewers to its focal point. Though most people naturally go for a vision focal point by locating the center of an artwork, parallel lines and circles are the easier way to balance left and right, above and below.  This is Vitruvian Man (c. 1485) Accademia, Venice by Leonardo da Vinci. The rectangle and circle creates a symmetrical balance. And the focal point is in the middle.

  Asymmetrical balance is certainly more complicated. It's a different level of technique, but artists like to use it. We will be able to find different scale of forms in the artwork, or different weight of use in color. However, artists tend to balance those small forms to accomplish a bigger balance and unity in an work. the artwork below is a complex sample of asymmetrical balance. First, the eye-catching red to the left of the painting is balanced by the tan yellow of the human body to the right. Warm colors have heavier weight rather than cool colors. Both red and yellow composed for left and right. On top of that, the light pink color at the right corner also arouse a sense of balance with blue sky to the left top. Second,  we can easily find something call directional forces in this painting. The civilians crawls from right to the left, following the sight from the woman in blue, and the baby in white is going towards his mother. Then the mother's hand is waving to the sky. Over there, we can see not only the emperor is looking at the same direction, another woman is waving her hand toward left. This is a combination of directional forces and repetition.

  There is an other way to find the asymmetrical balance in this artwork. The man in the red is a dominant form in this image, he is balanced by a sub-dominant form which is the man in dull tan skin. by waving towards each other in the middle of the image, this man is balance by a smaller sub-dominant form which the woman in green. At the end, the focal point falls on the women who is slightly to the right on the painting.

  Small forms balance in an artwork often create an asymmetrical balance for the whole image.

 

1 HW: Egyptian, Greek & Roman styles

 Egyptian, Greek & Roman styles

  This is a statue of King Shaure and a Nome God. The solitary three dimensional artwork of Sahure in the metropolitan museum. In this statue, both King Sahure and the Nome God had one foot forward, this gesture has been an identical aspect in a great number of Egyptian artworks. With a Nome God’s accompany, animal figures continue to be found. Two falcons above the Nome God’s head, and a cobra around King Sahure’s brow. The combination of falcons and cobra is often a symbol of kingship. King Shaure and Nome God were carved out of a stone, although two, or more than two different substances makes the stone appears in different colors, it reveals a strength and clarity of bodies throughout the sculptures’ carve lines.

  Marble, limestone, sliver, not only the use or materials became diversified, the focus of the artworks themselves were shifted in the time of the epic period. The Greek and Roman arts aroused resonance by bringing more focus on groups of people, like families, or crowds of festivity gatherings, but royal emperors and gods. More importantly, the representation of human bodies became less ideal but more realistic due to society and political environment people were live in. compare to ancient Egyptian arts, new gods were brought in, new stories were reveled and preserved. and new forms of art adopted to those changes. aside the differences, both Egyptian arts and Greek, roman arts have highlight the strength of human body, combination of mankind and animals. 

First post

this is such an abstract matter

if art has ever accommodated our needs above, we shall turn everything around us into art. And we probably already did that, because who does not live in the shade between comfort and discomfort?