Abstract Impressionism

Abstract Impressionism is an art movement originating in New York City in the 1940’s. This was the first American movement to gain worldwide recognition, and put New York at the center of the art world; an achievement formerly awarded to Paris. Robert Coates coined the term ‘abstract impressionism’ in 1946 in one of his critiques of the new artwork. The most important predecessor of abstract impressionism is Surrealism, which also emphasizes spontaneous and subconscious creation. The name of this period reflects the combination of unique self expression with emotional intensity, and contrasts the ideas or Futurism and Cubism.

Abstract Impressionism is a form of art where the artist expresses himself through the use of form and color, with no objective representations. The movement can be divided into two groups: the Action Painting expressed by artists like Pollock and De Kooning; and Color Field Painting practiced by Rothko and Noland. Famous artists of this movement include Pollock, Gorky, Riopelle, Rothko, de Kooning, Motherwell, and Kline; their works possess very different moods and subjects, yet share qualities such as sizable canvasses, flat compositions, and the fact that all areas of the piece are filled with movement and paint (instead of creating a focal point, or an area of the most interest).


Action Art

The term ‘Action Art’ or ‘Action Painting’ was coined initially by Harold Rosenberg, one of the most vocal proponents of the Abstract Expressionist movement. He was know for his strong criticism of society, political issues and art – opposing the views of formalist critic Clement Greenberg. Action art represents unconventional techniques of applying paint to canvas including splashing, slashing, and dribbling. Action painters believed that the actual expressive act of painting held the power of the artwork, versus the finished product. Harold Rosenberg describes the action painting movement as being ‘not a picture but an event’. One of the leading artists of this art period was Jackson Pollock who used the drip and splatter technique on many of his canvasses. Many critics will agree that the attraction to Pollock’s art is energy and drama that it radiates. It is hard to tell how much of Jackson Pollock’s art is planned and how much is left to chance and flying paint. Another action painter, William Green, used a bicycle in the production of his art. He’d ride over the canvas on a bike, whereas other similar artists like those in the Gutai Group from Japan painted with their feet as they hung from ropes. Art critics have been divided about the actual worth and purpose of action art / action painting. Nevertheless action art is a noticeable subsection of Abstract Expressionism, and was an important precursor to later techniques like Spin Art and Disruptive Painting.


Jackson Pollock

Paul Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming in 1912, and studied at the Manual Arts High School (1928), and the Art Students League in New York (1930). Pollock’s instructor in New York, Thomas Hart Benton, was a continual support through Pollock’s career. Artists that influenced Pollock and were respected by him included Jose Clemente Orozco, Pablo Picasso and Diego Rivera. Surrealism, the precursor to abstract impressionism, also greatly influenced the artist. Pollock’s first solo show was held in 1943 at the Guggenheim, where he received a contract until 1947. This contract allowed the artist to devote all his time to painting, and we can see that his works moved away from figurative styles and more into abstract techniques, and abstract impressionism. Pollock is renowned for his splashing and dripping paint onto a canvas, which gave him the nickname ‘Jack the Dripper’. After completing his contract at the Guggenheim, he was supported by the CIA via the Congress for Cultural Freedom. Pollock died in a car accident in 1956.

Art Deco

Art Deco was introduced in the 1920’s and reigned through the 1930’s, encompassing both the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. It is an elegant style of decorative art and architecture reflective of Art Nouveau, yet with more modern sophistication. Art Deco features sleek straight lines and an element of boldness.The movement affected city styles, architecture, high fashion, jewelry, commercial printmaking, and interior design, and embraced lifestyles of hedonism, indulgence and mass consumption. The term Art Deco was not coined until the 1960’s by Bevis Hillier, a British historian and critic. Notable Art Deco buildings include the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, The Chrysler Building, and the Midland Grand Hotel.


Tamara de Lempicka

Tamara de Lempicka is maybe on of the most famous painters of the Art Deco period. Lempicka was born in Poland and then proceeded to move to Russia where she lived until her husband was arrested by the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution. She helped to release him and then they fled to Paris. This is where she learned to paint, enrolling at the Academie de la Grand Chaumiere and studying privately. Partially facilitated by her spare simple style, she was quite a prolific artist and was much sought after as a portrait artist. If you are interested in learning more about Tamara deLempicka I highly recommend checking out the 'Passion by Design' by her daughter, Kizette deLempicka-Foxhall. Works by Tamara de Lempicka include:

Young Girl With Gloves
Printemps
Portrait of Doctor Boucard
Amethyste
Mother Superior
Portrait of Pierre de Montaut
Girl Sleeping
Portrait of Grand Duke Gabriel (ca. 1927) (87K) Private Collection
Portrait of Marjorie Ferry (ca. 1927) (62K) Private Collection
Portrait of Madame Boucard (1931) (80K) Collection Boucard, Paris
Adam and Eve (ca. 1932) (56K) Petit Palais, Geneva
Auto-Portrait (Tamara in the Green Bugatti) (1925) (59K) Private Collection
Portrait of Madame M. (1933) (71K) Private Collection, Paris
Portrait d'Homme inacheve (Unfinished portrait of Tadeusz de Lempicki) (1928) (41K) Musee Georges Pompidou, Paris
Portrait of the Dutchess de la Salle (1925) (49K) Collection of Alain Blondel, Paris
Calla Lilies (1941) (81K) Private Collection, California
The Refugees (1937) (46K) Musee d'Art et d'Historie, Saint Denis
Romana de la Salle (1929) (77K)
Portrait of Ira P. (65K) Private Collection

Art Nouveau

The Art Nouveau movement occurred in the late 19th century from about 1894 to 1914, and was represented in Europe as well as in the United States. In each country “Art Nouveau” had a different meaning and identity, and artists were often piqued against each other in defining the art period. In summary, Art Nouveau is the avant-garde movement of the period in reaction to historical and academic perspectives. Art Nouveau artists wished to blur the lines between famous and minor artists, and unifying all arts, and unifying art with everyday human life – in essence, the art of the period became part of the architecture, placards, and jewelry in an attempt to combine life and art. Art Nouveau is characterized by its elegant decorative style, detailed patterns, curving lines, and art innovation. Leading artists include Aubrey Beardsley, Gustav Klimt, Alphonse Mucha, and the glassmaker Louis Comfort Tiffany.


Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt was born in 1862 to an Autrian jeweler, and studied at the School of Plastic Art in Vienna in his teenage years. From the age of 18 he took commissions for small decorative works. In 1897 he became the first President of the Vienna Sezession, but after he discovered the Byzantine mosaics of Vienna, he withdrew from the Sezession and became the President of the Austrian National Union of Artists in 1912. In 1917 he was granted an honorary professorship at the esteemed Viennese Academy. The early works by Klimt cause an uproar because of his scandalous subjects such as naked girls and skeletons and sexual expression. Ornamentation permeates the Klimt’s paintings, and it’s as if the bodies of his subjects are competing or struggling with the decorative background. Klimt was one of the main contributors to Art Nouveau, and his decadent style, his themes of sex and death, and his liberal expression foreshadowed the advent of modern art.


Alphonse Mucha

Alphonse Mucha was a Czech painter, poster artist and designer born in 1860, and contributed greatly to the Art Nouveau movement. He was able to study at the Munich Academy because of a wealthy patron friend in 1887. He began illustrating for several newspapers and magazines after his education and in 1894, he won renown for his first poster for Sarah Bernhardt. Many of works after this celebrated his Slav history, which reflected a very unique style of drawing – elegant, supple, and sophisticated. Mucha is well known for his intertwined and curved forms, depictions of wild plant life, and his expressions of women in paintings.


Louis Comfort Tiffany

Louis Comfort Tiffany was born in 1848 to a jewelry company owner, and is most renowned for his Art Nouveau style stained glass. He also designed pieces of furniture, jewelry, and wonderful paintings. Louis first studied under the painter George Inness and at the age of 24 he pursued an interest in glassmaking. In 1885 he founded his own glassmaking company, and invented a process of making opalescent glass, as well as a new technique for making hand blown vases and bowls. Louis’ company made a range of interior decorations including glass picture windows, lamps, and the full interior of his own house, Laurelton Hall in Oyster Bay. Louis C. Tiffany died in 1933 and is remembered for his innovation and contribution to the Art Nouveau Movement in the United States.

Arts and Crafts

The Arts and Crafts Movement became popular in the 1870’s and was first introduced to America through the Gothic Revival as well as through particular works of the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood. William Morris, who lectured on decorative arts, and Ruskin, an art and architecture critic were two notable characters that laid the foundation for the arts and crafts period. The company of William Morris, Morris & Co, started selling wallpaper, fabric, and carpet in the 1870’s. William was an artist, architect, and poet and he valued simplicity, good craftsmanship, and good design over the extravagance of the Victorian style. Morris felt that the Industrial Revolution had isolated people from their own creativity, and thus wanted to return to a style and creativity which could not be found in the newly popular mass produced items. The British movement happening at the same time focused on a detailed gothic style where walls were covered in wallpaper or white washed with themes from medieval times. Textiles and ceramics were realistic and colorful. Because the intricate craftsmanship cost more than factory goods, the average citizen could not afford these items, and thus the work of the Arts and Crafts Movement were limited to the richer upper classes. The arts and crafts movement contributed to American architecture and the development of the Queen Anne Revival. American Arts and Crafts artisans were initially inspired by English work, but later drew inspiration from the American Colonial period and the Old Colony Style. Oscar Wilde was a fan of the arts and crafts movement and actually went on a tour lecturing about the movements ideas.

Baroque

The Baroque movement originated in Italy in the late1500’s (spanning through to the 1700’s) and was later accepted by France, Germany, Netherlands and Spain. This art period was a reaction against the formulaic Mannerist style which was the dominant form during the late Renaissance. Baroque style is more realistic and emotional than the complex Mannerist style. The movement was greatly encouraged by the Catholic Church because it marked a return to tradition and spirituality. Famous artist who greatly contributed to the Baroque period include Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci, Gianlorenzo Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velázquez, and Vermeer.


Caravaggio

Caravaggio, or Michelangelo Merisi, was born in Milan in 1571 to a ducal architect. Early in his life he studied under Simone Peterzano and Titian until 1588. He secured his first commission for Cardinal’s Casino dell’Aurora in Rome, and painted Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto. From that point on he was in high demand for public commissions but because of his violent temper he was constantly in trouble with the law. Finally in 1606 he had to flee in 1606 because of his involvement in a murder, and during his wanderings through Naples, he paints exclusively religious themes emphasizing sadness, suffering and death. Caravaggio is later pardoned by the Pope for his past crimes, but on arriving at Porto Escole by ship he is arrested and later released. Unfortunately Caravaggio gets struck down by a fever and dies without even reaching Rome again. Caravaggio’s tumultuous career was short but offered a huge contribution to the Baroque movement in that he was one of the first to paint people as ordinary looking, and express intense emotional realities.


Rembrandt

Rembrandt was born in 1606 in Leiden Netherlands and is considered a master of Western Art, completing more than 600 paintings and about 200 etchings and drawings throughout his lifetime. He’s explored many subjects such as nudes, landscapes, portraits, daily life scenes, birds and animals, mythological figures, biblical subjects and self portrats. At the age of 14 Rembrandt attended the University of Leiden until he dropped out to pursue his love of art. By the age of 22 he was already teaching students, and meeting wealthy patrons who commissioned portraits from him. Tragically, of Rembrandt’s children, only one of four survived infancy and his wife died in 1642. Rembrandt declared bankruptcy after living an extravagant lifestyle, and he was forced to auction off his mansion, and treasured art collection. After this point he began to focus on painting for personal enjoyment rather than for money, and these are considered his best because of the depth, richness, and spirituality that was missing from earlier works. In Rembrandt’s later years he married his housekeeper who died in 1663, followed by his only surviving son in 1668. Rembrandt himself passed away in 1669 but left a legacy of art that helped shape the Baroque movement.


Bernini

Bernini was born in 1598 and was the dominant figure of the Italian Baroque, specializing in sculpture and architecture. After being trained by his father, an accomplished sculptor, Bernini found work in Rome. Bernini completed early statues such as David, and Apollo and Daphne for Scipione Cardinal Borghese – one of the most important patrons of the period. In 1629 Bernini designed the ornate baldachin, the monument, and the marble decorations for St. Peter’s. Throughout the 1640’s Bernini designed the Cornaro Chapel, and the Santa Maria della Vittoria. He continued to design churches and established a new mode of art where he linked sculpture with architecture. Bernini passed away in 1680.

Bauhaus

The Bauhaus movement is a school of art, architecture and design characterized by geometric design, respect for practical material, and its severely economic sensibilities. The Bauhaus movement was founded by Walter Gropius in 1919 in Germany and ended in the 1930’s. Gropius coined the term Bauhaus as an inversion of the word meaning ‘house construction’ or ‘Hausbau’. Gropius taught at a school which focused on functional craftsmanship, and his students were guided to focus on designs that could be mass produced. The Bauhaus school had some famous teachers which included Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, and Marcel Breuer. The Bauhaus movement continues to influence us today, where any modern environment often incorporates elements of the period. The ideas of the Bauhaus creators have influenced architecture, furniture, typography, and weaving. Famous artists of the Bauhaus movement include Lyonel Feininger, Johannes Itten, Franz Marc, Georg Muche, and Oskar Schlemmer.


Walter Gropius

Walter Gropius was born in 1883 in Berlin to a German architect. He studied at the Technical Univerisities in Munich and Berlin and joined the company of Peter Behrens in 1910, later joining the practice of Adolph Meyer. After serving in the war Gropius joining several radical artist groups, finally becoming the Director of the Bauhaus. Gropius left the Bauhaus and resumed private practice as WWII approached, and later moved to the United States to become a professor at Harvard University. From 1938 to 1941 he worked on a group of houses with Marcel Breure and in 1945 he created "The Architect's Collaborative", which was a design team that encompassed his value of teamwork. Gropius was well known for his innovative designs that used modern materials and construction methods. He believed in industrialized and efficient buildings, he accepted standardization and mass production, and he supported the belief that team work was essential. In essence Gropius created buildings on precise math calculations and science. Gropius also introduced to the times a screen wall system that was made up of a structural steel frame, which allowed external glass walls to cover a surface uninterrupted. Gropius was an important teacher and theorist in his time and he died in Boston in 1969.

Body Art

Body art is extremely popular all over the world and includes anything that consists of the human body. Some of the most popular types of body art are tattoos, and piercings but other types of body art involve air brushing, scarring, branding, scalpelling, shaping with corsets and lace and body painting. In addition, body art encompasses nose rings, dydos, bangles, rings, makeup, studs, nose pins, and lip plates.There are more extreme types of body art involving mutilation, or pushing the physical limits of the body. Marina Abramovic is a body artist and her exhibit involved her dancing until she collapsed from tiring out. Dennis Oppenheim is another example of a body artist where he suntanned until he burned while holding a book to his chest – thus he had an outline of the book on his chest. On a less extreme level body art is a form of decorating the body, and emphasizing or showing off a certain feature.

Byzantine Art

The Byzantine art movement was active from the 5th century AD to 1453 during the time when the Byzantine Empire was dominant. The period was centered around the Orthodox church and featured painted icons, and decorative churches with mosaics and frescoes. With the fall of Constantinople (the center of the movement) to the Turks in 1453, the Byzantine style also ended. This occurred during the European Renaissance era but the influence of Byzantine art remained strong in Russia, and other areas where the Orthodox church was influential.

The Byzantine style grew out of traditional designs such as pictures of saints and Bible stories and repetitive decoration. There does not seem to be any basis on natural forms as the human figures are unnaturally long, the emotions are formal and still, and the facial expressions are conventional, rigid and almost lifeless. The most prominent figures of the period are Christ, the Virgin Mary, the apostles, the saints, Bishops and angels. The political structure of the period revolved around the emperor who was believed to be divinely appointed by God. Art played a large role in visualizing his powers with images of gods, goddesses, cherubs, and personifications of virtues.


Andrei Rublev

Andrei Rublev is a legendary Byzantine style painter born in the 1360’s in Russia. Even in the fifteenth century Rublev’s icons were considered extremely valuable, and were much coveted. Rublev’s works were so popular that the Church Council in Moscow directed that the correct representation for the Trinity was to be painted from models as painted by Greek painters and by Andrei Rublev. Very few of Rublev’s great works have survived, but the ones that have include The Lives of Russian Saints, individual icons, the festival tier of the Annunciation Cathedral in Moscow’s Kremlin, frescoes in the Cathedral of the Assumption, and The Old Testament from the Holy Trinity Cathedral.


Cimabue

Cimabue or Cenni di Pepe was a painter that concluded the Byzantine era. He was submitted to the rules of the Byzantine style but took it to the greatest heights of expression, paving the way for artists such as Giotto and new trends in Italian painting. Cimague was first mentioned for his work on Roman mosaics in 1272, and then again in 1278 when he began his work on the Franciscan basilica at Assisi, which he worked on with Sienese painter Duccio di Buoninsegna, and Giotto from Florence. Cimabue most likely created the Crucifix in Arezzo, and the Crucifix in Santa Croece. Cimabue’s earliest works tend to be rigid and lifeless, whereas later in life, his works portray new sensitivity to body movement and emotional expression.


The Lorenzetti Brothers

The Lorenzetti brothers were two 14th century Italian painters of the Byzantine period, born in Siena. They attended the Sienese school built around the Byzantine style tradition – it was run by Duccio di Buoninsegna and Simone Martini. The Lorenzetti brothers were the first Sienese artists to manifest the style of Tuscon sculptor Giovanni Pisano in that they experimented with 3-dimensional images and spatial arrangements; this foreshadowed the advent of the Renaissance. Pietro was more traditional than his brother and focused on refinement, harmony and dramatic emotion. His works include the altarpiece portraying Madonna and Child with Saints, frescoes in the lower Church in Assisi, and the masterpiece the Birth of the Virgin. Ambrogio was more realistic and inventive than his brother and is best known for his fresco cycles Good Government and Bad Government, as well as his painting Presentation in the Temple.

Classicism

Classicism is the art movement founded on aesthetic attitudes based on the art, literature and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. The movement emphasizes form, proportion, restrained emotion and simplicity. The principles of classicism were derived from the practices and guidelines of the ancients, and the term has come to mean adherence to specific academic canons. The first major revival of classicism was during the Renaissance resulting from a fresh interest in Roman and Greek culture. Again in the 18th century the interest in classicism was sparked by the discovery of Herculaneum and Pompeii; this period is defined as neoclassicism and is considered to be phase one of the romantic movement.


Phidias of Athens

Phidias of Athens was a Classical Greek sculptor who lived from 493 to 430 BC, and is one of the greatest sculptors of ancient Greece. He was son to Charmides and is well known for his 40 foot tall statue of Athena in the Parthenon, and his statue of Zeus at Olympia. The Athena, with "chryselephantine" workmanship, featured plates of ivory on a wood core, with stone flesh and solid gold drapery and ornaments. Phidias' Athena was destroyed in antiquity and was the chief treasure of Athens. We know of its existence because several copies were made and preserved, and it is also represented on gems and coins. The Zeus was constructed of ivory and gold and is counted as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Phidias was sent to prison after being charged with impiety and it is thought that he died there.

Color Field Art

Color field paintings are defined by solid areas of color that cover the whole canvas. Artists that embraced this style were Mark Rothko (1903 – 1970), Jules Olitski (1922 -), and Kenneth Noland (1924 -). Color field art is a subtype of Abstract Expressionism where artists became interested in the effects that large expanses of color had on the atmosphere and mood of the work. Color field paintings are generally large, and convey a sense of infinity, and being immersed in an environment of color. Examples of color field painting include:

Alma Thomas, Orion, 1973, oil on canvas
Barnett Newman (American, 1905-1970), Day One, 1951-52, oil on canvas
Morris Louis (American, 1912-1962), VAV, 1960, acrylic on unprimed canvas
Jules Olitski (American, 1922-), Instant Loveland, 1968, acrylic on canvas
Kenneth Noland (American, 1924-), Gift, 1961-2, acrylic on canvas

Constructivism

Constructivism was a movement that was active from 1915 to the 1940’s. It was a movement created by the Russian avant-garde, but quickly spread to the rest of the continent. Constructivist art is committed to complete abstraction with a devotion to modernity, where themes are often geometric, experimental and rarely emotional. Objective forms carrying universal meaning were far more suitable to the movement than subjective or individualistic forms. Constructivist themes are also quite minimal, where the artwork is broken down to its most basic elements. New media was often used in the creation of works, which helped to create a style of art that was orderly. An art of order was desirable at the time because it was just after WWI that the movement arose, which suggested a need for understanding, unity and peace. Famous artists of the Constructivist movement include Vladimir Tatlin, Kasimir Malevich, Alexandra Exter, Robert Adams, and El Lissitzky.


El Lissitzky

El Lissitzky, or Lazar Lissitzky was born in 1890 and died in 1941 and worked as an architect, a painter, a typographer and a designer. He grew up in the same hometown as Marc Chagall, Vitebsk, and studied architecture at the Polytechnic school in Darmstadt from 1909 to 1914. El Lissitzky worked as an architect in Moscow after he completed his studies, and also began to illustrate children's books in 1917 in a style greatly influenced by Chagall. El Lissitzky became a professor at the art school in Vitebsk in 1919 and worked alongside Malevich. While teaching he began a series of abstract paintings which he called Prouns because they combined both painting and architecture. In addition Lissitzky designed books, and innovative typography techniques. El Lissitzky's works, which are mostly gouaches, currently run for values between $15,000 and $150,000.

Cubism

Cubism was sparked in 1907 by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, and is one of the most potent art movements of the 20th century. The cubists were inspired by painters like Georges Seurat, Fauves, and Paul Cezanne as well as by African sculpture as you can see in many of Picasso’s works. Cubist artists believed in breaking up a subject matter, analyzing it, and then re assembling it in abstract form.

Instead of depicting an object from one angle, cubist artists were able to paint an object from multiple angles at the same time in order to represent an object in the most complete way possible. Braque and Picasso took this idea to heart after hearing the advice of Paul Cezanne in 1904: nature should be treated “in terms of the cylinder, the sphere, and the cone”. There were three main stages to the development of the cubist movement: Facet Cubism, Analytic Cubism, and Synthetic Cubism. The first controversial exhibition that gave cubism it’s initial fame was put on by Braque and Raoul Dufy in 1908, both artists having fauvist beginnings. They created a series of landscapes with limited variety of colors and simplified forms.

Art critic Louis Vauxcelles described Braque as an artists that “scorns form and reduces everything, sites, figures and houses, to geometric schemas and cubes”. Over the next couple years Braque and Picasso created works broken into planes and edges defying perspective and depth. Many cubist works have bland colors and uniform small brushstrokes which work to create vibrations of light.

Braque and Picasso conveyed elements of illusion, unconventional continuity and density. Even though the first world war stopped Picasso and Braque from working together on the Cubist movement, the cubist core continued to be active until the 1920’s. Cubism artists like Matisse, Laurens, Lipchitz, and Fernand Leger were all influenced by the works of Braque, Picasso, and Cezanne before them.


Pablo Picasso

Picasso was a Spanish painter and sculptor born in Malaga, Spain as the first child to Jose Ruiz y Blasco and Maria Picasso y Lopez. He is known as one of the founders of cubism along with Georges Braque. In his lifetime Picasso created about 13000 paintings or designs, 34000 book illustrations, 300 sculptures, and 100000 art prints. Picasso’s father was a painter that specialized in natural bird images and was a famous professor of art in the School of Crafts. Picasso’s father tutored him in art, teaching him drawing and oil painting. Picasso went to school for carpentry throughout his childhood, but did not finish his college courses at the Academy of Arts in Madrid. In many of Picasso’s earliest works he uses images of harlequins, which are humorous characters sporting checkered clothing. The harlequin eventually became a symbol for Picasso. In the 1930’s the painter picked up a new symbol, the minotaur to replace the harlequin motif, most likely because of his interaction with the surrealists who often used the minotaur as a symbol. You’ll find an example of this in Picasso’s Guernica painting.

Picasso’s work can be divided into 5 different periods:

1. The Blue Period – ranged from 1901 to 1904 and consisted of low intensity blue paintings that were the result of the suicide of Carlos Casagemas, a close friend to Picasso. The Blue Period features acrobats, harlequins, paupers, various artists, and women of the night.

2. The Rose Period – ranged from 1905 to 1907 and was characterized by more upbeat colors including oranges and pinks. Picasso was in Paris at the time and had befriended Fernande Olivier, a model for artists.

3. The African influenced Period – ranged from 1908 to 1909 and was influenced by African artifacts.

4. Analytic Cubism – ranged from 1909 to 1912 and featured the unique cubist style which he developed with Braque using browns and grays. The motive was to pick objects apart and analyze them in terms of shapes and components that make them up. Picasso and Braque’s paintings resemble each other’s at this time.

5. Synthetic Cubism – ranged from 1912 to 1919 in which Picasso used pieces of cut paper to create artwork. He’d paste the fragments of newsprint, magazines, and wallpaper into collages, which were the first to be presented as fine art.

Dada

The Dada art movement reigned from about 1916 to 1920 mainly in the countries of France, Germany and Switzerland. The Dadaism movement was based on principles of anarchy, cynicism, and rejecting the laws of social organization and beauty. The Dadaists sought to discover reality by abolishing traditional culture and accepted aesthetic forms. The group protested against World War I, and bourgeois interests that they feel inspired the war. The nihilistic point of view was also prevalent within the Dadaist movement. The name ‘Dada’ was created for the movement when a group of young artists and war resisters (including Jean Arp, Richard Hulsenbeck, Tristan Tzara, Marcel Janco, and Emmy Hennings) stuck a paper knife into a French-German dictionary and found that it pointed to the word dada, the French word for ‘hobby horse’. Cabaret Voltaire was where the ideas of Dada were spawned and later the surrealists used it as their art forum. Cabaret Voltaire fell into desrepair after World War II but in 2002 a group of artists claiming to be ‘neo-Dadaists’ led by Mark Divo began to occupy Cabaret Voltaire. Over three months there were a variety of exhibitions and performances at the Cabaret including artists like Ingo Giezendammer, Mikry Drei, Lennie Lee, Leumund Cult, Aiana Calugar and Dan Jones. Eventually the occupants were evicted from the building which later reopened as a cabaret with programs, events, and exhibitions. The leading member of the Dada movement was Marcel Duchamp whose first piece of art for the movement, the ‘Bicycle Wheel” which was made up of a wheel mounted on the seat of a stool. The Dadaist movement was never very stable and eventually melded into surrealism by 1924. New ideas and art periods began emerging like socialist realism, and modernism which became popular with many of the Dadaist members. By World War II and Dada movement had almost completely dissipated as many of the European artists fled to the USA or died in Hitler’s death camps.

De Stijl

The De Stijl, literally translated as “the style” was an art movement founded by architect by architect and painter Theo van Deosburg in 1917 in Leiden. Other founders of the group included the sculptor Vantongerloo, architect JJP Oud, designer Rietveld, and the painter Mondrian. The group was intent on finding a new aesthetic of art and principles. The movement spread through town planning, fine arts, applied arts and philosophy. The De Stijl movement also published a magazine between 1917 and 1932 and provided and overview of the movement’s works and theories. In the magazine Mondrian comments that the “pure plastic vision should build a new society, in the same way that in art it has built a new plasticism”. Artists of the De Stijl movement saw art as a collective approach, and as a language that went beyond culture, geography and politics. The artwork created by the De Stijl movement artists gave off a depersonalized, anonymous feel. It was felt that the artist’s personality should take a back seat in the artwork. The key to creating art within the movement’s views was to follow the theory of scaling down formal components of art – using only primary colors and straight lines. A painting was created from the features on the surface and many De Stijl paintings convey elements of nature – expressed abstractly. Mondrian followed the principles of new-plasticism whereas Van Doesburg attempted to broaden the movement’s research projects in architechture – he wanted to recreate the entire living space within a home. De Stijl paintings usually represented parts of larger spaces like interiors spaces within houses. De Stijl forms were often geometric, and made up of primary colors. The main views of the De Stijl movement greatly influenced the Bauhaus movement in Germany in the 1920’s.

Der Blaue Reiter

The Der Blaue Reiter movement was a German expressionist art period lasting from 1911 to 1914. The name Der Blaue Reiter was taken from one of Kandinsky’s works, Le Cavalier bleu. The movement was led by Kadinsky, Klee, Marc, and Macke – a group of expressionist artists greatly influenced by the Brucke artists of the previous decade – the Der Blaue Reiter did not believe in the main objective of the Brucke movement (simply focusing on one group of artists).

The Der Blaue Reiter artists attempted to find spiritual truths that they felt impressionists had not conveyed. The art movement was not stylistically unified as demonstrated by the range of pure abstractions created by Kadinsky versus the romantic images of Marc. The Der Blaue Reiter believed in changeability, new ideas, and the mixing of different ideas of spirituality and art.

Expressionism

Expressionism encompasses the art movement that existed from 1905 to 1925. Expressionism is characterized by distortion and exaggeration in order to create an emotional effect. Expressionism first appeared in the art literature of the 20th century, and with regards to art, the expressionist style utilizes intense color, disjointed spaces, and agitated brushstrokes. It is interesting to note that the expressionist movement not only included fine arts, but also dance, movies, literature, and theater. Expressionist artists do not attempt to convey realities, rather they attempt to portray subjective emotions and responses to objects and environment.

Expressionism is different from impressionism in that it does not try to reproduce the impression of the surrounding world; instead, expressionism allows the artist to impose personal representations of the world in connection to personal emotions. Expressionism is not so much concerned with representing accurate forms and harmony, but rather it strives to achieve the highest expression intensity through the use of exaggeration, distortion, primitivism, and fantasy - often incorporating elements of violence and vividness. Expressionism arose first in Germany around 1910 and some of the major artists influencing the movement included Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh and the fauvism period. Some of the most famous artists of the Expressionism movement include Otto Dix, Max Beckmann, Alfred Kubin, Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Edvard Munch, and Marc Chagall.


Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch was an Expressionist artist from Norway born in Loten in 1863. Munch began working on paintings by the age of 17 and a state grant allowed him to study in Paris in 1863. Edvard Munch's paintings express elements of anguish, brooding, and pain based on personal obsessions and grief. This was an essential contribution to the development of the Expressionist movement. Edvard Munch's paintings began as broad expressions, and his later works became more and more personalized with images relating mostly to illness and death.

Munch held an exhibition in 1892 that shocked the public so much that the show was closed. Munch's most famous painting "The Scream", and "The Sick Child" demonstrate the trauma that Munch underwent when he witnessed the death of his mother and sister to tuberculosis. Many of the Munch's paintings convey limp figures, hidden faces, threatening shapes looming, brooding houses, sexual anxieties, and innocent sufferers. Overall the moods of his works are meloncholic and intense.

Edvard Munch was hospitalized when his anxiety became too serious and he returned to Norway in 1909. Edvard Munch died in Oslo in 1944 and left significant works that were simple, vigorous and direct in style, which worked as important forces for later modern graphic art.

Fantasy Art

Fantasy art is historically rooted in mythology, folklore and religion from all over the globe. Fantasy art is a universal language that conveys the mystery of unseen forces and the mysteries of life. The history of fantasy art dates back to Greek mythology, Chinese folklore, various cultural traditions and African voodoo and magic. Our museums are proof of this with artifacts portraying gods, dragons, evil demons, spirits, ghosts, forces of nature, angels, aliens, and heroic immortals. Fantasy art is a mixture of imagination and direct observation of reality. Fantasy art is fanciful, unrealistic, fantastic, dreamy, wistful, and full of rich imagery. Fantasy art initially developed in ancient times and has been practiced and loved mostly by dreamers and artists with wild imaginations.

Fantasy artists

Dutch artist Hieronomous Bosch was a famous fantastical artist of the 1500’s who is most well known for his painting of The Garden of Earthly Delights – it’s a triptych of Eden portraying nude people, giant fruits, winged houses, and glass domes. His nudes were sensuous yet haunting as he wanted to relate his ideas about Adam and Ever and their Original Sin.

Fantasy art history

It was only in the 20th century that fantasy art became an accepted art form. At this time more artists were labeled as fantasy artists than at any other time before them. This acceptance and indulgence in fantasy art was the result of modernization and the invention of photography in the 1800’s – realistic art gradually lost its charm because there was no longer a purpose for realistic representation. Representational art had been advanced since the classical Roman times, and later, Renaissance artists developed accurate perspective techniques in order to accurately depict a subject. In the 20th century however, photography replaced realism and fantasy art history became extremely popular. Artists needed a new challenge in the art world and focused on expressionism, cubism, abstraction, fantasy and surreal art. The meaning and purpose of art changed as artists explored different ways of expressing ideas – not just reporting historical events, and subjects. Artists turned to painting the unseen, and their imaginations ran wild. Today, fantasy art continues to be extremely popular where artists and art lovers can enjoy sci fi, surreal, mythological, unexplainable, imaginative, and taboo themes. Dark fantasy art is a popular theme for both artists and connoisseurs where individuals can explore their deepest fears, and darkest desires. Popular themes are vampires, demons, gothic art, wiccan and pagan art, horror art and dark surreal themes. Dragon fantasy art is also very popular because dragons continue to be mystical and un proven creatures. Many myths and legends exist about dragons and it’s only natural that artists would convey this mystique in their dragon paintings.


Dragon Art History

One culture in which dragons and dragon art are prevalent is the Chinese culture, and mythology. The exact origins of Chinese dragons and dragon art is unknown but it is likely that it dates before any written history we have today. Examples of Chinese dragon art include the Wine Jar, from the Ming Dynasty (16th century), a Vase from the Chia Cing reign (16th century), a gilded bronze dragon from the Tang Dynasty (600 AD), the Royal Dragon Robes of Emperors, Tang Dynasty (7th century), and the Jade Coiled Dragon from the Hongshan Culture – 4700 – 2920 B.C. To the Chinese, the dragon symbolizes power, ambition, heroism, divinity, success, optimism and nobility. For this reason the Chinese have embraced dragon art for thousands of years. Western dragons are associated with negative qualities like evil, aggression, temper, murder and so on. Eastern dragons are beautiful, wise, and kind; they are worshipped and even have shrines devoted to them.Dragon fantasy art is very popular because if the mystical attributes of dragons. Did they exist? What were they like? What did they look like? These are all questions that the artist’s imagination can answer on paintings, drawings, illustrations and sketches. Dragon fantasy art accompanied by female warriors or ancient heroes is also an attractive theme for artists as they can create a fantastical legend on canvas. Free dragon clip art can be found all over the internet - just go online and search for the type of clipart you want. Chinese dragon clip art, and Chinese dragon pictures are some of the most popular clip art themes on the internet. Japanese dragon art is also popular but not nearly as potent as interest in Chinese dragons.

Fauvism

Fauvism was the first of the major avant-garde movement in European twentieth century art. Fauvism is characterized by intensely vivid, unnatural paintings which utilize bright colors to convey a mood. The fauvist style grew out of the Pointillism movement and is characterized by its primitive style, and less natural forms. Artists such as Gauguin and van Gogh played a large part in influencing the movement.

Fauvism is quite similar to expressionism in that forms are distorted and colors are used in order to create an intense mood. The fauvist movement was first recognized around 1905 when they had their first exhibition in Paris, led by the artist Henri Matisse. The fauvist movement was named by a critic who proclaimed that the painters were “wild beasts” or “less fauves” in French, thus giving the movement its name. The fauvist movement was short lived but represented the first break from artistic traditions; it was the first high-impact art movement of the 20th century.


Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was born in 1869 in Le Cateau and originally pursued a career as a lawyer, but began to paint after a serious attack of appendicitis. Matisse joined the studio of Gustave Moreau at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he met other artists such as Camoin, Marquet, Jean Puy, and Manguin. The early works by Matisse were greatly influenced by Seurat in that they were very pointillistic.

Later Matisse became Neo-Impressionistic in that he used bold shapes and colors. As his style matured he put emphasis on simple lines and saturated color. In many of his paintings, Matisse uses patterns and shapes creating an effect that diminishes a sense of space. Matisse was a leader in many art circles and worked as a primary contributor to the Fauvist movement. Apart from paintings, Matisse also sculpted with clay, bronze, and ceramics. In addition he ran an art academy for 3 years, and issued a personal statement in the form of his "Notes d'un Peintre" in 1908.

Fluxus

The Fluxus movement originated in the 1960’s in New York, later spreading to Japan and New York. The movement’s style reduces gestures and mixes the ideals of the Dada, Bauhaus, and Zen movements. The Fluxus artists sought to presume that all media and artistic discipline was ‘fair game’ in terms of combinations and fusions of different styles.

The Fluxus movement was the precursor to many avant garde developments over the years following the art period. Although conventional art and media had been in ‘flux’ long before Fluxus, Dick Higgins was the first to name this development as an actual art movement. Higgins coined the word intermedia to explain a new development in artistic activity – between the media. His intent was to create an art theory of blurring and mixing different art principles and values (ie Futurism, Dada, Russian Constructivism).

The artwork of the Fluxus period is known for it’s minimalist but expressive approach to gestures, and it’s attempt to base art on scientific, philosophical, or sociological ideas. One of the best known artists of the Fluxus movement is Yoko Ono, who with many other Fluxus period artists all over the world sought to generate a solid Fluxus network. The artists of this movement were initially considered pranksters because of their playful and unconventional style.

To this day they are a network of radical visionaries that attempt to uproot social, political and aesthetic perceptions. Other famous Fluxus artists include Joseph Beuys, Dick Higgins, and Robert Filliou. Higgins stated that avant-garde artists like Alan Kaprow and Al Hansen were mixing different medias, and combining incongruous elements into a single piece of art. Thus they were contributing to the emerging Fluxus movement.

Futurism

The Futurism movement, ranging from 1909 to 1944, originated in Italy as an avant-garde movement that took technology, speed and modernity as its inspiration. Futurism conveyed the technological dynamics of twentieth century life. The futurist style glorified the machine age and war, and favored the rise of Fascism. Futurism was at its peak in 1909 when Filippo Marinetti created his first manifesto of the art style.

Marinetti expressed violent sentiment regarding art and literature, and it seemed that his comments were more about shocking the public than exploring an art form. Other artists who grasped the futurist movement attempted to capture what they called the “force lines” of an item or object. Futurist artists also strove to portray a combination of what they remember synthesized with what they see. It is interesting to note that futurism is the first art movement to be self invented. Famous fauvist artists include Filippo Marinetti, Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carra, and Gino Severini.


Giacomo Balla

Giacomo Balla was part of the first wave of Futurist painters and was born in 1871. He was a well known teacher in his time and his pupils included Umberto Boccioni and Gino Severini. Balla's early works were greatly influenced by Seurat and the pointillist movement, but by 1912 he had joined the Futurist movement. After 1909 Balla's paintings became more and more concerned with the portrayal of light, speed and movement - this fascination is demonstrated in his works such as The Hand of the Violinist, and the Speed of the Motorcycle. As Balla sought to break down elements such as light to their simplest forms he moved closer to total abstraction in his paintings.

By 1914 Balla was so involved in his art work, and his belief in Futurism that he named his two daughters Propeller and Light! During the second wave of Futurism in the 1920's Balla remained to be a strong force within the younger Futurists. Balla's paintings and sculptures slowly began to shift to more geometric forms, which he would alternate with figurative abstractions. By the end of his life, Balla had moved away from Futurism all together even though he had been an important driving influence. Giacomo Balla died in 1958.

Graffiti Art

Origins of the word ‘graffiti’


Graffiti is a style of art made on both public and private surfaces, prevalent in low income areas of cities, taking the form o f drawings, words, and art. Graffiti art is often considered vandalism because most of the time, the property’s owner is not consulted about the art administration. Graffitti art dates back to ancient classical Greece and the Roman Empire. The word Graffiti is a plural word derived from “graffito”, which refers to works of art created by scratching a design on a surface. The word sgraffito is also related to the word Graffiti in which it conveys a method of scratching through a layer of paint in order to reveal another pigmented layer below. All the words mentioned above are originally from the Italian language, and the main roots are “graffiato” which means “to scratch” and this word is from the Greek word “graphein” which means “to write”. It is still not clear when exactly the word graffiti was first used to distinguish an art form.
Modern graffiti


Throughout the 20th century, World War Two seemed to mark the real recognition of modern graffiti. “Kilroy was here” became a popular cultural American expression in the form of graffiti; it depicted a doodle of Kilroy peeking over a wall. Similarly, Australians adopted a nation the nation wide graffiti – “Foo was here”. “Mr. Chad” was another popular graffiti subject of the times, which portrayed a face with eyes and nose hanging over a wall saying “What No …. ?”. This referred to lack of commodities during the time of rationing. With the advent of airplane inventions, airplane graffiti followed including the ‘nose art’ that became popular during WWII. With the development of large cities and urban areas after the war, in the second half of the 20th century, gangs would mark public property and walls with their gang names, titles, and tages – this would mark the gang’s territory. By the end of the 20th century graffiti, or tagging, was no longer restricted to gangs, but spread to ‘artists’ who began to leave their tags in order to create a ‘name’ and reputation as a graffiti artist. The very first documented incident of illegal spray painted markings was found in Philadelphia. The artist responsible named himself ‘Cornbread’. Certain graffiti has local significance such as the tagging done by the Californian gangs the Bloods and the Crips. The graffiti name Cool “Disco" Dan appears in the Washington D.C. area; the artist creating the graffiti has been actively spraying his tag since 1984. Instead of becoming caught up in drugs and games during the Go Go scene of the 80’s, this artist devoted himself to graffiti. More information on Cool “Disco” Dan can be found in the book “Free Agents, a history of Washington, DC graffiti”. A joke put out by the Washington post is as follows: What two people’s help will Mayor Marion Barry need to clean up Washington, D.C.? The answer is Cool “Disco” Dan and God!
Ancient graffiti


In ancient times the term graffiti referred to figure drawings, wall carvings and inscriptions found on ancient ruins, throughout Pompeii, and within the Catacombs of Rome. The word evolved to include artistic vandalism. The first known example of ‘modern’ graffiti exists in the Ephesus, an ancient Greek city that is now Turkey. The graffiti conveys a ‘for a good time’ sign which appears near a long mosaic stone walkway. The sign includes a heart shape, a footprint, handprints, and a numbers. The hands represented how much the ‘good time’ would cost, and the foot shows how many steps it would take to find the lover. Pompeii is a Roman city that depicts many examples of graffiti art – you’ll find, in Latin graffiti, magic instructions, insults, love declarations, signs for political campaigns, caricatures, and quotations from literature. Ancient graffiti is also found in Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, in the Mayan site of Tikal in Guatemala, Viking graffiti in Rome, and vandalism art in Ireland at Newgrange Mound.
Graffiti art terms


Tag – a tag is an artist’s personal stylized signature. A tagger or a writer is an individual that leaves a tag or signature.
Piece – a piece, derived from masterpiece, is a large 3D image depicting arrows, many colors, and cool effects. If the site of the piece is a difficult location, and is well done, the artists / writer will earn the most respect.
Throw-up – a throw up is not a piece, rather it takes less time to create than a piece. It usually consists of an outline and one fill in color. The most common form of throw-ups are bubble letters and shapes – the reduced time in artistic investment also reduces the chances that the vandal will be caught.
Sticky – a sticky is a sticker that has the graffiti artist’s tag on it.
Cru – A cru or crew is a group of graffiti writers and artists that stick together – they can be part of gangs or not.
Slash – it is a great insult to ‘slash’ or put a line through someone else’s graffiti – it is a disrespectful action also known as dissing, buffing, marking, or capping.
Back To Back – the term back to back describes graffiti that covers a wall from one side to the other (ie the Berlin Wall, train cars).
Burner – a burner is a complex, large piece that appears to be burning out of walls and trains.
Insides – insides are tags created within buses, trains, cars, or trams. During the 1970’s it was common in New York to see as much graffiti inside a train as on the outside.
Going Over – if an artist ‘goes over’ another person’s piece and replaces it with his own tag it is the same as declaring war.
Toy – a toy is a graffiti artist that is not talented, or new to the scene.
King – a king is a writer that has gained respect by being talented, and owning the most tags in a certain area (in trains, outside of trains, on walls).
Nic – if you nic someone’s work you are stealing their ideas, color schemes and lettering. Bite – bite means the same as nic in New York.

Group of Seven

In the early nineteen hundreds there were a group of Canadian painters that began noticing similar style in one another’s works. These artists met at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto, which was a place for Canadian artists to discuss, meet, debate, and critique artwork. The members that would later become the Group of Seven included Tom Thomson, J.E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, Frank Johnston and Franklin Carmichael. A.Y. Jackson, Lawren S. Harris later joined the group with Dr. James MacCallum around 1913.

World War I disrupted the group’s art endeavors but by 1920 they had formed their group. Inspired by the wilderness paintings of Tom Thomson, a group of Canadian landscape artists formed the Group of Seven in 1920, 3 years after the death of their mentor Tom Thompson (he died under suspicious circumstances – he was found floating in a river in an Ontario park with a head injury). The artists traveled all over Canada and sketched and painted what they saw using bold colors and strong decorative brushstrokes and style.

The Group of Seven contributed how Canadians saw their own country and the created a new Canadian expression. In 1920 the To Group of Seven had their first exhibition, and became popular as the first artists to capture the feel of the Arctic on canvas. The Group of Seven’s last exhibition all together was in 1931 because MacDonald passed away and the Group of Seven broke up. Although the Group of Seven artwork was similar, each artists had a distinct style. Arthur Lismer’s ‘A September Gale’, J.E.H MacDonald’s ‘The Solemn Land’, and Tom Thomson’s ‘The Jack Pine’ represented what the group stood for in the broadest sense, and are perhaps the most famous Group of Seven paintings.

The Group of Seven style is not illustrative or photographic; it is more interpretive as the artists selected what they wanted to convey to the audience. Most works involve one particular scene in an ‘interpretive realistic’ sense where the artist takes a real subject (ie a rugged landscape) and emphasizes / exaggerates certain features he feels are significant. The colors in many Group of Seven paintings are not realistic, but they give a mood of roughness and boldness. Even though the Group of 7 only lasted about 10 years, it spawned the creation of a larger group – the Canadian Group of Painters. Today the Group of Seven is popular and recognizable by most Canadians, yet their art period eventually transformed into different forms of Canadian expression.

Henna Body Art

Body art has always been popular culturally and artistically, and in recent years body art styles such as henna tattoo body painting has experienced an obvious revival. Henna is pain-free, fashionable, and is non permanent – it offers a fun tattoo alternative. According to historians, henna body art was brought to India in the 12th century by the Moguls who used to trade with the Ancient Indians. Henna, or Mehndi, is a body dye paste created by grinding the leaves and twigs of the Henna plant and hot water. Various herbs and dyes can be added to the paste to alter it slightly. You can find the henna plant, or hawsonia plant, in the Middle East and North Africa. The earliest documented use of henna body paint comes from Ancient Egypt where the bodies of Pharaohs were decorated with henna markings before mummification. Henna body art is traditionally used in the Indian culture in ceremonies related to marriage. In the Middle East it customary for Arabs not to present their hands for henna if they are lying about something, and like in India, it is usually body paint for brides.

In countries like Turkey, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia henna is a symbol of good luck. People in Morocco use henna body painting for many different things - pregnant women use henna designs on their ankles to protect them through childbirth; these designs remain family specific and are passed down through generations. African henna body art designs have a distinct geometrical element to them, and they are less decorative and ornate than the Indian mehndi henna body paint tattoos.

Japanese and Chinese henna symbols are growing in popularity in Western countries. Japanese symbols are some of the most popular designs requested for henna body painting. It is interesting to note that the history of henna body art stretches far and wide, and the techniques are continually infused into today’s fashion, art, and traditional spheres.

Impressionism

The Impressionist movement originated in France in the 19th century and lasted from 1867 to 1886. Impressionists broke from traditional European painting techniques and incorporated new elements into the chemistry of color in order to achieve new levels of tone, and exact color. Impressionists created paintings that were suddenly different in how they looked because they applied paint in small touches of pure paint color rather than broad, mixed brushstrokes. This resulted in Impressionist artists having the ability to emphasize the impression of an object or subject matter. The impressionist style allows the artist to capture an image that someone might see if they only caught a quick glimpse of the image. Impressionist paintings are usually outdoor scenes with bright, vibrant colors, without an emphasis on detail. Impressionist art allows an artist to create a mood, while portraying a scene that is not realistic, but might be perceived by any spectator.

Impressionism is generally a light and spontaneous method of painting, where an artist attempts to capture the impression of light in a scene. The name of the movement was derived from one of Monet’s early works ‘Impression: Sunrise’ which was singled out by art critic Louis Leroy. Some of the most famous impressionist painters include Monet Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro, Degas, Bazille, Manet, Cassatt, and Caillebotte.


Pierre Auguste Renoir

Pierre Auguste Renoir was born in Limoges, France in 1841 and as a child worked in a factory painting designs on china. At the age of 17 he was copying paintings onto fans and lamp shades. In 1862 Renoir was formally educated at the academy of the painter Charles Gabriel Gleyre in Paris, and his early works took notable inspiration from French artists Eugene Delacroix, and Claude Monet.

Pierre Auguste Renoir is well known for his intimate paintings, especially those of nude females. He is recognized as one of the greates and most independent painters of his time. Renoir is noted for his use of brilliant colors, his variety of subjects, his intimacy, and his harmony of lines. He was one of the few Impressionist painters that found an equal interst in both the human figure and landscapes. Renoir's first exhibiton was in Paris in 1864 but he was not recognized for his works until 10 years later. Some of Renoir's most famous works include Le Bal au Moulin de la Galette, and Madame Charpentier and Her Children - these works demonstrate Renoir's mastery of the human form and the depiction of light. After Renoir had achieved a solid reputation he exhibited in Paris in 1883. In 1887 he created a series of nude female figures he named The Bathers, which reveal his skillful ability to convey texture and skin color. This series of paintings is so far unsurpassed in modern art because of their excellent representation of feminine grace. Renoir was crippled with arthiritis in the last twenty years of his life but he continued to paint with his brush strapped to his arm. Renoir died in Cagnes in 1919.


Claude Monet

Claude Monet was one of the founding fathers of the Impressionist movement in France. He was born in Paris and his date of birth was 1840. Monet started doing caricatures as a little boy and a local shop keeper, Eugene Boudin saw the talent of the young boy and provided his very first painting lessons. Claude Monet was drafted to go to Northern Africa for 2 years and upon his return he took painting lessons at Gleyre’s studio in Paris and met Auguste Renoir, Sisley, Bazille and other well known artists. Monet eventually turned from the traditional painting style of the times, which was not well taken by the art community. In 1883 Monet moved to Giverny and rented a house where he stayed until his death in 1926. Below is a list of Monet’s most famous paintings, the years they were created, where they are located (gallery names), and the names of each painting:

La Grenouillere,1869 Metropolitan Museum of Art
Garden at Sainte-Adresse,1867 Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Beach at Sainte-Adresse,1867
Magpie
The Beach at Trouville,1870 National Gallery,London
Impression: soleil levant,1872
Impression: Soleil Levant (Impression,Sunrise),1873 Musee Marmottan,Paris
Regatta at Argenteuil,1872 Musee d'Orsay,Paris
Coquelicots (Poppies, Near Argenteuil) ,1873 Musee d'Orsay
The Highway Bridge at Argenteuil,1874 National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
La Promenade,1875
The Bridge at Argenteuil,1874 Louvre,Paris
La femme au Metier,1875
Saint-Lazare Station,1877 National Gallery,London
Boulevard des Capucines,1873
Landscape: Parc Monceau,Paris
Rouen Cathedral: Full Sunlight,1894 Louvre,Paris
Rouen Cathedral, the West Portal,Dull Weather,1894 Musee d'Orsay,Paris
Rouen Cathedral,the West Portal and Saint-Romain,Full Sunlight,Harmony in Blue and Gold,1894 Musee d'Orsay,Paris
Poplars along the River Epte,Autumn,1891 Private Collection
Water Lilies (The Clouds), 1903 Private Collection
Water Lilies 1906 Art Institute of Chicago
Waterlillies,Green Reflection, Left Part,1916-1923 Orangerie,Paris
Haystacks at Chailly at Sunrise,1865 San Diego Museum of Art
Meule,Effet de Neige,le Martin (Morning Snow Effect)
Meule,Degel.Soleil Couchant
Meule,Soleil Couchant,1891 Museum of Fine Arts,Boston
Wheat Stacks (End of Summer), 1890-1891 The Art Institute of Chicago
The Thames at Westminster (Westminster Bridge),1871
Houses of Parliament,London, Sun Breaking Through Fog,1904 Musee d'Orsay,Paris
Houses of Parliament,London,1905 Musee Marmottan,Paris
The Floating Ice,1880
Path in the Ile Saint-Martin,Vetheuil
The Artist's Garden at Vetheuil,1881 Private Collection
Rock Arch West of Etretat (The Manneport),1883
Garden in Bordighera,Impression of Morning, 1884
Bulbfield and Windmill Near Leyden,1886 State Museum,Amsterdam
The Artist's Garden at Giverny,1900 Musee d'Orsay,Paris
Gladioli
Martin

Mannerism

The Mannerism period started in 1520 and ended in 1600 – it was an art style that depicted the human form in exaggerated poses, in unrealistic settings. The art period is essentially the late Renaissance as it followed the Hight Renaissance art period. The term Mannerism was developed through the Italian word maniera – which means style. The Mannerist art movement first appeared in Florence and Rome, and was a style that rejected the Renaissance period in favor of a more emotional approach to art with a sometimes distorted point of view.

The Mannerist style conveyed the tension in Europe in the 1500’s , and gained even more popularity later in northern Italy and central and northern Europe. Characteristic paintings of Mannerism included artificial colors, unrealistic proportions, off beat perspective, complex composition, and exaggerated or elongated figures. Perhaps the most famous Mannerist artists are Raphael and Michelangelo - artists that achieved technical accomplishments and theatrical, forumalic, and stylized work.

Figures in Mannerist paintings were often in imaginary poses creating an unsettling and strange piece of art – the eerie images reflected the period’s conflict with the Reformation, the sack of Rome, and the plague. By the 1600’s Mannerist painters were accused of disrupting the unity and balance of Renaissance classicism but in actuality, Mannerism created a valuable link between the Renaissance period and the emotional Baroque movement that followed in the 17th century.

Famous Mannerist artists, sculptors and architects include:

Allori, Alessandro
Ammanati, Bartolommeo
Anguissola, Lucia
Anguissola, Sofonisba
Arcimboldo, Giuseppe
Bandinelli, Baccio
Bassano, Leandro
Beccafumi, Domenico
Bernini, Pietro
Giambologna
Giulio Romano (Giulio di Pietro de'Gianuzzi)
Il Cerano (Giovanni Battista Crespi)
Il Nosadella (Giovanni Francesco Bezzi)
Il Pordenone (Giovanni Antonio de Sacchis)
Ligorio, Pirro
Machietti, Girolamo (di Francesco di Mariotto)
Maderno, Stefano
Bronzino, Agnolo di Cosimo
Buonarroti, Michelangelo
Cambiaso, Luca
Carneo, Antonio
Cattaneo, Danese
Cellini, Benvenuto
Cesari, Giuseppe (Cavaliere d'Arpino)
Correggio
Daniele da Volterra (Daniele Ricciarelli)
Danti, Vincenzo
dell'Abbate, Niccolò
El Greco
Scipione (il Gaetano)
Rosso Fiorentino
Pontormo (Jacopo Carucci)
Primaticcio, Francesco
Salviati, Francesco
San Friano, Maso da (Tommaso Manzuoli)
Sansovino, Jacopo
Savoldo, Giovanni Girolamo
Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti)
Tosini, Michele (Michele di Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio)
Tribolo, Niccolo
Vasari, Giorgio
Veronese, Paolo Caliari
Vittoria, Alessandro
Zuccaro, Federico
Zuccaro, Taddeo
Mariani, Camillo
Mastelletta (Giovanni Andrea Donducci)
Mochi, Francesco
Moroni, Giovanni Battista
Palladio, Andrea
Palma Giovane
Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Mazzola)
Parodi, Filippo
Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi)
Pino, Marco (Marco da Siena)
Polidoro da Caravaggio (Polidoro Caldara)
Pulzone