Romantic Era- Preferences and Perspectives

Impressionist 

The "Impressionist" style of painting has the following attributes. According to artyfactory.com, these artists were:

The first group of artists to embrace painting outside. This was partially due to the introduction of paint in tubes, which enabled artists to carry their equipment. They also found it necessary to paint outdoors because they were committed to observing the effects of light on color in nature. 


Edgar Degas, Four Dancers, c. 1899, France

Four Dancers by Edgar Degas reflects the outdoor style that was popular in Impressionist paintings. Degas combines the use of small strokes to capture natural light, dancers, and the landscape. As the National Gallery of Art states, "Degas suppressed descriptive detail elsewhere in the painting, emphatic dark lines shape the heads and arms, underlining the artist's formal concerns." 

The idea Degas may have been attempting to portray was that the dancers were ballerinas out in nature. He may have been attempting to put an outdoor background with an indoor activity. The subject and style of this painting does not really appeal to me. I am more inclined to be interested in the post-impressionist style of Vincent Van Gogh. 


Camille Pissarro, Gelee Blanche-Hoarfrost, c. 1873

I first realized what seems to be fog that is on the ground. Then after seeing the title of the painting, Pissarro was trying to portray his impression of hoarfrost. That can be a strength of the impressionist style; blurred lines. In an article, Artyfactory describes this as "artist's sacrifice of accurate lines and details in favor of atmospheric effect." Which is my mistake thinking the hoarfrost as fog is a great example of the effect of this style. 

Pissarro was intending to get the viewer to look at the worker doing labor in cold weather. Which can be either a rural farmer or worker in my opinion. Again, this style does not appeal to me. But I find it very interesting! 

Post-Impressionism


Vincent van Gogh, Starry Night, c. 1889, Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint-Remy, France

This painting by Van Gogh depicts a view of the night sky from his room while he was a patient in the Saint-Paul Asylum in Saint-Remy, France. In Kelly Richman-Abdou's article "Art History: How Van Gogh's The Starry Night Came to Be and Continues to Inspire Artists", the author states, "Starry Night features short, painterly brushstrokes, and artificial color palette, and a focus on luminescence". Now I really see it after reading through the article! 

Starry Night appeals to me because it reveals Van Gogh's interpretation of a world from within. I've been a fan of Van Gogh's art since a child. I have yet to order myself copies, but I can promise I will have a few of his paintings on my bedroom wall. 


Paul Gauguin, Tahitian Landscape, c. 1893, Tahiti 

Gauguin's Tahitian Landscape is a very bright and colorful painting. It gives the impressionist feel while striking out from that style with identifiable brush strokes. Gauguin captured the working lifestyle of the South Pacific Islands in this painting. As you can see, he includes a dog just left to the person carrying two back on a yoke going across their shoulders. Artyfactory states that "Gauguin has fused his symbolic use of color with images of both environments to create a highly personal and expressive vision that pushed art towards the exhilarating style of Fauvism". 

I would definitely put this in my bedroom or living room as well! I enjoy bright colors and this would light up my view every time. My preference is for the Post-Impressionist style. The color palette is more appealing. The brush strokes seem bold. Definitely a fan of this painting style. 

Works Cited










Comments

  1. ladyracerNovember 1, 2021 at 1:16 AM

    Hi James, I tend to look for works of art that catches my eye. I like the ballerina painting, although I could not understand what it meant to be a ballerina dancer, outside. I could understand the post-impressionist style, because it is landscape painting, and it displays fog and the also dark skies or shades in the sky by fog.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Non Western Exhibit

Image
 As mentioned at the beginning of the semester, I have always been fascinated with Ancient Egyptian culture and art. There is something in their sculptures, pyramids, and art that really captures my mind. That is why I chose to do an art exhibit based upon Egypt. This contains art from an older time period between the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom in Egypt.  Statuette of a Hippopotamus. Meir, Egypt. 1981-1885 B.C. Much like many other Egyptian statutes, I am amazed with artwork from the Middle Kingdom Dynasty in Egypt. This hippopotamus has survived over a thousand years and still maintains a sharp shade of blue; along with the painted river plants on its exterior. With the Nile River having such importance to the ancient Egyptians, the hippopotamus posed a great threat to the people. Hippos have the size and power to overturn boats and rafts. They were also believed to be a threat to travelers in the afterlife. I think the detail that can be seen in the toes and face of the statue ar
Read more

Early Modern Blog Exhibit

Image
  WWI Influence on Early Modern Art Also known as the Great War, World War I lasted from 1914 until 1918. This consisted of the allies; France, Great Britain, Italy, Russia, and later the United States. And the Central Powers; Austria-Hungary (the Habsburg Empire), Germany, and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). Following the end of WWI, a new geo-political landscape emerged from the downfall of three empires: Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian. Despite the preceding development of early modern art, the wake of the war truly catalyzed artistic culture and styles.  Today's well known German painter, George Grosz, was urged at a young age. With time, he developed his skills and attended the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and later studied at the Berlin College of Arts and Crafts. Grosz volunteered for the military service in November of 1914 and it was during this time he observed war first hand. After being discharged in 1917, Grosz turned his efforts towards using his art as a social c
Read more

Renaissance- Baroque Art

Image
  Above is a painting called The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio. This was painted in 1599-1600, using oil on canvas. This is located in the Contarelli chapel, San Luigi dei Francesci, Rome. This painting resembles a biblical story of the calling of Saint Matthew. Jesus singles Matthew out and calls on him to join him and his disciples. The characters seem to be dressed in contemporary clothing, setting this event in Caravaggio's time, rather than biblical times.  The Calling of Saint Matthew shows Caravaggio's use of tenebrism and stark contrasts between partially lit figures and dark backgrounds to dramatize the effect. Tenebrism is a term derived from the Italian 'tenebroso' which means darkened and obscuring. It is used to describe a certain type of painting in which significant details such as faces and hands are illuminated by highlights which are contrasted with a dark setting. Light plays an active role in furthering the action/plot, rather than merely c
Read more