Thursday, March 10, 2011

Special Edition Blog: Classical (1500-1900)


To the left is a picture of me at the Art Institute and to the right is a picture of Professor Nathan Peck, also at the Art Institute in the Classical Wing.

Craft
This painting is called Fishing Boats with Hucksters Bargaining for Fish and was created by Joseph Mallard William Turner. This is oil on canvas. Most of his career was devoted to abstract effects. He made this by his subject being derived from his exposure to 17th century Dutch sea paintings. The picture consists of men, boats, threatening and dark skies, and rough seas. The necessary steps in creating this were making enormous waves. In some spots on the waves, there are chunks of paint which I think gives this painting an abstract effect. It seems as if the waves are rough and as if the water is splashing up from them. This also gives the painting texture. In making this he created smaller boats in the back of the isolated larger one to notice the struggle of getting as far as the large boat did because of the enormous waves. He also added in people on the boat. Some are noticeable but in some spots on the boat, things are smeared or blurred but it is still possible to notice what Turner was trying to depict. Overall, I think that there were many steps in making this because of the abstract effect.
Composition

This painting is called Fish Still Life and was created by French artist, Edouard Manet in 1864. It is created with oil on a canvas and shows composition. In this painting, there is a carp, red mullet, eel, oysters, lemon, stockpot, and a knife. Manet arranged things this way to make it seem “alive,” even though the translation of ‘still life’ in French is “dead nature.” He balanced the positioning of each element in this painting. He precariously balanced the knife and still-slithering eel along the diagonal of the tablecloth to make it seem as if they were coming towards the viewer. I also think that he arranged everything in a way where the viewer can notice everything in this painting. It is close together but also spaced out just enough to notice exactly what food is being prepared and that there is only one pot. Manet is controlling the viewers’ eye by making the colors very similar except the yellow lemon. The viewers’ eye is mainly drawn to either the large fish or the yellow lemon. It also gives the viewer a sense of smell and taste by the arrangement of everything on the table. Everything on the table is normally cooked separately but this painting draws my eye to the one stockpot which makes me think of all that food mixed together.

Concept
This painting is called Cupid Chastised and was created by Bartolomeo Manfredi. This is oil on canvas painting. The people in this painting are Mars (the god of war), Venus, and Cupid. This painting means that Mars is beating Cupid for having caused his affair with Venus. This exposed him to the ridicule of the other gods. Manfredi chose not to interpret stories from the Bible and classical mythology as ideal subjects but rather as events that happened, or could have happened to ordinary people. He is simply trying to tell this tale of domestic struggle which symbolizes the conflict between love and war.

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