Caricature

Have you ever been to the boardwalk and have seen a person sitting down as another draws them. You seem a sweet child's face glowing, waiting to see the result of the artist. Peering over his shoulder, instead of seeing something that looks like the fidgety kid, it is a human-like figure with vague connections, exaggerating his poking out ears and bucked teeth, the stain on his shirt and his spiky hair? This is a caricature. While people now create them as silly face, they use to be created as political cartoons, still to laugh at, yet held much meaning. Most of the time, they would target the current ruler and point out his flaws in humorous ways, spreading truth and giggles at the same time.
Honore Daumier was a french print maker, painter, sculptor, and the first caricaturist. One work he created even put him in jail because it was so offensive to the French King at that time. This piece was called Le Charivari and portrayed the ruler as a huge, fat person eating humans and their gold as the tiny, little humans withered away in line. He is going to the bathroom, but instead of what is suppose to come out, laws and other so called "vital" documents were discarded from his rectum, obviously telling Daumier's views of this ruler.

While Daumier created many caricatures, he also created other works of art to show his sympathy for the working, loyal, diligent citizens. One of my favorite pieces I saw at the Philadelphia Museum of art was actually his painting called The Print Lover.

I love creating caricatures, whether happy or mean, they are so much fun. Today was the day we began drawing them, and as I drew my teachers head even larger than normal, I had a blast. They are quick and I am seriously considering being one of those artists sitting on the boardwalk. I will have to practice if I decide this of course, yet it is so much quick, fun, loving art. I love laughing at them too, as I placed hidden meanings in my teacher caricature he will only understand. HAHA!

Realism

Realism began in the mid 19th century when the general people were starting to move to cities. Most of these people became factory workers because of the abundance of factory jobs in the city. They were mostly poor and lived in the slum areas. The other forms of art seemed out of place, so, artists wanting to please their customers, began painting everyday scenes and events exactly as they appeared. There was no idealism here, there was a new form of art, Realism. The famous artist of Realism was Edouard Manet. He believed how he painted was more vital than what he painted. This lead him to re-create scenes that he saw in his everyday life. He created amazing textures, used line often, and put various colors in what each work called for,yet he was most known for using pattern and shape. The following picture is called Portrait of Stephane Mallarm. I enjoy the choppy brush strokes that let you see each one individually, yet as a whole, create a man.

Another artists of this time was actually the first woman artist to be recognized. Her name was Rosa Bonheur, and until her, woman were not thought of artists as highly as men were. She makes her work symmetrical, yet real at the same time. She highlights the main subjects of the painting, like in this work called Couching Lion. I love the true form of the lion and its beautiful face. The fur looks pet-able, the grass looks pick-able, the mountains look close as the others look very far away by using different tints. I love realism and think it is difficult to capture the true form of anything along with its soul, yet Rosa does in this painting quite well.

Landscape Artists

One artist in particular is credited for changing the way landscapes were created. They were no longer simply used as a background, they could be a painting in themselves. This artists name was John Constable. Instead of using quick, swift strokes to simply put the idea of a landscape behind another scene, he put much detail into the nature. He wanted to create a true re-creation of what surrounded him, so he studied the view in many different angles and changes of light. One painting he made was called The While Horse. In earlier times, a white horse would take most of the space in the painting up, yet now, it was only a part of the surrounding landscape.

Another artist of this time was JMW Turner. Instead of adding much detail, he used rapid motion to create forms and areas of color that fit together as a landscape. While Constables work is beautiful, I enjoy Turner's work more. His holds more emotion, capturing the essence of the landscape more than what was seen by the human eye. One I have in my heart is called Rockets and Blue Lights.

Romanticism

When we had to guess what Romanticism was, I believed it was simply something to do with nature, for in literature, that is what it deals with, yet I was wrong. Romanticism portrays dramatic and exotic subjects with intense feeling. I enjoy much of Romanticism and like how the picture holds much motion. The feelings blast out of the artwork, the eye cannot stop swirling around the piece, while the mind think "whoa.." One of my favorite pieces was by an artists named Théodore Géricault, it is titled Raft of the Medusa. We studied this work in class, learned how it showed true historical events. This particular piece showed the result of an incompetent sailor who took many people aboard a ship called the Medusa. He was wealth, yet did not supply enough life boats. Like the Titanic, the poor were left to drown while the rich escaped on a lifeboat. This painting shows the 15 people that survived of the 149 people left on the sinking ship. These 15 people had to do live through horror, even cannibalism. It sickens me to think of such an occurrence, yet the painting turns the rage up on a higher level.

Romantics also used diagonals, the dramatic effects of light, and kinetic energy to bind each painting together. Another artist of this era was Eugeune Delacroix. He throws motion into the pictures, letting the viewer see the figures as they move. One painting he created was called The Death of Sardanapalus. This specific one hold those semi-murky outlines, those vivid colors, those insane actions, letting the imagination continue the story he is telling.

Neo-classicism

Instead of the Baroque or Rococo styles, artists of the early 19th century decided to turn back to the classic forms of art to express courage, sacrifice, and love of the country. They wanted to bring back the Greek and Roman art characteristics, balancing compositions, harmonious contour lines, and noble gestures and expressions. While doing such, some added propaganda into their work, which means putting symbols and ideas into the work to spread to the public. I think this is genius. It is a sneaky way to sell an idea, yet no one can prove the manipulation. One artist who was particularly clever with propaganda was Jacques-Louis David. One piece in particular that thrived with propaganda was Napoleon in his Studies. This shows many things, a candle and early hour of the morning to suggest he works non-stop, vital documents beside him to show he is indeed at work, and his straight posture to signify strength.
This type of art help importance with the American and French revolutions, for the government adopted Neo-classicism as their form of art. Another famous piece by David was called Oath of the Horatti. While I do like the first painting shown better, I enjoy the symmetry of the composition. The textures and very popping as well as the positive and negative space. I do not love how the picture looks like a "still moment", like these people posed for it, yet believe it adds to the meaning of this piece. A man's sons, on the left, swear to protect and follow him and the women, to the right, weep. The father in the middle, symbolizes the government as the sons symbolize the citizens and the women show their care. The subjects of these pieces are not my choice as well, for I do not particularly enjoy politics and the government's manipulation, it is indeed amazing that they could manipulate. I do like the texture of these works, though.

Rococo

Rococo art was my least favorite art of the time period, not just because many of the pictures did not attract me, yet most of the act work was painted simply to look "pretty". Learning about Baroque Art first set the bar too high, I imagined Rococo Art to be even better, for Mrs. DeRichie pronounced it with such flare, yet i grew disappointed. This artwork seemed to show the giddy aspects of life without morals, such as The Swing by Jean-Honore Fragonard, one well-known Rococo artist. This picture is said to be a woman committing adultery with the one who her legs are open to, while her husband pushes her "in the dark". I love obscene art, yet the reasoning must be pure, I believe, not pure, but..hold some shade of grey, not be simply a woman doing wrong to her husband.
Another very famous painting is The Embarkation for Cythera by Jean-Antoine Watteau. I think some of the paintings, like this one, are fine to gaze upon, yet I d not love the very "fairy tale" aspect. I cannot help myself, I prefer things to hold fierce meaning or simple display, yet cannot truly love Rococo, for it goes against what I create art for, for a purpose, even if it is just to laugh, Rococo art seems to create to show the frivolous, care-free, only please yourself, always do what is best for number one, yours truly, and it seems to promote being very conceited and selfish, at least in my eyes.

Baroque Art

Baroque Art is a very simple in terms of subject matter. The artists would paint ordinary scenes of ordinary people, quite different than the Renaissance art of mainly religious figures, or the earlier paintings of high class people only. Now, paintings would show ordinary peasants, a cleaning maid, meat hanging from the ceiling. These paintings were called genre paintings. The subjects would usually be placed somewhere remotely close to the middle and have light, bright colors to contrast the dark backgrounds. Some of the paintings did not even have backgrounds besides the color black or another deep tone. this was to draw the eye to the subject being portrayed, almost glowing itself. One of the most famous artists of the time was Jean-Baptise Simeon Chardin who delighted in painting average objects, showed changes of color and light, and had brush strokes that depicted the beauty hidden in a commonplace, usually with a calm atmosphere. My favorite painting by Chardin that I have seen so far has been Boy Playing with Cards. For me, this painting reminds the viewers of the good times, where one did not have a Care in the world, and could relax by completing a task with no purpose behind it. The background is one grey color, letting the boy stand out even more. His expression is relaxed and happy, yet the most amazing part of this piece are the cards and their folds. The drawer pokes out right at the onlooker, the velvet can be felt with the eyes as well as the coins, the wood, the clothing, the paper cards, the skin. Texture is my favorite element of art to capture, and Chardin does more than capture it. No even a photograph could put such clarity on those textures; it simply stupefies me.
Other artwork are architecture, holding most Baroque characteristic in the facade, or front of the building. This front holds many concave and convex curves to promote mood and drama.
As we drew our still life with certain Baroque symbols in the picture, I could not have been happier. Some symbols include bubbles to represent life and how fast death approaches, skulls to show death, and rotten fruit to show change. After drawing this, we must redraw it using oil pastels, which I have not yet mastered, so it will be a trying task. I cannot wait to test my abilities more and see the final result!

Renaissance

If someone ever calls you a Renaissance man, take that compliment with a smile. A Renaissance man was considered a jack-of-all-trades, and for a very good reason. During the Renaissance period, the artists were not only artists, but poets, inventors, scientists, engineers, sculptors, musicians, mathematicians, and many other interesting, difficult careers. The four main artists of the time period were Michelangelo,Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, and Raphael, yet there were many other artists as well such as Durer and Botticelli. One of the main areas that holds Renaissance art is the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the walls and ceiling of this huge church. One painting in this chapel depicted the Great Flood that God sent amongst the sinners, only to save Noah. This painting does not hold much natural disaster, yet focuses on the human characteristics to portray their emotions on a higher level. Like other artwork form this time, the humans were painted idealized,showing off every muscle and curve. Theses people are not as idealized as the gods that were painted because they were sinners, having God's wrath shown upon them. In this particular painting, the eye is drawn to a father carying his son out of the rising ocean's depths. Not matter what is going on around them, this painting still has a sense of hope, the maybe-this-will-not-continue-to-happen sense.

Most of the artwork in this era was commissioned by churches and religious folk, therefore, most of the art held religious figures and symbols. Some were the following: the dove for the Holy Spirit and the shell for baptism and new life. One artist, Durer, was famous for beginning the self-portrait era. In our project to paint something inspired by another painting, mine was Self Portrait by Durer. This project was amazing, my favorite in the class by far. I absolutely love drawing, and it was one of the first times we were about to draw our project as apart of the result. This photo is mysterious and spoke to me, so I chose to transform it into one of my artist friends. I believe my project to be decent for the amount of time we had and the amount of effort put into it, and while I know it could have been better, I feel Durer's essence in the painting as well as my friends, which was what I was going for.

Ukranian Eggs

Ukrainian Eggs were decorated with symbols for religious purposes. The eggs were either blown by puncturing two tiny holes at both ends and blowing its' contents out, or they were left raw to dry internally, with a sand-like, shaking substance left inside. They could be given as gifts and put on display, eventually holding a tie with Easter, for the egg symbolises birth, and Christ was rose from the dead on Easter. As these eggs may look simple or complex, they hold beauty as well as meaning. Each color and symbol had an idea attached, each egg different yet the same. Colors held various meanings such as white for purity and birth, orange for endurance and ambition, and green for hopefulness and health. Many designs were placed upon the egg shell like an embattled line for containment and a meander line for harmony and motion. The pine tree represented strength, growth, and eternal life. The standing cross was a symbol of worship. The rooster represented good fortune and a life with many children. So many designs had so many different meanings, turning a mere egg into a treasure.

In class, we did not have the anticipated skill to be able to cooperate together to blow the eggs or be able to keep them whole while raw, so they were kindly boiled for us. This was a very good idea because most of them ended up breaking anyway, or being broken by an unsatisfied student. I was very interesting how we had to use bees wax, which was the funnest part. I loved the quick drying and working with bees wax. After, we would put the egg in a color that we wanted, dying all of the egg except the wax-covered part. We would repeat this process until we colored the entire egg as desired. I was unhappy with my egg, yet the process was enjoyable with the wax. I did not love waiting for the egg to dye, but patience is needed in life so I suppose it was good training for the future. While this photo of an egg is not colored as I would have done it, I enjoy the particular design on its shell.