Cubism Today

When considering the notable artists of French impressionism, one name always comes up firs: Claude Monet. That is of course not completely surprising as it was a work by Monet, Impression Sunrise, which led to the naming of this artistic movement in the first place. As such, he can be said to have earned his stripes. However, following closely behind him we find Peirre-Auguste Renoir, who in fact had 6 paintings included in the exhibition that included Impression Sunrise in Paris in 1874.  read the full article of Cubism Today

Mary Cassatt and The Boating Party

A lot has been written about the mastery and master pieces of such household names as Renoir, Monet and Pissarro. Their impressionistic art stand as a light of accomplishment and define the period of the late 1800s for many an art lover. The female impressionists and their contribution to both the movement and later developments have been less covered.

Among these we find Mary Cassatt paintings. The second female artist to join the impressionist movement, she exhibited with the group for the first time in 1877 and continued to be associated with them until she declared her independence from any specific artistic style in 1886. Even then, she was still in contact with friends like Renoir, Monet and Pissarro. While notable as an impressionist, it was actually after she set herself completely free that her most prolific period as an artist came about. Thus, in the 1890s, Cassatt produced many of her most well known paintings including The Boating Party. This iconic painting shows a woman holding her child while on a trip onto a lake in a rowing boat. Her husband is meanwhile rowing the boat. What is clear in the painting is that the main subject of Cassatt is the woman and her child. They are clearly facing us while we see only the back of the man. This focus was typical of most of the later works of Cassatt, where especially the relationship between mother and child was her topic.

The Boating Party is probably the most famous of Cassatt’s works. It was reproduced as a stamp by the US Postal Service in 1966, thus underlining the status of the work. The original painting can today be seen at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Meanwhile, Cassatt paintings have sold for upwards of USD 3 million. While that puts her below e.g. Monet in terms of price, it nevertheless puts her in the heavy weight class of painters, an important artist whose works and life still inspires. 

 

The Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa has fascinated man since Leonardo Da Vinci painted it in the days of the renaissance. Famous for her smile, or lack of the same, its timeless qualities has made a favorite of the ages. As it has also, especially through the novels of Dan Brown, regained temporary appeal, it is set for yet another century at the center of the world art heritage. read the full article of The Mona Lisa.

Woman with a Hat

Among the best known and most loved paintings of Henri Matisse, we find Women with a Hat. Painted in 1905 by the artist, it was first exhibited at the Salon d’Automne in Paris, in a room that contained a number of similar paintings as well as a classic statue. Critic Loius Vauxcelles subsequently described this as “Donatello among the Wild beasts” (wild beast being fauvres in French). The Fauvism artistic movement was thus named.

Woman with a Hat is painted in this style that became known as Fauvism. Colors are applied liberally and in saturated form, independent of the true colors of the subject. This led to critique like the paintings looking like a pot of paint has been flung at the canvas. The painting also features a rather heavy brush work which was also typical for this school. The independent use of color to express certain feelings to the viewing audience has also led to the perception of paintings like Woman in a Hat being part of expressionism.

Among the influences for Fauvism are artists like Cezanne and Gauguin, especially the Tahitian works of the later. Gauguin is also quoted as telling artist Paul Serusier:

“How do you see these trees? They are yellow. So, put in yellow; this shadow, rather blue, paint it with pure ultramarine; these red leaves? Put in vermilion”

This is a clear movement towards what would become Fauvism.

Woman with a Hat was first bought by Sarah Stein, sister-in-law to Gertrude Stein, at the Salon d’Automne in 1905. She later sold the painting to her friend Elise Haas who in turn donated in to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts where it can be found today.

Mexican Artist Frida Kahlo

In the annals of the art world, the male names dominate. From Da Vinci to Van Gogh to Dali, it is a mostly exclusively male domain, indeed a western male domain. There are however exceptions. Among them we find American artists Mary Cassatt. Another and even more inspiring example is Mexican Artist Frida Kahlo.

 

Born in 1907 in Mexico, Frida Kahlo was the wife of famous Mexican painter Diego Rivera, of Detroit Industry fame and more. But Kahlo herself also painted. Her main subject was herself through self portraits, but she also painted the world around her. Her paintings are characterized by a vibrant use of colors, its passion and pain and its depiction of the female experience. While not widely recignised in her own lifetime (she passed away in 1954), she was first widely recognized in the 80s in Mexico through the rise of the Neomexicanismo movement. The recognition later spread through exhibitions of her work, an Opera about her and a Hollywood film starring Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo. She was also included on the Mexican 500 peso note and Google now marks her birthday by including her portrait in their logo on the 6th July. Her painting Roots sold at auction in 2006 for USD 5.6 million, a record sum for a Latin American artist. As such, the wife of Diego Rivera turned out herself to be the leading ambassador for Mexican and Latin American art and a movement onto herself.

 

An example of her work is “Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird” which displays not only her vibrant, locally inspired use of colors but also the seriousness of her work and its presentation. The Frida Kahlo painting can today be found in the collection of the University of Texas at Austin. The inspiration generated by her art can be found around the world.

The Art and Military Music

The world of art consists of so many periods, style and movements that it can be hard for even the most seasoned expert to keep track on all of them. For the rest of us, that leaves little hope. However, even if the total of all artistic movements might be beyond ur grasp, keeping up with the most important of these movements helps us understand not only art but also the world around us. read the full article of The Art and Military Music

 

Renoir Girl with a Watering Can

French impressionism had many great contributors. Among the foremost of these we find Pierre-Auguste Renoir. With his delicate brush strokes, vibrant use of light and color and pendant for painting the outdoor world around him, Renoir was a true master. He was also a believer that paintings should be pretty, joyful and pleasant things to observe. His own work followed this paradigm consistently.

 

Among his treasure trove of great painting, we find works like Girl with a Watering Can, which he painted in 1876. The painting depicts a very nicely dressed girl, walking around Monet’s garden in Argenteuil. She is holding a watering can in her one hand and two cut flowers in the other. In her hair is a red bow.

 

In Girl with a Watering Can, Renoir worked completely in accordance with the rules of impressionism. We thus see a focus on color over line, his fine brush strokes, an outdoor setting, and some movement on behalf of the girl. The focus on color over line does however not refrain Renoir from producing a very powerful depiction. The girls fine clothes is given in great detail, thus emphasizing their importance in the painting. It is not just a girl but a girl in her best clothes we see in this garden. The rose bush in the foreground is similarly beautifully rendered, with even the nuances of the flowers clear.

 

The overall impression is one of sweet innocence and spring beauty, thus creating a match between the girl and her surroundings on this level.

Creation of Adam

There are iconic images and then there are truly iconic images. Among these last, we find The Creation of Adam, painted on the ceiling of the Sixteenth Chapel in the Vatican around 1511 by Michelangelo. The painting depicts God stretching out his right arm towards Adam, to relay to him the spark of life. Adam himself is holding out his left arm towards God in a pose that mirrors that of his creator, thus underlining that he is created in Gods image. The story behind the image is told in The Book of Genesis, where the father breathes life into man.
 
While the image overall is famous, the center part with their arms where their fingers almost touch is iconic. To many people all over the world, these two stretched arms with fingers nearly touching is in fact The Creation of Adam. The fame of this single iconic image has also translated into the world of modern culture, where the image has been featured in everything from Family Guy to the movie poster of E.T.

The highly original depiction in The Creation of Adam of the life giving moment between God and man has been analyzed for centuries. Among the details discussed is whether the shape behind God represents the hum brain, whether the green scarf represents a newly cut umbilical cord and more. What can clearly be said is that The Creation of Adam represents an artistic achievement by Michelangelo and that the painting remains as relevant as ever, 500 years after it was completed. A true iconic masterpiece indeed.

Edgar Degas

Among the founders of Impressionism, though he himself refused to be considered part of such, Edgar Degas is among the titans of the art world. He indeed considered himself a realist, and many of his artistic traits were not in line with the impressionist ideal. As such, he painted indoors, he did not at least in his earlier work make use of overly bright colors and his art was not spontaneous, not inspired by the moment.

However, while Degas style show great respect for the great masters, it also includes characteristics like small visible brush strokes, he did start using brighter colors and he was always the master of movement. This last was apparent in his nudes, his race track depictions and especially in his many depictions of dancers, like Dancers at the Bar from 1888. More than half the works of Degas indeed covers dancers. These are also among the most stunning and famous of his work. Mostly all his art was painted in his studio, either using models or from memory, another trait that sets him apart from most impressionists. However, his influence was profound and his artistic touch amazing throughout his works many of which are availible as oil painting reproductions.

Gauguin Where do we come from

French post-impressionist Paul Gauguin is among other famous for spending time with Van Gogh in Arles until the later cut off part of his ear. Works like The Painter of Sunflowers are from this period. He also spent a considerable amount of his life in the tropics, especially Tahiti. His paintings from there are among his most famous and recognizable images.

One of these is “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?” which was painted by Gauguin in the period 1897-98. Gauguin himself put the title in French in the upper left corner of the painting (D'où Venons Nous / Que Sommes Nous / Où Allons Nous). The original title does not contain question marks or dashes. Gauguin himself stated that the painting should be read from right to left, and that the three major groups in the painting illustrated the three questions posed. Starting to the far right, the three women with a child represent the beginning of life. In the middle, the group symbolizes the daily life of young adulthood. The final group was described by Gauguin himself as "an old woman approaching death appears reconciled and resigned to her thoughts". At her feet we can see, "a strange white bird...represents the futility of words." Meanwhile, the blue idol that can be seen in the background represents the beyond. The painting is overall done with Gauguin’s characteristic flamboyant use of colors, and deep brush strokes.

Paul Gauguin himself said of this painting: “I believe that this canvas not only surpasses all my preceding ones, but that I shall never do anything better—or even like it.” “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?” is today on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, United States or have your own oil painting reproductions of his works.

Henri Matisse Icarus

When we discuss art, we are often looking at the productions of artists in the prime of their ability. We look at works by the master artist, executed with their unique yet astounding ability. However, it is not just the technique that makes an artist. And for a great artist, even when the abilities have declined, their eye for art, for the visual medium, are often still such that they can create with few tools what others strive a lifetime to achieve.

A great example of this is the Henri Matisse masterpiece Icarus. It shows the greek myth of Icarus, why flew too close to the sun and ended up falling to his death. In the piece, Icarus is seen among the stars in a dark blue sky. However, it is not clear from the work whether Icarus is flying up or falling down. His rather flailing future, and the clear absence of any wings, could indicate that he is falling. A red dot on Icarus indicates his beating heart.

Icarus was part of illustrations created by Matisse for the book Jazz. In his seventies, frail and unable to really paint, he instead used scissors and paper and arranged the cut outs on paper. Thus, though he used simple tools, instead instruments any child could use, the result of such work by a true master was none the less among his most famous work. Art reproductions of Henri Matisse works.

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper

Among the most classic phenomena of American culture is the diner. The most famous immortalization of such was done in the 1942 Edward Hopper painting Nighthawks, which was painted following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

In the painting, we see a diner in New York at night. There are only two patrons, one couple and one guy alone, as well as the diner attendant. The streets outside are empty and even inside the diner loneliness seems to rule. It is as if the estrangement and loneliness of big city living has been caught in a New York minute. The actual location of the diner painted by Hopper has been discussed at some length but no consensus on where in New York it was located has yet been reached.

Nighthawks is probably the most famous Hopper painting. Its eerie urban mood caught a central theme in the existence of city dwellers, just at a time when urbanization starting its global march. The painting has become iconic and has inspired music, television and literature, including episodes of The Simpsons, That 70s Show, the feel of the movie Blade Runner, music by Tom Waits and more. The original can today be found on display at the Art Institute of Chicago but is also availible as an oil painting reproduction.

La Pinata by Diego Rivera

One amazing aspect of good paintings is that, like with good music, experiencing them can affect your mood. Just like when you hear a specific song and feel happy because it reminds you of good things in your life, a painting can also convey emotions very clearly.

One example of this is the painting La Piñata by Diego Rivera. In the painting, we follow the classic Mexican piñata ceremony, where one person is blind folded and trying to hit the piñata. The game is played by as number of kids, and the one swinging for the piñata has just managed to hit it. The remaining kids are scrambling to get their hands on the candies that are falling from the wounded piñata.

Diego Rivera uses several effects in this painting in order to make the viewer feel warmer and confortable. First, of cours,e the motive is of happy playing children, which automatically brings a sense of happiness. There are no sense of danger in the painting, no threatening colors or signs. Rather, the colors are more mural like in their sun bleached quality, but they are warm earthy tones. The background is similarly not clear, but it is not dark or threatening either. Instead, we have children playing among warm earthen colors. This in turn brings us as the viewer a warmth, a happiness and a sense of piece, all conveyed by this wonderful painting. La Pinata is a great choice of art reproductions to make your walls look beautiful.

Klimt's virgins in a bed of flowers

The Virgin, also known as Die Jungfrau, is a symbolist Gustav Klimt painting. It depicts a group of women lying together intertwined on a bed of flowers. The main subject of the painting, The virgin, is lying in the center of the group, with her neck bend in an almost impossible angle.



The painting exudes the sensuality that was among Klimt’s calling cards. He further put his own sense into this by modeling the face of the Virgin after that of his own partner Emilie Flöge. The women are all covered in fabrics covered in numerous symbols and signs. As in many of his other paintings, Klimt uses mainly round shapes for symbolize the female and female sexuality.

The area surrounding the flowerbed is lost in a sort of darkness in the background. However, there is no menacing qualities to this darkness. Rather, it seems as if the surroundings have been kept out in order to focus our attention completely on the scene in front of us. While not exactly filled with warm colors, and with some contracts in place between the white skin of the women and the surroundings, the painting never the less offers a balanced palette that is easy on the eyes. It is harmonious and it is beautiful, while still retaining plenty of deeper messages through the use of numerous symbols. It is among my favorite works of Klimt and is a great choice for an oil painting reproduction.

Houses of Parliament series

The Palace of Westminster was the subject of a series of paintings by French impressionist Claude Monet. He painted the home of the British parliament while staying in London. The whole series was painted between 1900 – 1904.

The paintings all share the same size and share a common viewpoint, namely Monet’s window at St. Thomas Hospital which overlooked the Thames. However, as was common in Monet’s serial works, the paintings were done under different lighting conditions, seasons and in different weather. Especially the lighting conditions we essential as these works are very much a study in the effects of light and how to depict it.

As opposed to earlier works, Monet had at this time stopped his previous practice of completing the work in front of the paintings subject. Instead, he would bring the paintings back for refinement in France, helped by fresh photographs from the London site. While he received some critique for this, he deemed it his own business how he decided to work. The final result, according to Monet, would be judged by the viewer.

The majority of the different works in the Houses of Parliament series can today be found in museums across Europe and the United States as well as many oil painting reproductions of these works.

The Art of Impressionism

Among the most received artistic stint in the world, Impressionism brought us many of the artists that are today classic names. From Monet and Cassatt to Degas and Pissarro, some of the true giants of the art world stamped their mark in the time of this period. Today, the works of the impressionists can be found at the museums around the world, on posters and postcards and, best of all, now also in accurately reproduced hand painted oil painting reproductions.



Impressionism was itself a 19th-century art movement which started out as a blurred association of Paris-based artists who came to prominence through a number of individualist exhibitions in the 1870s and 1880s. The name of the movement can be credited to one of the most famous and iconic images of the movement - Claude Monet’s work, Impression, Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant). It was not initially meant as a accolade, however. Instead, the work aggravated critic Louis Leroy to make up the term in a satiric review published in Le Charivari.

The characteristics of Impressionist paintings include noticeable brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, the absorption of movement as a crucial part of human cognition and self-knowledge, and unusual visual angles. Following its emergence as an art movement, these ideas soon found their way to analogous movements in other media which became known as Impressionist music and Impressionist literature.

Impressionism was proposed a radical movement at the time, as their activities broke the set rules of academia when it came to painting. They colored unconventionally, freely brushed and held primacy over line. They also carried away their art out of the studios and into the world. Where it had at one time been the code for painters of even landscapes to do such work indoors, the impressionists freely went into wide world in order to experience it and have it leave its impression on them. Painting realistic scenes of modern life, they portrayed overall visual effects instead of details. They used short "broken" brush strokes of mixed and pure unmixed color, not smoothly amalgamated or shaded, as was customary, in order to achieve the effect of intense color vibration.

Impressionism initially came about in France. While there were at the time other painters, including the Italian artists known as the Macchiaioli, and Winslow Homer in the United States, who were also at this time discovering the art of plein-air painting, the Impressionists improved new techniques for this purpose that were specific to the impressionist movement. Focusing on what its followers called a new and different way of seeing, it was an art of immediacy and movement, of candid poses and compositions, of the play of light expressed in a bright and varied use of color. See the below art reproductions of impressionist paintings.



The initial public reaction to the impressionist movement was hostile. Clearly, this was not painting in the way of the famous masters and according to the set standards of the time. However, as does often happen, the public in time did come around, gradually seeing how the Impressionists had captured a fresh and original vision, even if it did not receive the agreement of the art critics and establishment. The ability of impressionism to re-create the sensation in the eye that views the subject, rather than recreating the subject, and by creating a welter of techniques and forms, Impressionism became a precursor seminal to various movements in painting which would follow, along with Neo-Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism.

The Bathers by Paul Cézanne

The Bathers is an oil painting by Paul Cézanne, Cézanne painted a series of paintings on the subject of 'bathers' and this was the largest of the group. The painting is considered one of the masterpieces of modern art and is often considered to be Cézanne's finest work.

The painting sold for a massive $110,000 in 1937. The painting can now be found at Philadelphia Museum of Art and measures 210.5cm x 250.8cm (82 7/8 inches x 98 3/4inches).

Andrew Wyeth Quote

"Artists today think of everything they do as a work of art. It is important to forget about what you are doing.. then a work of art may happen." - Andrew Wyeth

Henri Matisse Quote

"I have always tried to hide my own efforts and wished my works to have the lightness and joyousness of a springtime which never lets anyone suspect the labours it cost." - Henri Matisse

Of Art and Artists

Man has always created art. From the first cavemen drawing on walls over the major religious works of the renaissance to teenagers using spray cans to draw on walls and subway trains. It is a given need that has always been there, something that even fit into the pyramid of needs created by Maslow. Following our tendency to look at things in similar ways, probably because we are products of the same times as those around us, we furthermore tend to have periods where different types of expression dominate. There is the classic era, the impressionist, the expressionists, the cubists, south side style of graffiti and so on. We tend to move in groups.

Another related characteristic is that we tend to move in circles. From the classic era we moved away from the sensual towards a more purely iconic religious type of art, just to end up back where we started in the sensual art of the renaissance. We move in circles and find inspiration in what has passed before to create the new. This is also what brings things back to the fore for their second coming. Only the second time around we call them retro.

Then there are those expressions which differ from this pattern. This is for instance the case when we deal with pure copies or, as they are also known, oil painting reproductions. For while you can copy a product down to the smallest detail, doing the same with a classic painting required a lot more work every time. Oil painting reproductions are not fickle short copies that are Xeroxed and ready to go. They require the dedicated time and dedication of a real artist. In fact, even Donald Trump took notice their unique qualities and considered filling an entire hotel with reproduced masterpieces. I am sure that a décor of such would have made a significant impression on any guest. A truly modern form of retro.

Which is not to say that oil painting reproductions are original work. Just that the skill to create such is on par with any other type of painting you would like, and have a similar effect once framed. And while it might be a reproduction, it is also an individual work of an artist. Artists will always be able to put their own specific signature on their work, which is why we are still discussing which of his credited works e.g. Rembrandt actually painted.

No matter how we choose our motives, no matter where the inspiration might come from, we need to paint and depict and reflect the times we live in. Whether we do it with a pencil, a brush or a spray can, no matter whether our canvas is a wall, is made of cloth or paper or the stone wall in our cave. We need to be biographers for the times we live, to express our world, our feelings and our thoughts through a medium that allows us to go beyond what we can express with words. And whether we pick the motive ourselves or feel so inspired by the work of others that we repeat it to find our inner selves, the mere fact that we go to this trouble to create expression defines us a humans. It is not enough for us to do, we need to express and share as well. That is what is at the heart of the artist and that is what defines us as human.