Art History Responses - Assignment Example

Art History Response Paper Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte– 1844 The video presentation presents an analysis of George Seurat’s most famous painting. In my opinion, the attempt by Seurat to employ the use of the rather highly scientific technique of pointillism so as to try and better illuminate the painting is largely successful. Looking at the painting, one can be able to clearly see the sunlight streaming over the Parisiansthat were out on that Sunday Afternoon. The techniques used by Seurat that include neither the mixing of colors nor the showing of conversations or interactions between the individuals displayed in the painting is rather disturbing and unnatural. However, I believe thatthis has the effect of clearly distinguishing the image from the rather more intuitive approach that was being used by the impressionist paintings during this period. Art Sleuth 1: Van Gogh - The Starry Night (Final Version) One of the main themes presented in the video presentation about the painting is the question as to whether the image depicted in the painting is a stroke of genius or madness. In the painting Van Gogh is seen to have highlighted the buildings with broad strokes of dark edges to represent the solidity of the earth while the sky is depicted as having stormy clouds and pulsating stars. I was especially moved by the fact that the use of different effects in the two sections of the image helps to create a clear distinction between the two. In my opinion, the author has been able to accurately describe what the cypress tree in the painting depicts as it can be argued that the tree essentially represents a bridge between life as is known here on earth and death in the sky as is usually associated with paintings and images of the heavens. The Post Impressionists – “Edvard Munch” In the video clip, the narrator discusses how Edvard Munch’s life experiences impacted his painting. I feel that the narrator is accurate in making this postulation as the first painting by Munch were for the most part gloomy and he would often use dark shades when painting them. The paintings depicting sickrooms and his favorite sister’s death bed are all seen to further support this postulation. In the video clip, it is suggested that Edvard Munch’s three week visit to Paris where he came into contact with post-impressionist paintings also had an effect on Munch’s paintings. It can be argued that the use of brighter colors by Munch after his visit to Paris all serve to support this observation. Of note however is that although Edvard Munch adopted some impressionist techniques, he only took what he thought was useful to him in respect to technique as he did not paint many paintings on site depicting happy people in their everyday activities. BBC – Matisse In the video presentation by the BBC examining Matisse’s final work of art, it was quite surprising to learn that a man who had spent his entire life working on paintings had worked on designing a chapel one of his final works of art. His designing and building of a chapel is seen to be relatively in sharp contrast to the general belief that he was an atheist. I agree with the observation made by the narrator that all through his life Matisse had been trying to use light in his paintings to create a calming sensation. This premise is seen to be true as supported by the use of bright colors in Matisse’s The Dance II painting.It is my belief that Matisse’s use of light in the chapel’s stained glass windows has achieved the same calming effect. Wassily Kandinsky, Composition VII, 1913 In the video, the narrators point out that in his Composition VII painting, it can be deduced that Kandinsky is attempt to improvise and show a connection between sound and colors. This premise can be seen to be especially true based on the fact that Kandinsky is seen to be attempting to show a somewhat natural pairing between shape, color, the different forms and sound in the painting. In my opinion, the influence of sound in the image as highlighted by the narrators can be demonstrated by that Kandinsky was a friend to the music composer Arnold Schoenberg whose music appears to have a discomforting effect on the narrator. This discomfort is seen to have be evidenced in the painting where forms and color seemingly appear to clash against each other in a scene that appears to be a depiction of an apocalypse. Otto Dix. DER KRIEG According to the narrators, no other artist in the 20th century was able to deal with the First World War as intensely or strongly as Otto Dix was able to do. This premise is seen to be essentially true as most of the painting by Otto Dix mainly centered on the portrayal of the horrors of war and depicted wounded and dead soldiers on the battle field and these rather shockingly realistic depictions will arguably forever remain in humanity’s collective memory. Another argument that is raised by the narrators in the video clip is that when painting the Der Krieg, Otto Dix experienced a number of influences. The premise of this argument is seen to essentially be true as is supported by the fact that X-ray images of the picture reveal that he used a number of different techniques and the shapes that he employed ranged from the rather intricate details seen in the soldier’s uniforms to a series of almost destructive and thick impasto shapes. Picasso, Guernica, 1937 According to the narrators, one of the most striking aspects of Picasso’s painting is that it has been done in black and white. In my opinion, this can be seen to be an indicator of the strife between light as represented by the innocent people of Guernica and the darkness as is represented by the attacking armies of Hitler on the innocent village. The discarding of color in the painting is seen to greatly intensify its drama. The image is seen to be a rather very powerful depiction of the ills of war. Picasso’s style of painting that greatly exaggerates aspects such as hands and limbs help to cause the image to become more powerful. The exaggerations give the image an almost unnatural effect that help to further magnify the horrors of war that Picasso was trying to depict in the painting. Fernand Léger, Contrast of Forms, 1913 In the video presentation, the presenter mentions that 1913 was actually a banner year for Léger as it was the year in which he finally discovered how to paint like a Léger as opposed to painting like a Picasso. This summation is seen to be true as Léger earlier paintings such as Les Toits de Paris and Nudes in the Forest are seen to have been done using cubism techniques while the Contrast of Forms series of paintings is seen to have disregarded the use of any cubism techniques. Another aspect that the narrator is keen to mention is that the painting attempts to try and show just how the secondary and primary colors can be put together with black and white and in the process cause the canvas to be appreciated in a similar manner to how music is appreciated without having to be read as a certain narrative or scene. I agree with this position as the unique style of painting in the Contrast of Forms draws attention away from any attempts to try and read the painting as part of a scene or narrative. One is forced to simply appreciate how the different shapes, images and colors all merge to form what appears to be a moment that has been accidentally caught in motion by the painter. Marcel Duchamp Clip from the Shock of the New (1982) In the video clip, Marcel Duchamp points out that he painted using impressionist techniques and continued to discover the different impressionist techniques until there was nothing more to discover and it is this factor that led to his experimenting with fauvism and cubism. The statement by Duchamp is seen to be true as is evidenced by the fact that the painting of the Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) seems to have little impressionist influences but is instead a combination of both cubism and futurism. Another theme that is tackled in the video clip is allegory of profane love that is alluded to in the Large glass.The Large Glass portrays an image of a naked bride that is perpetually disrobing herself in the image’s top half while a group of frustrated bachelors is empty jackets are endlessly grinding away at the bottom half of the image and this signals their frustration to the girl above them. This summation can be judged to be correct when compared to the description that Duchamp left in his notes about the image. In his notes, Duchamp points out that the bar between the bottom and top half of the image works to separate the bachelors from the disrobing bride and this condemns the bachelors to an endless fate of masturbation while the disrobing bride is herself condemned always to tease. Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory, 1931 In the video presentation, the narrators point out that the painting by Dali tries to cause the viewers to question what they are looking at. It essentially presents an attack on the rational and portrays this attack as a seductive idea. This analysis of the painting is seen to be based on a true premise as surrealist painters such as Dali would constantly true to retrieve the world of dreams in their paintings. These artists strongly believed that the dream was basically a place where the irrational mind could be able to easily come to the fore without having to face any restrictions. In their dialog the narrators also point out that the drooping clocks seem to present the idea that time is simply not something that can just be struck and represented by a clock. This is an accurate summation of the painting as is evidenced by the fact that time seems to have stopped in the image, one of the clocks is being fed on by ants and the body of water in the background does not appear to have any waves. AB EX NY: Introduction to the MoMA Exhibition The curator in the video clip points out that the MoMA Exhibition is fundamentally a celebration of the abstract expressionist style of painting that grew in New York. In developing the style of painting, the artists in New York sought to develop a style of painting that would help to put American art on the map in a manner that would serve to not only challenge but also overturn the dominance that the early 20th century giants such as Matisse and Picasso had held in the art world. This observation by the curator is seen to be true as the art movement was largely successful in meeting its objectives and helped American art to achieve international influence. In addition to this, the movement also helped the City of New York to replace Paris as the very center of the Western art world. The curator points out that there are few if any similarities between the pieces produced by the abstract expressionists. This summation is true as based on the fact that these artists were all producing pieces that were an illustration of their own selves. Ravenna, Italy: Bits of Byzantium According to the narrator in the video clip, the mosaic art work in the church of San Vitale is representative of the transition period between the last Ancient Roman Art and the First Medieval European Artists. This interpretation of the art period is seen to be founded on a true premise as the narrator goes on to support this interpretation by highlighting the fact that the church has mosaic displays of an un-bearded and a bearded Christ which are characteristic of ancient Roman art and Medieval European art works respectively. The influences of the two Art periods are also seen to be evidenced in the mausoleum of GallaPlacidia. The mausoleum which is credited with having the finest mosaic displays in Ravenna is seen to have mosaic pieces depicting an un-bearded Christ done in the Ancient Roman art style as well as carpet like decorative patterns that are evidence of Eastern European Influences. Pythagoras and the Hagia Sophia [Updated] In the video presentation, it was quite interesting to learn that the church of Hagia Sophia as commissioned by Justinian was built entirely on the principles of symmetria as had been proposed by Pythagoras. The principles of symmetria advocated for a complete balance of all the different elements as united by a single and meaningful number. Watching the video, the narrator was able to clearly show the relationship between the curved monograms of Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora initials and the different measurements of the entire building. In the video presentation, it was also quite fascinating to learn that the church is replete with arrows pointing upwards and that a Google earth view of the church’s location shows that the geographical coordinates of the church includes the numbers of pie to six decimal places. An even more fascinating aspect that is presented in the video is the relationship between the church’s design and the constellation Lyra. In my opinion, I believe that the use of the numbers 6 and 16 throughout the church’s design was quite an impressive achievement given the rather crude technological advances of the time. The Bayeux Tapestry – Seven Ages of Britain – BBC One The video presentation starts off with the narrator pointing out the history of the Bayeux Tapestry and it is my belief that this is quite positive as it helps the viewers to understand the origins and significance of the art piece. In the video presentation, the narrator points out that the tapestry is essentially a part of the British history that commemorates William’s conquest of England. This observation is seen to be true as the images in the tapestry all serve to portray the historical events from the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold receiving the crown in William’s absence and the subsequent conquest of England by William in an effort to try and win the crown for himself. One of the themes that the narrator alludes to is that the tapestry is essentially a magical work of art. This be argued to be true as the artists that created the tapestry must have lived through the period of William’s conquest and they were able to stitch the passion and power of the event into the artwork. Read More