Art and Society

Museum Review #1

Daniel F. Ambia

03/30/2014

 

        It was difficult to choose two pieces of art out of the hundreds we passed in the museum. Along with my group we strayed away from the European Masters as quickly as possible and headed toward the Modern Art section in hopes of finding non-religious themed work. The first piece that caught my eye was an oil painting entitled “Office in a Small City”, by Edward Hopper, 1953. Edward Hopper is a famous American “Realist” painter who was born in Nyack, NY and spent many years living and working in New York City. The painting is of a man sitting behind a desk in front of two large windows. It is painted as if the artist was standing just outside the window. An empty blue sky fills the negative space and some tan and light brown buildings can be seen in the background. This would be considered a representational piece because the images are realistic. The colors are cool and the mood of the piece is calm. There are imposing rectangles throughout the painting beginning with the windows and the buildings themselves. This painting caught my eye because it seemed to tell a relatable story. It sort of captured how it feels to live and work in a City. It can be lonely and you are constantly surrounded by the concrete structures of our forefathers.

The second piece I chose was a bronze sculpture entitled, “Development of a Bottle in Space”, by Umberto Boccioni, 1913. The sculpture is monochromatic and made entirely out of bronze. It appears to be the construction of a bottle as if something out of a science fiction movie with bronze twisting upward from a platform toward the final form. It is as if the bottle was being created out of clay and something, or someone, was slowly piecing it together. It is most certainly an abstract piece because I was able to make out the essence of the bottle but not as a reflection. The texture appears to be smooth. For a sculpture made in 1913 I can say that Boccioni was pretty ahead of his time. Boccioni was considered a “Futurist” for his approach to the “deconstruction of solid mass”. This sculpture stood out because it was a different way of representing an object commonly used in still life paintings/sculpture. After swimming through a sea of realistic historical sculptures, I would have to say this was by far my favorite of the day.

The two pieces I chose have obvious differences, one is a painting and the other is a sculpture. One is an abstraction of an object while the other is a representational painting of a man in an office. Hooper is an American realist painter while Boccioni is an Italian sculptor and impressionist painter. I was able to find some aesthetic similarities between the two from my own personal experiences of the work. While Boccioni deconstructs the physical form of the bottle, Hopper metaphorically deconstructs our perception of City Life. Away from the bustle of the streets below, the solo figure in the painting appears to be contemplative and isolated. It is a moment captured of the development of a man as he works and grows and his world perhaps becomes a bit smaller. The sculpture and the painting both made me stop in my tracks and spend a few minutes to digest the work presented before me.  

The photo I picked is a artist named Romeo Santos. In Latin America he is considered the prince charming and heart melting to all women. I fell that he is idealized because there are a lot of people that wish they can be him, also if you think about it the music industry use handsome people so that society can be hooked to them. Society is mainly drawn to good looking people that is one reason why I believe that Romeo Santos is a perfect candidate for the style of idealize. If you look at Romeo Santos you see that he isn't guy he is attractive and his voice and the way he sings and writes his songs are mostly about love and betrayal which are to things that humans go through in life especially women so they listen to his music and compare their life to the lyrics of the song. Some girls also compare they boyfriend or husband to Romeo Santos because they feel that he’s highly romantic and what woman wouldn't want that. I don’t think that burgers ideas apply to this photograph because he isn't nude and the object of this photo isn't a woman it’s a man.

Blog #3

This Painting Winter Night by Alphonse Maria Mucha its representational background is stylized because of the its simplicity and its non-naturalistic conventional forms. It wants you to believe that its real but its just what the eyes want to believe and in the artist eyes its something very different. In the reading "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger is letting us know that the cultural presence of the woman is still very much different from that of the man. A women's presences  is related to herself and not to the world. She doesn't represent potential but just of her herself. Berger simplifies this by arguing that "men act – women appear". Women feel others looking. They like to be observed. The  surveying of women is men. Meaning that that there are different ways of seeing man and woman.  

Blog post #3

This stunning figurative painting by polish artist Emilii Wilk depicts a semi-nude woman wrapped around a blanket staring at something, and drinking from a cup. The style of the painting is realistic. Initially, I assumed it was an idealized painting. But as I observed more, I noticed that the woman's hair is messy and short, she looks quite tired and it sort of appears like she just woke up and it looks very un idealistic. In "Ways of Seeing", By John Berger he states, "To be naked is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself." Berger is expressing the distinctions between the words naked and nude. In this painting, the woman is not far from being completely nude. Supposing that the blanket weren't there, she would be nude.

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Blog Post #3 "Male vs Female"

"Big Man", by Ron Mueck, is a representational figurative sculpture, held in the Strange Bodies exhibition, at the Hirshborn Museum and Sculpture Garden. This exceptional resin and fiber glass sculpture, displays an enormous ogre-like naked man sitting in a corner. What first stuck me about this work of art was its lifelike appearance. I was mesmerized by the fact that the man was ironically sitting in a fetal position. Ron Mueck, in "Big Man", makes near exact reference to realistic human form, revealing the “Big Man’s” features and flaws.

John Berger, in “Ways of Seeing”, states, “Women are depicted in a quite different way from men – not because the feminine is different from the masculine – but because the ‘ideal’ spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him”. Ron Mueck exemplifies Ron Berger’s concept in, “Big Man”. The sculpture visually strikes the viewer by displaying an imperfect male sculpture opposed to an idealized female sculpture. Mueck went outside the box and stunned people with his remarkable design. The usual naked sculpture or painting would be of a female looking at the viewer. Mueck displays an angry naked man who looks the least bit flattering. Mueck proves Berger’s concept stating that if a naked feminine figure was replaced with a male figure, we will be taken by surprise.

 

 

 

 

 

This work of art was created by Wangechi Mutu in the year 2003. He named it " Yo Mama." The representational style of this figurative work is stylized. You can't give a name to the figure in the drawing because no body really looks like that. The female shown could be anybody. John Berger said that "a naked body has to be seen as an object in order to become a nude." While viewing this work of art I can see this female as an object. Though she is not as realistic as other fugitive works she is portraying her body as an object. She is giving the male viewer a certain message through the way she is positioned in this drawing. Mutu, however, created this drawing to symbolize strong female fighter. He was inspired by a famous musicians mother in Nigeria. Without reading the content of this drawing I would say that Berger's idea definitely applies to this drawing that I selected. 

 

 



Blog #3: Reclining nude

       This piece is title Reclining Female Nude, and with a piece like this I find it difficult to identify the style. It’s is a photograph, a salted paper print. But just because it is a photograph, does that mean it automatically gets classified as realistic? I’m going to say it is realistic, but also I don’t see any flaws with this women’s body, almost looks perfect, that’s what puzzles me. The image supports the idea of an ideal woman; because I see no flaws, smooth skin and healthy body. This image is clearly that of a naked woman, and she appears to be lying on a blanket in the middle of the room.  There is a pillow for support and she is posed in a seductive and affluent way. This is supported by the fact that she is dangling jewelry from her posed hand. “(Often in the nude) a woman’s body is arranged the way it is, to display it to the man looking at the picture. This picture is made to appeal to his sexuality. It has nothing to do with her sexuality” (Berger, 3).  Berger’s ideas definitely apply to this piece because the woman’s body is positioned in a way to appeal to the male viewer and to the artist. Although the woman is looking away you can still get the sense that this naked body is seen as an object to the viewer.

Blog#3

The Miracle of Christ Healing the Blind by El Greco  painted in 1570. The style of this painting is idealistic, because we don't really know how Christ actually looked like. it is just giving us and idea of how the moment could have looked like.  Berger states that "the social presence of a woman is different in kind from that of a man" (1). I agree, Some of the men in the painting seem to be playing the role of the women that Berger has implied. It is weird to see men wearing very little clothing and posing. There are a few women in the painting but the men are the ones being more exposed.

Blog post #3

This is an painting that has worm and cool colors, it has too humans trying to walk romantically. to me this artist its trying to show an emotional feeling towards another person in his live, and it shows that shes cold to him and his worm to her. the reflection on the floor its so well done, i like how the warm and cool colors are combine with each other its a beautiful painting.  

Blog #3

The Portrait of a Young Woman by Lorenzo di Credi is a realistic representational painting. It is a portrait of the widow of Credi’s brother. The woman in the painting has expression in her face and has details around her eyes. The puffiness around her eyes tell the story of her weeping at the lost of her husband. She is dressed in all black and in her hands she holds what looks like to be her wedding ring. You can see the sadness and somberness in her eyes along with a mournful pout across her lips. Around her head you can see tree branches and leaves framing her face. It is almost has if the painter tried to create a black halo around her face. The artist manages to convince the viewer that this women was a grieving widow. In Ways of Seeing by Jonh Berger, Berger states, “By contrast, a woman’s presence expresses her own attitude to herself, and defines what can and cannot be done to her”. I feel that this quotes expresses the essence of the painting because her presence is a depressing one. The artist portrays her depression in the way he paints her eyes, bringing them away from the viewer almost as if the woman is too pained to look at anyone in the eyes.

Blog Post #3

Clothing the Naked
Michiel Sweerts (Flemish, Brussels 1618–1664 Goa) Metropolitan Museum

The style resembles to European artists before 1800s, known as Old Masters. They painted in a style that is much realistic to a point where it's almost like photography. In this painting, you see a naked man (hopefully a man), and a fully clothed woman handing him a piece of clothing. This implies that the woman does not want to see the man naked. With that, we can depict that nude men are not wanted nor favored in 18th century paintings. Nude women however are favorable among people, because their body represents beauty. A naked man is not what society wants to see. "Women are depicted in a quite different way from men" John Berger states in Ways of Seeing.

Blog Hw #3

This painting I chose is titled "Danielle" by Jeremy Lipking. This depicts a sad or even miserable looking girl around her teen years in a very somber toned setting. At first glance, I thought this painting was idealized because the features of the girl were far too perfect. The typical flawlessly skinned girl with rosy red cheeks to add on to the "innocence" of a teen girl. However, analyzing the painting carefully, I noted some flaws on her face, such as the bags under her eyes. It looks as if she had her eye make-up smeared from tears. Another detail I noticed was her hair was seemingly damp and lifeless. John Berger in, Ways of Seeing states, "The social presence of a woman is different in kind from that of a man" (1). I agree with this quote, I feel that had this been a depiction of a teenage boy, it wouldn't stand out as much as "Danielle". Plus it would look rather awkward to see a boy in this state.

 

This piece of work above is an image of the human body, which is called "figurative work".

The style is realistic, however it looks a bit like a cartoon. Therefore it tricks the viewer, at least to my knowledge its realistic, but it looks stylized. The pastel colors, the background even the foreground reflects realistic/stylized. the women hair, her body reflects stylized as well. In reference to "Berger" I believe the things he stated in his reading happens to be true. When looking at a female, we tends to look "sexy" if a man poses a certain way, it may look a peculiar way. The women gesture and facial expression makes up this artwork. I love the way her hair even flows into the background of the picture. The way her lip color goes with the outside of the painting. I'm loving art more and more. Its really interesting.   

Blog Post #2 Late Entry*

The picture above is a work of art done by Michele Gordigiani, titled “Cornelia Ward Hall and Her Children,” created in 1880. The form of art is an Oil on canvas. Its an exhibit presented in the Museum of the City of New York. The visual elements used in this work of art are put together so well. I see geometric shapes, such as rectangles, triangles, squares, and even lines. The lines, take a look at the feather. The feather had to be done with many strokes of lines, resulting in such a great object. The shapes in the background make up the red wall. More lines are drawn to make up wall. This picture is on the realism side, which reflect the style representational. I think it represents A rich women, spending time with her children. I think "Rich" because of her attire, her children's attire, even the feather/fan. Cornelia maybe teaching the children or even studying with them. I say that because of the papers they're looking over, and even the papers on the table. I love the painting, it has bright colors, it even makes me think of a different culture/religion. The little girls are beautiful, their clothes are different. This course is making me truly like Art.

Blog Post 3
Art and Society
Daniel F. Ambia

I chose this photograph entitled, "Mom and Dad", by Janine Antoni, 1994 from the Guggenheim Museum in NYC. The style of these portraits is representational and realistic because the natural flaws of the subjects are clearly visible and it is obvious the couple are not professional models. Somehow the artist managed to convince her parents to dress up as one another and pose for her. The layout of the photograph is pretty generic, the first photo could be the sample picture in a picture frame for sale. It caught my eye after my second glance because I noticed the three photographs were of the same two people in drag. John Berger discusses the role of women in art, "the social presence of a woman is different in kind from that of a man". He continues to discuss how women in our society constantly put themselves on display for men whether consciously or unconsciously. These portraits sort of blur the lines because I was unable to distinguish the sex of the models until closer examination. And even now I can't be sure 100% which one is the mother and which the father. I thought Janine Antoni was going for comedic effect but after reading a little about her I think she was going for more of a social statement. All in all I thought it was cool that she convinced her parents to pose essentially as eachother and maybe I can check this piece out when we go as a class.

Blog Post # 3 "Phryne revealed before the Areopagus"

This representational style is idealized, it shows us Phryne's body as a hope or ambition to one day have that beautiful body. In 1861 Jean-Leon Gerome, created a famous painting called "Phryne revealed before the Areopagus." Phryne was a women in her era constantly criticized of sleeping with various men. This shows how only women are always being punished for actions that if men did, everyone will call it normal, even to this day. Women are supposed to be this chaste, angelic and pure object, and in those times Phryne was neither. In this painting she is standing in front of the highest governmental council of ancient Athens, she was being trialed for impiety. To deepen her shame the verdict tore her dress in front of everyone and they were amazed at her perfect body complexion. According to the jury, they decided to relieve her charges because of pity. To be nude in front of a crowd without your consent it must be degrading. It is true but its not what Jean-Leon Gerome wants you to see. Phryne is being looked as a perfect woman in this painting, her body is admired by everyone in the jury, their face expressions are evident. John Berger believes that "To be naked is to be oneself. A naked body has to be seen as an object in order to become a nude. (The sight of it as an object simulates the use of it as an object.) Nakedness reveals itself. Nudity is placed on display....Nudity is a form of dress". If you expose someone nude, you don't really see the person standing in front of you, just like when Phryne was being judged by the jury. Instead they looked at her body an object and pardon her.  If we didn't knew Phryne's background we will still think of her dazzling and magnificent body that bewitches anyone who sees it. In a painting, perfection of a woman like Phryne makes her desired and idealized.

Blog HW #2. "Skyscrapers and Tunnels", Fortunato Depero. 1930. Tempera on paper, 68 x 102 cm.

This two dimensional, representational painting by Fortunato Depero employs dark colors in negative space to accentuate and isolate the figures in the center of the work. There is an overwhelming presence of warm color with light accenting of cool blues, as well as angular lines ascending upward. The opposing circles on the left and right consisting of complementary colors seemingly are mediated or could have possibly ushered in the smaller circle nestled on the crown of what are strange buildings. These circles could possibly be light sources or suns. The suns disperse shadows that are seen on the sides of the buildings, providing value. This looks to be a representation of a typical city shrouded in darkness, which could possibly speak to a corrupt political overtone. The suns could be attempting to drive out the darkness and reveal what appears to be a vibrant and lively city. Depero painted "Skyscrapers and Tunnels" in New York in 1930, this may be his interpretation of the city.

BLOG POST #2

   Terrazas de Madrid by Javier Montesol is 2D painting .He uses a brush technique and doesn't show the face of the people in the painting. The painting in my eyes is equally balanced with hot and cool colors. For example the blouse on the women in the bottom right corner is a bright orange and the chairs ,tables and the details on the building are a bright yellow. What i see in this paint is a everyday life in Madrid,Spain. for example the people walking down the street, the people chatting at the cafe. Over all it looks like a gloomy day because of the the shade of blue Montesol decided to use. I believe that this painting is a objective piece of art because you are seeing what the painter wants you to see you cant really create a certain emotion to this painting all you can really see is that its a gloomy day, like you cant really connect to this painting. I also believe this painting is objective because the painter bluer the faces of the people that are in it he probably did that so you cant define a emotion in this painting. 

HW Blog #2

        

         In 1921, Henri Matisse created "Reclining Odalisque". This representational oil painting stood out to me with its bold use of contrasting primary colors, such as red and blue. This remarkable two dimensional oil painting used straight white lines of negative space to divide the red geometric pattern decorating the room. The artist also used lines and geometric shapes, such as rectangles and squares, to divide the hardwood and tiles making up the floor. "Reclining Odalisque" subjectively displays a woman reclining on a pillow. This painting objectively displays a seemingly wealthy young woman lying in complete relaxation and comfort. The amount of creative detail in the room's decor, lead me to believe this is a very wealthy young woman. The artist also displays the woman's wealth with the golden sculpture she is lying next to and the piece of jewelry on her ankle. Another item that represents the woman's wealth is the makeup on the table and on her face. Lastly, the woman's wealth is shown by the way she seemingly reclines without a worry or care in the world. The artist used negative space under the table with makeup and in between the geometric patterns decorating the door. The artist often used warm primary colors on its smooth canvas, making this oil painting achromatic.

Blog HW #2

From the Metropolitan Museum's gallery, I chose "Ancient Rome" done by Giovanni Paolo Panini in 1757. It's an oil painting that is clearly two-dimensional. From the looks of the lines and the way they are directed, it seems to be vertical, showing some assertiveness within the painting. The painting depicts the use organic shapes, seeing as the people are drawn like normal human beings instead of block like form. There seems to be no negative space, the entire canvas was painted over, making it all positive space. The style of the drawing shows just pure realism, which makes the painting representational as it is not abstract in any way. The light within the picture is not actual light, it's artificial light, the painter added in the effect of it's brightness. It's hard to determine whether or not the painting has dominant warm colors or cool colors, but I'd go with warm, seeing as the red and yellow in the painting is what stands out the most. I've also noted that there is a pattern that goes on in the background hall of the painting. The frames are in a rectangular shape following one after the other until reaching the main room in which the painting shows most of. A quick note about the painting that I couldn't help but notice is that the painter Giovanni Paolo Panini, depicted the many important works of art during his time, showing the sculptures and the framed pictures in the back are of different architectures that were built in Ancient Rome.

Blog # 2

This form of art is Pastel on paper, laid down on canvas which l found this 2D by John Russell piece to be very interesting because the way it captures the features of how people use to look back then and how the expressions on their face can tell you that they were very happy. In this pastel its John Russell’s daughter, Henrietta, and his first granddaughter, Ann. The visual elements shown on here is line shown between two diagonal forms from person to person and see how she is holding the baby, in a very unique, unexplainable way. The value of the background has a dark to light tone, which makes it show the how deep the love of these humans are joined together. There is a lot of negative space in the background that sets bright skin tones and the way the color brings out the clothes they are wearing. The colors in this painting is Monochromatic / Achromatic because its all used within the back ground which is from dark to light. In this pastel what l see is what you may not and for me personally l see a family that's happy and has a rich tone with there vibrant faces. This painting capture my eyes cause it reminded me of when you see the mothers smirk brought me to think of the Monalisa because you don't know if its a smile or not. Very scientific with a personal touch.

Blog Post #2

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali in 1931

Museum of Modern Arts PAINTING AND SCULPTURE I, GALLERY 12, FLOOR 5

The form of this piece of art is painting, specifically oil on canvas. The style is abstract, giving the viewer a different perspective on time, portrayed as droopy clocks. We all know the clock is the best representation of time in our world, and we see them as round and non-flexible. Dali twists this around by painting these melted clocks around this desert-ocean scenery. The lines being used are mostly vertical, implying a downward motion to portray sadness, depression, and grief. The colors are complementary, with blue and orange-yellow or yellowish brown being used (two colors completely opposite on the color wheel). This makes the painting more eye-catching and has a sort of warm and cold mix, giving it the light and dark tone which really stands out. There is hardly no geometric shapes used, mostly distortions of geometric shapes such as distorted circles. But what does this painting mean?

Objectively, we might all have the common analogy that it has to do with time. Also, we might all agree that it isn't a happy tone, but more like a sad tone. While this painting might be hard to interpret at first glance, people might agree that these clocks are 'dying' implying that time is running out. Then might go into further detail into the end of the world, or the rapture, or even death.

What I think, subjectively, is that these clocks do not represent time, but rather, represent our memories. Since there are more than one clock, these could be a clue into representing our different experiences and moments in our past. They look as if they are decaying. The ants on the bottom left are scavenging the remains. As we grow older, our memories fade. Once was a strong memory you had will soon turn into an old, faded, memory; represented by these clocks. They will dry out (hence, they're in a desert) and soon will be forgotten.

I enjoy this particular piece by Salvador Dali because it gives you time to rethink yourself. Know your roots and if there is a memory that you don't want to forget, then hold on to it.

Blog #2

"A ride for liberty "is a 2D painting From the Brooklyn museum by Eastman Johnson painted in 1862. This painting caught my interest because of the use of warm and dark colors that can almost place you at  that very moment occurring in the painting. The style of the painting is representational because you can clearly see what's going on, it's a family  riding a horse through a field. The painter i believe used value by adding what it looks to be like shadows. You can tell that it's early in the painting and the sun is about to rise. He also uses organic shapes and negative spacing  in between the horses legs. There is no use of lines, texture or patterns in this painting. What I personally see in this painting is a family of fugitive slaves escaping to a safe and fear free beginning. They are leaving nothing but fear behind. But from what I've research, this painting is actually a representation  of the catastrophic conflict or of the experience of the enslaved African Americans during the civil war. Eastman claimed that this painting was actually inspired by  an actual event that he witnessed. There is lots more of interesting facts about the painting, for example it is said to be a unique piece of art work during the time it was painted because there are no white people in the painting.  

Blog #2

The Crucifixion

The painting was created by Pietro Lorenzetti in the 1340s. The form and style of this artwork is 2D representational painting. Some of the visual affects that Lorzenzetti used in his painting were warm colors with a bit of bright colors as well, lines including a triangle, bringing the viewers attention to the top of the painting. The concept of this painting was to portray a biblical story. Some of the objective contents seen in this painting are horses, crosses, people, and swords. Subjectively you can see the Virgin Mary being supported by people around her, in her eyes and body language you can see she is emotionally in pain due to her sons crucification. You can see the pain in Jesus' followers as they watch him suffer on the cross.  You can see the message portrayed by this painting, Christ being crucified along with the two thieves. I feel that this painting is very moving and captures the essence of how Christ died for our sins. Viewers can get a feel of what Christ went through and the pain which he and his followers felt during his crucification. 

Blog post #2

Salvador Dali painted this oil canvas in 1931. The name of this painting is called The Persistence of Memory. The form of this work of art is in 2D because it is a painting. This painting gives of a negative look. Everything in the painting looks life less. I would describe the ground around the dead like animal as negative space. This particular painting does contain lines, but only two or three of them. These lines don't particularly stand out. It has more of a pattern of the circles. These circles appear to be some kind of clock, it looks more like a stop watch. The colors used in this oil canvas were mostly dull. This painting does however capture some light. It appears as if the artist were painting this work of art while the sun was starting to set capturing its last bit of light. This painting happens to be nonrepresentational. This work of art is more surreal. It is more of an illusion. The animal like thing lying dead in the middle of his work is supposed to be in a way, a portrait of himself. Dali wanted to paint something completely different from the reality of things.  However, the cliffs in the distance are from his home in which he painted this piece of work. He wanted to capture confusion. This work of art is eye-catching cause it unusual and unique.

 

 

Blog post #2

This Zao Gongen 11th century sculpture has quite a few visual traits. Zao was worshiped in religious practices, and was known to symbolize sheer physical power. Therefore one of his visual traits is strong. The way he's kind of flexing his arm along with his stance makes him seem pretty fearsome. Another visual trait is frightening, because his face portrays a demons face in my opinion. The color of the sculpture I would say is being used to show his power and uniqueness, because no human being is blue. In horror movies the monster is usually an uncanny color like red, or blue in this case. The shape resembles a humans body to perhaps give belief to the followers of this religion that they could be like their god if they followed the religion and dedicated their life to their god.The line I see in this sculpture is diagonal to symbolize power, because his left foot is firmly on the ground. The stance he's in symbolizes balance, because he's perfectly balanced on one foot with ease it seems. Objectively I see that he has a human body. From the sculpture that is all I can tell, however Subjectively I can see that his face isn't like other humans. Also his ears aren't like any humans, more animal-like. What I see is a see is a sculpture of some sort of beast or god. From looking I see a spiritual being that resembles some type of animal. Just from looking at his stance and visual features I can tell he's powerful and very balanced like how some TV shows present monks.

The Card Players, Paul Cézanne, $262.9 million

 The Card Players 1894–95
Oil on canvas, 47.5 × 57 cm
   What is the true value of art when emotion makes people spends millions of dollars on paintings? There are numerous versions of this painting, and the style captures a quite few of audiences. The French post-impressionist artist Paul Cezanne drew references for studying the objects to depict the vision of impressions. Whether its a man sitting down smoking a pipe, later then became the famous and expensive painting, The Card Players. Cezanne had many visions for his paintings from the rich to the poor, he went all over town exploring and painting different settings from observing subjects. Particularly these card players are actually peasants and the lower class side of town has a very simplistic look. Each and every painting of Cezanne consists of his character in terms of brush strokes, contrasting light and dark, lines and shape. Looking at the painting I see a 2 men playing cards on a table indoors. When observing (subjectively), all of these elements does really set the true value of the art work by observing its potentials and means. Intriguingly, If Cezanne was still alive will he be a main stream artist today and earn the same amount of currency in his days?

                                                                       

Blog post #2: Majas on a Balcony by Francisco Goya.

I selected this stunning 2D painting by Spanish artist Francisco De Goya y Lucientes because it amazed me and caught my eye straight away. Francisco De Goya is known as one of the most important Spanish artist's of the late nineteenth and twentieth century. The title of this painting is "Maja's on a Balcony." It is representational and the medium is oil on canvas. This representational artwork is located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Maja's on a Balcony" is quite a large work in oil, its measurements being 76 ¾ by 49.5 inches.The painting appears to be two young women in long dresses/gowns being overlooked by two men upon them. The two men above the women seem threatening and somewhat unsafe. Both men are wearing some sort of neck wear and makes them appear intimidating. The lines in the painting are smooth, delicate and calm. From my point of view the emotion in this piece is slightly depressing and melancholy. Goya used a range of achromatic colors such as black, white, grey, beige, and brown giving it a smooth texture. The painting also contains some negative space right along the sides and above the two men that really impact the painting.