Modernism M.R. #1

Art and Society

Museum Review #1

John Ray Canete

04/1/2014    



    The Metropolitan museum was a historical and social experience! In the gallery walls of the museum were different cultures of paintings that were exhibited in separate time periods. Each time periods had its own room and space, showing sets of different paintings, sculptures, antique items, depending on the relative culture of each galleries. The task of picking out 2 paintings out of thousands of collections was somewhat limited to my freedom of choosing 2 particular art works, as a person who is aesthetically intrigued by forms of art. Georges Braque's Candlestick and playing cards on a table is very different from Amedeo Modigliani's Reclining Nude in terms of style, connotation and the contrast of art elements such as color, shape, texture usage, techniques, and material rendering.
   

     Braque's style is an abstract painting done in an oval canvas which dimensions are, 25-5/8 x 21-3/8 in. (65.1 x 54.3 cm) that represents 3 objects, Candlestick and playing cards on a table as the title represents itself. The cafe like painting expresses its representation of style very abstract and influenced by Picasso's cubism movement. Oval represents a table that supports the two rested, randomly arranged objects, candlestick and playing cards. Using short horizontal texture like strokes throughout the canvass, signifies the grain patterns of the table. While the geometric shapes portray the 2 objects, the cylinder shape on the center of the canvas, is the candlestick, the square and rectangle shapes patterns like playing cards. Noticing that most of the visual elements are concentrated in the center of the oval canvas leaving the side of emptiness. 
     

    Modigliani's depiction of Venus is portrayed as Reclining Nude, considering it very erotic, thus can convey a vast array of aesthetic emotions, from feeling challenged, insulted, outraged, or inspired caused by the provocativeness of his painting. The female model's elongated face portrays the generic icon of a female figure. The reclined positioning and the position pose of his female model signifies the beauty of female curves. Using bold black lines, painting the outline of "Venus'" emphasizes the contours of her body. In addition, the use of his color shows the natural contours from her upper body's bosom, the view of her side abs, down to her bottom, showing a sense of shadow tones. Laying down on a red reclining chair gives more passion to the erotic representational image of Venus, and the red walls in the background. The white pillow and white bed sheet on the opposite side of the canvass, sets the neutral balance from the notion of the scene being to erotic.
    

    Candlestick and playing cards on a table in 1910, as suppose to Modigliani painted Reclining Nude 1917 are different from in their translated connotation, however they are the same in the resources of material such as oil paint on canvas. The interesting part of this trip to the MET Museum is looking and dreaming with the painting. Walking into different exhibitions and seeing different forms of art intrigues me to how artist uses the same materials, a variety of techniques, and significant forms, but produces a peculiar creation of art, made distinctively by the original artist.       
"Time and culture influenced both of these modern artist" (Goodman), both artists Braque and Modigliani are modern painters that uses the same medium oil paint and canvass, yet their works of art are opposite styles and techniques that evokes aesthetic emotions.