Mexican Artistic Works Between the Years of 1910 and 1950

This up and coming spring break, I am going to Mexico for the entire week and a half.  I have never been before, and I don’t really know much about the country itself.  So naturally, when we were given the option the choose a country, I decided to choose Mexico.  I feel like I should know something about where I am going, and why not it’s spectacular art!  I chose a few artists that I found to have beautiful works of art and which had a great meaning behind them.  My ultimate theme is works of art from Mexican artists between the years of 1910 and 1950.

The first artist I chose was Diego Rivera.  Rivera actaually has an incredibly long name, which is Diego maria de la Concepcion Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodriguez.  Quite the mouthful!  He was born on December 8, 1886 in Guanajuato, mexico, and was married to Frida Kahlo in 1929.  Rivera is most known for his paintings and murals.  Rivera was apart of the Mexican Mural Movement between 1922 and 1953.  The piece I chose by Rivera is called La Mujer del Pozo, which was created in 1913.  The painting is an oil painting on canvas.  The painting is a mix of abstract art and Aztec imagery.  The way that everything seems off in the painting truly adds to it, along with the sullen woman on the right.  Rivera used a cubist technique to invoke emotions from his audience.  Rivera has always been credited for procuring emotions from his audience for his paintings, because he was not afraid to speak his mind.  Rivera was a known atheist, and usually ignored the criticism he avhieved from many of his works.  I personally really enjoy the painting because it seems so random.  The shapes create a picture if you look at it as a whole, but if you look at it differently, it is made up of little chunks all over the paper.  Every different piece seems random, but they work together to achieve one unified painting.  I really liked his painting, and all of his other ones that I looked at.

The next artist I chose was Jose Clemente Orozco. Orozco was born on Novermber 23, 1883 in Ciudad Guzman, Mexico.  Orozco was most known for his paintings and murals.  He was apart of the Mexican Mural Movement and the Social Realism Movement.  Orozco was the most complex artist from the Mexican Mural Renaissance, because he liked the theme of human suffering, was not realistic, and really liked machines.  Orozco was mainly influenced by Symbolism, which influenced his murals across the country between the years of 1922 and 1948.  He was very politically driven, and often helped to promote peasants and workers.  One interesting fact about Orozco is that he lost his left hand at the age of 21 because he was working with gunpowder to make fireworks.  The piece I chose by Orozco is his first mural in the United States.  The work of art is called Prometheus, and was painted at Pomona College in California in the year 1930.  The mural shows his beliefs that all of the events in history are in a never ending circular sequence.  The mural is gorgeous with one strong man taking up the majority of the paintign.  He seems to be reaching towards the sky/ceiling.  Behind the man are a bunch of people that are raising their joined hands to the sky.  The painting is a half circle on the wall.  I personally love how the painting is very serious and colorful.  There are random bits of the color purple on the top and the bottom two corners.  It truly makes the painting pop and look very classy.  This is by far my favorite painting from this time period and country.

The final artist that I chose was David Alfaro Siqueiros.  Siqueiros was born on December 29, 1896 in Carmargo, Chihuahua.  He was most known as a mexican social realist painter and for his murals.  Siqueiros was also apart of the mexican Communist Party, and in 1940 he attempted to assassinate Leon Trotsky.  In 1966, Siqueiros was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.  Along with the other chosen artists, he Siqueiros was apart of the Mexican Mural Movement and the Social Realism Movement.  The work of art that I chose from Siqueiros is called The Child Mother and was created in 1936.  The painting shows what looks like a girl aged around 10 carrying a baby that looks around 10 months old.  The style of the painting is social realism, and the technique was pyroxylin.  The painting currently sits in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.  I personally enjoy this painting because it showcases the hard times during this era.  This painting is showing an insanely young child taking care of another child.  This is beyond crazy, and this painting only shows the flaws of the time.  I also like that all of the background colors are brown and murky, while the two children are lit up in white clothing.

These were my three favorite paintings from my three favorite artists of this Mexcan era.  Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did.  I now feel as if I will understand more of the culture and art when I visit Mexico later in the year!

References:

“Diego Rivera.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Nov. 2014. Viewed on November 21, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Rivera\.

“Jose Clemente Orozco 1883-1949.” WFU. Viewed on November 21, 2014. http://www.wfu.edu/history/StudentWork/fysprojects/kmason/Orozco.htm.

“La Mujer del Pozo.” Totally History. 2012. Viewed on November 21, 2014.  http://totallyhistory.com/la-mujer-del-pozo/

“David Alfaro Siqueiros (Mexican, 1998-1974).” Heritage Gallery. 2010. Viewed on November 21, 2014. http://www.heritagegallery.com/david-alfaro-siqueiros.html

Chicago, Saar, and Lin, Some of Art’s Influential Women

I decided to focus all of my chosen works on women artists.  During the Post Modern era, they were very influential.  During the 1960’s and 1970’s, women finally joined the workforce.  Instead of being the good ole stay at home mom, women’s roles were now expanded.  Women were allowed to, and began to demand for equal pay, abortion on demand, and better childcare.  In 1968, the first woman, Shirley Chisolm, was elected to Congress.  In 1973, the first battered women’s shelter opened, and in 1978, more women attended college than men for the first time ever.  These are just a few of the amazing things that women accomplished during this time period.  The following works of art are from amazing women that created amazing pieces of work from the Post Modern era.

JUDY CHICAGO

The first lady I chose was Judy Chicago.  Judy Chicago was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1939.  She is most well known for her art pieces which examined the role of women in history and culture.  I chose “The Dinner Party”, which was created in 1979, simply because I found it stunning.  This is her most popular work of art.  The Dinner Party depicts a table that is hosting 39 fake and historically famous women.  The names of these women are inscribed on the floor surrounding the dinner table.  This piece shows the changes made by women, and how women can stand up by themselves and for themselves.  Judy was a true feminist at heart, and it clearly showed in this particular painting.  I enjoy the painting thoroughly because it seems futuristic, yet it also gives an intense meaning for women.  The design is really cool, since most dinner tables are squares or rectangles.  The painting is very majestic and God-like looking.

ELEANOR ANTIN

Eleanor Antin was born in New York in 1935.  She is best known as an American performance artist, film-maker, installation artist, conceptual artist, and a feminist artist.  The picture above represents Antin’s most famous conceptual work.  Antin would set up 100 boots with different backgrounds and different settings.  She made 51 different postcards that she mailed out to hundreds of people between the years of 1971 and 1973.  The postcards represent the journey of these 100 boots as they traveled from the Pacific Ocean to New York City.  After the 100 boots finished their journey, they were presented in the Museum of Modern Art.  Antin was one of few women that expanded the art of this era, and turned it into something new and different.  Antin used her race, culture, religion, and gender to expand the art world and the treatment of women during this era.  I personally enjoy the photograph series because it is so random, yet it shows a journey.  I don’t think I would ever put one of these paintings on my wall, but I sure do enjoy the meaning behind all of them.

CINDY SHERMAN

 

Cindy Sherman was born in New Jersey in the year 1954.  Sherman was a photographer and film-maker, and was best known for her conceptual portraits.  Sherman’s photographs were designed to raise challenging and important questions about the representation and role of women in society.  The photograph displayed above is titled Untitled Film Still #16.  The picture was taken in 1978 with gelatin silver print.  To me, the picture shows the business, important, and classy aspects of a women.  It seems to be showing that we can be the boss, and that we can take charge much like men.  At the time, women did not have these rights, so portraying it in a picture helped move mountains during this era.  I personally really enjoy the picture because it encompasses feminism in one picture.  I also like how the picture in the background offsets the entire painting.  The picture is edgy and interesting, both aspects I love in pictures.

I chose this piece because it was simplistic, but it also screamed classy, professional, and that the women was in charge.  The following link includes many different pieces from the Post Modern era that I did not choose for my blog.

http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2012/cindysherman/gallery/2/#/0/untitled-film-still-81-1980/

BETYE SAAR

Betye Saar was born in Los Angeles, California in 1926.  Saar is best known for working in the field of Assemblage.  This type of art is characterized by three-dimensional or two-dimensional art that is composed by putting together found objects.  During the Post-Modern era, Saar was a part of the black arts movement.  Many of her works include objects that were found in boxes or windows.  She chose these pieces because they represented her mixed ancestry.  The piece that is featured above is called Destiny Rides Again.  This work was created in 1987.  The work has a few different images on it, including dice, lightning bolt, hand, fire, moon, and a wizardly looking frame.  In the painting, the lightning bolt is striking the hand and making a singed dark spot in the center.  The painting is confusing, and I am not entirely sure what it means, but I appreciate the look.  It gives of a modern magical look, which is something that looks cool.  Betye Saar’s works highly influenced women and black rights during the Post-Modern era.

JUDITH BACA

 

Judith Baca was born in Los Angeles, California in the year 1946.  She was raised by Mexican American parents, and you can see the influences in her paintings that this had on them.  Baca is most known for her murals.  Baca created the Great Wall of Los Angeles, which was intended to help improve the area around the San Fernando Valley flood control channel.  She did an excellent job, because this is one of her more famous works of art.  The painting that is featured above is called Tres Generaciones, and was created in 1975.  The painting is a self-portrait of herself, her mother, and her grandmother.  The painting was oil on canvas.  In English, the title means Three Generations, as the portrait clearly displays.  This painting only includes ladies, with no men featured or mentioned.  The painting shows the women in power stances with hands on their hips.  The painting seems to say that that can do anything, regardless of their race, or gender.  I personally love the piece because each family member is shown in a different color, and because the painting is majestic and colorful.  I love colorful paintings, so it does not surprise me that I enjoy this painting.

MAYA LIN

 

Maya Lin was born in 1959 in Athens, Ohio.  She is a designer and artist, known for her sculptures and landscape art.  Her most famous work of art is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is pictured above.  At 21, Lin won a bid to create the memorial over 1441 other applicants.  She decided to make the black cut-stone masonry wall into a V that pointed to the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.  She wanted the memorial to represent a wound in the earth to symbolize the gravity of the loss of the soldiers.  I personally like this monument because it is very original, and has quite a bit of meaning behind it.  Instead of the names of the lost soldiers holding all of the meaning, Lin worked in more meaning with the placement and design of the overall memorial.  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was completed in 1982.  This was a big project for a women of this time, and it represents how women were working their way up in the nation.  While the memorial itself does not have to deal with women during the Post-Modern era, having a women chosen to design the memorial is enough to show that change started during this Post-Modern era.

References:

 

Meeker, Carlene. “Eleanor Antin.” Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 1 March 2009. Jewish Women’s Archive. Viewed on November 17, 2014.  http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/antin-eleanor.

“Cindy Sherman.” SEMOMA on the go. 1998. Viewed on November 17, 2014.

http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/3968

“Betye Saar.” Wikipedia. October 17, 2014. Viewed on November 17, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betye_Saar

“Betye Saar: National Visionary.” National Visionary Leadership Project. 2002. Viewed on November 17, 2014.  http://www.visionaryproject.org/saarbetye/

“The Vietnam Veterans Memorial: The Wall-USA.” 1996.  Viewed on November 17, 2014.  http://thewall-usa.com/names.asp

African American Influence on Early Modern Art

I decided to create my virtual exhibit on the influence of African Americans on the arts of the Early Modern era, which occurred between the years of 1900 and 1939.  During this time, many African American’s migrated north to urban places where there were less racial prejudices and less economic hardships.  This migration changed the streets of Harlem, New York, and helped the Harlem Renaissance.  This renaissance raised awareness of Black art and culture.  From this movement and renaissance spawned many new art forms that impacted Early Modern Art immensely.

Rapsody in Blue by George Gershwin

I chose Rapsody in Blue by George Gershwin for one of the pieces.  I specifically chose this piece because it was one of Gershwin’s most popular musical compositions where he incorporated a different type of style into his music.  Rapsody in Blue was written in 1924 and was written for solo piano and a jazz band.  The piece was orchestrated three times by Ferde Grofe in three different years.  Gershwin was inspired by African American blues and jazz at the time of writing this piece, and so he incorporated these styles into Rapsody in Blue.  Gershwin decided to mix jazz with normal orchestral works and opera.  Composers changed the direction of their music, either by changing the melody, harmony, meter, rhythm, and timbre, or by incorporating the music of Africa.  In this instance, Gershwin decided to incorporate African American blues and jazz.  This was very popular with music pieces of this time, because it gave a new and different approach to the normal music of that time.  African American’s not only had an influence on the people, but their music style also affected the new styles of early modern music.  I personally greatly enjoyed Gershwin’s musical masterpiece.  I loved the opening notes on the clarinet because it sounded insanely modern, and almost something that I could likely hear in Dance music.  The entire piece was very modern and I loved the extra kick of jazz in it, compared to just standard classical music.  I play piano, so I loved the little solo in the middle of the piece.  Overall, I enjoyed Gershwin’s piece the most out of all the musical pieces posted on the web page.

The Migration of the Negro by Jacob Lawrence

When looking through the visual arts section on the webpage, I found one artist that I absolutely adore.  Jacob Lawrence created many paintings that were in something called the Migration Series.  One piece that I particularly enjoy is a piece called The Migration of the Negro.  The painting was made in 1940 and was a casein tempera on hardboard.  The original painting was 18 x 12 inches big.  The painting shows a woman working at a commercial laundry, and washing clothes.  There are rugs and blankets hanging behind her while a red washing stick handle splits the piece in two down the middle.  If looking at the painting with no insight, one would see a woman standing among a bunch of different shapes.  I myself only had an idea about it because of the name of the painting series.  I personally enjoy this piece because it is simplistic yet it carries a crazy kick to the gut.  African Americans obviously affected art, because at this time, they were excluded from almost all areas of employment.  As this piece shows, black woman could pretty much only work in wash rooms, clean houses, or care for children.  Black men did not have many options either, even though they had a few more.  The impact of this piece of art is strong, because it depicts what was going wrong in this time era.  African Americans made an immense impact on art of this time, and because of this, art helped African Americans have a better stand in America.

From Slavery Through Reconstruction by Aaron Douglas

The final piece I chose was a piece by Aaron Douglas.  It’s called From Slavery Through Reconstruction, and was created in 1934.  The painting is 5 x 11 feet and is oil on canvas.  The piece is the main painting on the first page of the Early Modern Content.  Seeing as this was the first piece that I saw before entering the module, it had quite an impact.  The painting depicts shadowed people all in different positions on a bright background.  There is a trumpet player on the side, a drummer on the other side, and someone standing in the middle that seems to be “conducting” them.  This piece was a part of a group of paintings called Aspects of Negro Life.  The paintings were commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project  for the New York Public Library’s 135^th Street branch.  The paintings were made to include African sculpture, jazz music, dance, and abstract geometric shapes.  The painting was made to show the role of African Americans, and to this I can say that it does its job.  I really like this painting because the people are encompassed in shadows, and the main colors come from the bright background.  I also like that the painting is so alive and seems very positive for the time.

References

Burlovich, Melissa.  Aspects of a Negro Life.  Created: 2004. Accessed November 2, 2014. http://www.jmu.edu/evision/archive/volume4/Burlovich.pdf

Jacob Lawrence. Wikipedia. Accessed November 2, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Lawrence

George Gershwin. Wikipedia. Accessed November 2, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gershwin

Modernism. Wikipedia. 2014. Accessed November 2, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernism

Opinions on Impressions and a Comparison to Romanticism and Contemporary Art

Impressionism is defined as an art movement that occurred in the 19^th century and was created by a group of Paris-based artists.  They had independent exhibitions that brought them up in the art world during the 1870s and 1880s, even though the conventional art community in France did not appreciate their works.  The term Impressionism originated with a piece of work by Claude Monet that was called “Impression, soleil levant.”  In English, this stands for “Impression, Sunset.”  The term came from a critic of Monet’s artwork, who was writing satirically about his art work.  The dark painting by Monet was created in 1890-1891.  I personally am a fan of Impressionistic art when it is compared to Romantic art.

Impressionism at It’s Finest

The main stylistic features behind impressionism are sketchy lines, loose brush strokes, and dabs of color that blend together.  The main subject matter of these paintings was transitory effects of light and weather, the amusements and pastimes of the middle and upper classes, and pleasant moments.  Impressionistic pieces of art did not focus on traditional subject matter like history, religion, and classical antiquities; instead it focused on the lighter side of stuff.  Personally I prefer this when looking at art and this is one of the main reasons why I truly like this type of paintings over the Romantic paintings.  I also found it interesting that the way the painter worked was more important than the painter themselves.  This intrigued me, because paintings are almost always judged by their appearance and not by their artist.  I also find it interesting that this type of work was at first highly criticized, and only later appreciated.  I wonder if the change in artistic properties was too much at that time, so people just could not comprehend the fresh and colorful pieces of work.  Another reason I enjoy this art is because it resembles more modern art of this time.  I prefer extremely modern art of this era, and Impressionism reminds me more of this than Romanticism.  Another piece I enjoyed that was created in 1876 was “Le Moulin de la Galette” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.  I loved how everyone sort of looked similar, and how everyone blended into one another.  You could clearly see where each person began and ended, but the lines of each person were foggy, unclear, and sketchy.  I also enjoyed how light it was, and how it displayed a pastime of the people in the painting.

Impressionism verse Romanticism

I decided to compare impressionism to Romanticism.  I chose Romanticism, because I was not entirely a fan of all of the work, and I found it easy to compare to impressionism.  Unlike Impressionism, Romanticism was more subjective and the artists wanted the paintings to elicit emotions and feelings.  While impressionistic paintings were more about the process with the artist, Romantic artists used their art to bring out certain emotions.  The subject matter of Romantic pieces was quite different from Impressionistic pieces.  The Romantic paintings seemed misty, fantastic, exotic, included worlds of dreams, and included fabulous landscapes.  They were completely different from the realistic, pastime showing paintings of Impressionism.  One specific Romantic piece of artwork that I’m not a fan of is “The Third of May” by Francisco de Goya.  The painting was created in 1814 in Spain and is oil on canvas.  The image depicts random executions of the Spanish people that resulted in the fighting in the Puerto del Sol area of Madrid.  I don’t like that the paintings showed horrible tragedies or injustices, even if they were to create emotion from the viewer.  It just seems much sadder than the light colorful pieces from the Impressionism era.

Modern Comparisons

Another type of painting genre is contemporary art.  Contemporary art constitutes art that was created after the 1970’s.  Contemporary art is generally defined as art that is created within our current lifetime.  With this art, there are lots of bright colors and many of the paintings seem random and obscure.  I was searching around on the web and found a website that featured exhibits of a few artists.  I found one artist that I really like.  Her name is Corrine Wasmuht and her venue was at Johann Koenig, Berlin.  The venue featured from September 19^th to November 1, 2014.  The set of paintings were completely different from Impressionistic art.  While Impressionism showed lots of outdoors pictures, and was very colorful, Wasmuht’s paintings seemed to show a bunch of different scenes in one picture.  Wasmuht’s paintings were made to display the properties of light and space, quite unlike Impressionistic pieces.  I found that both types of art seem very modern and fresh compared to most art in the past.  The one thing I found to be different was that this contemporary art was created to entice you to think about what is happening, unlike the simplistic Impressionism art.  Wasmuht planned for her audience to think about space and light, and how the dissolution of time and space has proceeded.  I greatly preferred Wasmuht’s paintings over Impressionistic art.  Wasmuht had the similar modern aspect to it as Impressionism had had, but her art also had a thinking aspect.  This intrigues me, and is the main reason why I generally like Contemporary Art over Impressionistic art.

References:

Weems, Erik E. Soya. The Third of May. 2006. October 24, 2014. http://eeweems.com/goya/3rd_of_may.html

Corrine Wasmuht at Johann Koenig. Contemporary Art Daily. Published October 26^th, 2014. Accessed October 10, 2014. http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/2014/10/corinne-wasmuht-at-johann-ko%CC%88nig/

Romanticism. Wikipedia. October 25, 2014. Accessed October 26, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism

Impressionism. Wikipedia. October 25, 2014. Accessed October 26, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism

Contemporary Art. Wikipedia. October 25, 2014. Accessed October 26, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_art

The Morality and the Art of the Classical Era

I decided to do this next blog entry on the wonderful topic of the morality and the art of the classical era.  Roaming through all of the links and different websites that cover the Classical Era, I have come to realize that there were lots of morality aspects that I never would have thought of.  A lot of different things were happening during this era, but this stuck out the most to me.  Morality began in this era with the change in scientific thinking, and the Enlightenment.  There were other influences, but I think of these as the top ones.

The first painting I chose obviously comes from the Classical Era, and is called the Oath of the Horatti by David.  The painting depicts one man in a red cape holding about three swords.  In front of him stands 3 men all reaching towards the man holding the three swords.  Behind the man in the red cape are three or four ladies that appear to be swooning because of something.  David’s painting is supposed to be a celebration of the art, life, and morality of ancient Rome.  The painting depicts morality through the decision of self-sacrifice and loyalty over family ties and personal emotion.  The painting was commissioned by Louis XVI and was originally supposed to be propaganda.  The propaganda is supposed to influence soldiers into being the ideal soldier, with having duty and discipline as the supreme virtues, and that if necessary, the soldiers will die for the cause.  The morality of this very challenging.  On one hand, the soldier wants to return home to their loved ones and family, but on the other they are being asked to fight for their ruler.  The soldiers need to use their moral to make the correct decision.

For my second piece, I decided to again choose a Jacques-Louis David painting.  The painting is called Death of Socrates.  I really like his paintings and the meanings behind them, so of course I chose to do two of them!  The painting was made in 1787 and is an oil piece on a canvas.  David was commissioned to do the piece by the Trudaine de Montigny brothers.  The brothers were leaders in the call for a free market system and more public discussion.  The painting was made to depict the moments of the life of Socrates, whom was condemned to death by the Athenian government for his teaching methods which aroused skepticism and impiety in his students.  This painting was a call for nobility and self-control in the face of death.  The painting, like David’s other painting, asks for the viewer to be noble and have self-control even in the face of death.  On the eve of the Revolution, this specific piece was used to convince people to resist the unjust authority and go to duty instead of going with the normal flow.  The painting plays upon morality by requesting the viewers to choose between self-control and fear in the face of death.  The painting shows the philosopher still speaking while reaching for a cup, which represents his morals and beliefs.  In particular it is his indifference to death and his unyielding commitment to his ideals.  Overall I don’t like that the painting asks someone to have self-control and nobility in death.  I feel like you should be able to express whatever emotion you want at death, and with this I consider quite a bit of morality in effect with this painting.  I do like the colors, different stances, and the faces of everyone in the painting.  The painting is quite spectacular!

My final piece is The Magic Flute by Mozart.  Mozart composed this beautiful and stunning opera in the year 1790 in Vienna.  I recognized the piece almost instantly, since it is a pretty popular song.  The song was in another language, as most opera pieces are, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.  The main idea behind the opera is the idea of Freemansory.  Freemansory is a fraternal organization that traces its origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons.  It regulated the qualifications of masons and their interaction with authorities and clients.  It was ultimately used to highlight upon personal study, social betterment, and self-improvement.  I found out that Mozart was a part of this club, and you can clearly see the relationship between the club and the ideas in the opera.  The main aspects of the play include the ideas of evil versus good, wisdom, and truth.  These ideas then wrap back to morality and the way we think about different situations.  Moral decisions were rampant in this opera, and that was one of the main reasons I really enjoyed it!

Ultimately, I enjoyed all three wonderful pieces of art, and I really liked all of their ties into morality.  There were by far many other pieces to choose from, but these three were my favorite out of all of them!

References:

Neo-Classicism and French Revolution. October 16, 2014. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/his/CoreArt/art/neocl_dav_soc.html

David, Oath of the Horatti. October 16, 2014.  http://www.thecaveonline.com/APEH/horatti.html4

Freemasonry. Wikipedia. 2014, October 14. October 16, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry

The Connections Between Artwork and the Council of Trent in the Baroque Era

The Last Judgment by Michelangelo Overview

The Last Judgment is a piece of artwork that was created by the Italian artist Michelangelo.  The art was placed on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.  The picture depicts the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity.  Michelangelo took four years to complete the masterpiece, ranging from 1536 to 1541.  Michelangelo was first commissioned by Pope Clement VII to do a piece of artwork on the resurrection, but he Pope sadly died.  The next pope, Paul III, decided to have Michelangelo instead paint The Last Judgment.  Michelangelo did not take the standard course when drawing his depiction of The Last Judgment, seeing as he included lots of nudity which was meant to strip everyone of their rank.  The artwork is a Fresco painting that is 539.3 inches by 472.4 inches.  Michelangelo used a more monochromatic fresco, along with a greater range of color including Orange, green, yellow, and blue.

Council of Trent’s Influence on The Last Judgment

First of all, the main point of the Council of Trent was to condemn the principles of Protestantism and to simplify the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.  The Council also hit artwork during the times the council was in session, which was from 1545 to 1563.  The Last Judgment was created directly before the Council of Trent.  The painting created a huge dispute between those with the catholic Counter-Reformation, and those that appreciated a Mannerist style with paintings.  Michelangelo’s painting was knocked for not being proper, and for having personal style over accurate depictions.  Following all of the harsh criticism from the Catholic counter-Reformation folks on the painting, the Council of Trent tightened up many of their controls and added a few more regarding art.  The main aspect that the Council did not like of Michelangelo’s painting was all of the nudity.  Biagio da Cesena said, “The painting was mostly disgraceful that in so sacred place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully.”(The Last Judgment (Michelangelo)).  To spite Cesena, Michelangelo worked his face into the painting as Minos, the judge of the Underworld.  That itself changed his artwork.  After Michelangelo died in 1564, the artist Daniele da Volterra painted over the genitalia in the painting since they were objectionable.  This occurred partly because Michelangelo died, and mainly because the Council of Trent condemned nudity in religious art.  The Council sent out a decree to get rid of superstitious, exciting to lust, disorder and profane aspects.  This included the nudity.  This affected many pieces of artwork during this time period by not letting them aspire to be what they truly should be.  Michelangelo’s piece was changed just because a group did not like what they saw and because they disagreed with a certain aspect.  That could never happen now, because we mostly have freedom of speech and expression.  The Council prohibited true feelings and artwork from coming through, starting with The last Judgment.  It is sad to think about how much artwork was changed just because a certain group did not agree with certain viewpoints.

The Personal Opinion

I personally love this piece.  The colors of the people make them appear amazing and god-like.  Everyone has an almost gold tint and glow to them and everyone looks the same.  That is one of the main aspects that draw me to this piece.  Everyone looks like an equal, except for God stands out.  He is obviously supposed to stand out, seeing as the artwork was placed in a chapel.  This seems different from most pieces around this era.  I can always tell if one is a peasant or royalty or a soldier.  Everyone was always so pronounced, and I like that everything is not defined in this piece.  I also like that it looks like everyone is floating and in the clouds.  It again gives a god-like quality.  The artwork is also symmetrical and very appealing to the eye.  God is in the center, and everyone else fills evenly into the background.  Everyone is also doing something different, so examining the painting would take a while to figure out what they are doing.  Many pieces did not involve nudity in this era, and I like that Michelangelo went against this and created a magnificent piece.  Overall the painting is wonderful, colorful, very appealing to the eye, and has lots and lots of meaning behind it.

Sources

“The Last Judgment.” Vatican Museums. Web. 6 October 2014. http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/x-Schede/CSNs/CSNs_G_Giud.html

“The Last Judgment (Michelangelo).” Wikipedia. 5 October 2014.  Web.  6 October 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Judgment_(Michelangelo)

Cartwright A, Ingrid. “A Brief Overview of the Dutch Art Market int eh 17th Century.” Essential Vermeer 2.0. 2007. Web. 6 October 2014. http://www.essentialvermeer.com/dutch-painters/dutch_art/ecnmcs_dtchart.html#.VDL8APldWSp

Mckay, Brett and Kate. “ The Basics of Art: The Baroque Period.” The Art of Manliness. 18 October 2010. Web. 6 October 2014. http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/10/18/the-basics-of-art-the-baroque-period/

Humanism Influence in Italian Visual Art: The Last Supper

The Last Supper Overview

The Last Supper was created in the late fifteenth-century, between 1494 and 1498, by Leonardo Da Vinci.  The painting is a mural painting in the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan.  The painting is 181 inches by 346 inches and was made with tempera on gresso, pitch, and mastic.  The Last Supper is one of the world’s most famous paintings, and one of the most studied, scrutinized, and satirized.  The painting was originally commissioned as part of renovations for a church and its convent buildings.  The painting was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan.  Leonardo created the painting to depict the scene of The Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples.  Leonardo painted the consternation that happened between the Twelve Disciples when Jesus said that one of them would go against him.  That scene is from the Gospel of John, 13:21.  Leonardo created the painting with a new mixture of paint and canvas materials at the time, which was awesome for the time.  In fact, the materials gave a new edge to the painting, but it made the painting much harder to preserve.  Very few original aspects of the painting remain today, due to the materials used and numerous environmental factors.  There were many influences on Leonardo’s work, including Humanism, and royalty.

Royalty’s Influence on The Last Supper

Royalty had a major impact on Leonardo’s painting The Last Supper.  For one, Leonardo was asked to complete the painting by Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan.  Without the push of the Duke, and the pressure to have the painting completed, Leonardo could have stopped working, just like he did on many other paintings or works of art.  Along with royalty having an impact on Leonardo’s painting, Humanism also had an immense impact.

Humanism Influence on The Last Supper

           

Humanism is reflected in Leonardo’s painting through many different aspects.  For a refresher, Humanism is defined as an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.  One aspect of the painting that stuck out as a Humanism trait was how symmetrical the painting was.  One site by Smart History drew lines onto the painting to show how symmetrical the painting was.  I originally thought the painting was symmetrical, but these extra lines truly helped me to realize how symmetrical it was.  There are exactly four square doors or curtains on both sides of the room.  There are 3 evenly placed windows in the background that also show the depth of the entire painting.  They almost give the painting a 3-D look.  Jesus is perfectly in the middle, with six Disciples on each side.  The side groups are also evenly place into groups of three on each side.  The ceiling even has six even rows of some sort of tile, of which Jesus is perfectly lined between.  Everything about the picture screams symmetry.  Jesus is even symmetric with himself, by laying his hands out to the side to create an even triangle.  The Disciples also show actual human emotion, which was a huge aspect of Humanism.  Every face shows some sort of actual human emotion, instead of just happiness.  Leonardo wanted to display genuine human feelings, which went right alongside the Humanism movement.  Humanism was definitely evident in Leonardo’s painting The Last Supper.

 

The Personal Opinion

Personally, I believe this is one of Leonardo’s greatest works.  His symmetry and colors truly highlight the story that he is trying to portray.  The way that you can figure out the story by just examining a portrait is amazing and true art.  The meaning behind the entire piece is beautiful, and the church that it was placed in made it truly magnificent.  The only sad part is that Leonardo used new and different materials that make it difficult to preserve the amazing piece of art.  Other than that, Leonardo made another amazing piece of art.

Sources

Harris, Beth, Steven Zucker. “Leonardo’s Last Supper.” Smart History by KHAN Acadamy. Web. 25 September 2014. http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/leonardo-last-supper.html

Grimm, Laura. “Leonardo da Vinci – Painting The Last Supper.” Bio. 2014. Web. 25 September 2014.http://www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-40396/videos/leonardo-da-vinci-painting-the-last-supper-1463363738

Introductions!

My name is Kelsey lindahl! I’m a sophomore here at UAF and I am studying Geological Engineering. I eventually hope to get my Masters in Environmental Engineering. I was born in Anchorage and have lived there my entire life. I speak German and have been learning it since the beginning of high school. I love to jam with friends and play volleyball in my free time! I play a few instruments, which leads me into my relationship with art.

 

I have never been one to be that much into sculpting, drawing, or painting. I have always been into the music side of the arts.  I took piano lessons for eight years, and I have been playing the guitar for the past years.  I also love to sing and play ukulele.  I have gone to a few performances in Anchorage, for example, Beauty and the Beast and Mary Poppins. I have enjoyed my time going to the performances, and I am always glad that I can see the show in another version. I can’t always do all the arts, but I always love to indulge in them!

 

I chose a link to a performance by Susan Boyle. She became a hit in the UK and somewhat in the US because her looks did not quite match up to her voice. I feel like the arts should be unexpected, and she accomplished this with her amazing voice! Hope you enjoy the watch!

 

I chose to insert this picture because it is a good way of explaining life in interesting terms. It also has a great meaning behind it!