Analysis of The Sunflowers - Vincent van Gogh
March 14, 2008
Vincent’s Sunflowers “The sunflower is mine in a way.” –Vincent van Gogh Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” are among his most famous paintings, but few people realize he did many sunflower pictures, not just the most famous “Vase with Twelve Sunflowers” and “Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers.” These were canvases he made to decorate the Yellow House in Arles in anticipation of his friend Paul Gauguin’s visit, and in the hope that other artists would follow and form a Utopian art community. Some of Vincent’s sunflower paintings are all but... Read more »
Outsider Art - Is It Really Art? - part 1
February 28, 2008
What actually is art? Give me ten people and I’ll give you ten different definitions of the word. What it means to you is as unique to you as your fingerprints. But who’s to say what qualifies as art, or fine art? What distinguishes the art of Jean Michel Basquiat from Rembrandt van Rijn? Besides the time differences, each artist’s art have been met with different types of criticism. Was one art, and the other just crummy art? Who’s to say? What we can say though is there is an unmistakable mainstream art circuit with art dealers and galleries, critics and fine artists with... Read more »
A Brief History of Caricatures
January 31, 2008
By Natalie Aranda A caricature is a portrait of a person that exaggerates certain features in order to express the essence of the person and still make the subject easily identifiable. Although it is often viewed as a comic type of art today, it has a rather long history. The earliest forms date back to ancient days. In the excavations at the Roman city of Pompeii, crude pictures were found drawn on the walls of some buildings that very much resembled caricature. At least, the purpose was obviously the same. The word comes from an Italian verb that means “to load.” The true purpose of caricature... Read more »
Reverse Glass Painting - Centuries Old Art Form
January 30, 2008
By Alan Beggerow Reverse glass painting is the art of painting an image on the reverse side of a piece of glass or glass object so that the image can be viewed from the unpainted side. It has been done since early in the sixteenth century in Europe, and was known in China during the early 18th century. This style of painting has been used for religious art, abstract art, clock faces, realistic landscapes, and scenes with people and portraits. It is a very exacting art form, especially when done as a realistic painting. The image is actually painted in reverse order on the glass. The finishing details... Read more »
French Impressionism In The Heart Of Paris
January 1, 2008
By M. Davies It’s safe to say that for many of us, when we think of the centuries of art that have served to fix Paris as the cultural capital of Europe, what comes to mind above all else, perhaps even the soaring towers of Notre Dame and the Place de la Concorde’s gold capped obelisk, is the work of the French Impressionists. Manifesting a sense of urban bustle that is unexpectedly punctuated by moments of aesthetic sublimity, it is no wonder that these painters of light have come to define a collective and indelible visual representation of the City of Light’s true vibrancy. The term impressionism... Read more »
The Inventor of Oil Paintings
December 20, 2007
By Sara Swansson In comparison to many other art forms, oil painting is still considered relatively new. Oil painting is the use of oil in pigments in order to paint. Oil paintings date back to the 1400’s. Before oil painting, paint was mixed with plaster found in frescoes or egg in tempera paints. The invention of oil paintings occurred because of a new desire for realism in art. Jan Van Eyck is the man credited with the invention of oil painting. The desire for a more realistic look in art started in early fifteenth century Europe. Previously, art was very mythological and decorative, but with... Read more »
Leonardo da Vinci - A Biography of the Renaissance Man
December 13, 2007
Leonardo Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy. It is uncertain that Vinci, just west of Florence, was the actual birthplace and it is often debated that perhaps he was born in a farmhouse in Anchiano. Nevertheless, Vinci claims the prestigious title of the birthplace of Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardo did not author an autobiography; therefore, what little is know of his early life has been gathered from tax records and other documents of the period. What is known is that he was the illegitimate son of Ser Piero da Vinci and a woman who is only known by her first name, Catrina. It... Read more »
