Abstract
This paper reviews the film "Canvas" which tells the story of a mother with schizophrenia and the illness's impact on her family and friends. A brief introduction to this mental illness is given. Then, the paper describes Mary, the schizophrenic mother, before her illness, showing her as a loving wife, mother and talented artist. Then it depicts her struggle with this illness and her inpatient treatment in a psychiatric facility. The paper concludes by using Mary's treatment as a springboard for discussing the therapeutic options for schizophrenia. According to the paper, various methods should be used as there are many different types of schizophrenia.

From the Paper
"In general Schizophrenia may present with one or more of the following positive symptoms: Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and catatonic behavior. Negative symptoms include affective flattening, alogia, or avolition. ("Schizophrenia Symptoms," 2008). To be diagnosed with Schizophrenia a patient must have one or more of the previous symptoms for a period of one to six months. At one point we hear that Mary, the Schizophrenic mother of the movie, has been dealing with this illness actively for eighteen months and probably had exhibited a progressive increase in symptoms prior to that. Mary is unusual in tht symptoms usually develop in late adolescence (Harrop, & Trower, 2003) and her illness appears to have come about somewhat later in her life. "

Tags:mental illness, medication, psychotherapy, psychiatric inpatient hospital

Abstract
This paper takes a look at the notable masterpieces of the artistic Renaissance in Northern Europe. The author pays close attention to the new styles of the times, the use of oils, light and shadow, and how expressing inner emotions became more prevalent than outer appearances on the canvas. The author looks in particular at the portraits " The Arnolfini Portrait" by Jan van Eyck, and "The Ambassadors" by Holbein the Younger.

From the Paper
"While the Southern renaissance is better known, the countries of the north" Germany, The Netherlands, France, and England? also enjoyed a rich artistic renaissance, though slightly delayed. Historians dispute reasons as to why this so. Some argue that for reasons such as the bubonic plague and economic depression, it took the Northern countries a longer time to emerge from the dark ages. Another argument is that Northern artists were simply more reluctant to switch from the Gothic style they used in the past. In any case, European patrons and artists prized their work and they were praised for their talents in working with oils and their mastery of detail. Northern art managed to progress at a surprising pace despite it's delays. The two paintings used as references in this portfolio, "The Arnolfini Portrait" by Jan van Eyck and "The Ambassadors" by Hans Holbein the Younger, stand as examples of this. With only 100 years difference between them, it is important to examine what accounts for the changes by comparing the paintings in areas of characterization, chiaroscuro, medium, and artistic symbolism. In this way, the differences between Early and Late Northern renaissance art can be clearly defined.

Tags:arnolfini, eyck, van, holbein, ambassadors, chiaroscuro, gothic, oil, canvas

Abstract
This paper addresses the rendering of urban landscapes in painting, focusing specifically on the work of contemporary artist Greg Tomezsko. The paper explains that to approach the urban landscape as an aesthetic subject is to deal with powerful exterior influences and reconcile the asserting character of the city with particularized artistic style and expression. The author adds that the urban artist is confronted with the difficulty of "testing themselves against the city, struggling to balance an equation between its indiscriminate physical energies and their own mental superintendence." The paper concludes that the artist is not the anchor of meaning; he is a translator of urban poetics, the individual who has knocked on the city's door and has presented the outpouring of response in a universal human language.

From the Paper
"For Freud, the subjects that often compel him to paint are individuals with whom he can establish real dialogue, and his experiences of painting are exclusively limited to his understanding of the subject as a finite individual. To extrapolate his treatise to include collective and more complicated entities, such as urban landscapes or urban themes in general, exposes the difficulties of situating the artist in a dialogue with the city. As a multifarious subject, the urban environment seems even more recalcitrant and chimerical than an individual sitter and is a subject already embedded with its own psychic tendencies towards compulsion, mania and other emotional extremities. To approach the urban landscape as an aesthetic subject is to deal with these powerful exterior influences and reconcile the asserting character of the city with particularized artistic style and expression."

Tags:cityscape urbanity aesthetics palimpsest, new york city

Abstract
This paper discusses Jusepe de Ribera's oil on canvas painting of "The Penitent Magdalene" (circa 1612). It describes the scene in the painting and what is portrayed of Mary and her life. The paper discusses how the painting seems to represent Mary's feelings of resentment towards herself and her own transgressions. The paper also presents the writer's opinion of the work.

From the Paper
"I don't see this painting as one of beauty but rather as thought provoking. As beautiful as Mary is in it, I wouldn't say that any subject shown in mourning should be considered "beautiful." Although, I must admit the method in which Ribera has painted her hands is amazingly life-like and quite impressive! The way he has her right fingers tucked underneath her chin, cocking her tired, miserable head to the right, looks picturesque. Her left fingers, as they curve around the skull and are mottled by shadows, appear distorted. The contrast of lighter and darker shades of paint, the curve of her head, neck, shoulders, and the skull she holds all contribute to giving this piece a rounded shape. The distinction between colors help to show Mary's only movement during this particular moment: in a heavy weep and an overshadowing depression."

Tags:color, contrast, chiaroscuro

Abstract
In this article, the writer describes a genre painting by 19th century American artist Thomas Anshutz titled "The Way They Live". The writer explains that this painting features an African-American mother and children tending a garden in rural West Virginia.

From the Paper
"The work of art selected for this analysis is an oil on canvas painting by American artist Thomas P. Anshutz. The title of the painting is 'The Way They Live'. It depicts a black woman with her two children tending a garden that is filled with a combination of cabbages and flowers. In the background of the painting is a fairly crude home in which the family clearly lives. Also in the background are ..."

Tags:Thomas, Anshutz, The Way They live , painting, African, Americans, genre, painting

Abstract
In this essay, the writer looks at the painting 'Croquet Scene' which is one of a series of five paintings dedicated to the game of croquet. The writer explains that at the time of its creation in 1866, croquet was becoming extremely popular in America especially with the upper-middle class. Further, the writer points out that croquet was one of the only activities deemed socially acceptable for both men and women to compete as equals, and so the game offered a good opportunity for interesting compositions. The writer describes that in the painting, the woman in red is lifting the hem of her skirt to place a foot on the ball to "croquet" her opponent's ball off the playing field. The writer then notes that the man kneeling at her feet is reaching out to steady the ball for her, but it is unclear whether his intentions are chivalrous, or if he is performing this courtesy in hopes of getting a glimpse of the woman's ankle, which would have been considered highly erotic at the time. The writer discusses that the ambiguity of the composition makes the piece so much more than just an illustration.

From the Paper
"The focal point of this painting is the croquet ball that the woman in red is about to place her foot on, and there are multiple ways that Homer has manipulated the visual elements of this work to draw the viewer's eye down to the ball. The ball itself is placed within the shadow of the woman in red, bringing the ball's light orange color into stark contrast with the background to where it practically glows. Also, the three standing figures of the women along with the stooping form of the man with the croquet mallet positioned at an inward angle in his hand act as a visual funnel, directing the eye down to the ball. Of course, not only is the figure of the man angled to help this funneling effect, but he is pointing down at the ball as he reaches for it. To reinforce the focal point even more, the largest figure in the foreground, the woman in blue, is pulling down her hat, creating a clean arrow from the swallow-tail sticking out the back of her hat to her elbow, which is pointed directly at the ball."

Tags:painter, ball, ambiguity, colors

Abstract
This paper explains that the painting "The Architect's Dream" by American artist, Thomas Cole, masters historical perspective by combining structures from several epochs--Egypt, Greece, Rome and Europe--within the confines of a simple painting, thus depicting the evolution of architecture. The author points out that Cole, who was the founder of the Hudson River School, a group of artists that followed the style of American romanticism and realism, filled the landscape of this painting, accurately and in detail, with human structures of each age. The paper concludes that this piece of art from the romantic times is not so much a history lesson as it is a story of human ingenuity and spirit, which praises man's triumphs throughout the ages by giving tribute to the beauty of history's great accomplishments that still inspire humankind today.

From the Paper
""The Architect's Dream" is a large painting, about 8 feet long by 6 feet tall. Just looking at the different buildings throughout the eons is very enthralling. And so, I stood in front of this painting for at least ten minutes just taking in the sheer power of it. I imagined what it would look like IF someone actually built a city like the one Thomas Cole painted. I could see the romanticism in the expression on the Architect's face as he lays relaxed and wondering about his strewn books. I put myself in his position and tried to imagine looking upon such a dream city, but in reality."

Tags:recession, romanticism, realism, power, landscape

Abstract
In this article, the writer studies two works of art that are displayed in the Metropolitan museum. The writer notes that Willem de Kooning's "Woman" is an oil and charcoal rendering of an anonymous woman on canvas, composed in 1944. It is a flat-looking depiction of a female nude against a background that looks like a home. The writer compares this work to "Celia" by artist John Graham. The writer points out that Graham's work is a far softer looking painting, as it is painted in oil, with casein, charcoal, chalk, pencil, pen and ink on Masonite rather than pure, flat oil on canvas. The writer discusses that it showcases "Celia," a woman with a classically hourglass figure and long, soft hair against a black background more reminiscent of a 19th century or classical nude than a modernist depiction of a woman, even though the painting was created at the same time as "Woman."

From the Paper
"The space seems cramped, given her position, although there is no distinctive sense of location to the picture, other than the fact that it is indoors. The painting is classified as abstract expressionist in its color scheme, and its use of a mask-like face, which is reminiscent of some of Picasso's cubist works. Although this work is recognizably human, it seems like a grotesque rendering of the human form. The work seems more like smears or swirls on a canvas rather than a suggestion of someone one might know in life. The smile on the woman's face while she assumes an uncomfortable position, and the cartoon-like yellow, orange, green, and blues make it seem as if the work is a parody of a woman, as if the woman's image is being made intentionally ugly or distorted. Even if this was not de Kooning's intent, the artist's emphasis is on the arrangement of form, line, and color not the character of the woman herself. The woman exists as a subject, a series of surfaces, rather than a unique personality."

Tags:oil, colors, canvas, femininity

Abstract
This paper describes some famous artists including Rembrandt, Renoir and Sargent. The author gives particular emphasis to artists who painted on canvas and concentrated on portraits of women.

From the paper:

"Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn was considered to be the greatest artist of the Dutch Baroque Era. Rembrandt lived from 1606 until 1669. He specialized in portraiture and was a master of light and shadows. Woman with a Pink, an oil on canvas, was painted by Rembrandt in the early 1660s. The unidentified woman in this warm but somber portrait offers a pink (or carnation), symbolic of marriage, to her husband in Man with a Magnifying Glass. This painting is dark and slightly haunting, with the woman seeming to be lost in deep meditative thought."

Tags:Artists, Canvas, Paintings, Portraits

Abstract
The first piece reported in this paper is an oil on canvas, painted by Mexican artist Manuel Felguerez and titled 'Entre Dos Almas', created in 1992. The next art piece is "Fernwood Figures". It originated from Vanuatu, Melanesia, in the late 19th century to early 20th century, and represents tribal ancestors.The author states that the "Sculpture of Vishnu" originates from India during the Pala period,12th century. The final piece is "The Bard", an oil on canvas, painted by a British artist Richard Westall (1765-1836). Illustrations.

Table of Contents
"Entre Dos Almas"
"Fernwood Figures"
"Sculpture of Vishnu"
"The Bard"

From the Paper
"In Felguerez's paintings, it is very apparent that the he is quite fond of abstractionism. His work, on this media and beyond, is constantly exploring and playing with the primary geometrical shapes like the circle, square and triangle. Around the early seventies, the computer began to influence Manuel's work. The paintings produced by the artist around this time were almost mechanical looking in their composition. Color schemes usually contained a mechanical grayish background color, which was perceived to have derived from his interest in the growing world of computer-generated graphics. Also found in many of these earlier works was the design principle of rhythm and repetition while remaining unified."

Tags:oil, canvas, ancestors, india, melanesia