Abstract This paper describes some famousartists 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."
Abstract In this report the author examines the photographer as an artist and what he can contribute to natural art. From the other point of view the author also examines how art has influenced photography. He cites many opinions of famousartists and photographers. The conclusion of the paper clearly communicates that in society today art and photography cannot be considered mutually exclusive.
From the Paper "Limitations in photographic technology determined the imagery left from the Civil War. Because exposure took several seconds, Brady heavily favored images that didn't move. For example, full regiments in formation often held still for the camera. Additionally, the gruesome aftermath of battles constituted the other predominant category of Civil War photos. For a country that had been reared on the adventure and glories of war portrayed in paintings, the overall impression of this rupture in the American psyche was depressingly grim, drab and nauseating."
Tags:artists, painting, museums, light, camera, studio
Abstract The fact that so many of these artists were of a military background begs the question: Are the themes and styles of English Canadian art during the decades immediately after 1759 influenced by these artist's military backgrounds? To answer this question, this paper will first discuss British artists in Canada during this time, and their backgrounds, and then proceed to an examination of two particular artists and their works.
Abstract This paper shows how Hughes and Cullen follow Du Bois? prescription in their creations of black art. The author focuses on Hughes? poem "Ballad of the Landlord" and Cullen's poem ?From the Dark Tower,? and derives his definition of Du Bois? artistic prescription from his essay ?Criteria of Negro Art.?
From the paper:
"Amidst the prevailing racial injustice during the Harlem Renaissance, W.E.B. Du Bois charges black artists to use their art to send a message to society: a message of unity to the blacks, and a message rejecting their so-called inferiority to the whites. Black art, Du Bois insisted, should be used as a weapon against racism, demonstrating blacks? worthiness of American status and their ability to conceive Beauty in their art. Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes, whether intentionally or not, followed the artistic specifications set forth by W.E.B. Du Bois in their respective creations "From the Dark Tower" and ?Ballad of the Landlord.?
Abstract This paper is a study on the changing role of the artist in European society, as seen in its case study of Antonio Canova. It asks whether increased demand for art, and increased commercialization, gave the artist greater freedom as it released him from the grip of his patron; or, whether this only subjugated him to new restrictions, those of a competitive market.
From the Paper "Before the nineteenth century artists in Europe relied almost entirely upon their patrons to finance their work. It was extremely difficult, and pretty much unheard of, for an artist to finance his own profession, and there was not a large enough market to create a piece without having a specific buyer in mind. Therefore, patrons could, and often did, exert a large influence on the outcome of the work."
Abstract This paper studies James Joyce's autobiographical tale of Stephen Dedalus. It discusses Stephen's growing self-awareness as a person and as an artist which causes him to dismiss the nationalism and Catholicism and to go to Paris to become a writer. It is a tale of the author's description's of Dedalus's history and what became of him. It includes several excerpts from the book which are analyzed.
From the Paper "If we were to concern ourselves strictly with plot, we might well say of James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man that there is none there. Not a great deal actually happens in this essentially autobiographical tale of Stephen Dedalus, and the narrative follows no clear single trajectory of cause and effect. Rather, in one of the first important uses of stream of consciousness, Joyce tells us in this short novel about Stephen's growing self-awareness as a person and as an artist, a growing self-awareness that will cause him by the end of the book to cast off the nationalism, the Catholicism and the sense of clannishness that defines other members of his father and to set off to Paris to become a writer."
Abstract Sir Charles Eastlake and Mrs. Merrifield added much, perhaps indirectly, to our knowledge of 19th century English artists' techniques. This paper examines their milieu, and how they gained interest in the painting that they wrote upon, along with their published contributions to fine art scholarship. Both authors are looked at in the light of a particular cultural and intellectual environment.
Abstract This paper contains a concise biographical background of artist and sculptor Constantin Brancusi as well as relevant information regarding his more famous works of art, including: "Endless Column" and "Gate of Kiss." The writer of this paper explores Brancusi's intense expressiveness of abstract form as well as his handling of simplistic and basic themes of nature which garnered him much respect and fame as one of the great artists of the 20th century. This paper also details Brancusi's use of stone, wood and metal, coupled with his personal background and contemporary Romanian themes that evidence his social, political and aesthetic ideas to produce works of art that led to his well-earned reputation as a revolutionary modern artist.
From the Paper "One example of a personal biographical detail that influenced Brancusi's life was his childhood in Tahiti. Although he was born in Craiova, in Southern Romania in 1876, he spent his childhood and youth in Tahiti. He was born into a large peasant family, and the family maintained its poverty throughout Brancusi's childhood. Brancusi did not go to school, but worked as a herdsman, first watching the family flock, then working for other country people in the Carpathian Mountains. Here, he learned to carve wood by fashioning tools and implements, through a popular art form making spoons, bedposts, or cheese presses, all of which were ornamented with carvings, but also for making the facades of homes."
Abstract The paper discusses the history of Antonio Gaudi, describes what influenced his life, how he developed, and his artistic works. The paper concludes that Gaudi was one of the modern artistic and architectural innovators of the twentieth century, whose ordinal vision still reverberates in the architecture and artist world today.
Outline:
Background and Formative Years
Architectural Works
From the Paper " Barcelona at the beginning of the Twentieth century has been described as a "...perfect place for a young Gaudi to thrive... ". This is largely due to the fact that Catalan independence was emerging in Barcelona as a result of the distancing from the control and authority of Madrid. This creative and independent atmosphere provided the underlying impetus and the opportunity for the original vision that Gaudi brought to architecture. There were also numerous business opportunities and projects available at the time. Furthermore, Gaudi was fortunate in having an influential entrepreneur to support his work in the wealthy industrialist, Eusebi Guell. Guell was to support and commission many of Gaudi's projects."
Tags:artistic, symbol, unconventional, sculptural, forms, Catalan, Modernism, movement
Abstract This paper analyzes this famous painting. It takes the reader on an historic journey through Van Gogh's life and how this painting reflects something personal as it is a portrait of his good friend's wife. Points analyzed about the painting include color, texture, light, technique, figure style, artistic composition and symbolism.
From the Paper "La Berceuse is a portrait of Van Gogh postman's wife Augustine Roulin in 1889. It is one of the seventeen series of portraits that included his postman, Joseph Roulin and his three children. Van Gogh struck up a friendship with the Roulins while his stay in Arles and painted them more often than anyone other than himself thus revealing that Van Gogh had a soft corner for the Roulin family and more so for Joesph Roulin himself given the fact that Joesph had a certain tenderness for him as evident from one of Van's letters to his brother Theo. Van Gogh was indebted to the Roulins in more ways than one as they readily welcomed him into their home and took care of him when he was hospitalized for cutting off his earlobe during a quarrel with another artist, Paul Gaugin. Van Gogh repaid them for their kindness by doing numerous portraits of the Roulin family."
Abstract After providing a brief overview of his life, this paper examines five works that demonstrate something of the range of his extraordinary talent and illuminate his almost preternatural ability to depict the condition of the human heart and soul ? whether his own in the many self-portraits he created or in other in the series of studies that made him one of the most popular portrait artists of Amsterdam in his own time.
From the Paper "Rembrandt himself would no doubt have been very pleased to have found out how dominant his own reputation has remained, for he was not an overly shy or modest artist. His life was in fact (especially when he was younger) defined in large measure by his ambition. He wished to be an artist whose work would in time come to rival that of other great Dutch artists such as Peter Paul Rubens. He wished not only to be a fine artist but also a famous one, and while he of course succeeded in achieving the first during his lifetime he in many ways failed to achieve the second. For while he was in demand for many years as a portrait-painter, by the end of his life he had lost many of his former patrons."
Abstract Pablo Picasso has been, without question, the single most influential artist of the early 20th century, both as a public figure and an artist. He has been credited, along with Braque, for the creation of Cubism, and his work in every other genre set the bar for his contemporaries. This paper shows that Picasso's styles, over the course of his eighty-year-long career, ranged from Neo-classicism to Cubism to Neo-expressionism. His work even influenced the great abstract painters. His work was always genius and usually controversial. The paper shows that, while his work has been accepted by the mainstream, his life remains controversial to this day.
From the Paper "External strife was also a muse for many of his greatest political works. During his Blue era, he painted the outcasts of society. When his beloved France was plunged into war, he painted one of his greatest masterpieces, the Guernica. This giant mural commemorated the slaughter of his people and condemned the rising fascist movement. He remained artistically active when Paris was over-run by the Nazis as well. While he was regularly questioned by them, and his art decried by the Nazi Party as degenerate, he was strangely never arrested or detained."
Abstract This paper presents a comparison and a contrast between "The Metamorphosis" of Gregor Samsa and the privation of "The Hunger Artist". The paper first summarizes the two stories and then takes a look at the themes of identity, family, and change running throughout the stories. This is followed by a comparison of the characters, the conflicts, and the language features.
From the Paper "Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis contains one of the most famous beginnings of any short story ever written, stating that the central protagonist, Gregor Samsa, woke one morning to discover that he had been transformed into a large cockroach. Gregor's parents, unsurprisingly, are rather distressed by this development. Despite Gregor's alarming appearance, however, they apparently recognize him. However, Gregor becomes a prisoner of his room and a prisoner of his body. He can no longer go to work. Once, he was the financial and emotion support structure of his family. Now he is reduced to scuttling around his room. He is beaten by the home's charwoman and fed by his repulsed sister Greta."
Abstract Pablo Picasso, one of the most famousartists in the history of art, was greatly concerned with social justice and the condition of man, becoming a self-avowed communist early on. This paper shows that Picasso continued to produce works of art throughout his lifetime, frequently returning to basic themes to which he continually brought new insights and methods of conveyance. The paper shows that by the time of his death at age 92, Picasso had left an indelible mark on the world of art, ensuring his place in history.
From the Paper "During his lifetime, Picasso went through a number of developmental stages including his aptly named blue, rose and Negro periods. Picasso borrowed artistic elements and gained artistic influence from varying persons and cultures, bringing them all together to create something that was uniquely his own. With Georges Braque, Picasso is credited with founding the cubist movement, in addition to being the originator of collage artwork. Picasso worked in a wide array of artistic mediums, with a seemingly boundless range and reach. While many of the themes Picasso addressed in his artwork were similar to those seen in classical painting (portraits, still lifes, landscapes, literary themes, old masters, love and death, joy and suffering, etc.) he is credited with having paved the way for art to move toward the more abstract, subliminal and subconscious. Picasso broke down convention, creating something new and revolutionary to take its place."
Abstract This paper takes a look at James Joyce's "Ulysses" which was transformed from a novel into an opera. It analyzes the impact that each of these art forms has on the work and how the format changes. It provides a background of James Joyce's life and the background to his writing the novel. Within the novel itself, the "Siren Song" chapter is analyzed.
From the paper:
"Historians with idle time on their hands occasionally may indulge in moments of wishful revisionism. ?What if,? they say, "That young dreamer named Adolph Hitler had been accepted into art school" Wouldn"t the world be different"? History is littered with celebrities who, for better or worse, had as youngsters fervently wished to be doing something different than their allotted role. Among them was one James Joyce, who, as it so happened, wanted to be a musician. If Hitler had been an artist instead, he probably would have been drawing propaganda posters for a second World War that would have persisted without his figure head. If James Joyce has been a musician, would he still have created Ulysses? At first glance, of course one must say not. This book is, after all, celebrated as one of the best modern examples of the novel -- not an opera. However, if what we look for in Ulysses is not its obviously visible shape, but rather, its messages, its rhythms and stories and symbolisms, then it is entirely possible that it would be the same creation if it were suddenly transmutated into music."
