art f200x

Romanticism The Ninth Wave (1850)  Oil on canvas, 332 x 221 cm. Ivan Konsantinovich Aivazovskiy. 1817-1900, Armenian-Russian. The Russian State Museum, Saint Petersburg. The romantic period began in the late 18th century and extended into the 19th century. It was marked by a broadened variety of movements and genres, with an overall emphasis on eliciting emotion and amplifying natural beauty. In a sense it can be seen as a response to the Enlightenment and Neo-classicalism from the Classical period that focused heavily on perfection, adherence to technical perfection and rationalism. Though it differs from Neo-classicalism in rigidity of techniques and often antique subject matter, we are able to observe similarities in the depiction of political subjects and feelings of revolution and war, or rather post-revolution.  The style of Romanticism places a large emphasis on feelings of glory and victory. We are able to see this demonstrated in The Ninth Wave by Armenian-Russian pa...

  The French Revolution Transitioning into the Classical Era of art, we are able to observe emerging social changes reflected in paintings of the time. Some of the most intriguing are that of the infamous and bloody French Revolution, whose works reflect the polarized social groups that spawned them.  The conflict was prefaced by growing dissatisfaction of the lowest class of French society ruled under royals and aristocrats, most notably King Louis the XVI and Marie Antionette . The kingdom was divided into three estates: the First Estate consisting of clergymen of the Catholic Church, the Second Estate consisting of nobility, and Third Estate consisting of everyone else, or the peasants. Each of these estates were entitled to, (or disparaged from) certain privileges in society. While the church was technically separated from the other estates, it supported the power of the Second Estate's nobility  through the policy of divine right  of the king to rule, or his...

  Rembrandt van Rijn.  The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. 1632.  Above is a work of the Baroque era titled  The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, which depicts the dissection of a male cadaver on a wooden table. There are seven onlooking men on the left side of the composition, dressed in dark robes with white ruffs on their collars. The cadaver lies on a wooden table in the center, wearing only a white cloth on his gaunt white skin. His left arm is stripped and flayed down the elbow, with forceps manipulating the muscle fibers of the inner forearm. Operating the forceps on the right is Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, clad in black with white cuffs, collar and a wide-brimmed black hat.  The work has an undoubtedly dramatic composition, utilizing chiaroscuro, or a polarizing contrast between shadow and light. The men's complexions are blushed pink with life, which serves to contrast against the corpse of the dead man in front of them. The po...

  The Flagellation of Christ. c.1455  Piero Della Francesca Oil and tempera on panel, 59 x 82 cm Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino Catholicism In the Renaissance The Flagellation of Christ painting is an example of Quattrocento, the first period of the Italian renaissance, whose name derives from the Italian word for 400, referring to the 1400s or 15th century. Many of the "Old Masters", or artistic legends originate from this period. They are highly revered for their significant styles, techniques and innovations in the culture of western art. Christianity had great influence as it was the subject and inspiration of many renaissance artists, like Piero Della Francesca, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Botticelli.  During this time in Italy, the Catholic Church reigned as the governing power, with the Pope as the head of state in Rome. A significant family, the Medicis were incredibly wealthy and powerful. According to art history website Visual Arts Cork, ...