Head Drawings

Jessie

This head drawing shows great progress from the first head drawing done in this class. While the image is somewhat skewed and looks a little flat, the features are proportional. The image also holds some resemblance to the model.

Figure Drawings

 These are two of the last figurative drawings. The one at left is the last one. In my opinion, it is the most successful and shows the most progress.

Iconology

Vermeer - Girl With a Pearl Earring 

The date of completion is unknown for this piece although it is estimated to have been around 1665. According to some sources it is unknown as to whether this painting was commissioned and the figure in the piece is also unknown.

The girls intense gaze captures the viewers eye. This is an unconventional portrait, although it is beautifully done.

James Abbot MacNeil Whistler - Portrait of My Mother: Arrangement in Gray and Black

This painting of the artist's mother was done in 1871. His mother posed for the painting. There are varying stories behind the piece: one being that another model did not show, and his mother stood in. Another being that he had wanted to paint his mother standing, but she was uncomfortable.

Thomas Lawrence - Sarah Goodin Barett Moulton: "Pinkie"
 1794

Sarah Goodin Barett Moulton was the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner. The painting was commissioned by her grandmother around the time the girl left her home to go to school. She died only a year after the painting was completed.

Frans Hals - The Laughing Cavalier
1624

While the figure in this painting is unknown, it is interesting that the figure is not actually laughing. The shape of his moustache creates this illusion.

John Singer Sargent - Madame X
1884

The woman pictured, Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau was the wife of a wealthy socialite. She was rumored to have had many infidelities, and in the original painting, her left dress strap was around her shoulder. This, however, was too suggestive and so it had to be changed.

The painting was done at the request of the artist.

Foreground, Middleground, Background

Foreground - the parts of a piece that appear closest to the viewer

Middleground - the portion of a piece that appears in the middle, usually seems to be the focus of a piece

Background - the portions of a piece that appear to be furthest from the viewer

Cezanne - Landscape Near Aix, the Plain of the Arc River

In this landscape by Cezanne, the foreground would be the rocks and bushes closest to the viewer. The middle ground would be the trees. The background would be the mountains, hills and the sky.

Picture Plane

Picture plan - the actual surface upon which a painting is painted

Michelangelo - The Creation of Man

In this case, the actual ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is the picture plane. 

Post - Modernism

Post-Modernism - an art movement considered to have been developed in the aftermath of modernism
 - intermedia, installation art, contemporary art, and multimedia are all considered to be post-modern

 Roy Lichtenstein - Whaam!

Roy Lichtenstein's pop art would also be considered post-modern.

Modernism

Modernism -  a movement in art revolting against conservative values of realism
 - during the late 19th and 20th centuries

Van Gogh - Portrait of Pere Tanguy

One of the early pieces of modern art.

Crosshatching

Crosshatching - the use of criss-crossing lines to show shape and shading

Hendrick Goltzius - The Massacre of the Innocent

Goltzius uses crosshatching lines to show not only the values of the forms, but also the shapes of the muscles.

Foreshortening

Foreshortening - the illusion that objects decrease in size as they increase in distance from the viewer (and vice versa)

Andrea Mantenga - The Lamentation of Christ

This is a classic example of foreshortening. The entire body of the figure is portrayed in such a way that it is necessary for the artist to distort the body so to appear accurate.

Iconology

Iconology - the study of the meaning contained within the of a particular work of art

 Caravaggio - The Crucifixion of St Peter

This image contains the icon of St Peter, but it also shows the symbolic act of him being hanged on the cross upside down. He did not want to be hanged in the same manner as Christ, and so along with the significance of the portrayal of the figures, this also shows the significance of humility.

Iconography

Iconography - the portrayal of well known individuals in art, usually in a portrait style
 - the study of people or symbols depicted in a work of arm

Giovanni Boldini - Portrait of Alexander Harrison

This portrait shows the artist, Alexander Harrison.

Monochromatic Color Scheme

Monochromatic color scheme - use of different values (shades and tints) of a single color

Picasso - The Tragedy

Picasso uses variations of the color blue for this composition. The color also helps to convey the emotions portrayed in the image.

Analogous Color Scheme

Analogous color scheme - the use of colors that are next to each other on the color wheel

Monet - Water Lilies, Green Reflection, Left Part

 Monet uses a combination of dark blues, greens, light greens, and yellows: all of which are next to one another on the color wheel. This creates a very calming effect which is similar to the feelings of the actual content of the work.

Complementary Color Scheme

Complementary color scheme -  the use of colors that are opposite of one another on the color wheel

Henri Matisse - The Dance

In this painting, Matisse used blue and orange, complementary colors. The contrasting colors creates a strong effect.

Contour Line

Contour lines - lines used to define outline definition as well as elevation (such as in mapping)

Alexander Calder - Horse Tricks

This piece uses line to define the figure of the horse and the women. Line is the sole source of any description in this piece: characteristics of a true contour line drawing. 

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro - " The arrangement of light and dark elements in a pictorial work of art."

 
St Joseph the Carpenter - Georges de la Tour


This piece shows the stark contrast between the illuminated light on the child's face, and the darkness behind the man. The arrangement of light in this image guides the viewer's eye to be attracted to the child's face.

Pentimento

Pentimento (according to the online dictionary) - "An underlying image in a painting, as an earlier painting, part of a painting, or original draft, that shows through, usually when the top layer of paint has become transparent with age."

This painting of Queen Elizabeth I was done by an unknown artist in the late 16th century.

Around her hand it appears that there was originally something other than what she is currently holding. Sources claim that she was originally holding a coiled snake and it was painted over to show the nosegay that she is holding now.

(http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/5028)

Hans Hoffman: The Studio (1950)

"It is not the form that dictates the color, but the color that brings out the form."

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."

This particular piece uses color and basic shapes to describe the space of a studio room. There is a distinct stool in the lower right and a possible corner of a canvas in the top left. 

Hans Hoffman's first quotation reiterates the importance of the use of color in describing shapes. He uses bright colors that contrast one another such that they describe forms around the space. He also uses negative space to describe shapes (such as the stool). 

His second quotation correlates to the simplicity in this piece. The only real distinct shape is the stool, the rest of the shapes are left to interpretation. However, according to Hoffman, the rest of the shapes are the "necessary," and in this piece he emphasizes their existence and allows them to speak.