A study of Jean Metzinger, the French artist painting at the beginning of the 20th century, incorporates a number of ‘isms in his work. Early in his career, his influences were those of the post-impressionists, in particular, the works of Seurat. Pointillism came out of the color studies of the time and gradually developed into … Continue reading
Category Archives: Art
Mid Century Modern art is featured on these pages.
The Velazquez Prize: Finishing
I have decided to give an account of where I have left off in examining the painting techniques and completing a painting using these methods. Unfortunately, by the time I was ready to do a large and significant picture in the manner of Velazquez, I had open heart surgery which took months to recover from. … Continue reading
Wall Art Using Basic Shapes
I created a blog about wall art and treatments for the website diymodernfurniture.com and thought I would include a link to the full article here. I thought some might enjoy or find edifying some of the artistic qualities of the designs, many of which would fall under the appellation of Minimalism. The works certainly show … Continue reading
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
As part of my personal holiday traditions, I have arranged for guitar a piece from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. This was taken from studying the score and reducing it, in a rather idiosyncratic way, to piano and, then, to guitar from this reduction. Unfortunately, I had all sorts of … Continue reading
The Five Greatest Creations
In spite of the grand title of this article and the very arguable point of any work of art objectively placed in value above others, the exercise of the examination of the works most personally influential provokes such an examination in others. The following list is totally biased and as subjective as I can possibly … Continue reading
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte.
A Brief Look at Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte: Art Elements The various elements of this painting form carefully balanced verticals all across the canvas, repeated with the trunks of trees and the rather stiff figures. Partly responsible for the sedate atmosphere, these verticals support the verdant background, … Continue reading
The Gross Clinic: A Technical Examination.
The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins is considered one of the best images produced in the US during the 19th century. A lot of that estimation is based upon the foundation in which Eakins constructed the picture. Thomas Eakins painted this picture as a portrait of a distinguished American surgeon, Samuel D. Gross, who pioneered conservative surgery; … Continue reading
Sandro Botticelli’s Venus and Mars
This picture by Botticelli has been given the name Venus and Mars purportedly, because of its dimensions, it is meant as an insert to a piece of furniture such as a bed, and has certain attributes that have led scholars to this conclusion about the subject matter. To refresh the memory of those not familiar … Continue reading
Samuel Barber’s Adagio
Among the greatest works of sophisticated music, Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings ranks among the prized gems of human creation. Intensely moving, surprisingly ordered and logical, this work of art reaches beyond ordinary entertainment or intellectual satisfaction to a deep emotional level. Rather than simply relate the history and facts about the Adagio, I will … Continue reading
Andre’ Derain’s Mountains at Collioure
Mountains at Collioure is a painting by the Fauvist, Andre’ Derain created in 1905. Derain worked closely with another famous Fauvist, Henry Matisse. The “wild beasts”, which is the English translation of the French word, Fauves, was essentially a transitional movement that followed in the footsteps of the Post-Modernists and rejected the … Continue reading