art history

The Kiss . Gustav Klimt. 1907–1908 C.E. Oil and gold leaf on canvas. Most famous Klimt So much gold, hard to think of it as a non religious; suggested a sense of transcendence Tile, patterning; halo; linear patterns on male form contrast with those of the woman’s whose are curvilinear Figures seem lost in the intensity/eternity of this kiss; abstraction of a universal experience; fulfillment and perfection Bodies not present, cloaked; woman is leaning, represents her passivity, receiving that kiss; deep interior feeling, her eyes closed; her fingers are delicately touching his Sense of male’s physical power; strength of his neck, intensity of his desire; aestheticized  Little of human form; richly designed patterning; all consuming love; passion; gold leaf reminiscent of Byzantine mosaics 

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon . Pablo Picasso. 1907 C.E. Oil on canvas. A street associated with prostitution; a brothel Cubism is a radical break from the traditions of the Renaissance; chiaroscuro, linear perspective, manipulation of light are irrelevant Picasso was in love with illusionism, here he destroys it Ideas about sexuality, confrontational painting Women look at us directly, engage the viewer No stylistic coherence; many styles Figures are really close to us; no space behind or between some shadow, some highlighting; deconstruction of three dimensional form.  Can art be raw, ugly?  African masks represent danger France’s colonialism; France had large possessions from Africa; a rtists knew very little of the cultures these works came from Expresses flatness; visual language to represent modern culture.  First cubist work; no alluring poses; dichotomy in painting; others lightly painted, others roughly; multiple views expressed at the same time;...

The Scream. Edvard Munch. 1893 C.E. Tempera and pastels on cardboard. E dvard Munch’s The Scream may be the most iconic human figure in the history of Western art. Its androgynous, skull-shaped head, elongated hands, wide eyes, flaring nostrils and ovoid mouth have been ingrained in our collective cultural consciousness.  Swirling blue landscape and fiery orange and yellow sky. The various renditions show the artist’s creativity and his interest in experimenting with the possibilities to be obtained across an array of media, while the work’s subject matter fits with Munch’s interest at the time in themes of relationships, life, death, and dread.  The Scream is in fact a surprisingly simple work, in which the artist utilized a minimum of forms to achieve maximum expressiveness.  The bridge, a landscape of shoreline/lake, and the sky, which is activated with curving lines in tones of orange, yellow, red, and blue-green.  Foreground and background blend int...

The Burghers of Calais . Auguste Rodin. 1884–1895 C.E. Bronze. Emotions of abandonment, loneliness, devastation.  Rodin was commissioned by the French city of Calais to create a sculpture that commemorated the heroism of Eustache de Saint-Pierre during the dreadful Hundred Years’ War between England and France.  We see six men covered only in simple layers of tattered sackcloth; their bodies appearing thin and malnourished with bones and joints clearly visible.  Each man is a burgher, or city councilmen, of Calais, and each has their own stance and identifiable features.  None of them are making eye contact with the men beside them. Some figures have their heads bowed or their faces obscured by raised hands, while others try to stand tall with their eyes gazing into the distance.  They are drawn together not through physical or verbal contact, but by their slumped shoulders, bare feet, and an expression of utter anguish. King Edward III made a deal ...