AChat Forum
Off-Topic => Quizz, Fav TV, Fav Music, Fav Films, Books... => Topic started by: Tift on February 09, 2021, 01:53:37 PM
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Art For Art's Sake
Place a photo of and write about any work of art that you like; that is important to you and why;
what it means to you, why you love it. Personal perceptions being the main purpose of this,
so please use your own words to say why you chose the work. Your comments can be as short
or reasonably long as you like; back it up with some basic looked-up details like dates etc.
but please, not ready-made stuff from the web.
(The intention is to complement other threads linked to art, this just being a little more specific -
perhaps encourage people to look up the larger images and further details which are not
possible on this forum)
Jan Porcellis (1580-1632)
Ships in a Storm on a Rocky Coast (1614 - 1618)
Rembrandt van Rijn owned the original oil of this seascape and hung it in his hallway
where he could see it everyday. He was forced to sell it when he went bankrupt.
I love seascapes and have an A4 photo of it stuck on my kitchen door so I can see
what van Rijn saw every day. Daft I know, but so what?
(https://i.imgur.com/4lpeGOq.jpg?1)
Tintoretto - Self Portrait
Jacapo Robusti .. his father was a dyer so Jacapo became known as Tintoretto.
This self-portrait (c.1547 in his late twenties) simply strikes me with those big eyes
looking right out at you, almost cartoon eyes (cartoon was the name given to artists
initial sketches) ...what's he thinking ?
(https://i.imgur.com/98aJm6l.jpg?1)
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The Train To Heaven Wroclaw, Poland
Just an incredible idea that comes off beautifully.
(It is a relic of the Nazi era in Poland
is 70 feet high and weighs 90 tons)
(https://i.imgur.com/IUtvpiq.jpg?1)
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detail from The Marriage at Cana by Veronese c.1563
The detail of this painting is incredibly clear and the colours just brilliant ...
the clothes of the man standing on the right have such fine details.
The painter, Veronese, is the man seated dressed in white with fine
yellow leggings playing the stringed instrument. His master, Titian is sat
next to him playing the bass and dressed in bright red.
The detail of this painting is as clear as a photograph.
(https://i.imgur.com/ywCKoLV.jpg?1)
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Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525-1530 - 1569)
Winter Landscape with Ice-skaters and Bird-trap (1565)
Bruegel's winter scenes always have ravens in them.
(He was in the first generation of painters not to make
religion the natural subject of painting & never painted portraits-
-from wiki)
(https://i.imgur.com/xsTKRif.jpg?2)
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The Three Graces is a 2nd century AD Roman copy of the original Greek statue
and the French currently have it in the Louvre plundered by that tyrant Bonaparte.
The contours of the three figures are perfectly formed. I know nothing about the
Three Graces (without looking it up) except that it's incredibly lifelike and that
one of them had a chariot drawn by lionesses which roared out in pain as she
used her whip on them. (Maybe her name was Corina)
(https://i.imgur.com/eVo3Gky.jpg?1)
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Emily Carr (1871-1945)
Wild Lilies painted when she was only 22
need say no more
(One of the first painters in Canada to adopt a
Modernist and Post-Impressionist style - as per wiki)
(https://i.imgur.com/nj8J96v.jpg?1)
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Piet Mondrian's Trees
The Red Tree (1908-1910)
Always think of this as blue but the artist knows best
like most things you either see it or you don't
(https://i.imgur.com/l5kV4UG.jpg?1)
Trees on the Gein: Moonrise (1908)
(https://i.imgur.com/6hqfKNG.jpg?4)
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Pietro Torrigiano broke Michel Agnolo's nose in a fit of jealousy
at the academy of Lorenzo dei Medici in Florence when both were
students of art (Michel Agnolo was anglicized to Michaelangelo).
Torrigiano went into voluntary exile while Agnolo went through life with a broken nose.
(https://i.imgur.com/6RD4afM.jpg?1)
Torrigiano arrived in the London of Henry VIII and succeeded in winning
a contract for £1500 to make the tomb of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey.
The contract read to "make and work well, cleanly, surely, workmanly, curiously
and substantially a very special artwork".
Torrigiano conceived and designed a work of white marble and cast bronze
and introduced for the first time concepts of modern style to a largely medieval Britain.
Cherubs made their first appearance and Torrigiano's work slowly started the British "renaissance".
(https://i.imgur.com/ho0wRof.jpg?1)
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Something has always drawn me to things Scandinavian, possibly from a book I found on a shelf at home when I was around 6 or 7 years old filled with tales from Norse mythology. I think maybe this sparked an interest that has stayed with me since, my interest being drawn beyond the deeds of the Allfather and Thor to exploring the culture and history of the region, especially (since I'm a lover of music) to the folk songs and the music ultimately inspired by that.
Arne Vinje Gunnerud was a Norwegian sculptor born in Oslo in 1930. He drew on early Scandinavian/Viking artistic tradition for several of his works.
He also created the War Memorial 'Pax', situated near the Lindesnes lighthouse in Norway, to commemorate the sinking of the MS Palatia in 1942.
The sculpture below, which I used to have as the background on my computer and have a small framed print of is titled 'Fenris Will Break Free' (Fenrisulven Vil Bryte Seg Løs) and is located in Tokyo.
(https://i.imgur.com/gGGPzUe.jpg?1)
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The pendant pictured below is similar to one that I have and is of a style of Viking art called 'Jellinge', named for the animal decoration found on a cup in the burial mound of King Gorm from approx. AD 958.
The Jellinge style is characterised by S-shaped animals with their heads in profile and with ribbon-shaped bodies, spiral hips, “pigtails” and curling upper lips.
(https://i.imgur.com/QcaFbZ3.jpg?1)
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Quseir 'Amra
(a desert castle in Jordan built between 723 and 743 and is important
for having the earliest examples of Islamic art - wiki)
Islamic art is based on geometric patterns which is halal i.e. permissible.
Portrayals of real life subjects were forbidden but a few early frescoes survive
at Quseir 'Amra of deer and a semi-naked dancer
(https://i.imgur.com/0hR3RrG.jpg?1)
(https://i.imgur.com/udRcBFk.jpg?1)
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Lisbon Street Art
Following the revolution of April 25, 1974 there was an explosion of political murals,
and today artistic graffiti is sponsored by the City Council.
There are dozens of murals .. take a look through the link ...
https://www.lisbonlux.com/magazine/lisbon-street-art.html
This fox and racoon were created combining painting and sculpture,
using old tyres, bumpers, computer parts and other discarded stuff by Bordal II.
(https://i.imgur.com/Skc30aZ.jpg?1)
(https://i.imgur.com/T8iIGfP.jpg?1)
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(https://i.imgur.com/tHsF1ap.png?1)
(https://i.imgur.com/yaUcAXT.png?3)
(https://i.imgur.com/JlITGxr.jpg?1)
(https://i.imgur.com/666HcoB.jpg?1)
(https://i.imgur.com/OfHazBi.jpg?1)
The above piece, "Confetti Death", was created by a Miami contemporay artist, Typoe.
His work most often focuses on the tension and differences between the darkness of the urban underground and the glittering, shimmering 'bling' of celebrity.
Evoking humour, pathos and gravitas his work has sometimes been described as "memento mori with a smile".
His work spans many different disciplines and often includes diverse materials such as gunpowder, fire, plastic, spray paint and found objects.Perhaps a good description of him and his work is on his own site : ""the messenger that while laughing, points to hypocrisy and excess while announcing the melancholy of time lost".
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Frances I of France (reign 1515-1547) was a great patron of the arts, best known
for bringing the goldsmith and sculptor Benevenuto Cellini to work for him.
The most well known of these works is a gold salt cellar that Cellini describes
in his autobiography which is best known for being full of fiction except for his
descriptions of the creations of his major works. This is how Cellini describes his work:-
"... it was oval in form, standing about two-thirds of a cubit (12 inches)
wrought in solid gold, and worked entirely from the chisel. ...it represented
Sea and Earth, seated, with their legs interlaced ... The Sea carried a trident
in his right hand, and in his left I put a ship of delicate workmanship to hold the salt.
Below him were his four sea-horses, fashioned like our horses, from the head to the
front hoofs; all the rest of their body, from the middle backwards, resembled a fish,
and the tails of these creatures were agreeably interwoven. Above this group the Sea
sat throned in an attitude of pride and dignity; around him were many kinds of fishes
and other creatures of the ocean. The water was represented by waves, and enamelled
in the appropriate colour".
(https://i.imgur.com/Mp4v3ue.jpg?1)
"I had portrayed Earth under the form of a very handsome woman, holding her
horn of plenty, entirely nude like the male figure; in her left hand I placed a little temple of
Ionic architecture, most delicately wrought which was meant to contain the pepper.
Beneath her were the handsomest living creatures which the earth produces; and the
rocks were partly enamelled, partly left in gold.
The whole piece reposed on a base of ebony, properly proportioned, but with a projecting
cornice, upon which I introduced four golden figures in rather more than half-relief.
They represented Night, Day, Twilight and Dawn."
(https://i.imgur.com/OlSI00T.jpg?1)
"When I exhibited this piece to His Majesty he uttered a loud cry of astonishment
and could not satiate his eyes with gazing at it. Then he bade me take it back to my house,
saying he would tell me at the proper time what I should have to do with it. So I carried it
home, and sent at once to invite several of my best friends; we dined gaily together, placing
the salt-cellar in the middle of the table, and thus we were the first to use it."
(This last sentence should be taken with a pinch of salt)
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A detail from the fresco of Original Sin by Michaelengelo on the ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel which looks suspiciously like the guy is about to have or
has just had a blow job. Someone commented it's quite a small cock for that
but just think that such an artwork was allowed to remain on the ceiling of the
chapel for so long without painting over or the ubiquitous fig leaf. The other
frescoes like the Creation of Adam get far more attention than this but it's good
to see the master's sense of humour remains in tact.
(https://i.imgur.com/zTFgamP.png?1)
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Simonetta Vespucci (1453 – 26 April 1476), nicknamed la bella Simonetta,
was an Italian noblewoman from Genoa, the wife of Marco Vespucci of Florence
and the cousin-in-law of Amerigo Vespucci (from whose name the term "America" is derived).
She was known as the greatest beauty of her age in Italy, and was allegedly the model for
many paintings by Sandro Botticelli, Piero di Cosimo, and other Florentine painters. (from Wiki)
Portrait of a Woman by the workshop of Sandro Botticelli, early-mid 1480s
(https://i.imgur.com/wPTq0v4.jpg?1)
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The Whistle of a Jacket (1946)
by Jack Butler Yeats (1871-1957)
The paint of this free form horse and jockey was slapped on in thick layers
(impasto) which gives it a texture as well .. the Christie's catalogue read...
"Yeats uses the image of a wildly galloping horse and jockey silhouetted
against the horizon to record the transcendent state of ultimate freedom."
Yeat's himself said he was breaking from the confines of traditional lines.
I know which I prefer
(https://i.imgur.com/LYFOyG3.jpg?1)
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(https://i.imgur.com/XHYNgpb.jpg?2)
These pieces speak for themselves
there a many more worth looking at
(https://i.imgur.com/Ldupk9K.jpg?2)
(https://i.imgur.com/cEkvXSl.jpg?1)
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This is Fra.Fillipo Lippi (c.1406 - 1469) .. He was ordained as a priest at 19
but was too busy becoming an artist and womaniser.
This self-portrait speaks for itself.
Robert Browning summed him up in the first lines of his verse:
I am poor brother Lippo, by your leave!
You need not clap your torches to my face.
Zooks, what's to blame? you think you see a monk!
What, 'tis past midnight, and you go the rounds,
And here you catch me at an alley's end
Where sportive ladies leave their doors ajar?
(https://i.imgur.com/YLpH4VD.jpg?1)
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A favourite painting only for the story behind it. In the War of 1812
between the United States and the United Kingdom the British Army
marched into Washington D.C. on August 24, 1814 and the President, James Madison
fled from the Presidential Mansion. The British officers ate the President's dinner,
drank his best wine then allowed the enlisted men to drink from the President's
wine cellar before setting fire to the place.
The 200th anniversary in August 2014 was totally ignored by the BBC and CNN
but not by me. The wind was right so I had a big bonfire to celebrate and I even
did a little dance around it. (Well it was a special occasion)
When the building was restored a lot of the charred timbers were painted white
so that the building became known as the White House and I always have a wry smile
whenever I see it on the tv.
(Of course The United States got their 'revenge' when Andrew Jackson led the
U.S. army at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 and beat the British army rather soundly.)
(https://i.imgur.com/MUDAbPb.jpg?1)
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The dust storms of the 1930s moved millions of tons of topsoil across
America’s heartland, wiping out farms and ranches that had stood
for generations. Alexandre Hogue witnessed the mass migration
and the damage to the country. He produced many paintings on this theme
and this one is called Mother Earth Laid Bare
(https://i.imgur.com/XEONmQc.jpg?1)
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This is a preparatory sketch (cartoon) of the archangel Gabriel by Raphael
which drew me instantly - the why of it I cannot say as I am no art critic
especially of Raphael, I don't have the words.
Poor Raphael died aged 37 and was probably diabetic. He had a very long
sex session with a female friend and rather overdid it and had a hypo,
slowly going comatose. His friends were called for to revive him and instead
of giving him the equivalent of a Red Bull they drew blood as was the
custom of the day (1520) and so poor Raphael passed away far too early
for his art and his energetic sex life.
(https://i.imgur.com/yHxXeWQ.jpg?1)
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Paul Signac (1863-1935)
Signac painted large studio canvases from sketches that are
carefully composed of small, mosaic-like squares of color quite
different from the tiny, variegated dots introduced and used by Seurat.
He loved sailing and based himself at St Tropez. It is worth while
taking a look a larger image than this for the better colours and
overall image.
Saint-Tropez, the Storm, 1895
(https://i.imgur.com/r8bkjKn.jpg?1)
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This is Bronzino's Portrait of a Lady in Green
(c.1530-32) - the identity of the sitter is unknown.
Her face resembles very closely a woman I knew
for many years; the most elegant Lady I've known.
The original is at Windsor Castle having been
bought by Charles I in his great spending spree
when he bought the entire collection of the
Duchesse of Mantua for £30,000 .. after his
execution (1649) the collection was sold off or
given away to pay debtors. In 2019 the collection
was largely reformed for an exhibition in
London which had to close quite soon because
of covid. She is on my kitchen door where I
quite often talk to her and get her disapproving
look when I dance like a loonie or swear too much.
(https://i.imgur.com/ugMj7gS.jpg?1)
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Juliette Recamier (1777-1849) by Francois Gerard (1805)
There are all sorts of generalisations about Mme Recamier
known for being a Parisian socialite, a great beauty and
"icon of neo-classicism" (what rot) her best description
comes from the memoirs of the Comtesse de Boigne ...
"Mme Recamier was a true type of womanhood as made by
the Creator for the happiness of man (no comment, this was
written mid-19th century) She had all the charm, virtue, the
inconsistency, and the weakness of the perfect woman. If she
had been a mother her destiny would have been complete;
the world would have heard less of her, and she would have
been happier. ... she was obliged to find compensation in society.
Mme Recamier was the incarnation of coquetry; her talent in this
respect amounted to genius, and she was the admirable leader of
a detestable school. Every woman who attempted to imitate her
has become an object of scandal or disgrace, whereas she always
emerged unscathed from the furnace into which it was her
delight to plunge. The fact is not to be explained by any coldness
of heart, for her flirtations were actuated by kindness and not
by vanity. She was much more anxious to be loved than to be
admired, and this sentiment was so natural to her that she always
had some affection and much sympathy to give her numerous
adorers in exchange for the admiration which she strove to attract;
hence her coquetry avoided the usual accompanying selfishness,
and was not absolutely barren, if I may use the term."
(https://i.imgur.com/GMj5UZW.jpg?1)
"Every one has praised her incomparable beauty, her energetic
benevolence, and her gentle courtesy; many people have praised
her lively wit. But very few were able to discover beneath the
easy manners of her social intercourse the loftiness of her mind
and the independence of her character, the impartiality of her
judgement and the accuracy of her intuition. I have sometimes
seen her dominated; I never knew her to be influenced."
(https://i.imgur.com/FSipkzb.jpg?1)
She is bound to have had real love affairs but was far too
discreet for anyone to know.
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Thomas Hart Benson (1889 - 1975)
The Race
Thomas Hart Benson was an American scene painter known
for his murals and portraits depicting everyday life,
particularly in the Midwest. He was also a teacher
and his most famous student, Jackson Pollock said
Benton's traditional teachings gave him something to rebel against.
Christies the auctioneers give the Race the following blurb:
"Benton’s treatment of this subject matter points to an
underlying social commentary on the tension between rural
and city life and the disparity between idealized imagery
and harsh reality."
but really it is a simple comment on progress.
(https://i.imgur.com/cT9igju.jpg?1)
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This is Isabella d'Este. She became the Duchesse of Mantua
and a great patron of the arts in 16th century Italy.
The painting is the Venus of Urbino by Titian (c.1532-34).
The face is that of Isabella; Titian only met her the once.
The body is a composite of several other women.
The significance of this painting (of another female nude
fiddling with her bits), is that it is the first where her eyes
are looking right at you, all previous nudes always
looked away, as if affecting some kind of modesty.
(https://i.imgur.com/GZoHXzj.jpg?1)
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Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
(1906 - 8 feet x 7.5 feet)
I loved this the first time I saw it, I still do, but cannot say why.
It was conceived in a small studio in a wooden building
known as Le Bateau-Lavoir in Montparnasse in 1906.
The Demoiselles was first shown publicly at an exhibition
in Paris in 1916 It was here that the painting, which was
originally known as Le Bordel Philosophique, was given it's name;
Picasso had named it Le Bordel d'Avignon (the Brothel of Avignon)
in 1912 and he did not like the name given by the exhibition organiser.
He preferred Las chicas de Avignon (The Girls of Avignon).
It was sold in 1916 cheaply for 25,000 francs which annoyed Picasso greatly.
It was sold on in 1931 for 150,000 and then on to the
Museum of Modern Art in NY in 1939 who still have it.
(notes from John Goodman 1988 and Wiki)
(https://i.imgur.com/0cXJxcr.jpg?1)
and to give an idea of it's actual size .....
(https://i.imgur.com/6grHhoY.jpg?1)