the vitality of art

“Fuseli, a native of Switzerland, began his career in England as a history painter. He developed an expressionistic style composed of a unique blend of influences—German romanticism, the monumental vision of Michelangelo, and the physical and psychological exaggerations of the 16th–century Italian mannerists.

Fuseli's own pessimism and fascination with the extremes of human passion are evident. He heightened the intensity of this scene from Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus by placing Oedipus and his children in a dark, shallow space. The tragedy of the father's curse is played out through the gestures of the four figures. Polynices, who had expelled his blind father from Thebes and left him to live as a beggar, has come to ask his father's support in overthrowing his brother. Oedipus, enraged at his son's request, stretches out his accusing arms and levies his dreadful curse, by which each son would die at the hands of the other. Ismene, weak and despairing, kneels with her head on her father's knee. Antigone, whose strength and determination have kept her father alive, is highlighted above the terrible drama as she reaches out to protect her brother with one hand and restrain Oedipus with the other. Her gesture, however heroic, is futile.”

“Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s grand-scale prints are considered some of the most remarkable etchings of the 18th century. In over a thousand plates, he masterfully incorporated a broad range of lines, from delicately fine details to deep incisions that emboss the paper when printed.

A self-proclaimed architect, the Venetian-born Piranesi moved to Rome when he was twenty and made a profitable livelihood selling his etchings of the city’s landmarks to tourists. He captured the coexistence of modern life and idealized antiquities, such as this view of the Arch of Titus, built in AD 81, which towers over pedestrians below.”

“In this powerful painting in the Gallery of the Statues and Paintings of the Uffizi, (c. 1620), Artemisia Gentileschi portrays the moment that Holofernes is killed by the hand of the determined and powerful Judith. The overall effect is both powerful and frightening: the drunk corpulent general is lying on the bed, his head grasped by his hair and the sword plunged into his neck. Furthermore, Artemisia did not shy away from adding the gory detail of blood spurting so profusely as to stain Judith's breast.

The painting was completed in Rome where Artemisia returned after spending seven years in Florence and where she was able to appreciate Caravaggio's works once more. The naturalistic “virility” of the work provoked strong reactions on its arrival in Florence and the painting was denied the honor of being exhibited in the Gallery; in fact, it was only with great difficulty and the help of her friend Galileo Galilei that the painter managed to extract the payment, with a significant delay, that had been agreed with Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici, who died in 1621 shortly after the great canvas was completed.

Today, this painting also represents the human and professional tale of a woman who chose to be an artist in an era dominated by men; in this she succeeded, working in the courts of Rome, Florence and Naples, traveling to England and finally becoming the first woman to enter the Academy of Art and Design in Florence.”

“Vermeer is well known for revealing natural scenery of everyday life during the 17th century throughout his artwork. The scene exposes a woman sleeping against a table, gently resting against her arm. The artist had strategically placed the source of light to reflect against the woman to illuminate her presence.”

“The style of the painting followed the realist method the dominated Europe for centuries. Vermeer showcased these classic characteristics throughout the artwork by displaying the soft characteristics of the woman. The light detail is displayed which it softly blends through Vermeer's soft brush stroke.

Vermeer is best known for his portraits of girls and woman as he was captivated by their natural form and beauty throughout his life. These pieces were often not erotic but instead gently manifested the female character during the 17th century. The exquisite attention to detail had regained Vermeer popularity within the future as a rediscovered artist.”

“The French painter—also known as Madame Le Brun—is considered to have placed her style somewhere between that of a Rococo and Neoclassical artist. As the daughter of an artist, the talent for painting was seemingly in her blood. Already as a teenager, she was recognized for her aptitude and soon began portraying famous people, having learned from masters such as Gabriel François Doyen, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, and Joseph Vernet.

King Louis XVI of France invited the 23-year-old artist to Versailles, where she began portraying Marie Antoinette, becoming her favorite portraitist for over ten years. During six years, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun created more than 30 paintings of the queen and her family, becoming the official painter of the royal family until their demise during the French Revolution. Thanks to the artist’s delicate paintings, Marie Antoinette was able to promote an image of herself as a loving wife and mother, having been accused by critics of sexual infidelity, claims which appear to be substantiated by contemporary research.”

“It is noteworthy that Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun was one of the very few artists of her time who could support herself with her work as an esteemed and sought-after painter. During her travels, she was inducted into the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, became a member of the Société pour l’Avancement des Beaux-Arts in Geneva, and joined the Academy of Fine Arts of Saint Petersburg.

The women in her paintings are quite idealized. All look blossoming and beautiful, introduced to the public in rich colors. More than 650 portraits and 200 landscapes painted by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun survive.”

AN: To avoid the wrath of Tumblr, black bars have been photoshopped in to censor the nudity present in the actual painting. If I hadn’t added the black bars, Tumblr would flag this post as being “sexually explicit”: a description that I feel does not accurately represent this painting. I could have chosen to not make a post about this painting, but El Greco was an extraordinary artist and, from his body of work, this piece is one of my favorites. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled reading.

“In his haunting painting Laocoön, El Greco depicts a violent Greek myth as if it had taken place in his adopted city of Toledo, Spain. According to Virgil’s Aeneid, Laocoön, the priest of Troy, recognized the monumental wooden horse proffered by the enemy Greeks for what it was: a trick rather than a gift. Hurling his spear at it, he implored the Trojans not to pull the horse into the city. The goddess Minerva, who favored the Greeks, avenged his action by sending two serpents to kill the priest and his two sons. The Trojans, misreading the cause of Laocoön’s death, drew the horse into the city, where the Greek soldiers hidden inside it ambushed the Trojans and laid waste to Troy.

El Greco’s painting is a study of tumult and anguish. The bearded Laocoön, sprawled awkwardly on his back, wears a look of terror as he struggles to fend off a writhing serpent, jaws agape, which lunges at his head. One son lies dead behind him. The second, at left, desperately twists and strains to keep the other serpent from piercing his thigh. The wooden horse is visible in the background (pointed to by the standing son’s outstretched hand) approaching Toledo’s gates. At the far right, two unfinished standing figures, perhaps Greek gods, witness the action without intervening.

By elongating the naked bodies of Laocoön and his sons, El Greco exaggerates their corporeality even as he renders them conceptual rather than lifelike figures. The harsh lighting, heightened by the dark paint outlining the bleached bodies’ contours, plainly exposes the men’s plight and imparts a flickering, spectral quality to their freely painted flesh. The push-and-pull between the taut, overlapping, angular bodies and the arabesques formed by the serpents together with the threatening storm clouds, the unforgiving landscape, and illogically constructed space contribute to a singularly nightmarish scene of upheaval.”

“The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio depicts the moment Matthew turns away from tax collecting and toward Jesus. Caravaggio was a master of using light and contrast to convey deep messages. In this painting, the figures are dramatically lit, juxtaposing spiritual themes of good and evil.

Caravaggio was born in Milan, Italy, and lived from 1571 to 1610. He was one of the most notable Baroque painters, and the sharp contrast of light and dark in his paintings distinctly marks his art. His paintings often feature characters from myths or the Bible. He was highly skilled at painting portraits and interiors with his characteristic sense of lighting.

Caravaggio was almost 30 when he created the The Calling of Saint Matthew in 1600. The painting was Caravaggio’s first major public commission. It is made of oil paint on canvas and measures 323 x 343 cm (127 1/4 x 135 in.). He created this piece to display in the Contarelli Chapel of the Church of St. Louis of the French in Rome, Italy. This painting is still on view in the chapel today, along with two of Caravaggio’s other paintings depicting the life of Matthew. This painting is notable as it encapsulates the strengths of Baroque art. It has dramatic lighting, an emotional scene, and realistically painted figures.”

“The Temptation of St Anthony by Hieronymus Bosch tells a visual tale about the Christian monk known as Saint Anthony from Egypt or Saint Anthony the Great. He was known for living as a hermit in the desert for over a decade and was accosted by numerous demons and temptations, which are depicted in Bosch’s famous triptych painting. Saint Anthony’s temptations were common subject matter for artworks during the middle ages.”

“The left panel of The Temptation of St Anthony by Hieronymus Bosch depicts a myriad of creatures and humans alike. Some of the main figures presented here, starting in the foreground, are Saint Anthony, in an unconscious state, being supported and carried by three men, of which two appear to be monks and the other a layman. They are walking over a wooden bridge towards the right side of the composition which leads onto a ground pathway moving out of our, the viewers’, sight.”

“The central panel of The Temptation of St Anthony by Hieronymus Bosch depicts Saint Anthony as the central figure. He is in a kneeling position and his face is turned towards us, the viewers. There are several buildings around him and an assortment of human and animal figures, and some appear as hybrids of the two.”

“Looking at the right panel of The Temptation of St Anthony by Hieronymus Bosch, depicts Saint Anthony in the foreground, sitting, somewhat hunched over, on a rock with a book in his hand, which is thought to be the Bible. Saint Anthony’s face is turned to the right, towards us, the viewers, as if he is looking away from the temptation in front of him. There is a tree trunk with a split down its center and a naked woman standing in the opening, in front of Saint Anthony.”