#artcommentary

The renaissance was just everyone jumping on the band wagon of using bright colours to depict bible stories in order to convince the Church to keep giving them money

"Little girl in blue armchair" Mary cassatt (1878) vs "the boating party" (1891) Mary cassatt Ah Mary Cassatt, an american girl in paris, one of the great ladies of the impressionist movement. Sadly, traditionally women did not get the recognition they deserved from the art world *cough* the patriarchy *cough* they also lacked the same opportunities or respect as their male counterparts (fun fact: women were not allowed to use live models) Cassatt is one lady that overcame these setbacks and managed to make it in the art world. Also she was besties with Degas which sounds like a squad I'd wanna be a part of. Her paintings give a rare authentic glimpse into the lives of women, particularly the "modern" women of the time. She also painted them in relation to their children, despite remaining unmarried and childless herself. #art #dc #nationalgallery #nationalgalleryofart #marycassatt #impressinism #impressionistart #womeninart #arthistory #artcommentary

"Calm Sea" by Gustave Courbet (1866) Courbet is heralded as one of the leaders of the realist movement, which launched all modern painting as we know it. He is chiefly known for his masterpiece "Burial at Ornans" (you can find it in later posts) but I think this beach scene is quite interesting (and less dark). Part of what caused a revolution in painting in the 1800's was the invention of zinc paint tubes. Now, painters could actually transport their materials in order to paint on location unlike before where they had to just rely on memory. We can imagine Courbet venturing out to the banks of the English Channel one morning in order to create this calm, serene scene we see here. #art #dc #nationalgallery #nationalgalleryofart #courbet #realist #realism #arthistory #artcommentary (at National Gallery of Art)

Excerpt from @authormmartin Artsy.net blog