Ned Caterson Mrs. Bohman English 7H-02 18 April 2024 Thomas Eakins’ The Gross Clinic and the horrors of daily life Could a painting invoke disgust in people, but still show a hero at work? The Gross Clinic does both of those actions and more. The Gross Clinic is considered part of the art movement called American Realism. It is considered part of American Realism because it shows Samuel Gross going about his daily life instead of posing. This amazing masterpiece was painted by Thomas Eakins in 1875 and depicts Dr. Samuel Gross and his team operating on a patient in the Jefferson Medical College’s surgical amphitheater in Philadelphia. Considered a masterpiece by many, The Gross Clinic uses a combination of large empty spaces and intricately …show more content…
This is a surgery being performed by Dr. Samuel D. Gross and his fellow associates. According to Laura Holzman, the people in the painting are Dr. Samuel D. Gross who is taking a break to think about the surgery for a second, W. Joseph Hearn who is applying a sedative, Charles C. Briggs who is stabilizing the patient, Daneil Appel who is peeling back the patient’s flesh, an unidentifiable doctor hidden behind Dr. Goss who is helping Dr. Appel, James M. Barton who cleans the blood from the cut, a seated woman who is covering her eyes in horror with either boredom or intrigue, and Eakins sitting just barely in the frame on the right with a pencil in hand. This painting was painted for Philadelphia’s 1876 Centennial Exhibition, but was rejected because the fair’s art jury probably thought that it was “too bloody and brutal for display in the art building.”(Philadelphia Museum of Art). Instead of being prominently placed in the contest, it was placed in the U.S. Army field …show more content…
The painting is of Dr. Samuel Gross performing a revolutionary, life-saving surgery. The surgery consists of slicing open the patient’s thigh, then removing the bone, and finally replacing the bone with a fake one. This surgery was revolutionary because it was recently developed as a way to save a patient’s infected limb instead of amputating it. It also focuses on Dr. Samuel D. Gross because he was a revolutionary surgeon. It finally focuses on nineteenth-century ideas about gender and sexuality because it features an ambiguously gendered patient (Holzman). The scene is considered American Realism because Thomas Eakins chose to paint Dr. Samuel Gross going about his daily life. Thomas Eakins also practiced many things that would later be labeled as Photorealism. This is the art of using photographs as a base and then touching them up to make them look the way that the artist wanted. Another painting by Thomas Eakins is The Agnew Clinic. This painting shows Dr. Agnew working on a patient with a different team of doctors. Both paintings also show Eakins off to the right. There are many similarities and differences between these two
The historical painting I chose for my final, is an illustration of Bret Harte’s novel, Her Letter, His Response, and Her Last Letter, creatively illustrated by Arthur Ignatius Keller in 1905. The historical painting I chose for the comparison of Arthur Keller’s painting is another painting done by Arthur I Keller; illustrated for 54-40 or Fight by Emerson Hough, in 1909. Arthur I Keller is a very natural, elegant style painter, with an eye for natural beauty. Keller’s many paintings express intricate detail, and genuine quality. Although I picked two water color paintings out of Arthur Keller’s many collections of paintings, he also uses charcoal, acrylics, oils, and pastels to create other works of art. In both paintings I chose, Arthur Keller uses water color and gouache to paint people. Arthur’s first painting I mentioned, illustrating “Her Letter” is a more detailed painting. Keller uses water color to create a graceful look to his painting; his delicate balance of color, keeps the viewer’s eyes wandering around the painting. The focal point in the painting does not catch the viewer’s eyes because of heavy, dark colors, but because of the proportion differences of the people he implies. The painting gives off a very old fashioned feel, in a tasteful way. Arthur Keller’s second painting, illustrating “54-40 or Fight” has a completely different color theme, and gives off more of a mysterious, dark feel to it. The painting is detailed, but in a more simple way, and there is less negative space. As to where Keller’s “Her Letter” painting had a lot of open areas on the canvas, this painting, displays two people in a small enclosed dark room. The focal point is more dramatic, and a lot more obvious because instead of using sizing,...
On Saturday, March 15, 2014, I visited the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The gallery #753, which is a part of so-called American Wing, features oil paintings of the revolutionary period in America. The paintings seen in this gallery celebrate heroes and hard-fought battles of the new nation. The most popular type of painting of that time remained portraiture. Portraits in extremely large numbers figured in interiors, where they were arranged to convey not only domestic, but political messages as well. Hence, it is natural, that such iconic figure like George Washington became a model for numerous artists of that era, including Gilbert Stuart and Charles Willson Peale, for whom Washington actually sat. Two exceptional portraits of Washington, the general and the the first President of the United States are highlighted in this paper.
While Bill is looking through the art book given by Bud, we see Rembrandt’s self-portrait which symbolises the inner strength of humans and the conflicting nature of humans. The purpose of this painting being introduced in the film helps the viewer understand how the Technicolour characters in Pleasantville revolt against the old ideas of order and push forward new ideas of chaos and excitement. A newfound inner strength is found in these people, in other words. The painting itself was painted in the 17th century in the Netherlands, at the heart of the ‘Dutch Golden Age’ – a period where Dutch trade was among the most acclaimed in the world and a time where the country lived without any war. This may have foreshadowed the events to come from the conclusion of the film, where the town finally becomes free of the bounds that restrain the town from passion. In the film, Cezanne’s Still Life with Apples and Oranges is seen when Betty comes into his shop. Bill is trying to replicate the same painting himself, though with his own twist and technique. The painting itself was a major breakthrough during the French Renaissance, as it symbolised the time itself through the use of still objects. The apples and oranges in the painting are different, yet still fruits, and are placed in bowls or placed randomly around the table. Picasso’s Sleeping Woman Before Green Shutters again plays an important role in supporting Ross’s ideas of change in the film. In fact, it appears as a turning point of the film where Betty finally accepts her colour and gives an emotional impact on
If one came close to the figure’s stomach where there’s the seafoam green, one can see the strong mark makings of the paint brushes and knife strokes, making the paint come out of the canvas. Similarly, Brown also uses big paint strokes of different colors to direct viewer’s eyes around the artwork. For instance, on the left side of the figure, there is a big vertical downward motion of a brush stroke in maroon, that connects to a green streak that goes up and encompasses the figure’s head and then downward to the body of the figure, which outlines and pushes the figure to stand out. And to make our eyes go back to the figure, Brown paints a blue triangle on the chest, making it a focal point due to it’s dark color that stands out of the light colors. And if someone stood facing the side of the painting, one can see the thick globs of paint that would make the viewer take a double glance to see if it was either a painting or a sculpture, which reinforces the idea that the painting is coming alive and making one feel
When looking at the painting it gives us a glimpse of the past. It looks almost like a photograph. The fine detail from the building on the right with the statue on top. The citizens walking around.
I believe that the Norman Rockwell painting induces his audience to become visible to themselves as white in a politically progressive way by displaying nostalgic concepts that his audience can identify with as they relate to the white boy more than the black man.
The first thing to notice about this painting is how incredibly involved and realistic the brushwork is. The couple’s faces are so delicately rendered. Every wrinkle is visible and every hair strand is in it’s place. The soft folds and patterns of their clothing, and the grain of the vertical boards on the house, are highly developed and reveal Wood’s incredible attention to detail. The man, especially, appears to be nearly photorealistic.
This piece is acrylic, oilstick, and spray paint on wood panel that is 186.1 centimeters in height and 125.1 centimeters in width. This piece features a human-like figure in the center that is mostly half red and half black. This figure has a gray head with one yellow eye and one light gray eye and above its head is a black halo. The background consists of patches of various colors such as light blue, black, dark red, light green, beige, turquoise, pink, and yellow. On the bottle left corner there is a figure drawn that looks like a fish and has a strip of mustard yellow painted through it. Also towards the bottom right of the artwork, there is some drawn on letters that almost look like words but are messily painted over with a desert sand color. This piece is my favorite because I find it aesthetically pleasing. There is a lot going on in this piece that makes looking at it genuinely interesting. The colors that Basquiat choses for the background go very well together and overall compliment the figure in the center. I like how incredibly expressive this piece is and it makes me want to buy a canvas and start painting that I desire. I also like how the human-like figure is drawn. One could see what looks like an outlined ribcage on the figure, which makes me believe that the head is actually a skull. Upon further research I learned that Basquiat was
His head is unnaturally twisted in a painful way while clutching onto a broken sword with his other arm. I would have to say that he was most likely a soldier who died in the battle. His broken sword represents his attempt to fight against the German and Italian engines of modern warfare. However, the fight he put up was sadly not enough to affect the outcome of the bombing of Guernica. It is a powerful image for it which it symbolizes as a sign of defeat. However if you look very closely, there is a flower that was drawn very lightly above the sword, almost unnoticeable. I thought this was an interesting feature of the painting that Picasso added since most of the drawings represented either chaos, despair, or pain but this tiny little flower above the soldier’s severed arm is a subtle symbol of hope. Although the flower is very faint, it is very significant and symbolizes the possibility that there is hope in the future amongst all of the destruction that was currently
From the creation of art to its modern understanding, artists have strived to perform and perfect a photo realistic painting with the use of complex lines, blend of colors, and captivating subjects. This is not the case anymore due to the invention of the camera in 1827, since it will always be the ultimate form of realism. Due to this, artists had the opportunities to branch away from the classical formation of realism, and venture into new forms such as what is known today as modern art. In the examination of two well known artists, Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock, we can see that the artist doesn’t only intend for the painting to be just a painting, but more of a form of telling a scene through challenging thoughts, and expressing of the artists emotion in their creation.
This painting by Vincent Van Gogh is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, in the Impressionism exhibit. There are many things going on in this painting that catch the viewer’s eye. The first is the piece’s vibrant colors, light blues and browns, bright greens, and more. The brush strokes that are very visible and can easily be identified as very thick some might even say bold. The furniture, the objects, and the setting are easy to identify and are proportioned to each other. There is so much to see in this piece to attempt to explain in only a few simple sentences.
This is an oil painting on canvas that depicts the Death of General Wolfe as given in the title. The work of art uses a painterly
As I enter the Gioconda and Joseph King Gallery at the Norton Museum of Art the first thing that Caught my attention was a painting measuring approximately at 4 ft. by 10 ft. on the side wall in a well- light area. As I further examine the painting the first thing I notice is that it has super realism. It also has color, texture, implied space, stopped time, and that it is a representational piece. The foreign man sitting on the chair next to a bed has a disturbed look on his face and is deep into his own thoughts. It’s as if someone he loved dearly just experienced a tragic and untimely death. He is in early depression. I could feel the pain depicted in his eyes. A book titled The Unquiet Grave lying open on the floor by the unmade bed suggesting something is left unresolved. The scattered photos and papers by the bedside cause redintegration. The picture of Medusa’s head screaming on the headboard is a silent scream filled with anger and pain, yet it cannot be heard. I feel as if I am in the one sitting in the chair and I can feel the anger, and regret.
His approach was an organized, discipline, and theoretical painting base of knowing stories, and the style was line rather than color. The reason I picked the painting is because it does capture my attention of how messed up it is that these men would capture women and rape them. But in today society you see in the news every day in America they’re capture of women getting kidnap, rape and it captures my mind of how messed up this is. Nicolas is showing us these events that happen and you see this stuff in movies. The painting sends a message a powerful message by the emotion, color and theoretical. This painting is so historic they made a movie based on the painting in 1962 and 2006. Next is regarded as France finest artist is a women named Louise Mollin (1610-1696). Her painting “Still Life with Cherries, Strawberries, and Gooseberries” a famous painting that created a perfect balanced, simple composition and focusing the attention on the objects. The sizes, shapes and texture of the fruit and container form international contrasts. Her painting turns out to be simple but yet elegant and change the way of art. The colors of the fruit and bold and focuses just on the fruit other than having a painting doing something with war, death, and story behind it. This has change art and you can see in today painting something simple can grasp anyone
Desiree’s Baby is a story that ultimately is sad, despite its beginning. A woman going by the name Desiree gives birth to a child on a plantation. This brings her, and her husband, Armand, much happiness, until Armand discovers that the baby is mixed. Though Armand was the only one disturbed by this at the time, he immediately blames Desiree for the baby’s ethnicity, which results in Desiree’s running away from the plantation with the infant, never to return. Many literary critics claim that this story focuses on the injustice of racial oppression. However, the actual injustice present in the story is the injustice of a wrongly attributed racial identity, given the work’s actual focus and Desiree’s situation.