John William Waterhouse was born on the 6th of April, 1849 in Rome, Italy and died in London from cancer on the 10th of February, 1917. Waterhouse’s mother and father were painters and throughout his life they referred to their son as “Nino”, for Giovannino (‘Little John’), he was the eldest of three; a younger brother Edwin and a sister named Jessie. When Nino was eight he experienced the death of his mother and it was shortly afterwards that his father remarried. Between 1861 and 1870 his father and new step mother birthed four children, which was a drastic life change for Nino and his two younger biological siblings. In 1861 Nino had to leave school and his sister Jessie went to live with an aunt. Luckily it wasn’t too long before his expanding family had reached some financial success. He was able to begin schooling in classical history, literature and mythology and he also learned Latin at an unidentified leads school (Kerr, J. 2000).
Nino Waterhouse did not have a particularly strong urge to become a painter in his younger years, he was more interested in engineering. It is said that if he did want to look at art he would take advantage of the exhibits held at his leads school and take part in enriching services in London during the holidays. After his studies ended, Nino began helping his father with background painting for commissioned portraits. Shortly following this, between the years of 1868 and 1877, Nino’s name appeared in various museum registers. It is believed that at this time his love for painting began to emerge (Kerr 2000). On page 14 In Peter Trippi’s book titled John William Waterhouse, he notes that; “Nino’s earliest surviving sketchbook depicts classical statuary, armor and musical instruments, as well as...
... middle of paper ...
...d.
Although much of the life history of John William Waterhouse is unaccounted for, it is comforting that we do have such a large and undeniable selection of his masterpieces. It is hard to stop looking at his work once you have started, more so because the myths behind the paintings are so compelling and he retells these old-world stories as one would do who believed them. Waterhouse was truly a genius when it came to creating a ‘pictorial and emotional equilibrium (Trippi, 2000).
Bibliography
• Beckett, W., Wright, P. (1999). Sister Wendy’s 1000 Masterpieces: Sister Wendy Beckett’s Selection of the Greatest Paintings in Western Art. New York, New York: DK Publishing.
• Kerr, J., (2000). The Art and Life of John William Waterhouse. Retrieved from http://johnwilliamwaterhouse.com
• Trippi, P. (2002). J.W. Waterhouse. London: Phaidon Press Limited.
At first glance, John Taylor and Howling Wolf’s visual representations of the treaty signing at Medicine Creek Lodge appear very different from one another. It is more than apparent that the two artists have very different interpretations of the same event. This paper will visually analyze both works of art by comparing and contrasting the compositional balance, medium, and use of color, as well as how the artists narrated their views using different visual elements.
I observed a very unique series of photographs by Vik Muniz called Seeing is Believing. Vik Muniz’s images are not simply photography but are pictures of complicated pieces of art he has produced at earlier times. Utilizing an array of unorthodox materials including granulated sugar, chocolate syrup, sewing thread, cotton, wire, and soil Muniz first creates an image, sculpturally manipulates it and then photographs it. Muniz’s pictures include portraits, landscapes, x-rays, and historical images.
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective. N.p., 2014. Print.
"John William Waterhouse Biography." Artble: The Home of Passionate Art Lovers. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
This work shows impeccably drawn beech and basswood trees. It was painted for a New York collector by the name of Abraham M. Cozzens who was then a member of the executive committee of the American Art-Union. The painting shows a new trend in the work of the Hudson River School. It depicts a scene showing a tranquil mood. Durand was influenced by the work of the English landscape painter John Constable, whose vertical formats and truth to nature he absorbed while visiting England in 1840.
Examining the formal qualities of Homer Watson’s painting Horse and Rider In A Landscape was quite interesting. I chose to analyze this piece as apposed to the others because it was the piece I liked the least, therefore making me analyze it more closely and discover other aspects of the work, besides aesthetics.
Artists are masters of manipulation. They create unimaginably realistic works of art by using tools, be it a paintbrush or a chisel as vehicles for their imagination to convey certain emotions or thoughts. Olympia, by Manet and Bierstadt’s Sierra Nevada Mountains both are mid nineteenth century paintings that provide the viewer with different levels of domain over the subject.
Nash, Susan. Oxford History of Art: Norther Renaissance Art. 2nd. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 30-65. eBook.
images in this painting, all of which have the power to symbolize to us, the viewer, of the painter’s
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
Peter Paul Rubens’ masterpiece, Venus and Adonis, is not only a significant artwork of the baroque-period in Europe during the 17th century, but it also tells the mythological story that begins with love, and ends in tragedy. Displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this painting is admired for representing the unique baroque-style of this era, as well as Rubens’ particular use of the medium and how it reaches those who are viewing it. His attention to detail and crafty use of symbolism within the painting assist viewers in deciphering the story, along with the values of the time period in which Rubens was living. In studying the composition of the work and noting the historical context from which it came, one can ultimately understand Rubens’ point-of-view and thus, connect to the painting in a way he or she has never imagined.
...s work The 3rd of May, 1808 is a very detailed and dramatic narrative within a collection of war themed works by the artist. I believe that by using the formal elements of color, texture, shape, lines, space, and the value I was able to sufficiently provide evidence that Goya offers a sequential order of direction for the audience to comprehend from their personal viewing. The twisted and grief stricken work creates a massive emotional connection and the artist plans for the viewers’ to grow and understand this message. The subject highlighted is obvious that Goya is passionate on his stance and outlook on war is suggested in the work. It’s obvious that Goya’s formal organization of his color palette, variation of brushes, repeating shapes, and play with lighting all correspond to depict man’s savage and at times monstrous actions are justified during war.
Throughout this paper, I will discuss the painting, “A Bit of War History” by Thomas Waterman Wood. I will analyze numerous of art techniques that evoke the theme of the portrait of the image and how it changes over three paintings which individually have their own unique meaning.
In this essay, I shall try to examine how great a role colour played in the evolution of Impressionism. Impressionism in itself can be seen as a linkage in a long chain of procedures, which led the art to the point it is today. In order to do so, colour in Impressionism needs to be placed within an art-historical context for us to see more clearly the role it has played in the evolution of modern painting. In the late eighteenth century, for example, ancient Greek and Roman examples provided the classical sources in art. At the same time, there was a revolt against the formalism of Neo-Classicism. The accepted style was characterised by appeal to reason and intellect, with a demand for a well-disciplined order and restraint in the work. The decisive Romantic movement emphasized the individual’s right in self-expression, in which imagination and emotion were given free reign and stressed colour rather than line; colour can be seen as the expression for emotion, whereas line is the expression of rationality. Their style was painterly rather than linear; colour offered a freedom that line denied. Among the Romanticists who had a strong influence on Impressionism were Joseph Mallord William Turner and Eugéne Delacroix. In Turner’s works, colour took precedence over the realistic portrayal of form; Delacroix led the way for the Impressionists to use unmixed hues. The transition between Romanticism and Impressionism was provided by a small group of artists who lived and worked at the village of Barbizon. Their naturalistic style was based entirely on their observation and painting of nature in the open air. In their natural landscape subjects, they paid careful attention to the colourful expression of light and atmosphere. For them, colour was as important as composition, and this visual approach, with its appeal to emotion, gradually displaced the more studied and forma, with its appeal to reason.
In spite of religion being the ruling subject matter of art for many centuries, magic and mysticism have long been interwoven in a dark curtain that hangs over a large segment of the art world. The whole world is alive and filled with soul, whether light or dark. “Each material form may be thought of as attracting an appropriate soul, as firewood treated with sulphur draws flame.” While there is no historical or scientific evidence for the legitimacy of séances, magic or communication with the deceased, in D.H. Rawcliffe’s book Occult and Supernatural Phenomena, he reminds us of the importance of hallucinations and other fantastical experiences of the subconscious. These often provide strange and impressive experiences, interpreted as supernatural in origin. As we study art, we can only begin to wonder what spirits might have visited the great masters, any hallucinations they might have experienced, and how their paintings were influenced by the dark corridors of their subconscious.