The genre of the painting by Martin Johnson Heade of Magnolias on Gold Velvet Cloth is of a still life painted between1888-1890. The painting depicts a scene from an ordinary, daily life gesture of a bouquet of flowers freshly cut. It shows the different stages of the flowers, from a tightly closed new bloom to a blossom with petals starting to open up to a fully bloomed magnolia with the petals starting to fall away. The aesthetics of the painting uses a natural and simplicity in its content of a few cut flowers laid across a velvet cloth.
The unity in the painting is the use of the same flower species and color, background color the same, the cloth color the same, the flowers are all cut and facing the same direction, and all are
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lying on a surface. The variety is in the various stages of the flowers’ blooms, the leaves of different sizes and shapes, the petals of various sizes, and one flower showing the inner seeds. The painting has symmetry when dividing on the y-axis. The two closed flowers on the left side gives visual balance to the space used for the open flower on the right side of the painting. The two stems with a few leaves right side balance equally with the foliage on the left side. The negative spaces of the green background and the velvet cloth are roughly equal around the flowers. These positive and negative features also give the painting balance. On the x-axis, the negative space is balanced. Where the cloth angles up slightly to form a triangle shape above the x-axis on the left side is equal to the background color of the triangle shape on the right side below the horizontal line. The white of the flowers seem to take up the same visual space above and below the horizontal axis. This is also true of the leaves and of the stems using equal amount of space above and below the horizontal line. The color palette used is restricted using analogous harmonized earth colors. Mixing of these hues for additional tints and shades gives depth to the foliage, flowers, and cloth. Starting with the cloth on the left of the painting, the use of shading gives the illusion of the cloth draping with fold lines as it spills over the edge of the surface. The draping and folding gives implied diagonal lines that lead the eye directly to the flowers along with a cradling effect from underneath. With the use of different angled brush strokes, this gives a sense of a rich textured pile simulating a velvet cloth. The hues in the background and in the cloth use varying degrees of lighter tones as it draws nearer to the flowers to give a glowing quality, which again draws the eye to the center of the painting, emphasizing the subject matter. The way the pedals are shaded along the edges then travels further in leaving the center of the pedals a bright, white for a shimmering effect on the various flowers. This in turn uses a visual effect to force the eye to rest on each bloom. This texturing gives the resemblance of soft, delicateness to the petals. The method used to paint white and dark lines on the leaves gives the illusion of veins. The tinting and shading on both sides of the leaves along with curvatures gives an authentic, natural depth and dimension of the greenery. By outlining a part of the leaves in a tinted color to represent a missing section also gives the perception authenticity. The perceived light glowing on the leaves emulates a waxy texture to the vegetation. The stems and the cut ends of the flowers have a rough texture due to contrasting light and dark colors. Heade was a master in painting techniques to give the impression of depth and dimension to a flat surface for his still life. The way the light falls across the flowers and the velvet cloth draws the eye to the center for the focal point. It gives the illusion of a natural light coming into the space. This gives a radiant quality to the petals. The cloth surface has front and back horizontal lines to anchor the images in the painting. It isn’t until you are stand up close to the painting that the brush strokes are visible. Vincent van Gogh painted may still lifes with one of his more famous themes of sunflowers either as cut flowers or in vases.
He would paint art pieces with the sunflowers in various stages of blooming to use in a series of paintings. Martin Heade would do the same with magnolias, paint them in vases or as freshly clipped for groupings in a series of paintings. These artists’ paintings were for viewers to admire for their vivid depiction of nature.
The painting of Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers is very close to being evenly symmetrical. The different stages of the flower’ blossoms seem to take up the same amount of space on each side. The vase can be divided evenly, also. The horizontal line of the table is equal and anchors the vase of sunflowers. The negative spaces around the flowers and the vase are given equal weight.
Van Gogh’s color palette for this painting is restrictive. The painting is mostly done in warm earth hues with some green to enhance the yellow tones. The yellow hues mixed with grays gives the shading for the various browns seeds in the center of the sunflowers. There is shading of yellow on the vase for a texture of
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ceramic. When standing back from the painting the heavy brush strokes can be observed which was used to give a certain texture to the overall painting. This technique was started by the Impressionist painters. This is the difference between Heade and van Gogh. The period in history is the roughly around the second half of the 19th century. There were many changes going on in society due to new inventions and the end of the Civil War. The industrial revolution was having a profound effect on society and had become firmly entrenched in everyday life. More people were moving into cities and towns for jobs; the rural landscape of living on a farm or very small towns was changing. The United States and Europe were prospering and producing a middle class from the offshoot of new industries due to the modernization that was happening. Americans and Europeans were traveling between the continents and exchanging ideas. This meant extra spending money and leisure time for the working class. The progressive movement was pushing for sanitary conditions and open spaces for families to get some fresh air after working in enclosed spaces for hours. Hyde Park in England, Central Park in New York, and National Parks around America had land set aside for the people to enjoy in their leisure time. With this new found time on their hands, these parks were within reach in their neighborhoods or to travel to enjoy the beautiful surrounding at the National Parks. The Hudson River School was an artist movement to remind people to coexist with nature. Their paintings were depictions of nature and landscape settings of what America looked like at the time. These artists were then influential to a new group of artist who developed an impressionist and post-impressionist style. This new middle class society was now able to attain various degrees of luxuries that in the past only the rich could afford or had time to enjoy.
They wanted to adorn their homes with painting to give an air of sophistication. At the time the landscape and still life paintings were highly popular. Painting were also being mass produced so the middle and working-class could have the status of owning them.
Martin Heade and Vincent van Gogh both lived during this era and mostly likely influenced by what was happening in society which is reflected in many of their paintings. Heade painted many landscapes and still lifes. His paintings resemble a more idealizing of the surrounding landscape he visited. He focused more on the effects of lighting in his paintings. The brush strokes of his paintings are more refined. Van Gogh used a thicker brush stroke to give texture to his paintings which lends a more heaviness to his
paintings. These painting are mainly for pleasure to view and for decorative purposes of hanging on a wall. The richness of the colors would complement any formal living area during the late 19th century when this piece was painted. Heade was well traveled which included visits to Europe but tropical countries and states, and New England were his favorite locations. Through his travels he encountered may other artist who were reviving the still life style and who were interested in landscape art. His particular interests were of tropical landscapes and the flowers from these regions. Heade’s ability to use light and shadow is what drew the eye to the focal point in the painting. His painting had the quality of a stillness and serenity. Though the magnolia flower is not known as a tropical plant, it does have many of the characteristics. The formation of when the flower opens up, the delicacy of the petals, the center carpal, and the foliage that grows like a tree. Martin Johnson Heade’s art was all but forgotten after his death. It was in the 1940’s that art historians rediscovered the paintings of this original American artist. With his extensive travels, the diversity in his paintings, the contemporaries he was associated with, and the direction art was taking during his lifetime is what piqued this renewed interest. Over the years, many American art museums have had exhibits of his artwork. This has increased the following of his artwork and much analytical discussion on what were the influences and how they may reflect in his paintings. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has a collection of Art of North American. Therefore, it makes sense that a painting by Heade’s would be included. His work of Magnolias on Gold Velvet Cloth is a wonderful sample of his still life depiction of realism with an element of intimacy and a touch of romantics. This painting stood out because of the simplicity of the scene. On further studying of the painting, the radiant of the flowers seems to come from another ream. The petals have a creamy, smoothness contracting with the rough stems. The velvet cloth is a contradiction because the richness, plush look with a texture indicting a pile to the fabric. If one ran their hand over the cloth in one direction, the velvet would feel thick and lush but going in the opposite direction, the pile it would feel bumpy. These are the characteristics that drew me to this painting and to make it stand out among other paintings.
Contextual Theory: This painting depicts a portrait of life during the late 1800’s. The women’s clothing and hair style represent that era. Gorgeous landscape and a leisurely moment are captured by the artist in this work of
The author creates imagery for her readres to visualize her perspective. Didge conveys in her essay “Flowery and beautiful, it
Overall the artist does make a unified scene in this composition. Birch used these principals of design to make his composition more effective like balance, movement, repetition and unity. The composition seems balanced because most of the subjects in the painting are all equally distributed and proportioned.
Coming from a family greatly involved in art dealing, Vincent van Gogh was destined to have a place in the world of art. Van Gogh’s unique techniques and use of color, which clashed and differed greatly from the masters of the art world of his time, would eventually gain him the recognition as one of the founders of modern art. Van Gogh’s early life was heavily influenced by the role of his father who was a pastor and chose to follow in his footsteps. Although he abandoned the desire to become a pastor, van Gogh remained a spiritual being and was strong in faith. Plagued with a troubled mind and poor health, van Gogh’s life became filled with torment and isolation that would influence his career in later life as an artist. In his late twenties, van Gogh had decided that it was God’s divine plan for him to become a painter. His works would express through thoughtful composition and vibrant color, the emotions that he was unable to manifest in the real world. Van Gogh’s perception of reality and his technique would face harsh criticism and never receive full acceptance from his peers as a serious artist during his brief career. In a collection of correspondence entitled The Letters of a Post-Impressionist, Vincent confirmed these thoughts while writing to his brother Theo, “It irritates me to hear people say that I have no "technique." It is just possible that there is no trace of it, because I hold myself aloof from all painters” (27). His technique would later be marveled and revered by the art world. Vincent van Gogh’s legacy would thrive as it challenged the way the world envisioned modern art through his unique brush strokes and profound use of color as seen in his works The Sower and The Night Café. A brief look into...
In the early 16th century the Netherlands experienced what was called “tulip mania” this was the beginning of the nations love for flora and foliage (Taylor 13). The result of this impressive flower invasion was a society that took a historical turn from which the results still remain today. Flower merchants, botanists and floral still life artists, were occupations that were an accurate reflection of the Netherlands demands (Brown). An interesting example of a life that was effected by, and devoted to the archiving of the flower craze was Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750) the 17th century Dutch flower painter. Rachel Ruyschs’ career straddled the 17th and 18th century, and her stunningly accurate floral pieces reflect the maturing, yet evolving art of floral still life painting (“Rachel Ruysch: Bibliography”). Ruyschs’ Still Life with Flowers on a Marble Tabletop (1716) is an excellent example of a painting that appropriately represents the genre of art that was created solely through specific societal events.
The two focal figures are illustrated with complementary colors, the woman 's dress being orange, and the man’s pants being blue. Benton uses these colors to bring life into the painting. The background is made up mostly of earthy colors like, greens, browns, and greys and a light blue for the sky. Benton seems to add white to every color he uses, which gives the painting an opaque look. The deepest hues found in this painting are the blue one the man’s pants and the orange on the woman’s dress, everything else around them looks washed out and Benton does this to emphasize his focal points
Also considering their work excelled among other potter artists. In the Thousand Flowers vase case, this piece is adorned with peonies, chrysanthemums, magnolias, lilies, lotuses, roses, and morning glories, which are the Chinese people favorites flowers, as I was able to observe in my visit the botanical gardens of . The artists drew them in a ways that they intermingled beautifully and resemble colorful and elegant brocade. A vase like this, it is not only elegant, but it will add a touch of happiness to any place, no matter the season, the country, or a particular place in a house. The mastery of the colors utilized to decorate the piece is a gift for sore eyes. Moreover, this vessel is unique, because it shows many hours of observation, sketching, and spiritual communication with each kind of flower. One can clearly, observe that this artist was masterfully able to mixed lead-silica enamels in different colors such as green, yellow, red, gold, and other rose palette colors. By observing this vase, one have to conclude that the artist has a good sense of volume and the final product shows impressionistic features, which I personally love. According to Cunningham’s, the application of color require two firings, which implies that any small; mistake will destroy the whole product. Fortunately, this artist was savvy enough to achieve the planned
The French 1884 oil on canvas painting The Song of the Lark by Jules-Adolphe Breton draws grasps a viewer’s attention. It draws an observer in by its intense but subtle subject matter and by the luminous sun in the background. Without the incandescent sun and the thoughtful look of the young woman, it would just be a bland earth-toned farm landscape. However, Breton understood what to add to his painting in order to give it drama that would instantly grab an onlooker’s interest.
Painted by Vincent Van Gogh during a final burst of activity in Auvers before his suicide in July, Houses at Auvers features many of the characteristic elements typical of Van Gogh; the experimentation with color, texture, and thick brush strokes. This painting depicts the view and landscape in early summer, highlighting the patchwork of houses and the rolling greenery. Van Gogh’s unique, thick brush strokes lead the eyes through the painting, create texture and patterns and also highlight and shadow objects in the early summer sun, while his experimentation with color creates contrast and a bright, vibrant image.
Jean Francois Millet, who was a social realist painter who inspired Van Gogh, and he studied at the Barbizon School. He painted rural life to show the poverty stricken people, capturing the lives of peasants at work. Making a statement on what is taking place in the world. Communicating through art to expose the poor conditions and physical hardships that hard working people are enduring. It is an invitation, to look into the working class environment, which is gritty, real and true. This stirred up controversy, because of its honest approach.
Art in general is a factor that allows humans to express their creativity, as they apply the essentials of history, media, elements and principles of design. It was those recent class trips, that I had taken to La Salle Art Museum, that instantly allowed me to acquire a deeper passion for art. Soon enough, in the 17th century exhibit, I saw a piece of artwork that was remarkably aesthetic for me. The artwork is ironically titled, “Still Life with Fruit”. The approximate size of this artwork is 16 inches wide by 20 inches long. The artwork dated back to the year of 1689. A Dutchman named, Jan Mortel, born during the year of 1650, was the artist of this artwork. Judging from the artwork, Jan Mortel had a great talent for oil painting. Jan Mortel
Claude Monet made the art community address a revolutionary type of art called impressionism. In a style not previously before painted, impressionism captured a scene by using bright colors with lots of light and different shades to create the illusion of a glance. The traditional method of working in a studio was discarded and the impressionist artists carried any needed supplies with them into the countryside and painted the complete work outside. The manufacture of portable tin tubes of oil paints as well as the discovery of ways to produce a wider range of chemical pigments allowed artists to paint in a way unimaginable before this period in time (Stuckey 12). Monet and others, such as Pierre Auguste Renior, Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Berthe Morisot, Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, and Alfred Sisley, took this style of art to a new level never seen before.
Vincent van Gogh’s development in stylized representations of nature, created by the application of dark colors, bold lines, and thick paint all show an expressionistic view of the natural world as seen through the eyes of the artist. While we will never find a definite answer for whether or not Vincent van Gogh intended for Wheat Fields with Crows to be any indication of his suicide, we continue to draw on conclusions of what this painting really meant. Even though we can say with certainty that this was not Vincent van Gogh’s last painting, the subject matter and formal elements suggest that it probably was - intended or not - some indication of van Gogh’s unhappiness.
Like many of Van Gogh’s paintings, Olive Trees commences as a landscape and expands into a complex work, disclosing influences from other times and places. Using the color theory and separated brushstrokes of the Impressionists, the movement and vivid colors of the Romantics, and lighting and composition inspired by Millet, Van Gogh achieves the potency and significance that characterizes his work. Van Gogh’s paintings can’t possibly be mistaken for those of another artist of his time because, despite the fact that all of his means have criterion, his end results do not.
In art, color is a very vivid element that attracts the audience’s attention, and allow us to think deeply about our innermost feelings. Van Gogh’s use of light and dark colors used in the night sky provide great contrast in order to capture our attention. The darker blue gives the art a gloomy feeling and could perhaps represent isolation. The lighter blue helps to draw attention to the swirls that Van Gogh made in the sky. The yellow accentuates the swirls even more because it is the brightest color found in the art piece. Blue and