Ophelia, 1866 in the metropolitan museum is a print copy of the original painting and etching on chine colle done by Millais for the royal academy exhibition in 1852. The painting shows the prince’s rejected lover named Ophelia, who had fallen into a brook while she had went to gather wildflowers. When I first came across the artwork I didn’t quite see a woman dead in a lake like the description was trying to convey. I couldn’t help but notice the positions of her arms as though they were limp, they were not floating straight out like a dead body would be. Her wrists appearing above water, her hands cupped as though her muscles in them were still functional to keep them that way. It’s possible with that factor alone this painting has some idealized elements. In general the painting made me think she had just fallen in showing a sense of hopelessness especially with her facial expression.
I chose this particular work because after doing a full walk threw around the entire museum it was one of the few pieces to truly have my full attention. At first glance I thought it was a photograph, a bit old fashioned but a beautifully pieced and posed black and white image. As a photography major I just felt instantly inspired by the image. However while reading the description on the piece I realized it was a painting combined of different styles like etching and stippling. That only piqued my interest even more with this picture, it looked so realistic with all the details and even the lights and shadows, I loved it. It was hard to decipher whether it was a painting or not considering there was no obvious brush strokes visible.
This artwork was placed on its own wall, centered in the exhibit. It was also one of the largest pieces as yo...
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... in a bathtub to complete the composition.”. The purpose behind this artwork was to challenge himself and trying something completely new regardless of what the viewers of that time period would think, in which at that time had the audience a bit unsettled since it was something so uncommon. It took another artist by the name of James Stephenson to make a print of this piece in 1866 for viewers to admire all the hard work that went into it. I would have never guessed even with the era that this was piece was created that it was done in two separate parts and took months to finalize. To basically paint a forest then edit in a model that you painted while she was laying in a tub shows such a high level of creativity in making sure he accurately captures what a person should appear like while afloat in water and what the water surrounding the body would appear like.
On My visit to the Hunter Museum I chose the piece of art that I felt best related to. I picked the piece of art Pullman, by Hung Liu, because I loved the way they worked together to accomplish a mission. Pullman is a 2 dimensional wall piece created by Hung Liu in 2004, and was later purchased by the Hunter Museum in 2009. Pullman is A 66x132 inch oil on canvas, colored paining and is displayed on the wall in the museum. There is a wall text about the piece that can be found next to the painting. The painting is hard to define from close distance, but the farther you stand away the colors and textures come together. The paining is on a wall by itself, and is truly a breathtaking piece. We often take for granted the luxuries we have in the United States.
Joseph Hirsch’s painting Daniel was painted in 1976-1977. In 1978 during the153rd Annual Exhibition of the National Academy of Design, it won the First Benjamin Altman (Figure) prize. It measures 38 inches by 45 inches (96.52 cm x 114.3 cm) with a five inch gold wood frame surrounding it. The medium is oil on canvas. Everything within the painting is centered to draw your eyes to the action of the turned head and the pointed finger. According to the placard next to the painting this is a modern day version of the biblical story of Belshazzar’s Feast following the sacking of Jesualism from the Book of Daniel. From this point on, each figure within the painting will be addressed as Hirsch intended. The painting depicts a seated king, a dozing courtesan and Daniel. The three figures are the focal point of the composition. Hirsch uses a strong color palette to give the painting a luxurious and wealthy feel. Although the detail is not miniscule, the composition as a whole is easily understood. The use of oil paint allowed Hirsch to play with the composition as it was created.
The object I chose in the Lightner Museum is a painting with a gold frame. The medium in which it was created is oil on canvas. Featuring this piece is a man on a seat in front of a podium. He looks around the age of fifty, wearing a black cap and glasses. His clothing consists of a collared shirt, a coat, slacks, long socks to his knees, and black shoes. In one hand he holds a small book, which he appears to be reading from, and in his other hand he carries a brown stick about a foot in length. Standing in front of the man is a boy about ten years of age. He is standing with very straight posture and his hands by his sides. The boy is adorned with a blue vest, a white collared, long-sleeved shirt and brown pants. To the right of the man is another boy with his head resting in his hands. He is sitting on a bench and appears to be sobbing. There is a boy ducking behind the podium with his hand cupped beside his mouth, inferring that he is whispering something secretly to the boy being addressed by the adult figure. The rest of the children in the classroom-type setting sit behind desks in the far right corner of the painting, each sharing a collective look of mischief and laughter. There also appears to be a chalkboard on the back wall of the room, and some sort of picture hangs above the board on the same wall.
I selected this picture because as soon as I walked into the Evans wing it jumped right out at me. The painting's huge size and grandeur drew my attention. I like the use of bold colors and strong details. The painting evokes an image of power with the muscled Automedon holding two giant horses.
This is a beautiful painting of a women and young relaxing outdoors. It appears to be a French countryside as you can see on the right side of the painting endless trees and grass with mountains in the back ground. The mother and child are sitting near a pond. The body position is casual and they are also facing each other. They appear to be communicating with their eyes. The child reminds me of an angel or cherub.
Looking at different pieces of art work at the art museum and one-piece in particular impressed me. It’s called “View of Molo”, painted by Giovanni Antonio Canal. Giovanni Canal was born in Venice, Italy in 1697. This particular piece was painted circa 1730-1735. The piece hangs at the El Paso Museum of Art in El Paso, Texas. The painting is part of the permanent collection donated by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in 1961. The art work was done on canvas using oil. The painting can be found in the Baroque and Rococo Period Gallery.
An artwork that stood out in the exhibition was School of Beauty, School of Culture (2012) . It portrays women and two children standing in a beauty salon and school with green walls and a red floor. The walls have posters promoting black beauty with one that reads, “it’s your hair” and under this statement are the words love, dark and lovely. There are mirrors against the wall and in the reflection a camera flash is shown from a person who is taking a picture of those in the salon. Red, black, and green, the colors of the Afro-American flag, border the top of the wall, symbolizing the black power movement . The focal point of this piece is a woman who stands in the center, posing for the person taking a picture. To her right, towards the floor, is a “floating” head of a white woman which is compressed and 2-dimensional. This is a tribute to Hans Holbein’s The Ambassadors (1533) because in Holbein’s piece, there is a 2-dimensional skull painted in the same fashion. Just how the skull in The Ambassadors is a reminder of death, the head in Marshall’s
Seeing the art in person truly made me see the beauty and captivity a painting can hold. Each gallery was filled with different American works. My favorite kind of paintings are the ones I can look at and immediately write a story in my head about what is happening, even if it not what the artist intended. As I was going through the galleries one painting in particular stuck in my mind. I was fortunate enough to experience a special exhibition called, “Audubon to Warhol.” It was composed of different works acquired from private and public collections. I was lured to the emotions that was captured by the main figure in one of the works. I was drawn not only to the beauty of the painting, but the story it shared. The painting I chose was Peeling Onions, by Lilly Martin Spencer.
The mixed reaction I have towards the painting is because, first off, I still wouldn’t know what is really behind it or what it’s trying to tell us without looking at it from a distance. When I looked at it from a computer desktop I could see a shoe, a mountai...
The second exhibit entitled Painting with Fire: Works by Betsy Eby. I didn’t spend much time looking at these pieces. Although uniquely done, with heated colored beeswax, and inspired by music, all the artworks looked almost the same. I understand she was inspired by music, however, it looks as if she was listening to the same song on every piece. I wasn’t very impressed with this exhibit.
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
The first painting analyzed was North Country Idyll by Arthur Bowen Davis. The focal point was the white naked woman. The white was used to bring her out and focus on the four actual colored males surrounding her. The woman appears to be blowing a kiss. There is use of stumato along with atmospheric perspective. There is excellent use of color for the setting. It is almost a life like painting. This painting has smooth brush strokes. The sailing ship is the focal point because of the bright blue with extravagant large sails. The painting is a dry textured flat paint. The painting is evenly balanced. When I look at this painting, it reminds me of settlers coming to a new world that is be founded by its beauty. It seems as if they swam from the ship.
During my trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario, I found there to be one painting that surely stood out and made an unique impression on me, it was certainly a painting unlike the rest of the in the gallery. When my eyes met those of the portrait of Dr. Heinrich by Otto Dix, I was deeply intrigued and found myself to be drawn to the piece and inspecting it the longest out of the all the options of paintings that I saw at the AGO.
The visual image most popularly associated with William Shakespeare's play Hamlet is that of young Ophelia's body floating in the river after her suicidal drowning as described in Act 4, Scene 7, lines 167-184. Shakespeare's captivating illustration of an unstable young woman finally at rest has been portrayed by several artists because of its beautiful, whimsical narrative. Ophelia's depiction throughout the play personifies not only youthful love, loss, innocence and naïveté, but also the dependent role of women in the time of Shakespeare.
This painting is an oil-on-canvas painting that was painted by John William Waterhouse in 1888. The painting measures at 200 centimeters by 153 centimeters which converted to inches is 60.2 inches by 78.7 inches. The painting is one of Waterhouse’s best known oil paintings. This painting is said to be a representation from a scene from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s 1833 poem titled “The Lady of Shallot”. The poem “The Lady of Shallot” was built upon the Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat, which she was mentioned in the Italian novella titled Donna di Scalotta. Tennyson’s work was popular with many Pre-Raphaelite poets and painters. Some of the artists that illustrated pain...