Vermeer was a man of ingenuity, balance, and method. Balance and control was found in everything he did, from the paintings to the way he addressed others around him. I believe the reason he was so interested with Griet and her methods for cleaning was because he appreciated things being balanced and measured. In his paintings, Vermeer used balance and technique to bring everything together and that's why all of his final pieces were composed properly. I also believe that Vermeer admired Griet's keen eye for the balance of colors when she separated the vegetables the way she did. He also exhibits the constant need for control when he removes the presence of the easel's leg in one of his paintings. Vermeer also portrays being methodical
when he explains to Griet the process of eliciting the correct color in his paintings. But the real ingenuity of his work is the way he uses light to make even the ugliest of characters into stunning works of art. Vermeer creates images that are initially impossible. For example, he paints mirrors that show people, but in real life, not even the tops of their head would be seen in the mirror. As well as providing an image full of shadow, but the main character of the painting has none. He continually presents paintings that seem beautifully impossible and that what makes Vermeer's works of art so seducing. In the end, Vermeer demonstrates constant control, balance, and genius in all of his paintings and strides.
They are many factors influencing the different historical interpretations of Albert Speer. The most influential was Speer’s own character construction of himself in his defence at the Nuremberg trials. This view was held by a majority of historians until Matthias Schmidt found holes in Speer’s story. A large blow was dealt to Speer’s own construction of his role in Nazi Germany when the Walters’ chronicles were released containing various incriminating evidence. There are still a number of historians who prefer to view Albert Speer as the Good Nazi, even though most historians now believe that the image created by Speer of himself was self-serving and false.
Regardless of taste, an appreciator of art should be able to recognize when an artist exerts a large amount of effort and expresses a great amount of creativity. Understanding the concepts incorporated by truly talented artists helps the viewer better understand art in general. Both Van Eyck and Velasquez are examples of artists that stood out in their time due to their unique vision and their innovative style, and are therefore remembered, recognized, and praised even centuries after their works were completed.
Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun was one of the most successful painters of her time. Over the course of her life, spanning from 1755-1842, she painted over 900 works. She enjoyed painting self portraits, completing almost 40 throughout her career, in the style of artists she admired such as Peter Paul Rubens (Montfort). However, the majority of her paintings were beautiful, colorful, idealized likenesses of the aristocrats of her time, the most well known of these being the Queen of France Marie Antoinette, whom she painted from 1779-1789. Not only was Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun the Queen’s portrait painter for ten years, but she also became her close, personal friend. She saw only the luxurious, carefree, colorful, and fabulous lifestyle the aristocracy lived in, rather than the poverty and suffrage much of the rest of the country was going through. Elisabeth kept the ideals of the aristocracy she saw through Marie Antoinette throughout her life, painting a picture of them that she believed to be practically perfect. Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun’s relationship with Marie Antoinette affected her social standing, politics, painting style, and career.
The article Artists Mythologies and Media Genius, Madness and Art History (1980) by Griselda Pollock is a forty page essay where Pollock (1980), argues and explains her views on the crucial question, "how art history works" (Pollock, 1980, p.57). She emphasizes that there should be changes to the practice of art history and uses Van Gogh as a major example in her study. Her thesis is to prove that the meaning behind artworks should not be restricted only to the artist who creates it, but also to realize what kind of economical, financial, social situation the artist may have been in to influence the subject that is used. (Pollock, 1980, pg. 57) She explains her views through this thesis and further develops this idea by engaging in scholarly debates with art historians and researcher, and objecting to how they claim there is a general state of how art is read. She structures her paragraphs in ways that allows her to present different kinds of evidences from a variety sources while using a formal yet persuasive tone of voice to get her point across to the reader.
The iconography of the picture could represent art in the view of the fauvists. Fauvists wanted to be free from tradition and natural colors. They wanted to be free to explore their world of colors as they saw fit. Fauvists and expressionists did not like to be held to strict rules when it came to painting. It could be that Le Bonheur de Vivre was a state in which they where trying to reach, but in reality could get never get there. On the other hand, could it be a place where they could only reach in their dreams? Critics have struggled with the interpretation of Matisse’s painting since the first display. That may have been Matisse’s meaning after all.
What makes us human is the ability to recognize the good in other people and in turn recognize the good in ourselves. There is a saying that whatever you think about another person is just a reflection of what you think about yourself; it is like looking into a mirror. Paintings can act like mirrors as well; we can gaze into a painting and see the good of the subject being portrayed and in turn we can identify the same attributes within ourselves allowing us to relate to the subject matter. Both Rembrandt and Vermeer were able to capture intersubjectivity in their paintings. In The Return of the Prodigal Son (Fig. 1) and Aristotle (Fig. 2) by Rembrandt and The Milk Maid (Fig. 3) and Woman Weighing Pearls (Fig. 4) by Vermeer there is an autonomy that can be recognized in the painting as well as within us.
While Vincent van Gogh is known as one of the most famous Dutch painters, next to greats such as Rembrandt, his life was filled with poverty and as well as struggle with mental illness. Many of those who have heard of Vincent van Gogh aptly remember him as the impressionist painter who cut off his own ear. This essay will cover the artist’s childhood, artistic career, and death and will serve as a comprehensive review of Van Gogh’s life.
Van Gogh felt inspired by this depiction of human that gave a sentimental quality and began to draw replicas of Millet’s work, he held his work in the highest regard, even to the point of holiness.
Despite the fact that Griet is only a maid with little authority, she always fought for what she believed in. For example, when Vermeer was working on a painting, Griet moved the blue cloth that was used as a prop in order to add the sensation of disorder to the painting. According to Griet, “Although I valued tidiness over most things, I knew from his other paintings that there should be some disorder on the table, something to snag the eye. I pondered each object- the jewelry box, the blue table rug, the pearls, the letter, the inkwell- and decided what I would change. I returned quietly to the attic, surprised by my bold thoughts.” The next morning she adjusted the blue cloth and was able to enhance the feeling and mood of the painting. Also, another bold action that Griet makes is she wore Catharina’s pearl earrings for Vermeer’s painting. She knew that she would be fired and would be frown upon by Catharina and the rest of the family, however, she knew that it was the right thing to do. Wearing the pearl earrings enabled the painting to be complete and please her
The use of materials to complement a design’s emotional reaction has stuck with the modernist movement. His implementation of these materials created a language that spoke poetically as you move through the structure. “Mies van der Rohe’s originality in the use of materials lay not so much in novelty as in the ideal of modernity they expressed through the rigour of their geometry, the precision of the pieces and the clarity of their assembly” (Lomholt). But one material has been one of the most important and most difficult to master: light. Mies was able to sculpt light and use it to his advantage.
When I saw Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring about five years ago at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., I felt something about the painting that I had never felt before when looking at artwork. I felt as if this girl, this young woman in the painting was real, hiding in the museum behind this canvas. She was in the flesh. Her skin was still dewy from three hundred-something years ago, the light across her face still glowing. She was in the round, her eyes followed mine, she was real. She was about to speak, she was in a moment of thought, she was in reflection. This girl was not crimson red or titanium white, she was flesh. Vermeer caught her, a butterfly in his hand. She was not just recorded on canvas, she was created on canvas. She was caught in a moment of stillness. Vermeer creates moments in his paintings. When viewing them, we step into a private, intimate setting, a story. Always, everything is quiet and calm. I realize now it is no wonder I had such a strong reaction to Vermeer the first time I saw him: he is a stillness seeker.
"Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle,” says American author Stanley Johnson. I consider stress in that sense today, but just a little while back, it wasn’t so. A few months ago, I would mull over situations which weren’t even remotely demanding, unnecessarily stressing myself. Through my eBay business, I learned to effectively deal with situations that would otherwise seem insurmountable.
The fundamental concern of instructional design is the creation of more effective learning environments for learners. In order to do this, instructional designers must consider the various learning styles and stages of development of the learners as they interact with course material and develop a mature understanding of a topic.
“Nevertheless for Schwitters no matter was off limits to be included within his artwork.” Even his wife said that she had to wait in the street for him as he began to
“As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed,” Vincent Van Gogh quoted. Albert Einstein, JK Rowling, Vincent Van Gogh, and I all have something in common. Apart from being passionate about a subject, we have all failed at some point. Yet, this does not stop us from trying again. JK Rowling was rejected fifteen times before her book was published. Each time Rowling failed she revised her work and published it again. Einstein also failed various times when he tried to come up with theories. Van Gogh only had one ear and people did not take notice of him because he was mentally ill and isolated. Van Gogh then became famous after he died at age thirty-seven.