Carol Armstrong begins her essay by pointing out the two main points that come about when discussing A Bar at the Folies-Bergere. These two points are the social context of the painting and its representation of 19th century Paris, and the internal structure of the painting itself with the use of space. She then goes on and addresses what she will be analyzing throughout her essay. She focuses on three main points, the still life of the counter and its commodities, the mirror and its “paintedness”, and the barmaid and her “infra-thin hinge” between the countertop and the mirror. For her first point of the “still-life on the counter” she argues that the objects on the counter are for “public consumption” and that the labels on the bottles
The essay Four Menus by Sheila Squillante challenges mainstream pieces of writing in various ways. This essay closely resembles poetry with its metaphors and symbolism. This similarity is not a surprise given that Squillante is also a poet. Most essays explain an idea in a structured format which is greatly different from this piece. Four Menus jumps from scenes starting at a Korean restaurant and later at a house. Within the essay she tells flashbacks of times with her friends. These flashbacks are rather random and there seems to be scattered ideas. While pondering all of these aspects of her work I came the conclusion that an essay does not have to be black and white; as long as a main idea is covered it can be left as is. Most of us grew
The Rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève in particular is like a bronze picture frame. It is the only frame suited to our story....
After this was exhibited at the Salon, and Manet was disappointed with the public, who saw the subject rather than his masterly rendition (Rewald 366). To be disappointed that people were seeing the subject of his painting and projecting meaning upon it, not only focusing on how well the painting was fashioned, seems to show in itself that the painting did not have the meaning some try to ascribe to it. Manet’s Bar at the Folies Bergere is just a pretty picture that is not dealing with issues of sexuality, but tries to appeal to the public by imitating the style of advertisements and posters, and is an attempt to make a piece of art merely to be sold. The barmaid, generally considered the focal point of the piece, is often thought to be a prostitute.
The halls of the Museum are set up in a long and slim rectangle with open doorways between all of them. The opening hallway to the Dutch gallery is modest in its wooden paneling until one turns and enters the first room on the right. Beautifully creased wood panels, line the walls, while intricately carved panels hold the grand window directly across from the door. Rich in color, the walls make one feel very comfortable in this intimate surrounding. The feel of the wood almost brings the viewer back to 17th century Holland. Reflecting off the V-shaped wood paneled floor, light flows through the window, illuminating the Dutch landscapes. A simple wooden throne sits against one wall, and a short dresser rests along the opposite wall. Instead of being labeled directly under or beside the painting, there are simply numbers which lead one to a book of descriptions. This groups the paintings together as one description of Dutch life, removing the initial need to find the name of the artist.
The story Another Evening at the club by Alifa Rifaat is a short story that takes place in Egypt. It revolves around a newly wed couple consisting of an overbearing husband and a submissive wife. The main conflict of the story deals with the misplacement of an emerald ring. As the couple resolve this prove their true colors are reveled. Exposing the strong presence of a male dominate marriage and society. This story illustrates the role of women in a typical Egyptian marriage. Where the man is the decision maker, and the woman is submissive to her husband. The main reoccurring themes in this story is of gender oppression, sexual assault, and importance of social status.
When first approaching this work, one feels immediately attracted to its sense of wonder and awe. The bright colors used in the sun draws a viewer in, but the astonishment, fascination, and emotion depicted in the expression on the young woman keeps them intrigued in the painting. It reaches out to those who have worked hard in their life and who look forward to a better future. Even a small event such as a song of a lark gives them hope that there will be a better tomorrow, a thought that can be seen though the countenance by this girl. Although just a collection of oils on a canvas, she is someone who reaches out to people and inspires them to appreciate the small things that, even if only for a short moment, can make the road ahead seem brighter.
Drawing on the intersection of the domestic and industrial spheres, she values her pieces’ imperfections. Often making similar or even identical pieces many times, each work remains unique due to slight inconsistencies inherent to hand crafted works. A self proclaimed ‘champion of the handmade’, many of Agee’s pieces demand attention, a slowing down to appreciate them in the same way she must not rush her own process lest the authenticity of the work be compromised. Across a wide variety of media and subjects, her pieces maintain a sort of spontaneity in their inconsistency, the sort usually eschewed by fine artists as a mark of mediocrity. Yet Agee insists these are marks of honor, pivotal to the story of the piece; to her, it is perfection that is
The painting was deemed scandalous and inappropriate by the people of the mid-1800’s. In more ways than one the painting disregarded society’s standards of the time. The painting depicts two women and two men having a picnic together in a nature setting. Upon hearing this description one might envision a peaceful, harmless illustration and thus wonder why it may be hard to imagine this painting as upsetting. The two men in the painting were fully clothed in modern clothing of the time period, while one woman was completely nude and the other was in her undergarments. By juxtaposing the fully clothed men with the naked women, Manet challenged “Academy Standards” of French painters of the time. According to the “Academy Standard” nudity was supposed to be reserved for religious, mythological or classical characters, and the women in Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass were none of the above. In fact, the two women are suspected to be prostitutes, and the men, their customers. In illustrating the men with modern clothing, Manet’s image alluded to the subject of prostitution which was a very real issue at that time. Manet questioned the morality of society and the people by illustrating prostitution in such a real, modern way. This was a tremendous scandal because prostitution was not discussed and especially not illustrated on a large scale canvas, it was pushed under the rug and overlooked by society. The painting was highly criticized and rejected at first, but later became widely renowned. It paved the way for a new, modern artistic development. It shaped and reformed the idea of what was conventional for artists to paint and what was accepted, widening the freedom of creators, allowing them to illustrate real problems they saw in their
I will discuss Post Impressionism by using three works, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Still Life with Basket of A...
In her play, Les drôlatiques, horrifiques et épouvantables aventures de Panurge, ami de Pantagruel d'après Rabelais, Antonine Maillet recreates beautifully the fantastic and incredible atmosphere present in the original works of Rabelais. She cuts and pastes together the most well known and exceptional selections of Rabelais' original text and creates a new story, adding along the way some finishing touches which give the play its Acadien content. One of the themes quite prevalent throughout in the original works is that of drinking and the insatiable pantagruelist thirst. Maillet preserves this distinctly rabelaisian caracteristic in her play and also uses the plot of the search for the Dive Bouteille, the Holy Bottle, the suject of Rabelais' Le Tiers Livre, Le Quart Livre, and especially Le Cinquième Livre.
Ernest Hemingway discusses the theme of hunger throughout A moveable feast by exploring and describing the different types of hunger that he felt. He aims to explore this theme in the passage where he strolls with Hadley, and they stop to eat at the restaurant Michaud’s. Through repetition and use of unconventional detail and word choice, Hemingway shows that he has more than one type of hunger, and needs to differentiate between them. Hemingway strives to tell that hunger is a feeling that is deep within someone, that changes depending on the situation and varies in intensity and meaning.
Michael Fried’s article Representing Representation focuses on the central group of Courbet’s Studio of the Painter as a “desire to reduce to an absolute minimum all sense of distance between [the] painting and beholder.” As his introduction, he states that he will compare the painter in the Studio to one of Courbet’s well-known self portraits—The Man with t...
In the short story "The Loons", Margaret Laurence writes the story of Piquette Tonnerre. A half-Indian girl who grows up under harsh circumstances in a society that suppresses half-breeds. The story is told through another girl, Vanessa, who comes in contact with Piquette through her father. As the title suggests the story also includes a special type of birds, the loons, and we can see an obvious comparison between the loons and Piquette. The loons are very special creatures; they are man-shy and can only be heard at night when they start their cry-like calling. It is said that one that has heard the loons cry, will not ever forget it.
The gestural and heavy working of the paint and the contrasting colors make the painting appear active yet are arduous to follow. The defining element of Woman and Bicycle is the presence of the black lines that do most of the work in terms of identifying the figure. Through the wild nature of the brushwork, color, and composition of the painting, it can be implied that the artist is making an implication towards the wild nature of even the most proper of women.
The Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is a piece full of rich colors that reflect both the time period and the artist’s impressionist style. This composition not only conveys a leisurely gathering of people, but also expresses the changing French social structure of the time due to the industrial revolution. To portray these themes Renoir uses, shape, space, color and texture. Shape is seen in the modeled figures and bottles, and space is created by overlapping of the bodies, but it does not give a realistic illusion of depth. Color is most evident in the painting by the deep blue and green contrasted by the vibrant red and greens making it very rich in colour. Texture is also evident in the clothing which was emphasized by the artist’s impressionist brushstroke style. Renoir also used principals of design to make his composition more effective like balance, movement, repetition and unity. A symmetrical balance is evident because most of the subjects in the painting are on the right side. Movement is achieved in this painting by the gesture and expression of the subjects as well as the drapery on the table and the gazebo cover. Repetition can be seen in the curves of the gazebo cover, the stripes and the posts in the railing. All these elements and principals of design unify this piece and make it very pleasing to the eye. Renoir reflects the theme is this painting because the impressionist style was new to the art field, just as the advances fr...