Holbein vs Il Guercino
Most museum-goers would say that the artwork they are looking at is "impressive" or "interesting", but they would not usually be able to tell you why they think so. This is because, even though they hold that different pieces of work are equally beautiful, it is not often that the inexperienced eye would truly realize exactly what makes each work unique. Some of these factors include the period in which the work was done, the techniques used, and the overall emotion that the work displays. Even though these are not usually the first things that the average museum-goer thinks of, they are surely some of the most significant reasons for why art attracts so many different people with a variety of tastes and interests.
Two excellent examples of how these aspects add to the magnificence of a painting while still retaining each work's uniqueness can be seen in comparing Sir Thomas More, by Hans Holbein the Younger, and Sampson Captured by the Philistines, by Guercino. These two paintings are both masterpieces in their own respects, displaying the exceptional talents of the artists and encompassing the nature of paintings during their time.
Sir Thomas More, painted in 1527, is a portrait done by Hans Holbein the Younger. The portrait shows Sir More posing still, from the waist up, seated in front of green drapery, with one arm lightly resting on a type of wooden panel. This painting accurately encompasses the civil situation and spirit of the Renaissance in the North. Since religious art was traveling in a downward spiral due to the Protestant Reformation, artists were forced to look for other types of commissions. Because of the improving economy, middle-class citizens started making more money and began to commission portraits of themselves. Holbein was forced to leave his home to find work in England, where he first met Sir Thomas More and portrayed several other great humanists of the time.
Holbein's painting of Sir More displays the intricate details, definite lines, rich colors, and illusionism that are associated with the Northern Renaissance. The details in this painting are countless. The individual strands of hair at Sir More's hairline, the wrinkles on his knuckles, the easily observable difference between the color of his irises and his pupils, and the "SS" chain around his neck are all details that may be easily overlooked if one was not thinking about it.
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.
With the different styles of artists’ works planned to be showcased in this exhibition I hope viewers will be able to see what sorts of artworks were being done during the Renaissance that do not consist of works done by Michelangelo, da Vinci, Donatello, or Raphael. With a topic not usually covered when studying about Renaissance artist, I hope viewers will be able to not only learn about the interesting stories of famous Martyrdoms, but also learn about some of the lesser known Renaissance artists and their styles. Paintings of angles and landscapes from the Renaissance may look pretty but with these different and shocking pieces I hope to create an exhibition that will not soon fade away from visitor’s memories after they leave the National Gallery.
The United States experienced a severe economic depression during the 1930’s called the Great Depression. 13 million Americans lost their jobs, over 300,000 companies were out of business, and millions of families were living on the streets and going hungry. Sounds horrendous right? Well, this was the harsh reality for millions of Americans affected by the Great Depression. It was the most extensive, devastating economic downturn America has ever encountered.
This painting gives viewers a small glimpse into the past of the United States and the industrial revolution. Even though this picture showed a small glimpse of the past, a picture (or painting) is truly worth a thousand
The Great Depression, one of worst economic marks in american history, took root during 1929 when the economy began to collapse, creating a domino effect throughout the US, and forcing other several factors to contribute to the nation’s horrible downturn. The threat of the future was fragile, looming over the country and leaving it up to President Franklin Roosevelt to change its course. President Roosevelt’s response to the Great Depression known as the New Deal Act, was proven to be very effective in aiding americans during the crisis, initiating the participation of the federal government’s involvement in future economy, and politics.
Among Gypsies, “there exist such individuals [chovihanis] who are possessed of great power through their special knowledge and ability to work magic.” (Trigg)
Art is to be valued, treasured, and respected. Artwork speaks to everyone in a different way, and when asked the right questions, can give great answers. In an age where cameras and pictures are most dominant, original pieces of art are to be cherished and appreciated.
The long-term aim is to develop an approach to ethics that will help resolve contemporary issues regarding animals and the environment. In their classical formulations and as recently revised by animal and environmental ethicists, mainstream Kantian, utilitarian, and virtue theories have failed adequately to include either animals or the environment, or both. The result has been theoretical fragmentation and intractability, which in turn have contributed, at the practical level, to both public and private indecision, disagreement, and conflict. Immensely important are the practical issues; for instance, at the public level: the biologically unacceptable and perhaps cataclysmic current rate of species extinctions, the development or preservation of the few remaining wilderness areas, the global limitations on the sustainable distribution of the current standard of living in the developed nations, and the nonsustainability and abusiveness of today's technologically intense crop and animal farming. For individuals in their private lives, the choices include, for example: what foods to eat, what clothing to wear, modes of transportation, labor-intensive work and housing, controlling reproduction, and the distribution of basic and luxury goods. What is needed is an ethical approach that will peacefully resolve these and other quandaries, either by producing consensus or by explaining the rational and moral basis for the continuing disagreement.
The Italian Renaissance and the Baroque era are two major periods in art history, some of the types of art in those periods were painting, sculpting, and architecture. During these periods, many artist gained enormous fame from creating wonderful pieces of work that represented their beliefs and artistic thinking. This essay will analyze and evaluate two pieces from those major art periods. Rembrandt 's painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp and the sculpture David, by Michelangelo. These two masterpieces shed light of their significance in art history. David represents the Italian Renaissance for it being a strong symbol of the new republic, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp depicts the focus on human progression.
To conclude, at first, it may seem logical for one to hold Giovanni Bellori to be true; believing that Caravaggio truly was an innovative painter, due to his usage of realism, tenebrism and lack of linear perspective. However, these claims are simply inaccurate, as multiple artists had already performed such feats, including Northern Europeans such as Durer, and Mannerists such as Tintoretto. Therefore one must realize that Bellori’s statement cannot be an entirely valid assumption. Yet, one must not forget, that at the same time, Giovanni happens to be correct in his assumption that Caravaggio’s lack of Rubenesque vibrancy helps to liven up his imagery. All in all, though Caravaggio was quite effective in his employment of Bellori’s aforementioned “advances”, none of these prove to be unique from the artworks and styles preceding him.
Additionally, the styles changed; from Rococo, which was meant to represent the aristocratic power and the “style that (…) and ignored the lower classes” (Cullen), to Neoclassicism, which had a special emphasis on the Roman civilization’s virtues, and also to Romanticism, which performs a celebration of the individual and of freedom. Obviously, also the subject matter that inspired the paintings has changed as wel...
Art is a constantly evolving process. The previous style of work serves as a roadmap for what will follow. As often is the case with any form of growth, there exists a transitional period. Because of this evolution, there are traces of a style’s illustrious history embedded in the adaptive art’s metaphorical DNA. The transition from early to late Renaissance established two styles of art known as Baroque and Rococo. While, on the surface, the Rococo style can appear to be very similar to the work produced by Baroque artists, the two also demonstrate distinct differences in their use of subject and theme, the manner in which they created the art, and how that art was perceived in their time. These factors establish both styles from one another, making them unique.
One of the main reasons assisted suicide should not be considered for legalization is the fact that it reduces the value of a human life. If this act becomes legal, many people who are sick are going to begin believing that because they are ill, their life is not worth living anymore. This alone i...
A human induced global ecological crisis is occurring, threatening the stability of this earth and its inhabitants. The best path to address environmental issues both effectively and morally is a dilemma that raises concerns over which political values are needed to stop the deterioration of the natural environment. Climate change; depletion of resources; overpopulation; rising sea levels; pollution; extinction of species is just to mention a few of the damages that are occurring. The variety of environmental issues and who and how they affect people and other species is varied, however the nature of environmental issues has the potential to cause great devastation. The ecological crisis we face has been caused through anthropocentric behavior that is advantageous to humans, but whether or not anthropocentric attitudes can solve environmental issues effectively is up for debate. Ecologism in theory claims that in order for the ecological crisis to be dealt with absolutely, value and equality has to be placed in the natural world as well as for humans. This is contrasting to many of the dominant principles people in the contemporary world hold, which are more suited to the standards of environmentalism and less radical approaches to conserving the earth. I will argue in this essay that whilst ecologism could most effectively tackle environmental problems, the moral code of ecologism has practical and ethical defects that threaten the values and progress of anthropocentricism and liberal democracy.
Ecologists formulate their scientific theories influenced by ethical values, and in turn, environmental ethicists value nature based on scientific theories. Darwinian evolutionary theory provides clear examples of these complex links, illustrating how these reciprocal relationships do not constitute a closed system, but are undetermined and open to the influences of two broader worlds: the sociocultural and the natural environment. On the one hand, the Darwinian conception of a common evolutionary origin and ecological connectedness has promoted a respect for all forms of life. On the other hand, the metaphors of struggle for existence and natural selection appear as problematic because they foist onto nature the Hobbesian model of a liberal state, a Malthusian model of the economy, and the productive practice of artificial selection, all of which reaffirm modern individualism and the profit motive that are at the roots of our current environmental crisis. These metaphors were included in the original definitions of ecology and environmental ethics by Haeckel and Leopold respectively, and are still pervasive among both ecologists and ethicists. To suppose that these Darwinian notions, derived from a modern-liberal worldview, are a fact of nature constitutes a misleading interpretation. Such supposition represents a serious impediment to our aim of transforming our relationship with the natural world in order to overcome the environmental crisis. To achieve a radical transformation in environmental ethics, we need a new vision of nature.