John Singer Sargent
Recognized as the leading portraitist in England and the United States at the turn of the century, John Singer Sargent was acclaimed for his elegant and very stylish depictions of high society. Known for his technical ability, he shunned traditional academic precepts in favor of a modern approach towards technique, color and form, thereby making his own special contribution to the history of grand manner portraiture.
A true cosmopolite, he was also a painter of plain air landscapes and genre scenes, drawing his subjects from such diverse locales as England, France, Italy and Switzerland. In so doing, Sargent also played a vital role in the history of British and American Impressionism.
Sargent was born in Florence in 1856. He was the first child of Dr. Fitzwilliam Sargent, a surgeon from an old New England family, and Mary Newbold Singer, the daughter of a Philadelphia merchant. His parents were among the many prosperous Americans who adopted an outcast-like lifestyle during the later nineteenth century. Indeed, Sargent’s family traveled constantly throughout the Continent and in England, a mode of living that enriched Sargent both culturally and socially. He ultimately became fluent in French, Italian and German, in addition to English.
Having developed an interest in drawing as a boy, Sargent received his earliest formal instruction in Rome in 1869, where he was taught by the German-American landscape painter Carl Welsch. Following this, he attended the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence during 1873-74.
In the spring of 1874, Sargent’s family moved to Paris, enabling him to continue his training there. He soon entered the studio of Charles-Emile-Auguste Carolus-Duran. In contrast to most French academic painters, Carolus-Duran taught his students to paint directly on the canvas, capturing the essence of his subject through relaxed brushwork, a tonal palette and strong chiaroscuro. Although Sargent also spent four years studying drawing under Léon Bonnat at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, it was Carolus-Duran’s approach that would form the aesthetic basis of his style.
Upon his teacher’s advice, Sargent also traveled to Spain and Holland to study the work of old master painters such as Diego Velázquez and Frans Hals, both of whom also employed skilled, fluid techniques.
Claude Monet played an essential role in a development of Impressionism. He created many paintings by capturing powerful art from the world around him. He was born on November 14, 1840, in Paris, France. Later, his family moved to Le Havre, Normandy, France because of his father’s business. Claude Monet did drawings of the nature of Normandy and time spent along the beaches and noticing the nature. As a child, his father had always wanted him to go into the family grocery business, but he was interested in becoming an artist. He was known by people for his charcoal caricatures, this way he made money by selling them by the age of 15. Moreover, Claude went to take drawing lessons with a local artist, but his career in painting had not begun yet. He met artist Eugène Boudin, who became his teacher and taught him to use oil paints. Claude Monet
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The green light at the end of the dock has symbolized a hope that Gatsby had. The green light was a light at the end of Daisy’s dock. In the beginning of the book, Gatsby was shown staring at the light with a longing expression. It shows that the green light is a symbol of Gatsby’s hope that Daisy is still available. The green li...
Throughout the story the author uses a variety of symbolism in The Great Gatsby to help develop the theme of immorality in the story. Multiple colors are used to symbolize aspects of immorality in the wealthy population at the time of The Great Gatsby. These symbols are especially present in the character Jay Gatsby throughout the story. The color green, representing needs and wants, is found multiple times in the story. Another color that helps develop the theme is white; this color represents false purity in a person or thing. Finally, corruption is usually a significant aspect of immorality especially in a wealthy setting, and under grave circumstances it can even lead to death. This segment of immorality is portrayed in the story using the color yellow. These symbols help develop the characteristics found in Jay Gatsby and also help support the theme of immorality as the book progresses.
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Georges Seurat was a French born artist born on December 2nd 1859 in Paris, Frrance. He study at École des Beaux-Art, which was one of the most prestige art schools in the world, which is also known for training many of the renounced artist we know. George Seurat left the École des Beaux-Art and began to work on his own; he began to visit impressionist exhibitions, where he gained inspiration from the impressionist painters, such as Claude Monet. Seurat also was interested in the science of art; he explored perception, color theory and the psychological effect of line and form. Seurat experimented with all the ideas he had gained, he felt the need to go beyond the impressionist style, he started to focus on the permanence of paintin...
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Vinci Van Gogh was born the eldest of six children in a small remote village in the south of Netherlands. At the age of 16 he became apprentice to his uncle’s art dealing company Goupil and Co. Vinci worked at Goupil and Co. London Branch from 1873 to May, 1875 until he moved the Perish Branch which lasted till 1876. During this time he surrounded himself with art and discovered he had a loving taste for other judge painters like, Rembrandt and Frans Hals. But also was influenced Jean-François Millet and Camille Corot. These influences would last throughout his life and influence his work. However tragedy struck when in 1874 he confessed his love to a girl in London, and she did not show love back. This event caused him to increasingly go into
F. Scott Fitzgerald created the famous, American classic, The Great Gatsby, with thought-provoking detail and color symbolism. Critics have been deeply analyzing it since it was published in 1925. There are a few memorable color symbolisms that are throughout the book. Everyone interprets literature in their own way so there are many different theories; there are even people that do not believe in color symbolism. Certain colors are continually being associated with a specific character/theme, which allows one to conclude that Fitzgerald intended on colors being symbolic.
Death of a Salesman, a play written in 1949, by Arthur Miller, has been Miller’s most famous work thanks to how relatable the play can be to almost every citizen in America. The play is told from the point of view of the principal character, Willy Loman. The play examines Willy’s perception of success, and the conflicts that his perception creates in his household. Having a wrong perception of likeness, lying, and cheating can lead to an individual to make decisions that can be irreversible and have many consequences. The family of Willy Loman is an example of how the life of each one of the members of the family can be defined by the mindsets of only one person.
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