Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin (1878-1939) was a self-taught painter and multitalented individual, born to a shoemaker and maid. Petrov-Vodkin was a son of his times since his interests varied from Russian Icons to Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Russian Revolution. Considered one of the most original Russian artists of the firs decade, Petrov-Vodkin’s work caused fierce controversy. After his death, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin’s name was eradicated from the Soviet art world and in the following quarter century his work disappeared from museum collections. However, his work once again received recognition in the latter half of the 1960s within Russian culture.
The political historical context of the painting marks the first anniversary of the October Revolution
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For instance, showing Petrograd from above to lend the painting a planetary importance. According to his own philosophy, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin developed an axis of any all-vertical objects on the surface inclined radially towards the center of the Earth due to gravity. By depicting the space from top and peripheral points, he allowed a viewer to discern a spherical shape of the globe. Likewise, in The Year 1918 in Petrograd (Madonna of Petrograd), the multiple lines of perspective in the painting connects back to the symbolism of the icon. Experimenting with perspective and composition, Petrov-Vodkin created a somewhat ethereal space, one that invites interaction with the viewer and even draws the viewer into the space. With no linear perspective and the vanishing point outside the painting, Petrov-Vodkin accomplishes this in the background by radially expanding the buildings and people away from the viewer, while in the foreground the mother and child are framed by the railing and white columns on the side to evoke the icon window. The perspective is extremely powerful because the space unfolds in all directions, so that the composition acquires a cosmic scale, which elevates the subject matter of the
October/ Octubre by Patssi Valdez (1995: fig.1) gives the viewer an inside look into this brightly colored world similar to magical realism as we stare at a table with item and a window view that looks outside at swirls of frosty cold air. This large scale acrylic painting on canvas measures to 78 1/16" x 26 3/8" x 1". At first glance we, the audience, are faced looking at a table with blue patterned table cloth and three objects on top; a book of Sor Juana, a golden pear, and a potted plant holding two yellow tiger lilies. At the bottom foreground of the painting, we can see a red and blue circular rug underneath the table with a pair of pointed black shoes, suggesting that this is a female’s home. The background of this painting, depicts
Contextual Theory: This painting depicts a portrait of life during the late 1800’s. The women’s clothing and hair style represent that era. Gorgeous landscape and a leisurely moment are captured by the artist in this work of
When looking at the painting it gives us a glimpse of the past. It looks almost like a photograph. The fine detail from the building on the right with the statue on top. The citizens walking around.
While there are numerous collaged items on the work, they do not create the tabletop flatness that Steinberg describes. Instead, all of the images: the paintings, pictures, and text, are oriented in the same real-life gravitational direction. Unlike Rauschenberg’s White Painting with Numbers, there is a clear direction that the work is to be viewed from, and this direction does not change whether the work is placed on a wall or on the floor; the indented gravitational direction is always clear. There is no mystery in the placement of the work, and no flatbed picture plane quality like that of Rauschenberg’s Third Time Painting (1962) where a normally vertical object, a clock, has been rotated 90
This painting of the industrial revolution is very thought provoking, and causes a person to think about of what was happening during the industrial revolution. He shows the horrors of the factories and the serenity of the nature. He makes someone want to go back in time where things were peaceful, and there was just nature. Everything was in it’s own natural state and peaceful. This painting gave 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
In the short-term it is clear that Trotsky had a huge significance in the development of Russia, shown clearly through both his letters and documents, and the opinions of those close to Trotsky. The significance is obvious through his role in the build up to the October Revolution, his negotiations with Germany through the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, his contribution to Bolshevik success in the civil war and his attitude towards terror and his failure to out maneuver Stalin to succeed Lenin. Trotsky was hugely significant in the build up to and during the October Revolution. The first reason was his ability to convince many of the Social Democrats that the revolution was a real possibility, not just a theoretical concept. This is evident through much of Trotsky’s work as the leader of the Petrograd Soviet in September 1917, which saw Trotsky re-invent the Bolshevik plan to seize power, curbing Lenin’s ruthless ambition as he aimed for the swift overthrow of Kerensky.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky is the author of six symphonies and the finest and most popular operas in the Russian repertory. Tchaikovsky was also one of the founders of the school of Russian music. He was a brilliant composer with a creative imagination that helped his career throughout many years. He was completely attached to his art. His life and art were inseparably woven together. "I literally cannot live without working," Tchaikovsky once wrote, "for as soon as one piece of work is finished and one would wish to relax, I desire to tackle some new work without delay." The purpose of this paper is to give you a background concerning Tchaikovsky's biography, as well as to discuss his various works of art.
images in this painting, all of which have the power to symbolize to us, the viewer, of the painter’s
On Saturday, March 15, 2014, I visited the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The gallery #753, which is a part of so-called American Wing, features oil paintings of the revolutionary period in America. The paintings seen in this gallery celebrate heroes and hard-fought battles of the new nation. The most popular type of painting of that time remained portraiture. Portraits in extremely large numbers figured in interiors, where they were arranged to convey not only domestic, but political messages as well. Hence, it is natural, that such iconic figure like George Washington became a model for numerous artists of that era, including Gilbert Stuart and Charles Willson Peale, for whom Washington actually sat. Two exceptional portraits of Washington, the general and the the first President of the United States are highlighted in this paper.
Trotsky’s career as Commissar of War illustrated his capabilities to lead, command and organize a body of individuals, it is undeniable he had the makings to be an exemplar leader. His militarization of grain requisitioning, use of blocking units in battle tactics, establishment of field tribunals to counter the massive desertion problem that had powers to enact the death sentence, his dismissal of the Kronstadt sailor manifesto as “petty bourgeois demands”(Trotsky) and their later massacre by sixty thousand of his own troops as well as his defense of Petrograd in 1918 all illustrate his ability to be a ruthless and successful leader in Russian, and someone fit to succeed Lenin. However, Trotsky lost the power struggle because Stalin was the only member who had influence in all three sectors of governance; Poliburo, Orgburo and Secretariat as General Secretary, a decision put forward by Lenin...
Jacques-Louis David’s Oath of the Horatii and Francisco Goya’s Third of May, 1808 are both large scale paintings that contain an intense emotional element by using an oil medium on canvas. David’s Oath of the Horatii is a history painting, meaning that it has a moralizing message along with classical antiquity of a Roman legend. Jacques-Louis David was a member of the French Royal Academy, which was controlled by the monarchy. In contrast, Spanish artist Francisco Goya’s Third of May, 1808 is often referred to as the “world’s first modern painting,” as it shows the distress and suffering of the Spanish at the time. This painting is an example of Romanticism, as it shows Goya’s political sympathies.
Lydia Chekovskaya wrote about Sofia Petrovna and the transformation she had undergone to closely reflect the state of mind and changes experienced by citizens of the Soviet Union during that time. As people began to suffer from the purges and other hardships due to Stalin’s incompetence, their minds and logic, much like Sofia Petrovna’s, became impaired leading them to try their best to rationalize Stalin’s actions. They believed in the party wholeheartedly, but when they finally realized the wrongdoing of the party, it was far too late.
Inspired by the works of Karl Marx, V.I. Lenin nonetheless drew his ideology from many other great 19th century philosophers. However, Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” was immensely important to the success of Russia under Leninist rule as it started a new era in history. Viewed as taboo in a capitalist society, Karl Marx started a movement that would permanently change the history of the entire world. Also, around this time, the Populist promoted a doctrine of social and economic equality, although weak in its ideology and method, overall. Lenin was also inspired by the anarchists who sought revolution as an ultimate means to the end of old regimes, in the hope of a new, better society. To his core, a revolutionary, V.I. Lenin was driven to evoke the class struggle that would ultimately transform Russia into a Socialist powerhouse. Through following primarily in the footsteps of Karl Marx, Lenin was to a lesser extent inspired by the Populists, the Anarchists, and the Social Democrats.
O’Donnell, Sr., Joseph J.. “Art and the French Revolution”. The Eerie Digest, May 2013. Web. 5th May 2013.
Francisco Goya’s The Third of May 1808 introduces the highly emotional style of Romanticism (French Revolution) and illustrates the themes of violent punishment, death, and the senseless brutality of war. Goya has made an image of actual historical events, but enhanced them for maximum dramatic effect. In the painting, the figures to the left of the composition demand the viewer’s attention more than the figures to the right. While the faceless French soldiers on the opposite side are rendered almost inhuman, the ill-fated Spanish “rebels” elicit both sympathy for their suffering and respect for their sacrifice.