During my trip to the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, I saw a collection of works I've never been exposed to. What really caught my attention was The Russian Bride's Attire, by Kontantin Makovsky. Made in 1889, this exquisite piece depicts the preparation of a Russian Wedding during the 19th Century. Measuring in at 110 x 147 inches ( 279.4x 373.4cm) this painting is enormous and a spectacular feat of human creativity. After taking in the scale, the details of the painting become even more impressive. Examining Makovsky's creation, I began to speculate what he was trying to depict. There are elements that set the environment for the situation, but the strokes, color and facial expression set the tone of the moment. Here Makovsky has recreated a traditional Russian Wedding ceremony but not a “happy” one most people would expect. Instead it comes across as melancholy and somewhat apprehensive. Makovsky addresses the universal concept of the wedding day: A day that is filled with anticipation and a day that is often filled with doubt.
The most focal aspect of this painting is the bride, Maria Miloslavskaya , in the center as all attention is on her. She is having her hair made up, her sister, at her feet on her lap and a circle of spectators awaiting her transformation. Everyone around her is in elaborate, elegant and colorful attire while she is in all white. She has a high value emanating from the center and is amplified by her dress. Her facial expression coupled with her lack of color and rather pale skin is symbolic of her current state. The white represents her virginity she is about to lose, while her demeanor is sulking as if forced into a arranged marriage and her apprehension is visible. The only spot of color, on her...
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... detail into a inconsequential piece of the painting is a tribute to the motivations and effort of Makovsky .
Makovsky has created a majestic piece of work that manages to convey the different aspects of a wedding day, and more specifically a traditional 1800's Russian Wedding. Through his shapes, colors, tones, light, value and an incredible attention to detail, Makovsky has stepped beyond the boundaries of the medium and transferred an idea of “traditional” marriage and sparked a dialogue of what traditional should constitute and whether or not it's right for everyone. Being able to step into a piece of time gives one an outlook on what life was like back then and a chance for reflection on what time is like now. The attention to detail, down to the most inanimate and tiny object, gives the painting the illusion of being real, rather than blots of paint on canvas.
I chose to analyze the The Family, 1941 portray and The Family, 1975 portray, both from Romare Bearden, for this essay because they are very similar paintings but at the same time very different. To write a critical analyzes it was necessary to choose two different paintings that had similar characteristics. The text about critical comparison said that to compare things they have to be similar, yet different, and that’s what these paintings look to me. As I had already written an analysis of The Family, 1941 portray I chose to analyze and compare The Family, 1975 this time. Both works have a lot of color in it and through the people’s faces in the pictures we can feel the different emotions that the paintings are conveying.
Through the use of symbolism, and characterization that involves an instance of imagery, the author advocates this notion through the newlywed’s decision of neglecting her personal feminine taste to make her husband’s preferences her own, and embracing her title of submissive partner by kissing the hand. Also, the choice of words to describe each partner differs tremendously, as the author seems to give more importance to the man by making him appear handsome, and particularly strong. On the contrary, the young woman appears to be weak and minor, which supports this idea of submissive women in a couple through the perception of the woman being way behind her husband. This story demonstrates a great symbolic significance when it comes to the hand, which can lead to other important ideas surrounding the message the author is trying to
As with his every other painting, this one captures a moment, freezing it permanently in time. He depicts moments that could not have lasted for more than few mere seconds and paints them in particular manner that immortalizes them. This particular ballerina is not performing, she seems to be practicing in the dance room; however, he d...
The first thing to notice about this painting is how incredibly involved and realistic the brushwork is. The couple’s faces are so delicately rendered. Every wrinkle is visible and every hair strand is in it’s place. The soft folds and patterns of their clothing, and the grain of the vertical boards on the house, are highly developed and reveal Wood’s incredible attention to detail. The man, especially, appears to be nearly photorealistic.
...e sexual union between him and the woman. The couple is also wearing jewelry that symbolizes their sexual power and union as a whole. This particular piece of art shows how the physical appearance of a human is not needed to show sexual characteristics. The pieces are completely different in appearance, but the idea of sexual representation is fully shown throughout each piece.
The painting depicts two figures, the one of a woman and of a man. The dominating central figure is the one of the woman. We see her profile as she looks to the left. Her hands are crossed in a graceful manner. She has blonde hair and her figure is lit by what seems to be natur...
Mark Rothko is recognized as one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century and during his lifetime was touted as a leading figure in postwar American painting. He is one of the outstanding figures of Abstract Expressionism and one of the creators of Color Field Painting. As a result of his contribution of great talent and the ability to deliver exceptional works on canvas one of his final projects, the Rothko Chapel offered to him by Houston philanthropists John and Dominique de Menil, would ultimately anchor his name in the art world and in history. Without any one of the three, the man, the work on canvas, or the dream, the Rothko Chapel would never have been able to exist for the conceptualization of the artist, the creations on canvas and the architectural dynamics are what make the Rothko Chapel a product of brilliance.
The painting is organized simply. The background of the painting is painted in an Impressionist style. The blurring of edges, however, starkly contrasts with the sharp and hard contours of the figure in the foreground. The female figure is very sharp and clear compared to the background. The background paint is thick compared to the thin lines used to paint the figures in the foreground. The thick paint adds to the reduction of detail for the background. The colors used to paint the foreground figures are vibrant, as opposed to the whitened colors of the Impressionist background. The painting is mostly comprised of cool colors but there is a range of dark and light colors. The light colors are predominantly in the background and the darker colors are in the foreground. The vivid color of the robe contrasts with the muted colors of the background, resulting in an emphasis of the robe color. This emphasis leads the viewer's gaze to the focal part of the painting: the figures in the foreground. The female and baby in the foreground take up most of the canvas. The background was not painted as the artist saw it, but rather the impression t...
For the Museume review, I've decided to review two pieces of art from the Russian arts exhibit at the Zimmerli Art Museum. The first piece I decided to look at and review is Lianozovo by Oskar Rabin (1962). While walking through the exhibit, this piece interested me so I thought this is the one I want to start off with. The texture of the painting pops out at me. The way this is painted gives off that this piece has a magnitude of shadow and dimension from distance, but up close, any person viewing this painting could see how everything blends into the surrounding colors. There is trail of money that is getting smaller which If an observer looks closer toward the building it gives a thought that the house is being viewed at from a distance.
Aristotle once claimed that, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Artists, such as Louise-Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun and Mary Cassatt, captured not only the way things physically appeared on the outside, but also the emotions that were transpiring on the inside. A part no always visible to the viewer. While both artists, Le Brun and Cassatt, worked within the perimeters of their artistic cultures --the 18th century in which female artists were excluded and the 19th century, in which women were artistically limited-- they were able to capture the loving relationship between mother and child, but in works such as Marie Antoinette and Her Children and Mother Nursing her Child 1898,
Throughout history art has presented itself in many different forms. Two forms of art are poetry and paintings. William C. Carlos’ poem “The Dance” paints a picture while Pieter Brueghel’s painting “Peasants’ Dance” tell a story. The odd thing is that both the poem and the painting have many similarities as well as many notable differences. Tone, image, and imagination show the many similarities and differences between William C. Williams’ poem “The Dance” and Pieter Brueghel’s painting “Peasants’ Dance.”
...s work The 3rd of May, 1808 is a very detailed and dramatic narrative within a collection of war themed works by the artist. I believe that by using the formal elements of color, texture, shape, lines, space, and the value I was able to sufficiently provide evidence that Goya offers a sequential order of direction for the audience to comprehend from their personal viewing. The twisted and grief stricken work creates a massive emotional connection and the artist plans for the viewers’ to grow and understand this message. The subject highlighted is obvious that Goya is passionate on his stance and outlook on war is suggested in the work. It’s obvious that Goya’s formal organization of his color palette, variation of brushes, repeating shapes, and play with lighting all correspond to depict man’s savage and at times monstrous actions are justified during war.
Mankind has always aspired to be the largest, biggest, strongest, highest, essentially the best in everything. This is not untrue for the Russians who have had the largest country in the world for quite some time now. Russia covers one-sixth of the entire world’s land mass and has had a significant part in modern history. However, in order to understand why a country has become what it is now, one must look at its culture. A country’s culture not only reflects its citizens now but also its history and future.
The chosen garment that will be discussed in detail in this essay is the Royal wedding dress designed for Catherine (Kate) Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge made by the English designer Sarah Burton creative director of the fashion label Alexander McQueen. This essay will cover the topics of this dress in terms of historical and cultural context, the formal elements and its meaning.
Rossetti shows us the woman being painted as many different things. Although she is just a painting, the woman symbolizes how the artist views women in real life: as objects. Irony is used when the woman is painted as “a queen”(5). She is put on a pedestal in a position of power, yet she is only described as being “in [an] opal or ruby dress”(5), cementing her role as an ornament. The ruby symbolizes passion and perhaps promiscuity. Opal is a white stone that reflects many colors. White symbolizes purity; while the different colors reflected symbolize how her meaning can change, and how the artist controls her identity and can make her fit any persona he desires. The woman is also depicted as a “nameless girl”(6), indicating her identity is not important to the artist. It also shows that he does not personally know the women he’s painting, but only their looks, affirming that he bases their value off of their appearances. Lastly, the artist portrays a woman as “a saint [and] an angel”(7) and compares her to the “moon”(11), an allusion to Artemis, the goddess of virginity. In this painting, she is established as a pure virgin, which was a requirement of the time period Rossetti lived in. However, because it is one of the fantasies the artist creates, and the poem antagonizes him, this line also expresses the idea that a woman’s purity should not define her. He makes the innocent virgin and the licentious queen the only ways women can be viewed. Yet, they are the same to him. Lacking depth, their physical description is the only thing giving them any meaning. Rossetti describing the portraits conveys the idea that no matter the position in society; or what their actual personalities are like, women are just blank canvases for men to project their fantasies onto. Uninterested in a real person, the artist worships the idea of a