Academic Classicism

Academic Classicism is the painting style established by European art academies and universities. In general It is also called "academic art". In this context as new styles are embraced by academics, the new styles come to be considered academic, thus what was at one time a rebellion against academic art becomes academic art. The academic art world also worshiped Raphael, for the splendor of his work. This style is often termed "art pompier", "academism", "academicism", "classical revival", "beaux-arts classicism" and "eclecticism".

The followers of Classicism appreciated and imitated Greek and Roman literature, art, and architecture. Classicism is a late form of Neoclassicism, with a distinctly original elegance. Often linked with "historicism" and "syncretism".

Followers of this movement were influenced by the high standards of the French Academie des Beaux-Arts, which practiced under the movements of Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Academic Classicism attempted to merge both techniques to create the perfect style. It is characterized by adhering to a strict manner of painting, following narrow compositional rules and delicacy of color. The atmospheric effects are sumptuously luminescent. According to art historian, Walter Pater "To produce such effects at all requires all the resources of painting, with its power of indirect expression, of subordinate but significant detail, its atmosphere, its foregrounds and backgrounds."

Subject matter often used in Rococo art such as light hearted frivolity of the upper classes was fashionable once again. This style favored interpretations of Greek, Roman and Renaissance themes. Imagery often centered around Biblical stories, Arthurian legends and mythology. According to Solomon Gessner, the great German painter and art historian, "By studying the works of Greek sculptors the painter can attain the sublimest conceptions of beauty, and learn what must be added to nature in order to give to the imitation dignity and propriety.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: German poet, playwright, novelist, and philosopher argued that Greek art was an absolutely exemplary model from which a fixed canon determinative for the artists of all times could be derived; and that the composition of pictures should correspond strictly with the style of antiquity.

Masters of Academic Classicism, William Bouguereau, Paul Delaroche and Jean-Leon Gerome, had an extraordinary way of capturing nature's tempestuous, "feral" qualities and yet, at the same time, create in the viewer an almost inspirational feeling of harmony and serenity. High drama, blithe sophistication, and unrequited passion characterize this magnificent painting style. Read More...

Kinetic Art

Kinetic art explores how things look when they move and refers mostly to sculptured works, made up of parts designed to be set in motion by an internal mechanism or an external stimulus, such as light or air. The movement is not virtual or illusory, but a real movement that might be created by a motor, water, wind or even a button pushed by the viewer. Over time, kinetic art developed in response to an increasingly technological culture.

The Kinetic art form was pioneered by Marcel Duchamp, Naum Gabo, and Alexander Calder. Among the earliest attempts to incorporate movement in a plastic artwork were Moholy-Nagy's Space-Light Modulator, a sculpture producing moving shadows made at the Bauhaus between 1922 and 1930, certain Constructivists works, Marcel Duchamp's Rotary Glass Plate and Rotary Demisphere (Precision Optics), and Alexander Calder's motorized sculptures from 1930s.

The expression Kinetic Art was used from the mid-1950s onward. It referred to an international trend followed by artists such as Soto, Takis, Agam and Schoffer. Some Kinetic artists also worked in the field of Op Art. Their works were influenced by a modernist aesthetic and could be made with contemporary materials (e.g., aluminum, plastic, neon). Most kinetic works were moving geometric compositions. In Italy artists belonging to Gruppo N, founded in Padua in 1959 (including Biasi, Costa and Massironi, among others), carried out experiments with light, projections and reflections associated with movement.

The members of the French group GRAV, which included Le Parc, Morellet and Sobrino and was established in 1960's in Paris, created optical and kinetic environments that disturbed and interfered with meanings and relations to space.

The term kineticism broadened the concept of Kinetic Art to all artistic works involving movement, without any reference to a specific aesthetics. It applies to all those artists today who w Read More...

Art Brut

Art Brut ("Raw Art" or "Rough Art" in French) is a label created by French painter Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture. Dubuffet focused particularly on the art of the insane. The English term "Outsider Art", which is synonym for the Art Brut, is often applied more broadly, to include certain works of non-professional artists, who intentionally or not had created original art uninfluenced by the canon.

Interest in the art of insane asylum inmates had begun to grow in the 1920s. In 1921 Dr. Walter Morgenthaler published his monograph about Adolf Wölfli, a psychotic mental patient in his care. Wölfi had spontaneously taken up drawing, and this activity seemed to calm him. His most outstanding work is an illustrated epic of 45 volumes in which he narrates his own imaginary life story. With 25000 pages, 1600 illustrations, and 1500 collages it is a monumental work.

Dubuffet was particularly struck by Dr. Morgenthaler's publication and began his own collection of such art, which he called Art Brut or Raw Art. In 1948 he formed the Compagnie de l'Art Brut along with other artists including André Breton. The collection he established became known as the Collection de l'Art Brut. It contains thousands of works and is now permanently housed in Lausanne.

Dubuffet characterized Art Brut as: "Those works created from solitude and from pure and authentic creative impulses - where the worries of competition, acclaim and social promotion do not interfere - are, because of these very facts, more precious than the productions of professions. After a certain familiarity with these flourishing of an exalted feverishness, live so fully and so intensely by their authors, we cannot avoid the feeling that in relation to these works, cultural art in its entirety appears to be the game of a futile society, a fallacious parade."

Dubuffet argued that 'culture' that is mainstream culture, managed to assimilate every new development in art, and by doing so took away whatever power it might have had. The result was to asphyxiate genuine expression. Art Brut was his solution to this problem - only Art Brut was immune to the influences of culture, immune to being absorbed and assimilated, because the artists themselves were not willing or able to be assimilated. Read More...

Art Informel

After WWII painters contemplated the legacy of geometric abstraction characterized in the early 20th century developments (through Cubism, Futurism, Suprematism, Constructivism and De Stijl) as a load and the cold intellectualism, out of touch with the post WWII reality of poverty and despair. Spontaneity and authenticity were more meaningful to a new generation of artists, then the clarity and functionality of De Stijl and other proponents of geometric abstraction.

From the reaction was born a new painting style which was fully abstract but didn't rely on intellectualist methodology. It was the result of the artist's emotional and physical engagement. The term Art Informel ("formless" art in French) was first used in early1950s by French art critic Michel Tapie to describe the works of an array of famous artists including Jean Dubuffet, Wols, Willem de Kooning, Jean Fautrier and Alberto Burri. It was a definition of a further development of abstraction that was seen as a radical break also with Modernism, toward something wholly "other."

The Informel artist was not interested in trying, at all cost, to have total control over the processes of artistic work. He emphasized spontaneity, irrationality, and freedom of form. He sought out "rebellious" tools and paints, capable of producing things accidental and unexpected. He strove to escape at any price a "prison" of the "well-made" traditional art works.

Lyrical Abstraction movement was contemporary to Art Informel and close with its approach. Some European abstract artists were associated with those both movements. The equivalent on the other side of Atlantic was similar in expressiveness, gesture and innovation - the Abstract Expressionism in America. Read More...

Rococo

A term "Rococo" describes a movement in the arts in the early 18th century, in France. Rococo has been born from the Baroque era, during the age of Enlightenment. That was a time when new ideas about human existence were introduced and Rococo art is the visual representation of the optimism people felt in response to that.

The word "rococo" is derived from "rocaille", meaning "rock work" or "shell work," a favorite motif of the time. It stresses purely ornamental, light, casual, irregular design.

Rococo is seen both as the climax and fall of Baroque art. After the heavy works created in the Baroque style artists were ready for a change. The Rococo manner was a reaction against the"grand manner" of art identified with the baroque formality and rigidity of court life. The movement toward a lighter, more charming manner began in French architectural decoration at the end of Louis XIV's reign (d.1715) and quickly spread across Europe. During the regency of Duke of Orleans, regent for the minor heir Louis XV, the formalities of the court gave way to a more casual and intimate atmosphere. Rococo art portrayed a world of artificiality, make-believe, and game-playing. Although less formal, it was essentially an art of the aristocracy and emphasized what seem now to have been the unreflective and indulgent lifestyles of the aristocracy rather than piety, morality, self-discipline, reason, and heroism (all of which can be found in the baroque).

The Rococo style is characterized by pastel colors, gracefully delicate curving forms, fanciful figures, and a lighthearted mood (visually and physically). The essence of Rococo art is light. Extreme highlights are placed on the subject matter and the overall work is light in color, effect, and emotion. Artists paid special attention to fine detail. Form is characterized by delicacy of color, dynamic compositions, and atmospheric effects.

Antoine Watteau is considered to be one of the first Rococo painters. He often created asymmetrical compositions. This type of aesthetic balance became not only an important part of Rococo art, but of design in general.

Eventually the Rococo art was replaced by the more serious style, Neoclassicism. Critics condemned it as "tasteless, frivolous, and symbolic of a corrupt society". Read More...

How to Paint a Color-Field Painting

As the name would suggest, color is the dominant element of a color-field painting. It's the subject of the painting, and the point of the painting. There isn't anything to worry about "getting" or "understanding", it's about the sheer beauty and impact of color on your sense and emotions.

The "field" part of the name "color-field painting" makes me think of agriculture. Those vast sweeps of grassland or golden wheatlands where the color shifts gently as the wind blows through the crop. The beauty of a color-field painting is similarly in its shimmering shapes of color, the filling of your senses with color as you stand in front of it. Shape for the sake of shape. Color for the sake of color.

"...abstract art does not employ subject matter that is obvious as either the anecdote or familiar objects, yet it must appeal to our experience in some way. Instead of appealing to our sense of the familiar, it simply functions in another category."
-- Color-field Artist Mark Rothko, in his book The Artist's Reality: Philosophies of Art, p80. Read More...

Abstract Painting: Using Nature as a Source for Inspiration

When you’re looking for inspiration for an abstract painting, you need to change the way you look at the world around you. You need to stop seeing the big picture and look for details. To look at the shapes and patterns which occur, rather than focusing on the actual objects.

In this example, my starting point was the trunk of a gum tree, with stones of various colours and sizes packed around it. It had recently rained, so the soil was wet, making it quite dark in colour. The photos will take you step-by-step through my thought processes as I narrow down the potential for an abstract painting.

This first photo shows the overall scene. Look at the photo and think about what you’re seeing. What elements are there, what textures, what colours, and what shapes?

Have you noticed the lovely curves on the two big stones? What about the contrast between the smooth white stone and the coarse texture of the tree bark? And the contrast between the clean white stone and the mud stuck to its underside?

Seeing this kind of detail is the first step in spotting the potential for abstract art in nature. You need to train your eye to see the world anew. Read More...

CoBrA

Cobra was a post-World War II European avant-garde movement. The name was derived from the initials of the members' home cities: Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam. Copenhagen is the head, Brussels is the body, and Amsterdam is the tail of the Cobra.

The group's founders included Asger Jorn, the Dutch painter Constant, the Belgian poet Christian Dotremont and the painters Pierre Alechinsky, Karel Appel, Corneille and Carl-Henning Pedersen. Later on the group was expanded substantially.

In a Europe devastated by war, artists were eager to join forces, pool their thoughts and react to the inhumanity of a civilization based on reason and science. Cobra had a distinctive political and social dimension based on a criticism of the Cold War society of their day.

Cobra was formed from an amalgamation of the Dutch group Reflex, the Danish group Host and the Belgian Revolutionary Surrealist Group. Their fundamental values were nonconformity and spontaneity. Their inspiration was children's drawings, the alienated and folk art, motifs from Nordic mythology, Marxism. They rejected erudite art and all official art events. They sought to express combination of the Surrealist unconscious with the romantic forces of nature but unlike the former group they felt an abstract idiom better served that purpose. They were primary distinguished by a semiabstract expressive paintings style with brilliant color, violent brushwork, and distorted human figures.

Cobra was a milestone in the development of European Abstract Expressionism and was very similar to American Action Painting. Read More...

Art of Aegean Bronze Age Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean Art

Aegean Civilization denotes the Bronze Age civilization that developed in the basin of the Aegean Sea. It had tree major cultures: the Cycladic, the Minoan and the Mycenaean. Aegean art is noticeable for its naturalistic vivid style, originated in Minoan Crete. No much was known about the Aegean civilization until the late 19th century, when archaeological excavations began at the sites of the legendary cities of Troy, Mycenae, Knossos, and other centers of the Bronze Age.

Cycladic culture - Early Bronze Age
(About 3000-2200 B.C.)

The Cycladic civilization of the Aegean Sea flourished at about the same time as the early Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations. That is considered the forerunner of the first truly European civilization - Greece.
On the mainland their villages have been small independent units, often protected by thick walls. Over time, the buildings on Crete and in the Cyclads became more complex.Cycladic culture developed pottery, often decorated with rectangular, circular, or spiral designs. They also produced silver jewelry. The sculpture produced there was very unique compared to the art being produced by the Egyptians and Mesopotamians. These sculptures, commonly called Cycladic idols, were often used as grave offerings. Characteristic of that sculpture is that all were made of Parian marble, with its geometric, two-dimensional nature, which has a strangely modern familiarity. The Cycladic artists made obvious attempts to represent the human form. Therefore, Cycladic sculpture can safely be called the first truly great sculpture in Greece.

Minoan Culture - Middle Bronze Age
(About 2200-1800 B.C.)

Newcomers arrived in the Cyclades and on the mainland and caused destruction. For about two centuries civilization was disrupted. New pottery and the introduction of horses at this time indicate that the invaders were of the Indo-European language family.

Minoan culture developed on Crete, in the 2nd millennium B.C. Impressive buildings, frescoes, vases, and early writing are evidence of that flourishing culture. Great royal palaces built around large courtyards were the focal points of these communities. The Minoan empire appears to have coordinated and defended the bronze-age trade. They maintained a marine empire, trading not only with the Cyclades and the mainland but also with Sicily, Egypt, and cities on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Minoan religion featured a female snake deity, whose worship involved the symbolism of fertility and the lunar and solar cycles.

Minoan art is unusual for the time. It is naturalistic, quite different from the stiff stereotypes of contemporary art elsewhere. The vibrant colors, smooth lines, and sense of nature make Minoan art a pleasure for eyes even today. Minoan artists broke away from the two-dimensional expression of figure and created three-dimensional figures. The frescoes are art of exceptional beauty and their fluidity makes the figures dynamic. The easy pleasure-loving lifestyle comes across in their art. The Minoan civilization rivaled that of Egypt. From Crete, this style spread to the Aegean. On the Greek mainland it was modified by geometric tendencies.
Minoan palaces: Knossos, Phaestos, Malia, Zakros.

Mycenaean culture - Late Bronze Age
(1600-1200 B.C.)

It is believed that the Mycenaeans were responsible for the end of the Minoan culture with which they had many ties. This theory is supported by a switch on the island of Crete from the Cretan Linear A Script to the Mycenaean Linear B style script and by changes in ceramics styles and decoration. The styles on painted vases and weapons that depicted hunting and battle scenes are more formal and geometric than those of earlier examples, anticipating the art of classical Greece.

The architecture and art of Greek mainland was very different from the one of Crete. Mycenae and Tiryns were two major political and economic centers there at the time.

Cyclopean Architecture is the Mycenaean type of building walls and palaces. Palaces were built as large citadels made of piled up stones, as opposed to the openness of Minoan palaces. The citadel of Mycenae is an Acropolis - a citadel on raised area. The Lion Gate - entrance to the Acropolis of the city of Mycenae is an excellent example of this building practice combined with a corbelled arch - the triangular arch shape that the lions stand within.

Megaron is the fortress palace of the king at the center of a typical Mycenaean city. This is a characteristic form of Mycenaean palace found at many sites, including Troy. They are very symmetrical and its basic form is a forerunner of later Greek temple forms.

Tholos tombs are conical chambers with the subterranean burial chambers. The stonework of the tholos is very much influenced by Egyptian masonry techniques. There are 9 at Mycenae. There were found the gold death masks, weapons, and jewelry at the royal burial sites similar to Egyptian practice.

Mycenaean civilization mysteriously disappeared shortly after 1200 B.C. most likely, to widespread fighting among the Mycenaean Greeks. Read More...

Painting Pet Portraits Whilst Parenting!

Balancing the desire for a family and run a successful small business has never been easy. Enquiries for my work started to increase after I launched this pet portraits website in 2005 as people sought that unique Christmas and birthday present. Then in October 2006 Nicola came along forcing me to take a break.

Shortly after her birth, in February 2007, my partner went into hospital to have a hip replacement involving a long period of post-surgery convalescence. In effect, for a while, I had two children to care for but we got over this and I soon got back behind the easel. Admittedly it wasn't easy with a baby which then started crawling everywhere before taking to her feet but the commissions kept coming in and the desire to paint my pet portraits again was overwhelming. However, with the help of parents, in laws and friends I managed to get going again. I would particularly concentrate on getting a few hours done in the evening in the days Nicola used to go to bed early! As she got older and started pre-school I'd make the most of the precious few hours in the morning when she was otherwise entertained.

As with most commercial artists particularly pet portrait artists the pinch points are Christmases and for me the last three have been exceptionally busy. However in the summer of 2009 I became pregnant again so the rush was on to complete Christmas 2009 orders and other non time specific requests. Leo was born in March this year. However, two months before his birth my partner's new hip of 2007 literally fell apart requiring surgery once more. As Leo was born he was in hospital then once again stuck at home recovering. We had decided that I would take a longer time to enjoy my new son.

Now, as Autumn approaches and the enquirers begin, I have taken on a selection of commissions so as not to disappoint because of the constraints on my time, focusing on impending festive commissions. It's a real juggling act with a demanding baby and a four year old with more energy than I can keep up with and more questions than I have answers for!

Again family and friends have come to the rescue. As soon as Nicola is out at school, out with her dad, or in bed, and assuming young Leo is snoozing I am back at the easel. Whether it's grabbing five minutes or half an hour I take every opportunity to paint.

Read more: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Painting-Pet-Portraits-Whilst-Parenting-/3469263#ixzz1iJ8IaWXN
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