All About Art

The Influence of The Great Depression The Great Depression had a great influence during the Early Modern Era. Not only was The Great Depression the longest and most severe Depression, its impacts were felt all over the world (Art 200x Text). During the Early Modern Era, art was subjected to both distraction and action thus causing inspiration for a variety of arts. Campaigns, advertisements, and even performing arts of the time period can often be seen as a reflection of The Great Depression and the state that the world was in. Apple Vendor , oil painting by Barbara Stevenson, 1933, USA Barbara Stevenson created the painting above for the Public Works of Art Project, a New Deal program created by the federal government to help support American artists during The Great Depression (SAAM). The painting captures what everyday life was like for many Americans at the time, doing what they can to get by. In this case, a man sits on the corner of the street selling fruit pies. His body languag

  The Romantic Era During the Romantic Era, art was meant to provoke emotion of all kinds (Ducksters). Artists did this by including subject matter pertaining to spirituality, revolution, imagination, beauty, and much more. There are many artistic styles of the Romantic Era. These styles are known as the Romantic Style, Realist Style, Impressionism and Post Impressionism, Photography, and Art Nouveau. This post will be focusing on Impressionism and Post Impressionism art works.  Impressionism Impressionism was an art movement developed in the late 1800's in France (History.com Editors). The style grew from artists painting from life, mainly outdoors, and focusing on how light influences the picture. Color was used as definition rather than harsh dark lines. Capturing the world in this was was much different than previous eras and styles making it extremely influential and revolutionary. Claude Monet is famously well known for his impressionism work and is seen as a leader of the mo

The Classical Era The Classical Era of art had many revolutionary impacts on art history. Because of this, I wanted to showcase a few revolutionary paintings. Before we take a look at some famous French Revolution art let's learn about what The Classical Era entailed. The two art styles of the time included Rococo and Neoclassicism. Rococo consisted of pastel colors, curving forms, and light subject matter. Neoclassicism focused more on displaying mortal virtue and patriotism and was often more symmetrical and simplistic.  Although both styles are beautiful, the paintings displayed below are all in Neoclassicism style because they display exactly what the style encompasses. Unlike Rococo, they capture the reality of what the time period was like. All of the following paintings are also believed to have been painted in France. Now let's look at some art... The Death of Marat, Jacques-Louis David, 1793 This Neoclassicism painting represents the French Revolution. Jean Paul Marat

About The Night Watch Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Baroque artist. He completed  The Night Watch , a nearly 12x14 foot oil painting, in 1642 (Kate Connolly 2018). The painting captures a group of civilian soldiers along with their captain. Each figure modeled for the painting separately despite the final painting portraying them together in one scene. At the time the painting was started the soldiers duty was to defend their city however, by the time the painting was completed, the soldiers would have been considered elite members in society (Smarthistoryvideos 2015). What makes The Night Watch  stand out against other artworks of its time is the movement and action displayed in the piece. What would typically be painted as still portraits, was painted with a complex composition and figures in motion. Despite the name being deceiving and the darkness of the painting, The Night Watch  wasn't meant to be a night scene. The more neutral colors as wel

About  Mona Lisa Mona Lisa  is arguably the most famous painting in the world. It is predicted that Leonardo da Vinci completed the oil painting between 1503 and 1506 after fleeing to Florence during the Milan invasion (History.com Editors 2022). He painted a series of portraits during this time however,  Mona Lisa , or La Gioconda  as it was once called, is the only remaining portrait (History.com Editors 2022).  Portraits were often commissioned by wealthy people during the Renaissance period. Mona Lisa  is thought to be commissioned by a wealthy merchant who mysteriously never received the painting of his wife (Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris 2015). Leonardo da Vinci held onto the painting and brought it with him to France where it became a part of the royal collection and remains today (Louvre.fr Editors).  The Louvre Museum in Paris, France displays Mona Lisa  in the largest room of the palace (Louvre.fr Editors). It is hung in a glass case and is always guarded. Although th

  Vincent Van Gogh's The Potato Eaters  is another one of my favorite paintings. Can you guess who my favorite artist is? Van Gogh painted this masterpiece in 1885 while living in Nuenen, Netherlands (Art in Context 2022). He spent this period of his life studying the life of peasants. He wanted to display the realness and seriousness of peasant life. Van Gogh even wrote that he wanted people to "get the idea that these folk, who are eating their potatoes by the light of their lamp, have tilled the earth themselves with these hands they are putting in the dish, and so it speaks of MANUAL LABOUR and - that they have thus honestly earned their food" (Art in Context 2022).  Van Gogh wanted the meaning of the painting to speak more than the skilled accuracy and he did this through the visual elements of the piece. He used color to shine the faintest light on an overall purposely dark painting. The light is just bright enough to show the worked hands and facial expressions of