Unit 1- part 2

Art Appreciation slide 136 -141

Prehistoric human beings used reed and hollow bones to blow paint made of ground mineral pigments over their hands onto cave walls to leave a silhouette behind. The…..in Argentina contains hundreds of individual handprints made over time.

Cave of hands

We are all born with a creative urge that gives us the desire to express ourselves using visual images. this creative urge may be especially strong in some people. Michelangelo and Vincent Van Gogh are good examples of this

Michelangelo Buonarroti ( 1475-1564)

One of the greatest artist of all time . His tremendous creative drive fueled an amazing artistic genius that was evident from his youth. Working during the Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo was patronized by wealthy, important religious and political figures ( including two popes) and he rose to great fame within his lifetime. Today his incredible artworks still draw viewers from around the world who are entranced by the incredible power of his creation.

The creation of Adam (1510)

Painted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City (Rome). This painting is a biblical depiction of God reaching from the heavens to touch the fingertip of Adam, the first man that he created. In this powerful work, as God imparts life to Adam , we see the personal connection and relationship existing between the creator and his creation.

Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica

Michelangelo was also a talented architect. He designed this dome in the Vatican City( Rome) for the Catholic Church and was patronized by the powerful Lorenzo de Medici of Florence who sponsored Michelangelos art training in classical sculpture from 1489-1492, and introduced him to the powerful elite of Florence.

The Pieta

When Michelangelo was just 23 years old , he carved what would become one of the most famous sculptures in the world. This carving depicts Mary holding the body of Christ after the Crucifixion. The sculpted marble emanates energy, life and power. Human beings( religious or not) are equally awed by Michelangelo’s universal symbol for self- sacrifice, loss, grief and acceptance.

Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Pope Julius ll ( the second) commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling. Michelangelo worked on scaffolding from 1508- 1512 to complete the ceiling and his health was compromised from that point onward because he spent over four years lying flat on his back and reaching upward to complete the figures.

Michelangelo utilized a fresco technique ( often used during the renaissance) to paint the murals in the Sistine Chapel.

Mural

a painting or other work of art executed directly on a wall or ceiling.

Fresco

A mural painting technique in which paint is worked directly into wet plaster so that when the plaster dries , the finished painting becomes part of the actual surface of the wall or ceiling.

The Last Judgement

thirty five years after Michelangelo finished the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Pope Paul lll ( the third) commissioned Michelangelo to paint this painting on the sanctuary wall directly behind the altar in the Sistine Chapel. It contains both Biblical and Mythological imagery but focuses primarily on Christ judging the saints and sinners. The figure of Christ is surrounded by saints holding objects that symbolize how they were martyred ( killed for their religious faith).

The last Judgement ( focused on a certain person)

Contains an unusual signature by the artists. In this detail within the wall painting , we see St. Bartholomew holding the knife of his martyrdom and his flayed skin. The face of the skin is clearly recognizable as Michelangelo . perhaps the artists felt “flayed” by the uncomfortable years he spent painting in the Sistine Chapel. This

this artists always considered himself to be a sculptor instead of a painter. His journal entries reveals that his creative urge was so powerful that when he went to the stone quarries and laid his hands on the cut blocks of stone, he could see the sculptures within and hear them crying out to be released from the stone.

Michelangelo

This painter was an Italian renaissance artist who was so talented that he was given the nickname “ Ill Divino”( the divine one) by his contemporaries in the art world.

Michelangelo

The artworks that Michelangelo created during his lifetime, such as the magnificent sculpture of a young man ( one of the Kings of Israel ), are considered today to be masterpieces of art.

David

Masterpieces

are skillfully executed words of art which have powerful content that communicates meaningfully to the viewers, even over the passage of time.

The dutch Post- impressionist artist who was born with a tremendous creative urge, but unlike Michelangelo, his artworks weren't appreciated by the contemporaries. He only sold one painting during his lifetime.

Vincent Van Gogh ( 1853-1890)

Van Gogh before becoming famous

Van Gogh worked briefly as an art dealer and trained to become a preacher. He was unsuccessful in his theological pursuits but spent some time as a missionary in a poor area of Belgium.

Van Gogh’s painting…. depicts two mining families who lived in the same cottage sharing a meal. Vincents dark, early paintings were not well received by the public, perhaps becausehis unusual style followed on the heels of the light, airy, colourful painting movement know as impressionism that preceded his work.

The potato eaters

Van Gogh’s support

The general public didn’t appreciate or buy Van Gogh’s art works. It’s possible that he sold only one painting during his lifetime. Since he had no income , Vincent was supported emotionally and financially by his younger brother Theo, an art dealer. Theo loved Vincent and and tried to look out for his well- being, sending him money for painting supplies, food and lodging.

Van Gogh’s struggles

van Gogh struggled with mental illness throughout his life. Many people think of him today as “ that crazy artists who cut off his own ear.” Yet despite his mental illness and lack of financial success , Vincent continued to create art right up until the day that he took his own life.

How many art paintings he sold in his lifetime

During the short span of his career as an artist ( just over a decade), Van Gogh created over 2,000 works of art. This is evidence of his tremendous creative urge.

Van Gogh’s relationships

Interpersonal and love relationships were difficult for Van Gogh. Perhaps his emotional problems contributed to this( he spent some time in a sanitarium). vincent had several love affairs that ended badly . he also cut part of his ear after he quarrelled with a friend that was greatly admired, the painter Paul Gauguin. One account says that he gave the severed ear to the prostitute for safe keeping , another says that he left it for Gauguin.

One of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings.. It depicts the view outside his window from a mental hospital where he was being treated shortly after cutting off part of his ear. Vincent may have painted this from memory after he left the sanitarium. Though Van Gogh’s eyes , we see the world revealed differently. Va

The Starry Night ( 1889)

Van Gogh’s last paintings

Some of the last paintings of Vincent Van Gogh did were a series of wheat fields under a stormy sky. In several of them, black birds are depicted flying away into the distance, perhaps a foreshadowing of his own death. He died at age 37, and his younger brother Theo passed away the following year.

Johanna Gezina Bonger

Most of what we know about Vincent Van Gogh is due to the work of Theo Van Gogh s wife… who kept and later published the letters that Vincient sent to his brother Theo.

How Vincent Van Gogh was perceived

Though Vincent may have been perceived by many as a tragic failure during his lifetime, is artistic genius and unique vision ( seen through the intensity of his feelings) was recognized after his death. Today his artworks sell for incredible sums.

question to ask yourself

If everyone is created urge and almost all of us enjoy creating visual art as children, then why don’t more people become professional artists?

Possible answer

Some people like ( Michelangelo and Van Gogh) are born with a much greater creative urge than everyone else.

possible reason

is the external influence of our environment and the effect that this has upon our minds . Sadly, some people don’t receive praise or positive reinforcement from family and significant others when they create something. Other people may have a negative experience associated with something they have created ( such as ridicule, rejection, or a bad experience with a teacher or another student ).

Another reason to stop creating

One that is internal and personal. we often stop creating because of internal judgements and decisions that we make about ourselves and the value of our own creativity. Even if we’re not aware that we've done this .

“ Every child is born an artist the problem is how to remain an artist once he or she grows up.”

One of the most brilliant and creative artists of the 20th century was Pablo Picasso

“ With everyone born human,a poet- an artist- is born , who dies young and is survived by an adult.”

The 19 century French writer Charles Augustine Sainte Beuve said…

What does this handprint on a cave wall demonstrate about what art is and why we create it?

Art says “ I was here” it was a human connection that transcends time, place and words. it speaks to us in the language of the heart. It can connect us to another human being, no matter what time period that they lived in. Art is a window into the human soul.

“ Real painters do not paint things as they are….they paint them as they themselves feel to be.”

Vincent Van Gogh

In the video I could do that, we learned that in Untitled ( Perfect lovers) , the artist Felix Gonzalez- Torres used commercial clocks placed side by side on a painted wall that that were synchronized as a metaphor for lovers in perfect sync who fall out of sync.

true or false

In the video I could do that, we learned that Felix Gonzalez- Torres created an artwork called Untitled ( billboard) which depicts an empty bed with rumpled white sheets and pillows. Using billboards as a means of display allowed his art to spread and be in multiple places at the same time.

true or false

In the video Better Know: The Starry Night, we learned that cypress trees such as the one depicted in Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night ( 1889) are often associated with the afterlife, symbolizing a bridge between the earth and heaven. Vincent wouldn’t live much more than a year after he created this painting

True or false

In the video, Better Know: The Starry Night, we learned that Vincent Van Gogh lived in Paris for a while, but found the city to be overwhelming and cold. Seeking a purer subject matter, Vincent moved to Arles where he began painting the surrounding countryside, the small town he was living in, and the residents of the town who became his friends.

true or false

In the video, The Top ten painters of all time, the artist chosen by the narrator as being the greatest artist of all time was the impressionist painter Claude Monet

True or false

In the video, the top ten painters of all time, the artist chosen by the narrator as being the greatest artist of all time was the highest Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti

True or false

In the video, The top ten painters of all time the artist chosen by the narrator as being the greatest artist of all time was the Dutch painter Rembrandt Van Rijn

True or false