Art II Midterm
Impressionism & Mary Cassatt
Q: Who was Mary Cassatt?
A: Mary Cassatt was an American painter born in 1845 in Philadelphia, PA. She is known for bringing Impressionism to America.
Q: Where did Mary Cassatt study art?
A: At the age of 21, Mary Cassatt traveled to Paris to study art, which was the center of the art world at the time.
Q: What artists influenced Mary Cassatt?
A: Mary Cassatt was greatly influenced by the work of Edgar Degas and Japanese block prints.
Q: What themes did Mary Cassatt focus on in her artwork?
A: A major theme in Cassatt's work was women and children. She used bright, active brush strokes to capture a moment in time.
Q: What mediums did Mary Cassatt use?
A: Cassatt worked in oil paints, pastels, engraving, etchings, and aquatint.
Q: How did Mary Cassatt's family react to her artwork?
A: Cassatt’s family, especially her sister Lydia, often modeled for her, but they did not fully appreciate her as an artist because, at the time, it was unusual for women to become artists.
Q: What was Mary Cassatt's first exhibition name?
A: Mary Cassatt first exhibited her work under the name Mary Stevenson.
Q: What was the Impressionists' stance toward the Salon?
A: The Impressionists rebelled against the Salon, which they considered to be repressive.
Q: What happened when one of Cassatt’s paintings was accepted by the Salon?
A: One of Cassatt's paintings was accepted by the Salon after she altered the background, but she later regretted conforming to be accepted by the Salon.
Q: Who financed the Impressionist exhibition in America?
A: Louisine Havemeyer and her family were among the first to finance the Impressionist exhibition in America.
Q: What happened to Mary Cassatt later in life?
A: Mary Cassatt later lost her eyesight.
Q: Who was Edgar Degas?
A: Edgar Degas was known for his paintings of ballerinas, racetracks, cafés, and music halls.
Q: Who was Berthe Morisot?
A: Berthe Morisot was a French painter made famous for her portraits of women, children, and family life.
Q: Who was Georges Seurat?
A: Georges Seurat was a Neo-Impressionist artist responsible for creating Pointillism.
Q: Who was Claude Monet?
A: Claude Monet created a series of works depicting haystacks and gardens.
Q: Who was Pierre-Auguste Renoir?
A: Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted radiant portraits of large groups of people.
Q: Who was Camille Pissarro?
A: Camille Pissarro is considered the "father of the Impressionism Movement."
Dadaism & Surrealism
Q: Who was Andre Breton?
A: Andre Breton was a writer, Dadaist, and the leader of the Surrealist group.
Q: What is Dadaism?
A: Dadaism was a movement invented to cultivate the absurd and challenge conventional art norms.
Q: What is Surrealism?
A: Surrealism emerged in the 1920s as Europe recovered from World War I. It aimed to express the workings of the subconscious through fantastic imagery, symbolic objects, and changes in scale.
Q: What are the characteristics of Surrealism?
A: Surrealism is characterized by natural laws being reversed, changes in scale, symbolic objects, dramatic lighting, juxtaposition, levitation, dislocation, and exploration of dreams and fantasies, often leading to nightmarish visions.
Q: Who was Salvador Dalí?
A: Salvador Dalí was a Spanish artist and one of the leaders of the Surrealist movement, known for his meticulous realism in depicting dreams, fears, obsessions, and memories.
Q: What are some repeated symbols in Dalí’s work?
A: Dalí often used symbols like dresser drawers, crutches, water, and landscapes.
Q: What psychological theory influenced Dalí?
A: Dalí was influenced by the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud, particularly concepts of dreams, memories, and feelings.
Q: Who was Gala Eluard?
A: Gala Eluard was Dalí's wife, and he often depicted her in his works. He was obsessed with her and even signed his works as "Gala Dalí."
Q: What is "The Persistence of Memory"?
A: "The Persistence of Memory" is one of Dalí’s famous paintings, known for its symbolic melting clocks, which were inspired by melting cheese.
Q: Why was Dalí expelled from the Surrealist group?
A: Dalí was expelled from the Surrealist group due to his political stance and irrational behavior.
Q: Who was Max Ernst?
A: Max Ernst was an artist who invented the technique of Frottage and worked from feverish memories and visions from his childhood. He often used ambiguous titles in his work.
Q: What is Frottage?
A: Frottage is a rubbing technique where paper is placed over an object or material with raised surfaces, and then rubbed with graphite or charcoal to achieve textural effects. It was invented by Max Ernst.
Q: Who was Marc Chagall?
A: Marc Chagall was an artist known for incorporating imagery from Russian folklore and Jewish life, painting actual memories rather than irrational dreams.
Q: Who was Joan Miró?
A: Joan Miró was a Surrealist artist who created biomorphic designs and shapes inspired by natural objects like the sun, moon, and animals.
Q: Who was René Magritte?
A: René Magritte was a Belgian artist known for employing juxtaposition, levitation, and dislocation in his work. He often used images of shrouded faces, influenced by the death of his mother.
Q: Who was Marcel Duchamp?
A: Marcel Duchamp was a key figure in the Dada movement, known for creating "ready-mades" like his famous "Fountain" (an upside-down urinal) that challenged traditional concepts of art.
Henri Matisse
Q: When and where was Henri Matisse born?
A: Henri Matisse was born in 1869 in France.
Q: How did Matisse begin drawing?
A: Matisse first began drawing while he was in the hospital.
Q: What did Matisse's father want him to become?
A: Matisse's father wanted him to become a lawyer, not an artist.
Q: Who influenced Matisse’s work?
A: Matisse was influenced by artists like Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Pissarro.
Q: What was the Academie Julian?
A: The Academie Julian was a more liberal art academy where Matisse’s work was accepted.
Q: What was the Fauvism movement?
A: Fauvism, or the "wild beasts," was a movement where artists, including Matisse, rebelled against Impressionism by using pure, intense colors.
Q: What themes did Matisse focus on in his work?
A: Matisse often used women as a theme in his work.
Q: How did Matisse’s style evolve over time?
A: Matisse's work became more abstract as he got older. He simplified faces and portraits to capture the essence of a person.
Q: What significant relationship influenced Matisse’s later work?
A: Matisse became sick and was nursed back to health by a Dominican nun, which led him to create and design a chapel.
Q: What was Matisse’s contribution to collage?
A: Matisse later worked with collage using a technique called “carving in color.”
Q: What did Matisse believe was essential to his work?
A: Matisse believed that line was essential to his work.
Q: What is abstract art?
A: Abstract art is composed of shapes and forms stripped of detail, focusing on lines and shapes without regard to realistic appearance.
Q: What is composition in art?
A: Composition refers to the arrangement of elements in a work of art to create a unified whole.
Q: What is impasto in art?
A: Impasto is a technique where paint is applied thickly on the canvas.
Brief Review: Elements of Art
Line: A mark made by a tool; can vary in length, width, and direction.
Shape: A two-dimensional area with defined boundaries (geometric or organic).
Form: A three-dimensional object, having depth, width, and height.
Color: Produced by light, with three key properties: hue (name), value (lightness/darkness), and intensity (brightness/dullness).
Value: The lightness or darkness of a color or tone.
Space: The area around or between objects, which can be positive (filled) or negative (empty).
Texture: The surface quality of an object, whether real (tactile) or implied (visual).
Brief Review: Principles of Design
Balance: The distribution of visual weight in an artwork (symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial).
Contrast: The difference between elements, like light vs. dark, creating visual interest.
Emphasis: Creating a focal point to draw attention to a particular area.
Movement: The path the viewer’s eye follows through an artwork.
Pattern: The repetition of visual elements in a predictable manner.
Rhythm: The use of repeated elements to create a sense of flow or beat.
Unity: The sense that all parts of the artwork work together as a cohesive whole.
Brief Review: Basic Color Theory
Primary Colors: Red, Blue, and Yellow – the foundation for creating all other colors.
Secondary Colors: Green, Orange, and Purple – created by mixing two primary colors.
Tertiary Colors: Colors formed by mixing a primary color with a secondary color (e.g., red-orange, yellow-green).
Complementary Colors: Colors opposite each other on the color wheel (e.g., red & green, blue & orange).
Analogous Colors: Colors next to each other on the color wheel, creating harmony (e.g., blue, blue-green, green).
Warm Colors: Colors that suggest warmth, like red, orange, and yellow.
Cool Colors: Colors that evoke calmness, such as blue, green, and purple.
Monochromatic: Variations of one hue, altered by changes in value or intensity.
Triadic: A color scheme using three evenly spaced colors on the color wheel (e.g., red, yellow, and blue).