"Travelers amid Mountains and Streams" by Fan Kuan, painted in the Shanxi, China in the Early 11th Century

I selected Fan Kuan’s Travelers amid Mountains and Streams for last blog.  This Chinese work is a large painting, done with ink and color on silk.  I selected this painting because I am very impressed with the beauty of the work, especially given that it was done almost 500 years before anything in the Renaissance.  Looking at the painting, you gain a true respect for the size of the mountains, and you can appreciate the beauty of nature that Kuan was trying to convey.  The mountains in the background loom over the viewer like no other painting I’ve seen.

Fan Kuan (approx. 990-1030 AD) has had little information documented about him.  He originally was influenced by famous Chinese artist Li Cheng, but later on admitted that Nature is his only true inspiration. He is one of the most famous landscape artists in Chinese history, and is one of the founding fathers of Northern Song Landscape tradition, in that he developed a new style in which he mixed the truth of nature with imaginary scenes in many of his works.

All in all, I am very impressed by Fan Kuan’s works.  Alive 1000 years ago, I feel like I can connect with the past, and that I can feel the Chinese tradition when I view works such as Travelers amid Mountains and Streams.

Source:

http://www.artrealization.com/traditional_chinese_art/landscape_painting/northern_song/fan_kuan.htm

"Man at the Crossroads" by Diego Rivera

Man at the Crossroads was was a mural that Mexican artist Diego Rivera began painting in 1933 in the Rockefeller Center in New York City.  Rivera was a member of the Mexican Communist Party and was known to paint many portraits of Vladimir Lenin, the godfather of the communist revolution in the Soviet Union.  After being asked to paint a mural with the theme “Man at the Crossroads with Hope and High Vision to the Choosing of a New and Brighter Future”, the communist Rivera decided that it would be a good idea to insert into his painting a portrait of Lenin.  This did not go over very well with Rockefeller (a very rich capitalist entrepreneur), and late at night on February 9, 1934, a group of workers smashed the incomplete work off of the wall, and eventually it was replaced with what now is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln.

Before it was torn down, however, Rivera was able to smuggle in one of his assistants to take photos of the nearly-completed mural despite heavy guarding by police and a “no photographs” rule.  Diego Rivera painted a recreation of the painting entitled Man, Controller of the Universe in Mexico City in 1934.

This interesting story is why I chose this painting.  I find it fascinating that Rivera would have the audacity to paint a major communist symbol into a mural in New York, especially during a time when America was very anti-communism.  I would find it ironic if Rivera was later upset about being “censored” in this way, when he was a member of the communist party, whose main tool was censorship and propaganda.

American Artist and architect Kurt Wenner began creating his amazing works in 1982.  Educated at the Rhode Island School of Design, he moved to Italy in 1982 to study Classical art, which, along with Mannerism, became his major inspirations for his works.  After becoming Nasa’s scientific space illustrator, he moved into full time art in 1982, and began creating street illusions in 1984.

Julian Beever is an English chalk artist based out of Belgium.  He has been creating chalk illusions on the streets of countries all over the world since the mid-1990′s.

Click on a painting to read about it.  It is difficult to find good information on many of these recent street drawings, but I did my best to discover the date created and location.

Trench Warfare by Otto Dix (1932)

The painting I have chosen to analyze from the Modern Period is a work done by Otto Dix in 1932 called Trench Warfare.  It was painted in Dresden, Germany.

Aesthetically, this painting is beautifully done, though it is quite disturbing.  Created after he served in World War I as a machine gunner, Dix wanted to portray the horrors of war through his dada-style works such as this.  This masterpiece is rich in detail and surreal imagery.  A soldier’s legs stick out of the ground, but are made to look like a rotting tree stump, with another body hanging, yet blending in with, a dead tree overhanging the war zone.   I like this painting for Dix’s brilliance in blending in the horrible sea of bodies and guts with the background, bringing to light the true terror of “The Great War.”

It is very simple to relate this painting to World War I.  Dix served in the war, and was actually in the trenches, and so after the war painted many paintings depicting the horrors of war, and the injustice it created. (http://library.thinkquest.org/C005707F/odix.htm).

Sunflowers third version, by Vincent van Gogh, created in Arles, France in August 1888

After viewing many of the works from the impressionist era, I have been able to formulate an opinion about the paintings from this time period.  I think I like the impressionism, but I love Post-impressionism.  Therefore, I will focus on Post-impressionism in this blog.

My main reasons for liking Post-impressionisism is that I have always enjoyed, and am very familiar with, Post-impressionism artists.  I love van Gogh’s works, and am also quite fond of Cezanne.  Looking at Sunflowers by van Gogh, you can see the features of Post-Impressionism that made it so beautiful: the thick brush strokes full of emotion, the edges defined by color, not line, and the impressive attention to form in what could by mistaken as a messy painting.  I am so amazed at how, when viewing the painting more closely, van Gogh was able to make the sunflowers look so realistic despite his thick brushstrokes.

Still Life with Apples and Oranges by Paul Cezanne, created in Provence, France 1895-1900

Cezanne’s work (right) brings similar attributes to the table.  I love the how the painting can look so realistic in some parts of the painting, yet be quite sloppy in others. The fruit, the focal point of the work, are done with quite fine attention to detail while maintaining the impressionist style, yet the cloth in the background is made to look rather messy, in an attempt to keep the viewer’s eye on the subject of the work.  Throughout the whole painting though, the viewer feels like they know the emotion in each brushstroke, as it protrudes from the canvas.

I love Post-impressionism, yet I cannot say that I like it more than every other era.  I like it more than most eras, but I have a similar love for Realism, which was actually completely opposite to Impressionism despite their close time frames.  Looking at The Gleaners, I am able to appreciate the dull objectivity presented in this work. I am so very impressed with the fine detail, which contrasts greatly with the thick, sloppy style of Impressionism.  Impressionism left the viewer with the ability to take anything out of the photo; subjectivity reigned.  And I like this. Yet I also like the pure realism of the Realism era as well.  It is what is is, and I can appreciate the bleak outlook the artists provided in this era as well.  

I find this work appealing for many reasons.  It is such a powerful and emotional piece of music.  The first movement is so intense and catchy, with the three short notes followed by a long note.  I am impressed with the variation in speed.  Certain instruments are playing so fast while others are playing at half or a quarter of the speed, combining for a riveting effect.  When everything goes quiet and slow in the first movement, you listen so closely, and you can’t stop listening.  It keeps your attention so well.  The work seems characterized by suspense-initiating crescendo.  The key, C Minor, adds an almost disturbing emotional element.  The whole work seems to almost change your heart rate as you listen to it.

Tying this work to the rise of the middle class is difficult.  I don’t think there are many direct elements in the actual work that symbolize anything to do with the middle class or anything of that sort.  One could be the obvious reference to the Middle Class’ desire for more melodic and organized music (Symphony No. 5 is very “melodic” even by today’s standards).  It is also slightly more difficult to define since this work was created at the very end of the Classical period, so the circumstances under which   However, Beethoven premiered this work at a public concert in Vienna at the Theater An Der Wein.  Apparently, it was very difficult to find a skilled enough orchestra to play Beethoven’s work, especially one that was not funded by the aristocracy.  As a result, the first performance of this work was quite shoddy, as the orchestra was not funded by the nobles and only had one rehearsal.

This work could not have broader public appeal.  It is easily one of the most recognizable pieces of classical music around.  The trademark “Dun-Dun-Dun-Dunnnnnnnnnnnnn” has been used for many movies, commercials, etc. Beethoven’s music is so catchy and emotional, perhaps more people could listen to it in their leisure time.  But I doubt their is a person in America who has not heard at least the first four bars of this work.

I found this work to be very appealing.  There exists within it such strong emotion and physicality that I can imagine few had seen up until that point in a painting.  Not only are the figures quite realistic and anatomically accurate, the bodies seem to stretch into the viewing space quite boldly.  The dark background draws an increasing amount of attention to the body of St. Peter, the man on the cross.  His face is the only one that is fully visible, and along with the diagonals the cross and the man under the cross create, your eye is forced onto the body and face of St. Peter.  The intricate attention to detail and lighting Caravaggio exhibits is found most explicitly in the lines of St. Peter’s feet and knees.  His feet especially seem to extend out of the canvas.  I find this work to be brilliant, not only in it’s appearance, but also in its underlying themes.

There are many potential themes in this painting, but the one I have chosen to analyze are the ones related to the Counter-Reformation, a movement occurring during the Baroque period.  After the Council of Trent, The Catholic Church had been commissioning many artists to create intense and dramatic works of art with Biblical themes to help clot the bleeding as many members abandoned the Church for Protestantism.

The influence of the Council of Trent is quite prevalent within Crucifixion of St. Peter.  While the crucifixion of St. Peter was a popular theme for centuries among painters, Caravaggio’s take on the event reeked of passion and intensity, a far cry from the Mannerism of the past. Remember how St. Peter is often a symbol of the Catholic Church, as he is considered the first pope.  Then notice how much the three men struggle to raise St. Peter to a vertical position, as if the weight of their deed far exceeds their ability to execute it (St. Peter was executed upside down by his request, as he did not want to die the same way as Christ).  The viewer is left wondering if they are even going to be able to raise him up completely, as the rope they are using looks about to snap.  I find this element to symbolize different aspects of the Counter-Reformation.  It’s almost as if Caravaggio is sending the message that the Church (symbolized by the old man St. Peter), with it’s tradition and longevity, is too great a force to defeat, even by the supposedly overwhelming force of new and attractive Reformation (symbolized by the three young men). Also, it could be interpreted that the theme of martyrdom is used by Caravaggio as part of the Catholic Church’s ammunition of intimidation against backsliding away from the Church (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Crucifixion_of_St._Peter_(Caravaggio)).

Overall, there is potential for endless speculation about this beautiful painting.  I welcome any comments or ideas!

Durer created this painting, which is really two separate panels, for the Nuremburg town hall.  It is an oil on wood painting that is greater than life size.

In this painting, from left to right, are St. John, St. Peter, St. Mark, and St. Paul.  The figures in the painting reveal much of Durer’s past studies in Italy.  The figures are quite large and three dimensional, which was typical of Italian paintings during that time.   The figures emerging out of the shadows, with skillfully painted lighting over the faces is reminiscent of Leonardo Da Vinci’s chiaroscuro effect. The attention to detail (ex: the Bible) and the unidealizing of the faces is more a characteristic of Northern paintings.  Durer does an excellent job of blending both Italian and Northern painting styles into this piece of work.

While Durer was influenced greatly by Humanism, this painting is largely a tribute to the Reformation. There is not much argument needed for this point.  Durer was a devout Lutheran, having previously converted from Catholicism. Nuremberg was a city that had embraced the Reformation, and this painting was done without commission (he was not contracted by anyone to paint it), with the goal of displaying his devotion to Lutheranism, and given as a gift to the Nuremberg town hall (http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/HD/durr/hd_durr.htm).

There are many aspects of this painting that speak to its influence by the Reformation.  The protestants emphasized greatly the written word, as the painting below shows St. John the Evangelist holding his gospel.  This is significant, because the Protestants believed the Bible to be the greatest authority, not the Church or the pope.  Next to St. John is St. Peter, who was considered to be the first pope, and is unquestionably a symbol of the papacy in this painting.  Durer’s Lutheranism is displayed as St. Peter is much uglier, more in the shadows, and less patronly, than St. John, who was favored by the protestants. On the far right, looking as dominating as St. John, is St. Paul, who’s writings inspired Luther to start the Reformation.  St. Paul emphasized faith as a means to Salvation, while Catholicism emphasized works. Overall, there is a heavy protestant influence on this work.

I generally like this work because it was painted by Durer, one of my favorite Renaissance painters.  I am fascinated with the heavy symbolism of the apostles and the large books (which symbolize the authority of the written word).  Since this painting was done as a gift, it also seems before its time in that Durer’s true passion for his Lutheran faith is exemplified by his charity and willingness to pay tribute to the Reformation. I love the attention to detail and the realism of the figures.  Overall, the painting is a beautiful example of Northern Renaissance painting influenced by the Reformation.