Landscape Activity
Paul Cezanne (1839 - 1906) is often considered the father of Modern Art. His work varied in style and technique but under Pissarro’s influence his palette and touch lightened and he turned to the study of nature. He applied paint in repeated parallel brushstrokes to produce a subtle, almost woven effect and developed his own pictorial language. Are you developing your own ‘pictorial language’, how would you define it?
This is a difficult question to answer, as the key word here is 'developing'. I am relatively new to painting and this course is the first time I have really endeavored to try out various techniques and tools. As such, I am not sure whether I have found my own 'language' yet. I have certain styles that interest me more and a couple of techniques they I think I use more successfully, but I believe I require more practice to really determine my strengths in order to develop a 'pictorial language'. But if I had to try and summarize my style, I might say 'emotive with a touch of realism'.
This is a difficult question to answer, as the key word here is 'developing'. I am relatively new to painting and this course is the first time I have really endeavored to try out various techniques and tools. As such, I am not sure whether I have found my own 'language' yet. I have certain styles that interest me more and a couple of techniques they I think I use more successfully, but I believe I require more practice to really determine my strengths in order to develop a 'pictorial language'. But if I had to try and summarize my style, I might say 'emotive with a touch of realism'.
I like the simplification of the city-scape used in Red and Yellow Houses in Tunis, as well as the idea of buildings melding together, almost as though you cannot tell one from the other.
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Look at Paul Klee’s (1879 - 1940) ‘The Föhn Wind in the Marcs’ Garden of 1915. Complex, subtle and lyrical the picture is composed of roughly geometric sections each containing it’s own colour forming a flat pattern which moves up and across the surface of the painting. Red Balloon (no 179) (1922) is approached with the same tentativeness and lightness of touch. Although it is veering towards abstraction the viewer can tell it is a townscape. Perhaps complete a study reducing your composition to shape and colour to create a semi abstract landscape. Make notes reflecting and evaluating your choices.
I completed this activity below. |
Research Point
Consider completing some on site studies in an urban environment - a bustling bus station or an empty car park, try to find beauty in the bleak and ordinary.
I am quite drawn to urban scenes, particularly the shapes and lines created by buildings. I wanted to draw some spots from my traveling, so I will admit that I did not go and draw within and urban environment, but from photographs, however, these are areas where I have been before. I completed three studies below, each is done with with pen on paper 21x30 cm.
URBAN SKETCHES
I am quite drawn to urban scenes, particularly the shapes and lines created by buildings. I wanted to draw some spots from my traveling, so I will admit that I did not go and draw within and urban environment, but from photographs, however, these are areas where I have been before. I completed three studies below, each is done with with pen on paper 21x30 cm.
URBAN SKETCHES
Paul Klee experiment
I used the Venice sketch from above as my topic. I did not take it quite as far as Paul Klee, as the scene is not just a collection of shapes. I have still kept the window and door details of the buildings as they are the parts I find interesting, but it is very simplified, and I have not been overly detailed. The part I paid attention to more is colour, using combinations of blue, red, yellow and brown to give the whole composition a feeling of melding together, inspired by what I observed in Red and Yellow Houses in Tunis. It is also quite apt, as many of the older buildings in Venice have this type of strange coloration from water damage. The buildings are also all within a similar earthy tone, so allowing the colours to meld gives them the feeling of being connected.
a detailed observation
Édouard Manet (1832 - 1883) was a reluctant revolutionary. His work was modern in terms of technique and subject matter and attracted a young group of painters who were to become known as the Impressionists yet he longed for official recognition. Examine some of Manet’s compositions in detail. Look at the interplay of shadow and light, how does he create depth in his paintings?
Eduard Manet
He produced many striking images of modern urban life. It is his combination of old and new that gave him a unique voice. Using techniques or conventions from the old master and injecting the new ideas of realism and naturalism with a fine balance. Luncheon on the Grass is a great example of combining the old with the new. |
We have the classical female nude with curved figures and romanticized features, alongside two gentlemen conversing in a park setting while fully dressed. This contrast alone confused The Salon at the time. What was Manet trying to say about the relationship between the 4 figures? The men appear to be almost ignoring the female , while the female seems to be posing or modelling for the viewer, while the female in the background hardly seems to be part of the luncheon at all. the food, landscape and setting seems very much staged, which as a viewer also makes you question its purpose. Manet often used sets and models to create his work which may explain the lack of depth, inconsistent lighting and posy-ness of the figures. As a viewer it reminds me of a more modern magazine add, likely selling some cream or beauty product that makes you feel comfortable in your own skin. However it was Manet's refusal of convention and his ability to challenge three-dimensional perspective that inspired the artists that followed to explore the unconventional. In contrast to Courbet and Millet, Manet's subjects were wealthier and able to explore more of the pleasures in life. Here the landscape serves as a playground. The subjects have food, conversation and time, luxuries the labouring countrymen would not have had.
Personally I prefer the paintings he did of only women, not as nudes but dressed in their fine large dresses. There is such a great sense of elegance and to these females, and though the attire was overly fussy at that time, he has shown the woman with a wonderful softness, as can be seen in Berthe Morisot With a Bouquet of Violets.
Personally I prefer the paintings he did of only women, not as nudes but dressed in their fine large dresses. There is such a great sense of elegance and to these females, and though the attire was overly fussy at that time, he has shown the woman with a wonderful softness, as can be seen in Berthe Morisot With a Bouquet of Violets.
Detailed Analysis
Content
Berthe Morisot is a young painter who later married Manet's brother and she was a close friend who often posed for Manet's paintings. In this particular painting there is certainly a great sense of closeness with the subject and as the viewer you feel like there was a personal connection between the artist and the subject. What is really fascinating about the image is how her expression says so much and so little at the same time. The artist wanted to honour the subject. He has presented her in a poised position with fine clothes, using combinations of light and shadow to capture her face. As Manet went to Spain to study the works of Goya and Velazquez, we can see these influences in his work, especially the decision to use black. These could also be a reference to her Spanish beauty (Collins, 2018). His colour palette is otherwise limited, though there is a subtle yellow glow in the areas of light, that breaks the vast use of black, further providing the subject with a bit of warmth.
Form and process
Manet usually paints his images with even light, but in this composition he has chosen to light Morisot's face from the left. He was often ridiculed by the Academies for his lack of perspective and depth, when really there is great depth in his images, they simply were not achieved with the techniques or conventions the Academies advocated.
He had his own ways of creating depth, like:
- The slight transition of light going from left to right on the canvas. Not only a method of creating depth, but also a subtle way of creating atmosphere.
- The use of large and loose brush strokes that leave the edges undefined. These almost give a feeling of movement which draws the viewer into the space, therefore making it fell like a real, deep and tangible area.
- The subjects confronting gaze. Manet often uses this technique in his portraits, it can also be seen in Olympia (1863) and A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882). In all of these the females have the slightest expression, almost of amusement, with their eyes depicted large and focused towards the viewer, a great way to draw them in.
Energy
As mentioned before, there is a great sense of honour and respect depicted by the image. You get the close relationship the two had and you also see elements of mystery. The mystery mostly comes through in her expression, especially the slight curve in her lips and the deep gaze in her eyes, a wonderful combination of beauty and menace. I am sure the clothing and attire would also be considered very fine for that time, but as a modern viewer, they have additional intrigue. Clothing has changed so, and there was a lovey sense of modesty and grandeur in fashion, that at times get lost in modern trends and movements.
Content
Berthe Morisot is a young painter who later married Manet's brother and she was a close friend who often posed for Manet's paintings. In this particular painting there is certainly a great sense of closeness with the subject and as the viewer you feel like there was a personal connection between the artist and the subject. What is really fascinating about the image is how her expression says so much and so little at the same time. The artist wanted to honour the subject. He has presented her in a poised position with fine clothes, using combinations of light and shadow to capture her face. As Manet went to Spain to study the works of Goya and Velazquez, we can see these influences in his work, especially the decision to use black. These could also be a reference to her Spanish beauty (Collins, 2018). His colour palette is otherwise limited, though there is a subtle yellow glow in the areas of light, that breaks the vast use of black, further providing the subject with a bit of warmth.
Form and process
Manet usually paints his images with even light, but in this composition he has chosen to light Morisot's face from the left. He was often ridiculed by the Academies for his lack of perspective and depth, when really there is great depth in his images, they simply were not achieved with the techniques or conventions the Academies advocated.
He had his own ways of creating depth, like:
- The slight transition of light going from left to right on the canvas. Not only a method of creating depth, but also a subtle way of creating atmosphere.
- The use of large and loose brush strokes that leave the edges undefined. These almost give a feeling of movement which draws the viewer into the space, therefore making it fell like a real, deep and tangible area.
- The subjects confronting gaze. Manet often uses this technique in his portraits, it can also be seen in Olympia (1863) and A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882). In all of these the females have the slightest expression, almost of amusement, with their eyes depicted large and focused towards the viewer, a great way to draw them in.
Energy
As mentioned before, there is a great sense of honour and respect depicted by the image. You get the close relationship the two had and you also see elements of mystery. The mystery mostly comes through in her expression, especially the slight curve in her lips and the deep gaze in her eyes, a wonderful combination of beauty and menace. I am sure the clothing and attire would also be considered very fine for that time, but as a modern viewer, they have additional intrigue. Clothing has changed so, and there was a lovey sense of modesty and grandeur in fashion, that at times get lost in modern trends and movements.
Figures
Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) fused Symbolist Imagery, a gentle impressionism, boldly designed patterns and gold to create a distinctive and sensual style. He combined abstract design and competent technical ability in his works. Look at the work Judith (1901) based on a Biblical tale, can you decipher the symbolist imagery and meaning within the painting?
Judith was a popular subject in religious art, with the first illustration of her appearing in a fresco in Sta Maria Antigua, Rome (Oxford, 1987). It is the story of Judith who saves the Jewish people from the general Holofernes who was sent by Nebuchadnezzar to subdue them. She snuck into his camp and seduced him with her captivating beauty, only to cut off his head (Artble, 2018). Most painters depict her as a warrior or heroin, showing her triumph over Holofernes, head in hand. Many choose to show her nude as a means of displaying her erotic power over her enemy and Klimt has chosen to do the same. Though he has chosen a similar seductive depiction of Judith, victorious and with head in hand, there are several elements that makes his composition unique. Firstly his unique art nouveau style that combines decorative ornamentation and varied techniques. The background of the composition is kept flat, depicting trees with the use of dark outlines and gold leaf. The designs on the background are inspired by Japanese Prints, which were a popular influence during this time.
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The patterns also continue into the frame. The use of trees baring fruit are likely a reference to the Garden of Eden, where Eve was the first to seduce a man. This shows Judith's success in doing the same. The hard architectural designs in the background that contrast with the soft, detailed femininity of the figure could also be symbolic of the nature of women. Soft an feminine on the outside, but strong and victorious on the inside.
Abstraction
Research Henri Matisse’s (1869 - 1954) Papercuts. In 1941 he pinned coloured papers to canvas to create a still life of fruit and household objects on a table. In no time at all he created an image that normally he would have toiled over for a month or more. His scissors had done the drawing. Matisse did not return to this kind of picture making until after the war.
Taking inspiration from Matisse why not create your own ‘drawing with scissors’?
Taking inspiration from Matisse why not create your own ‘drawing with scissors’?
Henri Matisse
This French painter was regarded as a great colourist. A key figure in Fauvism with some interests in Cubism. His monumental paintings can be described as expressive and decorative. In the final years of his life he created illustrations made of large cut coloured papers which he arranged. He equated act of cutting into the paper and assembling it to that of a sculptor carving into stone (Honour and Fleming, 2009)
This French painter was regarded as a great colourist. A key figure in Fauvism with some interests in Cubism. His monumental paintings can be described as expressive and decorative. In the final years of his life he created illustrations made of large cut coloured papers which he arranged. He equated act of cutting into the paper and assembling it to that of a sculptor carving into stone (Honour and Fleming, 2009)
I quite like his compositions of blue woman and the idea of taking free-handed cut forms and rearranging them into shapes that become recognizable but abstract. I wanted to push this further an work with a texture more exciting than paper. I had some scrap cloth lying around and started placing them in the outline of a woman. I used acrylic paint to provide more shape.
This really was just a fun experiment, like the type of activity you remember doing in primary school. And I guess that was Matisse's point, that art was meant to be fun, cheerful and innocent. A way of escaping the daily pressures and gloominess of life.
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It certainly is not a technique or style I would try to build on, but it is good for artists to sometimes just mess around with ideas, as this is often how they discover unique skills or techniques that could evolve their artistic voice.
Research Point
Jean Dubuffet (1901 - 1985) was a French artist who used as art as a means to attack conformity and mainstream culture (Borteh, 2018). He used a wide range of materials and methods, as well as different styles of images and descriptive titles. See, for example, his 1945 painting Large Black Landscape and the later Village Life (1952), which is part of the Tate Collection. He had a great fascination with grafitti art and created the two pieces by making, "built up of layers of paint into which lines were scraped and gouged" (Mundy, 1996), revealing the board or canvas underneath. This rough ‘materialogical’ approach was inspired by what he called ‘art brut’: work made by those marginalised by society, including children, prisoners and the mentally ill, who critics and writers on art came to describe as ‘outsider artists’ (Painting 2 Guide).
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Reading Point
Modern Art
Modern Art can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution, which was a time of rapid change during the mid 18th to early 19th century. Advances in technology lead to an expanding world view and the birth of growing urban cities. These rapidly changing social, political and economical environment also meant had a profound impact on art, as methods, subject matter and mediums evolved. For example, the "popularization of the idea of a subconscious mind" had artists exploring ideas of "symbolism, and personal iconography ... challenging the notion that art must realistically depict the world" (MoMa, 2018).
Modernism grew out of the idea of self-criticism, by not only evaluating the process of creation, but the painting as an object itself and the recognition of its flatness. Leading Modern art painters like Manet and Cézanne did this by exploring the "many theories about art for their relevance to the actual practice and actual experience of art" (Greenberg, 2007).
Modernism cannot only be defined as one simple movement, but a succession of artistic movements like Fauvism, German Expressionism, Cubism and Abstraction.
Modern Art can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution, which was a time of rapid change during the mid 18th to early 19th century. Advances in technology lead to an expanding world view and the birth of growing urban cities. These rapidly changing social, political and economical environment also meant had a profound impact on art, as methods, subject matter and mediums evolved. For example, the "popularization of the idea of a subconscious mind" had artists exploring ideas of "symbolism, and personal iconography ... challenging the notion that art must realistically depict the world" (MoMa, 2018).
Modernism grew out of the idea of self-criticism, by not only evaluating the process of creation, but the painting as an object itself and the recognition of its flatness. Leading Modern art painters like Manet and Cézanne did this by exploring the "many theories about art for their relevance to the actual practice and actual experience of art" (Greenberg, 2007).
Modernism cannot only be defined as one simple movement, but a succession of artistic movements like Fauvism, German Expressionism, Cubism and Abstraction.
Willem de Kooning
This Dutch painter was another celebrated Abstract Expressionist. He developed a vigorous gestural style by combining Cubism, Surrealism and Expressionism. He still depicted figures and features, but though a process of distortion and re-assembly. In Woman 1 he explores the relationship between the figure and the ground, as well as questioning the traditional notions of the female figure in Western painting. His style often came across as aggressive and harsh as he worked and reworked images. "de Koning's unique brand of figurative morphology can be parsed as an ingeniously original amalgam of sources in Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso" (Lanchner, 2011:6) |
It is not that modern artist throw out all past conventions. Even in Woman 1 we can see evidence of colour theory with his contrasting use of red and green. The use of shadow and light to create a sense of space even though it appears flat. And there is still figural representation, despite the figure being distorted, form is still represented and it creates focal points for the viewer's eye.
I believe the challenge for painters today, and naturally so for myself, will be to find that balance of studying the past or finding inspiration from the past, but also bringing in new ideas. The world keeps changing and ideas keep shifting, so how do I find that which makes my art 'new'?
I believe the challenge for painters today, and naturally so for myself, will be to find that balance of studying the past or finding inspiration from the past, but also bringing in new ideas. The world keeps changing and ideas keep shifting, so how do I find that which makes my art 'new'?
a quick study inspired by De Kooning
I found de Kooning's depiction of the female form in Woman 1 quite interesting. It is really the use of bold sweeping colours that drew my attention. I also took a longer look at his black lines for creating the shape of the female. His influence form ancient art is evident. Looking back at my research I can see evidence of Egyptian and African art. The use of flat shapes, dark outlines and earthy tones come to mind. But what I wanted to try most was the idea of just sitting down and sweeping colours over the canvas with no specific pattern or plan in mind. I thus created this study, once again, just to experiment and have fun with it. To force myself not to think about where the colours should go, I painted with my fingers. Sticking with sap green, crimson and yellow ochre, I placed large dollops of paint on my finger tips and dragged them over the canvas.
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The figure outlines were applied with a brush once the coloured background was nearly dry. I quite like the energy created by the combination of colours and how the canvas is still a feature in the painting. I would consider using this technique to create dynamic backgrounds and consider the potential of the figures accompanying them perhaps having more detail.
bibliography
Artble (2018) Judith and Holofernes [online] At: https://www.artble.com/artists/donatello/sculpture/judith_and_holofernes (Accessed on 30 September 2018)
Borteh, L (2018) Jean Dubuffet [online] At: https://www.theartstory.org/artist-dubuffet-jean.htm (Accessed on 30 September 2018)
Greenberg, C. (1978) Modernist Painting [online] At: http://www.yorku.ca/yamlau/readings/greenberg_modernistPainting.pdf (Accessed on 01 October 2018)
Honour, H. and Fleming, J. (2009). A world history of art. London: Laurence King Publishing.
Lanchner, C. (2011) Willem de Kooning. New York: The Museum of Modern Art.
Moma (2018) What is Modern Art? [online] At: https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/what-is-modern-art (Accessed on 01 October 2018)
Mundy, J. (1996) Large Black Landscape [online] At:https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dubuffet-large-black-landscape-t07109 (Accessed on 30 September 2018)
Osborne, H. (1987) The Oxford Companion to Art. New York: Oxford University Press.
Borteh, L (2018) Jean Dubuffet [online] At: https://www.theartstory.org/artist-dubuffet-jean.htm (Accessed on 30 September 2018)
Greenberg, C. (1978) Modernist Painting [online] At: http://www.yorku.ca/yamlau/readings/greenberg_modernistPainting.pdf (Accessed on 01 October 2018)
Honour, H. and Fleming, J. (2009). A world history of art. London: Laurence King Publishing.
Lanchner, C. (2011) Willem de Kooning. New York: The Museum of Modern Art.
Moma (2018) What is Modern Art? [online] At: https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/what-is-modern-art (Accessed on 01 October 2018)
Mundy, J. (1996) Large Black Landscape [online] At:https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dubuffet-large-black-landscape-t07109 (Accessed on 30 September 2018)
Osborne, H. (1987) The Oxford Companion to Art. New York: Oxford University Press.