Beardsley "Salome"

This picture has a lot going on. I don't understand it, yet I'm intrigued. I see a guy or devil looking medusa wannabe holding a severed head. The head appears to be bleeding. The photo is all black and white. The background in the top left appears to me as clouds. On the bottom of the picture is a blooming flower and a plant that is germinating. The saying is in french, although I cannot translate it after taking four years of french.
I think that the picture is black and white to provide emphasis and drama. I think the creature holding the severed head is supposed to be something supernatural. I think the clouds represent the creature being something bigger than human beings. The severed head is symbolic, could be for various reasons. One could be that the death of one leads to growth of another, hence the growing plants on the bottom of the picture. I would be interested in seeing more of this artists work and the inspiration behind this particular masterpiece.

Chagall, "I and the village"

this picture drawn by Chagall entitled "I and the village" really grasped my attention because of the spectrum of colors this Russian artist incorporated into his work. Additionally, the picture dynamic is truly abstract; this picture looks as if it was pieced together section by section. The images incorporated into the background are perplexing because they are somewhat backwards. Also, it seems as if the female in the uppermost portion of the portrait seems to be standing on top of the houses. Furthermore, when i was looking at this picture I couldn't help but look at in a circular fashion. Overall, the message I received from this picture is that of the "farm life" which is evident by the female milking the cow, it also incorporates elements of religion, shown by the church and the necklace around the "green guys" neck, and finally the perception of day and night is brought about by the circle in the center of the painting.

The School of Athens

The School of Athens
Raphael
1510-1511

This fresco, painted by Raphael in the Vatican during the Italian Renaissance, pictures many different important figures including Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle among many others. The use of color in this fresco is immediately captivating with the bright oranges, blues, purples, and greens of the robed figures against the neutral background. This fresco is great at showing a foreground, an active middle ground, and a background. The amount of detail in background is beautifully done with all the intricate sculptures, the architecture, and the sky.

The False Mirror by Rene Magritte

The False Mirror by Rene Magritte is an oil on canvas kept in New York City at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). This painting was made in Paris, France and was completed in 1928. This painting was made to give each person looking at it the chance to visualize and to think about what this painting can mean to them. This painting can mean many different things depending on who is looking at it, there is no wrong or right way of looking at this picture. When i first saw this painting at the MOMA it really caught my attention, i thought it was very creative and a great way to get people thinking. In my opinion the eye is looking out at the world as the person whom the eye belongs to sees it, what Magritte was trying to do was get us to think about how the world is seen threw our eyes.

HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC: “Dans le lit

This is a painting done on an oil canvas created by the artist Henri De Toulouse-Laurtec. I beleive this is a young couple in bed. Although the painting seems simple, nothing but two people in a bed, I think the colors the artist used are very striking in this painting. After analyzing this picture I think it is a bit dispassionate. It looks like a younger couple, I'm assuming just married, who should be more intimate while sleeping, because there love is so young. However they look a little distant which is odd to me. 

Andre Derain "Big Ben"

This is a painting created by Andre Derain in 1905 entitled "Big Ben." The painting depicts buildings in London such as the famous clock tower "Big Ben." This painting is a great example of Fauvism which can be seen through Derain's use of primary colors. In the painting you can see each of his brushstrokes which distorts reality and allows the sky and water to look like they are in motion.  What I love about this painting is how it can be interpreted as daytime or nighttime because of the use of intense colors. 

"Arnolfini Wedding" -Van Eyck

For some reason, this work called "Arnolfini Wedding" by Jan Van Eyck really catches my interest. Van Eyck used the medium oil painting to make enhance realism. I find the dimensions to be different. It's not in 3D but it still looks very real. The part of the painting that really caught my attention, though, was the mirror. If you look at the painting, you can see that Van Eyck painted the reflection of the scene in the mirror which I just find incredible. That seems like it would be so difficult to do. The attention to detail in this painting is also very compelling. 

Big Ben - Andre Derain

This is an oil painting called "Big Ben" by Andre Derain. This painting vividly captures Londons canal with Big Ben in the background. He uses a mixture of choppy & smooth brush strokes that gives it a flow, and a distortion of reality. I feel it's very difficult to paint water accurately and capture its movement/motion, and this painting portrays just that. He uses bright primary colors that give the moon an "exploding effect" which he says are like "charges of dynamite." This reminds me of stained glass.

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

I chose the painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.  It is one of the most famous paintings done by Gorges Seurat.  The painting was started in 1884 and completed in 1886.  The medium is oil on canvas and the size of the canvas is 81 ¾ inches by 121 ¼ inches.  It is located at the Art Institute of Chicago.  The painting was done using a technique called pointillism.  I really like this painting because it was done in a style completely new for its time period.  I also appreciate the amount of time it took to complete a painting of this size with only small dots.  I think he does a good job at portraying perspective as well.

"Rouen Cathedral, Sunset," by Monet

Rouen Cathedral, Sunset

Claude Monet

1892-1894

This is part of Monet's Rouen Catherdral series. This painting of the Cathedral in the sunset has many colors and you can see the form, as opposed to the Cathderal in the daylight that appears to look washed out. The colors of the sunset reflect on the various pillars of the building, which I believe is what makes the painting unique. 

Dali, "The Persistence of Memory"

Salvador Dali's "The Persistence of Memory" was created in 1931 as an oil painting on canvas. The image is placed in a desert with a mountain and water occupying the background, while a series of surrealistic images appear in the foreground. To the left, a dead tree sits atop a brown cube or rectangular prism along with a melting clock and a red pocket watch. Across the sole branch of the tree sits another melting clock, an army of ants gather atop the pocket watch, and a fly remains perched on the former melting clock. In the center of the picture appears yet a third melting clock slivering down what seems to be an indecipherable form reminiscent of a distorted human face; the shapes of both an eye and a nose appear visible on the form. In the middle ground, a silver platform juts out slightly from the left of the image.

Dali's tendencies to work in surrealism apply well to this hallucinatory painting. The desert setting cultivates not only the atmosphere necessary to melt clocks, but also the believability of an hallucination. Dali seems to comment on the irrelevance of time as insects fester upon clocks and as he melts palpable object and places them into an arena of immateriality; in other words, surrealism. Time, a man made construction meant to grasp an inconceivable concept, makes for a perfect subject for Dali to paint upon, and, by titling the image as "The Persistence of Memory," Dali seems to parallel the concepts of time and memory; time flows on endlessly as do human memories and thoughts.

Mona Lisa

One of the worlds most famous and controversial oil paintings, "The Mona Lisa," was created by Leonardo da Vinci. In his painting there is a portrait of a woman sitting calmly with a gentle grin facing the viewer. The overall emotion that I believe is being expressed is mysterious because of the obscured background.  The dark paint colors foreshadow a sad mood, however this contradicts her slight smile.

"Le Moulin de la Galette"
Renoir
1876
131cm x 175cm
oil on canvas
 Here I see people dancing. It seems like they are all rich in something, be it dollars (francs)  or happiness, clearly they seem to be having a good time.  I am dislike negative depressing images, having seen my fair share these last 20 years. I was attracted to this painting because of the extensive use of dark blue shadows in the book. Though I would normally assign the color blue to a negative emotion, I cannot find a reason to do so in this image. It reminds me a lot of sitting outside on a sunny day, closing my eyes for a bit and when I open them, all things I see, especially shadows, appear to have a blue tint.  I am told this falls into the category of Impressionism but to me it has a certain undeniable reality that I appreciate more than say, Leonardo for example. After looking this image up on the web, I was nearly emotionally crushed to find  it doesn't appear to be blue at all.  I think I like the book picture better... However,  I just read the book paragraph and am happy to see Renoir refused to use black...so now I like this painting even more.

Jeffrey Torres

" The Liberation of the Peon" by Diego Rivera ( 1931 )

This is Rivera, " The Liberation of the Peon". Inspired by Mayan murals, Diego Rivera painted this portrait in 1931. Rivera incorporates Roman influence by side views of the horses eyes in the middle. The landscapes are curvy with warm brown colors used to portray a hot western like environment. The limp curvature of the naked man's back tells the story of a slave being rescued. The tied arms being cut by another man and the slight marks on the back indicate whipping. I like the visual of one man helping another get away from cruelty because not a lot of people are willing to risk their own lives to help free another.

Guernica

Guernica
Pablo Picasso
1937
Oil on Canvas

Guernica is one of Picasso's well known works. He created this painting to remember those lives impacted by the bombing of the town of Guernica by the Nazis. The use of variations of black and white gives the painting a powerful effect. The different scenes within the painting all embody the tragedies of war. You have people running from the bombing, a man being trampled by a horse, a mother cradling her dead child as well as animals in pain. All of these characters make up a dramatic painting, but together they really portray what the horror of war is. Guernica can be seen at the Museo Reina Sophia in Madrid.

This is a painting by Salvador Dali called The Elephants. Dali used his imagination for most of his paintings, as well as using memories from his childhood as the backgrounds. The background of this painting is a gradient, which goes from yellow at the horizon to red at the top. There aren't many colors used in this specific painting, but it gives off a warm mood from the reds and yellows. The elephants have extremely long legs, whereas their bodies are fat. There are also human like figures in the foreground. The detail is mainly focused on the elephants, with not much detail put into anything else. Although, the figures at the bottom have shadows being cast from them.

 This is a portrait of the Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in the 16th century. This painting is of a pale woman wearing alot of layers of clothing. The colors used are dull and the face on the woman is very mysterious. Her eyes seem to be wandering with a smirk upon her face. The background in this portrait is some sort of mountains with a body of water and trails. She is seated in a chair with her arms folded in her lap in a very calm manner. The portrait as accurate proportions of the human body but the artist did not draw on ears. Another feature about this photo is there is no real line work in the sky so it gives the look of a very gloomy day.

Cave Painting 2

Another on

Cave Painting Lascaux

This is a cave painting.  It is pretty.  cool.

Painting 2013 msmc syllabus

Mount Saint Mary College

Painting

Course Number:       ART 2201

Course Title:              Painting

Professor:                   Gary Jacketti

Office Hours:             Tues, Thurs before or after class

e-mail:                         jacketti@optonline.net

                                    gjac4166@my.msmc.edu

Class Times:               Tuesdays, Thursdays 3:45 to 5:05

Required Text:          Carol Strickland, The Annotated Mona Lisa,  Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, Kansas City                       

ISBN:                         0-7404-6872-7

Course Outcomes:     The objective of this course is to highlight the meaning and importance of painting in Western Civilization.  The course will investigate the influences and conventions of painting beginning with the dawn of time and end with Contemporary Art.  The students will be introduced to the various techniques and mediums of painting.  Numerous avenues for this exploration will include studio activities to engage in watercolor, oil pastel, acrylic, and tempera, as well as lectures, slide presentations and discussions.

Grading and Evaluation

This is a pass/fail course.  To pass this course, you will need to complete 10 projects, complete the 5 page paper and take a mid term and final examination covering the materials and history in the text.  Attendance is mandatory.  Three unexcused missed classes will result in the dropping of the letter grade by 1, 5 absences the grade will be lowered by 2.  I will evaluate the content as follows:

Mid-Term        15%

Blog                15%

Projects           50%

Final Exam      20%

Division of Arts and Letters Grading Policy

Points	Grade Equivalent	Quality Points	Meaning
100-95	A	4.0	Superior
94-90	A-	3.67	Outstanding
89-87	B+	3.33	Excellent
86-83	B	3.0	Very Good
82-80	B-	2.67	Good
79-77	C+	2.33	Above Average
76-73	C	2.0	Average
72-70	C-	1.67	Below Average
69-65	D+	1.33	Poor
64-60	D	1.0	Passing
59-0	F	0.0	Failing

Blog

You will be responsible for writing a concise yet academic comment concerning the lectures and projects.  You will also need to post an academic art image to reinforce your criticism.

Projects andCritiques

Your finished paintings will be looked at and discussed critically with your peers.  Attendance and participation is mandatory.  This is one of the most important tools artists use to help reflect and improve their work.

Mid Term and Final Exam

The exams will investigate painting throughout art history and cover the materials and artists covered in the text.

Finish at Least 10 Projects

Readings                                                                            

Week 1

Introduction: How to Look at a Painting

The Birth of Art: Prehistoric through Medieval                                                        2

Prehistoric Art: The Beginning                                                                                 4

Mesopotamia: The Architects                                                                                  6

Egypt: The Art of Immortality                                                                                 8

Greece: They Invented a Lot More Than the Olympics                                                            2

Rome: The Organizers                                                                                             16

Week 2

The Middle Ages: The Reign of Religion                                                                  24

Golden Age of Byzantine Art                                                                                   24

Romanesque Art: Stories in Stone                                                                            26

Gothic Art: Height and Light                                                                                    28

                       

Week 3

The Rebirth of Art: Renaissance and Baroque                                                          30

The Renaissance: The Beginning of Modern Painting                                                               32

The Italian Renaissance                                                                                           34

The Northern Renaissance                                                                                       40

The Renaissance in the Low Countries                                                                    40

The German Renaissance                                                                                         42

Mannerism and the Late Renaissance                                                                      44

The Spanish Renaissance                                                                                         45

Week 4

Baroque: The Ornate Age                                                                                         46

Italian Baroque                                                                                                        47

Flemish Baroque                                                                                                      50

Dutch Baroque                                                                                                         52

English Baroque                                                                                                      57

Spanish Baroque                                                                                                      60

French Baroque                                                                                                       62

Rococo                                                                                                                    64

                       

Week 5

The Nineteenth Century: Birth of the "ISMS"                                                          66

Neoclassicism: Roman Fever68French Neoclassicism                                                             69

American Neoclassicism                                                                                          72

Goya: Man without An "ISM"                                                                                 74

Week 6

Romanticism: The Power of Passion                                                                        76

French Romanticism76English Romanticism                                                                           79

American Romanticism and Genre Painting                                                                             81

Realism                                                                                                                    83

French Realism                                                                                                        84

American Realism                                                                                                    85        

Week 7

Studio Class and Mid Term Exam

Week 8

Mid Term Critique

Week 9

Birth of Photography                                                                                                               92

Impressionism: Let There Be Color and Light                                                         96

Rodin: First Modern Sculptor                                                                                  110

Post-Impressionism                                                                                                 112

Early Expressionism                                                                                                               123

Symbolism                                                                                                              124

Week 10

The Twentieth Century: Modern Art                                                                        128

Fauvism: Exploding Color                                                                                       130

Twentieth-Century Sculpture: A New Look                                                                             133

Twin Titans of the Twentieth Century: Matisse and Picasso                                    134

Cubism                                                                                                                    138

Modernism Outside of France                                                                                 139

Futurism                                                                                                                  139

Constructivism                                                                                                        140

Precisionism                                                                                                            141

Expressionism                                                                                                         142

Week 11

Mondrian: Harmony of Opposites                                                                           145

Modernist Architecture: Geometry to Live in                                                           146

Dada and Surrealism: Art Between the Wars                                                                            148

Photography Comes of Age                                                                                     152

American Art: 1908-40                                                                                            154

Abstract Expressionism                                                                                           158

Figural Expressionism: Not Just a Pretty Face                                                          162

Post-War Sculpture                                                                                                  164

Color Field                                                                                                               166

Week 12

Hard Edge                                                                                                                                170

Pre-Pop Art                                                                                                              172

Pop Art                                                                                                                    174

Minimalism: The Cool School                                                                                 177

Conceptual Art: Invisible Visual Art                                                                        178

Photo Realism                                                                                                          187

Neo-Expressionism                                                                                                 188

The New Breed: Post-Modern Art                                                                            190

Week 13

Studio Week

Week 14

Presentations and Final Critique

Week 15

Final Exam