Spring Key works

Berthe Morisot, the view of Paris from the Trocadero, 1872

This painting, as well as many of the other works by female painters of the time typically portray women looking out onto beautiful landscapes but seperated by a barrier. In this case the barrier is the railing, in other cases they may be standing behind a child, or looking out a window.

Van Gogh, The night Cafe, 1888

Keon Wessing. Nicaragua. 1979

Robert Mapplethorpe, Phillip Glass and Robert Wilson. 1975

Manet. Portrait of Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets. 1872

This work of Manet is important because it features a the female painter Berthe Morisot who painted "The view from Paris" (see above.)

Constantin Guys, Carriages and Horsemen, 1860

Constantin Guy was thought of as "the painter of modern life," at least to Charles Baudelaire. Although Guy was not actually a painter, he did seem to capture the "modern" life of the time.

Paul Gauguin, Spirit of the Dead Watches over me, 1892

Gauguin's painting is important for many reasons, for one reason it is a nude that looks uncomfortable and somewhat scared, and was based on one of the girls in the town in which Gauguin was staying in Tahiti. Another reason this piece is important is because Gauguin features it in his own self portrait.

Frida Kahlo, The two Fridas, 1893

This painting is important because it represented (as in many of Kahlo's paintings) the artists own self image. In this painting she shows two sides of her self which is important, as well as the pain both sides of her personality were experiencing, presumably over her husband cheating on her with her sister.

Degas, Portrait of Mary Cassatt, about 1880

Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1914-1926

This painting is one of many from the water lilies series by Monet. These images are important because they show the digression of Monet's color sensitivity and sight while still portraying something as beautiful and still as the pond by his home.

Manet, Luncheon on the Grass, 1863.

March 31 assignment (copied from notebook) Claude Monet

1st listening response: The thought that the museum had a fire is terrifying, and it is very lucky that we have any of the water lilly paintings (which were in the exhibit) left.

Introduction to the exhibit- A great introduction, gives us information on the painter as an artist, the situation both worldly and personal in which the paintings were created, and the response to the paintings.

Reflection of weeping willows- This was an in-depth look at the painting from 1914 entitled reflection of the weeping willows. The audio guide was very short on this one, and focused mostly on the idea of shared perspective and the symbolism of perspective, it could have gone more in-depth but allowed personal exploration of the topic and core ideas.

The Japanese Footbridge- This image is quite gripping, and of the possible explanations provided for the departure from typical Monet pallet and style, I choose to believe it was a mix of the cataracts and the emotional response to his trouble with color perception.

Water Lilies (single panel)- This image is very beautiful and the idea of immortality and longevity through artwork is clear within this image. The multiple layers of paint give us that sense of longevity while the beauty and imagery give us the sense of immortality, it seems like a very classical piece.

Agapanthus- This painting is by far my favorite of this collection. The movement of the flowers and the grass is both beautiful and somewhat surreal. I like the explanation of Monet's garden and the care with which he saw to it. It seems like in general Monet was a very carefully creative man.

Water Lilies- It is mentioned that this image was created outdoors, most likely, and that it is not as heavily worked as the others, and less abstract. It interests me greatly the care with which he apparently detailed the first few layers of the image, while later he would transform it into a more abstract piece.

Water Lilies triptych- I think the appraisal that this piece is the product of Monet's failing eye sight may be, on some level, correct. However whether or not that is a bad thing is up for discussion. I think the failing eye of the artist is a very interesting topic to explore, especially if what comes out is somewhat skewed and blurred. Proportion and color are two things very important to art work, but both can be modified as long as the perspective changes with it.

Principles of Design in Gauguin in class

This painting is very expressive, the bold colors and indistinct lines convey a somewhat confusing combination of bold uneasiness and blurred comfortability. His use of color mix the bright greens and yellow with the deep blue gold and red on the bottom right side. His figure, clad in dark clothes draws the eye from the bright back ground, and the eye is stolen once again to the bright spots of light on his face. His positioning is somewhat unusual. It at first seems that he is looking out of the corner of his eye at the mirror he is using to sketch his figure. With that being said, the yellow line, perhaps a support beam, seems to pull his face up and over.

Gaugin vs van Gogh

The reading provided an interesting look at two interesting artists. Moslty when we learn about artists or anyone "famous" we see the side of them that they prepare for the public. The difference between the rigid speech with which they explain their own work to the public and the ongoing conversation between the two friends within their letters is quite noteworthy. The images that the two men created are somewhat similar but both hold their own style. Van Gogh's work is more literal, drawing what he sees, with his own distinct vision of skewed perspective, while Gauguin's work has more of interprative style. Both use very broad brush strokes, and lack a sense of proportion (though, as it seems, it is meant to be that way.) They seem to pull from one another's work. I personally prefer van Gogh, and his use of texture in his work, but I see the merit of Gauguin's style and content. My favorite comparison between the two artists is their self portraits.

I feel as though both images show how each artist feels about themselves, and about their work. Van Gogh's portrait shows himself at his easel with his work before him, while Gauguin's shows him with his finished work behind him. Van Gogh's portrait (the last of quite a few) features a very bland back ground, with the majority of the color coming from his beard, his blue smock, and his paint palette. Making his profession as painter the main theme, while still including himself. Gauguin's portrait is very colorful, and if you did not know that the work behind him was his own, you would not be able to tell that he was a painter. His background does not convey the sense of modesty that Van Gogh's portrait accomplishes, instead he seems somewhat self assured. An elusive man who acknowledges the presence of the viewer with a coy sideways glance. The way the light is placed puts the focus on his face, and illuminates his painting. The paintings are not very similar though other versions of their self portraits seem to mix better.