Transcript Document

A is for Armory Show
Michael Duchamp
Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2
1912
Cubism-Futurism
Michael Duchamp’s Nude Descending a
Staircase is perhaps the best representation
of the Armory Show (hosted in New York in
1913). The Armory show contained more
than 1,600 of the latest artworks by
American and European artists. It served to
expose the American public to the latest
European artistic ideas and provide a
showcase for American avant-garde. This
piece Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2
was displayed at the show and helped
represent cubist and futurist ideas for the
American public (seen in the fragmentation
that emphasizes movement of the piece).
This work also represents the controversy the
Armory Show attracted, as Duchamp, as well
as the Armory Show, was denounced as
perverting the artistic taste of America.
B is for Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli
Birth of Venus
Tempera on canvas
1482
High Renaissance
Botticelli lived during the 15th century, placing him firmly in the High Renaissance. Botticelli worked
Primarly for the Medicis, who had de facto control of Florence. He created various beautiful pieces like
the Birth of Venus and Primavera using the artistic conventions of the High Renaissance. His pieces show
an understanding of anatomy and perspective. His works are also firmly rooted in classicism, shown by his
use of Pagan subjects. It’s noteworthy to mention that he breaks away from the Renaissance ideal of the
supremacy of reason with his works. His works are described as poetic and the Birth of Venus certainly
embodies this air of poetry. Perhaps it was his poetic art that made the Medicis comissions him time and again.
C is for Caravaggio
Caravaggio
Calling of Saint Matthew
1597
Italian Baroque
Caravaggio lived a troubled and
tragically short life. After
achieving extraordinary success
as an artist, Caravaggio brought
about his ruin when he killed a
man in a brawl. Caravaggio was
exiled and died soon thereafter.
Caravaggio’s legacy as an artist
is unprecedented. A master of
creating intense scenes through
the use of light, perhaps no one
better represents the Baroque
movement. Many famous
Baroque artists followed his
conventions of intense light
contrasts.
D is for David
Jacques Louis David
Oath of the Horatii
1784
Neoclassicism
Jacques Louis David was
an important french painter
of the 19th century. He
began as the painter for
the French Revolution and
then later for Napoleon.
His pieces Death of Marat
and Coronation of Napoleon
are the de facto images of
the tumultuous 19th century
in France. Though he might
not have been the starter
of Neoclassicism, he is
definitely the most well
known neoclassical painter.
His work Oath of Horatii
is the textbook example of
neoclassicism.
E is for Eakins
Thomas Eakins
The Gross Clinic
1875
American Realism
Thomas Eakins was an early
American artist. His works
show his unwavering
dedication to details and his
fascination with scientific
accuracy. For these reasons,
Eakins has been labaled a
realist.
F is for Fragonard
John Honre Fragonard
The Swing
1766
Rococo
Fragonard was possibly the
pinnacle of Rococo art.
Following in the footsteps of
his mentor Boucher, he reflects
Watteau’s colorismo with
newfound mastery. His subject
matter is typical of Rococo art,
most being intrigue paintings
for the aristocracies enjoyment.
G is for Gericault
Theodore Gericault
Insane Woman (Envy)
1822
Romanticism
Gericault best embodies the
return to drama and emotion
of the Romantic movement.
In this piece, Insane Woman, he
attempts to capture the essence
of the subject. This typifies the
romantic attempt at uncovering
the sublime through fringe
existences.
H is for Hogarth
William Hogarth
Breakfast Scene
1745
Taste for the Natural
William Hogarth’s
Breakfast Scene comes
from his Marriage a la
Mode series in which he
uses art to criticize and
satirize the aristocracy.
I is for Imhotep
Imhotep
Step Pyramid of Djoser
ca. 2600 BCE
Pre-dynastic Egypt
The Step Pyramid of
Djoser, designed by
Imhotep, was the
precursor to the great
pyramids at Giza.
This design most likely
came from stacking
mastabas on top of each
other.
J is for Josef Albers
Homage to the Square
Josef Albers
1953
Bauhaus
As a member of the Bauhaus
movement, Josef Albers was
interested in the function of color
in images. Specifically, he was
interested in how color creates
mood and meaning. Josef Albers
created hundreds of such Square
paintings changing nothing but
the what he was interested in
studying: color
K is for Kandinsky
Composition 8
Vassily Kandinsky
1912
Der Blaue Reiter
Founder of Der Blaue
Reiter, an expressionist
art movement, Vassily
Kandinsky was one of
the first artists to paint
completely abstract
works. He believed that
artists must express
the spirit through art.
L is for Lange
Migrant Mother
Dorothea Lange
1935
Photo
Dorothea Lange’s Migrant
Mother is the image of the
the depression. In its stark
composition and the subject’s
ponderous expression, Dorothea
captures the gritty struggle of
the lower class american
during the Great Depression.
M is for Magritte
The Treachery of Images
Rene Magritte
1928
Surrealism
Magrittes contradictory
painting roots itself in
surrealism through its
deceptively simple surface
backed by an almost
unknowable tension
underneath. His pipe that
isn’t a pipe challenges the
viewer’s preconceived
nations about meaning.
N is for Nadar
Nadar Raising Photography to
the Height of Art
Honore Daumier
1862
Photography
Daumier, a french political satirist,
comments in this lithography on
Nadar’s endevour to substantiate
the visual potential of photography.
O is for Orozco
Epic of American
Civilization
Jose Orozco
1932
Mexican Mural
Orozco, along with
Rivera, revived the
mural form for
grandiose political
commentary. In this
piece, Orozco extols
the virtues of the
Mexican peasant who
struggles against the
money-grubbers and
backstabbers for life.
P is for Piet
Composition in Red, Blue, Yellow
Piet Mondrian
1930
De Stijl
Mondrian, leader of the De Stijl
Movement, created his abstract style
because he wanted to further the
creation of plasticities cubism
began.
R is for Rembrandt
Anatomy Lesson
Rembrandt van Rijn
1632
Dutch Baroque
In contrast to his contemporary Caravaggio,
Rembrandt used soft
light changes to give
subtle and nuanced
emotional power to his
paintings. His piece
Anatomy lesson shows
this soft light change.
S is for Salvador
Persistance of Memory
Salvador Dali
1931
Surrealism
Persistance of Memory
is perhaps Dali’s best
known work and arguably
the best example of
surrealist art. In Persistance
Salvador Dali takes from
his multitude of phobias
and turns them into a
particularly poignant work
of surrealistic art (the ants).
T is for Titian
Madonna of the Pesaro Family
Titian
1519
High Renaissance
Titian was an eclectic artist, blending
together Florentine Renaissance ideas
with the rich and colorful Venetian
style. In his piece Madonna of the
Pesaro Family, Titian showcases his
eclectic style through his use of
rich colors set to an arcadian sky
while uses diagonal composition and
the latest innovations in perspective.
U is for Uccello
Battle of San Romano
Paolo Uccello
1416
High Renaissance
Medici.
Oranges.
Doctor.
Foreshortened.
Illusion