Wednesday, October 12, 2011

A Student.

One look is capable of communicating a plethora of messages in a matter of seconds. The gaze in this particular painting offers an infinite number of possibilities. When I first approached this piece at the Museum, I could not help but wonder what the subject (the Student) is so intently focused on.

He is holding an artist's palette. Yet the colors on that palette are faded and barely visible. His face indicates calmness, but his posture demonstrates some frustration. The neutral scene and colors contribute even further to this "moment" picture. It fascinatingly maintains the audience in a dimension that stands between reality and abstraction. The situation itself is undeniably realistic; the Student's focus is left for the audience to decide.

As I continue to search for answers in the subject's facial features, I am stunned. I, a student, stood there with an undoubtedly similar expression--perplexed--staring at this painting wondering where it was trying to take me when I realized he was staring back at ME doing the same thing! Felice Casorati successfully engaged my subconscious in his reflexive work.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

"My Uncle Daniel and His Family by Ignacio Zuloaga y Zabaleta"

One of the many things that made me gravitate towards this painting is the sense of darkness and mystery that was projected in the overall image, and the night time on a hill setting that the painting took place in. The use of minimal coloring fascinated me, especially the dress that one of the young woman was wearing that really stood out among the other characters in the painting, while black and grey seemed to be the main coloring theme. Judging by the title of the painting, which is "My Uncle Daniel and His Family", I'm guessing that this is a family portrait that was meant to portray their relationship with each other, there is even a cat in the painting, a pet that I guess was really beloved by the. It brought me to questioning when I noticed that among 6 of them, the oldest woman on the far left and the man on the far right was not really looking towards me as the viewer, the old woman were looking away and the man was positioned behind the shades of the others. It is really interesting that it was only them that was not looking towards the center and they were both on each edge of the painting. I believe that the painter made this image from an audience perspective, and it is also interesting that one character was also working on a painting. Even though the painting is titled "My Uncle Daniel.." , which I assumed is the oldest man holding the color palette, I felt like the strongest point of my relationship with the painting is to the young women on the other side of the painting, I felt like as if they were meant to be the center of attention because their position was very forefront in the painting, and one of them was wearing the only colorful dress. Also, the amount of work on the details of the other woman's dress next to her was really outstanding for me, so I believe that it was the purpose of the painter to do so. In terms of resemblance, this painting is very subjective and simple to me, no contents of abstraction I believe, even though I feel like I have yet to discover the mysteries behind the painting.

White Rose with Larkspur No.2

I believe this image holds no specific audience or gaze, but rather is an observation of the painter. The observer is allowed to notice the natural shapes the rose takes on in this painting. Owing to the fact that this rose is an older rose, blossoming, it offers many angles and forms. If it were a newer rose, just in bloom, the shapes would undoubtedly be different.

What purpose is behind the painter choosing to paint this rose at this stage?

I feel that the viewer is positioned also as an observer, just as the painter is. The difference is, we are observing the observation of the painter in its finished state. We too can see the shapes inside and outside of the rose and larkspur and the specific state both are in. We can see the very interesting shapes formed in the center of the rose, which seems abstract. We also notice the condition of the rose. Seeing that it is indeed in full bloom, the pedals are beginning to tear and curl at their edges.

O'keeffe was careful to capture all of the details of this flower to effectively allow the viewer inside of her observation. She even captures the shadow it leaves on the surface it is sitting on, which seems to have a similar hue to the larkspur in the picture.

Further more, after looking up what type of plant Larkspur is, I was informed that this plant bears spikes.

With that knowledge, how does that affect the meaning of the painting and/or observation?

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

My Uncle Daniel and His Family by Ignacio Zuloaga y Zabaleta (1910)

The first thing that stood out to me in this painting is the use of very dark colors, which seems a bit strange for a family portrait. A majority of the colors used are blacks and grays. What also stands out is the one woman's dress, which is floral and is one of the only parts of the painting with color.
The characters themselves are very interesting. The women have a happier facial expression then the men do, and they are also very pale in color. The men have very stern faces and don't show much emotion.
The environmental setting of the picture stands out a lot. It seems that they are on a hill top over looking a town. But the artist decides to paint the sky a very dark color, which makes the scenario very mysterious. The brushstrokes also add to the detail, especially in the sky and on the ground.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?' by Paul Gaugin


The concept behind Paul Gaugin's 'Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?' is the progression of life. When viewed from right to left the viewer follows the human development from early childhood, through adolescence, adulthood, and eventually the elderly on the verge of death. One of the interesting things that one can't quite distinguish from the picture, however, is that each figure is looking as the viewer. It's as though the people starring at you cause you to reflect upon yourself and the relationship between your stage of life and the painting.

The bright yellows draw the viewers eyes and highlights the more impassioned stages of life. However, the intensity can mask some of the more subtle parts of the piece. While not very discernible in the attached photo, in the background on the right the stage in which the couple is content with each other and at peace. The dull pink shade blends into the background and, like in life, is indistinct when next to times of passion and distress. It also seems that the shade of yellow correlates with how intense the stage of life is. On the far left, Gaugin shows a woman who has accepted death and thus she is the most at peace and the darkest figure present.

The backdrop of the piece is fairly intricate, though it is painted with cool colors to help bring out the points the artist wanted viewers to focus on. The landscape that's depicted contains a variety of things one would find on an island. In this case, the artist assembled the background in order to add to the ethereal, almost magical atmosphere, rather than to depict an actual island scene.

Still Life With Skulls by Max Beckmann


This painting is by the Modernist Max Beckmann and it is called Still Life With Skulls. It was painted in 1945 and it is oil on canvas. It immediately grabbed my attention because of the broad strokes and heavy outlines. The scene is chaotic, as if everything was thrown onto the table at once, and the painting style matches this sentiment. The painting may be interpreted as showing signs of the sins of life (cards for gambling, alcohol) and how they juxtapose the skulls.

The perspective is from slightly overhead, which gives the viewer the best angle to see everything on the table. It also allows for the background to be seen, which are probably windows. The background colors of black and yellow are also visible. The tone of the painting sets is one of fast motion. The large outlines enhance the images and draw them to the eye, which the little lines in the tablecloth and the skulls suggest that there is a chance the pieces haven't even settled yet.

The size of the painting is around 2 feet by 4 feet. The painting is the correct size to show the size of the objects proportionately. Because the painting deals with the subject of death and also subjects some might consider "sinful" the way it was painted truly reflects this. It is painted with enough clarity to clearly know what the images are, but it is also distorted using heavy shading and thick color. It challenges the standard of conventional painting because it is not 100 percent realistic, but for an image that deals with these things I think the style suits it well. There are lots of physical brush strokes which makes your eye not only wander from subject to subject, but also from texture to texture.

Monday, October 3, 2011



MAX BECKMANN - 1884-1950

"THE TEMPEST" (1947-49)
Oil on paperboard mounted on plywood

From a distance, Max Beckmann's 'Tempest' was eye-catching and alluring; I was drawn in by the painting's contrasting colors. But once I stood in front of the painting, the "excitement" I felt for it turned into a bit of a confusion; I wondered where all the charm of the painting escaped to. The painting is earthy, spiritual, chaotic and suggests psychosis.

The picture is immediately disorienting because there is no clear gaze in the image. The "creatures," for lack of a better word, in the painting, have crazed eyes and are not looking at anything in the picture. Also, the objects in the painting are not organized in a way that you would see in real life. It forces the viewer to cock his head, this way and that, to get an idea of what he is looking at.

The painting leans towards abstraction and is a subjective piece. The "creatures" are simple in form. The tone of this piece screams insanity and unrest; even the brush strokes are a testament to this sentiment. Some of the strokes start strong and then squiggle off in an unfocused and fleeting manner. Even upon careful examination of the objects in this painting, the viewer fights to make out what the lower third of the panel is and tries to relate it to the other figures; as a result bringing about a frustration and a feeling of chaos. The description provided by the museum even says "this paintings exact subject remains something of a mystery."

Upon further investigation into the history of Max Beckmann, during the time period of the painting (1947-49), it turns out that Beckmann was suffering from anxiety and the depth of his condition was affected by the first World War. Author, Charles S. Kessler, writes in his book, "Max Beckmann's Triptychs":

He was a man made sleepless by the subconscious projection of his anxieties and fantasies. He told me he had been plagued by wakefulness for twenty-five years. Insomnia had left its mark; his was the face of a tired man, a man with a burden... there is no reason to suppose that he was any the less ridden by anxiety, especially because of the ominous political situation in Germany, which was having immediate repercussions on his career and personal welfare...He never developed any ease of life and rarely knew solid contentment. Ever since the traumatic experience of the first World War the element of anxiety in his nature continued to deepen. (Kessler)

Kessler's account of Max Beckmann confirms my perception of psychosis in this painting. As this painting was created in the modernistic time period, it is not a surprise that this painting is "self-conscious" and expresses the painter's emotion. The abstract nature is also a product of this era of painting. After inspecting this piece for about 5-7 minutes, I definitely imbibed a dose of psychosis and unrest and perhaps felt a little of what Max Beckmann was experiencing at the time.