#4. Impressionism

The Impressionist style of painting was a new look at visual art in the late 19^th Century.  A group of painters began to focus on the sensationalism of a scene.  The result was one of the most unique art movements in history [1].

Manet influenced the development of impressionism.  He painted everyday objects.  Pissaro and Sisley painted the French countryside and river scenes.  Degas enjoyed painting ballet dancers and horse races.  Morisot painted women doing everyday things.  Renoir loved to show the effect of sunlight on flowers and figures.  Monet was interested in subtle changes in the atmosphere [2].

Impressionist works are sometimes described as ‘captured moments’ and are characterized by short quick brushstrokes of color which, when viewed up close looks quite messy and unreal.  If you step back from and Impressionist painting, however, the colors are blended together by our eyes and we are able to see the painter’s subject [3].  Impressionist technique challenged the smooth finish demanded by the Academie des Beaux-Arts.  However, the sketchiness or patchiness found in many Impressionist paintings is not the result of carelessness or incompetence, as was implied by critics.  It was as intentional device used by these painters to convey something of the experience of the rapid movement or variety in a scene [4].

“The Morning on the Seine near Giverny” painted by Claude Monet in 1897. The painting was begun in 1896 but not completed until 1897 because of inclement weather.  For nearly 2 years, Claude Monet left his Giverny house well before dawn to travel a few miles to the Seine River where he could paint from his floating studio.  He routinely left his house at 3:30 AM to make sure that he was at the river to capture the early morning light through the fog that often covered the Seine.  He painted quickly to capture the atmospheric effects before the fog evaporated.  By late morning, he normally returned home as the effect had disappeared at the point [5].

This painting is one of art that I like among Impressionist paints.  Its colors of pinkish mauve, cool blues, and greens are matched with large, simple, rounded shapes and the technique that he used for the fog is amazing.  I do not hate Impressionist arts, however I personally like paintings from Baroque Era much better than the Impressionist arts.  One of my favorite painting  is “The Loves of the Gods” painted by the Bolognese artist Annibale Carracci in the Farnese Gallery.  It is more naturalistic, being straightforward, clear, legible.

References

[1] http://www.ehow.com/how_2052429_paint-impressionism-style.html

[2] http://www.cs.ucf.edu/~MidLink/Impress.html

[3] http://www.theartgallery.com.au/kidsart/learn/impressionism/

[4]http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/insight/virag_imptechniques/virag_imptechniques01.html

[5] http://www.squidoo.com/claude-monet-landscapes-giverny?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebuster

#3. Classical Era

Beethoven’s Tempest Sonata 3rd Movement

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German composer and pianist.  A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic ears in Western art music.  He remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers [1].  His grandfather Ludwig and his father Johann were both musicians [2]. His father was a musician at the court of Bonn, with a definite weakness for alcohol.  His mother was always described as a gentle, retiring woman, with a warm heart.  At an early age, Van Beethoven, took an interest in music and his father taught him day and night, on returning to the house from music practice, At the age of 7 1/2 , Ludwig Van Beethoven gave his first public performance at Cologne [3]. By the age of 26, Beethoven began to lose his hearing.

I really like Ludwig Van Beethoven.  He had an amazing gift for music.  His best known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string quartets.  He also composed other chamber music, choral works, and songs [1].  I chose Sonata No. 17, “Tempest” 3^rd Movement.  Ludwing Van Beethoven worte his 32 piano sonatoa between 1795 and 1822.  The sonata consists of three movements including Adagio sostenuto, allegretto and presto agitato [4].  Sonata No. 17, Tempest 3^rd Movement is one of my favorite sonatas.  Tempest is dramatic in the sense that it has a somewhat romantic feel to it and more passionate than other sonata pieces.  I feel Beethoven revealed his inner self by this piece of music.

The Classical period known as the “age of enlightenment” as the power shifted from the aristocracy and church to the middle class.  During this period, the appreciation of music belonging to the middle class became patrons of music as well [5].  I think that Beethoven’s music is a lot simpler and less intense than the Mozart’s music and this is the main reason the music was demanded by the middle class during the Classical Era.  Composers catered not only to the needs of the listening public but for those in the middle class who wanted to become musicians as well.  Thus, composers wrote pieces that were easy to play [5].  Ludwig Van Beethoven is a brilliant pianist who composed many of his music being deaf and his music has been played all over the world for over 180 years.

References

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven

[2] http://home.swipnet.se/zabonk/cultur/ludwig/beetbio.htm

[3] http://www.lvbeethoven.com/Bio/BiographyLudwig.html

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._14_(Beethoven)

[5] http://musiced.about.com/od/medievalto20thcentury/a/The-Role-Of-Music-And-Composers.htm

#2 Baroque Blog

The Loves of the Gods

The Council of Trent was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church.  It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods [1].  The Council made many decisions for the church during its years in session in an effort to establish the traditions and doctrines of the church, as well as to correct the corruption within it [2].  The one of the issue that discussed was decrees concerning sacred music and religious art, though inexplicit, were subsequently amplified by theologians and writers to condemn many types of Renaissance and medieval styles and iconographies, impacting heavily on the development of these art forms [1].

The Loves of the Gods is a monumental fresco cycle, completed by the Bolognese artist Annibale Carracci in the Farnese Gallery, now the French Embassy in Rome, Italy.  Work was started in 1597 and was not entirely finished until 1608, one year before Annibales’s death.  The frescoes were greatly admired at the time, and were later considered to reflect a significant change in painting style away from sixteenth centry Mannersim to anticipation of the development of Baroque and Classicism    in Rome during the seventeenth centrury [3].

The piece is a visual display of love in Greek mythology.  The ceiling is notable because of the new style “quadro riportato” were employed.  In Loves of the Gods, there appear to be numerous framed oil paintings on the ceiling, but the ceiling is actually fresco [4].

This new style of painting truly was a Baroque style.  It is more naturalistic, being straightforward, clear, legible and rejection of mannerism [5]. I really like The Loves of the Gods made in Baroque period because The Loves of the Gods expresses importance of morality and appropriate love.  This art portrayed eternal love. I can also feel the pure love of God when viewing from a religious standpoint.

References

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Trent

[2] http://www.thenagain.info/Webchron/westeurope/CouncilTrent.html

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Loves_of_the_Gods_(Carracci)

[4] http://artontap.blogspot.com/2010/02/loves-of-gods.html

[5] http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/carracci-farnese-ceiling.html