Yes!! for the FIA students (July-2010), its a jolly holiday i must say, so it is a very lazy and sleepy afternoon. Well lets not think about sleepiness. Sleeping in the afternoon makes me grumpy and tired. I am a rather peculiar person, but nope sleeping in the afternoon doesn't make me feel rejuvenated. Well then lets move on! Today i would be talking about GREAT ARTISTS! Some of them you might know of , and some of them which still remains foreign to us. Its a pity that we find art a boring subject, I mean reading about its origins, what it actually means, and the reason to why it was created. Well i know that Lewis Carol, the author of Alice in Wonderland, wrote the book because he was high on heroine, and some people also say that he was dumped by his girlfriend, and some even say that to he was pedophile, and he wrote this story to attract a girl named Alice. Whatever the reason maybe, these great people, didn't create something out of the blue, they wanted to proof something or another, or express the way the felt. Art often connects with the soul, as it portrays emotions and thoughts. I am not quite sure if you have seen the episode on Desperate Housewives, when Teri Hatcher's ex-husbands son, drew a very horrific picture during her Art class, and when everyone else drew rainbows and unicorns. It actually shows that art is the main tool for a kid to also express his or herself. Its a very useful tool i must say. But its actually kind of complicated to find out the reason why artists during the ancient times painted pictures of Nude Woman, and this often became their best selling items. When i skim through books about art, there is always the presence of a Nude Woman.I guess it was their way of portraying the beauty of the woman, and that during those times, it was the correct way of doing it i guess. Well today let me share with you about the 10 greatest artist and their masterpiece.
1. Michelangelo
Italian sculptor, painter and architect. Michelangelo's output in every field during his long life was prodigious. Two of his best known works, "The Pieta" and "The David" are monumental masterpieces in sculpture. Despite his low opinion of painting, he created two of the most influential works, in fresco, in the history of western art. The scenes from the "Genesis" and "The Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel. He later designed the dome of St. Peters and revolutionized classical architecture with his invention of the giant order of pilasters. His works are priceless and untouchable.
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| The Pieta |
2.Rembrandt (1606-1669)
Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered on of the greatest painters and printmakers in art history. Rembrandt's greatest creative works are his portraits of his contemporaries, his self-portraits (90 paintings in all) and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. Among his 300 paintings are some of the greatest masterpieces in "Chiaroscuro", dramatic use of light and shadow, most notable are "Nightwatch", "The Anatomy Lesson", "The Blinding of Samson", and "The Syndics". His painting and etchings, when found, fetch tens of millions at major art auctions. A Dutch museum recently paid over $80 million dollars for one of his portraits. The most expensive work of art ever acquired by a Dutch museum.
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| Rembrandt (self-portrait) |
I also read that the word ''Chiasocuro'' is Italian and means light and dark, it was first used to describe a type of painting on medium dark paper. Rembrandt knew the value of ''Chiasocuro'' direct lighting but he softened the edges and lessened the contrast of ''true''Chiasocuro to portray a calmness through his paintings.
I hope i am not boring all of you out there, as this is actually good information, and i find it rather interesting, as there are techniques that are used by great sculptors and painters to beautify their work of art, and i believe that putting these techniques to good use, anyone of us can succeed. Moving on to the third person, we all talk about his name, and know him, but not as famous at Leonardo Da Vinci.
3. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Spanish painter and sculptor. One of the most recognized figures in 20th century art, best known as co-founder with Braque, of cubism. Most prolific and influential of all modern artists, Picasso's most famous work, "Guernica", is one of the greatest statements against the inhumanity, brutality and hopelessness of war. His "Demoiselles D'Avignon", inspired by African artifacts, caused a revolution in the art world and led to cubism, one of the greatest artistic movements. His works are regularly in the top ten most expensive paintings ever sold. Tow of them are currently on the top ten, totaling over $200 million dollars. |
| Pablo Picasso Guernica |
I am sure there are some art terms that all of us don't quite understand, for example the word Cubism, which is actually pioneered by the great Pablo Picasso himself and George Braque. Cubism artwork, as you can see above, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context. Well we can clearly observe that its very different from the normal art we have seen above. There are many types of art! I will be discussing about this during the next post! It will be truly intriguing to know facts about something that we all thought was simple.
4.Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
Dutch post-impressionist artist. His paintings and drawings include some of the world's best known, most popular and most expensive pieces. Three of his works are currently on the top ten list of most expensive paintings ever. "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" (far from one of his best), sold for $116.8 million, "Portrait of the artist without beard" fetched $71.7 million, "Irises" sold for 78.4 million. Not bad for an artist who was mentally ill and died in poverty. He produced more than 2,000 works, including 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches, a prolific amount considering he lived only 37 years.I have seen his artwork, and i actually love the Starry Night. a very beautiful picture. I have always hope to see a starry night like that. I dont know why, but i think its maybe because of the colours and the longing to see something that has been depicted so beautifully in a picture, real life.
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| Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh |
5.Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)
Italian painter, sculptor, scientist, engineer, and inventor. The archetype of the Renaissance man or universal genius. Although he produced few works of art, he is widely considered to be on of greatest artists of all time and perhaps the most-diversely talented person ever to have lived. Two of his works, "Mona Lisa", and "The Last Supper" are perhaps the most famous, most reproduced and most parodied portrait and religious painting of all time. They are priceless and untouchable. One drawing, a study for the "Adoration of the Magi" sold for $11.4 million. Billionaire Bill Gates paid $30 million for his Codex Leicester (one of his notebooks). |
| Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci |
How can we ever forget this masterpiece, its a very famous one, and also used in many movies,comedy and are even display pictures on Facebook, and some are even edited with faces of paris hilton, micheal jackson. It such a pity, i would feel insulted if my painting were to be edited in such a way. I read that Mona Lisa is actually a Florentine woman who married a well-known figure Francesco del Giocondo, and thus came to be known as ``La Gioconda''. The work should probably be dated during Leonardo's second Florentine period, that is between 1503 and 1505. Leonardo himself loved the portrait
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| The Last Supper By Leonardo Da Vinci |
6. Claude Monet (1840-1926)
French impressionist painter. Monet was a founder of French Impressionism, the most consistent and prolific artist of this major art movement. The term impressionism is derived from the title of one of his paintings. He has produced more masterpieces than any other artist of his time. In his eighties, he was selling paintings faster than he could produce them. A painting from his "Water Lilies" series recently sold for $36.6 million, one of his numerous pieces that have sold in the millions. |
| Water Lillie's By Caude Monet |
Flemish painter and proponent of a Baroque style that emphasized movement, color and sensuality. He is well known for his alter pieces, portraits, landscapes and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. His famous painting "The Raising of the Cross" is held as the prime example of Baroque religious art. A recent discovered painting "Massacre of the Innocents" sold for $76.2 million. It is the current record for an old master painting.
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| The Raising Cross By Peter Paul Rubens |
I don't really know much about Claude Monet or Peter Paul Rubens, actually i am just reading about them, there are so many things they have actually contributed and I owe them a blog actually. I think it would be a good idea to talk about these people in depth as they are not just painters. There are many subdivisions, like Cubism, Impressionism, Surrealism. It all new to me to and i did like to learn more about it it would surely share it with you. For know please bare my lack of knowledge concerning this matter as i am just really new to it.
8. Henri Matisse (1869-1954)
French painter, printmaker and sculptor. He is one of the best known artists of the 20th century, noted for his use of color and his fluid, brilliant and original draughtsmanship. Although labeled as a Fauvist (wild beast), by the 1920's, he was increasingly hailed as an upholder of the classical tradition in French painting. His mastery of the expressive language of color and drawing is apparent in a body of work spanning over a half century and won him recognition as a leading figure of modern art. A 1937 painting "L'Odalisque, Harmonie Bleue", sold for $33.6 million. |
| The Dance By Henri Mattisse |
9. Joseph Turner (1775-1851)
English painter, watercolorist and printmaker known as the painter of light, his style can be said to have laid the foundation for the major art movement called impressionism. He is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivaling history painting. Although renowned for his oils, Turner is also one of the greatest masters of watercolor landscape painting. In 2006, one of his paintings sold for $35.8 million, an auction record for a work by a British artist. |
| The Slave Ship By Joseph Turner |
10.Diego Velasquez (1599-1660)
Spanish painter. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist. Many modern artists, including Picasso and Dali have paid tribute to him by recreating several of his famous works. His masterpiece "Las Meninas", called the perfect painting, is one of the most important and famous paintings in European art history and a classic of 17th century art. His painting "Saint Ruffina" sold for $17 million, the most expensive old master painting by a Spanish artist ever sold at auction.
Spanish painter. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist. Many modern artists, including Picasso and Dali have paid tribute to him by recreating several of his famous works. His masterpiece "Las Meninas", called the perfect painting, is one of the most important and famous paintings in European art history and a classic of 17th century art. His painting "Saint Ruffina" sold for $17 million, the most expensive old master painting by a Spanish artist ever sold at auction.
The last piece above is Las Meninas by Velaquez.
I am sure all of you let out a sigh of relief after reading this blog of mine, but why should i create a theme which is so cliched like lifestyle, or politics or fashion, these are all the thing we know of, we can find it anywhere and in abundance, but i think we should all be exposed to facts that remain buried because of our ignorance.As for me, the more i do research and read about these people and art, it opens up my mind and makes me think more. I hope it would benefit to all of you.
Happy reading!
Have a nice Holiday!
Kareshma =D
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