rumtastique (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rumtastique) wrote2007-03-14 11:10 am
rumtastique) wrote2007-03-14 11:10 am
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Super Duper Large Art Post!
Here's an assortment of images to placate my readers.
First up is:
This is the Penitent Magdalene by George de la Tour, 1640. It's part of the French Baroque school of painting. You may think of Italian Baroque when you hear the word baroque because of artists like Bernini and Borromini, and in italy, baroque = overkill. That's really not necessarily an accurate representation. Baroque art is defined by strong, dynamic compositions and active scenes. The term Baroque probably comes from the Portuguese word "baroca", which is a word for an assymetrical pearl, and was first applied to art in the 18th century by Neoclassicists who found the dynamism and assymetry of the preceding century to be not to their tastes. By that definition, De la Tour's painting is very Baroque. He uses caravaggism (chiaroscuro), the sharp contrast of deep darks and bright lights in close proximity. This helps create dynamic and engaging compositions. It's a technique pioneered by Caravaggio, who's roughly contemporary, but a little earlier than de la Tour.
I also come offering two rococo painting. Rococo is the style that follows the Baroque, and where the baroque is heavy and dark, the rococo is light and playful. the french aristocracy have been released from perpetual attendance on Louis XIV at Versailles and have moved back to their Parisien hotels. Salons (gatherings of the artistic and aristocratic elite) are all the rage and the game of courtly love is a favored pasttime. The rococo reflects the frivolity and playfulness of the French aristocracy. Here we have Harlequin and Columbine, two characters from the popular Commedia del arte troupe, engaged in amorous (and frivolous) pursuits. I picked this one especially for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
arabella23 and warrewyk. It's a 1716 painting by Antoine Watteau, one of the quintessential Rococo Artists.
We also have a portrait of Madame de Pompadour by Francois Boucher from 1758. If i recall correctly, she was one of the mistresses of the king. Still very rococo, and just a lovely portrait.
of course, after all that frivolity, the french people get upset, social turmoil happens and the French Revolution comes rolling in. This is also tied to the resurgence of neoclassicism, the revival of the classical elements that the renaissance dug out of antiquity. One of t he leading neoclassicists was Jacques Louis David, represented here by his famous Oath of the Horatii from 1784.
he uses classical architectural elements to frame the three sets of characters in the story, all clad in pseudo antique garb. The three men on the left are swearing oaths of loyalty before going off to war against an oposing tribe. the women on the right weep because one of them is betrothed to someone from said tribe. either they lose a brother or a fiancee, and either way, their lot is bleak.
The last picture for today is one of my favorites, also by David, The Death of Marat.
Notable for it's strikingly large expanse of dark canvas above the slain Marat, it's completely atypical, and therefore remarkable. It's an homage to Marat, a close ally of Robespiere and a fiery orator. he was stabbed in the bath, where he sat for hours on end to aleviate a terrible skin condition, by a Royalist, Charlotte Corday. David's representation of the murder emphasizes Marat's christlike qualities and his posture reminds us of Descent from the Cross paintings. David includes both the pen of the writer (the instrument which produced the tracts which angered the Royalists) and the knife, lying on the floor, instrument of the murder itself. It's one of my favorites. :)
There you go. A "brief" glimpse into 17th and 18th century french art. (can you tell which lecture I'm writing this week?)
First up is:
This is the Penitent Magdalene by George de la Tour, 1640. It's part of the French Baroque school of painting. You may think of Italian Baroque when you hear the word baroque because of artists like Bernini and Borromini, and in italy, baroque = overkill. That's really not necessarily an accurate representation. Baroque art is defined by strong, dynamic compositions and active scenes. The term Baroque probably comes from the Portuguese word "baroca", which is a word for an assymetrical pearl, and was first applied to art in the 18th century by Neoclassicists who found the dynamism and assymetry of the preceding century to be not to their tastes. By that definition, De la Tour's painting is very Baroque. He uses caravaggism (chiaroscuro), the sharp contrast of deep darks and bright lights in close proximity. This helps create dynamic and engaging compositions. It's a technique pioneered by Caravaggio, who's roughly contemporary, but a little earlier than de la Tour.
I also come offering two rococo painting. Rococo is the style that follows the Baroque, and where the baroque is heavy and dark, the rococo is light and playful. the french aristocracy have been released from perpetual attendance on Louis XIV at Versailles and have moved back to their Parisien hotels. Salons (gatherings of the artistic and aristocratic elite) are all the rage and the game of courtly love is a favored pasttime. The rococo reflects the frivolity and playfulness of the French aristocracy. Here we have Harlequin and Columbine, two characters from the popular Commedia del arte troupe, engaged in amorous (and frivolous) pursuits. I picked this one especially for
arabella23 and warrewyk. It's a 1716 painting by Antoine Watteau, one of the quintessential Rococo Artists.We also have a portrait of Madame de Pompadour by Francois Boucher from 1758. If i recall correctly, she was one of the mistresses of the king. Still very rococo, and just a lovely portrait.
of course, after all that frivolity, the french people get upset, social turmoil happens and the French Revolution comes rolling in. This is also tied to the resurgence of neoclassicism, the revival of the classical elements that the renaissance dug out of antiquity. One of t he leading neoclassicists was Jacques Louis David, represented here by his famous Oath of the Horatii from 1784.
he uses classical architectural elements to frame the three sets of characters in the story, all clad in pseudo antique garb. The three men on the left are swearing oaths of loyalty before going off to war against an oposing tribe. the women on the right weep because one of them is betrothed to someone from said tribe. either they lose a brother or a fiancee, and either way, their lot is bleak.
The last picture for today is one of my favorites, also by David, The Death of Marat.
Notable for it's strikingly large expanse of dark canvas above the slain Marat, it's completely atypical, and therefore remarkable. It's an homage to Marat, a close ally of Robespiere and a fiery orator. he was stabbed in the bath, where he sat for hours on end to aleviate a terrible skin condition, by a Royalist, Charlotte Corday. David's representation of the murder emphasizes Marat's christlike qualities and his posture reminds us of Descent from the Cross paintings. David includes both the pen of the writer (the instrument which produced the tracts which angered the Royalists) and the knife, lying on the floor, instrument of the murder itself. It's one of my favorites. :)
There you go. A "brief" glimpse into 17th and 18th century french art. (can you tell which lecture I'm writing this week?)
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there's also one where she's looking into a mirror, where you only see the reflection of her face, not her face itself. that might be even cooler!
i can't find it, but here's another cool variation: http://www.wga.hu/art/l/la_tour/georges/1/10penite.jpg
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Though it would be an interesting self portrait, to present oneself as being Magdalen-like.
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Madame de Pompadour [...] was one of the mistresses of the king.
Is it sad that I know this bit of history via Dr Who (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_in_the_Fireplace)? ...not that it wasn't completely hysterical to see David Tennant stagger and shout, "I've just snogged Madame de Pompadour!"
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*fangirl squee*
And yes, she was the mistress of Louis XV.
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The Penitent Magdalene and The Death of Marat are two of my favorites too.
I hope I'm not just having a dirty mind, but I think the eyes are drawn toward nipples in the portrait of Madame de Pompadour: the flower on her chest suggests one, and then in the background there is a cherub trying to suckle on the statue (of Aphrodite?).
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And it's not just you having a dirty mind; it's helped along by the bow placement and shape on her bodice. Rococo art is very much about courtly love and sensual apetite.