Matts Art Blog

 Influence of Celebrities Deborah Kass These are two works from a newer artist who made a collection of art inspired by the next artist I am spotlighting. Born in 1952 Artnet had this to say about her " Deborah Kass  is a contemporary American artist. With a practice spanning across media and disciplines, Kass’s work is notable for her pointed feminist critique. Through her use of appropriation, she often mimics the work and styles of male artists to comment on and rewrite the patriarchal narrative of art history."   ([CSL STYLE ERROR: reference with no printed form.]). These works are Robert Rosenblum, 1997 (Left) & Cindy Sherman, 1995 (Right). Both are takes on pop art works that were popularized by Warhol who used celebrities in much of his works as well. I enjoy these portraits as they usually use bright colors that make the faces and celebrities pop. Repetition is also used frequently in these works and shows 2 sides to the same works which is something I quite enjoy

 WWI Early Modern Art Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson,  La Mitrailleuse, 1915: Nevinson was an artist from  Britain. He was well known for his paintings about WWI.  This painting shows three soldiers manning a machine gun it what seems to be a trench of a battlefield. I really like the dark colors mixed with almost abstract shapes. The use of lines is very appealing in this work. It is almost as the soldiers are machines themselves as the shapes they are resemble the same sharp lines as the turret.  Charles Pears, Transport by the Sea: Supplying the Navy, 1917: Pears was a British  artist who interestingly enough competed in the Olympics  for art in 1928 and 1932. This illustration  is very appealing to me. The detail of the drawing in the sea shows the movement of the ships. There is no color really in the drawing and that doesn't  bother me. It is raw and gives the drawing a hectic tone through the use of the lines and shading. I am really impressed by the way the clouds are

Realist Style Gustave Caillebotte, Paris Street, Rainy Day, 1875      This painting was was Gustave's second big painting. He created it in 1875, the same year he came out with The Floor Scrapers. His first work was not accepted well by the critics right away. " when Caillebotte exhibited  Paris Street, Rainy Day  along with five other paintings, the influential critic had a much more positive view of the artist's work." ("Gustave Caillebotte"). This painting is stunning to me. It almost looks like a blurry photo. I like the way he doesn't outline the people or buildings as it makes the painting look so much more real. Even with the choice of colors just goes along with the tone of the rainy day as he put in the title of the work.   Frederic Edwin Church, Tamaca Palms, 1854                                                     Church was a painter apart of the Hudson River School. This school was well known for their realist style and were popular for thei

Maria Sibylla Merian: caterpillar and butterfly, 1679, Nuremburg, Germany Maria Sibylla Merian was an artist from the classical era that was from Frankfurt, Germany. She was the daughter of renowned artist Matthaus Merian. She was known for her works of insects and plants that centered around metamorphosis. She was married in 1665 and then settled in Nuremburg shortly after where she made After the birth of her second daughter she dropped a collection of illustrations including the one above. " Merian published the first volume of  Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung, und sonderbare Blumen-nahrung  (“Caterpillars, Their Wondrous Transformation and Peculiar Nourishment from Flowers”; the second volume appeared in 1683), in which she depicted in detail the  metamorphosis  of  moths  and butterflies."  (Rogers). Her art was a big part of the advancements in entomology in this period. I really like this painting as the story it tells is pretty cool. It connects the living plant w

 David with the Head of Goliath, 1610     This painting below was one I found from this era that I liked a lot. It was painted by Caravaggio in 1610. The story behind this painting makes the work of art so much more interesting to me. In an article about the artist and this work it stated " On May 1606 Caravaggio was accused of murder and fled from Rome to distant lands (Naples, Sicily, Malta) to escape the price that had been placed on his head. His self-portrait as Goliath's severed head, held by David his executioner, was sent to the papal court in 1610 as a kind of painted petition for pardon. In fact pardon was granted, but did not reach Caravaggio before he died in Porto Ercole." (Mattise, 2009). I think the story fits perfectly with the dark tone of the painting and really feeds into the piece itself. The dark background contrasted with the eerie  image of a man holding a severed head really sets a mood in this work. Knowing the story behind this painting really el

 Raphael: Vision of a Knight (1504) Going through many of the works and artists of the renaissance era was very interesting. You can definitely see how similar the styles and works of arts are from this time. One artist I liked early on was Raphael. I browsed through many of his works and the one in particular I chose is called Vision of a Knight and is attached below. I am a sucker for a variety of bright colors and hidden messages. The piece has both and the message is something I try and find meaning in for myself. Many people can speculate and talk about a deeper metaphorical meaning that the artist meant, but I think artists want the viewers to interpret themselves. I think the message here is the soldier has a choice to follow a path of war and knowledge or a path of love as the two women in the painting are presenting him different objects. The women on the left has a sword and a book and the women on the right has flowers. The soldier is on the ground as he has not been able to