Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Courbet Painted Big

Gustave Courbet (Jean-Desiré-Gustave Courbet) was born into a prosperous farming family on June 10, 1819, in Ornans, France, a rugged area near the Swiss border. His father was a landowner with vineyards in Flagey, a small village about eight miles from Ornans. In 1831 Courbet began attending the Seminary in Ornans and then in the fall of 1837, Courbet was sent to the Collège Royal at Besançon. Here his father had hoped that he would complete his preparatory training for a law degree. While in Besançon he also attended courses at the Académie under Charles-Antoine Flageoulot, a former pupil of Jacques-Louis David, a major neo-classical painter.
In 1839, under the assumption that Courbet was following law studies, he moved to Paris where he befriended Francois Bonvin, another young Realist artist, His exposure to the “little masters” of Dutch painting and to Spanish painters like Murillo, Velazquez, and Zurburan. The dark palettes of these artists influenced the early period of Courbet’s work.

Rather than pursuing studies in law, Courbet began working in Suisse’s atelier. Unlike other ateliers there was no instruction or criticism given instead students were allowed to follow their own stylistic endeavors with an unrestrined sense of freedom. The atelier was very suitable to Courbet’s style of learning because he preferred not to work under a teacher, felt that art could not be taught. He soon left, preferring to develop his own style by studying Spanish, Flemish and French painters and painting copies of their work.

Courbet’s completed many self portraits throughout his life, but a majority of them were done in the 1840s. He submitted one of these portraits his Autoportrait au Chien (Self Portrait with the Black Dog) to the 1844 Salon, where it was accepted while his self portrait entitled Man with a Pipe and other works were rejected.
The fact that one of Courbet’s works was accepted can not be considered a triumph since. The juries at the Salon fluctuated greatly over the years. In 1841 it was very hard for even artists such as Jean-Dominique Ingres to have art accept for exhibition where as in 1844 the juried began to accept virtually every piece that was submitted.
Courbet would find that the selectiveness of the Salon jury would continually plague his establishment of a career.

In 1847 Courbet sent a portrait and two other works to the Salon but they were all rejected. For some time Courbet had experienced his share of rejections he experienced the same problem that all progressive artists of the nineteenth century faced. In order to establish their careers with the public, they needed the Salon exhibitions

Courbet ignited his first major controversy at the Salon of 1850/51, Courbet exhibited Un Enterrement a Ornans (The Burial at Ornans), Les Paysans de Flagey (The Peasants of Flagey), and Les Casseurs de Pierre (The Stonebreakers). In 1853 the controversy was rekindled when he showed Les Baigneuses (The Bathers), La Fileuse Endormie (The Sleeping Spinner), and Les Lutteurs (The Wrestlers).
It is said that Napoleon was so disgusted with The Bathers that he hit the canvas with his riding crop and that Guichard, in Les Doctrines de G. Courbet of 1862 said that “The irritation got to the point that the police commissioner of the quarter wanted to drive it out of the Exhibition.

Burial at Ornans is considered one of Courbet’s most important works. It was inspired by the actual funeral of his great uncle and became his first masterpiece in the Realist style. People who had actually attended the funeral were used as models for the painting. The result was a realistic presentation of the people, and of life, in Ornans.

The painting caused quite a fuss with critics and the public. The scale of the painting, measuring 10 by 22 feet, depicted a mundane ritual on a scale which had previously been reserved for religious or royal subjects.

Towards the end of the 1860s, Courbet painted a series of increasingly erotic pieces, such as Woman with a Parrot, The Sleepers, featuring two women in bed, and culminated with The Origin of the World (L’Origine du monde) (1866), depicting female genitalia. While banned from public display, the works only served to increase his notoriety.

On April 14, 1870, Courbet established the “Federation of Artists" (Fédération des artistes) for the free and uncensored expansion of art. Group members included Andre Gill, Honore Daumier, Jean-Batiste Camille Corot, Eugene Pottier, Jues Dlou, and Edourad Manet.

After Courbet had made a name for himself as an artist he grew ambitious of other glory; he tried to promote democratic and social science, and under the Empire he wrote essays and dissertations. His refusal of the cross of the Legion of Honour, offered to him by Napoleon III, made him immensely popular. Despite Courbet’s refusal of the honor, the Commune government did appoint Courbet Chairman of the Arts Commission, whose sole duty was to protect the works of art in Paris from the siege. But what was to be done with monuments that represented imperialism and pillage, such as that symbolized by the hated Vendôme Column. It was decided that the column would be taken down, not by force, but by dismantlement.
The Commune was short-lived and in May of 1871 mass executions began and all Commune leaders, such as Courbet, were either executed or jailed. Courbet managed to escape by keeping a low profile; his personality was not one to flee from controversy, even if it meant going to prison.

In September a council of war, before which he was tried, condemned him to pay the cost of restoring the column, 300,000 francs (£12,000). On July 23rd, 1873 Courbet, through the assistance of a few friends, fled France for Switzerland as he could not, nor did not want to pay his fines. With the atmosphere repellent in France, Courbet stayed in Switzerland for four years, growing weaker each year, and unwilling to submit himself to continual doctor’s visits and medicines. He died, without ever returning to France, of a liver disease aggravated by heavy drinking as an exile on December 31st, 1877.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Géricault Painted Big

Theodore Gericault was born in France in 1791. His family moved to Paris in 1796, where at the age of 17 he chose a career in art although his family was strongly opposed to his decision. He was influenced by Carle Vernet, who specialized in equestrian subjects. In 1810, Gericault was able to obtain a more serious education under Pierre Guérin. This course of studies lasted only six months due to impatience to learn. For the next four years he took it upon himself to take control of his education, and taught himself by copying works of the masters.

The Raft of the Medusa is one of Gericault’s best known works, and is now on display at the Louvre. It was painted in 1818-19, and it was painted on a huge canvas (4.19 x 7.16 m). In this painting, he emphasizes the struggle these men are facing, having been stranded in the middle of the ocean. Their suffering is very apparent in their facial expressions and body language. The moment being depicted is when the survivors have just noticed a ship in the distance, and are desperate for this ship to come save them.

Many of his other works have also have this disheartening mood, such as his painting The Wreck (1821-24). The image of a person, lying on a beach possibly dead after a storm, is very unsettling. He paints this picture using many dark, gloomy colors which suggest doom.







David Painted Big





Monday, September 17, 2007

Titian Painted Giorgione

Hi Everyone,
Great comments so far. I'm glad to see this much participation, although we still need to hear from a few more of you. As a general point, please make sure you read the whole thread of comments in addition to posting your own.
Since many people mentioned that Titian's Venus of Urbino is based on Giorgione's Sleeping Venus, I thought I would post that as well (see below). Nathalie put forward a comparison between the two versions, asking which one seems more powerful or in control. How would you all compare them? Which woman seems more/less powerful?



Giorgione, c. 1510
oil on canvas
108,5 × 175 cm ~ 43 x 69 in.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Tiepolo Painted Big

CARROLL writes:

Tiepolo is known for his history based frescos and large scale paintings, which he created all throughout Italy, and far beyond to places like Sweden and Germany. Words that can be, and are often associated with his work include: contorted, expressive, dynamic, emotive, and highly imaginative.

The man behind the artwork, fully identified as Giambattista Tiepolo, was born in the year 1690 in Venice. Tiepolo stayed in Italy for a large portion of his life, as his family raised him in Venice, he began his studies in painting in Venice, and later in his life he secured employment and lived within Italy.

His first painting lessons were with a history painter named Lazzarini. Lazzarini was well read and knowledgeable in the subjects of both mythology and architecture. His work ethic, often described as slow and diligent, combined with his eye for detail and perspective made him a lasting model of the past well-trained and competent artists. Tiepolo was considered both an etcher and a draftsman before he became a trained painter, and drew a large variety of sketches because they allowed him to easily express his ideas. In contrast to Lazzarini’s slow, grounded approach to work, Tiepolo worked stretched possibilities, worked quickly and was highly intrigued by the expressive, colorful, full-bodied figures of Veronese (a well known Italian painter of the 16th century). Despite Lazzarini and Tiepolo’s differing approaches to creating works of art, Tiepolo’s time with Lazzarini provided him with a solid technical foundation, connections with some patronages, as well as knowledge of both mythology and history.

Tiepolo’s knowledge of mythology and history stayed with him and he continued to paint large-scale paintings and frescos that depicted epic heroes or portions of history. His interest in Veronese was resonant in a lot of his work and he became known to some as “Veronese” reborn. Tiepolo was described as a man with a highly imaginative mind, a great sense of vigor and determination, prolific, and hard working. His imaginative mind can be seen in many of his works that depict larger than life scenes, far away lands, a great deal of humor and a wide range of color; however, despite his somewhat whimsical pieces they all mirrored what he saw in his common day realities. As an artist, he worked up until the day he died. He was constantly commissioned or determined to have a commission. His work, at first exclusive to Italy, in time extended to places like Sweden, Germany and Italy, and he eventually became an extensive traveler due to his commissions.

His sons, known and Domenico and Lorenzo frequently helped his father, Tiepolo with his commissions. The two of them accompanied and helped Tiepolo with his what became is last commission in Spain, as it was during this commission that he died suddenly to sickness.

Tiepolo’s highly imaginative, realistic, colorful, dynamic, large, history-preserving works are a core part of the art world and are terribly influential to the development of Western art.



The Adoration of the Magi, Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany
405 x 211cm, oil on canvas, 1753















Banquet of Cleopatra, Pallazo Labia, Venice
fresco, 1745-50, National Gallery of Victoria, on palace wall









America - Apollo and the Continents, Residenz, Wurzburg
Wurzburg: Residenz Palace Kaisersaal, mural painting/fresco





Africa - Apollo and the Continents, Residenz, Wurzburg
Wurzburg: Residenz Palace Kaisersaal, mural painting/fresco








Europe - Apollo and the Continents, Residenz, Wurzburg
Wurzburg: Residenz Palace Kaisersaal, mural painting/fresco






Rinaldo leaving Armida, Villa Valmarana, Venice, fresco, 1757












Truimph of Spain (The Wealth and Benefits of the Spanish Monarchy)
Royal Palace, Madrid/ Ceiling, Throne Room, Palacio Real (Palacio de Oriente), Madrid,
Spain 1764, fresco painting

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Titian Painted Big

AUDREY WRITES:

Born in 1485 in Pieve di Cadore, Tiziano Vecelli was one of the greatest 16th century Venetian painters. Better known as Titian, he was equally qualified at portraits, landscapes and religious and mythological subjects. He went through a period of drastic change while in his 40s, and his work had obvious results. Only his intense interest in color is maintained throughout all of the works in his life.
Titians first major apprenticeship was with Giovanni Bellini, a leading artist in Venice at the time. However, Titian was soon equal to and perhaps surpassing his teacher, producing some tension between the two masters. After Bellini and a couple other prominent artists in Venice died around 1516, Titian was left unrivaled in the city of Venice for the next sixty years. This is when he began to undertake more complex subjects, moving forward in his mastery.




Around 1521 Titian reached the height of his fame, with large mythological scenes and half-length figures and busts of women. During the next period, he devoted himself to a more dramatic style of painting. In the 1540s his work was heavily influenced by Mannerism, a style of art characterized by stylized forms and the pursuit of a representation of idealized beauty.


Near the end of his life, Titian became a perfectionist and incredibly self-critical.


His last work of significance was the Pieta, made for his tomb. He accepted commissions until the end, dying on August 27 of 1576.