Classical Blog: Classical era and the major influences during this era.

Classical Blog: Classical era & Major Influences in this Era.

Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1786, Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Artist: Jacques Louis David

Art Name: Oath of the Horatii 

Location and time: Paris 1786

I chose to go with these artists;  Jacques Louis David, Benjamin West, and Peter Paul Rubens because they were a perfect example of Classical art or Classicism which refers to artwork that draws inspiration from ancient Roman or ancient Greek culture. Classical art was most popular in Western art during the Renaissance period and often depicted scenes from mythology through painting, sculpture, and printmaking. Classicism informs much of the subject matter depicted in history painting.

  Benjamin West, Pylades and Orestes Brought as Victims Before Iphigenia, 1766, Tate, London.

Artist: Benjamin West

Art Name: Pylades and Orestes Brought as Victims Before Iphigenia

Location and time: London 1766

Ancient Greek and Roman cultures and their artwork valued nobility of character and military prowess. This ties into the growing economic power of the middle class in the 1700s. Before Christianity, both cultures worshiped a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Offerings were often made to these gods and goddesses in hopes of them bringing prosperity and protection to people of all classes. Spirituality was one aspect of culture that had a significant influence on the art and architecture that followed. There were many artists that shared similar art styles. I chose to go with Jacques Louis David, Peter Paul Rubens, and Benjamin West because they all had similar, but separate styles. Benjamin used a lot of blue/green hues and Jacques used very straight lighter colors. I liked both styles because they added to their personality in paint. Peter tended to have more dramatic scenes with bold color choices, great movement, and high contrast of light and darkness. 

Overall, this was a fun era with a lot of great movement and the use of different hues, and contrast. I would definitely enjoy looking at these pictures on occasion, but wouldn't own them in my own house. 

    

Peter Paul Rubens, Venus and Adonis, mid-1630s, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Artist: Peter Paul Rubens

Art Name: Venus and Adonis

Location and time: New York, mid-1630s

Phyllis Pray Bober and Ruth Rubenstein, Renaissance Artists & Antique Sculpture: A Handbook of Sources (London: H. Miller; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986).

David, Jacques-Louis, and France. “Le Serment Des Horaces.” Musée Du Louvre, 3 Oct. 2022, https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010062239.

Comments

  1. The Uncrustable KyOctober 21, 2022 at 6:34 PM

    It's ironic how during this time artistic influence was being redirected from spiritual and religious subject matter, towards more of a critical thinking and logical standpoint; and yet, it did this by utilizing ancient roman and greek mythology and stories, which were often superstitious and spiritual by nature.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KdOctober 22, 2022 at 2:14 AM

      These paintings definitely have high importance but I wouldn't want to own any of these. I feel like they all come with a dark conniption, contrary to my liking. I prefer vibrancy, peacefulness and freshness. All of these paintings contain earth tones which is not the style I prefer.

      Delete
  2. Alana JonesDecember 21, 2022 at 11:08 AM

    Hi Autumn!
    I love your details about Greek and Roman cultures and how they influenced this period!
    I have always been amazed at those regions works of art. All the pieces you included have great details of rich colors and shadows to show contrast and depth within the scenes. Thank you for sharing! I really enjoy the scene depicted in Venus and Adonis, you can really feel the emotion in it. Did you know that Rubens depicted voluptuous figures because of his 16-year-old wife? Pretty creepy... but we know times were different then I guess.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Non Western Blog Exhibit

Image
  Non-Western Blog Exhibit: Chinese Calligraphy      This week, I really wanted to do Alaskan artist but I decided to go with various Chinese Calligraphy artists. If you don't know what calligraphy it's the art of writing, was the visual art form prized above all others in traditional China. The genres of painting  and calligraphy emerged simultaneously, sharing identical tools—namely, brush and ink. Yet calligraphy was revered as a fine art long before painting ; indeed, it was not until the Song dynasty , when painting became closely allied with calligraphy in aim, form, and technique, that painting shed its status as a mere craft and joined the higher ranks of the fine arts.       The elevated status of calligraphy reflects the importance of the word in China. This was a culture devoted to the power of the word. From the beginning, emperors asserted their authority for posterity as well as for the present by engraving their own pronouncements on mountainsides and on stone st
Read more

Post Modern Art Blog

Image
 Post Modern Art Blog Women’s Movement   – Feminist Art Movement (1960-2000)      I really enjoyed the choice in this week's assignment, I chose to go with the Post Modern Era (1960-2000). During this time period, we see many movements that carried from the Mid Modern Era into the late 20th century including, The Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Movement, the war, and a lot more I'm sure.  This was a time of continued growth, expansion, and many forms of conflict as  one of the biggest conflicts of this time was equality, for both African Americans and women.  I wanted to focus on the growth and expanding the rights of women. Sadly it was common to see women as sexualized objects incapable of doing the job a man could. Some common problems women faced were mockery, unequal pay, and working rights. With limited access to services such as child care and abortions. Luckily, things began to shift during the Post Modern time period; women became more politically involved and deman
Read more