Art Appreciation
 

Thought I'd start a thread where we could share some of our favourite works of art. Here's a few of mine:


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WoF9JzyBtC...udgement+1.jpg

http://www.artfixdaily.com/images/ne...rse972x599.jpg

http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws....4394749453.jpg

https://classconnection.s3.amazonaws...B56B4E0635.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._of_Athens.jpg

https://d36tnp772eyphs.cloudfront.ne...l-landmark.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...sea_of_fog.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3vI_o3CaHC...ard_hopper.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...urat,_1884.jpg

Gosh, I could go for hours here. I like all kinds of art & will give any kind of art a viewing.

I’ll begin with my fellow Brit - Thomas Gainsborough. His portrait of Lady Georgiana Spencer. She was an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales.

I'm thinking there's another thread with this topic floating around, but I cannot remember the title. Could be a few years old. Anyhoo! I've always been partial to William Turner. There's a lovely movie titled, Mr. Turner, for those interested.



And was a HUGE fan of Odd Nerdrum.

No painting in particular, just I love the texture, light, and atmosphere. Both were pretty influential when I was in college.

I love Turner.

Never come across a thread like this in the 4 years I’ve been here.

Is there really someone named Odd Nerdrum? I don’t trust you! :p

Ha. My bad. The thread I was thinking of was the "Show Me..." thread, bottom of page 3. I had posted those artists (and Andrew Wyeth) there in response to ...YOU!!

And Nerdrum is totally 4realz.

:D

Many years ago, I saw an art exhibit in Washington D.C. of western paintings by G. Harvey. I fell in love with them.

Several years ago, I was in an art store in a mall, and they had a display of paintings by Michael Godard. I found them fascinating.

Re: Art Appreciation
 

Some of the art I love would get me banned here.

On the safe side, though:

https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5...opper_1942.jpg
https://www.moma.org/media/W1siZiIsI...a43cd3812d99e9

A big inspiration for Yasujiro Ozu, apparently.

Love David Hockney. (There’s actually hardly any art I don’t like. But, whatever.)

Re: Art Appreciation
 

Something like wassily kandinsky
https://static.skillshare.com/upload...1bb1a/1dd7a056

Munch
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...rt_Project.jpg

Monet (Impression, sunrise)
https://cdn.concreteplayground.com/c...-1920x1440.jpg

Gogh (caffe terrace at night)
https://sharpmag.files.wordpress.com...e-at-night.jpg

Dali (the elephants)
https://www.dalipaintings.com/images...ants-large.jpg

this ukiyo-e one
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...on_Spectre.jpg

lady godiva
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...c._1897%29.jpg

gallery of louvre
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...muel_Morse.jpg

this in particular kinda caught me somehow
knight at the crossroad (victor vastenov)
https://lh5.ggpht.com/o6RQacrl9PT4k3...CZDawQHH=s1200

Seen both in a Hopper exhibition a few months back :)

This is my absolute favorite painting. I can say that the picture doesn't even begin to make it justice. I've seen it on the Louvre a few years ago and it absolutely destroyed me. I was like glued to the ground with my face totally covered with tears and the only thing I could mutter on loop was "i wasn't ready for this".

https://media.gettyimages.com/photos...12?s=2048x2048

Anne-Louis Girodet has a few more great paintings. Next to the Sleep of Endymion, the one I just mentioned, was this baby:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....GKrkL._AC_.jpg

Again, the picture doesn't even begin to cover how alive the colors (especially that blue) are.


Other amazing painting but more because of its story is this portrait:

https://i.postimg.cc/QdkyqxPn/495px-...-by-Titian.jpg


A bit of context: in the first half of the XVI century lived a man called Charles V. He was King of Spain and all the south american dominions Spain had (which was everything except for Brazil) and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire which basically covered Central Europe. I mean Germany, Austria, netherlands and parts of italy, France, Poland, Switzerland, and a few more. He was basically the most powerful man in the world (having inclusively submitted the Pope himself to his command) and one of the most powerful men in human history.
Charles was set to marry a Portuguese princess, Isabel of Portugal, who was at the time considered extremely intelligent and cultivated and was also described as the most beautiful woman of her time. They got married without ever seeing each other, something quite common at the time. What was not common is that they actually fell in love when they met and spent 6 months of honeymoon in the Allambra, in Granada, Spain (Google the place if you don't know it, it's awesome). This would be the only vacation Charles would take during his 35 years of Emperor. After the honeymoon, because he was always traveling among his dominions, he went to Germany for quite some time and she stayed ruling over Spain on his behalf. They never stopped writing to eachother while they were apart and the letters are really touching. Around 10 years after they married, Isabel dies giving birth and Charles was totally heartbroken. He never remarries, although he was still on his 30s, and has this painting made by the great italian painter Titian who had never met Isabel but painted her from other portraits of her and a very detailed description made by the emperor himself. He takes the painting to his room where it would stay until around 10 years later when he abdicates all his power to his brother and his son and retires to a humble Monastery in Yuste, Spain. The painting was one of the few things he took with him. Charles dies in 1558, 2 years after he retired. I like to think this was the last thing he saw.


We also know that his favorite song was this, probably because it reminded him of her:


https://youtu.be/3GBwbt6hK6c

Mille regrets de vous abandonner
et d’être éloigné de votre visage amoureux.
J’ai si grand deuil et peine douloureuse
qu’on me verra vite mourir.

English Translation:

A thousand regrets of deserting you
and leaving behind your loving face,
I feel so much sadness and such painful distress,
that it seems to me my days will soon dwindle away.


And we know that because one of his musicians, Luiz de Narváez, wrote on his score "Mille Regretz, la Cancion del Imperador", which means "Mille Regretz, the song of the Emperor".

Interesting that the OP hasn’t returned to his own thread.

Btw, people, let’s always put the name of the artist. For example, who painted this?

Another great British painter - Lucian Freud. Here is Girl with a White Dog.

If you like impressionism, as do I, there's a well done series on Amazon Prime about the impressionists. This painting of Monet's of course gave the movement its name.

BTW, someone asked about the Lady Godiva painting. It was by John Collier from 1898.

NB: I'm also a fan of Kandinsky, Munch and Dali.

Tim Jacobus’ Goosebumps art

Some great works there. I especially like the Dali piece.

Fascinating story about Charles V. I know all about his role in 16th century European politics but never knew he was so devoted to his wife. Interesting stuff.

Some more of my favourite pieces:


Rubens, Raising of the Cross.
https://classconnection.s3.amazonaws...0824431421.jpg



Titian, Assumption of the Virgin
http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws....the_virgin.jpg



Bernini, The ecstasy of St Teresa
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Bernini%29.jpg



Ghiberti, the Baptistry doors in Florence.
https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.co...0ae970b-pi.jpg

I've always been a big Dali fan. I don't know where you live, but if you ever get to Florida there's a Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg (near Tampa). It's the largest collection of Dali's works outside of Europe. It blows one's mind to see some of his gigantic paintings in person!