Inspirational Quote of the Week - Georgia O' Keeffe

Hello everyone,

Hope that you all had a fantastic weekend. Each Monday I am posting an inspirational quote of the week and today I have chosen a quote by the artist Georgia O'Keeffe (1887- 1986) who is most famous for her paintings of flowers. I hope this quote will inspire you this week.

Georgia O'Keeffe - Blue and Green Music 1919

The Dorothy Days Xx

Art History post - Piero della Francesca - Baptism of Christ

Baptism of Christ, Piero della Francesca, 1450, National Gallery in London

Hello everyone,

It has been a long time since I wrote an art/art history blog post and this is something I really enjoyed doing on the blog and sharing some of things I know about paintings. I have spent the last few days trying to decide which painting to share with you all. I have so many favourites that it is hard to pick something but in the end I decided to write about this beautiful painting by Piero della Francesca called The Baptism of Christ. This was one of the first paintings I learnt about and I think it might even be the first painting I ever wrote an art history essay about!

One of the reasons I really love this painting is when I first started learning about it it really wasn't a painting that appealed to me at all. I remember thinking "well this is going to be boring". It wasn't a subject matter that I was particularly interested in or the style and I think I just thought it was going to be old and boring! But, the more I learnt about this painting the more I grew to love it. It was the first painting that I studied first and then went to see in the National Gallery in London and it actually gave me goosebumps!

There is so much you could write about this painting but I hope that this blog post will just give you a little taster!

The Artist: Piero della Francesca

Self portrait of the artist taken from one of his other paintings,  The Resurrection  c.1460

• Born c.1415/20 - 1492 in Borgo Sansepolcro which is town in Tuscany, Italy.
• He was also a mathematical theorist and although a respected artist at the time with high profile patrons, he was most well known for this.
• His work is considered to be part of the Early Renaissance and the medium he is most known for is Painting and Fresco (which is a type of mural painting which you paint directly into wet plaster).
• He was believed to have gone blind in old age
• He was buried in Sansepolcro.

What for and how?

The painting is tempera on panel (poplar). The painting was painted before the invention of oil paints so would have used coloured pigments (this was often ground up insects, semi precious stones etc) with a binder such as egg, honey, glue etc to make a paint.

The painting was painted onto wooden panel. At the time, this was the most common way of painting. It requires a rather lengthy process to prepare the panel to be ready to be painted on including sanding, coating the panel and applying gesso (which is a bit like a primer).

Poplar wood was most commonly used in Italy for panel painting. The Mona Lisa is also painted on Poplar.

The painting was the central section of a polyptych (which is an altarpiece formed of many panels). The painting was commissioned by the Camaldolese abbey in Sansepolcro (his home town) for the chapel of Saint John the Baptist (inside the abbey).

Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck, 1432 as an example of a polyptych. You can see the many different panels which make up this altarpiece. They are usually hinged so you can fold the altarpiece.

What is happening in the painting?

Christ is in the centre being baptised by John the Baptist which is fitting for it's original setting of the chapel of Saint John the Baptist inside the Camaldolese abbey (now cathedral). Christ has his hands clasped in prayer and John is gently pouring the water on Christ's head. The painting is very linear which creates a still, calm feel and you sense that the scene is quiet and peaceful. If you were to take a pencil and draw all the lines on the painting you would find many straight lines such as the long bodies, the trees etc as well gentle archs which gives the painting its calm feel. Francesca had a love of geometry and the mathematical beauty and harmony so he uses this in his paintings. Directly above Christ is a white dove which symbolises the holy spirit. It is possible that originally, above the painting was another painting representing God and the heavens which would have then completed the holy trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In the background is believed to be the rolling hills of Borgo Sansepolcro which was both Francesca's home town the town in which the abbey who commissioned the painting was located. The congregation of the church would have therefore recognised the landscape. The stream could symbolise the River Jordan which is believed to be where Jesus was baptised. 

To the left of Christ is three angels witnessing the baptism and behind John is another man removing his shirt to also be baptised.

Hope you enjoyed this little introduction into this painting. It is even more beautiful when you see it in person!

Would love to hear your thoughts on this blog post. Did you enjoy it? Did you know this painting before you had read this or not? Should I make art posts a regular feature?

Thanks for reading

The Dorothy Days X

Erased de Kooning Drawing - Robert Rauschenberg - An Art blog post!

Erased De Kooning Drawing, Robert Rauschenberg, 1953.

The work is in the collection of SFMOMA and the image above is copyright of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation with the photograph by Ben Blackwell. 

Hello everyone,

While I was unwell it was what would have been Robert Rauschenberg's birthday. I have not blogged about art in ages so, even though his birthday has now come and gone, I thought I would share with you this clip of Rauschenberg talking about his piece Erased de Kooning Drawing. I once gave a presentation on Rauschenberg and since then have always found his work interesting. This is mainly because his work pushes the boundaries of art and what can be considered art, an area in which I always love writing about.

Robert Rauschenberg (22nd October 1925 -12th May 2008) was an American artist. He is not normally considered to be part of any one artistic movement but his work was extremely influential especially to the Pop Artists. His work is often discussed because of his use of appropriation. In art, appropriation is when an object or image is taken from one source and made into art with little or no changes being made. This is image or object is normally a 'non-art' object but is appropriated and becomes art. One of the most famous examples of this is Marcel Duchamp's Fountain in which he places a urinal on a plinth and signs it 'R. Mutt 1917'. This ordinary object them becomes a work of art. Here Rauschenberg takes an artwork by one of the most famous artists of the time from the Abstract Expressionist movement, Willem de Kooning and erases it. He therefore is appropriating De Kooning's work but unlike Duchamp, where the urinal was before a non-art object, the object was already an art piece before he appropriated it. He transforms a work of art into a totally different work of art therefore allowing new and different interpretations to what was originally intended.

In this clip Rauschenberg talks about how the work came to be.




'The power of Erased de Kooning Drawing derives from the allure of the unseen and from the enigmatic nature of Rauschenberg’s decision to erase a de Kooning. Was it an act of homage, provocation, humor, patricide, destruction, or, as Rauschenberg once suggested, celebration?'
- SFMOMA

Rauschenberg once said 'An empty canvas is full' and here, even though the canvas only has traces of the original artwork, the canvas is still full of meaning. As the SFMOMA puts it, 'Erased de Kooning Drawing eludes easy answers, its mysterious beginnings leaving it open to a range of present and future interpretations.' 


Hope that you enjoyed this blog post.

Let me know what you think about the work in the comment section below and if you would like to read anymore about this work please take a look at the SFMOMA website which I have linked. It is full of information and is where the image and video is from.

The Dorothy Days Xx

Happy Birthday Hokusai

Happy birthday Katsushika Hokusai (born 31st October 1760) !

The Great Wave off Kanagawa - Hokusai - woodcut - c1829 - 32

Above is his most famous work, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Isn't it just beautiful? To celebrate his birthday I thought I would share with you all 5 facts about Hokusai

1. Over the course of his life Hokusai used over 30 different names (this was common with Japanese artists of this period but not to this extent!) 
2. His work, and Japanese art in general, was hugely influential to the Impressionists. Many of these artists collected Hokusai's woodcuts including  Degas and Gauguin.
3. Shortly before his death aged 89 he is quoted as saying "If heaven gives me ten more years, or an extension of even five years, I shall surely become a true artist." 
4. The Great Wave off Kanagawa is part of a series called Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji in which Hokusai recorded mount Fuji in varying weather conditions, at different distances and in different seasons. The 36 woodcuts were printed in a publication of his work but were so popular that another 10 were later added.
5. Hokusai's style changed many times throughout his artistic career and sometimes as frequently as from one painting to another.

The Dorothy Days

The Wilton Diptych - National Gallery, London

Hello everyone,

A while back I wrote a post on art to cheer you up on a gloomy day click here to see it I posted a photograph of the Wilton Diptych and said that I would write more about it in a future blog post. Today is another gloomy day. It is cold and I am sat in my room watching the rain trickle down my window so what better day to write you a post on what I think is one of the most beautiful works of art.

This painting is called the Wilton Diptych it was painted in c 1395-9 and is the National Gallery in London. It is one of my favourite pieces in their collection and one which I always go and see when I visit the gallery. It is also one of the first works of art which I went to see when I started studying art history and I remember being totally blown away by it.

I will try to write this blog post without going into too much but feel free to ask questions if you have any in the comments section below.

The Wilton Diptych - Whats in the name?

Wilton because it came from Wilton House in Wiltshire (England) which is a beautiful English country house which has been lived in by the same family for over 460 years

Wilton House - Photo Credit: John Goodall

Diptych 
A diptych is a painting or carving which has two panels which are hinged together in the middle so it can be opened and closed like a book. They are small scale so they can be transported easily and are often used as altarpieces. (If there are 3 panels it is called a triptych.) The Wilton Diptych is a diptych which was used as an altarpiece and would have been used for private devotion.

Who did The Wilton Diptych belong to?

With this type of work (altarpieces for private devotion) the patron or owner of the piece often appears in the painting itself. This is the case with the Wilton Diptych and on the left hand side kneeling is the patron of this painting, King Richard II who was king of England between 1377 to 1399.

Who are the other figures in the painting?

Saint Edmund who was born in 841 and was King of East Anglia. He was taken prisoner by the vikings and when he refused to give up Christianity, he was executed. He can be identified by his arrow, which is reportedly how he was killed.

Edward the Confessor (1003- 1066) who was the last Anglo- Saxon King. He is buried in Westminster Abbey, London. A confessor is a male saint who has been blessed by not martyred. He can be identified by the ring he holds.

Always wearing ragged clothes and disheveled hair, this is Saint John the Baptist holding the lamb of God.

The 3 saints on the left panel, St John the Baptist, Edward the Confessor and Saint Edmund are presenting King Richard II to the figures on the right panel. The figures on the panel on the right hand side are the Virgin Mary who holds baby Jesus and eleven angels. The infant Jesus has has arms outstretched ready to bless King Richard II.

King Richard II is therefore shown as being very pious and devoted to his faith by kneeling down before the Virgin, Jesus and the angels. He also makes associations between himself and the past Kings of England (both of whom were considered to be very pious) and also shows his importance in that he is being acknowledged by the holy family. 

Above shows the reverse of the diptych. The white stag and the crest are both symbols of King Richard II. If you look closely on the opposite side of the painting with the figures you will find many more stags (for example in Richard's clothing)

I hope this has given you a little insight into one of my favourite paintings. I have tried to keep this post from not being too long (I could go on for pages about this painting!) but please feel free to ask questions in the comment box below and I will try to answer them.

Hope you have enjoyed reading this blog post.

The Dorothy Days Xx

Painting of the week- Portrait of Andrea Odoni by Lorenzo Lotto

Hi everyone,

Hope you have had a great week so far and had a wonderful Valentine's day. The painting of the week for this week is this beautiful painting by Lorenzo Lotto, a Venetian artist from the 16th century. 

Portrait of Andrea Odoni by Lorenzo Lotto 1527 Oil on Canvas. Royal Collection Hampton Court

Lorenzo Lotto

Lorenzo Lotto was an Italian painter and draughtsman born in Venice. He was from the same generation as other great artists who were working in Venice such as Titian and Giorgione.

Lotto was quite a traditional artist especially when compared to artists such as Titian and Giorgione. His main output was devotional pieces, altarpieces and portraits such this portrait of Andrea Odoni.

He never received the fame and fortune of artists such as Titian and the Bellini brothers and his style was unique from them. It is only in modern times that his innovations and unique style has been recognised as examples of how Venetian artists were often in dialogue with artists from northern Europe such as Durer who was known for his realism.

Lorenzo's Portraits

Painted a large amount of portraits that were unique in style to that of his contemporaries but also followed on from the refashioning of portraiture during this period with artists such as Titian and Giorgione who worked in Venice as well as Leonardo and Raphael who were working in Florence. His work was different because it focused more on the subject matter and the figure rather than the colours in the painting. Venetian painters were particularly known for their use of colour so Lotto was going against the norm. As with this portrait, his sitters usually look straight out at the viewer as if to confront them and their gaze.Through his portraits, Lorenzo tried to tell the viewer as much about the sitter as possible. He did this through clothing and jewellery, the setting and also a person's physiognomy which is when the a person's character and personality is judged by the way they look and their outward appearance. There was a believe that the outwards appearance of someone reflected their inner personality. 

Andrea Odoni

This portrait is of Andrea Odoni who was a Milanese merchant who came to Venice and spent most of his life living in the city. He was a collector of artistic treasures including sculptures from antiquity and modern bronzes. Some of the sculptures from antiquity which were collected by Odoni can be seen in this portrait showing how Lorenzo used material objects to inform the viewer about Odoni as a person. He has a large beard and soft features which were meant to show his sensitivity which is one way in which an outwards appearance of a person was meant to reflect their inner personality.

Odoni holds a statuette of Diana of Ephesus. This shows the influence of the East on Venetian artists such as Lotto because she was an Eastern deity. Diana has a multitude of breasts so is a figure that has often been associated with fertility and the earth. 

Odoni wears furs and a large coat with puffed satin arms which illustrate his wealth. The sculpture collection is meant to show that Odoni is wealthy, educated and knowledgeable on antiquity (something that was prized in the Renaissance when this painting was painted) 

Hope that you enjoyed the painting of the week for this week.

The Dorothy Days 

Sources:

Grove Art Online and this article by Johnathan Jones

Jacopo Tintoretto - Venetian art in the 16th Century

Hi everyone,

I really enjoyed writing the Titian blog piece so today I thought I would tell you about another of my favourite artists. I have a particular interest in 16th century Venice so I thought today I would tell you about Tintoretto who was another artist who was working in Venice at the time, Tintoretto. Tintoretto's approach is the direct opposite to Titian so I thought it would be a good comparison. In todays post I thought I would tell you a bit about Tintoretto as an artist and then later this week I will talk about some of his paintings.

Jacopo Tintoretto was born and also died in Venice, unlike Titian who was born outside of Venice but moved there aged 10. Tintoretto stayed in his native city nearly all of his life and there is only one record of him going away from Venice which was in 1580 for a commission in Mantua. He painting religious and mythological works as well as portraits of prominent Venetians. Early on in his career he struggled to gain recognition and was never wholly accepted by the leading aristocratic families in Venice. His recognition as a painter came with his comission by the Sculola Grande di S. Marco and later in is career he also worked in the Doge's palace (a Doge is the leader of Venice).

This is a self portrait of Tintoretto 1518-1594

He was said to have ....'the draughtsmanship of Michelangelo and the colouring of Titian'.

He set himself up in opposition to Titian. Tintoretto and Titians work both have an unfinished quality to them. Although both artists have this same quality in their work the reason for this is very different.Titian deliberately creates this unfinished look as an artistic effect. He built up his paint surface layer after layer to create a loose, rough effect which appears unfinished when examined closely but finished when looking from a distance. Tintoretto  was known for his 'prestezza' which means his speed of execution and the quickness of his actual brushstrokes. However, this is not an artistic effect but rather due to the speed of execution and economy of effort. His work can be described as 'non finito', not finished. Tintoretto instead provides us with the idea, the outline but does not fill in the smaller details. It is not highly finished. In his work we will know what a detail is meant to be but it is not an accurate representation of that object but rather the impression of it.

The Miracle of St Mark freeing the Slave- Tintoretto 1548.

He was clever in the way he gained commissions but also engaged in ethically dubious practices  He often under cut competitors to win prized commissions  At first his deals seemed like extraordinary acts of generosity because of their low cost but in the long run it meant he won lots of major commissions and was commissioned to do things that he might not have been commissioned to do if he hadn't have charged. This helped him build a reputation as an artist and increased his status therefore helping him to become successful. His technique of rapid painting allowed him to take on many commissions as it took him a lot less time to complete a painting than his rivals such as Titian.

The lack of opulence in Tintoretto's work is demonstrated in works like The Last Supper.

While Titian often painted rich fabrics and opulence as this challenged him as a painter to recreate them realistically, Tintoretto moved away from this style and created work which was devotional and more humble in subject matter. This was important as during the time there was the Catholic and counter reformation. There was a move away from opulence and luxury and a more towards a more humble way of expressing devotional aspects in a visual form.

There are also differences between Titan and Tintoretto in commissions. Tintoretto was a native Venetian and very loyal to his city. Titian (who was dominating Venetian art at the time) started to look beyond Venice and had international commissions while Tintoretto had nearly all of his commissions in Venice. Two very different ways of working and of gaining commissions.

Vasari who wrote biographies on the artists at the time and was extremely influential in his writings treated Tintoretto's art as a joke which had a negative impact on his work.

Hope you have enjoyed this introduction to Tintoretto and be sure to check back on my blog later on in the week for discussions of some of his key paintings.

The Dorothy Days