methods art descriptions in humanities

7/23/2019 Methods Art Descriptions in Humanities

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Jupiter and Semele(1895)Artist: Gustave Moreau

This painting illustrates the myththat tells o the love !et"een Jupiter# the divine $ing o the gods#and Semele (the em!odiment othat "hi%h is earthly)# "ho uponthe suggestion o Jupiter&s "ie Juno# as$s Jupiter to ma$e love toher in his divine radian%e' Jupiter%annot resist the temptation o her!eauty# "ith the a%$no"ledgment

that she "ill !e %onsumed !y hislight and the re o his divinity (heis %ro"ned "ith thunder!olts)' Thusthe painting is sym!oli% ohumanity&s union "ith the divinethat ends in death'

The ye *i$e a Strange+alloon Mounts To"ard,nnity rom the seriesdgar A' -oe (188.)Artist: /dilon 0edon

Although dgar Allan -oe had !eendead or years at the time o0edon&s lithograph and !oth2harles +audelaire and St3phaneMallarm3 had translated his"ritings !et"een 185. and 184.#this is not an illustrated narrative o -oe&s "or$ instead# it is parallel toit in its evo%ation o the ma%a!re"orld o the "riter' The single eye 6the all6seeing eye o God 6 is an oldsym!ol# !ut is here transormed'

The large s%ale o the eye is thesym!ol o the spirit rising up out othe dead matter o the s"amp' ,t isa physi%al organ that loo$s up"ardto"ard the divine# ta$ing "ith it the

dead s$ull' The aura o lightsurrounding the main image helpse7press the idea o thesupernatural# as does the ne!ulousspa%e' The "or$ evo$es a sense omystery "ithin a dream "orld'o"ever# 0edon&s "or$s should not!e %onused "ith Surrealism# orthey are meant to %reate a%oherent# spe%i% idea 6 the head

as the origin o the imagination andthe spirit lodged in matter'

eath and the Mas$s(1894)Artist: James nsor

nsor imparts lieli$e ualities to

the s$ull o eath in the %enter#"ith its %hilling grin# and to themas$s o the people the mas$!e%omes the a%e# and yet it is stilla mas$ that tries to %over up thespiritual hollo"ness o the!ourgeoisie and the de%aden%e othe times' The %ro"ded%omposition suggests that this is apervasive pro!lem and that the

painting is the artist&s %ritiue o%ontemporary so%iety' nsor had aninterest in mas$s !e%ause hismother o"ned a souvenir shopselling su%h arti%les as these papierma%he mas$s "orn at %arnival timein +elgium' nsor desired a returnto the ;pure and natural; lo%al



%arnivals and estivals o his native+elgium "ith a vie" to"ard%reating %ultural unity# !ut reali<edthat tourism# %ommer%iali<ation#and industriali<ation "ould prevent

that rom happening'

Mountains at 2ollioure(19=5)Artist: Andr3 erain

erain amously %laimed to use;%olor as a means o e7pressing my

emotion and not as a trans%riptiono nature'; e painted Mountains

at Collioure "hile he "assummering "ith Matisse in2ollioure in 19=5# and this "or$"as later in%luded in that year&slandmar$ Salon d&Automnee7hi!ition' ,n this painting erainused long# isolated !rushstro$es#in>uen%ed !y ivisionist painting#

to stru%ture the trees and groundo his lands%ape' The %olors areindeed non6representational# evenunnatural: the trees& trun$s are!right red# and the hills in the!a%$ground are painted ina!stra%ted pat%hes o !right purpleand orange' The pulsing !rush"or$and ?arring %ontrasts o these%olors suggest the shimmering

heat o a Mediterranean summer'+y re?e%ting %hiaros%uro and spatialdepth# erain $eeps the vie"er&sattention 7ed on this e@e%t olight and motion and on the lieor%e that seems to ripple throughevery element o this lands%ape'

*e +onheur de ivre(19=56=B)Artist: enri Matisse

Joy of Life# possi!ly Matisse&s !est6$no"n Cauvist "or$# "as %reated inresponse to the negative %riti%alrea%tions that ollo"ed Matisse&s%ontri!utions to the 19=5 Salond&Automne' Although the su!?e%t o merry6ma$ing gures "ithin apastoral setting is a venera!le onein Destern art# Matisse&s daring useo non6natural %olor to stru%turethis enigmati% "orld# and his reedelineation o its inha!itants# gavea resh update to this imagery'Matisse&s nudes perorm a%tivitieso sensual !liss: dan%ing# ma$ingmusi%# and em!ra%ing' They are%onne%ted to ea%h other and to thevividly %olored lands%ape !y asinuous net"or$ o %urving lines

and !y the artist&s radi%al use othe same pure %olors or all theelements o his %omposition'-airings o %omplementary %olors(red and green# purple and yello")produ%e strong visual %ontraststhat almost seem to vi!rate# andthe traditional means o suggestingdepth and lighting have !eeneliminated' This idylli% s%ene unites

themati% and visual in>uen%es romthe 0enaissan%e to Art Eouveau to-ersian miniature painting# !ut itdoes so in a "ay that is undenia!lymodern' The Joy of Life "as asin>uential as another largegurative %anvas# -i%asso&s Les



Demoiselles d'Avignon (19=4)# inits e7pressive reimagining o thehuman gure and its surroundings'

-ortrait o enri Matisse(19=5)Artist: Andr3 erain

erain painted this portrait oMatisse during the artists& sharedsummer in 2ollioure# "hen the t"omen "ere e7perimenting side6!y6side in their "or$' As in most

Cauvist portraiture# a detailedli$eness o the su!?e%t "as not theartist&s goal' erain&s %hie o%us"as to e7press a state o mindthrough the use o visi!le!rush"or$ and >uid lines# !oth o"hi%h a%%entuated his appli%ationso pure %olor' The sitter&s right sideis shado"ed in violet andturuoise# and the let side o his

a%e is highlighted in !road stro$eso pin$ and red this non6naturalisti% use o saturated %olorunders%ores the gure&s dire%t#intense ga<e' Dhile the!a%$ground is painted in thin#verti%al stro$es# Matisse&s heademerges more strongly in impasto!rush"or$# as i erain "ere!uilding it up rom the paint itsel#

rather than through the traditionaluse o shading or perspe%tive'

The Gramineous +i%y%le(19.1)

Artist: Ma7 rnst

Ma7 rnst and his early%olla!orator ans Arp "ereresponsi!le or !ringing ada to-aris# "here Surrealism "ould laterta$e hold' The Gramineous Bicycle is an e7ample o an early %ollage#in "hi%h rnst overpainted a!otani%al %hart into a!stra%tedelements' is "or$# "hi%h "ould!e%ome in%reasingly dream6li$e#oten dealt "ith the de%onstru%tedhuman !ody' ,n this painted%ollage# rnst transormed plant

illustrations into !iomorphi% ormsthat seem !oth human and oreign'2ollages su%h as this "erepre%ursors to his Surrealist "or$s'

2ut "ith a Fit%hen Fnieada through the *astDeimar +eer +elly

2ultural po%h oGermany (1919)Artist: annah %h

annah %h is $no"n or her%ollages %omposed romne"spaper and maga<ine %lippings#s$et%hes and te7ts pulled rom her ?ournals' As part o 2lu! ada in

+erlin# %h una!ashedly %ritiued%ulture !y literally sli%ing it apartand reassem!ling it into vivid#dis?ointed# emotional depi%tions omodern lie' ,n Cut with a Kitchen

Knife Dada through the Last

eimar Beer Belly Cultural !"och



of Germany # %h pits humanagainst ma%hine' The title reers tothe de%aden%e o pre6"ar German%ulture# metaphori%ally %riti%i<inghuman$ind&s la%$ o humanity

Hntitled (SuaresArranged a%%ording tothe *a"s o 2han%e)(1914)Artist: ans Arp

ans Arp made a series o %ollages!ased on %han%e# "here he "ould

stand a!ove a sheet o paper#dropping suares o %ontrasting%olored paper on the larger sheet&ssura%e# and then gluing thesuares "herever they ell onto the

page' The art %ould then provo$e amore vis%eral rea%tion# li$e ortunetelling rom ,62hing %oins# "hi%hArp "as interested in' Apparently#this te%hniue arose "hen Arp!e%ame rustrated !y attempts to%ompose more ormal geometri%arrangements# (Gale# p'B)' Arp&s%han%e %ollages have %ome torepresent ada&s aim to !e ;anti6

art';'

methods art descriptions in humanities

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