Cinema History, Mass Communication Research, and the Frankfurt School
History of Cinema
In 1895, the Lumière brothers publicly introduced a device called a cinématographe. By projecting images on a screen, this invention allowed many people to witness the first movies at the same time. The films shown were: The Output of the Lumière Factory Workers and The Arrival of the Train. Those first films lasted less than a minute, had no sound, and depicted scenes of everyday life.
The person responsible for the survival of this invention was the Frenchman Georges Méliès,
Read MoreThe Parthenon and Picasso’s Guernica: Art History
Analysis and Commentary of the Parthenon
Analysis of the Material
The material used in this architectural masterpiece is marble. Given that it is a work whose completion would manifest the glory of Athens, very high-quality Pentelic marble was chosen. This material was also used for all the sculptural decorations.
Formal Analysis
We observe the work corresponds to a building with lintels and a roof line, which originally would have had a deck on the roof with two slopes to shed rainwater. The elements
Read MorePaul Cézanne’s The Card Players & Van Gogh’s Starry Night
The Card Players, Paul Cézanne
Classification of the Work
Figurative painting, oil on canvas, 0.47 x 0.57 meters.
Composition of the Work
Two characters sit around a table covered with a red carpet, with a bottle of wine. Both players wear hats and smoke pipes. The figures are likely friends of the painter. The composition is framed at the level of the players’ seats, and the bottle between them marks the composition almost symmetrically. The balanced distribution converts the viewer into one of the
Read MoreCarracci’s Masterpieces: Religious and Mythological Art
Correggio’s *Allegory of Virtue* (1532-34)
In Correggio’s *Allegory of Virtue*, the figure of virtue replaces a tomb. A seated figure is depicted, with only a foot visible. There is a disconnect between the burst of glory above and the scene below. Correggio seemingly intended to depict a rebirth, bridging the two sections.
Annibale Carracci’s *Appearance of the Virgin to Saint Luke and Saint Catherine* (1592)
This large painting, signed and dated, was commissioned in 1589 by the association of notaries
Read MoreMasterpieces of Neoclassicism and Royal Portraiture: David and Goya
Oath of the Horatii: A Neoclassical Paradigm
There are countless interpretations of Oath of the Horatii, a seminal work by Jacques-Louis David, often considered, alongside his Death of Marat, a cornerstone of French art and a quintessential example of Neoclassical painting. The work draws inspiration from Corneille’s theater and the paintings of Poussin. During this period, theater in France was undergoing a revival, serving as a platform for moral instruction. Stories from antiquity were used to
Read MorePiet Mondrian’s Composition and Rodin’s The Thinker
Composition in Red, Yellow, and Blue by Piet Mondrian
Piet Mondrian’s paintings are abstract oil works on canvas, typically measuring 0.75 x 0.65 meters. Composition in Red, Yellow, and Blue is an abstract composition of geometric shapes on a white background, with squares and rectangles of different colors and sizes. The pure colors are crisp, bright red, yellow, and blue, alternately distributed. According to Mondrian, no metric power relations should exist between colors, but such relations had
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