Neoclassical and Goya’s Art: A Comprehensive Analysis
Neoclassical Painting: General Characteristics
Inspired by Enlightenment ideas and classical models (mainly Roman friezes and Pompeian painting), Neoclassical painting emerged as a dominant artistic style. (Note that very little painting from classical antiquity survives.) Common themes included mythological and funerary subjects, often depicted on sarcophagi within the paintings. Line drawing and sculptural impact took precedence over color. Artists favored cold light and primary colors. Compositions
Read MoreAcrylic, Oil, and Mural Painting Techniques
Acrylic Painting
Acrylics appeared in the mid-nineteenth century, but it was not until the 1930s when they became commercially available. American artists were among the first to use acrylic paint, incorporating it into contemporary art. Gradually, artists became more aware of the many technical possibilities of this medium, such as the stability of the colors and, most importantly, the speed of drying. Acrylic has similarities with oil in color stability and texture, but a huge advantage in terms
Read MoreMasterpieces of Art History: From Baroque to Neoclassicism
Bernini’s *Apollo and Daphne*
Bernini’s *Apollo and Daphne* is a Baroque work with a mythological theme. It is a crucial piece for the study of Hellenistic sculpture. Commissioned by Cardinal Borghese for the gardens of his villa, the theme is the metamorphosis of Daphne as told in Ovid’s work. It is a Baroque sculptural group, where Bernini shows the action of Daphne culminating in full metamorphosis, a moment stopped in unstable equilibrium. Here, we see not the balance of the Renaissance but the
Read MoreHieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights: A Triptych of Sin and Salvation
The Garden of Earthly Delights is the best-known work of Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. This is a triptych painted in oil, comprising a central panel and two side panels (painted on both sides) which can be closed on the central panel. It is considered that the work reflects a moralizing intention that would have been understandable for the people of the time. In this sense, King Philip II of Spain, soon suspected of heresy, purchased the painting because of his interest in it.
Triptych Opened
When
Read MoreGreek Sculpture: Evolution and Influence on Western Art
The Evolution of Greek Sculpture: Fundamentals of Greek Art and Its Projection in the Western World
No one can deny the important role played by the Greek civilization in Western culture. Philosophy, history, and democracy were born in Greece, and great advances were made in mathematics and artistic creation. Its aesthetic principles have endured to this day, playing a key role in Rome, the Renaissance, and Neoclassicism. Works of art have been valued for their proximity or remoteness to Greek aesthetic
Read MoreRenaissance Philosophy and the Rise of Modern Science
Renaissance Context and the Dawn of Modern Science
Modern philosophy emerged in the fifteenth century, following the crisis of scholasticism. This period saw the rise of a new cultural movement known as the Renaissance (XV-XVI). The defining characteristic of this era was a radical critique of medieval culture, with an alternative proposal to restore classical culture for two primary reasons:
- The Middle Ages were perceived as a time of barbarism and darkness.
- Ancient Greeks and Romans were believed