Paul 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
Read MoreEvolution of Design Specialization: From Craft to Communication
The Origins of Specialization in Design
Project work, the drawing and accompanying triad of design conception, dates back to the late nineteenth century, which complicates the design field. During that time, “design” was a generic term referring to any project expressed through the drawing of objects in the habitable world. The beginnings of specialization among the various branches of design are consistent with the development of industrial culture, and with it, the beginnings of the separation
Read MoreMajor Art Movements and Artists: 19th and 20th Centuries
The Scream by Munch (1893)
The Scream, by Edvard Munch, created in 1893, is an oil on canvas painting housed in the National Museum of Oslo.
Description
In the foreground, a person with hands on their head emits a scream of anguish that seems to be transmitted to the unrealistic environment. This environment is completely subjective, formed by land, sea, and sky, except for the two people at the end of the bridge, who are outside the situation. Color is the predominant element; ranges are contrasted,
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