Jan Toorop, born in Java in 1858 when it was still a Dutch colony, soon came to Europe and studied at the Amsterdam Academy from 1881 before continuing his studies in Brussels, Paris and London. Receptive to the many aesthetic currents then running through Europe, he soon gave up Naturalism for Neo-Impressionism, before devoting...
After staying in the south of France, in Arles, and then at the psychiatric hospital in Saint-Rémy de Provence, Vincent Van Gogh settled in Auvers-sur-Oise, a village in the outskirts of Paris. His brother Théo, concerned with his health, incited him to see the Doctor Gachet, himself a painter and a friend of numerous artists,...
The London Houses of Parliament crop up regularly in Monet’s work in 1900. At first the artist observed them from the terrace of St Thomas Hospital, on the opposite bank, near Westminster Bridge. Monet’s London production, which includes views of Charing Cross bridge and Waterloo bridge, is in fact dominated by variations in...
Paul Sérusier sojourned in Pont-Aven during the summer of 1888, as Paul Gauguin, whose advice he followed. On his returning to Paris, he showed his young fellow painters, the future “Nabis” (“prophets” in Hebrew), what was to become their “Talisman”. A close observation of the painting allows one to recognise...
A realist painter who often depicted his native NYC, Dinnerstein was a precursor to Bo Bartlett’s heavy-handed symbolism in the American Realist Movement....
One of the 200 Japanese wood carvings Manet collected in his lifetime. The introduction of Japanese art to the west had a huge impact, it is said to be the influence of the impressionist movement in france.
Benjamin Carbonne was born in 1970 in Saint-Martin d’Hères in the Isère. A self-taught artist, he starts making art at the age of 20 and gets to express the things that bother him, sometimes his own violence, that of the others or of the world and finally to make place in himself for something else....
MANY PROGRESSIVE mid-nineteenth-century artists, including Gustave Courbet, felt it was dishonest to paint things that could not be observed at first hand: for example, angels with wings. In fact, “Religious painting has disappeared,” pronounced one critic of the Salon of 1857. Not surprisingly, Manet’s The Dead Christ,...
You can be a detective with Hammershoi. Any piece can be analyzed and speculated at ad nauseum. They are massive with widely interpretable elements....
Believed to be Michelangelo’s first easel painting, completed when he was 12 or 13. Based largely on an engraving by Martin Schongauer, down to the demon’s whiskered asshole:...
Here’s the summary from the Tate Modern Art Museum (available here www.tate.org.uk/art/…/meireles-babel-t14041). I have modified some of it to read easier, and supply context....
This painting by Goya (of Saturn Eating his Son fame) came from a group of smaller paintings that Goya executed - because the topic interested him rather than commissioned. Both as a visual narrative and as a painting per se it is influenced by Goya’s keen interest in the grim fate that befell many people during his lifetime....
Unlike his Impressionist friends, Degas was an essentially urban painter, who liked to paint the enclosed spaces of stage shows, leisure activities and pleasure spots....
Eva Hesse was hugely influential on the postminimalism art movement of the 60s, despite only being active for the 10 years before her death in 1970 from a brain tumor....
Originally this piece was called “Love and Pain”. It was only later that it picked up the name “Vampire” and interpretation of a man locked in a vampire’s embrace. Munch maintained it was nothing more than a woman kissing a man on the neck....
Desire and Satisfaction - Jan Toorop (1893) (cdn.mediatheque.epmoo.fr)
Jan Toorop, born in Java in 1858 when it was still a Dutch colony, soon came to Europe and studied at the Amsterdam Academy from 1881 before continuing his studies in Brussels, Paris and London. Receptive to the many aesthetic currents then running through Europe, he soon gave up Naturalism for Neo-Impressionism, before devoting...
The Church at Auvers - Van Gogh (1890) (cdn.mediatheque.epmoo.fr)
After staying in the south of France, in Arles, and then at the psychiatric hospital in Saint-Rémy de Provence, Vincent Van Gogh settled in Auvers-sur-Oise, a village in the outskirts of Paris. His brother Théo, concerned with his health, incited him to see the Doctor Gachet, himself a painter and a friend of numerous artists,...
London, the Houses of Parliament, Sunlight Opening in Fog - Monet (1904) (cdn.mediatheque.epmoo.fr)
The London Houses of Parliament crop up regularly in Monet’s work in 1900. At first the artist observed them from the terrace of St Thomas Hospital, on the opposite bank, near Westminster Bridge. Monet’s London production, which includes views of Charing Cross bridge and Waterloo bridge, is in fact dominated by variations in...
The Talisman - Paul Sérusier (1888) (www.musee-orsay.fr)
Paul Sérusier sojourned in Pont-Aven during the summer of 1888, as Paul Gauguin, whose advice he followed. On his returning to Paris, he showed his young fellow painters, the future “Nabis” (“prophets” in Hebrew), what was to become their “Talisman”. A close observation of the painting allows one to recognise...
Bethesda - Harvey Dinnerstein (2008) (www.otdowntown.com)
A realist painter who often depicted his native NYC, Dinnerstein was a precursor to Bo Bartlett’s heavy-handed symbolism in the American Realist Movement....
Funeral March - Władysław Podkowiński (1894) (upload.wikimedia.org)
Aside...
Evening Shower at Atake and the Great Bridge - Hiroshige (1858) (upload.wikimedia.org)
One of the 200 Japanese wood carvings Manet collected in his lifetime. The introduction of Japanese art to the west had a huge impact, it is said to be the influence of the impressionist movement in france.
Symphony in White, No. 1 - James McNeill Whistler (1862) (upload.wikimedia.org)
Openly mocked by the audience at the first Salon des Refuses in 1863, Whistler’s vision of “art for art’s sake” did not go over well at that time....
Madone - Benjamin Carbonne (2021) (media.artsper.com)
Benjamin Carbonne was born in 1970 in Saint-Martin d’Hères in the Isère. A self-taught artist, he starts making art at the age of 20 and gets to express the things that bother him, sometimes his own violence, that of the others or of the world and finally to make place in himself for something else....
The Dead Christ with Angels - Édouard Manet (1864) (upload.wikimedia.org)
MANY PROGRESSIVE mid-nineteenth-century artists, including Gustave Courbet, felt it was dishonest to paint things that could not be observed at first hand: for example, angels with wings. In fact, “Religious painting has disappeared,” pronounced one critic of the Salon of 1857. Not surprisingly, Manet’s The Dead Christ,...
The Bathing Hour - Joaquin Sorolla (1904) (sothebys-com.brightspotcdn.com)
Here’s a summary I found online:...
Interior with an Easel - Vilhelm Hammershøi (1912) (upload.wikimedia.org)
You can be a detective with Hammershoi. Any piece can be analyzed and speculated at ad nauseum. They are massive with widely interpretable elements....
Pollice Verso - Jean-Léon Gérôme (1872) (upload.wikimedia.org)
Pollice Verso is latin for “with a turned thumb”.
Halevy Street, From the 6th Floor (1878) (upload.wikimedia.org)
Here’s what Halevy Street looks like today:...
Yellow Roses in a Vase - Gustave Caillebotte (1882) (upload.wikimedia.org)
You may remember him from Planers of a small apartment:...
The Torment of Saint Anthony - Michelangelo (1488) (upload.wikimedia.org)
Believed to be Michelangelo’s first easel painting, completed when he was 12 or 13. Based largely on an engraving by Martin Schongauer, down to the demon’s whiskered asshole:...
Babel - Cildo Meireles (2001) (media.tate.org.uk)
Here’s the summary from the Tate Modern Art Museum (available here www.tate.org.uk/art/…/meireles-babel-t14041). I have modified some of it to read easier, and supply context....
Untitled - Andrzej Piecha (scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net)
A Polish artist and recluse, little is known about the painter. He also didn’t seem to name any of his work. He died in 2013.
Night Scene from the Inquisition - Francisco de Goya (upload.wikimedia.org)
This painting by Goya (of Saturn Eating his Son fame) came from a group of smaller paintings that Goya executed - because the topic interested him rather than commissioned. Both as a visual narrative and as a painting per se it is influenced by Goya’s keen interest in the grim fate that befell many people during his lifetime....
In a Cafe - Edgar Degas (1883) (www.edgar-degas.net)
Unlike his Impressionist friends, Degas was an essentially urban painter, who liked to paint the enclosed spaces of stage shows, leisure activities and pleasure spots....
Right After - Eva Hesse (1969) (2.bp.blogspot.com)
Eva Hesse was hugely influential on the postminimalism art movement of the 60s, despite only being active for the 10 years before her death in 1970 from a brain tumor....
Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X - Francis Bacon (1953) (historia-arte.com)
The original Portrait of Pope Innocent X, by Diego Velázquez in 1650: https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/84a6bc07-0f7d-4291-87a1-61e1827575df.png...
A Guide to Art Interpretation, Part I: Context and Isolation
Hi, I’m erogenouswarzone. I frequently post in-depth analyses of artworks in this community....
The Times They Are A-Changin' (Chords) - Bob Dylan (1964)
G Em C G...
Love and Pain - Edvard Munch (1893) (live.staticflickr.com)
Originally this piece was called “Love and Pain”. It was only later that it picked up the name “Vampire” and interpretation of a man locked in a vampire’s embrace. Munch maintained it was nothing more than a woman kissing a man on the neck....