Final Exam Paper



Frederic Edwin Church and Rene’ Magritte are two artist from the Modern Period. Church is an American and Magritte is French. Frederic Edwin Church created a painting called “Fog off Mount Desert”. It was revealed in 1850, during the Industrial Revolution. This was a time of economic peril and social upheaval. The change of hand crafting to production by machinery was strongly reflected in the art of that time. Rene’ Magritte created “La Condition Humaine” in 1933. The time period of this painting was during the Depression. The Depression followed an economic crash of the stock market and was the poorest time of our country. Both artists exhibit similar styles and themes of nature. They have both painted numerous pieces of representational art, descriptive works of art that depict forms in the natural world. These two artists also chose the medium of oil on canvas for their works of art. The main reason for this choice is primarily allow more time for manipulation and the ability to make any changes thought of at a later time.

In the “Fog off Mount Desert” by Church the subject of matter is Mount Desert. The painting is centered on the rocks making this the focal point of the painting. The theme of this painting is art and nature, which is depicted in this painting by the use of water, mountains, and sky. Bringing these different subjects of nature creates a harmony of complement. The boat floating calmly on the ocean is an addition of non nature being added to the harmony of the painting. It leaves its contents up to the viewer's imagination,
yet it doesn't disrupt or take your attention away from the emphasis. The colors were used to further accentuate the unity and complement of the mountain, sky, and ocean.

In “La Condition Humaine” by Magritte, the focal point is on the tree in the painting. Usually the theme of a painting is depicted in the title, but you may be slightly confused about the theme of this painting due to the title. By observation there is a theme of art and nature due to there being no people in the painting and the concentration on the trees, grass, and bushes. The colors in this painting are cool and there is a design of unity in the painting. Nature is a natural complement of harmony. Now if you are interpreting the theme from the title you would assume there is some human experience in the painting. This can be determined from the fact the painting is inside the house and the use of the curtains and the window show a separation from nature. It is assumed Magritte painted the portrait and based it off what he saw looking outside the window and the placement of the painting to use actual nature as the background.

In the painting “La Condition Humaine” by Rene' Magritte the design of this painting is similar to “The Fog of Mount Desert”, such as the use of unity and variety. The balance of the painting is also asymmetrical; once again the left appears heavier or fuller than the right. The balance is pulled together by the window and the curtains. The tree draws in your attention and then pulls it outside the window and into the sky and then towards the trees further out. The curtain draws your attention back inside the window and reveals the separation of the painting inside the painting and the scenery outside the window. The movement of these focal points also shows the rhythm of the painting.

The “Fog of Mount Desert” by Frederic Edwin Church is an example of atmospheric perspective; which based on observation, distant objects appear less distinct, paler, and bluer than nearby objects due to the way moisture in the atmosphere scatters light. Due to the directional lines, which direct our eyes around an image and to suggest movement, your focus begins at the water taking you to Mount Desert, then up to the sky, and over to the boat and off into the horizon. The colors the artist used are complementary. It reflects the use of a tint, a cooler lighter than a hue's normal value, an example is pink, to accentuate the horizon. This piece has a flow of low intensity, the relative purity or brightness of a color. It is soft and pale. Mount Desert appears to be the figure of the most focus and the water and sky are the background. The “Fog off Mount Desert” is full of complementary harmonies, colors directly opposite one another on the color wheel, from the blue to the violet of the sky and the blue to green of the water. These are also cool colors.

In the second painting chosen, “La Condition Humaine” by Rene' Magritte, there is some similarity to the “The Fog of Mount Desert”. This piece of art grabbed my attention instantaneously. The artist directs your focus by using directional lines, to take your focus from the painting to outside the window. The blue of the sky is a tint of the primary color, cannot be made by any mixture of the other colors, blue. "La Condition Humaine" is an example of atmospheric perspective, based on the observation that distant objects appear less distinct, paler, and bluer than nearby objects, by the window and the curtains appearing closer to the viewer and the actual painting blending in with the outside view appearing far off. The trees and bushes appear to be miles and miles away.

In “Fog off Mount Desert” and “La Condition Humaine”, both artist used hidden brush strokes to showcase the images in their paintings. There are a lot of similarities in these paintings as far as the theme, use of cool colors, and complementary harmonies. This paper discusses those similarities and some of the differences of the two featured paintings. Even with the time periods and the ordeals that were faced when creating these paintings, they both exhibit calmness and relaxation; one with the ocean and the sky, the other with the trees, grass, and sky. Nature is calming and relaxing. That is why I chose theses paintings for my Art class.


Creative Blog 10


"Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps" (1812)by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775-1851, medium is oil on canvas. The use of the dark colors drew me to this painting. It is over powering. The people are barely visible. There is the sun or moon in the distance but due to the storm cloud you can't tell.

Creative Blog 9


"The Bedroom" by Pieter de Hooch, oil on canvas medium, 1658/1660. This painting was my ekphrase painting and I am viewing it as a creative blog because I think it is a great representation of a asymmetrical painting. This painting shows a strong use of pale, cool colors.

Activity Thirteen: Style and Movement Edited

In the "Fog off Mount Desert" by Frederic Edwin Church, is a representational piece of art, which means it is a descriptive piece of work that depicts forms in the natural world. The artist's style is the use of nature and cool colors, he has a few other pieces of art of Mount Desert. In this painting Mount Desert is the subject of matter, which is the focal point. This work of art was created during the period of Romanticism, which took place in the 18th century. The artworks consist of intense colors, turbulent emotions, complex composition, and soft lines. This painting expresses representation of natural beauty of unspoiled land. It derived from imagination and individual experience, possibly intuition and emotion.


"La Condition Humaine" by Rene' Magritte, is another representational work of art. The style of Magritte is having a tendency of portraying a drawing within a drawing usually with a theme of nature. This painting was created during the movement of Surrealism. This movement transcribed from the Dada movement, which was all about creativity and bringing it to life. Some considered Surrealism a way of life. Surrealist appreciate the logic of dreams and the unknown of the unconscious. The drawings brought the subconscious to life.

Creative Blog 8


"Tomorrow I May Be Far Away" by Romare Bearden, llllage of various papers with charcoal and graphite on canvas. Bearden made collages an acceptable form of art and was a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. There is a strong use of pale, cool colors on this painting. The man is the main focal point and is almost symmetrical but is placed on the vertical axis.

Creative Blog 7



"The Assumption of the Virgin" by Nicolas Poussin, 1626, oil on canvas. This painting is a good representation of the use of directional and diagonal lines. The focal point is the virgin and the angels carrying her up into the sky, along with the clouds exaggerating the ascend into the sky.

Reverse Ekphrase

"Waterlilies and Japanese bridge" by Claude Monet, 1840-1926





I am a terrible artist so please bare with me.


Who Am I? I am painted by a French artist. I am from the impressionism period. I am painted at the last year of the seventeenth century. I am given a theme of art and nature. I am painted using oil paints on a canvas. I am 81.28 X 101.6 centimeters big. I am a Japanese landscape of a reflecting pond. My reflection is very important. Overtop of my pond, is a big gray-blue arch bridge that stretches throughout the painting. My bridge is symmetrical. My bridge has four beams and two rails. The beams and rails correspond in the back. I am a painted to look realistic. I am given a lot of shades right under my bridge. Behind my bridge, the pond water has a vanishing point and the monochromatic green grass begins.The grass is the ground of the painting. The grass is in small bunches and also covers both ends of the bridge. There are some small dandelions growing within the grasses at the right end of the bridge. My pond is in front of the painting and is also underneath the bridge. Freely floating on my pond in a smooth and wavy direction, there are a lot of tint green lily pads with pink and yellow flowers on every other lily pad. I am given equal emphasis to the details and landscape. I am very appealing. I caught Lisa’s eyes right away! Who am I?
By Lisa Nguyen



Creative Blog 6



"Hotel de la Marine" by Charles Marville, 1872-1876, albumen print. This photograph is a good example of symmetry. The lamp post is placed right on the vertical axis of the picture. If you were to fold the picture in half the lamp post would be a perfect reflection to its sides.

Creative Blog 5



"Classic Landscape" by Charles Sheeler, 1931, oil on canvas. This painting truly incorporates the use of lines. There are examples of diagnol lines with the railroad. The clouds are an example of contour lines and the mounds of rocks are of directional lines.

Ekphrases

This painting focuses on a mother and a daughter in a room. The doorway to

the inside of the room is centered along the vertical axis of the painting. The

medium is oil on canvas and was created in 1658/1660. It was painted by a

Dutch artist. There are uses of primary and secondary colors. Such as a red

tablecloth on a brown table with dark color vase sitting on top. The chairs are

dark brown with yellow diamonds. The walls are gray and tan. The mother is

wearing a red shirt with a dark color skirt and a white bonnet. The young girl is

wearing a dress that is brown at the top and yellow at the bottom. The floor is a

reddish-orange brick color in a square formation. The young girl is standing in

the doorway holding the door handle and is glancing at her mother(I assume)

while smiling. The mother is folding a greenish-yellow cloth and smiling back

at her daughter. Above the doorway there is a small painting, with a brown

frame and the picture is blurred. If you look through the doorway you can see

another door leading outside and a window to the left of that outside door.

That door has two parts(top and bottom opens separately)and is open allowing

sunshine into the house along with the light coming through the windows. The

balance of this painting is asymmetrical; the left side is fuller than the right.

The mother is standing on the left side and little girl is slightly to the right of

the vertical axis. The sides are brought together by the light shining in from the

right and through the doorway. The theme of the painting is of human

experience and is representational; descriptive of a work of art that depicts

forms in the natural world.


The artist's style is from the Dutch genre; French meaning scenes showing

people at work, play, or rest. He popularized the style of painting. Some would

also describe his style as cinematic people.


Good luck to whom ever chooses this.

Activity Eleven: Period or Movement

The painting "Fog off Mount Desert" by Frederic Edwin Church in 1850. This painting was created during the time of Realism which came about in the 19th century. This movement rose as an reaction to Neoclassicism and Romanticism(Mark Getlein). According to Mark Getlein, realist artist sought to depict the everyday and the ordinary. Some of the French placed alot of emphasis on nature as does this artist here. Church's painting is an actual depiction of Mount Desert in Maine.

In my next painting, "La Condition Humaine" by Rene Magritte was created in 1933. The time frame of this painting is of Surrealism. Surrealism derived from the Dada movement. Surrealist appreciate the logic of dreams, and the mystery of the unconcious. According to Jeff Metlein. The drawings flowed straight from the subconcious, unchecked by reason. This painting represents the outside versus inside.

Activity Ten: Mediums and Techniques




In the "Fog off Mount Desert" by Frederic Edwin Church,1850 and "La Condition Humaine" by Rene' Magritte, 1933; the medium used in the painting is oil on canvas. The choice of this medium is popular due to the fact that it allows manipulation without compromising the artwork. This is possible because oil dries slowly, linseed is most preferred. Because of the slow drying process the artist can make changes to the painting without separation or cracking, at anytime until he or she is certain it has reached desired perfection. Church used light brush strokes to give his painting a thin appearance.
In Magritte's painting the same medium was chosen for the same reasons. It prolongs the period of time to allow changes without destroying the work already done. Yet in "La Condition Humaine" stronger brush strokes were used to show the differences in the picture within the picture. In both paintings the image is the most important of the painting. Mount Desert in Church's portrait and the smaller painting in the portrait in "La Condition Humaine". Apparently more time and concentration were placed in creating the mountain and the smaller portrait. Using the oil medium allowed that time for correction and concentration on replicating the images seen while painting.

Creative Blog 4



The Old Bridge, Hubert Robert, 1775, oil on canvas medium
This painting asymmetrically balanced. The artist used cool colors. The bridge appears to be transformed into a home occupied by people and animals.

Creative Blog 3



River Landscape, Annibale Carracci,1590,oil on canvas medium

At first glance Your focus point is on the tree leaning across the middle of the painting, but if you look closer clearly you see the man in boat on the river. This painting takes on the theme of art and nature.

Activity Eight: Camera Essay

Photography, according to DADA, brings forth the dream and documentary of truth. This is how the camera changed the appearance of Art. Photos create a kind of truth of which painting is not capable, per John Heartfield. He used the realism of photography to make his work credible, and to this day, unanswerable.

Cameras and photographs came to be in 1839. Cameras made portraits more readily available to the public and important events recordable to newspapers. It is undeniable truth. Some feel photography makes paintings obsolete, and chose not to have anything to do with photographs. While others use pictures for reference material to their paintings, to better enhance them. Photos actually inspired and revitalized portrait painting.

Photography encouraged painters to emphasize textures on the surfaces of their paintings; this lead to the birth of Impressionism, which was a 19th century art movement. It developed in France. Some characteristics of Impressionist painting are visible brush strokes, emphasizing light, and eccentric visual angles. It is an ultimate attempt of bringing life to portraits through light and color (wikipedia.com). Some painters of this type were Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Alfred Sisley.

Another positive influence of the camera is the ability to be manipulated. Photos can be taken and then transferred to computers to be altered and then printed. Photography led to an increased interest in capturing nature’s form. Also cameras opened the door to amateurs and it became a hobby quickly, making the recording of daily life readily convenient. The new development and capabilities of the camera in the future will only lead to new ways of creating artistry.

Museum Introduction

There are multiple ways to arrange and categorize artwork. In this exhibition, the paintings are arranged in chronological order which is necessary to showcase the differences in time periods while at the same time revealing the similarities of those paintings amongst time periods. The similarities are shown by all the paintings having the same theme. This exhibition reveals seven paintings that represent the theme of art and nature. They fall under this theme due to the fact; they all contain effects of nature. Nature has been more than a subject for art; it has also served as a material for art, according to Mark Getlein, author of Living with Art. A theme represents a thread running throughout the entire history of art (Living with Art; pg.50). This thread is nature.

The first painting showcased is “Roses and a Tulip in a Glass Vase” by Jan Philips van Thielen. The medium is oil on panel. It was created in 1650/1660. Among the roses in the vase your focal point is directed to the white rose and then you are drawn out to the tulips and then the surrounding flowers. The artist used cool colors such as; blue, violet, and green; along with an alteration of a tint and shade of red in the tulips. This painting was obtained from the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

The second painting presented in this exhibit is “An Old Man’s Reminiscences” by Asher B. Durand. The medium is oil on canvas and it was created in 1845. In this painting is a natural use of cool colors, as you would expect with a painting of nature. Focus is spread across this painting beginning with the cows grazing; over to the kids playing in the distance, then up to the clouds. Finally you focus on the man sitting by the tree observing all the activities.

The third painting is titled “Kindred Spirit” also by Asher B. Durand. The medium is oil on canvas produced in 1849. This painting was retrieved from the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. This painting is an example of asymmetric balance, the two halves do not match but the visual weights in the two halves are very similar (Living with Art; pg 127). This painting depicts William Cullen Bryant and Thomas Cole in Kaaterskill Clove. The two men are the focal point of the picture.

The fourth and fifth paintings are taken from the collection of the Albany Institute of History and Art. “Storm King on the Hudson” by Homer Dodge Martin was created in 1862; the medium is of oil on canvas. This painting uses some warm colors along with color to give the appearance of it being autumn, along with the fog cascading down from the sky and over the mountains and trees. In the fifth painting “Dawn of Morning, Lake George” prepared in 1868, by way of oil on canvas, by Jasper F. Cropsey. This painting expresses the fall season also with the use of warms colors, the reds, orange, and yellows, similar to the fourth painting. It appears to have been captured after a storm due to the rainbow present in the painting.

The sixth artistry is “Cattleya Orchid and Three Brazilian Hummingbirds” transpired in 1871. The medium is oil on wood by Martin Johnson Heade. The obvious focal point of this painting is the orchid. Directional lines take your attention from the orchid to the branch on the left, up to the dark sky and over to the right at the other branches, down to the hummingbirds and the nest and return to the orchid. Martin Johnson Heade used a brilliant assortment of colors, combining just about the whole color wheel.

The seventh and final painting is “Roses” by Vincent Van Gogh, invented in 1890 with the medium of oil on canvas. This painting wraps up the timeline of this collection and is the prime example of relieved symmetry, which means the correspondence is very close but not exact (Living with Art, pg. 124). The vase of roses is directly on the vertical line and the flowers direct your attention around the vase and off to the left at the separate vine of roses.

This exhibit showcases the resemblance of art work across a time period. What brings this time together is the theme of art and nature. The uses of these seven paintings are to show that regardless of the time of creation there is a comparable link under particular themes. Nature is not only a subject of art; it is a material for art. Art and nature is the thread that brings these creations together.







"Roses and a Tulip in a Glass Vase" by Jan Philips van Thielen
oil on canvas medium;1650/1660
www.nga.gov





"An Old Man's Reminiscences" by Asher B. Durand
oil on canvas medium;1845
www.tfaoi.com/newsml/nlm432.htm





"Kindred Spirits" by Asher B. Durand
oil on canvas medium; 1849
www.nga.gov





"Storm King on the Hudson" by Homer Dodge Martin
oil on canvas medium; 1862
www.tfaoi.com/newsml.nlm432.htm





"Dawn of Morning, Lake George" by Jasper F. Cropsey
oil on canvas medium; 1868
www.tfaoi.com/newsml/nlm432.htm





"Cattleya Orchid and Three Brazilian Hummingbirds" by Martin Johnson Heade
oil on wood medium; 1871
www.nga.gov





"Roses" by Vincent Van Gogh
oil on canvas medium; 1890
www.nga.gov

Creative Blog 2

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting This is an oil on canvas painting by Ken Bushe D.A.(edin) called the "Falls of Reekie Linn". As pointed out by the title the waterfall is the focal point. The directional lines of the trees and rocks takes your focus to the water coming down. www.kenbushe.co.uk/html/paintings_of_rivers.html

Activity Five

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting In the painting "The Fog off Mount Desert" there is a theme of art and nature. The expression of our relationship to nature are themes that have often been addressed through art which is depicted in this painting by the use of water, mountains, and sky. Bringing these different subjects of nature creates a harmony of complement. The primary emphasis of the painting is Mount Desert which is pointed out by the title of the painting, then your attention is taken out to the surrounding figures. The boat floating calmly on the ocean is an addition of non nature being added to the harmony of the painting. It leaves its contents up to the viewer's imagination, yet it doesn't disrupt or take your attention away from the emphasis. The colors were used to further accentuate the unity and complement of the mountain, sky, and ocean.





Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting In "La Condition Humaine" by Magritte, you may be slightly confused about the theme of the painting due to the title. By observation of the painting you probably will see a theme of art and nature due to there being no people in the painting. You see the emphasis of the tree that also directs your attention to the surroundings of grass, bushes, dirt road, and the sky, outside of the window. The colors in this painting are cool and there is a design of unity in the painting. Nature is a natural complement of harmony. Now if you are interpreting the theme from the title you would assume there is some human experience in the painting. This can be determined from the fact the painting is inside the house and the use of the curtains and the window show a separation from nature. It is assumed a person painted the portrait and based it off what they saw looking outside the window and placed the painting to use actual nature as the background.