Activity Nine: Collage

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

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

Color Game

click here

Activity Five

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.





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.

Activity Four: Principles of Design

In the painting, The Fog of Mount Desert, the principle of design is that of unity and variety, a sense of oneness of things belonging together and making a coherent whole. The variation is bringing the mountain, water, boat, and sky together as a whole. Frederic E. Church places the paintings emphasis, attention drawn more to certain parts of a composition, on Mt. Desert. The rhythm, repetition or recurring pattern, is the water splashing on the base of Mt. Desert, its as if endless. The painting is asymmetrical, two sides that don't match, yet balanced. The left side appears heavier than the right, but the number of focal points,such as the boat, sky, and mountains, brings about the balance. Also the body of water being larger than Mt.Desert.



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 are multiple focal points in the painting. The emphasis is placed on the tree. It draws your attention and then pulls it outside the window and into the sky and the trees further out. The curtains draw 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.

Activity Three: Creative Blog

Arthur E. Border:Two fold mirror-rotation symmetry
artwork from members.tripod.com


One of the main types of balance described in Chapter five is symmetrical, the implied center of gravity is the vertical axis.



The Seine, Henry Ossawa Tanner
painting from National Gallery of Art
The second is assymetrical which is to have two sides that don't match, but appears balanced.