On 3 Oct, 2021 With
Article by Yvette Mpinga
“Let there be light’, a phrase that Rembrandt Van Rijn allowed to become the motif of his work throughout his entire career. Solidified in history as the most important figure in the history of Dutch art.
The following article will be a part analysis and part appreciation post, we’ll be observing his techniques at creating such complex works. as he is one of my favourite artists and every piece he created has a thousand lessons hidden in their strokes and etches. If you have any agreements or disagreements, please write them in the comment section as I’d love to hear what you think.
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On 21 Apr, 2021 With
Article by Anita Kusoemo
Western art was developed differently compared to the art in China. In China, calligraphy and painting were evolved together, therefore combining their painting, graphic arts, literature, and poetry in a way that did not happen in Europe. There are a few things to note on how they differ.
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On 22 Jun, 2019 With
Article by J. Danilo Garcés Rodríguez
There is a short story called The flower sermon about one of the last lessons the Buddha gave to his followers in which he was to talk about the law, or the essence of life, and he did it by taking a flower on his hand and just holding it while looking the persons around him in silence. Buddha handed the lotus to Mahakasyapa and began to speak. “What can be said I have said to you,” smiled the Buddha, “and what cannot be said, I have given to Mahakasyapa.”
Mahakasyapa became Buddha’s successor from that day forward.
I found The flower sermon while looking for some historical background on the art of sumi-e, a particular style of painting originated in China by the 7th century and spread to Japan in the 13th century by Zen Buddhist monks. Just as in the sermon, this painting style has a deep, quiet, almost solemn approach to the act of understanding and portraying the world…
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On 17 Jun, 2019 With
Article by Adrian Zain
Leonardo Da Vinci is easily one of the greatest artists of all time, giving us works such as the Mona Lisa, Salvator Mundi, and the Last Supper along with surprising and delighting us all for 100s of years, and while Leonardo’s paintings are certainly his claim to fame, Da Vinci also has a series of notebooks and manuscripts that give us unprecedented insight into both his knowledge, and his process in painting and drawing, his notebooks are also filled with mathematical and scientific knowledge, but we’re going to take a look at the artistic side of his notebooks, in which there is so very much we can learn.
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On 16 Jun, 2019 With
Article by Adrian Zain
In 1500, Louis XII of France commissioned Leonardo Da Vinci to paint what, today is known as, Salvator Mundi, or ‘Savior of the World’. However, the painting has been through a long journey to reach its present state, a painting worth 450 million dollars, and will in the future reside at Abu Dhabi Louvre. The painting portrays Jesus holding an orb in his left hand and giving a Benediction with his right hand, both are painted with stunning detail, we also see these luscious curly locks of his hair leading to his face, which gazes at the viewer in a solemn yet mysterious gaze. Jesus is also portrayed as wearing a stunningly detailed gown with wonderful drapery.
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On 24 May, 2019 With
Article by Adrian Zain
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is in most regards considered to be one of the greatest visual artists in history, as well as being one of the greatest Dutch painters of all time. His dozens of paintings and drawings were intimately beautiful, and awe inspiring. He was also a very dynamic artist, with him painting and drawing all sorts of things from portraits to historical scenes, Rembrandt practically went into dozens of themes. But his prolific and well-known artworks, are the many self-portraits he did over the many years he was alive, and they give us an incredible insight into Rembrandt that we rarely have with any other artist that was born at that time.
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On 10 May, 2019 With
Article by Willie Jimenez
I recently wrote an article about how taking photographs, along with travel, helped me with building a visual library. I feel it was a great way to learn composition and learn what makes a photo unique and interesting, by trail and error, without the time and effort it takes to do the same with a drawing and/or painting.
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On 24 Apr, 2019 With
Article by Adrian Zain
Michelangelo, is known by many across the world to be an incredible painter and artist, with him painting the Sistine Chapel and the Last Judgement, but at the same time it should be known, that first and foremost – Michelangelo thought of himself as a sculptor, and he was an extraordinary one, with him sculpting works such as ‘David’ and ‘Bacchus’.
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On 19 Feb, 2019 With
Article by Mies Šmes
In 1893, Monet was able to acquire the adjacent land to his property at Giverny (which was separated by the railway), where he gave life to an extravagant oriental water garden. For this lush project, not only he had to divert water from a branch of the Epte river, but he also had to stand against his neighbors, as they did not want the water to be contaminated by his exotic plants. Still, in the end, Monet got away with it and was permitted to carry out his plan. Inspired by the Japanese prints he avidly collected —his two hundred and thirty one Japanese woodblock prints are currently exhibited in the house—, he designed a green wooden footbridge over an artificial pond, surrounded by wisteria vines, bamboo, irisis and different varieties of newly bred water lilies.
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On 19 Feb, 2019 With
(Part I): Clos Normand
Article by Mies Šmes
Who could be more fair to judge Claude Monet’s oeuvre than the French artist himself? Acknowledged by the father of Impressionism as his ‘most beautiful masterpiece’, the garden at Giverny —to which he dedicated half his life— was not only a living canvas in which he used flowers instead of paints, but also the most important subject of his late years’ paintings.
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