Article by Rachael Concessio You may have never picked up a paintbrush before and know next to nothing about fine art. However, the name Michelangelo is not lost on you. To this day, he remains one of the greatest artists produced by the Renaissance movement. In this article, I am taking an in-depth look at Michelangelo’s life and art career….
So few personalities of the history of humanity have transcended as much as Alexander the Great has. He lived 2,300 ago and he still is one of the greatest conquerors ever. His empire went from Macedonia and Greece to the Indus valley. His life is full of amazing stories that get mixed with mythology. As a matter of fact, this issue about the Greeks telling their story with gods and fantastic creatures make, on the one hand, hard to believe some events, but, on the other, makes it very interesting and fun. Nonetheless, his story served as inspiration for major works of art since he was alive. In this article, I will be focusing on the old Masters and a few representations of Alexander’s incredible life.
From the collection of Van Gogh’s earlier works, the drawing Worn Out, completed in 1882, resonates the earnestness of the beloved artist Vincent Van Gogh.
We are confronted with a sketch of a Dutch farmer peasant. Drawn with pencil on paper, Van Gogh employed light strokes of graphite as well as bold lines to define the edges of the chair and the farmer’s pants. Crosshatching is also visible throughout the piece, giving a sense of texture, especially as seen on the dirt floor surface and the clothes. The entire composition is structured vertically with the main element being the man centered in the foreground in a rectangular fashion.
Completed in 1865, the painting, Dan Les Bois, by the celebrated Swiss artist, Albert Anker, is a striking example of the serene naturalness found within the realism art movement.
We are onlookers to a window of another age. A time when things were simpler, as some might argue, and when life still held that ‘old-world charm’ and fuzzy-warm sentiment. Yet although nowadays we may have more advanced technologies which better our life and we can no longer relate to the asperous day-to-day living of Scandinavia during the early 20th century; we, however, nonetheless still possess the same human spirit which our ancestors have felt just the same as we.
Albrecht Dürer’s Salvator Mundi, although not completely finished, is in its own right a marvelous display of the draftsman work of arguably one of the most skilled artists the German lands has ever produced. Come, dear reader, and let us admire this glistening pearl of a painting!
One of the most famous women in Christian tradition is Mary Magdalene. Her presence in Jesus’ life has been debated since the beginning. While some people, mainly followers of Christianity, have no doubt that she was a prostitute who Jesus helped and redeem herself to the point that she became a saint, other are not so sure about this narration. There are some people who have said that contrary to the known tale in the bible, Mary Magdalene was in fact Jesus’ wife or that she was one more of his apostles. There is no surprise in the reaction that the Church has towards this declaration. The implications are huge! But, I am not here to talk about Mary Magdalene’s true story. In this article I will explore how the Old Masters have managed to depict her.
Jacob van Hulsdonck, born in Antwerp, was a still life painter from the early 1600s. He was an exquisite artist who focused mainly on painting fruit bowls, flowers, and banquet-style masterpieces. In one of his most well-known pieces, a painting titled Still Life with Lemons, Oranges, and Pomegranate, each and every detail found within, speaks for itself.
The first time I saw Sir John Everett Millais’ painting The Order of Release I was thirteen years old and struggling to stay alert in Mister Harvey’s gloomy art class. In the darkened classroom the teacher, a deeply religious man, showed slide after slide of Renaissance masterpieces, each projection accompanied by a long, tedious explanation of its origins, technical merits, and biblical authenticity. Even at that tender age I wondered whether there should be a limit on how many depictions of the Madonna and child, hovering angels, and crucified Christs there were in the world. Little did I know.
When The Order of Release appeared on the screen it was as though a light had been switched on. To my young mind the painting instantly made sense and the story it told unfolded in my imagination as if by osmosis.
No matter where you are, if you have never read one of his plays, you surely have heard about William Shakespeare. I can’t even remember from whom or where did I hear the story of Romeo and Juliet, I just knew it one day. That is how mainstream Shakespeare’s stories have become. It is the greatest writer of English history, and they surely are proud of him. That is why it is not a surprise that it has served as an inspiration for many painters of the time and later.