Wednesday, June 23, 2021

With most COVID-19 regulations relaxing, lots of the art museums in the UK are opening back up! Take a look for your next visit to London.

Located in the famous Trafalgar Square, The National Gallery is widely accepted as one of the top art museums in the world. Not only is their collection wonderful, but the Sainsbury Wing done by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown is so significant. The National Gallery has paintings such as the Bathers by Cezanne, Bathers at Asnières by Georges Seurat, and The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck. When in London, this is a must-visit.

The Wallace Collection:

Though it has other types of art, the Wallace Collection specializes in 18th century French art; including painting, artifacts, furniture, and many others. Their collection is also so extraordinary in armor and weapons. Do not overlook this gem in London!! Watch the video above for the history of the collection.

The Royal Academy:

The Royal Academy has artists' work ranging from John Constable (click to learn more from a Zooming In) to Yinka Shonibare (click to learn about the Swing ). Since being founded by artists and architects in 1768, the Royal Academy has been an art museum that is run by artists.

Tate Modern:

The Tate Modern houses so many wonderful pieces of modern art including some Yayoi Kusama, The Swing (after Fragonard) by Yinka Shonibare, and Rodin! This museum is loved by London natives and visitors alike.

Comment what city to do next!! Have you been to London?

Thursday, June 17, 2021

Narcissus Garden by Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama's Narcissus Garden is an installation work of art (click to learn more). Originally made of 1,500 plastic silver globes on the lawn outside of the Venice Biennale, a very famous exhibition to which she was not invited.

Bio of the work:

Title: Narcissus Garden

Date: 1966

Medium: mirrored, mass-produced balls

Location: various; including Central Park, NYC, and Bernardo de Mello Paz’s Instituto Inhotim

Analysis:

Kusama stood amongst the 1,500 mirrored balls with a sign reading "Your Narcissism For Sale". These spheres reflected everything-- every passerby, the surrounding architecture, the artist herself, etc. Kusama's genius was brought through when she began selling the spheres, thus proving the point that her sign pointed out. The people were buying a reflection of themselves.

Monday, June 14, 2021

Standard of Ur

This Ancient Mesopotamian work of art is still somewhat of a wonder to archeologists. A two sided, wooden box of sorts, the Standard of Ur is thought to have been a flag, placed on a pole. The two sides depict war and peace with many little figures on both.

Bio of the Work:

Title: Standard of Ur

Date: ~ 2600-2400 BCE

Medium: Wood with lapis lazuli, shell, and red limestone

Museum: The British Museum in London

Analysis:

The Standard of Ur 's two sides depict Sumerian life in war and peace. The 'war' side of the standard has one of the earliest representations of an army, including chariots, swords, captives, and fatalities of the violence. In contrast with the other, the 'peace' side includes more of daily life. This side has three levels, and some people believe these levels to be the ranks of society. The uppermost level depicts a feast and a clear figure head who is even larger that the rest, braking out of the frame, showing art's hierarchy of scale. The other two show laborers working. Many archeologists believe that this was a flag of sorts to be put on a pole and shown out to the city.

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Winged Victory of Samothrace

Famously situated atop the staircase landing in the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Winged Victory of Samothrace is one of (if not the) most well known Hellenistic sculptures.

Bio of the work:

Title: Winged Victory of Samothrace

Date: ~ c. 190 BCE

Medium: Marble

Museum: The Louvre Museum, Paris

Analysis:

Winged Victory of Samothrace portrays Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, in contrapposto (click to learn about this term). The sculpture was the attached to the bow of a ship. The wet drapery clings to her elegant yet powerful figure. Unfortunately, Nike's head nor her arms were recovered in the original discover or by the archeologists upon return to Samothrace. This sculpture was most likely created in commemoration for a victory in a ship battle c. ~190 BCE.

Sources:

https://www.louvre.fr/en/explore/the-palace/a-stairway-to-victory

AP Art History Guide-- Barrons's

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Fountain (second version) by Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp shocked the world when he exhibited this work. Fountain is a mass produced urinal that he scribbled a signature of sorts, considering that his name is not R. Mutt, and sent it to exhibition.

Bio of the work:

Title: Fountain

Date: 1917

Medium: Porcelain

Museum: Unknown

Analysis:

Marcel Duchamp's art was very controversial and for good reason. Duchamp was of the belief that anything could be art if it fit a few criteria. For example, the artist's intention for the work and a signature. Duchamp exemplified these criteria in his work, Fountain. While he did sign the work, he did not use his own name. Duchamp redefined art for many people through this work!

Sources:

"Modern Art" by Taschen

Monday, June 7, 2021

Hunters in the Snow (Winter) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Pieter Bruegel the Elder (click to learn more in the Zooming In on him) was an important player in and precursor to the Northern Renaissance. He painted everyday scenes and domestic life. Hunters in the Snow is only one in a series of six seasonal paintings.

Bio of the Work:

Title: Hunters in the Snow (Winter)

Date: 1565

Medium: Oil paint on wood

Museum: Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria

Analysis:

Pieter Bruegel tried to convey the emotion and actions of the winter and cold through many elements in this painting. Many civilians are skating on the ice in the distance, and a few women are tending a fire to the left of the painting. The main focus of this work is the group of hunters, escorted by dogs that are seemingly exhausted by the cold. While the snow overlays the entire landscape, there is nothing dead about Pieter Bruegel's painting.

Sources:

https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/hunters-in-the-snow-winter-pieter-bruegel-the-elder/WgFmzFNNN74nUg?hl=en

https://www.khm.at/objektdb/detail/327/

MEET GUSTAV KLIMT!

Saturday, June 5, 2021

The Swing (After Fragonard) by Yinka Shonibare

This work may seem familiar due to the Rococo masterpiece The Swing by Fragonard (click to learn more), and it is! Yinka Shonibare's sculpture is based off of the original, but with some noticeable modifications. For example, the headless figure, a nod to the French Revolution that was to come after the original time period.

Bio of Work:

Title: The Swing (After Fragonard)
Date: 2001
Medium: Mixed Media Installation- including cotton fabric, rope, oak, etc.
Museum: Tate, London

Analysis:

Yinka Shonibare's figure in The Swing (After Fragonard) is headless, the artist's emphasis on the terror that was to come after Fragonard's original piece, seemingly due to the French Revolutionary guillotine. His work is also missing the two peering men, and the audience fills this gap. In contrast with Fragonard's original figure's silk and lace garments, this figure is wearing African printed textiles, a nod to anti colonial beliefs. Shonibare dresses his figure in African printed Dutch wax cotton. Indonesian batik textile techniques were appropriated by the Dutch, while the English tried to copy this, making merely a fake. Though the Dutch did not care for the imitation fabric, African peoples loved it and adopted the textile. Although the original, Rococo art was a lavish scene of pleasure, times and circumstances have changed, emphasized by Shonibare's work.

Sources: AP Art History Guide-- Barron's, and https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/shonibare-the-swing-after-fragonard-t07952

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Introducing....

AP ART HISTORY: THE SERIES!

If you are not aware, AP Art History is course that many people take in high school. While I have not taken it yet, I do plan to within the next few years. The so-called '250' are the 250 works of art that, by the end of the course, the students need to know about (including the artist/creator, the materials, the location, the time period, etc).

If you are currently taking or plan to take AP Art History, GET EXCITED! This series will include guides to sections of the 250, vocabulary, and more!

What would you like to see first?? Comment down below, email to arthistory.ondisplay@gmail.com, or DM me on Instagram @arthistory.ondisplay.

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Used in both art analysis and art creation, the rule of thirds is a method used to keep art interesting to the audience. It states that the main subject that the eye is drawn to should not be in the middle square, were the canvas/ photograph to be split in 3x3 fashion.

Meet Frida Kahlo!! This famous artist was a Surrealist (click to learn more)! She was also married to Diego Rivera (click to learn more).

Art History: On Display

Guide to Art History: London

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

With most COVID-19 regulations relaxing, lots of the art museums in the UK are opening back up! Take a look for your next visit to London.

The National Gallery:

The Wallace Collection:

The Royal Academy:

Tate Modern:

Comment what city to do next!! Have you been to London?

AP Art History: Narcissus Garden-- #148