As man evolved over the centuries, his views of art transformed. Each culture and era presents very distinct characteristics of their art. Through time and experimentation, the views of mankind clearly are seen in art. We must understand how art was used in the past to know why we need it today. E...

"When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of "get acquainted" period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come throug...

In order to fully understand the art of Kandinsky, it is important to start with a definition of the word 'Abstract' (for it is not really a concept that we have come across, before in this course). Abstract art does not depict recognizable scenes or objects but instead is made up of forms and co...

Both Cézanne and Pollock understood that although their art was turning away from traditional forms, art is continuity. Never disregarding the Old Master, Cézanne is said to be the father of modernism and Pollock the man who brought art from Paris to America. These two men, both known as avant-...

The 20th century embraced many different art movements and introduced the works of many new recognized artists. Two of these artists can be familiarized as Pablo Picasso and Willem do Kooning. Each artist demonstrated a unique style based on the demands of the time period they painted in. Two works...

The term "realism" is used with various meanings in the criticism of art but here we concentrate on its broadest sense: naturalism. Artists whose paintings were of the naturalist kind tried to depict things accurately and objectively in their paintings; they were against idealized beauty and mostl...

When one arrives in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, he or she may be surprised, as I was, by its grand entrance. Upon entering this large pillared building, one is almost overwhelmed by the immense collection. Although very extensive, the museum undoubtedly concentrates on the grouping and...

When one arrives in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, he or she may be surprised, as I was, by its grand entrance. Upon entering this large pillared building, one is almost overwhelmed by the immense collection. Although very extensive, the museum undoubtedly concentrates on the grouping ...

"Claude Monet at the National Gallery of Art" Claude Monet is most definately my favorite Painter of all time. Widely considered the foremost Impressionist painter, Monet inspired Masters like Degas and Renoir. Monet's paintings, characterized by their blurred line...

In the artistic realm, the artist's thought process is morphologically transformed through the art materials and forms into signs, symbols, and imagery. Signs and symbols play a dominant role in 20th Century art; the artist used this medium as a language to portray intentions of varying differences...

Upon visiting the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, I saw many different varieties of artwork. One such painting that caught my eye was Femme au Chapeau (Woman with the Hat), painted by Henri Matisse (1869-1954). The image was made in 1905 and originated from France. The oil painting on canvas mea...

In his famous "Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2" (1912) Marcel Duchamp used a limited cubist palette and faceting of forms but completely contradicted the cubist esthetic in his choice of an ironic title and stress on actual movement. When this painting was exhibited at the Armory Show in New Yo...

Modern art is a unique creation all it's own, and since its beginnings, there have been two very distinct groups: the Formalists and the Avant-Garde. The Formalist group believes in the literal representation of the artwork. They value the form used, whether it be how the colors are stressed or th...

Painting is one of the most interesting skills to have. Any child can do it, but the important thing in painting is the use of styles. The people who have talents can use styles very successfully and can create new techniques. With the new techniques, primitive art lost the sense and artists found m...

Art History: Cubism Picasso's Still Life with Chair Caning 1912 characterises Cubism's divergence from more conventional, academic styles of painting previously dominating French art. Marking a transition between the Analytic and Synthetic phases, Still Life with Chair Caning expresses ...

Art? I walked through the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in search of a conversation. As I wandered I saw many spectacular works of art but I was looking for something more than beauty, I was looking for an emotion, something that couldn't be explained in words. I wanted to be provoked to que...

The twentieth century brought WWI, Hitler, and the Great Depression to the world. It was a time of turmoil and out of turmoil comes change. The art world would also be turned upside down and forever changed. Fauves, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Fantasy, Dada, Surrealism, and early Abstract...

The piece I have chosen is an oil painting by Chuck Close entitled "Robert," (1997). I observed it at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). The painting, which measures an enormous 102 by 84 inches, is a straightforward portrait of one of Close's friends and fellow pop artists Robert R...

Romare Bearden is among the greatest artists of his generation. His complex and powerful works represent the places where he lived and worked: the rural North Carolina, the urban area of the northern cities (primarily Pittsburgh and New York's Harlem), and the Caribbean island of St. Martin. Religi...

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist, famous for her self-reflective, Surrealist paintings. Frida Kahlo's painting expresses many visions of her life. She dealt with a lot of pain that is seen in her artwork. She was born in Coyoacán Mexico in July 1907 and died from pneumonia complications in 1954 at...

Among the leading painters of post-World War II Abstract Expressionist movement, Franz Kline developed his own highly personal form of art based more on "spontaneous expression in abstract design of the artist's psychic states."1 Abstract expressionism saw representation as the exact opposite of...

Manet's painting, "A Bar at the Folies-Bergère," was an integral factor in the rise of a new era in art; through the emergence of a contemporary Parisian city, modern art began to flourish during the late 1800s. Being a painting of extreme complexity and ambiguity, many art critics have comment...

Jazz has been an influence in many artist's work, from painting to other forms of music. Jazz is an American music form that was developed from African-American work songs. The white man began to imitate them in the 1920's and the music form caught on and became...

Paul Cezanne: Impressionist of Life ART 293(306) Mr. Stevenson Cynthia Winters January 20, 2004 Paul Cezanne, although misunderstood as an artist, definitely made a huge impact upon the art world. With his use of true to life hues and tones, Cezanne brought ...

The Life and Times of Diego Rivera Diego Rivera is one of, if not the most, famous artist to ever come out of South America. His influence can be seen not only to his own country, but also all over the world. Rivera was born on December 13, 1886, the date of one of many Mexican religious fes...