Der Krieg By Otto Dix

Exhibited at Staatliche Kuntsammlugen, Gemaldegalerie Neue Meister, Dresden, 1929
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Opinion: Der Krieg reminded me of several different movies. It seemed to be a cross between I am Legend and War of the Worlds. It has a certain futuristic vibe, which I found interesting. However, this is not especially surprising, considering it shows the annihilation of mankind, which is a premiss upon which many sci-fi movies are based. I felt guilty after coming to this conclusion because this painting was created to depict a horrible war and immediately I jumped away from reality and into the world of film. I think it says something about our society that its difficult for us to recognize reality and violence because we are exposed to so much on the media. 

Theory: Der Krieg is an Expressionist piece created in the wake of World War I.It depicts the horror of war on both man and the surrounding nature. In the first panel, soldiers march off to war, while in the center and right panel, the viewers sees the terribly awesome aftermath. There are mangled bodies and debris everywhere. To make his piece more personally powerful, Dix actually painted himself in on the right hand panel as a ghostly figure who helps a fallen comrade to safety. The piece is nihilistic- it is the complete destruction of life and communicates Dix’s view of the war. It is also reminiscent of the Isenheim Altarpiece, except there is no resurrection of Christ and therefore no hope. Dix wanted to show the reality before him (Gardner, Page 1035). 

Unique Forms of Continuity in Space by Umberto Boccioini

Exhibited at Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1913
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Opinion: I was surprised I liked Boccioni’s piece because it is abstract and I do not usually like abstract art. However, I think what I appreciated was the idea of it- of Boccioni representing movement. I look at his sculpture and with its planes, shining surface, and twists, I can understand his purpose and think its a cool idea. 

Theory: Unique Forms of Continuity in Space was made during the Futurists movement. As the word expresses it, the futurists believed in any mechanical thing that brought forward new inventions and they were primarily interested in technology and movement. This piece depicts the movement of a man running. His sculpture the sensation of movement, not fixed movement in space. The figure is so “broken in plane and contour that it disappears, as it were, behind the blur of its movement” (Gardner, Page 1021).

A Bar at the Folies-Bergere by Edouard Manet

Exhibited at The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1882
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Opinion: I was attracted to this painting because it puzzled me. I like when things force me to think and the more I look at this painting, the more I think. I keep musing over what exactly is going and of course, still have absolutely no idea. 

Theory: This is an Impressionist masterpiece created by Manet. It shows the basic Impressionist characteristics: a blurred painterly style depicting a moment in time. However, unlike many other Impressionist pieces, it caused quite a stir among art historians. Manet’s Impressionist style calls attention to the surface and pushes viewers to try to make sense of the scene. When the viewer does so, visual discrepancies emerge. If the background is a mirror, everything else should be shown in the mirror, but its not. “It is impossible to reconcile the spatial relationship between the barmaid, the mirror, the bar’s frontal horizontality, and the barmaid’s seemingly displaced reflection” (Gardner, Page 910). Additionally, who is the woman behind the barmaid? Is it her reflection, although it looks like an older women. The main figure is recognizable. The people who go to the bar have paid money to be entertained and she is the only who we can recognize. The man who she is waiting on could be any Frenchman of the time. She, on the other hand is giving us her inner feeling: she is not a happy woman. In conclusion, Manet produced an extremely thought- provoking painting which called on us to examine the medium’s basic premises. 

Degas

The Rehearsal, The Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, 1873credit here

Ballet Rehearsal, Exhibited at Glasgow Museum, Glasgow, 1876credit here

L'etoile, Exhibited at Musee d'Orsay, Paris, 1878credit here

Opinion: I chose Degas as an artist and not merely one piece because I found myself drawn to too many of his paintings of ballerinas and dancers. I have always admired the art of ballet and like how the movement and grace of the ballerinas is not just communicated through the figures themselves but through Degas’s very brush strokes and style of painting. 

Theory: Degas was an impressionist painter whose fascination with movement and light led him to the ballet school. He had several methods of bringing the viewer into his pictorial space. These methods included, cutting the cutting off the space (as by a staircase) and arranging the figures in a random manner. “By seeming to stand on the same surface with them, viewers are drawn into their space” (Gardner, Page 910). Loving the way the light shimmered on the tutu, Degas used this to create patterns of light splotches that communicated the Impressionist notion of depicting a moment in time. The moment theme is also shown by the painterly style that contributes to the movement of the piece. 

Draped Model by Eugene Durieu

Exhibited at Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles,  1854
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Opinion: The word that comes to mind when I look at this photograph is beautiful. The Draped Model has a quiet and simple beauty that comes from a variety of factors. These factors include the anonymity of the model,the lack color, the classic folds, the simplistic background, and the sinuous s curve of her back. Though at first glance it appeared to be a modest photograph, the understated grace and artistry left me unable to look away. 

Theory: The Draped Model is a photograph taken in 1854 during the Romantic period during advent of photography by Eugene Durieu and Delacroix. It represents the symbiotic relationship between painters and photographers. Between Delacroix’s artistic sense and Durier’s engineering skills, they were able to produce beautiful pictures such as this one. The lighting and careful draping of the cloth creates a specific mood that is reminiscent of Grand Odalisque (Madame Oyler). 

The Burial of Atala by Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson

Exhibited at Louvre, Paris, 1808
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Opinion: The Burial of Atala pulls on my heartstrings. It’s sweetly tragic how Atala’s lover hugs her legs as she’s lowered into her grave. On a side note, the whole scene seems to be fanciful Strangely, I was again reminded of something out of Lord of the Rings with a wizard (the old man), an elf (Atala), and a human (her lover). 

Theory: The Burial of Atala was created by Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson in 1808 during the transition from Neo-classical to Romanticism. Based on a popular novel, Atala is buried in the shadow of a cross by her lover and a priest. Now, there is Romantic despair being paired with religion. Little by little, religion is no longer considered something intellectual, but emotional. The appeal here is to the viewer’s private world of fantasy and emotion (Madame Oyler). 

Ancient of Days by William Blake

Exhibited at The Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester, 1794
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Opinion: Ancient of Days- Ancient of Days is probably my favorite piece that we have studied. The figure’s stance combined with the wind and the bright rays on the darkness elicits the power of creation.

Theory: Ancient of Days was created by William Blake during the Romantic period. The work is not realistic at all- it is all emotion. Blake is showing us a picture of creation- God creating the world with a protractor. Such a scene is reminiscent of God as the Architect of the World during the Gothic period. The picture from Blake has a lot of movement as the wind blows, emphasizing the strength of the figure. The sun is painted behind God and rays of light (similar to the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa) pierce outward. In this period we are now beginning to see works of art that are based on the subconscious. Thus, this work is what Blake would think- as in this is his personal interpretation of God (Madame Oyler).