Art Blog - Art In History

I decided that, before leaving the topic of the Renaissance, there was more to say about the mastery of the depiction of solid form and three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. This was a major thread in my last blog, the Annunciation of the Renaissance, as part of an exploration of the birth of Humanism. But the rendering of solid form and space is fascinating on its own. The work I am leading off with is clearly not the seminal moment; rather it represents the culmination of three centuries of trial and exploration. I start with it because it is one of my alltime favorite works, and arguably the most complex and subtle exploration of spatial ideas of the period… Continue reading… 3 comments

In his comment on my post about Rubens, Zander reminded me of his influence on Delacroix, and I decided I should take him up next. Then I realized that before looking at his work, I should set the scene with the generation that preceeded him. Because the fact is, no matter how interesting the work of any one artist at this period may be, the art scene in France as a whole is much more fascinating. I am leading off with the "Oath of the Horatii" by Jacques-Louis David, the "painter of the revolution". Since the work seems "mainstream" and "old-fashioned" to our eyes, it takes a huge effort of empathy to understand what it meant at the time: it was a bombshell! First we need to realize that the classicism we see in the David was long gone in French art… Continue reading… 4 comments

I have been working through the great artists of the European Baroque, and I will be ending with Rubens. The reasons are hot and cold. Cold because Rubens does not appeal to me personally as much as Rembrandt or Velzaquez, or even the little Dutch Masters, though I am always in awe of his work. Hot because, of all the artists of the period, it is probably Rubens who most perfectly represents the age. Following the Renaissance age of invention, the Baroque was an age of utter mastery, taking the discoveries of the Renaissance to their supreme conclusion. And pershaps thearchtypal example of Baroque mastery is command of the human figure. The Baroque period displayed mastery of the human figure in its most violent action and aggressive foreshortening… Continue reading… 5 comments