A Painting a Day

Landscape with Snow (1888) Vincent Van Gogh

I hate landscapes, but I love Van Gogh…. It’s snowing out today… yeah.

Summertime: Number 9A (1948)   Jackson Pollock

I know what you’re all thinking… “Finally! It’s not a portrait of a woman!” Jackson Pollock has always been one of my favorite painters. His work really encapsulates action in a way that very few artists have. His sense of action and motion in this painting is very interesting

What I find extremely interesting in this piece is his use of color. In such an asymmetrical style of painting,his use of color in this piece almost brings a sense of symmetry. The use of only two colors (besides black and white) and in similarly shaped forms throughout the piece contrasts greatly to the seemingly random lines of the black and white across the canvas.

I just love Pollock. Alot.

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907)  Gustave Klimt

Many of you may recognize this gorgeous portrait from the documentary “The Rape of Europa”.  It was stolen by the Nazi’s in 1925.

It is oil and gold on canvas, which to me is the most interesting part of this painting. It’s use of gold. The gold surrounds everything. She is completely encompassed by gold. Everything but her skin, which is painted fair. Klimt was very progressive for his time, moving away from the styles of the day to a more modern aesthetic. I actually find myself making comparisons between this and a lot of Egyptian artwork. I guess it’s the use of gold and shape.

I am specifically enamored with his use of line as well. The curving interesting lines of the dress struck me first as well as the lines of the hair. She truly looks like the pinnacle of beauty. Heck I would love a portrait like this done of me! Who wouldn’t!

Just truly a great work of art.

The Penitent Magdalen (1638-43) Georges De La Tour

This is another discovery I made on my recent trip to the MET. The painting depicts Mary Magdalen (yes as in the one from the Divinci Code) turning away from her reflection in the mirror. This painting, with it’s dark overtones and Gothic style, truly captured me. There is something oddly beautiful about a sinner, holding a skull turning away from her own reflection. I find the mirror particularly fascinating. It does not reflect Magdalen, rather the candle. The candle appears illuminated in the mirror but dark in the real world creating conflict. “Between what?” you may ask. Between good and evil? Between right and wrong? Between Barney and Sesame Street? I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

Now at examining this painting again there is one part of the painting I hate. Her hands. They have a waxy quality that really makes me uncomfortable. The rest of her is bathed in a sort of calm realistic candle light but her hands look like plastic reflecting some sort of distant fluorescent light in a middle American high school. In fact… I hate her hands. They really bother me… thoughts?

(oh and in the future I promise these won’t all be so old. I do like modern art too. I promise :-p)

Young Woman Drawing(1801) by Marie-Denise Villers

I recently took a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with my good friend Kevin and saw this painting. We were immediately took with this specific piece. The lighting was the first thing we both noticed. The lighting comes from behind the subject which is not very common for the time period. There is something very alluring about this portrait. It’s as if we have walked in on a very private moment of the young woman’s, one that we weren’t supposed to see. But she doesn’t look dismayed to see us, quite the opposite. She seems almost glad and welcoming, albeit surprised. She looks quite young and this is popularly thought of as a self portrait.

On an interesting side note, this painting was also wrongly attributed to the artist Jacques-Louis David for many years. It hung in the MET under that artist’s name until quite recently when it was re-ascribed to the rightful artist Marie-Denise Villers.