Research point:Basics of linear perspective

Sketch showing one point vanishing point pencil on paper A2

Basics of linear perspective

 

Perspective is an optical illusion whereby objects appear to diminish in size as they recede into the distance.

There is some indication that ancient Greeks  used perspective, particularly in regards to the design of buildings, but no documents from that time have survived. Filippo Brunelleschi is credited with re discovering geometrical perspective in during the renaissance in 1413, when concept of linear perspective was formalised and used by artists.

BASIC CONCEPTS

Horizon line – the horizon line is the primary line of reference and always represents the eye level of the observer.

Vanishing points  – where all lines in the picture converge into one point in the distance, there can be one, two or three vanishing points in any one picture.

Two point perspective ” Staircase perspective” by Luciano Testoni

 

References:

“Staircase perspective” by Luciano Testoni – Own work. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Staircase_perspective.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Staircase_perspective.jpg

Research point: Dutch realist painters

Dutch realist painters.

For this research point, look at the work of 17th century still life painters, make notes on paintings you admire and make notes about the technique employed at the time. Research at least one painting that has iconic significance. Which objects carry particular meaning? Look at still life’s  through eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, how contemporary artists are interpreting this genre.

This research point is to pick a Dutch realist painting that I particularly admire, and I immediately thought of :

Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606-83)

In the distance recesses of my brain I could swear I have seen this painting  in the flesh at Birmingham’s Barber Institute of Fine Arts, about 10 years ago, but I can’t find any way of researching if it indeed was this painting.

The aspect that particularly struck me is the(at first) seemingly obscure collection of objects stacked together, the status symbols of the day, and the beautiful rendering of the silver goblet (if indeed this is the painting I did see) is quite jaw dropping in its reflective qualities, in an almost photo realist way. There is some speculation that Jan Davidsz de Heem  and other Dutch realists  used a camera obsura to capture their perfect draftsmanship, but I do not think that makes any odds on the skill required to paint such a beautiful painting.Contrast this with Monet-Still-Life-with-Apples-and-Grapes-1880, 

Monet is less interested in the symbolism and photo realistic quality of the scene, rather than the mood, and the reflection of light. To go a set further, Picasso is even less interested in the social standing of the objects to convey wealth or power.

Picasso: Compotier avec fruits, violon et verre.jpg 1912

 

To contrast  more contemporary work , it seems that symbolism and meaning is back in the object, with sinister connotations with

Still Life with Skull  Artist: Karl Zerbe, American, 1903-197 Medium: Gouache

and Damien Hirst’s Skull with Diamonds,  For The Love of God, wealth and moneyed power is back full circle.

References

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/60301/Still_Life_with_Skull/image/79981/image

Claude Monet – the-athenaeum.org http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=3261

Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1606–1683/1684) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Research Chiaroscuro effects

Research: What paint can do

Explore the works of some of the artists whose work exemplifies chiaroscuro effects such as Tintoretto, Caravaggio, and . Look also at the candlelit studies of some of the north European artists, most especially Rembrandt and Joseph Wright of Derby. (Remember that until relatively  recently, life was lived in pools of candlelight or firelight after the sun went down.) Make notes in your learning log.
Chiaroscuro (High contrast, focused light) is one of the four canonical painting modes of the Renaissance (the other three being Cangiante, Sfumato, and Unione).

Chiaroscuro (literally ‘light and dark’) in Italian, first used to describe drawing on darker coloured paper with light paint and more famously the technique most attributed Caravaggio’s expressive paintings  in the 16th century, is the term most commonly used for’ high contrast’ paintings, where figures and landscapes loom into view from a warm, shadowy background. The technique for creating drama through the depiction of shadows and figures & objects in dimly lit scenarios, emerging from the light, or a spot lit from a candle proved a popular method of conveying a narrative of many European painters.The expression of light in the painting is

Fortunately, I living in the midlands I was able to view a painting  by Joseph Wright of Derby, at the Birmingham Museum and Art gallery. Joseph Wright, interested in the scientific and industrial innovations of the time was friends Erasmus Darwin (1731 – 1802) who was a key figure in the history of the British Enlightenment. Darwin (grandfather of  Charles) was a physician, botanist, author, poet and inventor, and a founder member of the famous Lunar Society of Birmingham with Matthew Boulton. The technique Joseph Wright employs shows the Chiaroscuro technique to its full effect, Darwin looming out of the shadows, arms loosely crossed, staring directly out to meet the viewers gaze.

Other notable paintings in the Birmingham area I was able to visit was at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Th Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham

SAAC BLESSING JACOB

SICILY, ABOUT 1635

OIL ON CANVAS

”The old and blind Isaac summons his eldest son Esau to prepare his meal and receive a blessing.

His wife Rebecca substitutes her favourite son Jacob who wears goat-skin gloves in order to resemble his hairy brother.  He steps forward gingerly whilst Rebecca gestures to us not to reveal the deception.  The dog sniffing the meat indicates that the biblical story also works as an allegory of the Five Senses – smell, taste, touch, hearing and sight.

Stom was born in the Netherlands, but lived mainly in Naples and Sicily.  His style was based on that of Caravaggio (1571 – 1610) with its dramatic lighting, emotional directness and realistic figures.

Purchased 1994 with contributions from The Art Fund and the Museums and Galleries Commission/Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund (No.94.2)”

Interestingly, these painting seem to have less detailed than imagined, but the chiaroscuro effect gives a three dimensional effect.

 

There are no paintings by Rembrandt in the Midlands, only sketches, and scant paintings to witness up close in the UK, however, a painting previously attributed to Rembrandt is in the University of Birmingham’s art gallery, the Barber Institute.

AN OLD WARRIOR

HOLLAND, THE 1650S

OIL ON CANVAS

”This painting was purchased as by Rembrandt at a time when the role of his studio was little understood.  The confusion was reinforced by a false signature and date, since removed.

The painting certainly reflects Rembrandt’s style of the 1650s with its rich palette and bold brushwork and his interest in the physiognomy of old men.  However, it lacks the emotional intensity of the master’s authentic work and it is now thought to be by one of his many talented pupils”

 

Purchased 1941 (No.41.7)

 

References

http://barber.org.uk/matthias-stom-about-1600-after-1652/

http://barber.org.uk/a-follower-of-harmensz-van-rijn-rembrandt-1606-1669/

http://www.bmag.org.uk/news?id=301

Research: Chevreul colour theories

For – Project Understanding Colour

 

Michel Eugène Chevreul

Chevreul is accredited with bringing the Red Yellow and Blue colour theory to artists in 1839, when he published ‘the law of Simultaneous colour contrast.’ His breakthrough came when he was working at Gobelins textile factory in Paris, where he was responsible for quality assurance in dyes that were used in the factory’s textiles. Because his position allowed him the scope to experiment with chemistry (to test lightfast dyes) and how colour was observed next to other colours and particuarily next to black cloth, he developed what he called a ‘fundamental law’ of colour. His theory concluded that all colours in the spectrum could be created by a starting point of three Primary colours, which were Red, Yellow and Blue.

http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/chevreul.html:

”Chevreul summarized all this work in terms of six color harmonies,

• harmonies of scale, produced by the pure hue across a range of “tones” (mixtures with either white or black, such as a drawing in red, white and black conté crayon)

• harmonies of hue, produced by analogous hues, all within a narrow range of tone (that is, related hues of approximately the same lightness, or mixture with white or black)

• harmonies of a dominant colored light,produced by any selection of colors that mimics the appearance of contrasting colors viewed under a colored light or through stained glass [a transmission filter] (i.e., colors are first chosen to produce desirable contrast, then all are mixed subjectively with an additional color)

• harmony of contrast of scale, produced by the contrast in a single hue at two widely contrasted “tones” (which may mean a contrast in lightness and/or in saturation)

• harmony of contrast of hues, produced by the contrast between analogous hues differing in “tone”, and

• harmony of contrast of colors, produced by the contrast between complementary or near complementary hues, sometimes augmented by a contrast in tone — a contrast which Chevreul called “superior to every other” when the colors are of similar tones.

Reference:

http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/chevreul.html

Click to access Chevreuls%20Law%20F1%20web%20good.pdf

 

Research point: Rothko

Research: What paint can do 

Mark Rothko 1903–1970

The Tate has an interactive guide to Rothko the murals at  at http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/markrothko/interactive/room-3.shtm 

Rothko, an ‘abstract expressionist’ painter, applied thin glazes in layers on un-primed canvases, so that the underlying layers showed through to create a more luminous effect. He remained relatively unknown until the 1960s, supporting himself by teaching art. Although his early works are quite surreal, arguably his most famous pieces are the Seagram paintings that were commission by Architect Philip Johnson for his Four seasons hotel. Rothko gave these paintings to the Tate as he felt a restaurant would not be an appropriate setting for the seriousness of his work, underlying his opnion that although the paintings are ‘plain’ they most certainly are not ‘about nothing’.Rothko’s technique using transparent washes demonstrates the subtleties overlaying paint in a way that has not been surpassed (in my opinion) by any other painter.

Black on Maroon 1958 Tate Modern

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARothko_No_14.jpg Reference By Notnarayan (Own work) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

    

Artist biography

Mark Rothko 1903-1970 An American Abstract Expressionist painter, born at Dvinsk in Russia. Emigrated with his family to Portland, Oregon, in 1913. Studied the liberal arts at Yale University 1921-3. Moved in 1925 to New York and studied for a short time at the Art Students League under Max Weber, then began to paint on his own. Taught at Center Academy, Brooklyn, 1929-52. First one-man exhibition at the Portland Art Museum 1933. In the 1930’s painted pictures influenced by Milton Avery and Matisse, with simplified compositions and flat areas of colour; co-founder in 1935 with Gottlieb and others of The Ten, a group f Expressionist tendency. In association with Gottlieb, worked in a Surrealist idiom 1942-7, drawing upon the myths of antiquity as Jungian archetypes, and making watercolours and oils with calligraphic, biomorphic imagery related to Ernst and Miró, and horizontal zones of misty colour. Turned to complete abstraction in 1947, with large soft-edged areas of colour, adopting by 1950 a symmetrical presentation. Taught at the California School of Fine Arts, San Francisco, with Clyfford Still in the summers of 1947 and 1949; collaborated with Baziotes, Hare, Motherwell and later Newman in running the art school The Subjects of the Artist 1948-9; and also taught in the Art department at Brooklyn College 1951-4. His later works became more sombre in colour. Died in New York by suicide.

Published in:
Ronald Alley, Catalogue of the Tate Gallery’s Collection of Modern Art other than Works by British Artists, Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London 1981, p.657

REFLECTION POINT

I personally love Rothko paintings, it hasn’t always been the case, but since I have been painting with oils and appreciated the way light reflects off the canvas I have seen a new beauty and in his work.

The concept of the paint expressing emotion is very interesting, and very apparent in his paintings. I’m hoping to see the Seagram murals at the Tate to appreciate these in person.

From http://www.eilatgordinlevitan.com/dvinsk/dv_pages/dvinsk_stories_rothko.html