Georges Seurat
Georges Seurat is chiefly remembered as the pioneer of the Neo-Impressionist technique commonly known as Divisionism, or Pointillism, an approach associated with a softly flickering surface of small dots or strokes of color. His innovations derived from new quasi-scientific theories about color and expression, yet the graceful beauty of his work is explained by the influence of very different sources. Initially, he believed that great modern art would show contemporary life in ways similar to classical art, except that it would use technologically informed techniques. Later he grew more interested in Gothic art and popular posters, and the influence of these on his work make it some of the first modern art to make use of such unconventional sources for expression. His success quickly propelled him to the forefront of the Parisian avant-garde. CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER GEORGES SEURAT´S IMPORTANT ARTWORK CLICK HERE TO STUDY ON GEORGES SEURAT´S QUESTIONNAIRE ON QUIZLET This video is here for if you would like to have more information about Georges Seurat. The information in this video will not be part of your assessments.
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Wassily KandinskyOne of the pioneers of abstract modern art, Wassily Kandinsky exploited the evocative interrelation between color and form to create an aesthetic experience that engaged the sight, sound, and emotions of the public. He believed that total abstraction offered the possibility for profound, transcendental expression and that copying from nature only interfered with this process. Highly inspired to create art that communicated a universal sense of spirituality, he innovated a pictorial language that only loosely related to the outside world, but expressed volumes about the artist's inner experience. His visual vocabulary developed through three phases, shifting from his early, representative canvases and their divine symbolism to his rapturous and operatic compositions, to his late, geometric and biomorphic flat planes of color. Kandinsky's art and ideas inspired many generations of artists, from his students at theBauhaus to the Abstract Expressionists after World War II.
CLICK HERE TO SEE WASSILY KANDINSKY´S IMPORTANT ARTWORK CLICK HERE TO STUDY WASSILY KANDINSKY´S QUESTIONNAIRE ON QUIZLET (FIRST 10 QUESTIONS ONLY) |
René MagritteSurely the most celebrated Belgian artist of the twentieth century, Rene Magritte has achieved great popular acclaim for his idiosyncratic approach to Surrealism. To support himself he spent many years working as a commercial artist, producing advertising and book designs, and this most likely shaped his fine art, which often has the abbreviated impact of an advertisement. While some French Surrealists led ostentatious lives, Magritte preferred the quiet anonymity of a middle-class existence, a life symbolized by the bowler-hatted men that often populate his pictures. In later years, he was castigated by his peers for some of his strategies (such as his tendency to produce multiple copies of his pictures), yet since his death his reputation has only improved. Conceptual artists have admired his use of text in images, and painters in the 1980s admired the provocative kitsch of some of his later work.
CLICK HERE TO SEE RENÉ MAGRITTE´S IMPORTANT ARTWORK CLICK HERE TO STUDY RENÉ MAGRITTE´S QUESTIONNAIRE ON QUIZLET (FIRST 7 QUESTIONS ONLY) We will inspire our project on the silhouettes used by René Magritte on the following artworks:
A friend of Order - 1964High Society - 1962The Return - 1940 |
Chuck CloseChuck Close was born in 1940 in Washington. After earning his BA from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1962, Close attended Yale University. During his time at Yale, Close was exposed to a contemporary curriculum that inspired his artwork. With his MFA completed in 1964, Close began experimenting with different styles of painting drawn from his studies of contemporary art. Inspired by portraiture, Close began creating large black-and-white photo-based portraits in the style of Photorealism. Photorealistic paintings resemble photography in their close attention to detail. The subjects of these large portraits were mostly Close’s family members, friends, and fellow artists.
Over the next few years, Close’s work continued to evolve and, while still painting portraits, he also began transferring images onto canvas using a grid system, copying grid segments from images into corresponding cubes in his paintings. Close started to break away from Photorealism through the act of physically incorporating the grid layout into his paintings. There is an illusion present in Close’s portraits. When inspected closely, a grid of squares is visible, each containing various colors and abstract shapes and forms; yet, when viewed from a distance, the squares morph into a clearly defined portrait. In 1988, Close was diagnosed with an artery collapse, which he refers to as “The Event.” As a result of his condition, Close suffered complete paralysis from below the neck. During his rehabilitation process, Close was encouraged by his wife to try painting again. With limited movement in his arms, Close was able to paint using a paintbrush-holding device that was strapped to his forearm and wrist. With the creation of a remote-controlled easel and help from studio assistants, Close continued using a grid system to create his portraits. Close began seeing each grid as a tiny painting within itself. The inspiration derived from this new painting process has resulted in Close’s portraits becoming more abstract and colorful. CLICK HERE TO SEE CHUCK CLOSE´S IMPORTANT ARTWORK CLICK HERE TO STUDY CHUCK CLOSE´S QUESTIONNAIRE ON QUIZLET If you would like to watch an almost 1 hour documental on Chuck Close, here it is:
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