Art Timeline 1

Art Timeline

ART/101

Sunday, December 05, 2010

 Art Timeline 2

Linear perspective in European paintings is quit exciting. The use of shadows, lines, light and

placement the painter uses for the paintings is almost hard to see with a glance, if the view really

study’s a painting they can come up with a story the artist was trying to give.

Arnolfini Wedding Portrait by Jan Van

Eyck, 1434

There is a lot of detail is this painting. Notice the couple is not really holding hands but the

woman has her hand placed gently in his open palms. The mirror itself has pictures of The

Passion of Christ on the points all around. On the back wall above the mirror there is an

inscription that says, “Johannes de Eyck fuit hic 1934”, which is translated into Jan Van Eyck
 Art Timeline 3

was here 1434. Notice how the woman is bulging out in the stomach it is said that she was

pregnant. The dog standing near the woman’s feet is said to protect the root of fidelity.

Zacharias writes Down the

Name of His Son by Domenico Ghirlando 1486-1490

Notice in this painting, everyone is looking down; the focus of the painting is the man sitting

in the middle or the baby? It’s really hard to tell, but the focus is actually the man sitting in the

middle, the title says it all in that he is writing down the name of his son to make it official.

Notice how the bright colors pop and the fields in the arch ways make the painting more broad

and full. The shadows around the arch ways brings the attention up from the man and woman in

the middle to the outside.

 Art Timeline 4

The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci 1495-1498

The Last Supper is describe in Mathew, Mark, and Luke in the New Testament of the bible

this is why it is so famous, this particular painting Jesus is having his last meal with his disciples

and he gives his followers symbolic items to remember his presence. Leonardo Da Vinci

captured that in his painting. Leonardo Da Vinci also took his own experiences and put them into

his painting which makes this painting more meaningful. The shadows in this painting capture

the middle of the table and flows to the windows in the back. The center of attention is of course

on Jesus giving the last supper.

 Art Timeline 5

Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror by

Parmigianino 1524

This painting shows the artist about twenty one years old and looking feminine like. His right

hand is bigger than the rest of him because he emphasized it meaning he painted with his right

hand and made lots of meaningful art. He looks at us like a hero of all the artists, the painting is

not painted on a canvas but on a section of wood sphere that reproduces the shape of the convex

mirror. The artist painted himself looking in a barber’s convex mirror. Hints the title, this

painting is very bland but it is meaningful letting the viewer know he was proud of his works.
 Art Timeline 6

Girl Interrupted in Her Music by

Johannes Vermeer 1658-1661

The Cupid in this painting once appeared in the back round of the earlier, “Girl Reading a

Letter by an Open Window”. The man leaning over appears to be propping up her music, but he

is actually flirting, the viewer can not tell because his eyes are lowered, after some sips of wine

which was probably in the white and blue jug sitting on the table. In this painting Vermeer

included three Spanish chairs which has lion head on the two points of each chair. Along with

the white and black marble flooring, Vermeer’s interior included the multi-layered window,

which appears in some of his other works.

 Art Timeline 7

Achilles and Daughters

of Lycomede by Nicholas Poussin 1656

Everyone in this painting is looking at the woman is the middle, it is said that Achilles

dressed up like a woman and is hidden among the daughters of King Lycomedes at the behest of

his mother, who knows he is fated to die if he goes to Troy. This painting derives from the epic

of the Trojan War. There’s a lot of red and blues in the painting, these colors were used often in

these times for painters to use in clothing their subjects.

 Art Timeline 8

Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez

1656

This painting is also known as the Maids of Honor, the painting captures, in passing, ten

individuals in a vast room which is acting the painter’s studio in the royal palace in Spain.

Directly in the middle of the painting sits the daughter of King Phillip IV and Queen Mariana,

the focus seems to be on her, but the painting is called Las Meninas (maids of Honor) so the

focus tends to be the daughter’s surroundings. As the viewer sees that the painter also put

himself in the painting, so it can be called a self portrait as well. I think this painting does create

a particular effect because; all the people in the painting are focus on something, the effect in the

painting has many elements that the painter was trying to show the viewer. For instance in the

back round on the wall there is a painting of a reproduction of Ruben’s Pallas and Arachne 1636-

1637 commissioned by Phillip IV and is homage of the painter. As the viewer looks into the
 Art Timeline 9

painting they will find that the painter not only painted himself but painted himself painting this

painting.

Lady Standing at the Virginal by Johannes

Vermeer 1670

No one knows who posed for this painting, Vermeer did not define her individual

physiognomy with any precision even though her inflexible expression draws the viewer into the

hallow cube space that the woman in the painting confidentially inhabits. Just like the other

painting above, Vermeer corporate another chair into this painting, this one is covered in velvet,

(the only one). The virginal was an instrument greatly admired by the Dutch upper-class during

the mid-seventieth century. This painting also has marble floors but Vermeer let his free flowing

brush strokes of the veins of the marble floor tiles revealed indulging himself in the pleasure of
 Art Timeline 10

recording the movement of his own hand rather than the pleasure recording the appearance of the

tiles.

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries by

Jacques Louis David 1812

“It is very unlikely that Napoleon actually posed for

this portrait despite all its detail. The painting is an artful contrivance to convey three aspects of

his public image: soldier, emperor, and administrator. A volume of Plutarch Lives positions him

with great generals of ancient history and reinforces the meaning of the uniform, sword, and

campaign maps. Embroidered on the ceremonial chair are the golden bees and N of Napoleon’s
 Art Timeline 11

imperial emblem. On the desk, rolled papers – the Code Napoleon, whose reforms are the basis

of French legal theory – recall his civic role.” [ CITATION The10 \l 1033 ]

This piece of art work is from the 18th – 19th century France, which makes it neoclassicism;

this painting has decorative parts, such as the golden bees embroidered on the chair. This

painting also has the presence of the light colors, and shades also displaying neoclassicism.

The Luncheon of the Boating

Party by Pierre-Auguste

Renoir 1881

“This painting captures an idyllic atmosphere as Renoir’s friends share food, wine, and

conversation on a balcony over looking the Seine at the Maison Fournaise restaurant in Chatou.

Parisians flocked to the Maison Fouraise to rent rowing skiffs, eat a good meal, or stay the night.
 Art Timeline 12

The painting also reflects the changing character of French society in the mid to late 19th century.

The restaurant welcomed customers of many classes, including businessmen, society woman,

artists, actresses, writers, etc. This very diverse group embodied a new Parisian society.”

[ CITATION The101 \l 1033 ]

This painting screams impressionism, because the style of this painting has bright colors in

immediate juxtaposition to represent the effect of the light on objects in the painting. The artist

put life into this painting; he has people in conversation, paying attention, listening, and being

comfortable as they sit and look at the scenery. The story of this painting is very interesting,

because as a viewer they would not guess this was a balcony that was actually a restaurant.
 Art Timeline 13

References

Art, T.N. (2010). The Collection of the National Gallery of Art. Retrieved from

www.nga.gov/collection/gallery

Collection, T.P. (2010). The Phillips Collection. Retrieved from www.phillipscollection.org