Four Periods In Art History: Journey Through Time Research Paper

Art History Time Travel Our first stop will be the eighteenth century, where we will investigate Neoclassical painting. We will be visiting Sir Joshua Reynolds, as he works on his 1770 oil on canvas "Portrait of a Black Man" -- and we will be asking if the heroic structure of the painting is meant to contain some sort of ideological message, for example asserting the humanity of his subject against the evils of slavery (which was then still common). We should also find out if indeed the portrait is of Dr. Samuel Johnson's servant Francis Barber, as Johnson's progressive attitude in opposing slavery (and his generous treatment of Barber, to whom he left his estate) might explain why this figure is treated heroically in the painting. Then we will visit Jacques-Louis David, as he works on his stark 1793 Neoclassical oil on canvas depiction of "The Death...

...

Our first stop will be in London in 1875, to interrogate the American painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler about his oil on canvas study "Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket." We will want to interrogate him about the lawsuit that he filed against the art critic John Ruskin, who accused him of "flinging a pot of paint in the public's face" with this daring painting. We will also interrogate Whistler as to whether he would consider the…

Sources Used in Documents:

The time machine will stop next in the later nineteenth century, when we will investigate some Impressionist painting. Our first stop will be in London in 1875, to interrogate the American painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler about his oil on canvas study "Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket." We will want to interrogate him about the lawsuit that he filed against the art critic John Ruskin, who accused him of "flinging a pot of paint in the public's face" with this daring painting. We will also interrogate Whistler as to whether he would consider the painting to be Impressionist or not -- it seems like he may have considered it to be straightforward realism (fading fireworks in the night sky do look like this painting) but chose the obscure subject to illustrate a Wildean idea of art for art's sake. We will then move to Claude Monet's garden at Giverny, where we will attempt to catch him completing his 1897-8 "Nympheas" (one of his famous paintings of water lilies, now in the LA County Museum of Art). Monet is a textbook Impressionist painter, but we will interrogate him as to whether his problems with his own eyesight (he developed cataracts) had any influence on his signature style.

In the first half of the twentieth century, we will investigate Surrealism. We will locate Meret Oppenheim in 1936, as she completes her notorious "Object" -- frequently known as "the fur teacup" or "the furry breakfast." Oppenheim's work is perhaps the most memorable example of Surrealism in sculpture -- but we can ask her if the dream-like associations of the piece (is it intended to be strongly vaginal? does it relate to her status as a woman artist?) were intentional on her part, or whether she was merely giving free rein to her subconscious as Surrealists frequently attempted. Then we will find Salvador Dali in 1954, as he completes his large and disturbing oil on canvas painting "Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized By The Horns Of Her Own Chastity." We can interrogate Dali as to the meaning of the symbolism of the painting: why would the chastity of a virgin take the form of a rhinoceros horn about to penetrate her own anus? Is Dali suggesting that sexual repression is self-destructive?

Finally in the latter half of the


Cite this Document:

"Four Periods In Art History Journey Through Time" (2014, March 25) Retrieved April 18, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/four-periods-in-art-history-journey-through-185937

"Four Periods In Art History Journey Through Time" 25 March 2014. Web.18 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/four-periods-in-art-history-journey-through-185937>

"Four Periods In Art History Journey Through Time", 25 March 2014, Accessed.18 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/four-periods-in-art-history-journey-through-185937

Related Documents

History Of Personal Computer Ceruzzi, P.E. (2010). "Ready or not, computers are coming to the people": Inventing the PC. OAH Magazine of History 24(3), pp. 25-28. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database. In late 1974, a young Boston-based electronics engineer read an article in Popular Electronics about small personal computers. He showed the article to a friend, Harvard undergrad William "Bill" Gates III, and the two soon formed a company to write software

Staircase ramps which are comprised of steep and narrow steps that lead up one face of the pyramid were more in use at that time with evidence found at the Sinki, Meidum, Giza, Abu Ghurob, and Lisht pyramids respectively (Heizer). A third ramp variation was the spiral ramp, found in use during the nineteenth dynasty and was, as its name suggests, comprised of a ramp covering all faces of the

sound technologies and sound design in Film Sound in films Experiments in Early Age Developments Crucial innovations Commercialization of sound cinema: U.S., Europe, and Japan Sound Design Unified sound in film production Sound designers in Cinematography Sound Recording Technologies History of Sound Recording Technology Film sound technology Modern Digital Technology History of sound in films Developments Sound Design Sound Recording Technologies The film industry is a significant beneficiary of performing arts. The liberal arts combined with latest techniques and advancements experienced a number of stages. The

Art Practice in the Past and Present Art practice A skill or mastery that stimulates the process of thought, amusement, and emotions is called an art. It is also defined as a special quality used by many people to express their feelings, approach and position. Dating back to 50,000 years ago, art has various forms that ground itself from sculptures, rock paintings, wall craving to modern paintings. Countries like Egypt, Persia, India,

Arts and Humanities in Rosseau's Second Discourse And Other Pieces Of Work Arts and Humanities in Rousseau's Second Discourse and other Pieces of Work In the second discourse, Rousseau changes progress and decries imprisoning in men, in a fabricated logic of civilization. Rousseau uses striking language, "the sciences, letters and arts….." However, he believes that the new arts and sciences portray the appearance but not the reality of virtue, which he believes

History of Communication
PAGES 14 WORDS 6119

History Of Communication Timeline TIMELINE: HISTORY OF COMMUNICATION (with special reference to the development of the motorcycle) 35,000 BCE. First paleolithing "petroglyphs" and written symbols. This is important in the history of communication because it marks the first time humans left a recorded form of communication. Also, these written symbols became the ultimate source of later alphabets. Wikipedia, "Petroglyph." 12,600 BCE. Cave paintings at Lascaux show early representational art. This is important in the history of communication