Vincent Van Gogh Essays (Examples)

Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands to a preacher and his early life had inauspicious surroundings. He was well into maturity when he realized his true vocation was painting, and though he developed his talent in isolation at first, his later experiences in Paris had a profound affect on his painting. Van Gogh is extremely famous for his insanity and mental difficulties, but these conditions also provided the basis for his genius. Van Gogh's unique vision of the world, a vision that he portrayed in rich but unusual colors and swirling brushstrokes, is extremely idiosyncratic and it is this vision that is most notable to viewers of his works. y viewing paintings from his period in elgium, his time in Paris, and his time in Arles, we can see how this unique vision of the world pervaded his works even as his technique developed.

Vincent Van Gogh was born…

Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh's work is nearly always identifiable instantly, due to the artist's characteristic use of vivid color and his intense, long brushstrokes. However, earlier van Gogh paintings are more subdued than his later canon. Paintings like "The Potato Eaters," for example, rely on darker palettes. After his inspiring encounter with Japanese woodblocks, van Gogh started to incorporate a richer color palette and his brushstrokes become lengthened almost like calligraphy strokes. Another noticeable element in van Gogh paintings after his encounter with Japanese woodblocks is a lack of lighting source. Unlike "The Potato Eaters," which has a definite source of light -- an incandescent bulb-- illuminating the table from above, most of van Gogh's later work has a generally even color value throughout the canvas. Rather than depict light coming from a distinct, singular, naturalistic source, the artist has chosen to disembody the light. Color value is dispersed,…

Vincent Van Gogh's Artwork Became Famous After His Death

Vincent van Gogh is one of the most well-known artists of all time. His works sell for extraordinary sums of money. Many artists like van Gogh became popular only after their death. Vincent contributed much to Western society. His artistic vision laid the groundwork for modern impressionism, abstraction and even expressionism. His technique is still admired today by artists and students alike. His artwork became popular after his death as more and more people began recognizing the subtle brilliance of his work. This idea is explored more below.

Artistic Style

Vincent Van Gogh is among the most well-known artists of all time. His work including The Starry Night and Sunflowers is often copied on post cards, posters and paintings from the home. Van Gogh is considered among the greatest of the "post-impressionist" artists. His artwork is well-known in part because of…

Vincent Van Gogh Sol LeWitt. References book "a world art" 7th ed. central Texas college edition. Written sere, henry m. chapters 4-6 250 words

Compare and contrast the use of line in the works of Vincent Van Gogh and Sol LeWitt.

Both the works of Vincent Van Gogh and Sol LeWitt are characterized by frequent deployment of bright, contrasting colors to create a particular aesthetic effect. But Van Gogh's use of line is vibrant, kinesthetic and trembling with emotions while LeWitt's works can best be characterized as being absent of emotions or at very least characterized by an attempt to contain the artist's emotions. Van Gogh's work is passionate; LeWitt's is objective. The use of lines in both men's works reflects their different attitudes and moods. LeWitt favors clean, sharp lines that give his work a print-like quality. Van Gogh uses textured ridges in his paintings that make the works…

There is a woman sitting in a chair, bent forward and resting her face in her right hand. She is looking toward the ground and seems to be very unhappy. The chair is very tall which makes it so that we can see her long dress. She is resting her feet on some type of box, but her feet cannot be seen. This drawing does not appear to have been signed.

There is no color in the drawing at all. The lines are very dark and thick -- especially the lines in her dress. There are also many lines on the wall behind her and on the floor below her, to show the shadows. The woman's face is the lightest part of the drawing. She seems to be looking at something in her lap but it is too dark to tell what it is. It may just be part of…

life of famed painter Vincent Van Gogh. The writer explores his life and the things that contributed to the path of his career. In addition the writer examines the works and changes of Van Gogh's style throughout a one decade period of work. There were five sources used to complete this paper.

If a picture paints a thousand words famed painter Vincent Van Gogh has contributed volumes to the world at large and he did it in a short time span. Through a ten-year period the work of Van Gogh ranged in style and meaning. Many of the changes he experienced were founded in the fact that he spent time with other artists. Van Gogh spent years trying to find his nitch in different fields until he discovered a talent for painting. Once that talent was awakened he spent a decade turning out classic works for the world to enjoy.…

On the contrary, if I had been able to be a clergyman or an art dealer, then perhaps I should not have been fit for drawing and painting, and I should neither have resigned nor accepted my dismissal as such. I cannot stop drawing because I really have a draughtsman's fist, and I ask you, have I ever doubted or hesitated or wavered since the day I began to draw? (Van Gogh, Letter to Theo, April 1882).

That he was a talented artist was undeniable. Yet, art was no substitute for religion, and, further still, art was no direct avenue to sanctifying grace. Van Gogh's increasing sense of alienation and feeling of despair would continue unabated -- evidenced by he and his brother Theo's inability to live together for long; the inability of his dream of an artists' collective (the artistic equivalent of a kind of monastic community) to come…

Van Gogh's "Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat" (1887)

ith an oeuvre of over 2000 works Van Gogh's artistic passion matched the intensity of his religious fervor. Religion and art were, essentially, the basis of Van Gogh's life. And the history of his life is, in a way, a history of modern Europe; in another way it is a history of the prelude to 20th century modern art; and in another way it is a lesson on the loss that Europe had suffered when it broke with its religious heritage and embarked on a course of Industrialization. This paper will discuss the meaning of Van Gogh's 1887 Self-Portrait and how it reflects deeper passions within Van Gogh -- passions that ran contrary to the modernization going on around him.

Religion was always very important to Van Gogh, and though the subject may seem incidental in his self-portraits, the sheer fact that…

By pointing straight up, it is emulating the church steeple, pointing perhaps to God, and Creator that has brought the stars and the moon and the clouds and the land to the people so they could build a village. In the village the lights are on in many of the houses, or are those bright windows merely reflecting the starry splendor from above?

In conclusion, Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night" received a great deal of exposure when Don McLean sang the song in 1970. Many listeners likely did not know at first the song was about Vincent Van Gogh, but a careful review of the lyrics clearly indicates that the song was an ode to the great expressionist. The painting will endure long after the song though. It will endure as long as humankind is still on the planet. And the planet is better for the fact that artists like…

Self-Portrait With Straw Hat

Journal by Vincent Van Gogh -- Self-portrait

So many artists have painted self-portraits. Self-portraiture requires the artist to turn his inner eye upon his raw soul. I paint myself as an observer of my physical qualities. But I am also in search of understanding myself. Why do I feel so alienated from the world, even from my friend Gauguin and my brother Theo? My quest to understand myself is never-ending. That is why I have painted myself so many times. This time I chose to paint my portrait with myself wearing a straw hat. I chose a brighter and lighter color scheme than I chose in my previous self-portraits of myself such as this one, Self-Portrait with Pipe and Glass.

The color arrangement of my most recent self-portrait highlights the darkness of my eyes in the midst of a sea of bright colors. Yes, it is…

Vincent Van Gogh: oman with a spade as seen from behind. (1885)

Vincent Van Gogh is a master artist whose works have fascinated the society for decades. The manner in which he portrays his subjects and the deliberation of each stroke gives a life like result that is a pleasure to see. Vincent Van Gogh went through life searching for the elusive perfection that he could capture on canvas.

Though many would say that his works are itself a perfect presentation, Van Gogh proved to be his own biggest critic. He stated in one his Letter 257 c. January 3, 1883, "By working hard, old man, I hope to make something good one day. I haven't yet, but I am pursuing it and fighting for it..." thus were immortalizing his own life. e could have aptly used these words to write his eulogy for the search for something better is…

Vincent Van Gogh, Frank Lloyd right and Madeleine Vionnet. hat did this 19th century artist, architect, and fashion designer share in common? Very simply: They all incorporated Japanese techniques into their works of genius. hen Commodore Perry opened the doors to this Eastern country in 1853, an abundance of unique and influential styles of art rushed out and captured the imaginations of artists throughout the estern world. As author Emile Zola once said,

It is certain that our students painting with black bitumen, were surprised and enhanced by these horizons, these beautiful vibrating spots of the Japanese painters in watercolours. There was a simplicity of means and an intensity of effect which struck our young artists and then influenced them with a painting filled with air and light

This flow of Japanese artistic riches and influence continues to this day. Ask any graphic designers including those at alt Disney Company…

Pissarro took a special interest in his attempts at painting, emphasizing that he should 'look for the nature that suits your temperament', and in 1876 Gauguin had a landscape in the style of Pissarro accepted at the Salon. In the meantime Pissarro had introduced him to Cezanne, for whose works he conceived a great respect-so much so that the older man began to fear that he would steal his 'sensations'. All three worked together for some time at Pontoise, where Pissarro and Gauguin drew pencil sketches of each other (Cabinet des Dessins, Louvre).

Gauguin settled for a while in ouen, painting every day after the bank he worked at closed.

Ultimately, he returned to Paris, painting in Pont-Aven, a well-known resort for artists.

X...for pic

Le Christ Jaune (the Yellow Christ) (Pioch, 2002) Still Life with Three Puppies 1888 (Pioch, 2002)

In "Sunny side down; Van Gogh and Gauguin," Martin…

art time period (1860-1910) catches eye, reviewed Case assignment. It reminds event life kind emotional reaction . I ntroduce report information artist, work chose reflects Impressionist values, information helps understand work.

Van Gogh's "Starry Night"

Vincent Van Gogh's 1889 painting Starry Night is certainly compelling and likely to captivate the attention of any individual seeing it for the first time. There is something special about this particular artwork, as it virtually transports viewers to a surreal world, one that Van Gogh designed especially with the purpose of having people confused and hypnotized at the same time. The fact that the painting is one of the most replicated works in the modern era makes it possible for someone to understand the impact it has had on society and the fact that it has come to be one of humanity's defining works. "One of the beacons of The Museum of Modern Art,…

The perspective might seem extreme. In this sense, it is important to understand that Van Gogh was trying to break free from the limitations of the perspective frame which imposed realistic perspectives and proportions. Moreover, towards the end of his life, at the peak of his artistic maturity, he rebelled against the muted colors that Dutch painters were using at the time.

tylistically, the task of understanding Van Gogh's paintings cannot be undertaken without a proper look at what Post-Impressionism meant. Post-Impressionism took Impressionism to another level. However, Post-Impressionists continued to use vivid colors and real-life subject matter, as well as thick layering of paint. In addition, nonetheless, Post-Impressionists rejected the confines of Impressionism which upheld natural colors and traditional forms. From this point-of-view, Van Gogh along with other Post-Impressionists such as Cezanne, Gaugain and Bonnard, blurred the limitations of conventional form, and distorted it in order to increase the…

Art

La Berceuse (Woman Rocking

Cradle) (Augustine-Alix

Pellicot Roulin, 1851-1930), 1889.

incent van Gogh

Dutch, 1853-1890). Oil on canvas. The Walter H. And Leonore Annenberg Collection,

Partial Gift of Walter H. And Leonore Annenberg, 1996

The world of art is diverse and rich coming together for appreciation overcoming all cultural barriers. The story of an Gogh and his astounding genius while creating canvases has captivated the interest and attention of millions around the world. Even when people cannot afford art they appreciated the creativity and charm that each of his pictures brings forth. Each of his strokes has a life of its own and the lifelike creation gives an illusion of perfection that is hard to imitate.

The Metropolitan Museum boasts one of his best creative efforts done late in his artistic life. ery near the time of his breakdown at Arles.

La Berceuse or a Woman Rocking a Cradle…

Art Critique

Critique of Surreal and Post-Impressionist Works of Art

Dali's Autumn Cannibalism (1936) http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/dali_retrospective/dali_pma_05_07.htm

Salvador Dali is one of the great and mercurial figures in art history. The surrealistic Spanish painter was influenced heavily by the tumultuous period of history in which he lived and by the haunting images in his own psyche. Both are on dramatic display in the 1936 piece, "Autumn Cannibalism." Here, Dali paints a depiction of the military conflict tearing his motherland apart from within, offering us this terrifying rendering of civil war as seen through the eyes of one consumed by it.

In the confrontation between the social commentary and the internal reflection that comprise this piece, Dali creates a piece that is decidedly representative of the surrealist movement both in aesthetic and motif. In spite of Dali's incredible influence, surrealism was ultimately a short-lived movement, leaving its impression on the art world through…

The Oxbow" shows the confidence of Americans of the period in technology and progress, as embodied in the Industrial Revolution, and also the ability of Americans to discipline the wilderness through agriculture, rail roads, and other emerging technologies of the day. Van Gough's landscape shows the European shift in painting from outward depictions of heroic subjects with unerring detailed accuracy to a concern with how the landscape can reveal impressions of the artist's own unique vision. However, one Cole scholar has suggested: "in the lazy turn of the great oxbow -- echoed by the circling birds at the edge of the storm -- we can make out the shape of a question mark: where is all this headed," in short that even in this American confidence there is tension and doubt (Johns, 1996).

The tension of "Starry Night" is within the soul, not in practical questions of where the future…

Art

The Portrait of Joseph Roulin by Vincent Van Gogh is Van Gogh's representation of his friend and idol, Joseph Roulin. The portrait is a drawing, rendered in brown ink and black chalk. While impressionistic, the portrait is also realistic- conveying an actual resemblance to a person. This portrait was significant because it was painted during Van Gogh's period in Arles, France. While productive in Arles, Van Gogh was also relatively isolated, and considered Roulin one of his dearest friends. This is interesting because Roulin is not depicted in a friendly manner, but appears severe and somewhat imposing. This may be because Van Gogh believed Roulin was an impressive and was man, as well as a dear friend. Therefore, his choice of medium may have been made in order to convey wisdom, rather than friendliness.

Girl before a Mirror by Pablo Picasso is an oil on canvas. Like Picasso's other…

Reality Is Relative

Upon viewing the Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

and Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern by Robert Howlett it became apparent that Realism and Post Impressionism can become blurred and are not as distinct as one might initially believe. In fact, although one is a painting and the other a black and white photograph, the images, though completely different, have striking similarities.

he Starry Night is an oil on canvas painting with vivid colors and roiling gusts in the sky. hese energetic gusts appear large and volatile and ever changing. he stars too, appear large in the sky, as do the trees, in comparison to the village. he village is compartmentalized and smaller than the depictions of the elements of nature. hus, it is the background which begs attention and demands notice.

Isambard Kingdom brunel and the Launching Chains of the…

Maintenance is often put on hold until it is desperately needed, rather than a simple preventative measure. I believe Mainella is unknown, and most Americans, who do not understand the scope and depth of the Park Service and what it tries to accomplish, misunderstand her work.

Mainella has a background in Parks and Recreation, and has been recognized by some peer groups for her work. However, I believe that in the future, as she manages the Park Service more effectively, that she will become more well-known and well thought of. The Park System needs renovation, just as many of the parks need renovation. Through new volunteers, additional publicity, and tireless work, the people of the National Parks attempt to reach more visitors every year, and as they do, these visitors take home a unique and often majestic experience. To allow more volunteers to interact with visitors and bring their own…

My letters to my brother Theo often touch upon this theme."

Q: hat was your relationship like in Arles?

Gaugin: "I would say that Vincent definitely needed me more than I needed him. Vincent was always looking for a friend, you know -- a kindred spirit. His brother Theo was sympathetic but separate from him. In me he found someone who shared his passion for art and who understood what he was trying to accomplish. But Vincent was unstable and our relationship was often frustrated by his inability to reconcile himself to the artist's lonely lot. I, certainly, was more comfortable being a loner."

Van Gogh: "My sojourn in Arles in a rented yellow house, which I depicted on canvas in my typically thickly-applied, brightly colored 1888 painting, would end in a kind of portentous delirium. Gauguin's stay and my increasing reliance upon the Frenchman proved a misstep. Gauguin's insufferable…

To illustrate these different views, he creates Starry Night over the Rhone. This shows the sense of anticipation that is occurring before the evening begins. As he is depicting, a quit outdoor cafe that is waiting for: the customers to begin arriving and the festivities to commence. To illustrate this sense of anticipation he uses different colors and lighter brush strokes. As there is: yellow, black, blue, tan and gray; to highlight the overall emotions that Van Gogh is feeling (when he reflects on his life in Paris). At the same time, the lighter brush strokes are used to show the changes of time that are taking place, by making the background somewhat blurry. This is important, because it is illustrating how the artist is trying to create that sense of realism and the passage of time, by showing their positive emotions about their past lives. ("Vincent Van Gough," 2011)…

(oime, et. al.).

Similarly, author James Joyce helped define the modernist novel by taking the traditionalist concept of telling a coming of age story and adding to it the modernist characteristics of open form, free verse, discontinuous narrative and classical allusions. The result is a novel that, like Starry Night, captures the movement and color of the real world.

Perhaps no other work of Joyce's demonstrates his modernist characteristics then his magna opus, Ulysses. At its core, Ulysses is a retelling of the classic tale by Homer, the Odyssey.

One of the main uses of modernism is found in the final, unpunctuated chapter, popularly referred to as Molly loom's Soliloquy, a long, free verse (or stream of consciousness) passage that list her thoughts as she lies in bed next to the main character, Leopold loom. This is a key modernist passage as it reads as human dreams or thoughts really…

An option to display "hot spots" highlights select paintings on the wall.

Viewers can also easily zoom in and out to focus on objects contained in that room, and the QuickTime interface also allows virtual visitors to enter an adjoining room visually. Thus, the QuickTime version may be more useful for working with elementary-age children because of the more fun, game-like atmosphere the virtual tour creates. Older children and adults, however, would enjoy the QuickTime and standard versions of the tour equally. In both the QuickTime and the standard interface, clicking on one of the hypertext items or on the floor plan map allows visitors to move from room to room. Virtual visitors using on the standard interface can pan the camera in each room, too, using the arrows below the image. Except for the heightened, point-and-click ability to pan, zoom, and view "hot spots" on the photographic image itself,…

Perhaps one of the best description of the painting is made by the painter himself in a letter to his brother: "I have a canvas of cypresses with some ears of wheat, some poppies, a blue sky like a piece of Scotch plaid; the former painted with a thick impasto . . . And the wheat field in the sun, which represents the extreme heat, very thick too."

With Monet, La Grenouillere seems a simple artistic exercise, an expression of his creative style in a purely rational manner. The combination between a realistic expression of the external environment and his capacity to innovate comes naturally in this case: there are people on a boat on the water, with trees surrounding them and the sky above them. The people are barely sketched, but this is in no way an expression of mental disorder, because it fits wonderfully in the work and…

Like Picasso, Van Gogh (though with an old world soul) would find fullest expression once landing in Paris. After a year of being in the company of other Impressionists like Paul Signac -- and being in a city that itself so filled with history, Catholicity, and romance -- Van Gogh's soul brightened from its gloomier days in search of a Protestant mission: his 1886 painted bulbs are the reflection of a spirit that has found something fresh and intense. The orange-red bulbs are off-set by the pointillist backdrop of blue. The copper vase brilliantly brings the whole work to life, reflecting a seemingly new light in Van Gogh's life and style. Here in Paris he was at home. One need not wonder at the new light that is reflected here: according to "the painter Emile Bernard…Vincent was courting "La Segatori," the Italian owner of the Tambourin cafe on the boulevard…

Post-Impressionist artists were interested in the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche, particularly in his concept of the Ubermensch, a superman who would be capable through intense struggle of surmounting the lower forces that would limit his ability to achieve. The idea that man could evolve beyond his present capacities influenced the relationship of European man to previous cultures and to contemporary but less "civilized" societies. This paper explores the ways in which Paul Gauguin applied the Ubermensch concept to his art and to his life, and examines parallel motifs in the oeuvres of his contemporaries.

The Artist Gauguin: Man, Nature, Ubermensch and God

At the beginning of the enaissance, Massacio painted The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and initiated a new view of humanity: an intensely personal and emotionalized struggle against fate. In spite of the Neo-Classical return to the formal norms of the past, the…

(a.D.A.M., 2008) Neurosyphilis has been speculated as the cause for eccentricites among well-known figures such as Henry VIII, Vincent Van Gogh, Adolf Hitler, Oscar Wilde, and Friedrich Nietzsche (McMyne, 2008). Oddly, some dementia caused by syphilis is preceded by a phase of mania and euphoria in which patients feel excitable and "high," often with relaxed inhibitions (Hayden, 2003).

In the United States today, syphilis rarely progresses beyond the first or second stage since treatment is widely available. Upon diagnosis, antibiotics such as penicillin or tetracycline are administered; follow-up tests must be performed at three, six, and twelve month intervals to ensure complete removal of the infection. Syphilis is always contagious, particularly in the first and second stages, so all sexual partners should be notified and treated as well. If treated during the primary stage, syphilis is completely curable with no risk of permanent health damage. Unfortunately, initial symptoms may be…

Impressionism vs. Post-Impressionism

Impressionism vs. Post

This paper will explore impressionism vs. post-impressionism including the influences of each on each other and society, and the effects of each other on the 19th century. The paper will ascertain how one period revived or continued the style and characteristics of the other, or how one period originated in reaction to the other. Impressionist paintings tended to focus less on detail and more on making impressions of form and figure, as the name implies. The brush strokes were less inclined to add detail and structure or order. Post-impressionists considered this trivial, and created artistic work that was decidedly more expressive according to some; more organized and structured, the Post-Impressionist movement could be best described as a response to the Impressionist movement. Some focused on methods including Pointillism, or the use of dots of color, whereas others used bright fresh colors used by Impressionists…

Lewin and the Personality

Kurt Lewin was a Jewish psychologist from Prussia, who immigrated to America following Hitler's rise to power in Germany. There Lewin developed what later became known as "sensitivity training" in America (Lasch-Quinn, 2001). This area of expertise allowed Lewin to focus his attention on subjects with extra attention and care and it was this insightulness into how personalities are shaped that helped him to realize that humans are shaped by a complex interaction of both nature and nurture and not simply one over the other. What Lewin realized was that humans are born with natural predispositions (personalities) but that those predispositions are also affected and influenced by the environment in which one is born and raised. So there is an interplay between the two.

This idea of Lewin's originate in, and is what also gave him the ability to write, A Dynamic Theory of Personality, which…

Museum Paintings

Fauvism in 20th-century Paintings

The medium I have selected for the time line I will be working on for the museum website is 20th-century Western painting, sharing the common theme of Fauvism.

th-century Western painting began with the weighty influence of painters like Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec and the like - all of whom played critical roles in shaping the modern art. At the start of the 20th-century Henri Matisse, along with a number of other young artists including Andre Derain, aoul Dufy, and Maurice de Vlaminck collectively influenced the existing Paris art scene by introducing "bold," vividly vibrant paintings of landscapes and figure. The style adopted by these young artists that have been referred to as Fauvism by critics. Fauvism is predominantly talked about as the style characteristic of the works of a seemingly loose group of Modern artists in…

It would have been as ridiculous for a working class man or woman to make art as it would have for that same person to become an accountant. Still, artists throughout time have snuck in their personal values in their paintings. Hieronymous Bosch is one of the artists I believe to have inserted personal values into Church-commissioned art.

Even in the modern era, art is still entwined with money. The artist needs to live, sure. But that is not the only connection between art and money. Art galleries exist because art has become big money. Art symbolizes wealth. No ordinary person can afford "real" art. Ordinary people purchase prints and reproductions, not original pieces by known or up-and-coming artists.

Art is like any other commodity now, for better or for worse. Artists have a greater chance than ever of making a viable living, given the plethora of opportunities in graphic…

Richards, Reverend, former member of the senior staff of the Episcopal Bishop, also expressed concerns regarding Nouwen. Richards questioned whether Nouwen as the "wounded healer" encouraged "a kind of displayed vulnerability and a disincentive to growth that does not serve the priest or the church well."

In the final years of his life, Nouwen, admitted publically that he was a homosexual and "ministered" to others, not out of his strengths, but out of his own wounds.

riting

In the essay, he co-authored with Donald P. McNeill and Douglas a. Morrison, Compassion: A Reflection on Christian Life, Nouwen wrote that compassionate people go directly to those who are suffering most and lives with them there. Compassion, Nouwen stressed, does not comprise a "bending toward the under privileged from a privileged position; & #8230;not a reaching out from on high to those… less fortunate below; & #8230; not a gesture of sympathy…

Vienna and Paris

in the Decade 1900-1910

Vienna and Paris in the Decade 1900-1910

Europe of 1900 -- 1910 saw the rise of several cultural meccas, including Vienna and Paris. Vienna was a center of literary, cultural and artistic advancement in "middle" Europe, enjoying booming population and innovative developments in all those spheres, even as it endured the rising tide of anti-liberal, anti-Semitic Christian Social forces. In keeping with this innovation, Vienna's music enjoyed avant garde developments of Art Nouveau from Paris, notably represented in Vienna by the works of composers Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schonberg. As Vienna became the literary, cultural and artistic center of "middle" Europe, Paris became the literary, cultural and artistic center of the orld. Drawing exceptionally gifted people from the entire globe, Paris boasted the first Olympics to include women and the orld's Fair of 1900. Reveling in its invention of Art Nouveau, Paris also…

GUGGENHEIM need a fighter, a lover of space, an agitator, a tester and a wise man.... I want a temple of spirit, a monument!

Hilla Rebay to Frank Lloyd Wright, 1943

Just say "The Guggenheim" and most people immediately get a quick mental picture of the marvelous building in New York - that immense spring spreading its coils toward the sky while resting on a broad and steady base. It is the most astonishing building from the outside and what's inside is even more amazing. Commissioned by Guggenheim's personal art advisor, Hilla Rebay, and designed by the innovative architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1940s, it is indeed a monument and a testament to the innovators and artists whose work lies within its coiled walls.

Solomon R. Guggenheim commissioned the building to hold his ever-growing Museum of Non-Objective Painting. Today, the Guggenheim houses one of the most impressive collections of…

People have their unique perspectives and beliefs they use to get them through life and life’s obstacles. Some have a fixed mindset, while others have a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is when someone believes they have fixed traits, things like talent or intelligence. For them, there is no need to develop, but rather, document. A growth mindset on the other hand helps someone generate productivity and motivation in the areas of sports, education, and business. It is the growth mindset that allows people to innovate and develop their skills and traits to reach their potential. Not everyone is suitable to a growth mindset just like for the fixed mindset. It is important to acknowledge both mindsets and their benefits and disadvantages to better understand what can be learned from both. Ultimately, both mindsets have their place at any given point in someone’s life and should be considered.

What is…

The black in the male cafe patrons' suits, renders an aura of sophistication. The combination of white and black grabs the eye and creates a sense of movement that corresponds with the lively dancing.

Painted only 12 years later, Van Gogh's "Night Cafe" conveys a completely different cafe ambiance. Whereas Renoir's cafe is full of life and light, Van Gogh's is strikingly lonely, occupied by a few sullen drunks with their heads on their tables and the central figure who stands next to a billiards table. Van Gogh uses muddy hues to parallel the theme of the painting. Renoir's black and white affair conveys a bourgeois ambiance, and Van Gogh's ruddy earth tones clearly impart a working class sensibility. Moreover, Van Gogh's cafe uses indoor lighting, which is less inspirational than the uplifting feeling from the open-air "Le Moulin de la Galette." Correspondingly, Van Gogh uses yellow for lights rather…

Western Art and Christianity

During the past millennium, Western art has been heavily influenced by Christianity. Art is an extension of the many complex thoughts and images that swim within an artist's mind. Because many Western artists have traditionally been raised in a Christian environment, it is difficult for their religious beliefs to be fully separated from their artwork, and oftentimes it is embraced in the works, or a patron has requested it be the specific subject matter. Although this heavy Christian influence would see a swift departure during the Renaissance, it would remain engrained in Western culture until the present day.

The Reformation heralded a swift separation between Christians in Europe, as Roman Catholics and Protestants divided roughly along a North to South split. Protestants seemed to dominate the North while the South remained dominated by Catholic countries. While much of the art in Protestant countries retained a secular…

As a result, the artists are both directly challenging the traditional Paris Academy style (Stokstad, 2011, pg. 928, 978)

Stylistic Differences

The differences in the paintings are evident in subject matter and style. Fuseli is telling a story through: imagination and creating an incubus to trouble the woman. The main colors in the painting are hues of red with the woman clothed in white (perhaps a reference to purity and virtuosity). Fuseli is in line with other Romantics, with his personal touch to a situation, intertwining passion and fear in a highly imaginative portrayal of a woman being seduced. The idea that the seduction is unwarranted by the woman is identified through: the name of the piece -- the Nightmare.

Manet's Olympia is a prime example of the Realist period. The painting appears to be realistic display of his use of light. The effects of this on the painting were…

Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson

The Poem Because I Could Not Stop For Death by Emily Dickinson is both morose and whimsical. Making light of the speed at which people live their lives Dickinson thanks Death for think of taking the time to stop and pick her up by the side of the road. The whimsical language of the opening stanza;

Because I could not stop for Death

He kindly stopped for me

The Carriage held but just Ourselves

And Immortality

Dickinson)

Gives the impression that the weight of the images of death and immortality is trivial at best. The whimsy continues as Dickinson describes the proverbial life flashing before her eyes as the landscape passes the carriage without haste. As can be seen from a critical analysis of the language of the piece, Dickinson whimsically plays with the heady issues of Death, Immorality and Eternity as if they…