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Degas: The Impressionist that Wasn’t
When is an Impressionist not an Impressionist? Answer: when that Impressionist is Edgar Degas. Degas is considered to be one of the key participants in the Impressionist movement; however, he took objection to this and tried to distance himself as much as possible from being characterised in this manner. Whilst his contemporaries delighted in spontaneity, bright colours, and the effect of light, Degas maintained that his art was completely devoid of spontaneity. The study of the old masters and an interest in realism and composition, this is what shaped the artist’s work and style. This evolution in personal style and approach to art is reflected in the change in genre…
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Erase the line between Genius and Insanity!
Being labelled a genius puts one precariously close to being pigeonholed as insane. Where insanity is recognised as the repetition of the same action over and over, is genius not finally achieving some far-fetched goal, whether it is in science, maths, or art? History is littered with larger than life talents that we still learn about in our studies and discuss with our peers: Einstein, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, etc. Artists made sketches and drafts of the way the human body works, whether in physical labour or dancing, to better portray the human condition in their paintings. Michelangelo and Degas are not only famous for the Sistine Chapel and Impressionism respectively,…
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Why We Owe Spain a Big “Gracias”
This is how I started my office questionnaire (I take my research for these blogs very seriously): “What has Spain given the world….go:” These were the answers I received (and yes, some of the responders are Spanish): Helicopters “America” “Hot men” Tortilla
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Role Models
The Role Model Essay. Yep, I can hear the groans now. Remember that wonderful paper that you had to write in high school, which perhaps even swayed the college acceptance letter towards a yes or a no? Well, that’s the subject I’m going to be pontificating about today. I can smugly sit here and say that I never had to write such an essay. However, that does not mean that I never thought about it. Please, with all of the American teen drama shows/films/series, there is no escaping that one second of seeing the angst of ‘Who do I write about’ and wondering about it for yourself! (Possible references here…
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Beaux-Arts, fromage, guillotines, and other French concepts
I started learning French about ten months ago. It was an idea that I toyed with for the ridiculously large span of one to thirteen years prior (when it was offered in middle school and my dearest mother thought Spanish would prove more useful in my future and made me study it instead – I will neither agree or disagree with that point all of these years later). Initially this venture, ten months ago, started out of spite – I was surrounded by French speakers and could never get a word in edgewise because I never knew what the hell they were talking about. I planned to learn it the…
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Doodling with Picasso
The British Museum has managed to wheedle the donation of all one-hundred of Picasso’s etchings which make up the Vollard Suite – no, not the name of a room in a curiously themed hotel, but a massive series of prints created in exchange for a couple of paintings, including two by Cézanne and Renoir. The critics are clambering all over each other to fawn, simper and gush about the prints and to offer their unsolicited opinions about what the lines and shading could possibly mean, squabbling like children over who can kiss the most arse. I agree that the series does reveal the inner workings of the mind of the…
This is an interactive art blog in multi languages, you will find new articles on artists, art history, exhibitions, etc. Contributions welcome.
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