PAINTINGS GALLERIES

GALLERIES OF PAINTINGS

2015-12-31T23:59:00.010+05:30

It is impossible to think about our life without the colours. And the most striking example of display of the colours is the rainbow; when we look at it, it would seem that the colours of whole of the earth are sprayed on it. Here are some articles in which I have tried to introduce some of the players of these colour field, the artists and their styles.

No claim is made that these articles would make you an artist overnight. Neither it would be an easy journey on the land of art. But here you would find systematic guidance and narration of the paintings done by some of the master painters of the bygone era and modern time. The colourful plate offered here is full of illustrative drawings, wonderfully done watercolour paintings, and the unforgettable oil colours. The medium like acrylic is also narrated.

What is Painting

Painting, in simple words, is an act of applying paints on any surface. It would mean airbrushing, coating, enameling, splashing of colours or even varnishing. In fact the painting includes all of these; but it is much more than the sum of these acts. There are ways and means to describe the technical aspects and scientific effect of various colours in our mind. But the main reason we love colours and paintings are that these colours lives in our sensibilities. We love them spread in any form.

I, the writer of these articles, Naval Langa, am happy to share some of the essentials of art. Though using this limited space for such a purpose is like crossing the Atlantic in a small boat. But While going through these articles, you would feel as gazing out of window of an airplane, surveying general topography. So shall we start? First of all let us look at the paintings by what types of colours the artists use. Now a day the artists have wide choices, to use Pencil, Charcoal, Patel Colours, Water Colours, Oil Colours, and Acrylic Colours. But the most of the artworks can be classified in three major categories.

PENCIL DRAWING ----- WATER COLOUR ---- OIL COLOUR

We will look into the detailed study with beautiful images. Were we to classify the paintings by the subjects, it would be like this:

Portrait Painting -----

Landscape Painting ----

Painting Cities and Towns

Paintings by Periods

Human race have tried to communicate ideas and express passions through painting since the ancient time. Were we to classify the paintings done by the master artists by their periods, we can do it roughly. It is because the various theories of paintings have evolved and practiced by these artists, who have lived overlapping their periods or life, too. Let us put these great artists into segments like these:

The paintings done between fourteenth and period before nineteenth century can be classified roughly into these categories.

Renaissance Paintings (1300 - 1600)

Classism Painting (1520 - 1600)

Romanticism Painting ( 1790 - 1880)

During nineteenth century, the world had seen many technological and social changes. The world of art has always followed such changes. During this segment of time, the artists worked under these theories of painting.

Pre-Raphaelilte Brotherhood (1848 - 1854)

Impressionism (1863 - 1890)

Hudson River School (1850 - 1880)

Other style of paintings which were started and practice mainly during this period includes the Realism Realism painting, Genre Painting, and Pointillism Style of Painting.

Modern Art

The word modern art refers to the paintings done mostly during twentieth century. There are several art movements which were practiced during nineteenth century and have found their way into the modern period, too. Here are some of the art movements or the styles of paintings done during this slot of time.

Cubism Painting -----

Fauvism Painting -----

Surrealism Painting

There are other styles of paintings which were either practiced by a group of artists or in a particular country. These styles of paintings include the styles of paintings, some of which were practiced over a large period of time and some have lived for a specific period only.

Other Styles of Painting

The Subjects : The subjects covered here are broadly comprise of still life, landscape, figurative paintings, miniatures, portrait painting, and basic art like pencil drawing. The most recurring theme would be to explore that how the artists see the objects lying before their eyes and how they conceive these objects in their minds. This part consists of the main lessons in the art of painting. The emotional and artistic process, the mental traffic through which an artists passes, and how the artists reflect to these phenomenon: these would be some surprise brush strokes you would see in the following articles. (Image courtesy By Sakurambo at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0-migrated-with-disclaimers or GFDL-en], from Wikimedia Commons)

CHAGALL: Painting a Virgin Visual Language

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If an artist is given a free choice to make a home, he or she would catch the first available fight to Paris. Marc Chagall did the same. His local life made him running away from the environment and he lived in Paris. Born in Russia, Chagall had lived best of his years in France. His incidental stays in Berlin and St. Petersburg and other cities in the surround gave him opportunity to blend his style of painting giving an east European tilt. Chagall, himself being of Jewish origin, had a deep liking for Jewish Folk culture that he depicted in his paintings.

Young Marc Chagall

The Russian rule prevailing in the town Vitebsk in which Chagall passed his childhood disallowed Jewish children to study in schools. When Chagall told her mother that “I want to be a painter, she could hardly figure out what he actually meant. But his first teacher and a realist painter Yehuda (Yuri) Pen could understand what the budding artist meant. Pen realised the sense of discipline Chagall had in work and the young man’s capacity to understand the value and meaning of the colours. He would not charge him a single penny for the training he imparted to Chagall. The portrait given here is of young Marc Chagall and it is done by his teacher Yehuda Pen. However Chagall did not confined himself to the sphere of portrait making his mentor teacher was mostly interested. (Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons )

Marc Chagall’s Style of Paintings

If we imagine Chagall standing surrounded by the galleries, he would see the world’s most remarkable paintings done in the style of cubism, fauvism and symbolism. It was the time when Paris was zooming with modernist artists like Picasso and his contemporaries. Chagall interlaced all of these styles of paintings to use it for weaving his own canvases. He lived a long life of almost a century (1887 – 1985), the environment hold him and mould his artistic outputs. His commissioned works for UNO and Cathedrals are like the treasure of the art-world. The illustrations done for literary books and Bible are also memorable art-pieces he produced.

In Paris Chagall had ample opportunities to get merged in the ocean of modernity of the art, created by Picasso, Matisse and Braque. Chagall did it partially. While developing his highly original style, he blended most of the elements of traditional Jewish culture with technique of modern art. This mixture embedded elegance into his paintings, making him known as a cross- country artists.

Symbolism in Chagall's Art

The work of any artist should not be taken on it face value, as it seems. The artist like Chagall would inject symbols to give a message to the world through his paintings. The symbolism can be dependent on any thing, the environment, the religion or tastes of an artist. No artist's work can remain untouched by the events happening in his or her personal life. It is well-known fact that Chagall has lived a life of chaos, forcing him to flee to Paris first and then to New York. The war had played such a havoc in his career as an artists. This had generated a trans-formative effect on his artistic mind. It shaped and nourished his style of painting, too. His paintings, for a specific period, narrated and symbolized the anguish, as he was forced to leave his home land first and then the adopted home. He was a Jew by birth, but the crucifixion of Christ was the subject he chose for depicting pain and suffering. the darkness of his colours give us the message of destructiveness and the acute suffering.

Chagall's Paintings done With Nostalgic Fervour.

Chagall had sweet memories of the days passed in his home town Vitebsk. he once wrote that. "My homeland exists only in my soul". This had led his mind choosing the nostalgic subjects which were based on the places and the events he encountered in his childhood. Assuming his home town as a personal identity, he wrote that "I did not live with you, but I didn't have one single painting that didn't breathe with your spirit and reflection".

I and the Village

In one of his famous paintings, I and the Village (1911), that he painted after coming to Paris, Chagall had let the flood of his memories flowing in full swing. Done in the style of cubism, that he acquired and accepted as medium of expression, this painting seems like an index of the floating images from his past life. Look at the transparent spaces. It reminds us the Chagall's love for the glass painting he would be doing in the coming years. If we look closely at this painting, it depicts the artist's strong desire for security. The face of a man staring at a cow is symbolic, as the cow is considered as a symbol of security in the villages. The houses in backyard are similar to the homes he had left far behind in his homeland Vitebsk. ( Image courtesy Wikipedia)

The images Chagall painted were highly innovative. While richly injecting his canvases with the imaginations, his artistic aim was trying to write a virgin visual language. And he greatly succeeded in his aim. (The image below courtesy Wikipedia)

Fiddler (1912 - 1913) Done by Marc Chagall

Colour Portraits: Hollywood Actresses

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PASTEL COLOR PORTRAIT: Aishwarya Ray

The Portraits of Indian Cine stars. Colour Drawing of Miss World.

Aishwarya Rai now Aishwarya Bachchan is an Indian actress. her classical work in latest film Devdas was very much acclaimed all over the world. Known as Aishwarya or sometimes only as Ash or Aish, she is former Miss world.

Aishwarya Ray, originally uploaded by LouisArt.

Aishwarya Rai was declared Miss World in the year 1994. When she was not working with the film industry, she was attached exclusively with the fashion world. Here she worked as a model and gaining fame and fortune.

The Miss world Aishwarya, who is also known and cited by the media as the most beautiful woman in the world, has entered the field of Indian Cinema by doing a nice role in one of the Tamil film. This film was directed by one of the most celebrated film directors of India, Mani Ratnam.

The unmatched beauty Aishwarya carries with her has become the icon for the women in India and abroad. It has affected the fashion trends in India, The sari and clothes Aishwarya wears become famous overnight. The too. The trendy jeans, the new models of watches, and even imitation jewellery are sold with her modelling help.

AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN

Once she was declared Miss world, the film producers in Bollywood had started queuing at her door to offer her a role in their films. She has also worked in Hollywood films. (Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons By IndiaFM [CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons)

PASTEL COLOR PORTRAIT: Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie, originally uploaded by LouisArt.

The name Angelina Jolie is synonymous for the huge popularity. The graph of her popularity can be seen form the fact that how many fashion products sold in market are attached with her name. We would amazed to know that the dealers in the luxury articles like blue jeans to recent model of cars or soap products want her face to boost their sale. Those who deal in presumes, hair colors, hair oils, bathing soap or any other aesthetic products; they all want Angeline Jolie's face on the packing of their products.

PASTEL COLOR PORTRAIT: Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993) was one of the most beautiful faces in the Hollywood. She was famous; she was even modest about her success in the film career. This British model and actress ruled the silver screen of films during her career. In her later years she had devoted her most of the time for the charity works.

Audrey Hepburn, originally uploaded by LouisArt.

Her most critical period of time was the spell during the World War II. She had even performed as ballerina in a programmes conducted to collect money for Dutch Resistance. All the performance of the dance remained secret. Audrey once said that: The best audience I ever had made not a single sound at the end of my performances.

PASTEL COLOR PORTRAIT: Beyonce

Full Name: Beyoncé Giselle Knowles

Birth Date: September 4, 1981

Beyonce, originally uploaded by LouisArt.

Beyoncé is well-known and called by her fans as Beyoncé. She has several talents in her purse. To name a few, she is an American R&B singer, a songwriter, a record producer, an actress and a model. She was born and brought up in the city of Houston, Texas, Beyonce had enrolled herself in various performing arts schools.

From the childhood years, she had started appearing in the concerts of songs and music. Her first exposure to singing and dancing competitions was as a child. Beyonce received her due fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer. she is attached with the girl group Destiny's Child. The sale of her records has crossed the figure of 50 million records worldwide.

PASTEL COLOR PORTRAIT: Celine Dion

Since the day I heard the Titanic song, I like the velvet like voice of this singer.

If a husband mortgages his house for making our a record of songs of her beloved wife, we can understand how confident he would be about the success of his risky enterprise. The woman singer must have an extraordinary sweet voice. Yes it was like this. and the name of this voice, for whom this has been done, is Celine Dion.

Celine Dion, originally uploaded by LouisArt.

Celine's Life

Born on 30, March 1968, Celine Marie Claudette Dion is a Canadian French singer. She sings; she writes the songs; and she wins the hearts of the music lovers. Her velvety voice and the sweet turns of the words make the hearts of the listeners throbbing and the ears pleasant. She has made her career on the fame and love of the listeners love and affection.

Celine Dion's Career

Success was Celine's close friend, perhaps. she get two prestigious awards at very early age, in 19982. Her stunning success of the French album released in 1980 dis the wonderful performance. To be youngest in a home where fourteen children are there is not an easy environment, even for a daughter of a millionaire. Celine's parents were not so wealthy.

Celine Dion Concert singing Taking Chances 2008

Celine struggles out from all the difficulties she encountered during her childhood and came out as a winner. She would listen the songs she liked, the songs sung by the artists like Barbara Streisand and Michael Jackson. Her soprano vocal voice became her asset and her talent make out a huge class of fans around the world. [Image courtesy By Anirudh Koul (Celine Dion Concert) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons]

PASTEL COLOR PORTRAIT: Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz, originally uploaded by LouisArt.

OIL PORTRAIT: Catherine Deneuve

Catherine Deneuve was born in Paris, France, in the year 1943. She is one of the most beautiful actresses coming from France. She was an artist by birth, as her parents were actors. Her career started well from the childhood, but she had a good role in Le vice et la vertue in the year 1963.

Hommage à Cathérine, originally uploaded by lizaart.

Hommage à Cathérine oil on canvas panel

In the film, and drama, The Twilight Girls, she had done a beautiful role. In this French drama, a young woman at an exclusive boarding school is caught in athe circumstances where in she must choose between the affections of a handsome young man and the forbidden love offered by one of her classmates. Catherine Deneuve did her role extremely well.

PASTEL COLOR PORTRAIT: Jessica Alba

Full Name : Jessica Marie Alba

Date of Birth : April 28, 1981

Place of Birth : Pomona, CAUSA

Jessica Alba, originally uploaded by LouisArt.

Jessica Marie Alba is an American film and television actress. She had done her initial television and movie appearances only at the age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994). Jessica was voted as the fifth Sexiest Female Star for the year 2002 in a popular on-line poll. And she has been voted no. 4 in the Top 10 Sci-Fi Babes in the year 2002 for her role as Max in the film "Dark Angel" . Jessica is fond for plying golf.

PASTEL COLOR PORTRAIT: Keira Knightley

A portrait artist tries to show a persons mirror image. The physical appearance and the outward features are visually narrated. Every part of the facial side is put on the canvas or paper. This represents the looks of the person portrayed.

But the work of an artist does not end here. Mere showing of the visual details of one's face tells very less about the person.

Keira Knightley, originally uploaded by LouisArt.

The artist wants to depict more. He or she would try injecting the real features of the person, the inner qualities of the person being portrayed. Inner play of emotions and their glimpses seen on the face is the real assets of the person portrayed.

In the above colour pencil portrait of Hollywood actress Keira knightley, the artist has desired to show the person the woman Keira is. And the artist Louise Lavallee has succeeded in her attempt to do the same. She has very well narrated the beautiful features of the face and the pensive nature of Keira knightley.

PASTEL COLOR PORTRAIT: Penelope Cruz

The Hollywood Actress Penelope Cruz Sanchez is a person who is loved by millions of cine-goers. She is better known and called as Penelope Cruz only.

Penelope Cruz, originally uploaded by LouisArt.

Penelope is a Spanish actress with unmatched beauty and talent. Being a good dancer, in first phase of her career, she worked in Spanish television. After that her career graph has always been going upward. Penelope has appeared in a long list of films.

Penelope had worked in films of many languages: Spanish, English, French and Italian. she has got glittering success and had received several awards for her work in these films. In all of her films she has been received with equal love and affection.

Theme: Pencil Drawing of Actresses. Portraits of Film Stars of Hollywood.

Penelope Cruz, originally uploaded by pbradyart.

PASTEL COLOR PORTRAIT: Eva Longoria (Desperate housewives)

Eva Longoria (Desperate housewives), originally uploaded by LouisArt.

PASTEL COLOR PORTRAIT: Evangeline Lilly

Evangeline Lilly ( Kate-"LOST"), originally uploaded by LouisArt.

PASTEL COLOR Portrait: Irene Bedard

Drawing: Irene Bedard, originally uploaded by Floyd Muad'Dib.

Caravaggio: Painting Mythological Scenes and Themes With Knife-edged Contours

2011-12-13T12:10:00.008+05:30

For the artists of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries of Europe there were rules to follow; there were commandments to obey; and there were likes and dislikes of orthodox rulers and the fearful buyers of the art. But one eccentric artist decided to play against all of the rules and commandments.

Supper at Emmaus

He created a crowd of controversies by the themes and style of painting he practiced. Even his using the prostitutes as models for the paintings of religious figures was met with committed discomfort. But he would not heed to all of adversaries. His name was Caravaggio, an Italian artist. If you feel shocked by seeing the lighting depicted on a canvas, it must be Caravaggio's painting.

It is not necessary for an artist to behave strangely than the normal people. There a few artists who are quite normal and behaved like tamed cows. But Caravanggio, son of an architect, was an ‘out of the ordinary’ material; he belonged to the majority of those artists who were used to put the cross on their shoulders and walk on the path they carved themselves. In short, he was a faithful rebel. And the colour of rebel has percolated into his blood up to the extent that he became famous for his art of creating enemies, too. And that art of making enemy made his life like the catalogue of events that forced him to run from one place to another during his short life.

Style of Painting

Caravaggio would use the colours and tones as a musician would use pitch and rhythm. He mainly painted in the style that would make the viewers understand the details of painting easily. He painted figure with knife-edged contours and with masterly perfection. He would depict motion in a little bit exaggerated manner. His was a period when such a style of painting known as ‘baroque’ was practiced by many artists who mainly worked for the churches and courts. His art showed the religious themes with emotional touches. Before this period, it was the style of renaissance artists narrating calm scenes with rationality, the scenes before something had happened. The Baroque artist would show the very happening of the events with full movement and its dramatic parts. That would generate the spurt of emotions within the minds and hearts of the viewers; and Caravaggio did it very well through his near realistic paintings.

Life of Caravaggio

Trained as an apprentice of an artist who had worked under Titian, Caravaggio (1571 – 1610) had very rich legacy to carry on in his short life. During the last ten years of his life, he had produced many master pieces.

Madonna

While his stay in Rome he got many commissions from church and other buyers. But his unconventional treatments of religious figures had made him a controversial artist. His depiction of physical violence in the paintings was also not received with welcome. However his art of depicting the light and shade with artistic perfection would make him one of the most saleable artists of the time. It is not a wonder why his paintings done with uncompromising reality are considered as the visual vocabulary of European art.

Gallery: The Paintings Done by Caravaggio

Many artists have been criticized for being unrealistic. Caravaggio was criticized for being too realistic in depicting the subjects; as his was the time when classic idealism, the movement pioneer by the great painters like Michelangelo, was the norm for the artist to follow. Caravaggio walked on a different path by his work.

Crucifixion of St. Peter

The painting known as “Crucifixion of St. Peter”, which was initially rejected, is one of such paintings that looked much realistic. Showing the crucifixion of St Peter, he had tried to depict the reality in every respect. If we observe the strained faces and the body language of the three persons doing the job of Crucifixion, we can clearly perceive the weight of the wrong doing on their minds. The masterly use of lighting and shades used had made the figure of St. Peter showing bathed in angelic glow.

He is one of the few old masters against whom such a big flood of venomous criticism was let loose. Though surrounded by many controversies, he got much fame for his paintings like “Supper at Emmaus (1600-1601, Oil on canvas, size 54 3/4 x 76 3/4 inches). Presently this painting is in National Gallery, London. His still life paintings also are the wonderful examples of neat realism. This painting has nicely contoured life-sized figures. Painted with dark background, the theme is from bible. It narrates a scene in connection with the resurrection of Jesus. Here Jesus is miraculously shown in a changed get ups. The master strokes of light painted on forehead and the cloth show how Caravaggio can create a divine atmosphere. The artist has succeeded here in depicting his skill of honouring the persuasive clarity and the sense of balance. (All the images courtesy Wikimedia.)

William Hogarth: Painter of Portraits and Opera

2011-10-18T12:32:00.007+05:30

If coffee and art have any overt or covert connection between them, the British painter Hogarth (1696–1764) would be a befitting specimen to prove it; he was son of a coffee house owner. But the fate painted Hogarth’s life with colour of loss; he lost his father before he completed the apprenticeship as engraver. Thus in addition to coffee, he was to arrange bread for his family, too. He did it using his art well.

Miss Mary Edwards, 1742

Hogarth had close connection with theatre and drama; he painted and engraved many scenes from well-known operas. His personal life was full of dramatic incidents, one being his marriage with his mentor’s daughter by dramatic act of eloping. This act of bravery made him to start the conventional work of portraying the wealthy people. [Image courtesy William Hogarth [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]

Living in London in the time of Hogarth was like stubbing on some terrible game of snakes and ladder. But he kept ascending the ladder of his artistic career. The painting given above is the portrait of Miss Mary Edwards. She was Hogarth’s close friend and the lady good luck, by virtue of an inheritance, had helped her to become a suddenly one of the richest women in contemporary England.

Hogarth’s art of portraying was at its height in this period. And before Mary Edwards died, after three years of making this portrait, he did his job well, by embedding her enormous wealth in jewellery painted in the portrait. The vigorous handling of the ruffles of the clothes and the liveliness on the face of the dog show how perfect he was in his art.

His connection with the theater paid him rich divided in experience and helped in finding the subjects to paint. During his time, the Beggar's Opera was very popular among the people. Hogarth painted at least six paintings from this depicting the scenes of that opera.

A scene from Beggars Opera [ William Hogarth [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons ]

Leon Perrault: Painting The Water Nymphs

2011-09-24T10:58:00.000+05:30

Theme: Paintings of Water Nymph. Painting the Natural beauty of female body.

A Water Nymph, Oil on Canvas

by Leon Jean BasilePerrault, 1898.

Leon Jean Bazille Perrault (1832 - 1908), a French painter, was student of Bouguereau, a photo realist painter. In addition to learning the neatness of painting from him, he had taken lessons form the master French painter none other than Picot. Here he would consolidate his art of painting.

The Artist: Leon was a painter who had mastered the art of painting the children. There are several masterpieces he painted were involving children as main subject on canvas. He earned credit of being a painter of children. After he painted le petit naufrage (The little shipwrecked boy, 1874), he became a famous painter in France.

The Art: In one of his famous paintings shown here, A Water Nymph, Leon depicted his control over selection of colour schemes. His brushes ran smoothly. His brushwork was so soft that it would not to give a slightest pain to the smooth surface of subject he painted. And here the subject was a beautiful woman, posing as Water Nymph. To see evidence of the subtlety of his brush, we should look at the back of the woman who had posed so unclothed. You will find how subtle was the hand work of the artist who painted skin folds of a woman who was in the state of her natural beauty. (Image courtesyBy Léon Bazille Perrault (1832–1908) (artrenewal) [public domain], from Wikimedia Commons)

Understanding the Painting: The colour selection for this painting is skillfully selected. Use of yellow for the figure of woman sitting without clothes and using blue in showing the roaring waves of water have made this painting extremely attractive. Here the young lady looks pleased on hearing the subtle sound coming from a sea-shell. The roaring waves of water and the sea-shell help making the beautiful woman a nymph.

Here the sea symbioses wealth where as the painting of healthy buttock symbolizes fertility. Both of these attract our eyes. In this painting the continuous and uninterrupted brush strokes have helped creating a graceful design on the canvas. This painting is work of profound sensual imagination of the artist.

In this painting Vanitas, we see the femininity in its full swing. But the insecurity that a woman wears on her face in such a situation is missing in both of these paintings. In this painting, too, the women feels quite comfortable with herself, even if she is sitting almost cloth-less holding a mirror. In all it looks like an artistic record of a single moment, where a woman holds the mirror aesthetically with her hand and looks pleasant on hearing the sound of mass of water at a distance. (Image courtesy By Léon Bazille Perrault (1832–1908) Description French painter Date of birth/death 20 June 1832(1832-06-20) 6 August 1908(1908-08-06) Location of birth/death Poitiers, France Royan, France Work location France (http://palgraphicsarea.blogspot.com) [null], from Wikimedia Commons )

For an artist painting such an art-piece is matter of pleasure. For the eyes of viewers, the beautifully executed paintings of natural beauty of women are big source of artistic pleasure. When we see a painting like A Water Nymph or Varitas, we believe that the beauty and elegance play a major role in creation of an artwork. We always love to see the sea, the source of many wealth and food for us.

M F Hussain: Painting the Art of India

2011-04-29T11:23:00.008+05:30

Maqbool Fida Husain, known as H F Husain, was in the news more for the controversies created due to some of the paintings. Born in India on September 17, 1915, this wonderful artist owned a score of paintings under his name. His art is fascinating and his canvasses are impressive. And it is no wonder that he was called as Picasso of India. In fact he was originally influenced by the great German painter Emil Nolde. He had got much inspiration from Austrian artists Oskar Kokoschka, both of these artists were well-know expressionists painters.

Career of M F Husain

Experimenting was his habit and rejoicing the art of painting was his natural temperament. From his early career, he started using the subjects of mythological themes.

His paintings are believed to capture the very beautiful mythological events onto canvases. Starting his career doing the film posters, he would become known as an artist in 1940s and 50s. He was a leading member of the group known as Progressive Artists’ Group formed by another well-known Indian artist, Frances Newton Souza. This was a progressive group where the artists tried to go away from the old Indian tradition of painting, mainly influenced by the Bengal School of Painting.

Husain was an expressionists and his favourite subjects were women and horses. He tried depicting many other subjects painted with his outspoken brushstrokes and speaking colours.

M F. Husain was nominated in Upper house of Parliament in India, too, where he served for one term of six years. The government of India has awarded him as one of the outstanding artist by giving him the prestigious award known as Padma Shree. Undoubtedly, MF Husain was India's best known contemporary painter. He died in London on June 9, 2011. ON his death the art lovers of the world in general and the Indian people in particular should grieve for two reasons. It was so because even at the age of 95, he was very much active. Had lots of painting left in him, even many of them are incomplete. Secondly such a great painter had died in exile. He was always unhappy with the way he was treated. [Image courtesy Wikipedia]

Eugene Delacroix: Painting Romantic Realism

2011-03-21T15:00:00.011+05:30

Every painting is a visual replica of the mental image an artist visualizes in his or her mind. At that stage of imagination, that mental image can be incomplete, not in an ordered fashion, or even not fully communicating. The artist gives a definite form to it. What an artist desires can be summed just I one word: expression. Yes, when an artist stands before a blank canvass with a bunch of brushes and the blobs of colours on palate, he or she desire to express the very thing that is pleasant to see, and perhaps which is stirring the artist to let it come out.

Orphan on the Cemetery

French romanticism artist Eugene Delacroix had done the same. He had allowed coming out all the passions he had and expressed it on canvases. Though Delacroix was a romantic French painter, and weighed the passion much for the depiction of art, he tried painting as realistically as possible. The painting Orphan on the Cemetery, he had not spared any effort to be realistic.

Expression of passion does not mean to show the violent gestures on faces while doing figurative painting or the bold brush-strokes used with pure colours in landscape painting. On a canvas, the treatment of the space covered by subsidiary figures and proportions of every article contribute to make a painting depicting the beauty of art. Look at Delacroix’s painting Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi given here. It is an allegory of the defeat of

Greece

against turkey in the year 1826.

Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi

Symbolism in Art: Every figure in this painting has one or another symbol. Here the lady with almost no clothes to hide her modesty of chest, and shown as kneeling, is the symbol of surrender. Other things painted within the frames are the ruins of the city buildings and the hand of the shoulders cut in the war. These all contribute to the meaning of the tale to be told and enhance the strength of communication the artist wants to make.

In the paintings of a master artist like Delacroix we would not find even a tiny spot of colour without a purpose. It is because if any irrelevant detail is shown on the frame, the attention of spectators would be diverted to it, making it difficult fort hem to conceive the importance of that part. In the above painting, we can see a red-turbaned man. He is symbol of the new power the Turkish army that had defeated the Greece. so in a masterpiece, everything has its meaning, a definite role.

The harmony of colours and also their conflicting effects sometimes, would impress upon the minds of the viewers. And artist’s work is to appeal to the heart of the viewers, too. The infusion of the sensation of the moments on the face of the characters painted would create a lasting effects on the part of the art lovers and viewers. In above paintings Delacroix has succeeded in all of his objectives as an artists. [Images courtesy Eugène Delacroix [Public domain], Wikimedia Commons, Eugène Delacroix [Public domain], Wikimedia Commons]

Mughal Miniature Paintings

2011-01-21T09:58:00.004+05:30

The art and the subjects narrated in art are always like a mirror. It reflects the contemporary society; and so did the art of painting known as Mughal Miniatures, that was a style of painting developed in sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Descended from the art of Persia and Turkey, these miniature paintings and the artists were supported by Mughal Emperors the Rajput Kings.

Abul Fazl Presenting Akbarnama

In many ways, the subjects and objects painted in these paintings are narrative. They show how the people of India lived in those days. On a close look, we can see the style of living and the types of costumes and ornaments these people were wearing in the medieval or post-medieval era. For those who want to know more about the living of Indian Princes, Kings, and Emperors of those days, here are some articles which narrate the different aspects of these Miniature paintings.

Miniature Paintings Depicting Costumes of Medieval Indian society : Main aspect that catches our eyes is the colourful and costly costumes the people have put on. The costumes shown in these paintings represent the lifestyle prevalent in the period of Mughal Emperors and Rajput kings. Especially the female figures painted in Mughal Miniatures depict the characteristics of Indian tradition of the time.

Miniature Paintings Depicting the Beauty and Elegance of Indian Women: The miniature artists of Mughal era focused their attention on the beauty. They were much attentive to the intricacies of the designs of jewels and drapes, sometimes forgetting the factor of realism that they considered less important.Here in the above miniature the serene beauty of the Mughal characters, especially the sensuality of the lady are the prime, attractive aspects.

Miniatures Painting History of India: The miniature paintings were done by Indian artists since many centuries; we can see some paintings done in sixth and seventh century, too. But the art of miniature painting reached its golden period during the reign of Mughal Emperors. Baburnama, Akbarnama, and Jahangirnama were the books narrating the heroic deeds of the emperors. Mughal Miniature Paintings are the pictorial history of

India

’s Medieval. The style of painting known as Mughal Miniature was practiced in

India

from 16th to 19th century. When Emperor Akbar was ruling in Indian subcontinent, this art gained its prominence.

Paintings Depicting Medieval Indian Culture and Lifestyle : The miniature paintings depicted the life and lifestyle of the Mughal and Rajput Kings of the time. The miniatures were painted to narrate how the princes lived, what they wear and how they fought the wars. However the major portions of the artists’ endeavours were devoted in showing the ways and manners in which these medieval kings and princes enjoyed their life.

Akbarnama, The Book of Secular Art : This was the era when art lover Emperor and kings of other states in Rajasthan augmented the pace of development of the art of painting.

Akbarnama, The Art of Court: Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556-1605) was known for his liberal views about following one’s religion. He regularly held religious holds religious assemblies with the heads of different religions.

Baburnama, An Autobiography of an Emperor: In many of the Mughal Miniature Paintings, painted in the time of Emperor Babur and afterwards, the artists have taken the love scenes and the scenes of bravery of Mughal princes as their subjects. Here the Emperor Babur is shown as hunting. [Image courtesy By Евгений Ардаев at ru.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia ]

Mughal Miniatures: Secular Art of India

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Paintings: Depicting Hindu Mythological subjects representing the secular history of medieval

India when the Mughal Emperors in Delhi and Rajput Kings in Rajputana ruled the most part of India

Where would the history of Indian painting, especially of it medieval period, stand without the broad mention of Mughal Miniatures? It would be hard for an art critique to paint a complete picture of India’s cultural and artistic journey without putting the miniature paintings on record; these were the exotic and beautiful pieces of art that the artist did under the helping umbrella of the Mughal emperors who ruled most part of India from 16th to 18th century.

The Lord Krishna in the Golden City of Dwarka

Mughal Emperor Humayun had injected artistic flavour into the art of Indian painting when he brought two miniature artists from Persia. By the passing of time this miniature art had percolated up to the deep corners of Indian states which were ruled by Rajaput Kings of northern and southern India.

On seeing the mughal miniatures we would think that this must be a Persian painting; such heavy was the influence of the Persian painting style on the minds of the Indian artists of that time. But the Mughal style of painting concisely narrates the life and choices of the people of medieval India. On close scrutiny, we would find that there is elaborated depiction of lifestyle of contemporary Indian society. May it be costumes the men and women in the paintings put on, or may it be ornaments of the male and female figures have on their bodies; these articles clearly witness the lifestyle of the people living during those centuries.[Image courtesy By Miskin (Smithsonian institute - Freer Sackler Gallery[1]) [public domain], from Wikimedia Commons ]

Lord Krishna and Radha : Strangely enough for the historians, too, the paintings commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar were the clear witness of a great endeavor to integrate two different cultures, the majority of population of Hindus and minority of Muslims, into one and create a great and peaceful Indian state. The paintings of Lord Krishna fall under this category. The miniature artworks of other deities of Hindu religion were the proof of the will of the great Emperor. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Mughal miniature paintings are symbol of cultural and religious tolerance that had developed in

India

during the medieval period.

The above miniature painting shows the mythical city of Dwarika, or Dwarka. Lord Krishna is enthroned on a golden palace. The village-like scene in foreground creates a feel that the God is not far away, He is part of our life. This miniature is believed to be commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar (1556–1605).

Another painting is also of Lord Krishna. It is a mythological story that when a devastating rain was out to destroy the town where the devotees of Lord Krishna loved, the he lifted a mountain named Govardhan with his one finger and saved the crowd of people from the heavy rain. (Image courtesy By Mola Ram (1760-1833) (English Wikipedia) [public domain], from Wikimedia Common ]

Mughal Miniatures, influencing Jaipur School of paintings and Kishangarh School of paintings.

Portrait of the Mughal Empress Nur Jahan, circa 1725-1750. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 11 5/8 x 8 1/2 in.

Rajasthan miniature paintings, mainly by the Jaipur school, largely due to Jaipur’s friendly alliances with the Mughals and the patronage of Akbar in the 16th century, remained rooted in the Mughal style. But the subjects had more varieties and the artists enjoyed more freedom.

Each school of painting had its own features. For instance, the flowing rivers, dense forests, lush green fields of Kota-Bundi region were illustrated, painted into the paintings of these regions. Some depited hunting, where as some painted the animal fights. Women depicted in this paintings are graceful, with well proportioned bodies and sharp features. They used bright colours mainly, with red prominently appearing in the background of the art piece. Rajasthan has been one of the major region and an important center of Indian paintings. The decoration of houses, courts, and other household buildings were the places to depict the creative genius of the Rajasthani paingings. The miniature paintings is perhaps the most interesting and the distinctive styles that have existed in India and in Rajasthan.

Painting of Radha: From the start of the sixteenth century here flourished different schools of paintings. Some of them are the Mewar School, the Bundi-Kota kalam, the Jaipur, Bikaner, Kishengarh school. Number of schools of miniature painting thrive in Rajasthan. They are a quaint mixture of Mughal and indigenous Indian styles. The Deities, especiall Lord Krishna and Radha, were the favourite themes embedded in the Rajasthani Miniatures of 17th and 18the century. The dwellings and household objects were decorated with miniature paintings done by artists of the Rajasthan in 18th and 19th century.

Radharani

The painting given here is of the woman known as Radha or Radharani. She was devotee and lover of Lord Krishna. Painters of Rajasthan or Rajputana, as it was called in those period, had done many paintings based on the Love Songs of Radha and Krishna. After the spread of Vashavism, the religion worshipping Lord Krsihna and Radha, the theme of these mythological characters became popular in India and in north part of India particularly. The southern India has its own mythological traditions depicted in the art.

Akbarnama: Painting secular Art of Medieval India

Mughal Miniature Paintings are like pictorial narration of the lifestyle of Medieval India. If we are to earmark a golden period in the history of Indian art of painting, the years during which The Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556 – 1605) ruled over

India

would have a sole claim and strong claim. This was the era when art lover Emperor and kings of other states in Rajasthan augmented the pace of development of the art of painting.

Court of Akbar, Akbarnama.

The court of Akbar, an illustration from Akbarnama. The spiral composition, with horses defining the outer edges, skillfully draws the viewer's attention to the young emperor (age 13). He is portrayed in a powerful central position from which he exercises his first imperial act: the arrest of an unruly courtier, who was once a favorite of Akbar's father.

Akbar’s Father, Emperor Humayun, had called two great painters from

Persia

. These were the painters who put the foundation stone of miniature paintings of a unique style in

India

. Besides the court of Emperor Akbar, the other kings of Rajaputana and South India, too, joined the movement of the art and sponsored the works of artists.

If the above painting is any evidence, we can say that the miniature paintings done in seventeenth century are like the pictorial history of medieval

India

. The artworks of this period depict several aspects of the life of the people: the social norms of living they followed, the costumes and jewellery they wore, and the lifestyle they practiced. Description of the above painting: Opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Size 14.4 x 20 cm. Designed by Basawan, painted by Shankar.

There were forms of art, which were known as Islamic art. But the art of painting that flourished in

India

was not confined to any religion. Emperor Akbar had ruled like a real ruler and thus he had behaved not like his predecessor emperors. Akbar was an advocate of peaceful coexistence; he had endeavoured blurring the line that divided people in religious segments, namely Hindu and Muslim. His concept of secularism had affected the art to progress making inroads into all sections of society.

Akabar and Rahim khan, The Poet

The painting given here witnesses the meeting of Emperor Akbar and the famous poet Rahim Khan, who would be the leading literary figure in the court. Rahim was known for his faith in all the religions of India. (First Images courtesy See page for author [public domain], from Wikimedia Commons) [(Second Image courtesy By Anant, born active 1584-1611 (V&A Museum [1]) [public domain], from Wikimedia Commons]

The Mughal Miniature paintings were done in

India

during the time of the kings of mugal dynasty, especially in the early years. Thw Mughal dynastic line from Timur to Aurangzeb ruled major parts of

India

from 1370 till 1857. But the real rulers were Akbar, Jahangir and his contemporaries who lived during sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The paintings done with sponsorship of the Rajput Kings of Rajastan and other regions of

India

were greatly affected by this style of miniature paintings. These paintings depicted mainly various activities of the kings, their wives, and the court people.

The miniature artists of Mughal era focused their attention on the beauty. They were much attentive to the intricacies of the designs of jewels and drapes, sometimes forgetting the factor of realism that they considered less important.

Emperor Babur Supervising the construction of Garden, BABURNAMA

Persian painters of miniature style used upright format and general setting with emphasis on flat aerial perspective. The Mighal era artists, especially in the time of King Akbar (1556-1605), maintained that qualities of the Persian style in their work. But they added their vision and took some artistic freedom. They applied naturalism in their work and tried depicting the detailed observation of the world in immediate surround. The keen observation of the above painting would prove this changed perspective.

Mughal Court Paintings provides us with invaluable information about the life and times of rulers of the period. The paintings also reflect the contemporary social and political condition of the people. Social customs and courtly customs as depicted in these paintings refer to the social hierarchy, too. In some of the paintings there are presence of foreign ambassadors. That depiction tells us that the Mughal rulers had active trade relations with other countries.

The Style of Painting used in these miniatures shows the technical advancement, particularly in the fine brushwork. One can see that in some of the paintings of this era, the compositions are less crowded and the colours used are more subdued. From examinations of the actors and characters seen within the frame we can observe that their movement is much less dynamic. In the plate given below, the painting represents an image on flat plane that results in a strong two-dimensional design. (Image courtesy By Unknown (Indian, Imperial Mughal ) (http://cybermuse.gallery.ca) [public domain], from Wikimedia Commons)

Mughal Miniatures depicting bathing women

The period of three emperors of mughal dynasty is considered the golden period for the miniature paintings. These three Emperors were Akbar (reigned1556-1605), Jahangir (1605-27) and Shah Jahan (1628-58). India was a much wider country than it is today, and the Mughal Empire covered most of the Northern India and some regions in present Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Shepherd girl Radha - Color paper

Buchmalerei, Master of the Mughal School

Emperor Akbar was deeply interested in cultural issues , so he helped the artists in the filed of painting and music. He had arranged employment to more than one hundred miniature painters. These artists had illustrated the texts like Babarnama and Akbarnama. The have also illustrated the books of Hindu religion, the scriptures like Ramayana and Mahabharata.

In the time of Akbar’s reign, the Mighal Miniature painting was the secular art, dealing with court life, durbar scenes and portraits of royal men and women. The have also painted natural subjects like birds, flowers, animals and forest scenes. However the assists’ preference was tilted towards depicting the hunting scenes and other daily life scenes of the kings and the princes. It was also customary for the Mughal Miniature painters to paint the flora and fauna and love scenes.

This painting depicts a shepherd girl, her name is Radha. From this painting we can see the Indian consumes and the lifestyle of the women during the seventeenth century, and the medieval period. [ Images courtesy: Shephard Girl Radha Courtesy by By Indischer Maler um 1650 (I) [public domain], from Wikimedia Commons . Radharani See page for author [public domain], from Wikimedia Commons and Portrait of the Mughal Empress Nur Jahan Wikimedia Commons ]

Painting of Mistress Fetching Millions in Auction

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It was the time when the words like “Live-In” or “Open Relationship” were not part of ”Man and Woman” relationship. And a woman having affair with a man, married or unmarried, were branded her with one word “Mistress”. The word has stigma attached, and the relationship was not received with grace. But most of the artists, from the renaissance to the modern time, have cultivated such relationship, remaining out of their wed-lock. These relationships have gifted many beautiful paintings and portraits.

Sold for $30 Million. Everyone present was struck when the hammer in one of Sotheby’s auction fell for Modigliani’s portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne. The portrait that Modigliani painted in last days of his life was sold in $30 million in 2006.

Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne, by Modigliani

Jeanne was believed to be painter Modigliani’s mistress. She had given birth of a daughter, too. When Modigliani died in 1920, Jeanne was pregnant. She had also ended her life tragically. Modigliani had painted several portraits of Jeanne. One of them is given here. [Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

Sold for $135 Million. But all time record of sale price of portraits of mistresses were created when Gustav Klimt’s painting, the portrait of Adele Bloch-Baur, was sold in $135 Million in the year 2007. The lady portrayed was wife of a sugar industrialist. Though the relationship of the artist and model were declared as “intellectual” by some of their relatives, they were believed to be much more closer than an intellectual relationship would require. This portrait is a masterpiece painted by Klimt.

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Baur, by Gustav Klimt

Klimt had taken full three years time to paint this portrait. He had used gold in painting the back ground. The main attraction of the portrait is the sensual gaze of the lady and the richly painted lips. The twisted hand of the lady suggests teh element of nobility. [Image courtesy Gustav Klimt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia ]

BOUCHER: Painting Natural Beauty of Women, Painting the Mistress

Theme: Painting Clothless Women Figures. Paintings of Mistresses.

Painting is a process arranging colours creating emotions. It appeals to the senses of viewers, through visual communication. In western Europe, painting natural beauty of human body has been an artistic affair since long. Here we would see how Boucher had maintained his artistic and sensual relationship with the art of figurative painting.

Marie-Louise O'Murphy, Mistress to Louise XV of France, painted by Francois Boucher

The Figurative Art: Figurative painting has worked as an important ‘building block’ of art of painting. With the flow of the time river, since the fertile years of seventeen and eighteenth centuries, the skill of painting the natural beauty, especially of the female models, had become a true test of an artist’s painterly skills. Thus most of the famous painters who did concentrated on other subjects, too, had adopted the art of figurative paintings for some of his or her paintings. François Boucher (1703 - 1770), a French painter was among this class of the painters who adored the human beauties and painted it in its natural form.

The Artist: François Boucher was one of the most celebrated decorative artists of his time. His artwork was mainly in the Rococo style, showing his painterly prowess in portrait paintings and executing the beautiful landscapes. Boucher had got inspiration from the works by master artists like Watteau and Rubens.

Working on variety of subjects, his main occupation was the figurative paintings. Boucher had a huge collection of paintings. The subjects of mythology and religious paintings would also figured in his collection of the widely praised artworks.

The Art: During peak time of his artistic spell, the master painter Boucher had earned credit for his notorious paintings. It was perhaps due to his close relationship with the royal family and the king of France. Here in the above of his painting he had painted Marie-Louise O'Murphy. This lady was mistress to the king of France Louis XV. The paintings of Marie-Louise O'Murphy were executed in the Rococo style of paining.

In this painting, Boucher had depicted his artistic skill to the fullest degree. He had perhaps mastered painting the voluptuous female body; and that prowess came to help painting the king’s mistress. He wanted to send a message of neat beauty though his art, perhaps. The colours used and the painting of the surrounding articles helped the artists sending the said message of beauty.

Boucher had done the paintings of some odalisques, too. These odalisques were servents of the women who worked as concubines of for the sultan of king.

Odalisques

Odalisques were known as slave girls, too. They had no access to the bedroom of the kings. But if any of the odalisques proved to be more beautiful or became a good dancer, she would have got promotion. Thereafter she would get a proper place in harem, the collection of women who were either wives or concubines of the kings. this tradition was mainly in Turkey. Boucher had tried to depict the charm of an odalisque. (Images courtesy François Boucher [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons)

Articles About Art of Painting

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All the persons who are engaged with the art, they would love to read articles about it. These art articles keep them updated with the recent progress in the field of art. The Motive of the writers and critics who write such articles is to provide the latest and thoughtful information to the readers. They provide reading that would provide pleasure and education.

Portrait of Dr. Gachet -By Van Gogh

In the following articles, I have tried to place before the readers some important and entertaining aspects of the art of painting. It would certainly cover the art itself. In addition to that our curiosity would like to explore how some of the art movements were so much popular among the art lovers. We would also look at the fact about how the paintings of the master and amateur artists are sold and valued.

How to Create space and Volume: Twenty percent of every canvas is filled by imagination and the rest is covered by the artist's knowledge about 'how to cover the space', aesthetically. The space is flat, having no volume. The artists want to create a sense of volume in the painting. Certainly there would be need of creating some illusions. The skill of an artist lies in how beautifully he or she can create that illusion of space on a flat and blank canvas.

How to Understand a Painting of Master Artist: When we look at a painting, our first reaction would be to the colours and the figures of objects painted. We would like it for its technical side of beauty recreated by painterly skill; and we would love to look closely how the hues and the shades of every colour are depicted in the painting.

Cities and Buildings Painted by Master Painters: People have relationship with other people. Men have relationship with women, and vice versa. But all have relationships with the towns, cities and building with which they are attached or they love. The European artists clearly demonstrate their love for the cities and buildings.

Paintings by some Modern and Master American Artists: Every art movement has its starting point; every art has a pool of artists putting stones of foundation. American world of art saw such happening in 19th century. In 1872 artist John Gast painted a scene of ‘people moving west’, capturing their activities. That painting started era of balancing naturalism and romanticism in US art in particular and American art in general.

Finding Market Buyers for Paintings: A person coming out of art college or classes would be struck by a violent realization that what he or she would do now. For the artists, to get a satisfactory income to support them is a Himalayan question. It's not an easy mission to make a satisfactory living from your art income, as the market scenario is not less than frightening.

The painting displayed above is painted by the master artist Van Gogh. He had painted it in last days, or the last week of his life, perhaps, in the year 1890. He did two versions of this painting Portrait of Dr. Gachet. This painting had been sold for an unbelievable price of $82.5 Million in the year of 1990. However the current location of this painting is secret one. Another version of this painting can be seen at Musée d'Orsay in the city of Paris. [Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons ]

WHAT IS ART

The philosophers might brand the art in their own manner. They would say that the artists work is a thoughtful refuge to feel some relief from their pain the artists encounter while being at disagreement with the traditional world. A poetic soul would say, 'Art is a shout at the almighty God, telling Him that... Look this is what we have created'. Human race has devised many modes of expressions; among them, the art of painting is the most colourful. We have nurtured the noble intention of showing expressions and concepts embedded within our minds.

The Art of Painting: As old as the human civilization, the art of painting has encouraged us to record what we see. Our visual images have taken shapes of murals, cave paintings and ancient forms of other arts. The ancient artworks might be in their rudimentary shapes, but they are the base on which entire world of art is built up. Those simple drawings, carvings and paintings done by pre-historic artists have become now today’s refined art as we see on the walls of museums and the pages of websites.

What is painting at all? And what does it involve? To be precise, the act of painting is a process of coating surface of canvas or a paper or any other support material with paint. Here the artist does it for an artistic purpose. The final painting is a fruit ofapplying the paints. It is the act that demands passion for it. And the outcome of that process is the human endeavours making the viewers happy.

Fundamentals of Art:

Before running into actual field of the art, an artist would introduce himself or herself with some fundamentals of arts. Line drawing, creating shapes, and understanding the arrangement of space on frame: this would be the basics for a new entrant. Then there would be consideration for the values of colours, their shades and hues, and the texture of colours and the support of art piece.

After knowing about visible elements, some principles of drawing and paintings need to be understood. The artists should possess knowledge about contrast of colours and rhythm and movement of brush strokes. The unity of all the elements and due emphasis on all the aspects would render the final artwork an artistic one. There would be other aspects, too, like the concept of pattern of painting and overall balance of colours.

Tools of Art: While painting, the artists use colours and tones of colours as their tools. This artistic luggage helps depicting reality they conceive in their minds. Being worshippers of the art, the painters use their emotions and fantasies, too. The colours they use and the colours we see are highly subjective, but they have certainobservable psychological effects on the minds of viewers. Here endeavour is made to place some of the best works of these artist, making their work more enjoyable. (Image courtesy By Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920) Description Italian painter and sculptor Date of birth/death 12 July 1884(1884-07-12) 24 January 1920(1920-01-24) Location of birth/death Livorno Paris Work period 1907-1920 Work location Paris [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons )

RAPHAEL: Painting Females With Passionate Perspective

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Themes: Renaissance Painters. Religious Art.

It was night of cold December, probably, and the year was 1508 for sure. The people of Vatican were under the siege of severe cold and there entered a horse carrying a man with bright eyes and long hair. He had fire of artistic passion in his heart and in his pocket the man had invitation from Pope Julius II for painting fresco on the walls Sistine Chapel. The man was riding on the horse was Raphael who was to embed his name in the hearts of art lovers for next 500 years.

St Catherine of Alexandria

If we want to see the artworks with hallmark of a painter’s genius, the paintings by Raphael would be one of the best examples.

The Life: Raphael was an Italian painter and architect. Description of Renaissance period of would be incomplete without putting his name in centre. He was third angle of the great artistic triangle made of three great renaissance artists along with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. He kept his own style of painting in tact while taking some beautiful factors of contemporary Florentine Art. Raphael Depicted Feminine Aspects with profoundly artistic prowess. He would depict his passion for the art and his attachment with subjects, especially women.

The Art: The above painting of St Catherine was painted in his early stay in Florence, in the year 1507. Raphael was still passing in his years of getting education that he gained from the experience and seeing the works of the other great Italian artists. In this painting he had skilfully painted the figure standing with most of its weight on one foot. The twist of shoulders, the arms, legs and even hips give very dynamic and relaxed appearance of the lady. The upward gaze of woman and her leaning on a wheel helps creating an effect how she felt ecstasy while standing in this pose.

The Style: Many painters have chosen portraying St Catherine, as she is considered as representative of feminine behaviour. As a religious icon she and a huge follow up among women devotees. She had remained in the hearts of her devotees due to the importance of the virgin martyrs. Raphael's above painting is one of the most famous of the paintings depicting the feminine aspects, for which he was so famous.

Legacy of Raphael’s painting is invaluable in artistic qualities and huge in number of the paintings, too. He was much productive and had established a very large place for painting. Though he died very young age of 37, his studio had generated a cult in the art of painting.

Madonna Cowper

His work is so ‘influencing’ for the other artists that his name divided the history of art in two segments: one Prep-Raphaelite and another Post-Raphaelite. Look at the painting of Madonna given here. We can see the grace of the woman in the tilt of her head and the beauty of her neck. Her carrying the child adds to the motherly passion of a woman. Raphael was known for his injection of such sensuality and passion in paintings.It is believed that the Mother was Virgin and the Virgin feels no age. She remains always pious and always young. Raphael had tried to depict this aspect in this painting, too.

Raphael had come from a small town. He was not well aware of the city of Florence. But it took no time for him to become the darling of the church and the others. He had painted several versions of Madonna and child. His painting Pieta is very much famous for its clear depiction of the grief and the passionate atmosphere Raphael had infused in it.

Pieta

In this painting Pieta, Mother Marry is holding body of Jesus after Crucification. The face of Mother Marry is shown as young.

Geometric Perfection in Raphael's Paintings

Raphael was the artists who never missed the geomagnetic proportions to infuse in his paintings. The painting "Descent from the Cross" (given below) he wonderfully maintained to put all the main figures in defined triangle spaces

In the above painting, we can see the emphasized geometric construction dividing the whole scene in two different triangular shapes. The well-know mythological concept of resurrection of Christ is depicted here in near realistic manner. Look at the curved body of Jesus and the nearly unconscious Virgin Mary. This position of the main figures help viewers to understand the scene easily. the triangular construction and the curves, in the body of Christs and two carriers, give a dynamic look to the whole painting.

After mastering the art of such geometric construction, Raphael had used it in many other master pieces like School of Athens and Liberation of St. Peter. In these paintings and many other done by him, the the triangular construction had become a fundamental element in his paintings. [Images courtesy By Raffaello Sanzio (1483–1520) Alternative names Raffaello Santi, Raffaello de Urbino, Rafael Sanzio de Urbino, Raffael Description Italian painter and architect Date of birth/death 6 April 1483(1483-04-06) 6 April 1520(1520-04-06) Location of birth/death Urbino Rome Work location Florence, Rome, Perugia[see page for license], from Wikimedia Commons , Madonna Cowper By Raffaello (http://pintura.aut.org/)[see page for license], from Wikimedia Commons , Pieta By Raffaello Sanzio (1483–1520) Alternative names Raffaello Santi, Raffaello de Urbino, Rafael Sanzio de Urbino, Raffael Description Italian painter and architect Date of birth/death 6 April 1483(1483-04-06) 6 April 1520(1520-04-06) Location of birth/death Urbino Rome Work location Florence, Rome, Perugia (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, EUA)[see page for license], from Wikimedia Commons Raffaello Sanzio [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]

HISTORY OF PAINTING: Classicism, Artists of Balance and Unity

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It is believed that the history is the collection of chaotic moments of past life of human race; whereas the history of art collects the most beautiful moments the human race has seen till the day. We can have the proof of that concept when we look at the paintings done under the style of classicism.

The Vintage.-by Francisco de GOYA

When we think about classicism, we refer to the forms of literature and art, which were prevalent in Roman Empire and in the ancient Greece. We offer thinking on the characteristics of art and literature, especially while talking about the art movement known as classicism. All the arts adhering to the principles of ‘Classicism’ are thought together.

The artists who followed this movement of art (1600 to 1800 AD) had set a standard for the taste keeping their paintings circumscribed in formal and a little bit restrained within the periphery of the set rules. This had helped them maintain balance and unity in their artistic representations. The classicism was a guiding force, making the minds of medieval European artists more aesthetically activated.

Though the word 'Classicism' refers to the paintings done with the influence of Roman Empire and ancient Greece, it also refers to the art that passes the test of high excellency and noble artistic qualities depicted with a flair of conservatism. During these three centuries, the European arts have seen many other movements, but the taste of classicism had never subsided. Here are some of the master artists who have lived during this period of classicism and had contributed immensely, through their theories of art and artistic representations.

Nicolas Poussin : Painting Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

Autumn from the Four Seasons. 1660-1664. Oil on canvas. By Nicolas Poussin (Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

We look at the landscape paintings hanging on the walls of museum of displayed in the galleries as art lovers or as artists. We love to see the master pieces painting which the artists had invested their lifetime labour. These beautiful landscapes on the walls of art galleries tell us the stories of the time and the challenges the painters might have faced while executing the paintings.

If we explore the beauties of the paintings further, we can enrich our knowledge of the art of painting in general and the landscape painting in particular. And we would certainly enjoy the art in the newer perspectives. Understanding these beautiful landscape paintings would be a journey on the land of various aspects, which had been active for making a particular piece of art alive on the earth.

While looking at the epoch making landscape paintings by the master artists like constable and Nicolas Poussin, we can have idea about the changing themes for painting these artworks. On scrutinising the ongoing changes in the themes and subjects of these landscape paintings, we could understand these artworks in a better way and with enhanced enjoyment of art.

When an artists looks at the nature, the wide areas of the landscape, he or she tries to find out the unity and harmony embedded in the scene. They see the flow of rives and height of the mountain peaks; they saw the brightness of sunlight flooding on the land; they see the ever changing moods of the sky. The artists enjoy the scene themselves and with a noble desire to let the others enjoy the same, they use their artistic skills of landscape paintings and paint the artwork.

These beautiful landscapes are like the statement that the artists have made on seeing the serene beauty of the mother earth. These landscape paintings are like the reproduction of the dialogue that had occurred between the artists and the beauty of the scene he had painted.

SPRING

(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

SUMMER

(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

WINTER

(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Bouguereau, Adolphe-William: Bouguereau, the painter of photo-realistic approach of painting, had created an idealized world. He put life into the concepts of goddesses, nymphs, bathers, shepherdesses, and Madonnas by painting these characters on his canvases. His artistic insistance for the perfection in painting the contours of female body had generated a group of good clients in the wealthy people of nineteenth century France. Bouguereau’s commitment to creations of realistic paintings had appealed his patrons. (Image courtesy Francisco de Goya [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

PORTRAITS : Painting Beauty and Modesty of Women

2010-12-26T23:59:00.026+05:30

If an artists is not imaginative, he or she is nothig: that is a golden rule in the world of art. While doing portrait of a person, this quality of an artist is put on a test. The Portrait in which an artist has injected his or her feeling is a portrait of the artist and not of the sitter. Such profound is the art of portrait making; as it requires total involvement of the painter. Let us discuss about some great portraits.

Portrait Painting, an Art of making people immortal through the art. A well-painted portrait would show the inner qualities of the person whose portrait is done, as the aim of artist can't be limited to painting the contours of the face and other limbs of the subject or model.

Suzanne Valadon was a French painter. Here she had modeled for Renoir's painting "Girl Braiding Her Hair".

What Is Portrait Painting

Portrait painting is a subtle communication of a set of expressions on the face of a model or the person sitting for his or her portrait. The artists while making portrait of a person mostly require the person in front the canvass. Though some painters prefer to work on the base of the photographic references, especially in case of the model is a child. Here are some of the portraits of ladies, depictiong their beauty and modesty. Here are some of the most noteworthy portraits.

Suzanne Valadon , the portrait shown here, was a French painter. Here she had modelled for Renoir's painting Girl Braiding Her Hair. In his late years of life Renoir had cultivated interest in classic art with the brush of an impressionist. He concentrated on ensuring that how the sunlight affects flesh tones. Renoir was very much affected by the beautiful models who worked for him. Here a lady painter herself had posed as a model for the painting.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti : Painting Sensual Women

If you happen to be in the area of Portland Place London, and having a walk on 39, Charlotte Street, you will reach at a dead end, a cul-de.sac. But if your move to 38, Charlotte Street and reach at the last building, there would be a house where a brilliant boy was born on My 12, 1828. The boy would be poet, writer, a great lover of woman, and a painter. The boy was Dante Gabriel Rossetti; he was the man who would claim his own voice in the midst of the loud voices in the world of art in London.

Rossetti - Self Portrait

Rossetti had done very hard work in his artistic career. By had work I do not mean he climbed Mount Everest or rafted on the water of Mississippi river or paid regular taxes to the government. But he was fond of falling in love with all of the women who have modeled for his painting. And he did that very intensively. Apart from that, being a free thinker about religion and an ardent lover of liberty, Rossetti had a burning passion for doing his best for the present and future generations. These paintings established him as a man of art, a man of heart, and a man who understood the beauty of women very ideally. (Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Annie Miller had been model for many of Rossetti’s paintings. She was a English Lady born in 1835. Annie Miller had worked as model mainly for William Holman Hunt. But in his absence and against his will, Annie had worked as model for other painters like John Everett Millais and Rossetti.

Annie Miller -by Rossetti

It was believed that she had very close and intimate relationship with these painters, especially with Rossetti. It is believed that Rossetti's wife had thrown out one drawing of Annie out of window. But Rossetti continued painting keeping Annie as model. This portrait drawing is by Rossetti. He was a writer, too. His writings are the proofs of his love of freedom and being a man of good nature. But his paintings are a different story. (Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Fanny Cornforth, a woman of the beauty of her nose and neck, was born in England in 1935. She appeared in Rossetti’s paintings as a fleshy woman with a red head. The portrait given here was painted by Rossetti to adore the sensual beauty of Fanny who would be his mistress. Though Fanny was in a devoted relationship with Rossetti, she was married to another man for a period. But after death of Elisabeth Siddal, Rossetti’s wife, she passed no time in moving to live with Rossetti as his housekeeper.

This painting ‘Fair Rosamund’ was painted by Rossetti. Here Fanny Cornforth was the model for the painting. There can be no any surprise if the art lovers and art critiques find his paintings full of sensual pleasure. Rossetti loved writing, he loved painting, he loved women; he kept loving his models and he always kept adoring the beauties of women who modeled for him. There is no surprise that Rossetti had depicted his experiences in aesthetic indulgences through an artistic prowess. (Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Jane Morris was Muse for Pre-Raphaelite group in London. She was artist herself, but she was considered an ideal beauty of the time. Known as Muse for the artist, William Morris, Jane had married with him. But her relationship with Rossetti was the talk of the time. The painting here is titled as ‘Proserpina’ or ‘Proserpine,’ , believed to be a Goddess of Fertility was painted by Rossetti. Jane Morrison was model for this painting. Rossetti had painted several paintings by taking services of Jane Morrison as a model. Jane Burden , as it was her real virgin name, had got very less education. But by taking much interest in learning the conversation skill she was know as a queen among her friends. Such refined was her behaviour and conversations. (Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

TIPs FOR PORTRAIT ARTISTS: If you are using pastel or oil colours for portrait painting, start the portrait from the darkest shade. Then apply the middle tone and finally the lighter colours.

[Image courtesy By Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) Description French painter Date of birth/death 25 February 1841(1841-02-25) 3 December 1919(1919-12-03) Location of birth/death Limoges Cagnes-sur-Mer Work location Paris (painting by Renoir) [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons]

South American Women Artist: Painting With Changed Perspectives

2010-12-18T15:42:00.005+05:30

Theme: Painting Natural Beauty of Females. Women Painters Painting Males and Females

THE BLUE LADY, By Liliana Bianco.

The painting in general and the paintings of natural beauties of human body in particular had remained the ‘Male Painters’ bastion for long time. It had made the art of figurative painting more or less as seen from the eyes of males exclusively. Many a time, on seeing these paintings, especially of the paintings depicting beauty of a female’s body, we tend to believe that these pieces of art are painted for satisfying the male gaze only. The artists who painted these females looked prejudiced in highlighting those parts of female body where the male folk ‘invests’ their eyes most. But if this painting done by Liliana Bianco is any evidence, the story is taking a decisive turn.

The Art: Here in this painting of a woman, the main purpose of the Argentinean artist Liliana seems to be the depiction of art itself and not mere a show of the parts of female body claiming much gaze. Here the clothe-less female painted by the artist certainly looks like the subject of her painting, instead of the object for looking at. This is a convincing proof indicating the change of mind-set of the modern artists.

When an artist wants to send a message of peace and harmony he or she uses blue colour in painting. Here Liliana has done the same, her purpose is clear. When Liliana takes brush in her hand and stands before a clean canvas, she paints with all of her senses, soul and with the flood of her overflowing emotions. For her the act of painting is like bridging the acts of hand and the heart.

New Wave: With more women painters entering in the field of figurative painting, this art has gone through a material change. The females painted by women artists look like the real subject of the paintings. A woman artist also paints the breasts and other body parts of the models, but there is a wide valley of difference in her painting them, so far as the basic attitude of taking a female body as an object is concerned. While seeing such paintings, a person with artistic eyes would not find that these painting depicting natural beauty of a woman are painted only as an object for looking at. Women artists choose cloth-less females as subjects of her artistic depiction; and they mostly remain faithful to the main road of the art without going on to the sub-lanes. While painting her models, a woman artist honours the female body by painting all the delicacies and beauties the female body possesses.

If we want to see the honest depiction of emotions, a grand play of imagination and the richness of ideas at one place; then a single visit to Liliana Bianco’s paintings would be sufficient. Infusing all these factors in her paintings, Liliana has claimed to be a member of the clan of the artists who followed the tradition of chiaroscuro.

THE MAN, -by Liliana Bianco.

Size of Painting 50 X 60 cm. Acrylic on Paper Mounted on Wooden.

On looking at some of her paintings, one would immediately feel that the painting is done in parts and then the parts are joined. In fact it is not so. The artists do make a mental image of would–be painting in fragments; but in her paintings, Liliana inject a unifying pictorial coherence that makes her paintings so eye-catching.

Look at this painting, “The Man”, a title the artist has given to this painting. First thing you would notice is the position of The Man’s eye. If we were to evaluate this painting in terms of the areas where different emotions are depicted, we would imagine the whole frame cut into two parts. The tip of nose divides the composition of painting into two horizontal parts. The upper part portrays the mystery portion of the painting and the lower part demonstrates a feel of an undeclared sadness or embedded grief.

The strained eye suggests the presence of some mystery-clad element. Or there might be some strange object that the man has just taken cognizance of. He seems caught in a situation creating difficulties which human reason is incapable of solving. Such is the power of mystery; and the artist has not failed to display her artistic prowess to depict that power. She has used a befitting colour scheme for that purpose, too. Now take the lower part of the painting. If the pressed position of the lips is any evidence, then the lower half of painting suggests an element of fear. This fear or a notion of apprehension might have been generated after seeing an unknown object or a scene. In all respects the artist is quite honest in depicting the total stock of the emotions the person is carrying on his face.

The art takes its birth out of the womb called intuition; and the intuition is like the river: the river that is dangerously flooded with water.

FENIX by Liliana Bianco Size 70 X 100cm

If a person involves herself or himself in the realm of art, she/he should be ready to be driven out by that flood. Liliana Bianco, an artist from Buenos Aires,

Argentina

, has agreed to let herself swim in the flood.

The Artist: When Liliana takes brush in her hand and stands before a clean canvas, she paints with all of her, senses, soul and of with the flood of her overflowing emotions. For her the act of painting is like bridging the acts of hand and the heart.

An artist reveals herself/himself through the art; and through these actions of artistic display, the artist tells the whole world what he/she has felt, experienced within the heart. Once the artists form particular images in their minds, they mould these images into some recognized patterns. It is for the benifit of the viewers pleasure. And when a viewers’ eyes recognize those patterns, there happens an aesthetic enjoyment.

The Art: If we look at the aesthetic aspects of the above painting, Felix, painted by Liliana, first we can find the visible simplicity of artistic display: the big canvass of 70 X 100 cm and the eye-catching layers of acrylic paints and oil colours. Besides this visible aspect, there is an invisible drama being played by the rich and intense colours. Her palette is charming by yellow and energetic by the red, orange and blue.

What makes a viewer’s eyes pasted on the frame of “Fenix” is the masterly use of yellow. It is said that the yellow colour pleases even the God. The yellow is symbol of unending energy from Sun, the real strength of every living being on the earth. Here in her painting Fenix, Liliana has used several shades of yellow paint. It symbolises our hope that the God has not closed his office, and we still can draw on the ultimate power.

What the Artist Tells about the Art

I usually paint with all of me, senses, soul and of course with my emotions. But I do it without thinking on it, generally when I am near to finish the paint I sit and watch it having a dialogue between the picture and my deep analisis of the work. In that moment I can observe the things that appear in the paint and always I surprised miself with the result, sometimes the emotion let me fall some tears.

--LILIANA BIANCO.

"In that moment I can observe the things that appear in the paint and always I surprised myself with the result, sometimes the emotion let me fall some tears. I have no idea to draw or paint a figure but this man was reflected in my painting and I like to take those suggestions that I had. So I dedicated myself to emphasize the figure when I discovered. (For the painting shown here) I was working with the colours and just stop to look the paint and the Blue Lady appear in front of my eyes in a natural way, then I wish to let her to appear without drawing just the figure that you see with blue hair, a lot of different colours. I used acrylics over paper and I called The Blue Lady." -- Liliana Bianco, Buenos Aires,

Argentina.

FoR seeing More Paintings by Liliana just CLICK HERE

(Images are reproduced here with Liliana's consent. All copyrights of above painting is with the artist.)