On to Europe: Art

Any idea which artist created this painting? Now we're leaving India to visit Europe! First stop, Germany.

 

We are going through famous artists and master pieces.  We should have a test on them coming up soon!  Just a few of them will be:

open on Thursday through Monday ONLY.

Girl with a Pearl Earring, c. 1665
By: Johannes Vermeer
One of Vermeer’s masterpieces. Can you tell what he uses as the "focal point" or the place he would like us to focus in the painting? (If not, take a look at the title of the painting.) This painting is sometimes known as “the Dutch Mona Lisa” or “the Mona Lisa of the North.”

School of Athens, c. 1510
By: Raphael
Raphael was commissioned or "paid" to create this painting. This is a room of famous philosophers gathered together in Athens, Greece. The painting is filled with meaning and symbols about learning. Plato and Aristotle appear to be the central figures in the scene (in the middle). Many of the other philosophers lived at different time periods and different places all over the Europe, not just Athens. This painting is considered Raphael’s masterpiece and is considered the perfect example of High Renaissance period of art.

Mona Lisa, c. 1519
By: Leonardo da Vinci
The Mona Lisa is possibly the most famous painting in the world of all time. No one is exactly sure why it has become so famous. Many think it's the look on the woman's face that pulls you in. How would you describe that look? I kind of feel like she knows something interesting or funny that I don't know!

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886
By: Georges Seurat
Believe it or not this is entire painting is made of nothing but dots!! Seurat uses a technique called pointillism(points or dots) which consists of contrasted color dots that form a single hue through viewers’ eyes. Seurat spent over two years on this piece. He would practice his form repeatedly at the park, concentrating on the use of colors, form, and lighting.

(The first picture is Starry Night that I put at the beginning of my post.)

The Starry Night, 1889
By: Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh did not try to create art that looked realistic. Instead, he tried to capture his personal "impression" of what things looked like. He tried to portray the feeling of what he saw in his pictures. An entire movement of art was named after this style called "Impressionism". This work is considered to be his very best. It portrays his "impression" of the sight outside his room at night.

The Pietà, c. 1499

By: Michelangelo Buonarroti (We often call him just "Michelangelo") It is Michelangelo's masterpiece of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion laying in the arms of his mother. Look at the folds on the fabric of his mother's clothing. Look at Christ's knees. Are they very accurate?