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This week we're talking about Romanticism and which piece stands out to me.

Of course, the most famous pieces like Liberty Leading the People, or The Death of Sardanapalus are amazing pieces for this time period, I wanted one that may have been a bit unsettling. So, looking through lists of some paintings has lead me to this great piece- The Witche's Sabbath.

Artist: Fransisco Goya

Year: 1797-1798

Medium: Oil on canvas

Size: 43cm X 30 cm (17in x 12in)

Unfortunately, this piece of artwork does not have a lot of information background wise. It was bough with five other pieces by the Duke and Duchess of Osuna, and it wasn't told if these pieces were commissioned or not. The five other pieces also relate to witchcraft, as does this one.

This piece of artwork is a bit cryptic to me, yes, I know it deals with witchcraft, but what they are exactly doing is another question. The painting depicts a group of females, young and old alike, huddled around a goat with large horns, who is sitting back as if it were a person. There are more people in the back, though their faces are blurred out. The faces of the people in front seem panicked or concerned, meanwhile the goat as the face of a goat, not showing much expression other than an outstretched hoof, as if it was grabbing for the child of the woman on the right. An older lady on the bottom right is holding a child as well, though this child looks like mere skin and bones. Though the child is emaciated, it does seem to be alive, as it is reaching out to its left.

In the center is a lady in a yellow hood, laying on the ground with her back to us. A child's feet can be seen poking out from under it, as if both the child and the lady are watching the goat. As our eyes follow the lady's body, her feet point to a dead, nearly hollow child, who is laying on its back, yet with its head facing the goat, as if it was saying "You did this to me". The two ladies to the left look horrified, or frightened. Behind them is a pike, holding three doll-like bodies, though they seem to be people hanging by their necks.

This piece is all around unsettling when you look at the small details, and that is what I love about it. It is a beautiful piece of artwork, the brush strokes are magnificent, the shading, while not as harsh as other Romantic pieces, still defines the forms of the people, and stresses the main idea. The background is not detailed, it is not as important as what is happening in the center. All of this brings it together, but this is an unsettling story, showing dead children and horrified people. That's the reason why this piece caught my attention.

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For this week we'll be talking about Ai WeiWei, and to be honest, I love his artwork.

My initial experience with WeiWei's work was in my art 3D class, during my senior year of high school. His artwork captivated me then and now. He was so different, and had so much passion for what he does, along with the sheer bravery he has to go against a government that ultimately punishes him for talking out.

Now, do I see his works as art or activism? I do see it as both, yet I see it more as activism than art. His work invade the government's weak points, the points where they cannot defend themselves in a good way. It pokes holes in the mask, to show what rights the government stripped away, and how corrupt it actually is. While it is art with the fact that he is using object, using different art techniques and styles, along with many of the pieces being installations or sculptures, they have more of an activist tone inside them. They are supposed to make a point and make people take action more than be admired as a piece of artwork.

Unfortunately, with this, I do not see his art as fine art. By no means does this mean I don't see it as art, because it is art, but its own specific category of art, and that is not fine art. To me, fine art is more of the statues, the renaissance paintings, the different turn of the century, big, well known pieces that made way for new styles and aspects of art. Weiwei's art is for human rights, to try and make a new turn of the century for human rights, and not art.

Now, the message of much of his art is about freedom, or things that happened in the past that shouldn't have happened. It is supposed to express a type of individual freedom. To me, this is a major thing that should be continued to be shown today. It is something people should know about and learn, and when those rights and freedoms are taken away, it shouldn't be tolerated and should be shown to the public. But, I think it should be used in specific places.

For example, America has many ways we can express our ideas and thoughts on human rights, along with right and wrong, without being beaten or jailed, for the most part. If someone is beaten over saying something about the government, it is usually someone that opposes that view, not the government itself, and those people can be brought to justice.

In Ai WeiWei's situation, they do not have that. They cannot speak bad about the government, and if you do the government will come after you just like they did to him. Those are the places that need his work, the places where simple human rights are stripped away. While America doesn't need his work, though we view it in many classes like my own, other places need it.

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Baroque Art

One painting of this time that caught my eye was a painting by Caravaggio. Caravaggio was an amazing artist, making very detailed paintings. The one I will look at today is his piece Narcissus.

Title: Narcissus

Size: 110 cm X 92 cm (43 in X 36 in)

Crestor: Caravaggio

Date Created: 1597-1599

As depicted above, Narcissus leans over water, looking at his reflection. It shows the story of Narcissus, who loved himself so much he could not look away from his reflection. Narcissus himself is emphasized, meanwhile his reflection is duller, and not as bright. This piece itself is not abstract, as it blatantly shows its subject.

Now, why did this piece catch my eye? Well, there's various reasons for it. Most of it would be because of the elements brought inside it. The lines work well, drawing your eyes to what should be seen, such as the line Narcissus makes with his reflection. His eyes draw us to the reflection below, though there is not a physical one there. The values are amazing as well, the light of Narcissius' sleeves, how darks are roped in through the clothes while the reflection itself is dark and dull. Somehow Caravaggio was able to show the time as well, how it seems to stand still. It is like Caravaggio was retelling the story of Narcissus all over again.

There is also a sense of balance within this piece. Narcissus is not facing straight toward the viewer, instead his head is turned, and he is hunched over the water. It makes the painting more interesting, having a pose of someone so deep in concentration, focused to what's below them. Along with this, there is a sense of weight added to Narcissus. The proportions are all right, almost like you can feel the lightness of the cloth, the feeling of leaning over.

In my opinion, I feel like Caravaggio was trying to put more emphasis on Narcissus' story. While it is a very well known story, it doesn't seem to be as appreciated as others. This piece shows the actual depth of his story, how ingrained he was to himself. He was trying to show how time sat still as Narcissus stared at himself, and how he never moved. The reason why I say that is because of the piece itself, how it looks, how it feels. It's what the piece itself is supposed to be.

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Northern Renaissance Artwork:

While learning about these pieces of artwork, also called things like Flemish paintings, I noticed many, MANY of them dealt with religion. More specifically, Christianity. This does not come to a surprise to me though, as it was a big part of the time period and a big part of people's lives. One painting from that time period caught my eye though, it is a drawing called Praying Hands.

Title: Praying Hands/Study of the Hands of an Apostle

Artist: Albrecht Dürer

Dimensions: 0' 11" X 0' 7"

Created: 1508

Media: Paper & Ink

This picture caught me off guard when I was looking through Flemish paintings and drawings. To me, it seems like a very specific piece of artwork, mostly because it does not show a whole person, along with the fact it is made out of ink, yet looks like it's painted. Dürer did an amazing job with the details, you can feel the curvature of the hands, where they become flat, or where there's small bumps. There's even a weight to the cloth of the sleeves, though they don't seem heavy you can almost feel them on yourself if you imagine it. Along with those, there's such a contrast between the background and the hands themselves, yet there is hardly a color variation. It's nearly the same tone of blue, but the hands stand out instantly, and there's no part where they meld into the back.

As with many Flemish paintings, this one does deal with religion. In my reading that was one thing I already knew- the Renaissance had plenty of paintings dealing with religion, and this one does not fall short of that. It's obviously someone praying to someone, which doesn't surprise me in the slightest. When I looked up Flemish paintings, all I was expecting was something to deal with religion, and I was not disappointed.

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I'd love to see this in person, it looks amazing! So many lines, even hidden colors!

Favorite Painting 

Jackson Pollock Il Museo del Mondo 

Why this is my favorite simply because when I saw it in person it made me cry. Still does.  

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What's my favorite piece of art? Well, it may be a classic to some, but it has to be "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte"!

Why you might ask? Well, there's so much effort put into this piece! I got to see it in person, and the curator of the place was nice enough to let me take up-close pictures of it, so close you could see all the stippling in one area! (I'm currently looking for the pictures, and if I end up finding them, I'll add them in here!) It has to be one of my all-time favorites!

Painting By: Georges Seurat