Cortot

What first catches the viewer 's eyes are the vivid colors used in the painting. Ultimately what jumps out the most is the man on the right 's red robe. The artist intended this for a reason, discussed later. The room where the men are standing is front lit. Also the atmosphere is

It is unfortunate that we live in a society that places such a great emphasis and consideration towards the aesthetics of beauty. What is more

Beauty is an incredibly subjective thing; what might seem appealing to one’s eyes may be horrendously ugly in the eyes of another. However, the status of “beautiful” or “ugly” can be assigned rather objectively when art is examined from the perspectives of different philosophies. The beliefs and values of different philosophies can be used to find meaning and beauty in various art forms, allowing for a more straightforward determination of beauty. Because of the many layers of meaning most paintings entail, they are a perfect example of an art form that can be analyzed by numerous philosophical viewpoints to find meaning and beauty, and Ma Yuan’s painting Walking on a Mountain Path in Spring, which comes from the Song dynasty of Chinese and depicts a sole figure standing in a natural surrounding, is no exception. Ma Yuan’s painting is beautiful because it represents the ultimate achievements for the Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian philosophies.

It is almost a reflection of the man’s trident. That same pitchfork shape also appears in the window of the house that sits in between both figure’s heads. Repetition can also be seen in the dotted pattern of the woman’s outfit, which also appears in the material of the curtain that hangs in the house’s window. The echo of verticals in this painting is also strong. The faces and bodies of the figures seem to be stretched, and narrowed. The pitchfork’s slender prongs and the green stripes on the man’s shirt also add to the elongation of their frame. The copious amounts of vertical wood boards that make up the house and the barn, keep the viewer’s eye moving up and down the picture plane. Wood’s use of verticality in this painting is overwhelming.

Beauty is a subjective idea that focuses on the characteristics preferable to a single species that gives an advantage over another and at the cost of another species survival. Humans have created astounding empires with beautiful cities and monuments because they were the most progressive species that are able to do so because of their capacity for violence. Some empires fear for their survival, so they must eliminate any threat whether it be humans or other animals. The poem, “Thanks” by Yusef Komunyakaa, it symbolizes how humans can become single minded only driven by their own personal desires at the sake of anyone else. Humans naturally commit ugly atrocities to progress their own beauty, or at least idea of, and they instinctively oppose nature because mankind is the dark side of nature.

While the painters after the Impressionism period were collectively called the “Post-Impressionists,” the label is quite reductive. Each artist had their own unique style, from Seurat’s pointillism to Signac’s mosaic-like divisionism, Cezanne, Émile Bernard, and others. These artists were all connected in that they were reacting to the aesthetics of Impressionism. Two of the more influential painters from this movement were Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, who aimed to connect with viewers on a deeper level by access Nature’s mystery and meaning beyond its superficial, observable level. However, each artist’s approach to achieving this goal was different. In close examination of Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait (Dedicated to Paul Gauguin) and Paul Gauguin’s Self-Portrait with Portrait of Émile Bernard (Les misérables), one may clearly see the two artists’ contrasting styles on display.

The question of beauty has been asked since the beginning of time and yet there is still no precise answer. When discussing this same question and applying it to works of art a number of answers could be as large as the population. Henri Matisse and Francis Bacon have both inspired artists for generations and are considered to be opposite sides of the coin. Matisse created paintings with bright, happy colors mixing in patterns and showed life as it was viewed from the outside, leading to the idea that he created pretty paintings. On the other hand, Bacon produced intense paintings which included rich, dark colors that expressed the agony that can only be viewed from within oneself. When the viewer immerses themselves in both styles of painting it will be clear that art does not need to “be pretty”.

The painting Square at La Trinité (Le Square de La Trinité) (1875) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is located at the RISD museum in Providence, RI. This is an oil painting on canvas, surrounded by an ornate gold frame. Square at La Trinité is a pastel colored landscape scene with nature, figures and buildings in the background. The main focus of the painting is the two people in the right-hand corner, one a female and the other a male who are strolling through a lively garden. During the 19th century impressionist artists wanted to capture life as they saw it happening. Another artist who had a similar style to Renoir was Monet who painted works such as Beach at Trouville (1870) where he painted his wife sitting on the beach taking part in middle-class leisure. Renoir’s work demonstrates the impressionist technique important to the 19th century, evident by the way he captured middle class leisure in a modern subject matter.

The front of the painting shows three African American men in the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Each of the men are doing something different. Near the three men, are factories blowing out smoke. In the lower right hand corner, a man is being held back and dragged down by what seems to be a hand made from the smoke, showing that he is still doing work that he does not want to do. Below him are cotton fields, where slaves used to have to work and do hard labor with little to no pay. The man on the bottom left side is shown to also have the hand by him, watching his moves. He is in a pose where he is frustrated and seems to have given up on his dreams. Closer to the center, higher up, stands a third man, playing a saxophone. Music can symbolize freedom and awakening. Along the outer edges of the painting, the colors are dark browns, reds, and oranges. As the focus is drawn closer to the center, lighter colors such as yellow. Darkness, as an archetype, represents despair and the unknown while lightness shows hope, renewal and intelligence. The goals of success, exuberancy, and harmony showed hope and renewal in change in

perspective of society. The image of perfect beauty in the mind of humanity has plagued the

Beauty and sadness are also similar in the way they are recognized. Beauty, which is outside or inside has always developed and changed in the different time with different people. If the love of Gatsby for Daisy in the classis masterpiece “The Great Gatsby” used to be commented that was illusive and stupid. Then now, there are more and more people agree that it is beautiful as a lofty devotion of fidelity and intension. Clearly, standards of a beautiful love is dissimilar between the people in Gatsby’s age and people in later years. In the same fashion, standards of sadness has never “stood still” and depended enormously on its “audiences.” If most of people in the 1900s thought of the movie “Titanic” that is sad only for the tragic love of

This painting shows how close and codependent humans and nature were. How well humans worked together with one another and their world. How peaceful those that are close to nature are, which is why it (nature) must be celebrated and appreciated.

Beauty sets standards for society through appearance, especially in younger generations due to use of social media and picture editing. “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” is a saying that has been around for ages (Plato, n.p.). It is an accurate phrase because of contrasting views within particular individuals. Beauty is present in the good deeds of community members as well as the unity exhibited through dreadful events. It is a flower bud breaking through the dirt into the fresh, spring air. To clarify how beauty is viewed, it is often times the exposure of evil accounting for the new appreciation of something beautiful. After recognizing the privileges we acquire, the existence of beauty is revealed and expressed more easily. In current society, appreciating beauty is substantial to

Matisse was influenced by Cézanne's method of analyzing and pulling apart his subject matter. Like Paul Cézanne, Matisse believed that everything could be broken down into simple shapes and painted that way (Matisse, Bonheur de Vivre, n.d.). In Bonheur de Vivre the broken down figures accurately represent the human form and living scenery. The figures in The Large Bathers emit a feeling of calm while the scene depicted in Bonheur de Vivre is a place full of life and love and freedom. Unlike the paintings by Cézanne, Matisse's work does not depict forms that recede in the background and diminish in scale. In Bonheur de Vivre, the scale of the figures in the foreground and the middle ground is badly skewed (Matisse, Bonheur de Vivre, n.d). Matisse brought exploration of vision through space by incorporating shifting perspectives. As a result, the viewer relates differently to the painting and is required to "enter" the scene. Matisse's painting is perhaps the first canvas to actually further the elder master’s ideas.

Claude Lorrain was able to portray the world around him in a unique way and for him “This landscape was the constant inspiration of his art, and he revealed the beauty and grandeur of its changing light, its glittering seas, its distant plains and majestic trees as through seen for the first time.” , giving the viewer the opportunity to look at the world around them in a new and exciting way. Proust’s belief that art is powerful because it gives one the opportunity to regain their appreciation for life is depicted by Lorrain in his Pastoral Landscape with the Ponte-Molle (Figure A). This landscape is based off of the Timber Valley, with the Ponte Molle accurately pictured in the background, even though it is not a topographically accurate work because Lorrain’s top priority was to capture the natural beauty of the scenery. The sun is shown low on the horizon to emphasize the soft lighting, accentuating the ambience of the tranquil setting. Lorrain’s placement of the sun allows for a soft light to illuminate the entire piece and the overlapping of colours in the skyline creates a sfumato effect that adds to mystical feel of the overall