Marsden Hartley Analysis

The masterworks of Bernini and Canova shared similarities along the lines of the sculptors’ works were crafted with precision and a keen eye for detail and were successful in giving their works a realistic effect. Both workers were masters in their own time and were able to manipulate marble to as though they were constructing a painting. They both incorporated classical forms in their works, depicting great scenes from mythical stories that could be viewed in great detail at a 360-degree angle.

Kadahdin by Marsden Hartley is quite different from the previous work because it is a landscape painting with a minimalist approach. The scenery painted is Mt. Kadahdin, which was an important part of Maine’s landscape that was painted to death by many artists at the time Hartley created this work. Compared to the other paintings of Mt. Kadahdin Hartleys is much bolder because it only has a color palette of four colors, red, white, blue and black. This gives it a very minimalistic feel but still manages be a very bold and profound work. Out of all the paintings in the exhibit, this was the work that caught my attention the most because of the striking use of color. Ironically, when I went up to observe it and realized that only four colors were used, I was shocked. The work does an incredible job of being so vivid and eye catching, while only using four colors total. The composition of the work was almost like any other painting of Mt. Kadahdin at the time, sky laced with clouds, Mt, Kadahhdin being the largest piece of scenery in the work, the patch red grass at the bottom of the mountain along with a calm pond or river. The clouds themselves seem to have no shape; they are giant ovals hovering through the sky. This work with the limited amount of color use comes off vivid from a glance but manages to capture a calm landscape such as the one that surrounds Mt.

    Thomas Kinkade was known for using strong contrasts between light and dark. He had many artistic talents that spanned over many genres and styles. Kinkade would use “symbols and uplifting imagery to communicate his point of view.” He forged his own path while developing his own styles and techniques. Although Kinkade tried to forge his own path, he had inspirations as well. “The Hudson River and Rocky Mountain Schools of Painting heavily influenced Kinkade’s Early Work”

Prior to my research on Winslow Homer, I had no knowledge of who he was as an artist. After reading about Homer and his life, I learned that he was one of the greatest American painters of the 19th century and had a big impact on the art world. I chose to do my paper on Winslow Homer because I saw a few of his paintings of boats floating in the ocean and was blown away by the strokes he produced. I expected him to be a rural European artist that mainly did landscapes, and while there is some truth behind my assumption, I learned a lot about him that I didn’t expect.

He is best known for his oil paints, but he is also considered one of the founders of English landscape painting with watercolor. Within his travels of Europe he found his own style, known as “Painter of Light”, which created scenes of luminous imagery using brilliant colors and had only been 17 years old when he received the Great Silver Pallet for landscape drawing from the Royal Society of Arts (2015).

The works of Sandro Botticelli are among the most revered of renaissance painting. The sweeping curves of his women and the ethereal beauty of their gazes are recognized instantaneously: from a grandmother in a small town to the cognoscenti of New York or Paris, few can claim to be unmoved by his work. Patronized by the Vatican as well as one of the most rich and powerful Florentines of his time, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, Botticelli was hugely popular in his own day. His most magnificent work, the Primavera, as well as The Birth of Venus, Camilla and the Centaur, and Mars and Venus contain entirely mythological figures whose significances have been debated by various art historians for centuries.

One of the most famous painter and sculptors of the Italian Renaissance, the age of renewal and cultural achievement circa 1500, was the artistic genius Michelangelo Buonarroti. The man that desired nothing but perfection often reached it in his work. He captured the motion of the human figure and the anatomy of muscles in a way that was increasingly beautiful and startlingly realistic. Whether because of one of the most famous sculptures in history, “the David” or the paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, that became the textbook examples for the art period of High Renaissance, Michelango’s art changed the world and he will continue to be studied with awe throughout history.

Marsden's conclusion is somewhat unsettling. He goes on at length about a Dutch politician named Kuyper who managed to resolve all of these conflicting interests and beliefs at the turn of the 20th century. Because of him, he has an apparent hope that America can somehow turn back time, forget the country’s differences, and once again find some sort of an American consensus. However, because America has such wide demographics, that might prove difficult to achieve. People now want what is best for their society and that differs based on the situation and ability of a region.

Winslow Homer is regarded by many as the greatest American painter of the nineteenth century whose mastery in direct observation of his subject matter was considered the most powerful and expressive during his time. Born in Boston and largely self-taught, Homer began his career as an illustrator. Perhaps no other American artist during this time was as accomplished in diverse mediums, such as lithography, engraving, oil painting, and watercolors. Early in his career he was recognized for his artistic talents, and his fondness for narrative and drama that led to employment with Harper’s Weekly. He was a careful observer of visual realism, and he paid attention to the purely physical properties of pigment and color, of line and form and the patterns

After Michelangelo moved to Rome, one of the cardinals within the catholic church commissioned him to create a sculpture called ‘‘La Pieta.’’ ‘‘La Pieta’’ was sculpted from a single piece of marble stone and it was a representation of Christ and his mother Mary. This 6 foot by 6 foot sculpture only took 1 year for Michelangelo to complete it. The sculpture quickly became known for all the details that included the folding of the cloths, the ribs, and the bones which are incredibly difficult to sculpt.

Of the many painters at the time, Aaron Douglas, Lois Jones, and Jacob Lawrence were a few of the well-known painters in this era. Each painter had their own specific styles and patterns with embodied meaning in their artwork, giving each of their pieces significance and beauty.

John Everett Millais and his colleagues were famously known for painting items sourced from the modern world and literature while at the same time utilizing traditional attires. These artists carried out their work directly from nature. Their role model was John Ruskin who inspired artists to go to nature and work wholeheartedly. John Everett Millais and his colleagues used pure color and defined structures. They focused primarily on the truth and reality.

First, we visit St. Peter’s Basilica and Adjoining Piazza in Rome. The beautiful structure still used today, initially was brought to fruition by Donato Bramante as a temple shaped like a Greek cross. Quickly Pope Paul V rejected the design, deeming the Greek cross to be pagan-like. He commissioned Carlo Maderno to make some changes to the floor plan, adjusting the look into a Latin cross. The florid baroque styles are seen entering the Apse and Alter, which “symbolized the power and richness of the church” (392). The sculptures throughout, specifically in the Apse, are dramatic and real, shunning classical styles.

Known as one of if not they best artists of his time Francesco Guardi is quite the artist. he is known for his later works, one of his bests know as the doges feasts which was a 12 canvas set of pure beauty. The painting was pictures of the election that took place in 1763 with the election of Dodge Alvise IV Mocenigo. Guardi captured this amazing moment for the future to witness, the election is a massive thing in italy. Its compared to the election in America but almost 2 times more bigger, its no joke to italy and he was there to capture and give the future a vivid

Indeed, it is not possible to imagine someone could compete with Gianlorenzo Bernini in feeling of the Baroque style in sculpture. Thus, the most prominent works of the artist, known for