Activity #13: Write about it.

The artwork “Madonna and Child” was sculpted in the 14th century by the Florentine artists and it was done during the era of neoclassicism. Neoclassism mainly dealt with classical mythology and biblical scenes and figures and this era is greatly represented in the sculpture. The Sculpture depicts the Virgin Mary holding a somewhat animated baby Jesus in her arms, the fact that the baby is so animated seems to show the innocence in the being of baby Jesus. The look in the Virgin Mary’s eyes appears to be a look of love and adoration and this seems to be emphasized by the way her body is angled towards him. The Virgin Mary’s body is angled in such a way that her hips are supporting his weight. There is no doubt that this particular work of art is representational, the artwork represents something more than its self. The artwork represents the sacred realm and the purposes of artworks done during that time period and with that theme was to adorn churches and places of sacred worship. In conclusion, it is clear that the sculptor of this work of art was inspired to create art for sacred purposes.



The painting "breezing up a fair wind" by winslow homer done between 1873 and 1876 was done during the industrial era. though Homer's works had certain similarities with those of the french impressionists, his works were not influnced by them. Homer was the independent pioneer of American impressionism. The impressionist style of painting is characterized chiefly by concentration on the general effect produced by a scene or object and the use of unmixed primary colors and small strokes to produce actual reflected light. The most obvious characteristic of Impressionism is the attempt to accurately and record visual reality in terms of effects of light and color. In Homers painting, he seems to employ the use of color to bring out the light from the sky in order to produce the desired effect of shedding light on the occupants of the boat who are obviously in distress. Impressionism was a relevant era in art because it emloyed the use of simple brushsrokes in order to create historically meaningful works of art.

Activity #11

The sculpture "Madonna and Child" was created to serve as a decoration in cathedrals. The work was done in the early renaissance which was a period of creative and intellectual activity. It was during this period that a lot of artists decided to break away from the restrictions of byzantine art which completely focused on the needs of the orthodox church. The early renaissance was centered in Italy during the 15th century and during this period, artists studied the natural world in order to perfect their understanding of the world as we know it. The Renaissance was spurred by a revival of Greek and Roman learning. Works that were thought to have been non existent were rediscovered, and thus the outlook that placed humans to be superior was born. The painting "breezing up a fair wind" by Winslow Homer Does not seem to come from any period, but it was done during the time when America was celebrating it's centennial as a nation. The painting suggests a promise to American youth because it was revised from its original form. The original painting had the tiller being guided by the old man on the boat and not the boy, but such revision by Homer expresses his views about the American youth and their promise for tomorrow. Also, Homer changed the use of oil in the original painting, to the use of watercolor as if in order to move along with the changing times. Source: www.nga.gov

Activity #10: Write about it.

Visual art comes from various mediums, some are done in watercolor, some in oil, and some as sculptures. The mediums that apply to my chosen artworks are oil for Winslow Homers "breezing up a fair wind", and sculpture for the Florentine's "Madonna and child".
In Winslow Homers "Breezing up a Fair Wind", the painting is thick, but the thickness does not seem to undermine the image he is trying to potray also even though the brush strokes are visible to some degree and are an important part of the painting, it still eventually brings the painting as a whole to life. Rather than making texture a part of the picture, Homer chooses to make the image the most important part of the artwork.
In the Florentine artwork "Madona and child" done as a sculpture, it cuts across time and space. Sculpture is usually done to represent humans just as is done with "Madonna and Child". In this piece, it seems as though the artist is trying to potray Mary as being gentlein an informal way, and Jesus as being somewhat animated. The pose the virgin Mary strikes seems to show how they are connected to humanity and to each other.

Activity #9(re-do): Write about it

Where wiould be be today if camera's were not invented? We will still be capturing images by painting potraits. The camera as we know it has been through many evolutions since it was invented. Before the invention of the camera, other forms of capturing images such as painting of potraits were used to convey them, and now the camra that was so inacessible to everyday people is seen in various forms.
Before the camera was made public in the year 1939, potraits were solely the way that people could capture images. Arists main focus were to create clear and precise images to the best of their ability and try to ensure that their paintings could be understood, but once the camera was invented, it became the new realism because of its ability to convey exact images.
The early camera invented by Joseph nicephore niepce was very painstakenly difficult to use. The plate of the camera had to be exposed to sunlight for very long intervals. Nowadays, the camera has evolved in so many ways that the early inventors will be in awe of how the camera has changed, there are now camera's that work underwater, camera phones, disposable camera's, digital camera's just to name a few, in my opinion, this is just the beginning.