Sydney Robertson Blog

 Vietnam War 1965-1975  Nancy Spero  was born in 1926 and was an American visual artist who was also known for her husband Leon Golub. Both of these artists were war activist and were very engaged in protesting the violence that war causes. Spero created many art pieces based on what was going on at the time. She created many pieces that she called The War Series from 1966-1970. Each pieces was created with ink on paper. 1968  I was drawn to Nancy Spero's art due to how honest and brash it was. There was no sugar coating what was going on and how she felt about it. This art piece was one that I felt called to due to the fact that she used light colored red paint to draw the helicopter and portray it as a murderous weapon that deployed killers to Vietnam. There is a mother and child sitting on top of the helicopter that is supposed to resemble the people of Vietnam that are being slaughtered, when all they wanted was peace. This art piece is very simple but has a lot of emotion that

American Gothic 1930 - Grant Wood  Grant Wood was an American painter and mostly focused on the representation of regionalism. He mostly known for his paintings of the rural American Midwest. American Gothic is the painting that made him famous and became an example in the early 20th-century American Art.  In 1930, Grant Wood an American painter that was driving around Eldon, Iowa looking for a inspiration. He noticed the Dibble House, which he thought was a flimsy farm house with gothic church style windows. The couple in the painting were created from Wood in what he thought the kind of people should live there. Wood used his sister and the woods family dentist to style the painting after. In the painting the house behind the couple is a real look alike of what the Dibble house looks like. The women is wearing a apron with rickrack that is used to better reflect the time period on a farm. The three pronged pitchfork is also in the mans overalls, the gothic style window and in his fac

  The Romantic Era was more than just a artistic movement. It was literary, musical and intellectual movement that began in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. In many areas in Europe it was very prominent in 1800-1850. The Romantic Era was all about using the imagination of the artist to show its emphasis on emotions.  Realism art is a movement from around the mid nineteenth century, it is a movement in which artists based their subjects from everyday life. The term realism was defined by a French novelist in the 1840's The paintings were done in a more realistic life like way. Romanticism art was greatly described as a movement in art that shows expression of personal feelings and interest in the natural world. It is often used to express a more dramatic emotion and inspire deep feelings that the viewers can connect with. Romanticism art can be based on true events but be a more dramatic version.  Gustave Courbet - The Wave  Jean Desire Gustave Courbet was a French pain

  Madame Francois Buron - 1769 France  Jacques-Louis David is a French painter born in 1748. After his father passed away, David started studying painting. With the help of his mother and uncles he was afforded a solid education. David went on to work n the studio of Joseph-Marie Vien ( J;acques-Louis David ). David's paintings were directed towards the idea of political ideology, he wanted to focus on civic virtue. There is not enough history on David's opinions but he was incredibly fond of the revolution and was a major supporter.  The Madame Francois Buron panting is one of Jacques-Louis earlier paintings. It is a oil painting on Canvas and is available to view in the Art Institute Chicago in Gallery 216. I was drawn to this painting because during this era, it was not common for there to be women that were well read or scholarly (Megotti Art and scientific discovery in the 1700's: Classical era ). During the classical era, writing and literature started to become far m

 Medusa,   Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - 1597 Caravaggio has some amazing paintings and it was hard to choose which one I liked the most. I found Medusa and was completely taken by the detail and expression. Caravaggio did this oil painting on canvas in 1597. Caravaggio was fascinated with the myth of Medusa and the monster like look she gave. In this specific painting Caravaggio uses his own face in place of Medusa's as a way of showing that he is immune to her gaze that turns people to stone ( Medusa (Caravaggio) ). I think it is very interesting that Caravaggio used his own self portrait in this painting. Instead of using the actual face of Medusa, he wanted to use his own face and portray that he is immune to her powers and cannot be turned to stone. Even though the myth of medusa may not be real, Caravaggio wanted to portray that he was real and show a real person in his painting ( Medusa (Caravaggio) ).  Although the head is decapitated, it shows the final moments and e

  The Garden of Earthly Delights is a Northern Renaissance painting that quickly caught my eye. Artist Hieronymus Bosch was born in C. 1450 and he lived in the town of Hertogenbosch in northern Braband which is now known as Holland. His painting style is more of a surrealistic, cartoon like style. Bosch learned how to paint from his grandfather and father. The painting is now hung in the Mueso Nacional Del Prado in Madrid Spain.  This painting caught my eye because it is a painting that I believe is very different from the rest of the Norther Renaissance painting that I was looking at. The three different wood pieces to this painting are the most intriguing to me. Each one is connected to the next but they all tell a very different story. The left piece seems to be more calm and relaxing. There are fewer people and more animals in their natural element. The middle piece seems to have the most going on, there are lots of people that are clothed and naked. Large group of animals that are