Extended Diploma in art and design 2014

Monday, 19 May 2014

Art Deco and Egyptian influence

Art Deco was a movement which flourished from the 1920's to the 1930's. It originated in France and then spread throughout Europe and North America. The style was linear, with geometric forms. Like its forerunner Art Nouveau, it was an eclectic style. Art Deco designers created a modern style from sources such as historical European styles, the rich colours of the Ballets Russes, imagery of the machine world and distant and ancient cultures. Art Deco affected all forms of design, from the fine to decorative arts to architecture, film, photography, product design, jewellery and furniture.

Ballets Russes Costume

The archaeological discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in November 1922 by Howard Carter awakened a world wide interest in early Egyptian civilisation. The goods that came out of the tomb included the mask of the pharoah, gold jewellery, chariots and mummy cases. Generic Egyptian images and motifs such as lotus flower, scarab, pyramids, hieroglyphs were all very popular and covered from biscuit boxes to book binding and cinema facades. In the fashion world, 'The mummy wrap' was a fashionable dress which was all the rage in the 1920's.

Tutankhamun's Mask

The arts of Egypt, Asia and Africa provided rich sources of forms and materials for designers, artists and architects. Designers started exploring new materials such as sharkskin, ivory and exotic woods and experimenting with techniques such as ceramic glazing and lacquering.

In 1925, The Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes was held in Paris, France. It was an exhibition that focused on the Art Deco in France. It was sponsored by the French government to promote design. More than 20 countries were invited to participate and the works had to be modern.

Exhibition poster

During the Art Deco period designers used and applied ideas taken from Fine Arts movememts, mainly Fauvism, Cubism and Orphism. For example designers borrrowed the abstracted shapes of Cubism for their decorative effects.

Art Deco Stained glass ceiling - Buffalo City Hall

Elevator door inside the Chrysler Building, New York.

Hand-beaded lurex jacket with Egyptian motifs, Paris,France 1922-25

Chrysler Building, New York

Boulder County Courthouse, Colorado, USA
Influenced by the Step Pyramid in Egypt

An Egyptian Palace

William Walcot - Etching - 1923

Bibliography

Gontar, C., 2000-2014. HEILBRUNN TIMELINE OF ART HISTORY.. [Online]

Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/artn/hd_artn.htm
[Accessed 14 April 2014].

Anon., 2003. V&A. [Online]
Available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/art-deco/
[Accessed 19 March 2014].

Thursday, 15 May 2014

Ancient Egyptian Art

Before the Pharoahs existed the Predynastic Period. For the artist the repertoire of symbols available were small and inspired by nature. The natural environment gave the artist not only the choice of subjects but also raw materials such as clay and stone.

Clay was used to make pots and votive figures made to be put in graves. Many objects were made for everyday uses such as the shiny red pots with a black mouth (Naqadah Phase). This model was widespread because many examples of this type of pottery were found in an excellent state. The oldest ceramics also includes pots of red clay with white geometric decorations. Pots made of pale clay painted with dark red motifs. These pots were decorated with geometric patterns, like spirals, triangles, wavy lines and plant elements with stylised traits. Other articles made of clay were statues of human beings for votive use like the famous Merimda head or the figurine of a woman with raised arms.

Jar with painted decoration

The carving of vases and votive tablets out of stone developed at the same as the clay. The subjects, elements and forms were the same used as in the medium of clay. The technique of working stone reached a very high quality. Typical vases were animal shaped, fish, turtles ,birds and antelopes. The vase was extremely stylised turning almost to an abstract, geometrical form. The legs and head functioned as supports or handles. Carved from the hardest stone they were always perfectly smooth.

Vase in the form of a bird

The beginning of the Pharaonic period dates shortly before 3000 BC. The Egyptians were very religious and their belief in life after death was an important part of their culture. They mummified their dead using a special process.

They built pyramids,enormous temples, tombs and large statues. They were designed with absolute precision and astonishing scale.

Gods were portrayed as combinations of animal forms or natural elements.
Wall carvings or relief sculpture decorated the tombs and temples with scenes from everyday life such as sports, hunting and crafts. Hieroglyphs were sometimes included in the art work.
The paintings and sculptures were highly symbolic depicting scenes from nature.

The Egyptian artist had to obey very strict laws of the Egyptian style. Seated statues had to have their hands on their knees; men had to be painted with darker skin than women; the appearance of every Egyptian god, was strictly laid down: Horus, the sky god had to be shown as a falcon or with a falcon's head ; Anubis , the god of funeral rites, as a jackal or with a jackal's head.

On wall paintings or relief sculptures the figure also had to follow rules. They drew the head in profile, a full- face eye was drawn on the side of the face. The shoulders and chest were seen from the front and arms and legs sideways.This makes them look strangely flat and contorted.

Pyramids of Giza

Sennedjem's Tomb

The Great Temple of Abu Simbel

Relief from the tomb of Ti

Bibliography

Gombrich, E.H., 1950, The Story of Art.London: Phaidon Press Limted
Cartocci, A. and Rosati, G., 2005, Egyptian Art. Firenze: SCALA

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau (from French for' New Art') describes a highly decorative, new and modern style from the late 19th century in Europe and North America. It was stylization to the extreme. It has many artistic forms including fine art, architecture and the decorative arts. Artists took inspiration from the natural world trying to break away from past styles. It is also known as Modernisme in Spain, Jugendstil in Germany, Stile Liberty in Italy, Style Guimard in France and Sezessionstil in Austria. In America it was considered to form part of the Arts and Crafts movement. Art Nouveau was a phenomenon of the western world.

Art Nouveau was an out growth of two British styles. The Arts and Crafts movement led by English designer Edward Morris and the Aesthetic movement. The Arts and Crafts movement emphasised the importance of handcrafted work. Japonisme which was popular in Europe influenced many artists with its line drawings, organic forms and references to the natural world.

In the Fine Arts many artists adopted elements of Art Nouveau. These included Edward Munch,Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, Jan Toorop, Gustav Klimt and Odilon Redon to mention a few.

Hector Guimard

Metropolitan Line Entrance by Hector Guimard

This is a dramatic piece of art in Paris (1898 to 1901) by Hector Guimard. The public entrance to Paris' Metropolitain line used iron and glass with metallic twists of his signature plant motif .Each entrance is different but the design motif is carried out to all. Guimard's design for the metro entrances are viewed as iconic symbols of the fin-de-siecle era.

Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec

Poster for La Goulue at The Moulin Rouge (1891)

The Moulin Rouge was opened in Paris in 1889. It gained a reputation of an exciting nightclub.

Poster for Le Divan Japonais (1892)

Henri De Toulouse Lautrec was influenced by Cheret and Bonnard. His work was also influenced by Japanese Ukiyo-e prints. He used area of flat colour bound by bold outlines,silhouettes, cropped compositions and oblique angles were all typical of Japanese prints.

Antoni Gaudi

Antoni Gaudi was born on 25th June,1852 in the Province of Tarragona in Southern Catalonia, Spain. He went to school in Barcelona, the city which holds most of his greatest works. Gaudi was part of the Catalan Modernista Movement which he developed with his nature based organic style. His interest were architecture and went to study in Barcelona, the most modern city in Spain. Gaudi Graduated in 1878 at Provincial School of Architecture. When he graduated he worked in the Victorian style but then he started developing his own style, Composing his works with surfaces of patterned brick or stone, bright ceramic tiles and floral or reptilian metalwork.

In 1878 in his early period at Paris World's Fair Gaudi displayed a showcase which impressed Count Eusebi Guell. This led to the commission of Palau Guell and Guell estate. In 1883 he was charged with the construction of the Sagrada Famiglia. Gaudi changed the design and gave it his own distinctive style. He worked on it for more than fourty years until his death in 1926. This is one of Antoni Gaudi's Impressive works La Sagrada Familia. It was built in 1882 but it is still unfinished.

The Nativity Facade facing East finished by Gaudi himself

Photos of the early construction of La Sagrada Familia.(Sagrada Museum)

Interior of La Sagrada Famiglia

Casa Batllo apartments

Casa Battlo apartments in Barcelona remodelled by Gaudi (1905-1907). He created a facade , roof and interior space. The exterior is on two levels. It has windows on each floor and Gaudi adds skull masks as balconies. The facade is covered in coloured mosaics and the roof is decorated with fish scales design and giant chimneys.

Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt was a symbolist painter and a prominent member of the Vienna Art Nouveau movement. His major works include paintings, murals and sketches. His own interpretation of the Art Nouveau style made him one of the world's greatest decorative artists. His primary subject was the female body which he rendered as sensual and erotic. He was a great portraitist and produced decorative works for patrons notably in Brussels , Belgium.

His style was influenced by his learning foundations at the School of Applied Art. He was influenced by mosaics especially the ones he had seen at Ravenna, Italy. This prompted Klimt to build up his pictures using brilliantly coloured forms.

The Kiss (1907-1908)

Oil and silver and gold leaf on canvas

Alphonse Maria Mucha

Alphonse Mucha was born in the town of Ivancice in southern Moravia (now the Czech Republic) on 24^th July 1860. He left school at 15 for failing to complete his studies in time. He started working as a clerk but at 19 years of age he left the civil service and found work as a theatrical scene painter. This gave him experience of large scale decorative work. In 1881 he received an extensive commission for Count Karl Khuen Belassi. After a few commissions for painting he studied at the Munich Academy of fine arts from 1885 until 1887. He then moved to Paris where he continued studying and also shared a studio for a period of time with Paul Gauguin. In 1894 he became famous from the commission for a poster for the actress Sarah Bernhardt for the play production Gismonda. Mucha became the talk of Paris and his decorative form of Art Nouveau would became Le Style Mucha. From then on he was swamped by commissions for posters for advertising. Mucha used lithography as the printing technique for his posters. Besides posters, Mucha designed costumes, jewellery, wallpaper, stamps and theatre sets and more.

Poster for Gismonda 1894

Monaco- Monte-Carlo poster for the new opened railway line (1897)

Jewellery designed by Mucha

Louis Comfort Tiffany

The American artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany is best known for his work in stained glass. At the age of 24 he began studying the chemistry and techniques of glass making. He established his own firm and while taking commissions he continued to develope new ways of manufacturing glass.
Tiffany believed that nature should be the primary source of inspiration. He became world famous with his Favrile glass. Tiffany designed lamps, stained glass windows, glass mosaics, blown glass, jewellery, enamels and metalwork.

'The Holy City' at the Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church Baltimore, Maryland

by Louis Comfort Tiffany

Harvard System

Books

Ormiston, R. a. R. M., 2009. Art Nouveau:Posters and Illustrations From the Glamorous Fin de Siecle. London: Flame Tree Publishing.

Ormiston, R., and Robinson, M., 2009. Art Nouveau. London: Flame Tree Publishing

Websites

Tiffany, L. C., 2013. ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA. [Online]
Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/595436/Louis-Comfort-Tiffany
[Accessed 14 April 2014].

Gontar, C., 2000-2014. HEILBRUNN TIMELINE OF ART HISTORY.. [Online]
Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/artn/hd_artn.htm
[Accessed 14 April 2014].

Monday, 12 May 2014

Neo and Post Impressionism

Neo and Post impressionism developed out of impressionist. A group of young painters came known as Post-Impressionists at the exhibitions ' Manet and the post-Impressionists ' held at the Grafon Galleries in London in 1910. These were artists who were influenced by impressionism but broke free from it and started their own artistic style expressing emotion and themes of symbolism .

Among these artists were

Paul Gaugin ( 1848- 1891)

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)

Paul Cezenne (1839 - 1934)

The main artists of neo- impressionism were George Seurat and Paul Sigurac who sought to place scientific knowledge in art. The contrast of complementary colours and optical mixture

The neo- impressionists applied small touches of pure colour next to one another on their canvas. They depicted, landscapes places of entertainment Seurat developed pointillism/ Divisonism.

Signac wrote the highly influential 1889 treatise from Eugene Delacroix to neo- impressionism.

The treatise influenced artists such as pissarro, Van Gogh, Matisse and Kandunsky

George Pierre Seurat
Self- Portrait

George Pierre Seurat was born on 2nd December 1859 in France. He was a French painter and a draftsman. In.In his earlier works Seurat produced drawings using conte crayon on textured paper.He then experimented with styles inspired by Delacroix and the impressionists. Seurat started using a scientific approach to the application of colour and composition. This led to a new technique known as Pointillism. This involved small dots of pure colour painted next to each other. Examples of this are Bathers at Asnieres and A Sunday on la Grande Jatte.

A Sunday on la Grande Jatte by George Pierre Seurat

La Grade Jatte was first exhibited in May 1886 in the final Impressionist exhibition. It portrays fashionable Parisians enjoying a Sunday afternoon at a popular spot on the River Seine. In this painting Seurat experiments with colour, subject matter and composition.It is a scientific approach to composition and application of colour.

This involved placing small dots of pure colour next to each other on the canvas. Seurat perfected the technique known as division of pointillism.

The colours in this painting suggests the effect of warm, hazy sunshine the figures although stylised and statue like give us the feeling of busy scene of people enjoying themselves in the sunlight.

Paul Cezanne

Paul Cezanne was born on 19th January 1836 in Aix-en-Provence. His works which consisted of building form with colour and analytical approach influenced the cubist and the fauvists. He lived between Aix-en-provence and Paris where he studied and became involved with the impressionist movement. In 1880s Cezanne started moving further away from the impressionist style of painting.

The Large Bathers (1906) by Paul Cezanne

The theme of nude figures as a group in a landscape attracted Cezanne for a long time. In the final decade of his life time Cezanne painted three large oils of female bathers. Possibly began as early as 1895 and were still being worked on just before his death n 1906. Shy of woman, he did not use female models, so most of his nude paintings were created. In this painting and also the other two, Cezenne paints the figures as solid forms and they are in harmony with their setting, the sky and trees.

The colours are bright following the ideas of impressionism focusing on light. Many of the forms of the bathers are heavily outlined but at the same time combined with areas of tone.

The Composition creates a balance and calm in his painting.The trees form the sides of a huge triangle and the figures are also arranged in triangular groups.

Vincent Van Gogh

In his early paintings Van Gogh his work was dark and naturalistic when he moved to Paris his style changed due to coming in contact with Impressionist Artists.

His palette lighted and was influenced by Japanese prints. In 1988 he moved to Arles where he painted hundreds of canvases and created his greatest master pieces.

Vincent Van Gogh- Chair

In Van Gogh's chair' Vincent used paint thickly and left the brush strokes showing. Often he used the paint directly from the tube. He used firm, dark outlines paint to the shapes.

Van Gogh painted a pipe and tobacco pouch to show that he only needed to paint everyday objects that surrounded him.The onions sprouting in box could have a symbolic meaning as Gauguin wanted him to paint from imagination and not real life.The box also has Van Gogh's signature. The floor's perspective is exaggerated. This is inspired from the work of Japanese artists who disregarded the rules of perspective.

'Starry Night' by Vincent Van Gogh

In Starry Night there are whirling clouds, shining stars and a bright crescent moon. In this painting spacing between the curving swirling and the stars is created using heavy and thick brush strokes which give the painting rhythm and movement. Starry Night composition is surreal and stylized. This shows it was distinct from the Impresssionist technique. In this painting he used thick brush strokes. In his technique he adds depth as well as a rich texture to his work.

The main light source are the bright stars and crescent moon.

Van Gogh used white and yellow to create the spirals giving attention to the sky.

The village is painted in dark colours but the windows are brightly lit with small blocks of yellows, oranges and greens with a dash of reds to create a scene of comfort. It is peaceful in comparison to the dramatic night sky while the silence of the night can almost be felt.

The cypress tree dominates the foreground on the left and the church tower gently breaks up the composition. He chose dark blues and greens to show the reflection of the moon. Dominance of blue is balanced by the orange of the night sky.

Paul Gaugin- Self-Portrait

Paul Gaugin was born on 7th June in 1848 in Paris. He was a leader of post-impressionism. He usesd bold experimentation with colouring. His subjects are expressed with a strong sense of design, bold, flattened ,simplified forms, colour. While living in Pont-Aven, Brittany, he created Vision of the Sermon. He used pure, intense colour. This marked the change from the Impressionist style to the Post -Impressionist.

Gaugin travelled to Panama and Martinique and in 1891 he set off to Tahiti where he lived in poverty. This was his most creative period.

Tahitian women on the beach an analysis by Paul Gauguin

Tahitian Women on the Beach was painted in June 1891. He used a style with both bold colours, flat and simplified shapes. In this painting there are two woman sitting on the sand one is facing the viewer and the other one on the left is facing away from the viewer. The young woman sitting on the left hand side her back towards us and her face down. She is wearing a white top and a red pareo cloth wrapped around the body forming a skirt with a white floral print . Her black hair is tied up with a yellow ribbon and a white flower is placed hanging from her ear. Her right arm extends towards the viewer. The women on the right is wearing pink, cross legged. Although they sit next to each other they are disconnected and seem to be lost in their own thoughts.

In this painting he shows stark contrast against the light were the two woman are sitting and the green water of the lagoon and the blackness of the sea, which is highlighted with white from the breaking waves. This shows the foreground and background creating perspective.

Bibliography

(online) Avalibale at:< http://www.artble.com/artists/vincent_van_gogh/paintings/starry_night/more_information/analysis

(Accessed 12th May 2014)

(online) Avalibale at:< http://www.artble.com/artists/paul_cezanne (Accessed 12th May 2014)

(online) Avalibale at:< http://www.squidoo.com/gauguin-tahitian-women-on-the-beach-an-analysis (Accessed 12th May 2014)

(online) Avalibale at:< http://www.gauguingallery.com/tahitian-women-on-the-beach.aspx

(Accessed 12th May 2014)

(online) Avalibale at:< http://www.artble.com/artists/paul_cezanne/paintings/the_large_bathers (Accessed 12th May 2014)

Book

Janes, K.H.,Chivers, I and Zaczek, I., 2011. Great Paintings, London: Penguin Group

Japanese Prints

The art of woodcut originated not in Japan but in China in the 8th century. The Chinese invented a type of woodblock printing six centuries before it was used in the West.

The Chinese used printing in order to spread holy images throughout the vast empire. As Buddhism spread across the Far East, Korea and Japan started the development of printing. Japanese printmaking originated in the Edo region of Japan, now known as Tokyo. Edo is also the Historic period between 1603 and 1868. Japan was ruled by the military leaders called shoguns. They came from a family called Tokugawa. Although only Samurai could afford to commission art, the new middle-class could buy woodblock prints without text. These were cheap to buy because they were produce in multiple editions.

Utamaro Kitagawa

Japan continued to develop printing techniques. The original process involved four different artists.First the publisher chose the subject.
Then a painter produced a design in India Ink on mulberry paper. The drawing was then glued to a block of cherry wood leaving the compositor in relief. After inking the block. It was then pressed onto paper using a hemp pad. The result was a black and white print which then was painted in colour by hand.

Ukiyo-e was the most popular style in Japanese art. Ukiyo-e means 'Pictures of the floating world'.
The subject consisted of scenes of harmony, everyday living, historical events and landscapes.

One of the first major artists of Ukiyo-e was Hishikawa Moronobu. In 1660 he began to publish signed images of wood block prints without text which made it accessible to the middle-class. His prints were the first true style of ukiyo-e. He used a strong linear style and his work influenced artists for the next two hundred years.

Hishikawa Moronobu

Suzuki Harunobu introduced the full colour print around 1706 . This required a block for each colour which was printed on the same paper using an alignment mechanism. He used many special techniques and his subjects varied from classical poems to contemporary beauties. He also produced a number of erotic images.

Suzuki Harunobu - Snow (Yuki) from the series Elegant snow,moon.

Hokusai Katsushika created the well known woodblock print series 'Thirty six views of Mount Fuji' which includes the internationally recognised 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa'. This series made him famous both in Japan and overseas.

Hokusai-The great wave off Kanagawa

Hokusai-Waterfall

Utagawa Hiroshige produced thousands of compositions which included everyday scenes of city life and serene landscapes.
Hiroshige was an artist who influenced the Impressionist painters. Wood block prints started arriving in the West when Japan opened its harbours to merchant ships in 1854.
Van Gogh was excited by Hiroshige's shocking and non-western composition. He used Hiroshige's prints as a source of inspiration. Van Gogh copied two of his prints from the series 'One Hundred Views of Edo'. These were the Blossom in a Plum Orchard and a Sudden Shower on Howashi Bridge. Artists who were inspired by Hiroshige's work were Manet, Degas and Monet to mention just a few..