Sally Mann Photography

I stumbled across this photographer, Sally Mann, on The Drifter and the Gypsy, and I just couldn't resist sharing too! Her photographs are so full of honesty, they have such beautiful tones, and I just adore them. They don't feel artificial, they feel real, like life itself.







What do you guys think of these images? Is there one that speaks to you?

Renoir and Baudelaire

While preparing one of my final exams for my Art and Literature class (yes, I got to prepare the final at home!), I had to find links between pieces of art and literature. Here is a link that I found in this Renoir painting, and in a few lines of a Baudelaire poem. Just look at the painting, read each line, and it's almost as if these lines are describing the scene directly! Pretty cool.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, La Grenouillère, 1869

A few lines from Baudelaire's Parisian Dream:
"and every color, even black,
became a lustrous prism;
liquid turned to glowing glass
and what was crystal flowed...
from within each thing was luminous."

I've never been a huge fan of poetry, but these lines are beautiful. What do you think about poetry?

Art History: Rococo

Jean-Honoré Fragonard is one of my favorites, because he quite often paints scenes of love and restlessness. These two paintings look to me as if a secret love affair is unfolding behind the scenes, and the lovers' hearts are beating a million times a second for one another. I don't know about you, but falling hopelessly in love with a handsome young man sounds like something I'd thoroughly enjoy. Also, that dog looks like my Mom's dog, and that is quite amusing to me.

The Love Letter, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1770, Metropolitan Museum

I love the way fabric is painted in classical or Academic-style paintings. The way the light is reflected, and how the fabric falls makes me want to reach in and touch it. Look at the fabric of her dress below!

The Stolen Kiss, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Hermitage Museum

Antoine Watteau (pronounced WAH-TOE) is known for his paintings of fête galante, a french term meaning a frolicking, bucolic, outdoor party of rich, elegant people. I don't know about you, but my idea of a perfect summer afternoon would include running around in a sundress, in a wild-flower-filled meadow. And of course, no fête galante would be complete without a group of chubby cherubs tumbling through the air. Who even came up with fat baby angels anyway?!

The Embarkation for Cythera, Antoine Watteau, 1717, Louvre

What do you think about Rococo painting? Do you love the romantic spirit, or do you find it irritatingly frilly?

Art History is Cool - Art Nouveau

What makes Art Nouveau so unique, is that it was created for a very simple purpose: to beautify. To make cities, homes, posters, advertisements - in short, the world around us - beautiful. (you might know the famous curvy green Metro station in Paris) This isn't a typical "fine art" movement, found only in painting or sculpture, this was a movement found within everyday objects of upper-middle class people.

Inspired by the curving lines and floral patterns found in nature, Art Nouveau is popularized today by the work of Alphonse Mucha. Almost all of his work seems to feature nymph-like women, usually with really long hair. There is a flatness to his work, which gives it a graphic design aspect, but that doesn't mean it lacks in detail and sophistication. The colors he uses are so harmonious!


Alphonse Mucha, Autumn and Spring, 1896

These two below are posters or advertisements. I like to imagine these type of posters pasted around Paris in the 1890's.

Alphonse Mucha, Champenois Imprimeur-Editeur, 1897

Alphonse Mucha, Biscuits Lefevre-Utile, 1896

What is also really unique and exciting about Art Nouveau was that it was used in architecture and interior design. This design aesthetic pervaded every aspect of urban life.

Victor Horta, staircase in the Van Eetvelde House, Brussels, Belgium, 1895

Designed by Jules Lavirotte and Alexandre Bigot, Paris, 1901

Here are some textile designs as well.

Rene Beauclair, Decorative Designs, 1900

Some people find this style too ornate. How do you feel about it?

Art History is Cool: Edgar Degas

This week, I've been at a loss for what to post. As I'm getting my bearings in the blogosphere, I've been brainstorming for new things to post about. I can do photography and style posts all I want, but in order to take it to the next level, I need something new, something unique! After reading these helpful tips, I realized I should take the advice and post about something I know and love: Art History!

As a few of you may know from the About Me post, I am a student of Art History, and I thought it would be cool (and if not cool, at least interesting) to make art history seem cool! If I succeed, bravo! If I fail, then at least I tried something new, and I'm fairly certain I'm one of the only style/photography bloggers out there who also blogs about Art History. So without further delay, here are Five Reasons Why Edgar Degas is Cool:

{ONE}
French Impressionism was revolutionary. Impressionists were like the hippies of the 19th century, and they literally changed art, the world even. You see, there was this governmental organization in France, called The Academy, that controlled nearly every aspect of art, how it should look, how it should be made, what subjects should be in it, etc. So to make a long story short, the Impressionists told The Academy to "take a hike," and look where they are now! Impressionism is probably the most well-known artistic movement in history aside from the Italian Renaissance. They took a stand, ignored all the rules, and created unprecedented and magnificent works of art.




{TWO}
Ballerinas. Enough said.




{THREE}
Look at that beautiful, saturated, unabashed color! They aren't blended well and they aren't realistic, and that's what conveys the energy of the dance so well.




{FOUR}
He "cropped" his images like snapshots. This was almost a criminal offense in "serious" art of the Academy. Back then, the critics saw this as sloppy, and certainly not worthy of being portrayed on canvas. Degas really showed them who's boss with that lady blocking our view.




{FIVE}
Degas wasn't afraid of empty space. He painted (although he often used pastels) that bare floor with no shame, and he wants you to notice it.



Image names and Dates, top to bottom:
Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage, Edgar Degas, 1874
Two Dancers, Edgar Degas, 1893-1898
Ballet Dancers on the Stage, Edgar Degas, 1883
Ballerina and Lady with a Fan, Edgar Degas, 1885
Ballet Rehersal, Edgar Degas, 1873