Boxing may seem brutish. But it makes a masterpiece of Stag at Sharkey’s. George Wesley Bellows uses realistic representation and abstract blurring here. This heightens the excitement around the action. It gives viewers the immediate feeling of recognition. Oh! I know what this is about. There’s so much happening at the center. Boxers and a referee draw us into the contest. But there’s more to the story. It’s not a mere popcorn moment. Sure, boxers fight in the painting. In fact, Bellows often portrayed boxing. It was one of his favorite subjects.
Introducing Amédée David the Comte de Pastoret. The painter Jean Auguste Dominiqué Ingres was a student of Jacques Louis David. It’s funny because thirty five years before this portrait, David did one with Amédée in it. He was the baby in Madame de Pastoret and Her Son. There were no signs of the man he’d become from his tiny presence in that painting. In contrast, this portrait shows us the man.
Table of Contents for art blog on Madame de Pastoret and Her Son:
Aristocrats vs. revolutionaries
Symbols in Madame de Pastoret and Her Son
Working mothers of the French Revolution
Prison, exile, and a missing needle
Timing wasn’t on the side of Madame de Pastoret and Her Son. In fact, she married Count Pastoret on Bastille Day. That was the climactic end of the French Revolution. As a noble aristocrat, this wasn’t an ideal anniversary day. It also meant revolutionaries, like David, started to see her in a different way. When he agreed to paint Adelaide Anne Pastoret, she was running her own revolution.
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Fascinating insights about the Gray and Gold Painting lie ahead, including:
John Rogers Cox: Bank Teller-Painter-Soldier-Painter
Fences and distance in Gray and Gold
Magic mixed with Realism
A meticulous method
Paintings like Gray and Gold by Cox aren’t what one might think of as art about war. It lacks literal soldiers and arms. But that’s because this painting portrays war through analogy. This natural landscape might not contain any people. But human emotion permeates the picture. Cox wields fury and frustration in a controlled chaos of weather. The clouds loom with foreboding grey peaks and an ominous black sky behind. This represents human nature’s shadow side. That’s why we go to war.
This art blog on Rousseau’s The Fight of a Tiger and a Buffalo includes:
Bottoms up bananas – reality is overrated
Fight? What Fight?
Rousseau’s self esteem
Flowers and animals paired in The Fight of a Tiger and a Buffalo
Jungle mystery
Henri Rousseau creates a sense of play – not battle – in The Fight of a Tiger and a Buffalo. His singular style suits this particular fancy. That’s because Rousseau brings us into his world without much regard for the “real” one. He paints fantasy. But one that only he could imagine. There’s nobody quite like Rousseau. His vision includes upside down banana bunches. So, we know it’s unlikely he ever saw a banana tree in person. In fact, Rousseau claimed to have visited the jungle. But we now know he’d only ever been to zoos and botanical gardens. Given his bananas, he likely went to the farmer’s market as well.
Contents for The Parasol painting by Goya include:
Trapped lady and free servant
Greenery versus greys
Color and the duty in the Spanish royal court
Six tiny, hopeful, leaves
Bright hues draws us into the placid pair of Goya’s painting The Parasol. Their relationship, and the painting, seem simple at first. But the freshness of that yellow and brilliant blue draw our eyes deeper into the scene. Looking closer at the lemony skirt, we see it hosts a tiny dog. This represents a sense of duty and care for the young lady. The domesticated pup’s in that needy lapdog position. Such creatures are often like babies. So, it symbolizes the lovely lady’s role as mother and caretaker.