Pablo Picasso was a very well known Spanish painter, and some of his works are in NYC at the MOMA. Many of his paintings are Cubist - a style where objects are not shown whole, but are broken up and reassembled to allow the viewer to see them from more than one perspective at a time.
The painting here is titled Guernica, after a city that was bombed during the Spanish Civil War. The small city (5000-7000) people was destroyed in 1937, in what many believe was a senseless act of violence. If you look at the image here, you will notice people screaming and animals also suffering. Cubism is a very appropriate style to denote the horrors of war.
You can search his images on the web, but here is a link to a small selection: http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/Pablo_Picasso/.
Another painter from Spain who is well known is Salvador Dali, who was a surrealist. Surrealist works offer an element of surprise and unexpected images set together. Surrealism.org defines it as "Surrealism style uses visual imagery from the subconscious mind to create art without the intention of logical comprehensibility. "
This painting titled "The Persistence of Memory" is in the MOMA in NYC. If you are ever in St Petersburg, FL, stop by the Salvador Dali museum. Here is a link to a page with more info - he was a very eccentric character!
Let's jump over the Atlantic now and take a look at Frida Kahlo, who has become pretty popular in the US. A few years ago, Salma Hayek produced and starred in a film, titled simply "Frida", and based on the painter's life. Many of her paintings are self-portraits. She also focuses quite a bit on her body and on medical aspects, perhaps because of an almost-fatal accident when she ws a teen. Here are her "Two Fridas".
On a somewhat irrelevant (and irreverent) side note, if you ever saw the movie Dodgeball, the one female dodgeball player was probably based on Frida, with the exaggerated features and the unibrow! Here is a link to her paintings: http://www.fridakahlofans.com/mainmenu.html.
Another Mexican painter was Diego Rivera, who was Frida's husband. He was a muralist, and as a painter, much more innovative when it came to style than his wife. Murals - or large paintings directly on the wall or the ceiling of a building - had been used in antiquity and during the renaissance, but the type of paint was unknown. In early 20th century Mexico, Rivera (and others) experimented until they found a type of paint that would hold up. Some of his enormous murals are very detailed, and show a preoccupation with social justice. Here is "Man at the Crossroads".
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Rivera also painted smaller pictures, and sometimes you can catch one in the city. If you are interested in seeing a mural painted by one of the best know Mexican muralists, the New School for Social Research has some by Jose Clemente Orozco. A link to more info on Rivera is here:http://www.diegorivera.com/index.php.
The last painter here is the only one who is still alive of these 5. His work should look familiar, as you have seen one of his paintings in the text: Fernando Botero, from Colombia. His trademark is painting very fat people, and he is known for using a deceptively simple style to insert social criticism. This painting is titled "The Dancer". Here is a link to a youtube video with some of his work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI1rjytiZsM.
You can find info online for all of these painters. The Wikipedia site on Botero is not very good, but the others seemed better with a quick glance.
All five painters have very different styles, and they are very recognizable. My question to you is which is your favorite, and why? Tell me why you like the specific painter the best - and why you don't like the others as much.
All five painters have very different styles, and they are very recognizable. My question to you is which is your favorite, and why? Tell me why you like the specific painter the best - and why you don't like the others as much.
Out of the 5 artists listed, I would say my favorite would be Salvador Dali. His approach to art is like nothing I've ever seen before. Of course Picasso is unique, but Dali captures my imagination.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do not consider myself an art buff, I do happen to have that very painting hanging on my office wall in my home. "The Persistence of Memory" just seems so dream like, in a drug induced sort of way. The painting conveys the message to me that time can be bent, or altered. That concept amuses me.
Out of the five artist listed, I HHAAAVVVEEEE to pick Pablo Picasso. His style of painting- which is cubist, goes beyond the traditional form of painting, he captures the horror of wars and despair within his art.
ReplyDeleteI believe that his art could truly make you understand HIS perspective, and also embrace your own as well. I also feel that you could only understand a painting if a picture is painted properly, and Pablo Picasso always (i feel) does a great job conveying a message.
-Michelle V.
I prefer the work of Rivera. As a gif on a website his work seems cluttered and busy; but as a mural it must appear as a forest of imagery. After seeing this picture of "Man at the crossroads" I hope I will have a chance in my lifetime to see it, even a rendition will do.
ReplyDeleteI must say that Dali's work is simply wasted on me. From David Wallace to David Lynch, I'm a fan of surrealism. But my mind has simply become saturated with his imagery, to the point of being mundane and contrived. Then again, I suppose that was the goal.
-Chris S
I would have to say that Pablo Picasso is my favorite out of all of these painters not because of his fame, but because his paintings are truly one of a kind. What i really like about his paintings is that they really stand out, almost like someone's handwriting and it would just be hard to copy his style because its just so unique.
ReplyDeleteI do like some of the other painters but they dont come close, and i feel this way because the other painters have kind of boring pictures and they dont really grab my attention.
-Angelo C
From a personal mindset, I appreciate things that are just out of the ordinary. However, although Rivera's and Picasso's paintings are very intricate, I can't really find any true meaning/relevance/appreciation in them all-in-one like I can for Dali's painting. I mean, who sees melting clocks in a barren desert? But more seriously, it doesn't take much out-of-the-ordinary things to make a story out of it, your own story, or what you get from the author's paiting, what he tries to tell you. Essentially, I'm just saying that simplicity and irregularity are things that I appreciate and that's what sticks out to me in Dali's painting.
ReplyDelete- AJ
I like Pablo Picasso's work because it is very choppy but pieced together perfectly. There are so many little things and details that aren't noticed right away. Also his work can be seen by ten people and represent ten different things. Most of his paintings are bright and colorful which draws my attention.
ReplyDeleteThe other artists just seem bland compared to Picasso. Salvado Dali is interesting yet too 'out there' in his ideas for my liking. As for Frida Kahlo and Fernando Botero their paintings are just too realistic and boring to me. Diego Rivera's paintings weren't that bad, but not as good as Picasso's. He came in a close second place.
-Kim Lamiroult
I personally like the the last one from Fernando Botero from colombia. It might be odd but for me it caught my eye when I seen it to me it brung out the spanish culture. The ladies dress the guys suit, the lights also the bar scene. Im not really int paintings but i feel as if i seen this before. The others just remind me of school when your supposed to figure out what the painting is trying to say and what it means with different objects in the same painting meaning something to me Fernando Botero is just painting and i can read it. Without different objects blobed together to make a meaning.
ReplyDeleteNadine C
The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali is my favorite out of all five by far! It catches my eyes in so many ways, almost as if time is meaningless or a figment of out imagination, I would love to put on a Beatles album and just shroom out to this image of beauty for hours! The painting reminds me of alice in wonderland because of it abstract outlook on reality. The other painings did not interest me because of there boring colors and ugly people.
ReplyDeleteChris M
Going to art school and studying in NYC I have been learning and analyzing artists around the world. Traveling to museums such as the MOMA and the Guggenheim have given me a first hand experience and adventure in these artists' works. The artist that I take the most pleasure and recognition for is Salvador Dali. I am entertained by Surrealism and its dynamic flavor. Being an avid painter I feel Surrealism is the hardest concept to portray when painting. It is a challenging practice although the most intriguing and intricate from my point of view.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that I do not enjoy the others as much, I personally believe that Surrealism is a concept that is intricately involved beyond many other paintings and painters.
Liam
Between the five artists my favorite would have to Pablo Picasso. I think his work is so unique and out there and when he was first painting his cubist artwork it was not seen as that popular but today his work sells for over millions I find that fascinating that the perception of his work can change so drastically. Also, this summer I was in Barcelona and got a chance to see the Pablo Picasso and his transformation into the artist that he became was something nothing less than spectacular. He began his career as a traditionalist painter and throughout time he would experiment with other methods of painting and he finally ended with the modern style. Something else that was interesting was the fact that he would take an old painting and transform it into one of his cubist paintings.
ReplyDelete-Chris Hopkins
I would say that my favorite painter out of the selection is Diego Rivera. I like how he painted many murals and that his work can be seen all over. Murals are artwork that can be enjoyed by a large number or people whereas work placed in museums can only be enjoyed by those who go to visit the museums. He has an interesting style to his work that appeals to me.
ReplyDeleteI don't really appreciate the work of Frida Kahlo as I think most of the people she draws are rather strange looking. I also don't really understand the work of Botero. I guess I am missing his symbolism but after looking at a few paintings of his online I can not figure out what he is trying to say.
-Andrew W
Painting has always been something that I wish I could do and always admired. Pablo Picasso is to many a great painter and in fact was but his style was to abstract and crazy for my. It doesn’t attract my attention because I can’t see where he was coming from when he was painting them and what message he was trying to present. Don’t get me wrong his talent is still one of the best but the most unique as well, which I guess is a good thing. Salvador Dali is one of my favorites with his bright colors and melting scenery. His paintings make me think when I am looking at them and to me they all have an underlying question or statement that you need to figure out. Leo S. (sp101)
ReplyDeletePainting has always been something that I wish I could do and always admired. Pablo Picasso is to many a great painter and in fact was but his style was to abstract and crazy for my. It doesn’t attract my attention because I can’t see where he was coming from when he was painting them and what message he was trying to present. Don’t get me wrong his talent is still one of the best but the most unique as well, which I guess is a good thing. Salvador Dali is one of my favorites with his bright colors and melting scenery. His paintings make me think when I am looking at them and to me they all have an underlying question or statement that you need to figure out. Leo S. (sp101)
ReplyDelete