Category: 131R

One of the most important painters of the 20th century (and one of my favourite artists of all time), David Hockney (1937-present) has made his name painting swimming pools and creating photo collages.

Born in England, he attended the Royal College of Art in London. Here, he featured in an exhibition that promoted British Pop art, where he was associated with the movement, although his earlier works had expressionist elements.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1964 where he painted swimming pools, palm trees, and sunshine using bright colours, which showed the beautiful weather in California. Hockney also painted portraits of the people he cherished in pairs.

Although he had always been fascinated with photography it was only until the 80’s where he began working in that medium.

In 2018, Hockney’s painting, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) had been sold for $90 million, which was the most expensive work by a living artist sold at auction until 2019. 

Sources:

www.biography.com/artist/david-hockney

www.artsy.net/artist/david-hockney

www.architecturaldigest.com/story/david-hockney-studio-visit

American artist Rou Lichenstein was one of the founders of American Pop Art. His most famous works, which were cartoon-style paintings, are synonymous with the movement. 

Lichenstein worked in several modern art styles early on in his career, including Abstract Expressionism. He began to include cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse into his abstract paintings. 

During the ’60s, he began to move away from his abstract style and started to experiment with other techniques. He challenged the idea that commercial art and cartoons were not “true” art, going against the Abstract Expressionist movement which was popular during this time. 

The process for his cartoon works began with Lichenstein taking a single frame from a comic strip, then reproducing the frame on canvas and paint, working with bold black lines and Ben-Day dots. 

Although his paintings are famously known, he has also created thousands of murals, prints, ceramics and sculptures as well.

Personally, I find Lichenstein’s works enjoyable to look at. His bold use of colours and line are incredibly impactful. However, I am not sure how to feel knowing that his paintings literally came from the work of other people without credit. Lichenstein stated that his work is different because of the way he created it, as he chose the colours and painted the dots on by himself, but it does not dismiss the fact that the line drawings are not original.

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I also really like his sculptures, especially those of his brushstroke series. They give the effect of something that is flat and 2-D while in reality, they are not. They remind me of these backpacks that were really popular a few years ago because they gave the viewer the illusion that they were completely flat and not a functional backpack while in reality they were. I will never get tired of that concept- it’s so clever.

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Sources: 

www.wikiart.org/en/roy-lichtenstein

www.theartstory.org/artist/lichtenstein-roy/life-and-legacy/

hwww.mymodernmet.com/roy-lichtenstein/

Max Ernst (1897-1976) was a German-born artist who was known for pioneering the Dada and Surrealism movements. Although he was never formally trained, he created countless paintings, sculptures, prints, and collages depicting the surreal and unnatural. 

As a young adult, he studied philosophy, which was where he became interested in the art of the mentally ill as they were full of unbounded creativity and emotion. 

After serving in WWI, Ernst was traumatized by the things he saw during his time in the trenches, and he used art as an outlet for his trauma. He became critical of western culture and the modern world, which was a common theme in his works. 

He created two techniques: frottage and grattage, which contributed to the Surrealist movement.

Ernst’s work is incredibly complex and requires one to look at it more than once.  It clearly reflects the mind of someone who is disillusioned and critical of societal norms. I like how the subjects in his paintings stand out against softer backgrounds.

Sources: 

www.britannica.com/biography/Max-Ernst

www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/ernst-max/solitary-and-conjugal-trees

Franz Marc was a German expressionist painter and printmaker. Although his life ended early, he was a key figure in the German expressionist trend and would be a source of inspiration for the evolving movement.

His painting career began when he travelled to Paris, where he studied the different Parisian painting trends, allowing him to try his hand at different styles including the naturalistic academic style.

During this time he was interested in the animal form, so he mastered painting them realistically. Inspired by French impressionist paintings and artists like Van Gogh and Picasso, his style began to take on a more impressionistic form.

Marc founded the Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) which was a group of German Expressionist artists. When he was drafted into the army, Marc utilized his painting skills to paint on tarps to hide artillery from fighter planes. He painted pointillist designs in the style of “Manet to Kandinsky”. Unfortunately, he did not survive the war. At the age of 36, he was struck down by a shell and was killed instantly.

I chose Franz Marc because I randomly put his name into Google from the list of artists and immediately recognized his art even though I have never heard of his name before. His abstract animal paintings are truly unique and unforgettable. His subjects are dynamic and always seem to be moving within the painting due to the bright and loud colours and blocky shapes. The animals in his works are either sharp and block-like or round and balloon-like. 

Sources:

www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-Marc

www.franzmarc.org/

www.wikiart.org/en/franz-marc

Georges Surat (1859-1891) was a French post-impressionistic artist that made great advances in the art world. From utilizing science in his art to founding a new art movement, he is nothing short of iconic.

Surat learned art the traditional way, studying at the École Municipale de Sculpture et Dessin and the École des Beaux-Arts before doing military service for a year. Upon returning he worked with conté and monochrome drawings before moving on to other things.

Surat was interested in the relationship between art and science, reading several texts of perception, colour, form and line. Inspired by Michel-Eugène Chevreul’s work in colour theory, he applied his learnings to his paintings. He would paint compositions entirely of pure coloured dots instead of mixing colours together. He stated that the eye would mix the coloured dots together and form a full image from far. This technique he developed was called divisionism, or pointillism. 

I’ve encountered Surat’s works many times in the past, especially in elementary school where I would have to create works in pointillism for art projects. His paintings were always shown in examples, but his name was never mentioned, so I never connected a name to his works until now. Although Surat is famously known for his pointillism works, I discovered (through Wikipedia) that he has done many works in conté as well, which I personally like better. Something about them feels so.. contemporary?? I really like how soft they are and there are no harsh lines at all. 

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Seurat

www.britannica.com/biography/Georges-Seurat

www.artnet.com/artists/georges-seurat/

www.georgesseurat.org/the-complete-works.html?pageno=1

John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) was an English painter who painted in the pre-raphaelite style. Born in Rome to two English painters, he was immersed in the art world from an early age. He enrolled at the Royal Academy of Art when he was 21. 

He initially studied sculpture but went on to exclusively study painting. His paintings depicted women of British literature and Classical mythology such as Arthurian legends and Greek myths. 

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He produced hundreds of watercolour and oil paintings. As he became more well known, his paintings grew larger in scale. 

Although he was not a true member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, his subjects and painting style reflected their tastes. He would continue to paint until his death in 1917 from cancer.

I am in love with Waterhouse’s paintings! They’re richly coloured and dramatically beautiful. All of the women in his paintings have an air of mystery and elegance in them. His paintings seem to have an Impressionistic style to them- I can see and feel the “grain” of his brushstrokes. 

Sources:

www.johnwilliamwaterhouse.com

www.britannica.com/biography/John-William-Waterhouse

www.artnet.com/artists/john-william-waterhouse/

www.john-william-waterhouse.com/paintings/

Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) was an English painter who was famous for his work in portraiture. He was born into a well-educated family, growing up and becoming versed in the classics. He became apprenticed under Thomas Hudson, who was well known for his portraits during this time.

Reynolds later developed a style unlike any others of his time, using impasto (the texture of thick paint) and large brush strokes. He studied the works of the old masters, Italian painters, and ancient Greco-Roman sculptors.

He founded and became the first president of the Royal Art Academy, where he delivered a series of lectures. There he greatly encouraged people to refer back to the classics and works of the old masters. He believed in idealizing the natural world, choosing not to paint things as they are in real life; this would be later called the “grand manner” of painting.

What I enjoy about his paintings are that they all have blurred, almost rough-looking backgrounds that contract with the soft, smooth subjects, pulling the eye in. Their somber, pensive looking faces give them an air of dignity.

Sources:

www.britannica.com/biography/Joshua-Reynolds

www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/reynolds-copy-sir-joshua

www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/joshua-reynolds-pra

www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp03755/sir-joshua-reynolds

https://www.wikiart.org/en/joshua-reynolds

Jan Steen (c.1626 –1679) was a Dutch painter who was known for his animated and lively paintings. He was born into a well-off family, his father being a brewer. He trained with artists Nicolaes Knupfer and Adriaen van Ostade. He moved several times, living in Leiden, The Hague, Harlem and Delft.

He painted over hundreds of paintings ranging from portraits to landscapes to tableaus. He could not survive on the money he was making from his paintings alone so he ran a tavern and a brewery. His popular paintings often depicted humorous family scenes that were chaotic or scenes from daily life that filled the viewer with warmth. He also painted other themes such as religion or ones based off of proverbs which served to remind those of important lessons.

I really like the details Steen put into his paintings. It makes me look at his work for a long time to uncover the small things he adds to make it more interesting. I can feel his sense of humour in these works. What I find the most interesting is that none of the colours in his paintings are super saturated or pop out. I know that the colour of the composition affects the mood however he does not use bright colours and yet we still feel a sense of joy looking at his comical paintings.

Sources: 

www.theleidencollection.com/artists/jan-steen/

www.holland.com/global/tourism/discover-holland/traditional/dutch-masters/jan-steen-12.htm

www.mauritshuis.nl/en/explore/the-collection/steen/

www.virtualuffizi.com/jan-steen.html

www.wikiart.org/en/jan-steen

Hans Holbein (c. 1497-1543) was a German artist who was known for his portraiture and woodcut works. His father, whom he was named after, was a painter as well and taught him how to paint. He later moved to Basel, Switzerland, where he worked with a variety of mediums, from stained glass to prints to painting portraits of affluent merchants.

A few years later he came to England and during this time his work in portraiture became known. Holbein became the court painter for King Henry VIII, painting hundreds of portraits until his death in 1543 from the plague. 

My favourite works by Holbein were his illustrations for the allegory the “Dance of Death”, which are extremely expressive and have a sense of movement within them. Despite how morbid the theme is, I particularly liked the skeleton, which represented death. In every piece, it seemed as if it was joyfully inviting their next victim to ‘dance’, much to the latter’s horror. 

Sources: 

www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/hans-holbein-the-younger

www.britannica.com/biography/Hans-Holbein-the-Younger

getty.edu/art/collection/artists/693/hans-holbein-the-younger-german-14971498-1543/

www.hans-holbein.org/

www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/459080

Jean Fouquet (c.1420-c.1480) was a distinguished French painter of the 15th century. He painted for the French monarchy, and was given the title of Court Painter. He was well known for his portrait, panel painting and manuscript illumination works.

 Fouquet is also thought to have been the person who produced the earliest portrait miniature, which was a form of portraiture that was inspired by the techniques used to create illuminated manuscripts. 

The first French artist to travel to Italy, Fouquet picked up Italian painting techniques, and brought them back with him to France. We can see in his works that there are elements of Flemish and Italian techniques in his French-style paintings. 

I find Fouquet’s paintings pleasing to look at. He utilizes rich colours, especially primary colours. These make his paintings pop and make them feel lively, despite the somber looking subjects in his paintings. We can see this in paintings such as “Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels.” and “Etienne Chevalier with St. Stephen”.

Sources:

www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Fouquet

study.com/academy/lesson/jean-fouquet-paintings-biography-education.html

www.visual-arts-cork.com/old-masters/jean-fouquet.htm

itsartalicious.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/self-portrait-of-jean-fouquet/

www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/459207

www.visual-arts-cork.com/genres/self-portraits.htm#italianrenaissance