Hugo Ball

Hugo Ball is one of the most influential artists of the Dada Movement. Originally, Ball studied sociology and physiology but later moved to Berlin to pursue a career in acting and art. Although art was his dream, it didn’t stop him from serving his country, so he tried to join the military. Though medical reasons kept Ball from serving in the war, he still witnessed the battle.

As the invasion of Belgium began, Ball became very distraught and disillusioned with the war because he felt as if he was helpless and couldn’t do anything about the current situation. The trauma that the war brought onto Ball caused him to conjure up the idea that we are no more than cogs in a fighting machine, which later inspired a lot of his artwork. His readymade and found object art complemented his other artistic works in his poetry. His poetry work’s nonsensical and ironic feelings helped pave the way for the Dada movement. His performances successfully articulated the movement’s radical nihilism and iconoclastic ideology.

Alfred Sisley

Farm to Höllenkaff, 1874 - Alfred Sisley - WikiArt.org

Alfred Sisley was born in 1839 and was the son of two successful parents Unfortunately, not much is known about Alfred’s younger years before he was sent to London in 1857 to study for a profession in some sort of trade. While he was in London, Sisley spent most of his time touring the exhibitions of John Constable and J.M.W. Turner at the National Gallery.

A. Renoir / The Sisley Family / 1868 - Alfred Sisley as art print or hand  painted oil.

Sisley returned to Paris in 1860, where he joined the École des Beaux-Arts. While in Paris, he met the artists James Whistler, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Frédéric Bazille, and Claude Monet, by whom he was heavily inspired. This is one of the reasons his work was true to the impressionistic style of the time. Sisley was trained to draw from memory and to analyze nature while emphasizing the value of authenticity. It can be concluded that Sisley’s work prior to 1870 was damaged and/or ruined while he was escaping the Prussian invasion in Bougival.

Alfred Sisley | French painter | Britannica

After the death of Sisley’s father in 1879, he started to dedicate his life to painting in order to support his family financially. This was also the time when Sisley started to really develop some incredible painting skills through his use of color. His works include a massive range of different tones while still being able to render beautiful and realistic landscapes. Due to the backlash on impressionist painters during this time, Sisley died without wealth, but now we are able to truly appreciate his work and his life’s story.

File:Moret au coucher du soleil, octobre.JPG - Wikimedia Commons

Source: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj1werF1IT0AhUcHzQIHUcCBW8QFnoECAQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theartstory.org%2Fartist%2Fsisley-alfred%2F&usg=AOvVaw1eCKbUgT7J06T8WO0ZdqrP

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin was a French painter who mainly painted still lifes and genres during his career during the Roccoco movement. Baptiste was born in Paris and never strayed far from home. We don’t have much information about his education, but we know he worked with Pierre-Jacques Cazes until 1724. Though he got accepted into the Academy of Saint Luc in 1724, Baptiste’s career didn’t kick off until 1728 when he became a member of the Royal Academy of Painting.


Today, Baptiste’s work is highly appreciated and looked at as some of the best still-life paintings. I appreciate Batiste’s style in art due to his immense detail when it comes to his still life work. Most of his pieces also include symbolism to show the amount of personal loss he suffered in his personal life. These symbols include things such as bubbles and precariously balanced objects. His juxtaposition of such sad and somber topics in scenes from everyday life is what separates him from other Rococo artists.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Baptiste-Simeon-Chardin

The Ray (Chardin) – Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › The_Ray_(Chardin)

Saying Grace (Chardin) – Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Saying_Grace_(Chardin)

Boy with a Spinning-Top – Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Boy_with_a_Spinning…

Chardin Artworks & Famous Paintings – The Art Storyhttps://www.theartstory.org › artist › artworks

https://www.wikiart.org/en/jean-baptiste-simeon-chardin

Titian

Tiziano Vecelli, known as Titian in English, is a famous renaissance artist from the 15-16th centuries. Titian is seen as one of the most versatile artists in Italy as his styles constantly changed throughout his career. Though he may have changed styles, he was always consistent on his use of colour. Though some of his earlier works may not have been as bright, his loose brush work and subtlety of tone were motifs in all of his pieces.

During the 16th period, Titian grew and matured in his Giorgionesque style and undertook larger and more complex subjects in his work. In 1521, Titian rose to the height of his fame after his figure of Saint Sebastian. Later, Titian created a sieges of small madonnas, in which he placed amongst beautiful landscapes and backgrounds. The softness to his pieces are very encapsulating and his use of tone and colour is unmatched. I find his work beautiful and intriguing to look at due to its soft features but immense detail.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titian#Growth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Man_with_a_Quilted_Sleeve

https://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/titian

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/656438

https://geniusrevive.com/en/titian-one-of-the-greatest-high-renaissance-painters/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Portrait_(Titian,_Madrid)