Month: November 2021

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Gustav Klimt was an Austrian painter, born in Baumgarten in 1862, who became the most representative figure of the pictorial modernism of his time. He attended the school of applied arts in his hometown and triumphed as an author of large decorative paintings in an academic style. In 1897, his interest in avant-garde art led him to found, with some friends, the famous group called the Viennese Secession, of which he was the first president and leading exponent.

His unique artistic style was emerged after taking inspiration from very different sources, such as Byzantine art, the oriental style, the Arts and Crafts movement, and of course, Art Nouveau. Undoubtedly his most famous piece is The Kiss, which today is exhibited at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna. Besides, Klimt not only left his mark on the artistic world with his wonderful paintings, but he also did so by influencing great artists, such as Egon Schiele.

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In his works, he used gold leaf, tempera and oil painting, and captured in his canvases characters that often show a “floating” appearance. He painted, above all, female figures, which are the best known and most valued of his production. In these work, he combined the realism of the portrait, with an extreme decoration of the backgrounds and dresses, in which yellow and golden tones and motifs inspired by butterfly wings or peacock tails predominate: this personally gives me the feeling of being in an unreal world, like a dream.

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I have always liked the use of gold leaf in art, which is one of the facts that makes me feel attracted to Klimt’s artwork. However, beyond that, I adore the pattern he creates, the stories he tells by painting characters in such particular poses, and all the little ornaments and details that he includes. His works seem quite expressive to me, when you see them you cannot be indifferent, they produce you some emotion, and I consider that this is the most important thing in any artistic creation.

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References

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt

https://historia-arte.com/artistas/gustav-klimt

https://www.todocuadros.com.co/pintores-famosos/klimt/

An approach to architecture so particular and fantastic, that it almost seems unreal.

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Who was Gaudí?

Antonio Gaudí I Cornet was a Catalan architect, internationally known as one of the greatest exponents of modernism. He was born on June 25 of 1852, in a family of coppersmiths. This allowed him to acquire a special ability to work with space and volume.

From an early age, he showed an interest in architecture. Because of this, he went to Barcelona, the most modern city in Spain at the time, to study architecture. And it is there, in Barcelona, where most of his great works are found today. Among them, his main masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia, and my personal favourites, Park Güel, and Casa Batló. However, he also has pieces in other Spanish cities, such as the Caprice in Comillas, or the Episcopal Palace in Astorga.

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Chains and arches: an astonishing method

His first projects were a set of lampposts for the Plaza Real in Barcelona, the Girossi kiosks, and the Mataró cooperative. This last one turned out to be his first major work since this was the first time that Gaudí experimented with parabolic arches, which ended up becoming one of the outstanding characteristics of his architecture.

For achieving these arches, he devoted ten years of his life to developing a “hanging chain” model. He designed a complex set of hanging chains that he installed on the ceiling and used weights and suspension ropes. The arched forms that resulted from the experiment were what he was looking for as an architectural form, by turning them upside down. This would be fundamental to work on his design for the Sagrada Familia.

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An impressive and magical architecture

Gaudí’s works are usually classified as modernist because of his desire to renew without breaking with tradition. Even though his modernist and Art nouveau influences are clear, his works have a very individualized and unique style.

My admiration for his work is mainly because I am a lover of everything that looks magical, fantastic, and I think that a work by Gaudí has that fairy tale essence. His works do not go unnoticed, they are something very different from what we are used to seeing daily. That is something I like when a visual work takes you out of everyday life, and for an instant, it transports you to another world.

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References

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD

https://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/g/gaudi.htm

https://www.arteespana.com/antoniogaudi.htm

http://www.portalgaudi.cat/es/los-edificios/nau-gaudi-de-mataro/

https://www.liligo.es/magazine-viajes/obras-gaudi-fuera-cataluna-160141.html

My artifact is a reproduction of the Vogue magazine cover of June 7th, 1930, illustrated by the American Harriet Meserole. The museum label is supposed to be the back part of a magazine, and it also includes an illustration by Meserole, this one was on the cover of the magazine of May 15, 1927. The elements in the photo intend to locate the magazines in a context of beauty, fashion, and feminity. At the same time, I wanted it to have a look of elegance, and simplicity.

I chose the topic of the Vogue magazine because it amazes me to think about the tremendous reputation and impact it has gained through the decades. I also like the fashion world, so it was an opportunity to get more knowledge of a topic that interests me. In the past, I had looked at some of the old Vogue magazine covers, and my favourites were those which had been illustrated by Harriet Meserole. I adore her style, the way she conveys sophistication, and the balanced colour palette. This was between the twenties and thirties, so it fits perfectly with the date restrictions provided on the brief. Because of this, I immediately decided I wanted to recreate some of her designs. I searched for her illustrations and chose two I liked and thought that worked well together.

It took me around six hours to complete this project and I would give myself a 8/10 because I think it looks good overall, I like the cohesion and simplicity it has. But on the other hand, it is not something too impressive from my point of view, and I do not like how the letters of the “VOGUE MAGAZINE” title look. I also wanted to include way more information about it, but I realized it would be too much text, and it would not look so good and would be hard to read.

References images:

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Research references:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogue_(magazine)#1892%E2%80%931905:_Early_years

https://www.vogue.com/article/vogue-covers-models-facts-history

https://www.quora.com/How-influential-is-Vogue-in-the-fashion-industry

Images that transport you to a new universe, the “pictures of the floating world”.

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Ukiyo-e? What is that?

Ukiyo-e was an artistic manifestation that emerged during the Edo period (former name of the current Tokyo) and remained between the XVII and the XIX centuries. It consisted of a technique of wood engraving, also known as “woodcut”. In the mid-seventeenth century, the illustrator, printer and xylographer Moronobu Hishikawa helped popularize this style. Although he cannot be called the founder of Ukiyo-e, what is known is that he played a crucial role in the history of this style.

Ukiyo-e prints tended to depict black and white scenes of city life, but these became so popular, that then, themes started to diversify. Because of this, the prints started to include topics about social criticism and introduced polychrome. Some of the styles of Ukiyo-e that stand out the most are the Yakusha-e, portraits of kabuki actors (the Japanese theater), the Bijin-ga (prints of beautiful women), and the Shun-ga (erotic representations that were persecuted by the government censorship).

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My thoughts about it

Personally, what first attracted me was the pastel colour palette; when I look at these pieces, the colours calm me down. In my opinion, they have perfect harmony, and although sometimes the themes are not very “peaceful”, they still give me a feeling of serenity and tranquility. As I mentioned in the title, is like these prints take you to a new world, a place with a dreamy atmosphere. I find Ukiyo-e images beautiful, I like to look at them and see every detail done to perfection.

Apart from the fact that I like the aesthetic look of these prints, another thing that interests me about them is the elaboration process. Creating one of these designs was not a simple task: first, they had to paste a piece of paper on a wooden plate, using a small knife they embossed the contours, then they continued by hollowing out the surface around the contours of the drawing with a gouge and a hammer, and then the main plate (called omohan), which represents the whole drawing, was ready.
Afterward, the pigments with the colors were spread on the plate and the paper was placed on the plate according to the notches that have already been made on the wood. Finally, the paper was rubbed with a buffer so that the colors penetrate the paper. The woodcut had to be stamped color by color, plate by plate. The engraver had to use as many plates as pigments. Finally, the image is done! It always amazes me when I read about the way people in the past elaborated such stunning pieces completely by hand, I admire all the time, patience, and hard work this must have taken. The precision that they achieved after this arduous process, surprises and amazes me.

References

Ukiyo-e. (2021, October 02). Wikipedia. from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-e

El Arte del Grabado Japonés Ukiyo-e. (2018, September 13). Uniandes. from https://facartes.uniandes.edu.co/evento/el-arte-del-grabado-japones-ukiyo-e/

El Grabado Japonés. (2020, December 07). Totenart. from https://totenart.com/noticias/ukiyo-e/