“It is lively, brisk, light – captivating. What a rapid grasp of the object and what an amusing facture. It is summary, agreed, but how spot on the marks are!”, once said about the impression, Sunrise artwork by Claude Monet, Jules Castagnary, a French liberal politician, journalist and progressive, influential art critic, who embraced the new term “Impressionist” in his positive and perceptive review of the first Impressionist show, in Le Siècle, 29 April 1874.

And I agree with his statement because it is short but accurate, precise and it knowingly reflects the whole art movement of the great and daring Impressionism.

In the late nineteenth century, life was getting faster and busier, that is why art at that time was changing accordingly. Paris, the city in France where Impressionism was born, was getting a new facial drastically and enormously too, where after the wholesale renovation, which started in 1890, it became cleaner, safer, lighter. This light we could observe in the works of artists of that time, where they saw the inspiration and opportunity in the rapid changes and where they were not afraid to reflect it in their fresh, renewed, and original paintings.

Artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Berthe Morisot (yeah, women artists started to shine at this art period) and others, noticed capturing atmospheric effects and life moments that would change with the passing minutes, that is why you could almost feel the touch of the improvisation in their art. Claude Monet, for example, worked with several canvases at ones, returning to each in the different times of the day because of the light of the sun, by that the artist decided to work with the different paintings in the different time span because apparently, he wanted to capture what he saw right at that time when the desired condition was there for him.

Also, during the 1870s and 1880s new technologies, inventions and possibilities started to appear, including brighter pigments, which made the colors on the painting more vivid and interesting. To note, shadows in the artworks under the brushes of artists of that time became colorful, not just black, grey, or brown anymore. Studies on color by the chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul in 1839 brought to the world the color theory which was revolutionary to the world of art and Impressionism as well, providing the knowledge of the complementary colors.

The influence of the arrival of photography made its mark too, not only giving the new experience of the view to the artist, but also the space for the experimentation, as that the world back then had an opportunity to see still and real images of the photos, but not the colorful ones yet, so that is why it was the impulse for the artist to begin creating something new and with the totally different techniques; colorful, something what only they uniquely saw.

Art critic Frederick Wedmore was saying that the Impressionism artists were creating paintings “not just as they are, but just as they appear to be”, and this is the revelation and unique zest of the Impressionism movement, where the optical delights and open ideas became prominent and hugely important, and to be honest, even today they give us inspiration and the feel of expression, because, well, Impressionism is the attained origin of it.

Sources:

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules-Antoine_Castagnary

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

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

https://www.space.com/27007-astronomy-sleuths-monet-painting.html

https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.61379.html

https://medium.com/museio/the-story-behind-a-rainy-day-b5290e98af02

What do you think art is? You might think that this is, for example, an expensive and very rare diamond or an architectural monument somewhere in Italy, or maybe France… Thinking this way, you will not be wrong, but this particular way of thinking directs you into something unattainable, sublime, and even too delusive.

If I will state to you that art might be, same as those precious diamonds, a fresh, morning air, or a freshly cut grass, it may be a sunset or a feeling that you belong, sometimes a first love or a cup of coffee (or tea) with a lovely book besides. It is totally different from diamonds, isn’t it? But, somehow you feel better while thinking about it. You may feel the opposite since you may not like coffee or your first love ended up as heartbreak, but, in some strange way, it evokes feeling inside. Different cognition and this is where the art begins.

The Art is in the architectural monuments in Spain, similar to the hug of your parents because both of these make you feel, it is where the art is born.

The painting above is made by the highly admired artist, Johannes Vermeer, who depicts a regular woman, a maid most likely, who pours milk from a jug. She is simple, she is quiet and calm, same as everything around her, but, somehow, the great Vermeer decided to paint her, as if he saw something special in the way she is doing her work, something artistically unusual about her that made him feel.

“Johannes Vermeer, Johannes also rendered Jan, (baptized October 31, 1632, Delft, Netherlands—buried December 16, 1675, Delft), was a Dutch artist who created paintings that are among the most beloved and revered images in the history of art. Although only about 36 of his paintings survive, these rare works are among the greatest treasures in the world’s finest museums. Vermeer began his career in the early 1650s by painting large-scale biblical and mythological scenes, [cityscapes and allegorical scenes], but most of his later paintings—the ones for which he is most famous—depict scenes of daily life in interior settings. These works are remarkable for their purity of light and form, qualities that convey a serene, timeless sense of dignity”, Britannica.

To note my comments about this artist, well, it is pure adoration. He reflected a broad range of emotions and details which he specifically and uniquely saw, then transmitted all of them into the canvas. The ordinary girl which you see above points her gaze at the viewer, she is calm, same as the Milkmade, she is quiet, but has some specific details which evoke different feelings when you are looking at her. There is something special in the way she is forever looking at the observer, and in the way as if she wants something to say… It all looks kind of hazy and at the same time very defined. She penetrates stillness and silence, at the same time colors and joy.

One of the many of his artworks, this one shows us the life of regular people. It is simple too, but because of its simplicity and exceptional imprinting of regular life, it is special. It shows us that looking after the home, cleaning the yard, or darning the cloth may be art because this painting is an art indeed. It shows that to be simple is enough to exist, by that to feel.

The works we saw are all about the routine, about modest, humble, and maybe this is what catches our sight because we can rely on it and totally and deeply understand it. And it is not bad at all, of course, it is just very real and open, and the way Johannes Vermeer created this atmosphere is a true masterliness and ingenuity of an unremarkable artist who is living till now in his works which reflect the eternal.

Sources:

https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-milkmaid/9AHrwZ3Av6Zhjg?hl=en-GB

https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/girl-with-a-pearl-earring-johannes-vermeer/3QFHLJgXCmQm2Q?hl=en-GB

https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-little-street-johannes-vermeer/YAGJRuPz8yVuRQ?hl=en-GB

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

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Vermeer

This project was entertaining and engaging because it was combining so much in so small, such as eight pages of visual information in just a tiny 8.5 x 11 paper. Moreover, it was helpful for me because I learned more about the specific typeface I choose, which was Futura. I learned on a deeper level about its history, development, and use in our modern days. Also, besides a better understanding of the specific typeface, I learned how to make a small book with just a small piece of paper.

To give me a mark, I think I will put eight of the ten because I always think that I could make it better.

The actual process of making took me approximately four hours, it is including the research and making parts. The whole design I did in simple, black and white colors to reflect the stylistic idea behind the chosen typeface. Again, the visual part of the work is minimalistic and it combines forms, lines, dots with the Futura font, excluding colors and another visual weight that was believed by its creator to be unnecessary. In simple words (maybe not so), it was “utopia by design”.

Also, I want to include the amazing source where I mostly took all the information and inspiration for this project: https://99designs.ca/blog/design-history-movements/know-your-typeface-futuras-amazing-past/

Thank you and I hope that you will like it!

The conversation is about Gothic Architecture of course. It is full of eeriness and some sort of sharp, rude look which makes you feel some sort of astonishment and genuine adoration. It looks mysterious, and this is what attracts you.

“Gothic architecture is an architectural style in Europe that lasted from the mid-12th century to the 16th century, particularly a style of masonry building characterized by cavernous spaces with the expanse of walls broken up by overlaid tracery”, Britannica.

“Britain, Germany, and Spain produced variations of this style, while Italian Gothic stood apart in its use of brick and marble rather than stone”, Britannica. As you can see in the example above of Milan’s Cathedral, which is located in Italy, the use of white marble translates its special, “out of this world” atmosphere.

“The style represented giant steps away from the previous, relatively basic building systems that had prevailed. The Gothic grew out of the Romanesque architectural style when both prosperity and relative peace allowed for several centuries of cultural development and great building schemes. From roughly 1000 to 1400, several significant cathedrals and churches were built, particularly in Britain and France, offering architects and masons a chance to work out ever more complex and daring designs”, Khan Academy.

“It originated in the Île-de-France region of northern France as the development of Norman architecture. The defining design element of Gothic architecture is the pointed or ogival arch. The use of the pointed arch, in turn, led to the development of the pointed rib vault and flying buttresses, combined with elaborate tracery and stained glass windows”, Wikipedia.

“With the development of Renaissance architecture in Italy during the mid 15th century, the Gothic style was supplanted by the new style, but in some regions, notably England and Belgium, Gothic continued to flourish and develop into the 16th century. A series of Gothic revivals began in mid-18th century England, spread through 19th-century Europe, and continued, largely for churches and university buildings, into the 20th century”, Wikipedia.

It was notable in, for example, Russia too. The concept of “Gothic taste” arose in the Russian Empire in the middle of the 18th century and meant all artistic phenomena that opposed themselves to classicism.

There are a lot of details and points which would lead you to long discussions about this art movement, and it conveys the vastness and fullness of this style to a greater extent.

And I think that you, same as me, feel the aftertaste of the administration.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/art/Gothic-architecture

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/gothic-art/beginners-guide-gothic-art/a/gothic-architecture-an-introduction

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

https://unsplash.com/photos/0xe2FGo7Vc0

https://unsplash.com/photos/dlwHTsUInPI

https://unsplash.com/photos/yaiExn-cikk

https://sofiiak.invisionapp.com/boards/UW8033079GBM2PR

In general, I think that I did a nice job of explaining and comparing the three chosen topics with the given groups of all the 10 surveys my professor provided me with. I enjoyed the process of researching the main information about the artworks and the artists I have chosen and it took me approximately four hours long (including this reflection).

Which mark I would give myself? I think it will be a solid eight because I feel that I could have done better with providing and filtering the information I put in this work.

What did I learn from this exercise? I think I did one more step to develop my personal qualities such as research, patience, and creativity. Also, the information which shed some light on the overall knowledge about the artist I researched was that Kazimir Malevich and Alexander Liberman were both from Kyiv, Ukraine…

To conclude, the work I did made me dive into the simple forms, looks, and approaches while keeping it intense and full of thinking.

This man was a great artist of the High Renaissance & Mannerism movement of 1450-1516 in the Netherlands.

“He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school”, Wikipedia. Well, I will not even try to argue with this statement. Because when I had a first look at the paintings he created, right away I knew that I look at the works of a talented, unique person. The way he chose the colours, tones, shades, his imagination is truly incredible. How do I know that? I think it is all about the atmosphere of the works he did because when you look at them, you feel what the artist felt back then, starting from the anger and rich colours, and ending with his personal conflicts and abstract, imaginary worlds.

Hieronymus Bosch was born in Brabant, and was named as Jheronimus van Aken. He lived all his life in the city he was born in. His grandfather was an artist too, and his father was an artistic adviser, and known people even think that Bosh gained knowledge of his artistic skills through his two relatives.

Out there you could find not that broad amount of information about his life, thoughts, personality. But I think that the artworks penetrate to us all those qualities which did not survive to our days in dairies or another sort of notes, where we could find a little bit more about him. And yes, let’s be honest, his masterpiece looks eerie.

“Bosch produced at least sixteen triptychs, of which eight are fully intact, and another five in fragments, [which were] mostly on oak panels using oil as a medium”, Wikipedia. All those works are interesting, different and they alternate from Flemish style to the Impasto.

Sources:

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

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/death-and-the-miser-1490-hieronymus-bosch.html

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/2-the-garden-of-earthly-delights-right-panel-hieronymus-bosch.html

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-visions-of-tondal-1479-hieronymus-bosch.html

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-garden-of-earthly-delights-center-panel-hieronymus-bosch.html

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/christ-in-limbo-1575-hieronymus-bosch.html

Yeah, that is how it looks in today’s realities. Because besides their famous pyramids, mummies, artifacts and so on, that same hieroglyphic script on the same level was Egyptian great inheritance, which opened the door to the further development of the languages, knowledge, civilizations as we can see it today, shedding some light and providing with a legacy which still resonates with people of 21st century.

But let’s start from the beginning.

When you look at the image above, what do you see? This simple and at the same time complicated question forces you to notice some abstract images, forms, shapes that look like something you already envisioned, something alike, right?

Well, the answer is “right”. These symbols represent things that may seem similar to you, being the form of writing, by which people of ancient Egypt (spoiler alert: small percentage) communicated.

It included pictographs or literal representations of something they saw. Same as ideographs or an idea that hides behind the object. Also, some of it was phonograms or rebus, which meant to represent a sound like vowels and syllables.

The bottom line (joking) is that this language is Hieroglyphic script (3,200 BCE – AD 400), which is unique in its own way. The first Egyptian hieroglyphs appeared around the time of King Menes (a pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period of ancient Egypt) formed the first Egyptian dynasty, that unified the country.

It was hard to learn and eventually use, because of its complex structure of making (writing) and pictorial forms, that is why only a small percentage of people used to have appropriate level expertise, such as priests, nobility or Pharaon.

The translation of the actual word “hieroglyphic” from Greek means “sacred carving”, such meaning does make sense, because the cursive hieroglyphs inscriptions were used in temple walls, public monuments or graves of royals (or wealthy) to guide their souls into the “other world” or to the afterlife. This fact resembles the hieratic scripted papyrus scroll called the Book of the Dead.

This writing system has 1,000 distinct characters. I know, it is a lot, but that is why throughout the time it was distinguished into two other forms of Egyptian writing that were written with ink on papyrus or another smooth surface aside from the stone that used to be the main source of script infliction. “These were known as the hieratic, which was still employed during the time of the ancient Greeks for religious texts, and the demotic, the cursive script used for ordinary documents”, Peter F. Dorman, Britannica.

Before the appearance of hieroglyphs in the history of humanity, there was another ancient writing system, much older, which is called Cuneiform (4,000 – 3,500 BCE). It was depicted on the stones as well, however, with the shaped reeds inscribing (pressing, not dragging) some sort of triangular marks.

Cuneiform, same as hiroglyph shares a script type – logography. Also, from the first glance, they look kind of similar but share some key differences contrasting to the hieroglyphic script, which could be readen right to left, cuneiform does it in opposite direction.

As historians tell us, cuneiform was created by Sumerians (one of the earliest civilizations), who may have created the first cities and religion. Many of the great developments of the bronze and iron ages are thought to have taken place in Sumer, which was a Southern Mesopotamia, Fertile Crescent or today’s Southern Iraq (and parts of Syria; Kuwait).

“Why she is talking about the Cuniform if the topic was about different things?”, you will probably ask yourself. Well, coming back to the Cuniform was an intentional move to emphasize a lean towards practical usefulness developed by ancient progress. Since hieroglyphics nevertheless were the ones that lasted much longer, retaining for almost 3,500 years. And yeah, I am persuaded that it is a real “flex” indeed.

Sources:

https://www.history.com/news/hieroglyphics-facts-ancient-egypt

https://search.credoreference.com/search/all?searchPhrase=Hieroglyphs

https://www.britannica.com/topic/hieroglyphic-writing

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

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

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

https://www.britannica.com/topic/cuneiform