Glass of Water and Coffee Pot

Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin

            Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin was born on November 2, 1699 in Paris, France. Chardin was a French painter who specialized in still lifes and domestic scenes. He is known for his remarkable ability to produce amazing realism.  Chardin prefered to paint simplistic textured still lifes, interiors of homes as well as genre paintings. Chardins genre paintings often included children, kitchen maids, and domestic activities of the middle class life.  Chardin was one of the very first French artists who appreciated, respected and glorified the lives of womaen and children through his work. He was a caring man who sympathised with the work load of women and young mothers. Chardin was a passionate painter, however he painted rather slowly.  He only produced about four paintings a year, producing a little more than 200 paintings during his lifetime.   His style of painting is best known for the overall effect and unity of tone, color and form.  Chardins compositions were balanced using granular impasto, shadows and the diffustion of light. Chardins work was very simplistic and humble never containing hidden messages or meanings.

Chardin often viewed and admired things as if he were seeing them first time. His work shows us that there is charm, beauty and character to be found in simplistic every day objects. With his paintings he is able to touch the viewer so that they can see beauty from a perspective which is often is taken for granted.

I really like how Chardin used domestic objects repedidely throughout his paintings. As you can see below In Basket of Wild Strawberries he uses what looks to be the same glass in a very similar arrangement to Glass of Water and Coffee Pot.

The piece which I would like to focus on is the one on the right and below, titled Glass of Water and Coffee Pot.

   At first glance one might say this painting is rather plain, dreary and,or boring. However upon a closer look there is much more to it than one might expect.   As a painter myself I found Chardins techniques to be quite interesting.  First he primed his canvas with variations of brown paint, sometimes he tinted the shades of brown with red or green, thus giving him a neutral under-painting or background.  He would then start his painting by brushing on the darkest tones, then the middle-tones, and finally the highlights. He would only add color after he saw the correct tonal balance of the under-painting.  Finally he would complete the painting by going over it again, in order to create reflections and highlights unifying the composition.   As you can see in the example above, the same white pigment that he used for the cloves of garlic was used to convey reflections on the glass as well as the soft highlights on the coffee pot. I love the heart shaped reflection of the garlic on the upper right corner of the glass.  The ranges of browns used throughout the painting are tied together by a subtle hint of the green used for the foliage of the garlic.

            Something which the average person would not see or notice at first glance is that the glass and coffee pot are both the same shape.  However, the shape of one is an upside down mirror image of the other. The placement or juxtaposition of these objects creates an interesting dialogue between their shapes.  This visual exchange continues through other elements as well, the glass is light, transparent, smooth and reflective, while the coffee pot is dark, opaque, rough and charred. The details of these objects are carefully placed in order to be equally balanced. The handle of the coffee pot and the glass from the water level up are both on the same picture plane horizontally. In order to give you a better idea of what I am talking about, below there is an image which shows an example of the lines and shapes.

        Chardin builds up the visual elements by using the harmonious and contrasting textures of the individual pieces. Compositional balance was important to Chardin as well, the tonal values of the glass and the coffee pot contrast nicely with the background. The gradation of the background from dark on the right to light on the left results in a contrast of all the objects: the glass and garlic look brighter against its dark background while the coffee pot looks darker as its background becomes lighter.  Chardin used the soft forms of the garlic to break up the hard geometric shapes of the containers, and the long horizontal line of the surface which they all sit upon; resulting in an illusion of more frontal space.

As with many things in life sometimes it takes another persons perspective for one to appreciate simplistic beauty.  At first I didn’t see it, however after studying this piece, I find great beauty in this composition.  The glass is clean, simplistic and transparent, it holds one of the most important sustaining staples of life, water.  The dirty charred, coffee pot on the other hand is solid, and opaque which encourages the viewer to believe that it may conseal something or nothing at all. The composition is beautifully set off by the organic shape and origin of the garlic cloves. As I gain more knowledge about art and the techniques used to convey the images depicted, I am amazed at how illusions are achieved.

References

1. http://www.cmoa.org/searchcollections/details.aspx?item=1012206
2. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/chardin-jeanbaptiste-simon-glass-of-water-and-coffee-pot-1760-798010.html

3. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/old-masters/chardin-jean.htm

Week Eight, Baroque Art

     



Michalengos David.



      The story of David and Goliath is a common Biblical story and by the 17th century, several artists had created sculptural interpretations of David. Two artist in particular,  Michelangelo and Bernini were two of the four famous artists who created remarkable representations of David.   Though these two marble master pieces are from different eras and artist, there are several similarities and differences between the two.  First I would like to talk about Michalengos David.  This marble statue is of a nude male who represents the Biblical hero David.  During the early Renaissance, Humanism became apparent when artists first discovered contrapposto and the beauty of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture.  During the Reniassance contrapposto poses were a common, distinctive feature within art.  Michalengos verticle statue shows the majority of Davids weight resting on his back leg.  The contrapposto pose causes the figure’s hips and shoulders to rest at opposite angles, shifting the weight of the subject; thus giving the shape of the torso a slight “s” curve.  Renaissance artists consistently depicted subjects in calm, confidant positions, representing the time right before they took action. The space in which this statue uses is very confined, the verticle lines suggest immobility or stillness. I noticed that Davids head is turned to the left, with sling in hand his left left arm is raised up toward his left shoulder, which may suggest that he has been depicted as though he has already fought Golith. David is fully nude which exposes his uncircumcised penis, this is also consistent with Renaissance art.  This figure has an unusually large hands and head, most likely because it was initally suppose to be placed on the roof of the cathedral. Enlarging certain parts would have been necessary in order to see it better from the ground. Michelangelo’s David is one of the most recognized pieces of Renaissance sculpture, for it is a symbol of natural human beauty and strength. The idea of perfection is shown here as well, for during the Renaissance the idea that man is created in God's image was common.  During the height of Humanism in the High Renaissance, an association of perfection, beauty and harmony in mathematics and God was prevelant within art. Lastly, the statues of the Renaissance had been strictly frontal, dictating the spectator to view it from one side, and one side only.

           



Berninis David



Bernini, a relatively new artist in the 1600s decided to create his own stylistic version of David, which some say rivals and Michelangelo’s depiction. During the Baroque period art was created to intentionally evoke emotion from its viewers. According to the textbook the 17th Century had its own version of Classicism. This style of Classicism was, "a more moving and dramatic variant of Renaissance ideals and principles featuring idealization vased on observation of the material world; balanced (though often asymmetrical) compostitions; diagional movement in space; rich, harmonious color; and inclusion of visual references to ancient Greece and Rome". (p712)  Berninis piece utilized diagnol lines to depict the energy of movement, space and drama to engage viewers.  Unlike Michaleangos David, Berninis David is depicted as a partially nude man who is actively fighting Golith.  This statue is a three-dimensional piece of work that incoorporates the space around it.  Its use of space provokes the viewer to walk around it, encouraging the viewer to see it from all angles.  I feel that Bernini definitely captured a moment in time with his depiction of David.  Bernini’s piece portrays awesome tension and violence captured from a single moment in time. The twisting of David’s torso suggests that he is ready to release his lethal weapon at any moment.  There is so much movement within this piece, the space in which this sculpture consumes not only encourages, it forces the viewer to feel the inflicted energy through implied movement.  The lines on David’s face are soft but tense at the same time which show the mental contemplation, anguish, fight which he must have been feeling. Bernini use of beautiful lines makes the figure more lifelike. I appreciate the fine details such as the sculpted the tendrils of his hair, the tense facial expression which shows David biting his lip.  The relationship to God in the Baroque era is much more direct, more emotional evoked by the use of suggested interaction and movement. There is an amazing amount of rhythmic balance between movement and pose within Berninis piece.

Although these two pieces differ in style and time, the subject himself is depicted with realism as being a strong, fearless hero.

Impact of the Protestant Remformation on the visual arts in Northern Europe

     The Protestant Reformation had a huge impact on the visual arts in Northern European art. One of the major changes was that religious imagery was no longer the major feature in art. Iconoclasm took over as protestant reformers encouraged the removal of religious images. Many churches were no longer commissioning religious art for display because it was believed that religious imagery was distracting and could lead to idolatry.  The patrons of the north became more interested in secular concepts and ideas, and they also wanted their messages about morality to be portrayed in less religious ways.  The Reformation led artists to seek patrons outside of the church.  Several different types of subject matter were sought after during this time.  There became a high demand for small paintings which contained secular subject matter. Landscapes are an example of subject matter which was sought after, this type of artwork was considered appropriate enough to be placed on ones home. 

       Because of the Protestant Reformation many artists became specialized in a particular subject matter as well as with using certain media.  Aside from paintings some of the most sought after artwork included printmaking, wood and metal sculptures, textiles, ceramics and Flemish tapestries.

The Protestant Reformation not only influenced artists, but also influenced many patrons. As I metnioned before, Northern European patrons desired art which contained secular subjects more so than religious subject matter. Paintings that depicted everyday life were now more popular, as were paintings which depicted moral messages to teach/tell a story. An example of a moralizing painting is Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights.

The left panel depicts God presenting Eve to Adam, the central panel is a broad panorama of sexually engaged nude figures, animals, oversized fruit and stone formations. The right panel is a hellscape and portrays the torments of damnation.  This painting is "hands down" one of my favorites, I love the detail within all three panels. 

     Another well-known landscape painter was Peter Bruegel the Elder. His art, such as Return of the Hunters.  This particular painting is one in a series of six works, five of which still survive, that depict different times of the year.  This painting was one of six large paintings, each of them was over five feet wide.

 Printmaking also became very popular in northern Europe during the Protestant Reformation. Because printmaking was quite inexpensive, images were able to be mass produced and made available to the general public. Both the Protestant and Catholic churches were able to utilize the print as a way to spread their message. Not only were the Catholics and Protestants using prints to further their cause but prints became a way of spreading propaganda for both sides. Because there were less religious paintings and even a decline in paintings of mythology, printmaking paved the way for a new trend.

The Madonna with the Long Neck vs. Allegory with Venus and Cupid

Late Renaissance / Mannerism

            Although each individual artist had their own stylistic characteristics and techniques, Mannerism was a specific style which many artists favored and adopted during the 1520’s.  This style of art was developed in Florence and Rome, during the Late Renaissance.  During this time artists gained a lot of technical knowledge such as perspective as well as the use of oil paints. The fundamental basics about archeology were being developed during this time period as well, which allowed artists the use and study actual artifacts.  High Renaissance art was natural, graceful, balanced and harmonious; the art of Mannerism on the other hand was quite different.  Typical mannerist compositions were full of conflicting colors, misconstrued environments, and figures with distorted proportions.   These paintings often had emotionally driven strange and sometimes bizarre themes that combined Classicism, mythology and Christianity.  The evolution of Mannerism is quite interesting; generally speaking, this style of art presents an impression of tension or anxiety that distinguishes it from the serenity of the Renaissance period. As an artist, I personally like to think of it as the time period when the “artist’s license” was initially issued.

            I would like to compare Parmigianino’s Madonna with the Long Neck (p.662) to Bronzino’s  Allegory with Venus and Cupid (p.663).  These two paintings both contain depictions of elongation and disproportion.  Within the Madonna with the Long Neck painting Mannerism is depicted in the highly stylized poses, elongated proportions, and lack of clear perspective. The painting depicts a rather large Mary who is wearing a beautiful layered robe while sitting on a pedestal and holding baby on her lap. Mary is almost twice the size of the angels to her right, and does not have normal human proportions; her head is small in comparison to the rest of her body.  Her neck, shoulders, legs and fingers have all been elongated to make her appear more elegant and graceful. The child which she holds does not have porportions of an infant, but rather that of a toddler.  The length of his body is long, the head and feet seem to be too small for the torso and legs.  There are six angels to the right of Mary, one of which appears to have an elongated right leg and short torso.  Instead of an equal distribution of figures in equal pairs on both sides of the Madonna, there are angels crowded into a narrow corner on the left, behind them the wall is draped with fabric. The other side is a wide open space, which shows the small figure of the prophet and marble columns which are not supporting anything.  

            The main characteristics of mannerism which are presented in The Madonna with the Long Neck are the layering of fabrics, elongated body parts and disproportions.  These style characteristics are also shown in the Allegory with Venus and Cupid.  However, there are also exaggerated poses within this piece.  There is a lot of awkwardness seen in this painting.  Cupid has the body of a young teenage boy, and a head the size of a toddler.  The adolescent facial features of Cupid conflict with his body type.  The way in which he is standing looks very unnatural not to mention uncomfortable. The fact that he is pinching Venus’ nipple is very disturbing to me.  Also the way in which Venus sits looks awkward.  It is hard to tell if she is sitting or is partly raised up on something.  The way in which her legs are bent looks as she is sitting, however her left thigh appears to be elevated off the ground in an unusual way.  Similar to the Madonna with the Long Neck painting there are depictions of fabric within this composition. This painting has several things in it which I find bazaar; the serpent child who has the legs and paws of a lion doesn’t seem to belong within this composition. The man in the shadows to the left is also disturbing. The way he is grabbing his hair with such a look of anguish on his face makes me wonder who he is.  The older man to the right in the background seems to have an elongated, muscular right arm, and he is clenching his fist while pulling back the fabric with anger. There seems to be multiple meanings and/ or interpretations within this piece.  Cupid and Venus are looking at each other in a sensual way; therefore I think it has to do with incest.

            Even though the Mannerist style has different and somewhat unusual characteristics, I still find the quality of the paintings to be elegant.  The highlights and shadows are very nice and create depth within both paintings. Both of these paintings seem to have a sense of calmness and adoration within them. I find it peaceful that the baby is fast asleep in the Madonna with the Long Neck;  As well as the way Venus is delicately holding the arrow in one hand and the golden apple in the other which is resting on her leg.

            Both pieces are interesting and have a lot of details which are big and outright as well as small and almost hidden.