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Pablo Picasso's Masterpiece - a Symbol of Sorrow

Submitted by Christine on January 11, 2013 - 2:04am

There’s usually a story behind every painting, whether it has to do with the actual subject or not. Generally, each artist paints because they’re moved by an interest. The paintings that get shoved in the back of a closet are most likely those in which the artist has lost interest. The few that become famous, either instantly or over time, are the ones that mean something to the artist, or to the viewers. That’s what makes it important to discover the point of the artist’s inspiration.

Lost and Found: Michelangelo's Pieta...Or is It?

Submitted by Christine on January 9, 2013 - 6:51am

What’s hidden right before your eyes or right under your nose? It could be a work of art that you’d just assumed was a nice attempt by a long lost relative who was a pretty good painter. But what if it’s not? Shouldn’t you try to find out?

The story that came out in 2010, about a family who owns a painting that may quite well be worth $300 million, is not that unusual... it’s happened before, and it’ll happen again, right? If it does, then I wish it’d happen to me. What makes this story interesting is that the Kober family, from Buffalo, New York inherited this painting and never took it seriously that it could be “the real thing”.

Edward Hopper's Memorable and Iconic Paintings

Submitted by Christine on January 6, 2013 - 8:14am

For those of you who find early 20th century art a pleasure, greater than most, you should take a long look at the works by painter and printmaker Edward Hopper. He specialized in oil paintings, particularly, but he was also known for watercolor paintings and etchings of urban and rural America. Hopper’s paintings became an enormous influence on American pop culture and the on the next generation of artists, like Rothko, Dine and Kooning, who followed his lead.

Dutch Golden Age Painters and Their Masterpieces

Submitted by Christine on December 28, 2012 - 7:43am

There are hundreds of Dutch Baroque painters from the Netherlands, and just as many Flemish Baroque artists from the southern regions of the Netherlands, who fall into the category now called the Dutch Golden Age. Reading the list of names of the Dutch Golden Age artists is like reading the phone book for a small town. The areas at that time were fought over in battles and wars, and therefore they often changed hands. As a result there are some few distinctions between those Dutch artists and their Flemish neighbors. In addition, there were generations of artists who were successful and recognized for their talents, which allowed their family members and businesses to increase their numbers during those years.

Japanese Artists of Rare and Beautiful Works

Submitted by Christine on December 23, 2012 - 4:10am

Complex Japanese art had its beginning in the late half of the 8th century AD, and as it was all the way on the other side of the Asian continent, it remained exclusive to its region for several centuries. Japanese arts included sculptures made of wood and bronze, calligraphy, ink drawings, and fine clay pottery as well, which were based on Buddhism, in particular, up until the 9th century AD. After Japan moved away from China’s influence, their art became more secular, remaining so until the 15th century, when again, religious themes came into play, but in equal amounts to secular themes this time. The 10-year Onin War (1467 -1477) in Japan had various effects on Japanese art, which lasted for the next 100 years, and the result was that the surviving works from that era are mostly secular pieces.

The Charm of Modigliani's Masks

Submitted by Christine on December 16, 2012 - 9:16am

Amedeo Modigliani was an Italian artist who was born in 1884. His works are very recognizable because of the mask-like elongated shapes that he used when painting the numerous portraits of his sitters. While he was a teenager studying art with Micheli, he was praised for his paintings of nudes. Today his nudes are still considered his finest works. Modigliani also painted heads, half-figures, three-quarter figures and seated figures, most often of his friends, lovers, paid models, acquaintances and anyone who he could approach on the street who would buy his art for a few francs.

Amazing Horses by Various Amazing Artists

Submitted by Christine on December 14, 2012 - 2:36am

Horses are magnificent creatures, and artists have often tried to capture on canvas the spirit and power found in these wonderful animals. There are many famous paintings of horses which have been highly admired in the last several centuries. While “the best” horse paintings are a usually a matter of personal preference, paintings by well-known artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, James Seymour, Giovanni Segantini, Rosa Bonheur, John Collier, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and George Stubbs are fine examples of this genre.

Renaissance Art - A Huge and Unexpected Loss in Italy

Submitted by Christine on December 8, 2012 - 2:35am

Sometimes when I read about artwork that has survived more than half a millennium, especially in today’s fast moving progress to break down and rebuild over the old, I am very surprised. I’m also saddened at the likelihood that for every ten pieces of art that has been preserved, at least a thousand were destroyed or lost. Wars and conflicts were even more common in the past, and preserving artwork was the least of the people’s worries, especially while lives were being lost. More isolated occurrences of fires, floods and earthquakes have taken their toll regularly, and the many pieces of art that were, no longer are.

The Benefits of Owning Alfred Sisley Fine Reproduction Art Works

Submitted by Christine on December 2, 2012 - 1:58am

Does the name Alfred Sisley come up very often in conversations about painters? Probably not as often as it should. He was a 19th century artist who was a phenomenal Impressionist painter, yet he was never able to become famous in his own time. Sisley made landscape scenes of villages and rivers, and his figures were mainly small and distant. The focus on the foliage of the trees and the shimmering reflections on the watery surfaces of the Seine can be found throughout his many works, but Sisley was also fascinated with the different ways that he could paint the skies overhead.

Franz Marc - Not Your Traditional Animal Artist

Submitted by Christine on November 29, 2012 - 1:17am

One of my favorite German Expressionism artists is Franz Marc, who was born in 1880 in Munich. He started painting at a young age with his father’s traditional painting expertise to guide him, and he was around 30 years old when he joined the German Expressionist movement along with Wassily Kandinsky and August Macke. The reason that I’m so attracted to his work is because of the bold colors he uses and the sweeping brushstrokes that alternate with the sharp edges and lines.

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