Pierre Auguste Renoir, Umbrellas
Renoir's 'Umbrellas' shows a bustling Paris street in the rain.
The composition of the painting does not focus on the centre of the picture which is a tangle of hands. It even cuts off figures at either edge like a photographic snapshot. This kind of unconventional arrangement was something that several Impressionists who enjoyed experimenting with. Although it looks naturalistically haphazard, the composition is actually carefully considered. Look at the pattern of angles and shapes made by the umbrellas.
The work is particularly intriguing in that it shows the artist at two separate points in his career, the second of which was a moment of crisis as he fundamentally reconsidered his painting style. Look at the difference between the way he has painted the woman on the left, and those on the right.
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Lesson 3
Rene Magritte, Son of ManThe Son of Man (French: Le fils de l'homme) is a 1964 painting by the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte.
Magritte painted it as a self-portrait. The painting consists of a man in a suit and a bowler hat standing in front of a small wall, beyond which is the sea and a cloudy sky. The man's face is largely obscured by a hovering green apple. Some, however, would argue the presence of the face at all; they believe that the apple represents the loss of identity.
The name "Son of Man" is believed to have derived from the Abrahamic creation story. The modern businessman is the son of Adam, and the apple represents temptation (with which one is still faced in the modern world).
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Lesson 4
pablo picasso - weeping woman
Have you ever seen yourself cry? Your face might turn white or red, and your eyes and mouth might change shape. Perhaps that is what is happening to this weeping woman - her face changed in shape and colour from crying so hard.
Pablo Picasso was a famous artist who invented new ways of drawing people and things. The results could be quite strange for people who only knew about realistic looking artworks.
DESCRIBE:
The painting shows a woman. Her mouth is turned in a different direction from the rest of her face. Her eyes seem to be looking straight at us but her lips and teeth are seen from the side profile. It is as if you can see her from two different directions at the same time.
ANALYZE:
Picasso painted 'Weeping Woman' to show the woman's unhappiness and tears rather than to create an exact portrait of her face. The jagged shapes like pieces of glass, the bright colours and the thick black outlines make us think of strong feelings, like anger or sadness. Can you imagine her sobs and her tears?
INTERPRET:
She looked as if she might be holding a handkerchief. She is wearing a red hat with a flower in it and her hair is neatly combed. She seems to be dressed up for an important occasion. What do you has upset her so much?
JUDGE:
Do you like this artwork? Why or why not? If you are an art museum curator, how would you display this artwork? Why?
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Lesson 5
andy warhol - marilyn
Andy Warhol was a very famous pop artist who created pop art. He made art from pictures of 'popular' things. He loved to make pictures of people and things that everyone could recognize, whether it was a banknote, Elvis Presley or a Campbell soup can. He was a big fan of famous people such as the glamourous film star Marilyn Monroe. He made over 70 portraits of her, all slightly different.
He made copies of a photograph of the actress. He then coloured each in a different way. Sometimes, he made Marilyn's hair yellow, her eye shadow blue, her hair orange and the background blue. Sometimes he created the whole picture in only one colour. When you see so many different versions together, it's abit like the game of 'spot the difference'.
Who is your favourite film star or pop star? If you were a pop artist, how many times would you make pictures of him or her?
Try making your own pop art using this online machine!
http://webexhibits.org/colorart/marilyns.html* I hope you have enjoyed this online lesson! Have a great day!
Lesson 6
leonardo da vinci - mona lisa
The Mona Lisa is probably the most famous portrait in the world, but not much is known about it. The picture was so important to Leonardo da Vinci that although he painted for someone else, he refused to give it up, and kept it with him until he died. Why do you think this painting was so important to Leonardo? Who do you think this woman was?
Study the artwork now... The Mona Lisa was once a bigger painting, but it had been cut down. Is the woman standing or sitting? Look at the scenery behind her. Is she in front of a window? Are the lakes, roads and mountains behind her real, or are they part of a picture hanging on the wall behind her, or are they from Leonardo's imagination?
Can you see anything peculiar about the landscape in the background? It appears to be lower on the left than on the right. This helps to create an effect that seems to add some movement to the picture, making it come alive.
What is she thinking? Look into her eyes and at her mysterious smile. Is she happy or sad? Is she bored? If you paint the person looking straight at you, then their eyes always seem to stare at whoever is looking at the picture.
The Mona Lisa is so famous that many other artists have painted versions of the Mona Lisa. For example, a French artist Marcel Duchamp had created a new version of Mona Lisa by giving her beard!
*I hope you have enjoyed this online lesson. Have a great day!
Lesson 7
Art History: Art movement (Impressionism)
Learn art history using this interactive multimedia program!
by Renoir
Dates: 1860-1900
Key Artists: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas
Impressionism began in France in the mid 1800s. The Impressionists were not very popular because they had a different approach to painting. At this time many artists painted in a very traditional way that involved spending hours in a studio, painstakingly creating paintings that were extremely detailed. These paintings were sometimes of people or landscapes or historical events.
The Impressionists often painted outdoors and wanted to show the more immediate effect of light and colour at particular times of the day. Their works are sometimes described as 'captured moments' and are characterized by short quick brushstrokes of colour which, when viewed up close looks quite messy and unreal. If you step back from and Impressionist painting, however, the colours are blended together by our eyes and we are able to see the painter's subject which often showed colourful landscapes, sunlight on water as well as people engaged in outdoor activities and enjoyment.
Paintings by Impressionist artists have become some of the most popular artworks of all time. This is probably due to the fact that their subjects were usually pleasing and uncomplicated.
*I hope you have enjoyed this online lesson. Have a great day!
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