Every creativity, even when it is not apparent on the surface.

I-am-An-Artist is a campaign series from The Artist, which aims to spread the awareness of a simple fact –creativity does not belong to a small group, we are all creative and this creativity comes out in our everyday lives. Even without knowing it, we are all artists.

Through simple messages on posters, this campaign delivers one main idea – every human is an artist!

Featuring here change makers (artists) whose work created a significant impact in this world. Check out Steve Jobs (Apple), Abraham Lincoln (President), Michael Jackson (Performer), Howard Carter (Archeologist), William Shakespeare (Poet), Wayne Goss (Make-up Artist), Ansel Adams (Photographer), Adolphe Pegoud (Pilot) and Selvin (Forester)

We’re all creative, it’s just some of us earn our living by being so. Every human is an artist!

The article contains sponsored affiliate links from Amazon to valuable resources.

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Francisco Goya, the most important Spanish artist of late 18th and early 19th centuries, has been crowned by many as the last of the Old Masters and the father of modern art. The enigmatic and dark series, the Black Paintings, are the natural outcome of his life. The turbulent political times as well as a string of personal tragedies and illness shaped his thinking and marked the climax of his illustrious artistic career.

What drove Goya to paint such macabre, grisly images?

Are they the ravings of a mad man on the verge of insanity?

Or are they a grotesque mirror of human nature, chronicling overwhelming terror and despair?

By exploring Goya’s evolution from a highly ambitious commercial painter in the Spanish Court to a hermit painting, the solemn series of Black Paintings on the walls of his home, you will understand how his work and thoughts on human nature changed art forever.

Rags to Riches: From humble beginnings to royal painter

Growing up in Fuentedos, a small rural Spanish village, Goya initially learnt to paint by imitation. Looking to advance his skills, the aspiring young artist headed to Madrid. There, Francisco Bayeu, a court painter, took him under his wing and helped to pave Goya’s entry into the Royal Court of Madrid.

At first Goya painted cartoons for tapestries which would adorn the walls the royal palaces. As a tapestry designer, his work was infused with his fascination for common street life, alluding to his humble roots and primed him to be a keen observer of human nature. His earlier works were filled with street fairs, bar fights, swaggering majos, working-class men, and their sensuous majas, female partners etc.

As Goya won the royal favor, he steadily worked his way up the professional and social ladder and was commissioned to paint portraits for crowned princes, wealthy merchants, noblemen and aristocrats. Notable works include ‘The Nude Maja’, ‘The Clothed Maja’ and ‘The Family Of Charles IV Of Spain’.

In 1786, he was appointed Painter-to-the King, the most prestigious position for a Spanish artist. In this role, Goya received a front row seat to the tumultuous political era which would leave an indelible mark on his work.

In 1792, at the peak of his career, Goya suffered from a mysterious illness, leaving him permanently deaf. Imprisoned in a tomb of silence, Goya distanced himself from society, becoming bitter and increasingly occupied with his own anxieties and fantasies. Many believe that the Black Paintings served as an outlet for his pent up frustration with his deafness and was a turning point in his outlook and artistic style.

More than his personal misfortunes, Goya’s shift in artistic and social world views was influenced by the political upheaval of the time.

At the turn of the 19^th century, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain. During this bloody period in Spanish history, Goya, continuing to serve as court painter to the reigning French, captured the horrors of war in ‘The Disasters of War’. These etchings chronicle the bloodcurdling savagery and violence of mankind in times of conflict. Having borne witness to the atrocities of which man is capable, Goya lost his faith in humanity and further withdrew from society.

In 1819, at the age of 73, Goya purchased a farmhouse on the outskirts of Madrid and retreated to the life of a recluse. The house, aptly nicknamed “Quinta del Sordo”, “House of the Deaf Man”, bore the name of the previous owner a farmhouse who was also deaf. It was on the walls of this house that Goya painted a series of 14 haunting works – the Black Paintings.

The Black Paintings: Self-expression of a tortured mind

Goya’s Black Paintings are the climax of his work as a painter. Through these frightful images, he expressed the fears which plagued him.

The nightmarish, demonic figures in the Black paintings, with gaping mouths and leering stares, stand in such stark contrast to the brightly colored paintings of his earlier career that some art historians have questioned whether Goya in fact painted the series.

His earlier portrayals of terror and violence, pale in comparison to the Black Paintings. Not only because Goya proceeded his time by exploring the human psyche, but because he did not intend for the images to be made public.

Goya was able to explore these themes of sorrow, pathos and panic with complete freedom. This is what makes Goya the first modernist of his time. He did not title his works, nor did he provide any explanation for them.

Following his death, the paintings were removed from the walls and may be seen today in the Prado Museum in Madrid. Even in the sanitized halls of the Prado, the monochromatic Black Paintings leave viewers unnerved. Here you go a quick brief of Goya’s black paintings

1. Atropos (The Fates)(Átropos/Las Parcas)

Three mythological figures (gods), clutch a pair of scissors, a demon and a mirror. The gods flank a fourth figure who is bound and is meant to represent the notion that one cannot escape destiny.

2. Two Old Men (Dos viejos/Un viejo y un fraile) 

Two elderly men dressed in friar’s garb stand in darkness. The one, a demonic character, whispers into the ear of the second bearded man, who is hunched over a cane. The demonic figure may allude to Goya’s deafness or to insanity.

3. Two Old Men Eating Soup (Dos viejos comiendo sopa)

Painted in the same dark shades as other images in the series, the theme is not violent but arouses feelings of misery and despair. Two elderly figures, one bearing a devoid, toothless grimace, sit bent over their meal in a cloak of darkness.

4. Fight with Cudgels (Duelo a garrotazos/La riña) 

Two men, brandishing clubs in the air, rush at each other in conflict. The sparing pair seems to sink into a muddy bog as they fight.

5. Witches’ Sabbath (Aquelarre/El Gran Cabrón)

Satan, with the head of a male goat, lingers over a huddle of terrified witches. A withdrawn young girl sits in the corner apart from the quivering mass of bodies. Famous art historian, Licht believes that this painting was Goya’s reflection to physically convey anxiety at human inadequacy and his own feelings of personal doubt.

6. Men Reading (Hombres leyendo)

In this vertical image, a group of men, blanketed in darkness, huddle around a document. One of the men gazes upwards in a look of despair.

7. Judith and Holofernes (Judith y Holofernes)

   

The painting is Goya’s personal interpretation of the narrative from the “Book of Judith”. In the story, Judith saves her people by seducing and beheading General Holofernes.

8. A Pilgrimage to San Isidro (La romería de San Isidro) 

The painting shows the pilgrimage of poor villagers together with nuns and men wearing top hats. The pilgrims appear to be drunk or despairing, singing with distorted expressions. Goya explores the subject of pilgrimage to convey the popular superstitions and ignorance

1. Men Mocked by Two Women (Mujeres riendo)

Two women, perhaps prostitutes, jeer with mocking expressions at a man who sits masturbating. The image is closely linked to another work in the Black Paintings series, ‘Men Reading’.

10. Procession of the Holy Office (Peregrinación a la fuente de San Isidro/Procesión del Santo Oficio) 

    

A procession of hunched over figures, predominately white-scarved women, wind their way around a mountainous path. The sky is brightly lit, yet the figures are encased in hues of browns, blacks, and grays.

11. The Dog (Perro semihundido/El perro)

A forlorn looking black dog pokes his head out above a dirt mound. The dog is lost in the emptiness of the image which is vacant except for the sloping mound which conceals him. There are many interpretations of Goya’s intentions, one of which is, the work represents the man’s trivial struggle against malicious forces; the dog continues her fights but the sloping mass is burying her under sand

12. Saturn Devouring His Son (Saturno devorando a un hijo) 

Inspired by Greek mythology, Saturn devours one of his children in fear that his offspring will one day usurp him. The ancient god with bulging eyes rips into the flesh of a small bloody body.

13. La Leocadia (The Seductress)

Leocadia Weiss, Goya’s housemaid and possibly his lover, leans against a mantelpiece or burial mound. Dressed in black funeral garb, she gazes at the viewer with a dejected expression, however, this work is more peaceful in representation and persoanlity

14. Fantastic Vision (Visión fantástica/Asmodea)

Two figures, one shrouded in red, hover over a group of people and horses congregating beneath a large mountain. At the bottom of a frame, an armed soldier raises his rifle towards the figures as they appear to float towards a fortress at the top of the mountain. Goya’s versatility in applying diverse techniques on the canvas is reflected work in this work

Goya’s Black Paintings: Inspiration for future generations

The Black Paintings serve as a cornerstone to Expressionism and Surrealism, influencing the works of Picasso, Manet and other great masters of the 20^th century.

Francisco Goya’s dark paintings have left an indelible mark on the art world, influencing subsequent generations of artists, including the enigmatic Salvador Dali. we can explore the profound connections between these two visionary artists, unveiling the depths of human emotion and the allure of the surreal.

Today, although we are exposed to images of gore, misery and grief, much of it is sanitized and censored. Goya, on the other hand, unabashedly captures human trauma and sorrow in paint.

Deeply scarred by the times and by personal hardships, the Black Paintings serve as a cathartic expression of his unfiltered views of human nature. It is inspiring to see how the artist evolved from a painter seeking to please his patrons to an uninhibited artist who uses his art as the purest form of self-expression.

His works and their raw scrutiny of the human spirit remain just as relevant today. Respect Goya!

The post Why You Must Know Goya’s Black Paintings, The Darkest Painting Series in the World appeared first on The Artist.

The purposes, motivations, intentions, and inspirations behind the art are endless.

Being one of the most creative ways of expressing human experience, we have used art as a means of telling stories.

May it be the story of a single person, of a community, or of a nation, art has in many ways contributed to the beautiful way these stories are told.

We’ve put together a list of 25 functions of art based on the viewpoints from renowned artists and philosophers for you to reflect upon

1. Art as an Expression

Art is a human activity, consisting in this, that one person consciously, by certain external signs, conveys to others feelings he has experienced, and other people are affected by these feelings and live them over in themselves.” – Tolstoy

Tolstoy’s famous “Expression Theory” centered on the idea that art elicits and provokes emotion in the viewer.

Out of many styles of expression, Abstract Expressionism is one great example where artists are empowered with the liberty to convey attitudes and emotions through nontraditional and usually nonrepresentational means.

The prominent function of art always drawn toward the expression theory.

Artists like Jackson Pollock believed that it was the viewer (and not the artist) who defines and interprets the meaning of the abstract expressionist artwork thus, there is no relevance on what the artist thinks or conveys while producing the work.

Convergence by Jackson Pollock is one of the initial art pieces of abstract expressionism and considered as the bravest action paintings ever made

The modern artist is working with space and time, and expressing his feelings rather than illustrating” – Jackson Pollock

2. Art empowers our faith in the nobility of man (Humanism)

“Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand” – Pablo Picasso 

One of the most powerful shifts resulted from the Renaissance period is that the Church was never a responsible source for their behavior and beliefs towards God and fellow men and that they themselves are responsible for the actions. One of the key aspects of what makes us human is revolving around our faith in religion, art, and culture

The School of Athens by Raphael remains one of the powerful representation of this shift in human history and also embodies the classical spirit of Renaissance

3. The creation of beauty is art

What is beauty in art? – Beauty is what we see as characteristic and harmonious.

Whatever different reactions art will about inside you, it is clear that the explanation is complicated and definitive.

Every piece of art, whether a painting, a vase or a statue, will have different colors, lines, and textures that will appeal to your soul and heart.

4. Know Thyself

“Creative without strategy is called ‘art.’ Creative with strategy is called advertising” – Jef Richards, educator

Art is a form of expressing oneself

Consciously or unconsciously artists are following Socrates’ command – Know thyself.

During this process, artists are exploring their subject, medium, and material, rebalancing the spiritual value of those elements, thereby experiencing the subtle preciousness of their awareness.

This interaction is beautiful which in fact leads to the inevitable desire for outward expression.

Art is born here.

5. Art is freedom in every sense

“Art is meant to disturb. Science reassures” – Georges Braque, painter

One decides to express the imagination is brave. The value of freedom in our creative expression cannot be overstated.

What about aestheticizing violence? What about creating art in gigantic forms?

What about choosing topics that are controversial? Different expressive media have a tendency to attract different personalities.

Phillipe Perrin, known for his huge artworks revolving around the subjects of evil and crime, chooses subjects that have the power to instill immediate shock and presents them in a bold way that ensures they do.

One of Perrin’s famous works, Bloodymary, blends the line between theatre, sculpture, and performance art through the lens of murder.

The artist uses unconventional medium and subject to place the viewer face to face with images inexorably tied to modern violence, subtly aestheticizing the violence in art.

The true meaning of art can be multifarious, but the purpose of art is met when such artists like Perrin uses art in innovative and unconventional ways.

6. Art sends strong messages from the sidewalk to the world at large

 “Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint” – Bansky 

Street art has proven itself to be a truly expressive art form.

It is not an inferior form of political outcry nor is it the indifferent rebellion of disaffected youth.

Street art thinks, feels, and evokes thoughts and emotions in the people that view it with an open mind.

Using iconic imagery that is often recognizable regardless of language, the street artist is able to speak his opinions and solutions to a global audience, making this a rapidly advancing form of art the world over.

7.  Art is the most intense mode of individualism

“Art is either plagiarism or revolution” – Paul Gauguin, painter

Famous artist Paul Gauguin once written – “One must always feel the plane, the wall; tapestries need no perspective”

Paul Gauguin’s art, style, and legacy reflected strongly in his artworks and often dismantled the traditional perspectives of art.

Gauguin was once of a few ordinary men that were able to leave mundane life to realize and fulfill a dream – to become an artist.

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? by Paul Gauguin is a great example of individualism where Gauguin said to read from right to left instead of from left to right – which in fact provides an entirely different perspective to the reader, which itself shows the true power and meaning of art

8. Art shifts realism into reality

“Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesn’t look like a painting of something; it looks like the thing itself.” – Roy Lichtenstein

We’re living in a time where our beliefs and messages must be braver and rendered more boldly than ever before.

Popular culture was shrouding everything in the 1950’s and 60’s in America, and maintaining the status quo became more important than ever.

The power of pop art has been emerging since then and continuously breaking all conformist perspectives and definitions of art

Whereas abstract artists sought to let the medium control the image, such as in Pollock’s drops of paint.

Pop Artists went beyond realism into reality.

9. Great art tells meaningful stories

“Art does not reproduce what is visible; it makes things visible.” Paul Klee, artist

The Sleeping Gypsy by Henri Rousseau – One of the most perceptible modern pieces of art, currently resides in MoMA Newyork,  has been considered as one of the many inspiring works by poets and musicians and also frequently parodied.

In this masterpiece, both, lion and woman display a calm demeanor on this artwork, but actually, both are on the alert warning that the trust between two worlds may get violated anytime.

10. Art validates our sorrows

“Art grows from joy and sorrow, but mostly from sorrow. It grows from human lives” – Edvard Munch

Art helps us see that sorrow can be beautiful and noble and still be one aspect of a good life.

Art also helps us to suffer alone without the input of society so that we can show a dignified face to the world in our public sorrow.

The true meaning of art lies in the emotion, considering sorrow is one prominent expression that we embody, art always validates our sorrows. “They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t.

I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” said Frida Kahlo, a great artist who infused her canvas with her native Mexican birthright and the historical epochs of her life.

11. Art is a personal act of courage

“Art is a personal act of courage” – Seth Godin

Courage is more important than creativity. Great art comes from the heart, doesn’t come from doing what you’re told. The mesmerizing charm of a great work of art doesn’t come from what is painted on the canvas. Rather, it comes from what was in the artist’s heart while he was painting. Franz Krueger’s The Parade auf Opernplatzis a great example of that. Krueger shows us that true art can be created only through courage, the strength of character, and determination. The meaning of art implies a personal and open proliferation of your thoughts.

12. Art is the signature of civilizations

“Art is the Queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Humanity advances on the great foundations built by ancestors. We transform the heritage of the past, learn the social aspects, identify new opportunities and invent new ways of life. In this journey, the past lives remain as a reference point as a subtle guide to build great things in this modern world.

At Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, you will be amazed by the galleries of  “The art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and later South Asia” section, where you will experience some of the finest masterpieces from the Islamic world, moreover enables you to understand the artistic and scientific heritage of an entire civilization. Rightly said by Roger Seruton, the culture of civilization is the art and literature through which it rises to the consciousness of itself and defines the vision of the world – after all the definition of culture derives from greater civilizations

13. Art embodies power and of color

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment” – Claude Monet

Colors are powerful. Doesn’t matter what you might be creating now – a painting, or a powerpoint presentation, or an illustration –  your eyes must be straying over a palette, splashed with many colors, choosing the right one to add to your work.  To a sensitive soul, the impact of a perfect color combination is deeper and intensely moving.

Visual art always played an important role for artists to convey the life, lustre, and power of life through colors

14. Art is Attitude

“Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics”- Victor Pinchuk

Art has taken a different dimension to think, feel and evoke thoughts in the people that view it with an open mind. Art represents the attitude either of an artist or of a belief system. Street art is often considered as vandalism, but it is executed with purpose, design, technique and intention. Street art heightens our experience of the visual landscape outside museum walls.

15. Art is the highest form of hope

“Art is not a thing; it is a way.” Elbert Hubbard, artist

Art can move us to tears. Beautiful art can bring tears of joy when we see a painting, sculpture or photograph of people or creatures experiencing things we want to experience. Experiencing such heart-warming feelings about it encourages us to hope for the same thing for ourselves.

Mutiny of Colours, A Project of Love, Peace, and Unity by Iranian Street Artists is one great example. The powerful messages of peace, love, and hope in a country torn apart by internal conflicts are represented by Iranian street artists through their art, and mostly these works grow in all endless direction, both metaphorically, conceptually and physically.

16. Art is about two things – Life and Death

“The goal of all life is death” – Sigmund Freud

Many artists have used death as a theme for art.

By giving death as a central theme, artists force us to confront the reality of birth and death within the same frame. Hope II by Gustav Klimt is one great art – represents a pregnant woman and the weight of hope the protagonist carried in her womb. The function of art lies around the diverse perspectives of life and death

Birth and death exist side-by-side, suspended in equilibrium, collaborators in the appetite of living.

17. Art rebalances our life

“Art is like soup. There will be some vegetables you don’t like but as long as you get some soup down you it doesn’t matter.” George Wyllie, Sculptor

Viewing art that depicts situations and feelings outside of what we normally experience on a daily basis helps us attain balance in our emotions by filling those voids.

We gain balance through art by taking a moment to observe, judge, and appreciate things we don’t normally see and our responses to them.

18. Art can be surreal

“Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos” – Stephen Sondheim

Surrealism – a philosophical and artistic movement that explored the unconscious mind – reveals human emotions and desires in an irrational, powerful, poetic and revolutionary way. The concept has a greater relevance considering it brought out the repressed inner worlds of sexuality, violence, dream, and desire.

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali shows us a few seemingly soft or melted pocket watches lying about in open land.  Dali’s message was to show that time and space are relative and that we, in fact, live in a universe of complete disorder.

“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali

19. Art is You

“Art is anything you can get away with”- Andy Warhol

Art helps us to complete our own unformed thoughts and ideas. We have an ‘aha’ moment when we see a piece of art that perfectly captures a feeling or thought we have had that we couldn’t express. When this happens, we have gained a piece of new knowledge through the art that we can now communicate to ourselves and to others.

This why the best possible function of art operates via YOU.

20. Art is discovery and exploration

“Art is a discovery and development of elementary principles of nature into beautiful forms suitable for human use”- Frank Lloyd Wright

Is it not more remarkable when a natural talent emerges from nothingness to produce a work of art with an organic honesty that might have been wiped out by years of training in established structures, conventions, and accepted wisdom?

One such unlikely place was a tax collector’s office in Paris, and its unlikely talent came in the form of a Laval­born son of a plumber named Henri Rousseau. The majority of Rousseau’s life is somewhat cloudy, and with good reason—it is wholly unexceptional.

The Snake Charmer by Henri Rousseau is a dream­like depiction of mysterious human and animal forms in a jungle scene. This work is a testament to the attention Rousseau received from prominent artists during his time.

21. Art empowers the heart of people

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas

When activists are showing images of children suffering from poverty or oppression in their campaigns, this is the art pulling the heartstrings of society’s elite and powerful to make changes. Such moments – using art to raise awareness – truly validate the existence and definition of art

When photographers publish the photos of war-torn areas, it catches the attention of masses whose hearts reach out for those who need help. When the artist creates great music and movies, it entertains people around the world. This is art, making a difference in society.

22. Culture is a great friend of art

“Art speaks the soul of its culture” – Abby Willowroot

Art is also a remarkable mode of depicting culture from all over the world, art and culture complement each other very well.

When you see a Zen garden in Sydney or San Francisco, you know that it’s a practice that originated from China. When you see paper swans swarming a beautiful wedding ceremony, you know that this is origami, an art that came from Japan. When you see films featuring Bollywood music and dancing, you know that it’s a movie from India.

Destinations like Newyork, Berlin, Prague, Sao Paulo, UAE, etc. are on a helm of cultural revolution to uplift their cities with art, design, and imagination – after all culture is the collective term for human behaviors

23. Art is activism

“Art resides in the quality of doing, the process is not magic.” – Charles Eames

Art has been used many times to represent the isolation, claustrophobia, and anxiety of our society due to the tough political times that we’re living at present. Tetsuya Ishida, a Japanese artist, portrayed the Japanese life about the social, economic and academic educational structures. Many of his works exposed the Japanese people’s trials in trying to acclimate to the changes involving social and technological contemporary life. Read – Tetsuya Ishida – Saving the World With A Brushstroke

Similarly, a lot of street art has an obvious, or sometimes very subtle, anti-establishment hint in it. The very mediums it uses, owned by states or corporations, are protected by law from the artist but are used without regard or in spite of it. That illegality is often a part of the message

24. Art is harmony

“Art is harmony” – George Seaurat

The power of art lies neither in the image nor the emotions it arouses in the viewer, rather its greatness is derived from understanding the creative forces which inspired the masterpiece.  Harmony is a subjective concept, rather it emerges within a context that many factors come together. Goya’s black paintings series is a great example that proves this theory. Today, although we are exposed to images of gore, misery, and grief, much of it is sanitized and censored. Goya, on the other hand, unabashedly captures human trauma and sorrow in the paint.

25. Art as Therapy

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”- Thomas Merton

In the famous book Art as Therapy, the authors have outlined seven functions of art and explain how art helps us grow and evolve in our understanding of ourselves, each other, and the world we live in. Taking your time to mindfully observe artwork can be of true value to your emotional well-being.

Conclusion: The functions of art remain incomprehensible

‘What is art?’— one question continuously steers educators, performers, practitioners, and philosophers to engage in deep analysis. But no matter what the function of art may be, the experience it delivers finally matters, and probably one reason it has been around us for as long as humans have existed. Whether or not we are aware of it, we allow art to affect our lives one way or another.

You may not know it, but your daily existence can be much more colorful with the presence and influence of art, and it only gets better once you allow your own creativity and imagination to take a turn for good.

So go ahead and open yourself up to art. It will be worth the change.

The post 25 Functions of Art That Make Us Better Human Beings appeared first on The Artist.

While many principal characteristics of renaissance art have been influencing the modern world, this phase had led towards a spiritual thinking wherein people began exploring the philosophy of humanism

With the advent of the printing press, knowledge was for the first time in over 1000 years accessible to people outside of the clergy, the noble, the aristocratic, and the royal.

Renaissance brought about several changes. And these are changes that are still influencing the modern world, even up till presently. But germane among its effect was the fact that at the time, it ushered the world into a phase of heightened spiritual thinking. A phase where people began to explore the philosophy of humanism.

Special attention was given to the classical eras in Greece and in Rome, which until the Renaissance were the pinnacle of human achievement.

Renaissance Art – A period of revival and creativity

A renewed passion for learning and for human achievement led to the influence of all of these new studies in the formation of greater art.

Renaissance was a period of greater learning and curiosity that led many learners and artists to develop and engage in new forms of art.

Renaissance brought about several changes. And these are changes that are still influencing the modern world, even up till presently. But germane among its effect was the fact that at the time, it ushered the world into a phase of heightened spiritual thinking. A phase where people began to explore the philosophy of humanism.

Florence, Italy was the birthplace of the Renaissance and that is the reason why many disciplines focused mainly on Italy.

The power of humanists during the Renaissance period was dominating and thus the church sought to become “patron” of the artists’ projects.

The creative ventures involving the church and the artists shot up due to the high education sponsored by the church and the wealthy merchants spending huge amounts of money on the paintings.

Renaissance art was instrumental in the change that the world experienced. Below are five of the characteristics of Renaissance Art that had a major influence on the world. 

Top 5 Characteristics of Renaissance Art that Changed the World

1. A positive willingness to learn and explore

The onset of technology and new discoveries led artists and learners to seek more.

While the Western world saw simultaneous discoveries and innovations, the artists in Italy became more and more curious to explore the world and all the possible aspects of nature.

The discoveries in Europe included new sea routes, continents, and colonies along with new innovations in architecture, sculpting, and painting. They believed that revival of the classical antiquity could lead to a much worthy and standardized stake in that era.

2. Faith in the nobility of man- Humanism

Prior to Renaissance was the Renaissance Humanism which contributed immensely to the rise of the Renaissance.

Note that Renaissance Humanism is not the same as Humanism.

Humanism was a major offshoot, and characteristic of the Renaissance period. While the Renaissance Humanism was an intellectual movement that began in the 13th century. The major ideal of the philosophy was tied around the study of classical texts, and the alteration of these classical thinking by more contemporary ones. As in the 15th century, Renaissance Humanism had become the dominant form of education. It was so popular that it was divided into a range of sub-developments. Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) is regarded as the Father of Italian Humanism, his contribution to the philosophy was quite huge.

Renaissance Humanism was very instrumental to the reign of the Renaissance. It was popular and predominant during the period. This was to the extent that the church had to support and even “patron” it.

Humanists shared the belief that God created humans with so many potentials and abilities, and to get the best of them, one has to dignify himself and esteem himself rightly. So they felt that they had the responsibility to act on this belief and make the most of it.

Through humanism, Art especially enjoyed the support of the church. The church began to finance and sponsor creative ventures and education. And with the high-rate of patronage from the wealthy royals, there was always a ready market for the paintings that were made.

Intellectuals, artisans and common men concluded that the Church was never a responsible source for their behavior and beliefs towards God and fellow men and that they themselves are responsible for the actions.

The parallel vision between religion and humanism was cleared and the esteem related to self-importance was thought upon. The magnificent Procession of the Magi, portrayed by Gozzoli along with companies, seeks a more regal face rather than a religious one.

3. The discovery and mastery of linear perspective

The revival in math and proportions led to the innovations of two major systems: the use of linear perspective and the introduction of the vanishing point – This is considered to be one of the revolutionary characteristics of renaissance art

This was created by the famous architect of that time, Filippo Brunelleschi.

He used the innovations in math to create a linear perspective using parallel lines, a horizon line and a vanishing point to realistically portray space and depth in art.

Since painting is a two-dimensional activity, the advent of linear perspective created a three-dimensional look through practice.

To achieve this, artists took a horizon line at eye level and marked a vanishing point on it. A receding checkerboard of intersecting lines was created that converged and met the vanishing point. This created a sense of distance and depth.

With constant practice, artists managed to create a three-dimensional effect in their paintings.

Not only did the art with linear perspective shoot high, but the ability to portray convincingly naturalistic figures in illusionistic spaces was praiseworthy too.

The mastermind behind the developments was the author of three mathematical treatises and a wonderful artist, Piero Della Francesca, whose perspective paintings and impressive figures showed technique and finesse. One such classic example of his work is The Flagellation of Christ.

4. Rebirth of Naturalism. 

This is another characteristic of Renaissance Art that brought about change in world patterns.   

At the period, there was the rise of anatomical drawings and paintings. The Italian Renaissance artist-Leonardo da Vinci pioneered this move. He set the standard for drawing and painting anatomically correct bodies. He birthed this out of his quest to thoroughly understand the human body. He did this by performing 20 autopsies while drawing all that he found in the human body, the way he saw them. He then incorporated what he learned of bone structures, musculature, and organ placement (from the bodies he drew or painted), into the body of knowledge.   

Italian Renaissance artists integrated figures into complex scenes that permitted a broader perspective and a glimpse into the lives of the wealthy or rich.

Both light, shadow, and perspective were used effectively to draw attention to figures in paintings. 

Leonardo Da Vinci was considered to be a scientist as well as an artist.

Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo observed cadavers being dissected.

This was for them to study how human muscles lay underneath the skin.  

In Medieval days, the human body was regarded as being sinful, smelly, and disgusting. And therefore, it was to be covered at all times.

But then, during the Renaissance period, this changed. Renaissance thinkers considered the human body to be a beautiful thing. And in fact, a model for God’s universe.

In Da Vinci’s 1487 drawing; “Vitruvian Man,” which meant “universal man”, he expressed how a spread-eagle human body, fits into a perfect circle. And he did this with its arms stretched out into a perfect square.

Michelangelo’s nude statue, “David” is a prime example of the Renaissance’s fascination with the human body. And its belief that the human body is the apex of God’s creation.

Michelangelo painted so many nude characters in his “Last Judgement”. He did this on the wall of the Sistine Chapel. And after a while, the Vatican had to hire another painter to paint modest clothes around his drawings, to cover many of the nude paintings.

5. Secularism 

Secularism; which is the last characteristic I’ll dwell on, was also a useful force. It is the transition of predominant beliefs and thought patterns from religious themes to broader themes. And also the incorporation of practices such as architecture and sculpture. Renaissance artists portrayed non-religious themes, meanwhile, Medieval Art was exclusively religious in nature.

During Medieval times, most people believed the world would end in the year 1,000 A.D., so they believed that any other art subject was inappropriate.

Renaissance art focused on religious subjects, and Bible characters. So the trend gradually shifted toward the painting of scenes that were not religious. 

One of the earliest Renaissance examples of a non-religious theme was van Eyck’s revolutionary “Arnolfini Marriage.” Jan van Eyck employed the art of depth and reflection by adding a mirror on the back wall. That way, the people that viewed the picture got a reflection of themselves in the view of the painting.

The interest in Classical Roman culture was rekindled during this period. Then, the Renaissance put forward artworks that often portrayed scenes from Greek and Roman mythology. 

One of the evidence of the rebirth of the Greek and Roman culture was the revival of sculpture works.

In classical times, only the important cities were filled with statues and sculptures. But during the Renaissance, there was an increased interest in archeology, to rediscover the Classical culture. Michelangelo was present when the Laocoon; carved in the 1st century, was discovered in Rome.

Michelangelo was not only a painter and sculptor of great talent. He also served as the architect of the Dome for St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. And this church building is acclaimed to be the largest church building on earth.

Final thoughts

Conclusively, the phase of Renaissance art had countless effects and a great impact on the way the world is now structured.

Painters and sculptors that emerged after this period of great innovations and developments, followed up on the new trends and even made out better designs and artworks. Well, as time passed, innovations proceeded and knowledge got more refined with every passing generation.

The teachings, learnings, and innovations of previous generations led newer ones to thirst after new breakthroughs. Breakthroughs that will typify their own generation. This then kept each person on their toes and helped them to discover and contribute more to the body of art.

Geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo contributed at a high level with their findings and innovations.

Other fields of expertise like Architecture were also not left out. Architecture and Art experienced a completely different lapse.

This phase in Architecture led to the rise in all of the beautiful designs that characterized the past centuries. Viewed as devotional objects of that time, the paintings are still adorned as great works of art. And it even birthed our present structures; the jaw-dropping ones which we now boast of today. 

The principles of Renaissance art have no doubt, contributed immensely to the state of the world today. It taught us principles and ideals which have remained relevant, through and true.

And have transcended generations, while still strongly influencing our lifestyle and patterns in today’s world.

The 7 most famous of renaissance paintings

Why is Monalisa painting so famous?

The post 5 Characteristics of Renaissance Art That Changed the World Forever appeared first on The Artist.

But maybe we should stop worrying and learn to love the “naive”.[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”]Is it not more remarkable when a natural talent emerges from nothingness to produce a work of art with an organic honesty that might have been wiped out by years of training in established structures, conventions, and accepted wisdom? [/quote_colored]

Maybe the first time someone said it, they said it with a sneer, but that person was almost certainly an established artist or critic who might have felt threatened by a raw talent from an unlikely place.

One such unlikely place was a tax collector’s office in Paris, and its unlikely talent came in the form of a Laval­born son of a plumber named Henri Rousseau. The majority of Rousseau’s life is somewhat cloudy, and with good reason—it is wholly unexceptional. After graduating high school with merely passable grades,

Rousseau worked for a while as a lawyer’s assistant before deciding to trade in his briefcase for a gun as a member of the French army. His father’s death put an end to any military aspirations, as Rousseau moved back to his hometown to care for his mother, eventually finding himself in a government position as a toll collector. At this point, Rousseau is a few years past forty, married, father of several children, and moderately successful in a comfortable job.

Respectable, sure, but remarkable? Not by a long shot. It was during this time that Rousseau began to commit himself to the one subject where he had shown exceptional talent as a student—art. At the age of 49, he left his day job and dedicated himself fully to creating art. Maybe it makes for a better story to say that his work was unappreciated in his lifetime—and certainly, he attracted more than his fair share of critics and found limited financial success—but to claim as much is to ignore several renowned supporters that he earned during his lifetime. Chief among them is the great Pablo Picasso, whose immediate recognition of Rousseau’s talent compelled him to host a banquet in the former toll collector’s honor.

The Snake Charmer, pictured here, is a testament to the attention Rousseau received from prominent artists during his time. Commissioned by the mother of experimental French artist Robert Delaunay in 1907, one year prior to the banquet with Picasso and three years before Rousseau’s death,[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”] The Snake Charmer is a dream­like depiction of mysterious human and animal forms in a jungle scene. [/quote_colored]The piece’s reliance on dark, subdued colors relegates its subjects to shadows in the background, giving the piece a frightful, exotic feel. This focus on feeling over precision in naive art genre is what makes Rousseau’s frequent jungle depictions so evocative, though it is now believed that he lived his entire life in France and never saw a jungle with his own eyes. The Snake Charmer is an especially strong example of what made the naive art style so controversial during Rousseau’s time—abstract yet meticulous, childlike but sophisticated in a way of its own.

Though beloved by many artists during his lifetime, wide acceptance of Rousseau as an avant­garde master did not occur until after his death in 1910. The flat, fantastical depictions seen in naive art works such as The Snake Charmer, The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope (1905), The Sleeping Gypsy and The Dream (1910) have influenced artists and writers as varied as Sylvia Plath and Joni Mitchell, and his unlikely rise to fame continues to inspire us all to this day.

[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”]In every common person there is the potential for greatness—greatness which may be criticized, called primitive and unsophisticated, but can be developed only through determination and perfecting one’s craft. [/quote_colored]

If being “naive” puts you in the company of greats such as Rousseau, consider that it may not be such a bad thing after all. As stated above, we must stop worrying and learn to love the naive. Is it truly remarkable when a natural talent emerges from nothingness to produce a work of passion with an organic honesty and enters into the world of greatness!

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The Story of Paul Gauguin is immensely cinematic and inspirational.

Paul Gauguin was one of a few ordinary men who could leave mundane life to realize and fulfill a dream.

While it was fully intentional that he be recognized as a Prophet of Art, he couldn’t have imagined that he would go beyond that and be heralded by future critics as a clandestine classicist who was true from the very beginning artist of great talent.

Gauguin’s dream was not to be a painter known for exacting detail, but to be a forerunner of a new age of artistic expression and symbolism, defined not only by his art but by his character, reputation, essence, and aura

He built a legend around his life that may have at first been an act but later became a reality.

Gauguin’s composition has a strictly balanced framework of horizontals and verticals to which the harmonious rhythms of the groups of figures remain subject.

One of his great works – Te Tamari No Atua (The Birth of Christ) – a depiction of an island girl lying on her cot, a crib with oxen and a dog behind her, two helpers in the background, mother and child encompassed by a gleaming aureole, is still as moving today as when it was painted.

From Everyman to Prophet to Master: The Evolution of The Prophet Gauguin

Though Gauguin wanted everyone to think he was “a savage”, his actual life began in 1848 in Peru, where he was born to a journalist and his French-Peruvian wife, who herself was descended from Peruvian nobility. He was raised mainly in Lima, Peru, until he joined the Merchant Marine as a young man.

His days as a sailor took him to many ports of call as far away as India and the Black Sea, but he was especially entranced by Rio de Janeiro and the South American Continent from which he fancied his savage roots.

As he grew into manhood, he settled down in Paris and became a financier at a local firm. He did well, married well, and became a person of means.

With his prosperity, he began a collection of Impressionist art, which spurred a passion in him that ignited him all of his life.

As a collector, he met Impressionists like Cezanne and Camille Pissarro and became enthralled with the idea of creating his art.

It was under Pissarro’s influence and tutelage that Gauguin became an artist.

The esteemed Impressionist invited the amateur painter and stockbroker to exhibit with his fellow Impressionists.

A little more than a decade after Gauguin had begun painting as a side interest, the stock market crashed. Much to the displeasure of his wife and her respectable family, he rejected the status quo lifestyle of Europe and his place in it as a business and family man and left ordinary life entirely in pursuit of the life of an artist.

Thinking that he could never find his lost paradise in the mundane conformity of European society, he went in search of it in exotic or rural locations.

He was on a mission of discovery that led him to Panama, Martinique, Brittany, Tahiti, and the Marquesas Islands.

He also explored exotic physical locations and spiritual and esoteric dimensions.

He lived and painted in the era of spiritualism and the occult, and he, with other artists such as Maurice Denis and Emile Bernard, embraced the idea of art as prophecy, creating a group known as the Nabis, the Hebrew word for ‘prophets’.

He believed that returning to the savage and native brought the art closer to a spiritual experience. He and his fellow Nabis also maintained that they were ushering in a new era of art – and they were.

He brought that philosophy to self-creation and wove stories and legends of his life and lineage as that of Incan savage rather than Peruvian nobility.

Gauguin created many great works in far-flung locales, but he lost everything to do it. His wife and family had shunned him when their lives collapsed from his neglect, and he didn’t have a penny to his name when he died. What he did have was his legacy.

Paul Gauguin’s Art, Style, and Legacy

The romance and drama of Gauguin’s life and the dreamy subjects of his paintings sometimes pull the viewer’s mind from the skill and execution of his work.

A clandestine classicist, he was never far removed from the sophistication and beauty of classicism, even though that was never his intention.

Gauguin’s used flat planes and bold colors to elicit feeling in the viewer rather than a mere appreciation for a well-rendered piece of realistic art or the aesthetic beauty of the impressionists.

He wanted the viewer to engage with the subjects, not the art itself.

The prophet was not impressed with the European art world’s attempt at primitive art because it neither hailed from nor represented any primitive source.

On the other hand, he traveled to Tahiti to create primitive art in a primitive place.

In his work Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?), his choice of composition and color give the feeling of such a place, and he doesn’t need nor use detail to impart the emotions of the central subjects of the painting.

The anti-establishment pro-savagery ideal he sought is evident in the fragile composition that features three horizontal fields of color juxtaposed with two figures placed one on top of the other in the very center of the canvas, breaking every rule of compositional placement.

This rule-breaking only adds to the feeling of the place and is completely appropriate, especially in adding to the ebullient attitude of the main subject.

The hopeful bride figure in the front is in a playful and anticipative pose while an older girl sits confidently behind.

The calming choice of hue in the three fields of color that make up the landscape brings the offset composition back into harmony and suggests peace, happiness, and the carefree joy of a simple place.

His philosophy of simple planes and clean lines does not hinder his ability to capture the expression and feeling of the girls in the piece, and in fact, only enhances the effect.

Gauguin once written – “One must always feel the plane, the wall; tapestries need no perspective”

Indeed, the suggestion is all that is needed.

His colors, subject matter, and composition complete the whole.

His many works accomplish his ideals and bring the viewer into a spiritual and emotional place close to the core of the primitive mind.

His attitude toward shape and plane influenced succeeding movements and artists in the Art Nouveau, German Expressionism, Fauvist, and Abstract movements.

His dissolute life, extreme poverty, a heart condition, and alcohol had broken the spirit and ruined the body of this seemingly indomitable, athletic man during his last days.

But Paul was a man that accomplished what so many have not, the fulfillment of a dream and the realization of his convictions into eternity.

Hey Paul Gauguin, You’re truly an inspiration to us!

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It’s true to the core that art never dies, it constantly improves itself. So, below are the most famous paintings about Death in Art.

The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio

The Entombment of Christ, a painting produced by Caravaggio between 1603 and 1604. The theme of death in art isn’t a rare occurrence, but this painting that is considered one of the most admired works of Caravaggio is a great example of how such deep aspects of life are important in depicting the key moments of history. In this painting, the dead Christ’s body is being carried by two men. It’s not a burial as Christ’s body is being laid on a stone slab but a moment of mourning as many believed God came to earth to reconcile humans with heavens.

Oath of the Horatii by Jacques Louis David

Oath of the Horatti is a painting produced by Jacques Louis David in 1784. This painting is best known for its Neoclassicim style around the world. There was a dispute between Roman and Alba longa warring cities who have agreed to send best three warriors from their cities. This painting depicts three brothers from Roman family saluting their father who is holding their sword.

The Death of Leonardo da Vinci by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

The Death of Leonardo da Vinci, a painting produced by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres in 1818. This painting represents one of the greatest minds, resting in peace. The king of France, Francis I is shown holding Leonardo Da Vinci head and receiving his last words.

The Death of Socrates by Jacques Louis David

The Death of Socrates, a painting produced by Jacques Louis David in 1787. One of the main features of this painting is that it focuses on classical subjects. It depicts Socrates who was sentenced to death for introducing strange gods and corrupting the youth of Athens.

Andromache Mourning Hector by Jacques Louis David

Andromache Mourning Hector, a painting produced by Jacques Louis David in 1783. This painting is famous for one of the scenes used from antiquity. It depicts hector who has been killed by Achilles. Andromache is the wife who is mourning over his death and comforted by his child.

The Menaced Assassin by René Magritte

The Menaced Assassin, a painting produced by Rene Magritte in 1927. It is considered as one of the famous and theatrical works by Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte. The painting is about a nude woman whose body is lying on a couch smeared with blood while the assassins were about to leave the room.

Murdering Airplane by Max Ernst

Murdering Airplane is a painting produced by Max Ernst in 1920. For this painting, Max Ernst got inspiration from World War I events in which he also served as a fighter. This painting depicts a monstrous unrealistic airplane with human hands flying over a field.

Christ of Saint John of the Cross by Salvador Dali

Christ of Saint John of the Cross, a painting produced by Salvador Dali in 1951. The Spanish government got an offer of 127 million dollars for this painting but they rejected it. For this painting, the Spanish painter got inspiration from a dream in 1950, he saw the exact image of Christ in colors as drawn in this painting by him.

The Dying Swan by Vladimir Tretchikoff

The Dying Swan is a painting produced by Vladimir Tretchikoff in 1949. This painting is also well known around the world by the name “Alicia Markova The Dying Swan’. Alicia Markova was a lovable ballet girl who did perform the famous role of the Dying Swan. The South African painter loved her performance and hen decided to paint her.

The Surreal World of Salvador Dali

The Entombment by Michelangelo

The Entombment is a painting produced by Michelangelo between 1500 to 1501. This is an unfinished painting by the Italian artist who was going to depict the placing of the Christ body in the garden tomb through The Entombment.

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living by Damien Steven Hirst

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living is an artwork – probably one of the best contemporary installations around the theme of death in art – produced by Damien Steven Hirst in 1991. It is known for its true example of Contemporary and Conceptual art. A killer dead shark is kept in a tank filled with formaldehyde.

The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons by Jacques Louis David

The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons is a painting produced by Jacques Louis David in 1789. Many historians believed that the original title of this painting was Brutus returning home after having sentenced his sons for plotting a tarquinian restoration and conspiring against roman freedom, the Lictors burnt their bodies to be buried. The Lictors remains one of the greatest examples of death in art

Leonidas at Thermopylae by Jacques Louis David

Leonidas at Thermopylae is a painting produced by Jacques Louis David in 1814. The French painter was occupied for about fifteen years for Leonidas at Thermopylae painting. The Spartan king Leonidas preparing for combat is shown in this painting prior to the battle Thermopylae.

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? by Paul Gauguin

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? is a painting produced by Paul Gauguin between 1897 and 1898. There is an original title inscribed on the upper left corner of this painting in French as D’où Venons Nous / Que Sommes Nous / Où Allons Nous. This painting should be read from right to left according to French painter instead of left to right.

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Few artists have been able to ask as much as Duchamp as to what art really means and then so confidently suggest that any decent answers would only lead to more questions anyway.

Much of Duchamp’s work, as shown in these 10 famous and innovative Marcel Duchamp Artworks, provide responses to the question, “what is art, really?” and reflect the artist’s ongoing inquisitive nature and innovative works. 

1.Coffee Mill

As one of his first paintings of machines in 1911, Coffee Mill in all its simpleness contains a plethora of possible associations and interpretations.

This theme would continue in much of Duchamp’s work, and a fascination in objects, especially those which are symbols for systems and processes of modern life, often dominated Duchamp’s interests.

Some interpreters have suggested a semblance to a mandala, indicating some level of interest in spirituality while others point out the arrow on top, clearly showing the movement associated with the apparatus.

2.Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2

Inspired in part by chronophotographs, which employ a method of making images showing an object moving, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 is designed to depict motion.

Attempting to understand Duchamp’s decisions on the canvas is to miss the wonderful nature of the entire piece of work and certainly, through this painting Duchamp showed what a talented painter he was.

Painted in 1912 and displayed at an art show in 1913, it was not understood and therefore not looked so favorably upon by the community.

3.3 Standard Stoppages  

Created in 1913-1914, 3 Standard Stoppages was developed by dropping three pieces of one-meter-long thread and allowing their unusual fluctuations to act as varying and irrational units of measurement.

In this, the artist incorporated an element of chance into the work, which calls into question the relevance of the artist’s hand.

As it stands, 3 Standard Stoppages was a foreshadowing of much more process art in the century to come.

4.Comb

Possibly one of the plainest ready-made art pieces, Comb was so simplistic and so undesirable that it was never going to be stolen.

This ready-made from 1916 was famously hung from a coat rack at an exhibition where it went largely unnoticed, to the great delight of the artist.

In addition to this, the words “three or four drops of height have nothing to do with savagery” were inscribed in French on the surface, a phrase with meaning not particularly clear to anyone. 

5.T um’

A painting of unusual shape, due mostly to the fact that it was designed to be hung over a bookcase, T um’ is like an autobiography of self with paint and would be the last of Duchamp’s paintings on canvas.

Painted in 1918, Duchamp focuses on references to his past works, with the shadow of Hat Rack on the righthand side, the Bicycle Wheel, and 3 Standard Stoppages on the left.

Even the name alludes to boredom and a desire to give up canvas painting noted to be an abbreviated allusion to a French phrase which translates as “You bore me”.

6.50cc of Paris Air

Consisting of a small glass vial bought from a drugstore, it contains a little bit of French air, ready to be transported and be viewed all around the world.

However, it is noted that the air contained within might not even be Parisian anymore, as the glass ampoule was broken and subsequently repaired in 1949, ultimately making the title and the meaning of the work redundant.

7.L.H.O.O.Q

The makings of another great and ridiculous Duchamp piece, this could perhaps be confused as the work of a mischievous teenager over that of a renowned artist.

L.H.O.O.Q from 1919 is a postcard of the famous Mona Lisa, albeit sporting a mustache and goatee.

Duchamp is known to have a female alias he worked under, known as Rrose Sélavy, where a regular habit of mixing genders marked his (or her) work.

8.Rotoreliefs

Throughout his artistic career, Duchamp often made artworks considered very pleasing to the eye.

Surprisingly for an artist who so often derided art which he considered “eye candy”, in 1935 he created a series of work called Rotoreliefs.

These were a set of double-sided discs designed to spin on a record player at a rate of 40-60 rpm and were no doubt mesmerizing for the viewer.

The design of the discs provides the viewer much depth and they were prominently featured in an early film dubbed “Anemic Cinema” by Duchamp.

9.The Box in the Valise

The Box in a Valise, formed in 1935-1941, is a work containing mini renderings of about two decades worth of famous Marcel Duchamp artwork.

At this point in his career, Duchamp must have considered it a necessity to put a display of his life’s work, albeit in miniature form, in a carry case.

Contained within the box are miniature versions of the Fountain, Duchamp’s urinal art, a rendering of Large Glass, a small glass ampoule of Paris Air, and a miniature version of his “boredom” T um’ art.

A museum of sorts, The Box in the Valise figured greatly into the artist’s interest in different mediums of presentation.

10.16 Miles of String

16 Miles of String, exactly as the name suggests, was an installation of string that stretched, drooped, and floated across the hall of an exhibition, making it difficult to see much of the other art on display.

The result, as with much of Duchamp’s work, was eccentric and devious, getting between the attendees and the art on display.

For the show where this was displayed, children in sports uniforms were hired as chaotic actors to disrupt the attendees as they perused the art.

Conclusion:

Indeed, many interesting and innovative works of art were created during this artist’s career, many of which have not been mentioned in this list of 10 Famous and Innovative Marcel Duchamp Artworks.

Artwork not mentioned here such as the Fountain, Book Binding for Ubu Roi, and Étant donnés: 1. La chute d’eau, 2. Le gaz d’éclairage and many others have been met with much acclaim.

Duchamp wielded great influence in the areas of ready-mades and process art, and it is an obvious fact that many of the effects of this are still experienced by modern artists of our day and age. Also, check out the 20 Most Famous Sculptors of All Time.

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Whatever you believe art to be, and many art pieces will bring about different reactions in you, it is clear that the explanation is complicated and not definitive.

Venus of Urbino by Titian

Venus of Urbino is a painting produced by Titian in 1538. Titan depicts eroticism through a nude young woman. The Italian painter reminds her marital obligations of what she would have to fulfill to her husband. The current location of the painting is Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence.

Madame Moitessier by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

Madame Moitessier is a painting produced by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres in 1856. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres painted a second version of this painting in which Madame Moitessier is shown standing and the painting was completed in 1851.

Grande Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

Grande Odalisque is a painting produced by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres in 1814. This painting is also widely known as Une Odalisque or La Grande Odalisque. When Grande Odalisque was first exhibited in public, it attracted wide criticism from viewers and critics.

Portrait of Princesse de Broglie by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

Portrait of Princesse de Broglie is a painting produced by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres in 1853. Pauline Eleonore de Broglie was Viscountess Haussonville’s beautiful sister which the French painter had painted using Princesse de Broglie as her representation.

Metamorphosis of Narcissus by Salvador Dali

Metamorphosis of Narcissus is a painting produced by Salvador Dali in 1937. Narcissus was a great beauty who loved only himself and it was believed that God punished him by letting him see his mirror image. Narcissus dies of frustration that he couldn’t make love to himself.

Read Who is Salvador Dali?

In the Conservatory by Edouard Manet

In the Conservatory is a painting produced by Edouard Manet between 1878 and 1879. Edouard Manet painting was first bought by The Nationalgalerie museum in Berlin. The two friends shown are Manet’s friends wearing attractive clothes.

The Flute Concert of Frederick by Adolf Menzel

The Flute Concert of Frederick is a painting produced by Adolf Menzel around 1871. On the visit of his sister, King Frederick organized a concert. The German artist thus created a deep, detailed depiction of music-making throughout this painting. This is a hallmark example when we discuss about artwork and paintings Around the theme of Beauty in Art, because of the ultimate harmony of the entire scene.

David by Michelangelo

David is a sculpture produced by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni between 1501 and 1504. David is regarded as one of the most famous sculptures of the Renaissance period. The Italian artist represented David in an unusual way for the tradition of that time.

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

Girl With a Pearl Earring is a painting produced by Johannes Vermeer around 1665. The original title given to this painting was Girl with a Turban. A girl is shown, dressed in oriental style while she looks directly at the viewer.

Dar-es-Salaam by Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef

Dar-es-Salaam is a painting produced by Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef in 1926. The South African painter painted another painting with the same name as Dar es Salaam. Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef is a landscape artist and was among the best artist in South Africa.

The Wheat Sifters by Gustave Courbet

The Wheat Sifters is another famous Paintings Around the Theme of Beauty in Art, produced by Gustave Courbet in 1854. Another painting named The Young Ladies of the Village shows the same theme and scenes. There are two women shown one on left and one on center are Courbet’s sisters and the boy to be his son.

Hardkoolbome – Bosveld by Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef

Hardkoolbome – Bosveld is a painting produced by Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef in 1945. This painting can be viewed at the South Africa National Gallery. During the 19th century, the South African artist was influenced by the English artwork which the south African painter hated the most.

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First of all, nothing in this world is universally boring.

What fascinates one person may not get the same reaction from another.

The same is true with art.

In as much as different people like different kinds of music, people have preferences as to art mediums as well. Perhaps the reason why one lacks interest in art is that they were exposed to the kind that didn’t appeal to them so much.

And when this happens, the hasty generalization that art is boring sinks in. This leads us to the next reason why art can seem boring to some people.

The reason why some kinds of art don’t appeal to some is because they don’t know how to relate with them.This is why understanding art is the key to curing all kinds of disinterest towards them.

What makes something beautiful goes beyond color and shape?

For art, beauty knows how something can inspire you or stimulate your brain. When you know why a work of art was created or the story behind its inspiration, you make it easier for your brain to let the artwork its magic on you. Only then can art cease to be boring.

So next time you see a piece of art that doesn’t seem to catch your interest, ask yourself why this art existed, to begin with.

Who was the artist?

What was the inspiration of this work?

How did these works impact the people who saw this?

Once you know the answers to these questions, you’ll find that the artwork was not as boring as you thought it was.

Art is embraced by new mediums and technologies

When the 20th century welcomed a new generation, art took for a different turn as well. Many artists, now labelled as contemporary, have rejected traditional concepts of art and created concepts they could call their own.

The fact that technology started to rise during that era made the emergence of new mediums much easier. Artists started transitioning from being painters and sculptures that used paint and cement into digital artists and 3D artists, using imaging software and different materials to create works of art.

Now that contemporary artists are using blood, insects, dirt, and all kinds of mediums that you never thought could be used for art, it can’t be denied that times have certainly changed for the artist.

Most kinds of visual arts – from films and photographs to the museum paintings – are now being presented and circulated online. While you will still have your classic galleries in some urban scenarios, most artists find that it’s much easier for new creations to gain attention through the internet.

Online, almost all kinds of subjects are depicted in art, may it be your usual entertaining cartoons or culturally significant music and movies. Most of which are well received by the rest of the world. But what’s even more interesting is that technology has democratized art that would otherwise be subject to the whims of a museum curator.

From here, the art only gets more innovative as the years pass. New multimedia technology is making it easier to transcend space, such as when you can view an entire artwork through a 360 camera’s view.

But no matter what happens, art will always be there, continuously adjusting to the changing world, always finding ways to influence life for the better. The bottom line is art will always have a future, and a beautiful one, at that.

Learn to Love Art

Whether you like it or not, art is really changing the world.

Art is very important in society because it is an essential ingredient to empowering the hearts of people

When activists are showing images of children suffering from poverty or oppression in their campaigns, this is the art pulling the heartstrings of society’s elite and powerful to make changes. When photographers publish the photos of war-torn areas, it catches the attention of masses whose hearts reach out for those who need help. When artist creates great music and movies, it entertains people around the world.

This is art, making a difference in society.

As we speak, art continues to find ways to change and enhance the human experience. And yes, it can enhance your life as well. You may not know it, but your daily existence can be much more colourful with the presence and influence of art, and it only gets better once you allow your own creativity and imagination to take a turn for the artistic as well.

So go ahead and open yourself up to art.

It will be worth the change.

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