Melancholy and Surrealism in European Art

Melancholia Essay
The Melancholia oil painting by Giorgio de Chirico dated 1916 measuring 20 x 20 ½ inches and the
Standing Nude Woman sculpture by Alberto Giacometti dated 1953 measuring 8 ½ x 3 ½ x 4 ¾
inches located in the Menil Collection were both encouraged by European art during the Surrealist
movement. This was a time to explore the unconscious mind and to draw from dreams and
imagination which resembled a feeling of sadness and alienation suggesting feelings of silence in
everyday life.
There are many different ways an artist uses visual elements/principles in describing their art. The
oil painting shows exaggerated colors on the landscape to show the effect and appearance of its
brightness. Both vertical and horizontal lines describe the movement away ... Show more content on
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A brush for thin strokes was required to paint the warm yellow color in the arches and tower to
contrast with the background of the greenish–blue sky painted darker to resemble dusk and the gold
and black tints are in the foreground. The rhythm of the archways leads your eyes from one point in
the other direction creating unity of the shapes, colors and patterns showing coordination and
proportion to one another. The symmetrical painting has variety of elements that bring the design
together with the focal point of the small–scale statue showing the value in contrast to the brighter
background for the viewer to fill closer to the artwork. It balances the picture and is representative
therefore you are able to identify the scenery with an amount of abstraction in the statue. The three–
dimensional empty space sculpture has a vertical line of two end points intended for the body and
horizontal for the large base, like the Cubism style, but missing beauty and bright colors. The color
is naturalistic white clay with thin strokes of a brush to paint the shiny gold trim but the rectangular
shapes are used for defining the body parts, like the narrow small head. The chisel for carving
around a wire armature, which had to be used to detail
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Magic Realism In Art
Magic Realism in art refers to a twentieth century movement which was initiated by European
artists after World War I and which was followed by a second stage that began in North America a
decade later. The earliest phases of Magic Realism began around 1919 and preceded Surrealism by
several years. Together the two phases spanned approximately four decades, with residual works
after 1960.
Magic Realism evolved during the Post–Expressionism movement in Weimar Germany. Connected
with the Return to Order movement, Post–Expressionism exhibited fewer neoclassical instincts than
the similar postwar realist trends in Italy and France. Post–Expressionism progressed by shedding
Expressionism's emotionally charged nature and abstract style. This process moved much slower
than the related trends in other European countries, not fully developed until the mid–1920s.
The term Magic Realism was created by the art critic Franz Roh in 1925. He was referring to works
within Post–Expressionistic art in which some mystery or a secret seemed to be hidden within the
subject matter. This type of art varied from 19th Century Realism, which was generally naturalistic
or ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
It should be noted that there is controversy about most art movements. It is true that there is no set
program for Magic Realism, and no recognized standard. These artists did not find the need to be
part of the avant–garde nor were they publicity seekers. They acted instead as individuals, who often
painted for a small devoted audience. Magic Realism is not Realism, but it is creations from the
artist's perception and imagination hidden as Reality. Every artist/magician uses different tricks and
keeps his own secrets. Still these artists communicate amongst themselves through cool detached
observations about each other's works. Perhaps we should nickname Magic Realism "The Quiet

Giorgio De Chirico Essay
Giorgio de Chirico, an Italian painter in the early 1900's painted an enigmatic painting named
Mystery and Melancholy of a Street. In this unique painting, Chirico includes many abstract and
geometric shapes. The setting of the painting seems like a mixture of Greek and early 1900
architecture and props, such as the wagon with only one lone figure of a child. For example, the two
buildings depict a sterile, nearly empty scene, bordered by brightly, lit arches and rectangles
windows on the left and dark, forbidding, and imposing building on the right side of the painting.
Reminiscent of Greek buildings, this painting includes an abundant number of arches and
quadrilaterals. To represent the early 1900's aspect of the painting, Chirico includes ... Show more
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Chirico has drawn a young girl running with the hoop near the lower left corner and a statue on the
upper right corner. Based on perspective, the girl seems to be running towards the statue and the
light. However, in reality, the young girl will never reach her goal. According to the poem "Ode on a
Grecian Urn", by John Keats, he claims life "as doth eternity: Cold Pastoral" (45), where the scene
is frozen. The girl will always stay where she is and never move towards the unknown statue. Keats'
poem mostly depicts the urn as a painting that cannot ever move, just like the girl cannot move from
her choice of work. In other words, nothing can go backward and forward. Close to the bottom,
there is an open horse cart that appears to be lit by some unseen source of light, contrasting with the
bright side of the painting. This illogical lighting allows the horse cart to stand out. Some might not
notice, but in the building, there lies a human–like shape, with two tiny eyes, lurking in the
shadows. The viewer can see the darken shape in the last dark arch on the right side. It seems as if
this mysterious person plans to stalk the girl. The viewers cannot be too positive about the hidden
figure in the shadows, which explains how the painting gives off a mysterious

Salvador Dali Research Paper
– Surrealism means beyond or above reality; in other words, a type of super–reality. In the early
1920's, German psychologist Sigmund Freud and other writers and artists began as a literary group,
creating art that explored the hidden world of the unconscious. They believed their art was
successful and soon after in 1929, Salvador Dali created his first piece of Surrealist art work. Dali
then went to Paris for his first Surrealist exhibition. Surrealism was an artistic literary movement
that André Breton was particularly interested in. He was engrossed in the idea that the unconscious
mind – in which produced dreams – was the source of artistic creativity. A devoted Marxist Breton,
also intended surrealism to be a revolutionary movement capable

A Grand Chain Of Rebellion First Beginning Of The...
Over the last 200 years, new ideas, particularly about science and experimentation, influenced
philosophers to pick and choose some of the ideas of the previous eras to create their own new and
unique understanding of the world. Intellectual movements that influenced recent history are part of
a grand chain of rebellion first started in the Renaissance era.
Renaissance era covers the 300 years from 1400 to 1699 and is characterized by a revival of
Classical scholarship, wisdom and values. European culture was reborn in the 15th century after a
long dormant period in the Middle Ages that extended from the fall of the Roman Empire until the
beginning of the 14th century. In addition to the revival of Classical scholarship, the Renaissance
period also experienced cultural, scientific and technological advancements such as the discovery
and exploration of new continents, the adoption of Copernicus's and Galileo's views of the earth and
solar system, the decline of the feudal system, the growth of commerce, and the invention of paper,
printing press, the mariner's compass, and gunpowder.
The characteristics of Renaissance were first noticeable in Italy in late 14th and early 15th century
during which new ideas about political order and a heightened consciousness of the artist as an
aspiring individual began to take root. There was a thirst for Classical learning and a desire to create
a humanism from that learning. This period saw the birth of humanism lead by notable

Pablo Picasso : An Artist Of Great Renown
Pablo Picasso was a Spanish artist of great renown. He was famous for his work as a sculptor,
painter, ceramist, poet, and playwright. He was born in Spain but did most of his work in France. He
was one of the greatest artists of the 20th century and he was one of the founding fathers of the
cubist movement. His contributions include the collage and the constructed sculpture. Picasso,
Matisse, and Duchamp are the artists who defined the plastic arts. Picasso lived from 25 October
1881 to 8 April 1973. Picasso showed momentous talent as a child. He painted in a realistic manner
all through his childhood. His father has painter of some renown for his still life work. took him as
his apprentice and his talent became wonderfully evident. He ... Show more content on
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In 1897 his style of realism mixed with a Symbolist influence, resulting in a number of landscapes
painted in non–naturalistic violets and greens. What some refer to as his "Modernist" period (1899–
1900) came next. His intrest in the works of Rossetti, Steinlen, and Edvard Munch, along with his
admiration for El Grec oand the classics like him, led Picasso to a personal style of modernism in
his works of the period. Picasso made a voyage to Paris France in 1900.At the time Paris was the art
capital of Europe. After his arrival, he made a Parisian friend, journalist and poet Max Jacob. He
would help Picasso learn the language and become aquainted with the intricasies of french society .
They soon shared an apartment, They switched sleeping shifts with Max sleeping at night while
Picasso slept during the day and painted at night. The pair suffered greatly during this time period.
Much of Picasso 's work was burned in the fire that kept the apartment warm. During the first part
of 1901, Picasso stayed in Madrid, he and his anarchist friend Francisco de Asís Soler created the
magazine Arte Joven, they produced five issues. Soler worked on the articles and Picasso illustrated
the magazine, mostly grim cartoons depicting and dramatizing with the state of the poor. Issue
number one was published on 31 March 1901, by that time he signed himself Picasso; before that
point he had signed Pablo Ruiz y Picasso. There are several main phases of Picassos life and work.

Comparing The Works Of Giorgio De Chirico And Nietzche
"What I hear is valueless; only what I see is living, and when I close my eyes my vision is even
more powerful." This quote from the metaphysical artist, Giorgio de Chirico, can be relayed to his
audience visually through his artwork. During his years as a novice artist, Chirico gained inspiration
from the surreal scenarios in the works by European Symbolist artists. Along with these Symbolist
artists, Chirico's pieces of art were influenced by the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and
Friedrich Nietzche. Both philosophers saw art as a lens for life and a way of responding to the
suffering that describes the distinctive nature of humanity. The philosophy of these men encouraged
Chirico to uncover the true reality beneath everyday objects through ... Show more content on
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Giorgio de Chirico takes this belief and incorporates it into the architectural space seen in his
paintings. His interest in Nietzsche made a huge impact on the scenery in his art. When he moved to
Paris in July 1911, he passed through the place where Nietzsche began to show his first signs of
madness: the city of Turin. The architecture of the piazzas and archways in Turin made such an
immense impact on Chirico that they constantly make an appearance in his paintings. While enlisted
in the army for the Italian War during 1915, Chirico's began featuring mannequins in his
compositions resulting in his Ferrara period. They evolved from the common white mannequins
seen in store windows to mysterious humanoid assortments of everyday objects. In 1917, Giorgio
was admitted into a hospital due to a nervous breakdown and during his time there, his pieces of art
consisted of crowded and messy interiors in the metaphysical manner. Giorgio de Chirico uses the
theory of metaphysical idealism as a solution to fulfill the meaning of life; the subconscious can
explain the mystery and truth behind existence and the universe that surrounds every

Essay about Le Faux Mirror: A Profile of René Magritte
Le Faux Mirror: A Profile of René Magritte I was a child and she was a child in this kingdom by the
sea and this maiden she lived with no other thought than to love and be loved by me* (Poe 1) "Si
vous aimez l'amour, vous aimerez le Surrealisme!," She screams as he slams the door (Mundy 4).
His eyes are like nails in the rain. He steps onto the street– the cobbled street. She presses her lips to
the window– the waiting window. As he runs away his militant frame, once emboldened in
comparison to her tiny fragility, sinks into a comforting smallness. He is gone. How small he looks
now that he has not listened to her. How logical he seems. She is ... Show more content on
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A Surrealist. A prime member of an artistic collective. Even nonlinear images somehow resonate
believably when depicted by his hand. His career began in commerce, and this is plainly visible
through the observation of his clean lines and precise renderings. He is distinct in the way that he
communicates an image that gives immediate pleasure in spite of, or perhaps because of, the
irrationality of its content and the rationality of its form. He has been known for freeing objects of
their practical functions so as to portray an image that is intensely compelling in its lack of logic.
Logic? She wonders if such a notion has anything to do with the way he is running so swiftly in
spirals at her feet. He has always been a gentleman. He built her a house once, a tiny, brittle
construct comprised of parallel lines and windows dripping with the warm, polite glow of cheap
lamps. The house lived in a tree, and there was an apple that lived above it in a wooden box. And
leaves– there were many, many dark, sweet leaves. The Voice of the Blood, he had named it. How
fragile he had been in those days. And yet how simple still is the execution of his work. The
implications therein grow increasingly complex as one delves into his system of symbolism. Once
she had overheard him say, "My painting is visible images which conceal nothing; they evoke
mystery and, indeed, when one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself this simple question 'What
does that mean'? It does not mean

Lucio Rosini Research Paper
The history of the Rosini Gutman Gallery began in 1959, when Anna Maria and Pietro Rosini, after
the art exhibition held at the Grand Hotel in Riccione, decided to open their own gallery of Modern
and Contemporary Art. It was natural to Pietro Rosini, with his profound passion for art and the
knowledge his family, art dealers for generations, endowed him, to become an expert in fine art and
consequently leave his family's Galleria Rosini to seek new avenues. In the same year Pietro and
Annamaria Rosini inaugurated their art gallery "La Tavolozza" in Riccione – later also in Rimini,
p.zza de Ferrari and via Bertola – and successfully explored new perpectives in the fields of art and
culture. . Later in 1981, also Gianfranco Rosini, son of Anna Maria e Pietro, opens his first art
gallery, the "Gianfranco Rosini – Galleria d'Arte Contemporanea". At that time the gallery of Lucio
Amelio in Napoli and his were the only art agencies in Italy. ... Show more content on
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After few years, in 1989, Pietro remained the only of his brothers at the head of Gallery Rosini and
with Anna Maria and Gianfranco who agreed, decided to use the historical name of " Galleria
Rosini" name which later in 1996, unified the locations for the Modern Art and Contemporary Art in
one art

Analysis Of The Statue Of Marshal Ney In The Fog
The photo "Statue of Marshal Ney in the Fog" was taken by the famous artist Brassaï in 1932, one
year before the publishing of his book "Paris de Nuit", a collection of night photographies of the
French capital, mostly representing empty gardens and streets in the rain and fog. The picture,
featured in the collection, is a clear example of his early artistic period, which coincides with his
first approach to photography itself.
In the scene we can see the main element, a monument representing the illustrious French military
commander Michel Ney (which gives the title to the entire work), positioned on the extreme left,
dominating the mid and upper third, while in the lower one it is possible to notice a round fence that
encircles the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Undoubtedly, without that luminous minutia, the picture wouldn't have the same appeal.The photo is
generally soft, since it doesn't convey plenty of details (given the evident atmospheric disturbances)
but when focusing on the main physical components present in the scene, in particular, the intricate
decor on the fringe of the fence, it is possible to notice an unexpected sharpness, probably achieved
with more precision in post–production. Because of that, the use of colours and lights appears to be
particularly relevant. The exploitation of hidden backlight sources in this night photography gives
the perception of a much stronger and dramatic contrast, enriching the smooth grayscale palette
used for the background. The boldly black silhouette stands out majestically in the dense grey mist,
and the letters of the sign appear with some sort of mystic grandeur, also acting as a key light point.
It's impossible not to focus on them and not to notice their evident difference, their belonging to
different "worlds".The depiction of neon is also significant: this kind of light is blueish and
extremely cold. Consequently, it's the complete opposite of the typical warm light provided by
lampposts, always used to portray Paris by night to convey a sense of romanticism.
Moreover, the picture is not exactly frontal, as the angle of the fence suggests: this slight curvature
accentuates, even more, the

Essay about Summary of History of Graphic Design by Meggs
Chapter 1: The Invention of Writing
– From the early Paleolithic to the Neolithic period (35,000 BC to 4,000 BC), early Africans and
Europeans left paintings in caves, including the
Lascaux caves in Southern France.
– Early pictures were made for survival and for utilitarian and ritualistic purposes. – Petroglyphs are
carved or scratched signs on rock.
– These images became symbols for what would be the first spokenlanguage.
– Cuneiform – Wedged shaped writing, created in 3000BC. Started as pictographs. – With the
discovery of cuneiform, there was a knowledge explosion, where libraries were organized filling
with tablets about religion, mathematics, and history. Writing enabled society to stabilize itself, and
laws were ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
– Chinese is thought to have been invented by Tsang Chieh, who was inspired to invent writing after
studying the claw marks of birds.
– Chinese characters are logograms meaning that each character represents an entire word (like $ =
dollar).
– Paper, a Chinese invention, is attributed with the high government official
Ts'ai Lun.
– Ts'ai Lun's method of making paper was unchanged until nineteenth century England.
– After the invention of paper, the Chinese also began to use it for wrapping presents, wallpaper,
napkins and toilet paper.
– Printing was invented by the Chinese.
– The first method of printing was block printing, using stamps.
– Rubbings were also made by carving words into stone, then inking the stone and making a print
on a piece of paper. This is also known as relief printing. – The oldest surviving printed manuscript
is the Diamond Sutra.
– Around 1000AD, paper money was printed.
– An early form of Chinese graphic design was playing cards.
– In 1045 AD, Chinese alchemist Pi Sheng developed movable type, using clay and glue.
– Because types are not moveable, characters were organized by rhyme.
– Moveable type never replaced the handcut woodblock of the orient.
– The invention of paper and printing arrived in Europe just as the
Renaissance began.
Chapter 4: Illuminated Manuscripts
– Hand–written books are referred to as Illuminated Manuscripts.
– Two notable traditions of illuminated

Who Is Vincent Van Gogh's Argument Against Impressionism
Modernism is a concept that attempted to purify art by removing all cultures and customs in art. It
didn't have to follow conventions, and artworks had to deny history and traditions in order to be
modern. Modernism brought a new variety of knowledge, truth, and reality as people began to tend
towards science as a way explain the world around them. Many artist adopted the ideas of Modern
art, and the book Janson's History of Art discusses these artists. Personally, there are artists who I
applaud for their innovative work, and there are some artists whose style confuses me. One of the
many artist from the Modern era of art is Claude Monet. Monet is mentioned in chapter twenty–five
in Janson's History of Art, and he is a French painter who ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
Warhol is an American artist who is associated with Abstract Expressionism. He had a troubled
youth, but he used art to find peace with himself. Warhol usually took items that people were
familiar with and created a collage with them like his Campbell's Soup Cans painting. Campbell's
Soup Cans was painted in 1962, and it is a painted collage of all thirty–two soup flavors. It is a
distinct and innovative style, but I don't really enjoy it. Personally, repeating essentially the same
image doesn't seem to be very creative to me. Even though each image is different, I think it's lazily
done, but many people really enjoy Warhol's strange style. However, I do like him as a human
being. Despite all his personal issues, he became a successful artist with his own distinct

1920-1930 Essay
1920–1930
The 1920's are also known as the "Roaring 20's". It was the first modern decade experienced by this
country, as America flourished after WW I. The average number of hours worked per week dropped
from 60 hours to 48 hours (Rayburn). For the first time, people felt that it was just as important to
play as it was to work; family outings and weekend trips had become things that workers expected
(Rayburn). Women became more open by appearing in public smoking and drinking. Trojan
condoms first appeared and sex became an open issue for discussion.
During these years, Prohibition caused the rich and the common folk to come together in the name
of alcohol. The business of America had become business (Rayburn). Calvin Coolidge was ... Show
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The German people felt discouraged about their defeat in the war and Adolph Hitler first arrived on
the scene. Great Britain also felt the effects of World War I. It suffered through a time of high
unemployment rates as well as the general strike that took place in 1926. As a result of the strike,
many businesses and services could no longer function (Rayburn News–1).
After World War I ended in 1919, many artists began to turn to Abstract Expressionism, while others
turned to the Surrealist aspect of art. Salvador Dali became the "high priest" of Surrealism and
created the disturbing world where the intangible became tangible (Spielvogel). Giorgio de Chirico,
an Italian painter was another artist who used Surrealism in his work. Man Ray, an American
Surrealist, was experimenting with a different kind of Surrealism. Instead of a paintbrush she used
an airbrush. Functionalism was used in architecture, meaning that these buildings were made with a
specific purpose in mind. Dadaism also became prevalent. These artists tried to create expression by
creating an anti–art (Spielvogel). Not only was art changing, but sports and music were
experiencing a transition as well. Following World War I, sports became one of the most popular
activities for fun. Baseball stadiums were enjoying record ticket sales and attendance while ticket
prices doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled. The rise of tennis and golf also occurred during

We All Today Barbaric, Byzantine, Baroque Summary
The first chapter, "«We All Today Barbaric, Byzantine, Baroque»," presents an overview of the
reception of the Baroque at the end of the nineteenth century. After being disparaged by Italian
Enlightened and Romantic intellectuals, seventeenth–century art was rediscovered around the
1880s. Decadentist artists and writers like Gabriele D'Annunzio chose Baroque Rome as the
backdrop for their novels and paintings to signal their disillusionment with unified Italy, which had
adopted classicism as the official style. Enrico Nencioni, a critic of D'Annunzio's circle, exhorted
his contemporaries to approach the Baroque without prejudices, and to admit that, despite the
widespread notalgia for the Classical and Renaissance eras, it was the Baroque the century with
more significant affinities with the fin–de–siècle's love for decorative ... Show more content on
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I examine this discourse in the third chapter, "Baroque Futurism: the Baroque as the Origin of
Modernity on the Eve of the First World War," by focusing on the intellectual exchanges between
the sculptor Umberto Boccioni and the art historian Roberto Longhi, whose works, texts, and
correspondence I study at depth. Longhi's interpretation of the Baroque was inflected by debates
about whether Italian modern art should be considered autonomous or reliant on the developments
of European modernism. At the time, Longhi was reflecting on the art historical tropes of "Latinity"
versus "Germanism," and his analysis of the relation of the Baroque to Futurist aesthetics needs to
be considered in light of this meta–narrative. Thus, the discussion on the role of the Baroque in the
history of modernism reflected the increasing importance of nationalism immediately before the
ascent of

College Admissions Essay: The Art Of Cubism
My life began in Bialystok, Grodno Governorate which is now Poland. Shortly after my birth my
family and I moved to Kiev and I would eventually attend and graduate from Kiev Art School in
two years. In that same year, I married a Kiev lawyer named Nicoloas Evgenievish Ekstar and
moved to Paris for several months and studied at Academeie de la Grande–chaumiere in Paris, I was
expelled for not following their artistic ideas. I would later on meet Pablo Picasso, Guillaume
Apollinaire, Max Jacob and Fernand Léger in Paris and would become inspired by cubism. ("The
reduction of natural forms to their geometrical equivalents, and the organization of the planes of a
represented object independently of representational requirements.") The Cubism movement would
have inspired my first exhibit (publicly display (a work of art or item of interest) in an art gallery or
museum or at a trade fair.) in Kiev and later on St. Petersburg called "Exhibition of New Currents."
Within the same year, I organized an Impressionistic (a person who follows or adhees to the
theories, methods, and practices of impressionism) learning called "zveno" ("link") with David
Burlyuk, Mikhail Larionov, Natalya Goncharova. I would later move back to Paris, rent my own ...
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From there I would travel back and forth from Paris to Kiev with new artworks, photos, and
publishing's. Later on I would organize The Kol'tso exhibition would be the only Futurist to exist in
all of Kiev. While visiting Brancusi's and Archipenko's studio, I had the honor to meet and assist
Ivan Aksionov an art critic with his essay on Cubism Picasso. "St. Petersburg Youth Union and
Moscovite Jack of Diamonds were two groups I joined and would take part in their

Giorgio De Chirico's Art
Giorgio De Chirico's art can be viewed one that evolved tremendously over time. However, his
artwork portrayed a number of characteristics and traits that differentiated them from the works of
other artists in his time. This is probably why his art remains a puzzling factor to many from the
20th Century to date. A wide use themes and concepts can be seen in a number of his works. He has
played a huge role in shaping the surrealist works of art.
As mentioned, Giorgio De Chirico's art differed immensely from those of artists at the time. As a
result of this difference, he appeared to be left out and his work segregated especially by the French
arts men and fellow surrealists. His art was characterized by symbolic objects. His manikins, for
example were spotted without upper body parts or faces. They appeared bizarre. Mostly, his
paintings comprised of natural inspirations. Even if he painted a building, the aspect of nature was
seen in the outcome. Additionally, he used color so as to put emphasis of particular objects. He
would use contrasting colors in his mannequins and would place them in odd sizes and relationships
so as to create juxtaposition. An example of this can be seen in The Disquieting Muses, one of his
works of art.
Enigma is one of his most widely used themes. It can be seen his use of ordinary life objects and
figures. These figures have been used in a context that does not appear ordinarily familiar. They all
appear in a position or element that has been

Analysis Of Giorgio De Chirico And Metaphysical Painting
Giorgio de Chirico and Metaphysical Painting: Unwitting Precursors of Surrealism Surrealism was a
20th century art movement whose proponents dedicated themselves to translating their unconscious
into art objects. In this essay I will argue that the cultural work accomplished by Giorgio de
Chirico's Piazza d'Italia and his metaphysical painting style is to be precursors of the surrealism
movement, whether de Chirico likes it or not. The metaphysical painting style is similar in form to
the "dream–transcription" sub–category of surrealist painting, as well as similar in subject matter
(D'Souza). Although de Chirico came to dislike his early career paintings and surrealism,
foundational surrealists such as André Breton and Paul Éluard were known to collect and admire his
early work (Holman). Breton even declared de Chirico to be a "signpost pointing to surrealism"
("CHIRICO"). The subject matter of both metaphysical paintings and surrealist paintings is the
same: the artist's unconscious. De Chirico said about metaphysical painting that its purpose was to
give metaphysical meaning to every day object by relating them to other unexpected objects; thus he
inadvertently portrayed the "cluttered attic of his unconscious" ("CHIRICO"). André Breton, to
defend the existence and contribution of visual arts to the surrealism movement, exalted the visual
arts capacity to "serve the larger goals of revealing the unconscious in representation, dismantle the
opposition between the real and

Intramuros
HUMANITIES 1
(RESEARCH PAPER)
HISTORY OF PAINTINGS
AND ARTISTS IN THE WORLD
ADRIAN M SITCHON PROF. PEREZ
4TH YEAR/BS.HRM/NS (SUBMITTED BY)
TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY
BODY * EASTERN PAINTING * WESTERN PAINTING * 20th–CENTURY MODERN * AND
CONTEMPORARY DEFINITION OF TERMS * FAMOUS PAINTERS * AND BIOGRAPHY *
Paintings of famous painters
CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATION
REFERENCE
INTRODUCTION:
Painting can be done in a variety of media. For example, Oils, Watercolour, Acrylics, Gouache and
Tempera.
Paints are made from a pigment, and a binder. Binder is relatively cheap, while pigment is much
more expensive. Pigments are a colored powder, made from organic or ... Show more content on
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The history of Japanese painting is a long history of synthesis and competition between native
Japanese aesthetics and adaptation of imported ideas. Korean painting, as an independent form,
began around 108 B.C., around the fall of Gojoseon, making it one of the oldest in the world. The
artwork of that time period evolved into the various styles that characterized the Three Kingdoms of
Korea period, most notably the paintings and frescoes that adorn the tombs of Goguryeo's royalty.
During the Three Kingdoms period and through the Goryeo dynasty, Korean painting was
characterized primarily by a combination of Korean–style landscapes, facial features, Buddhist–

centered themes,
3
Chinese painting:
Further information: History of Chinese art, Tang dynasty art and Ming Dynasty painting
Spring Morning in the Han Palace, by Ming–era artist Qiu Ying (1494–1552 AD)
The earliest surviving examples of Chinese painted artwork date to the Warring States Period (481 –
221 BC), with paintings on silk or tomb murals on rock, brick, or stone. They were often in
simplistic stylized format and in more–or–less rudimentary geometric patterns. They often depicted
mythological creatures, domestic scenes, labor scenes, or palatial scenes filled with officials at
court. Artwork during this period and the subsequent Qin Dynasty (221 – 207 BC) and Han Dynasty
(202 BC – 220 AD) was made not as a means in and of itself or for higher personal expression;
rather artwork was

Metropolitan Museum Of Art Analysis
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located in New York City on the famous Museum Mile, also
known as 5th avenue, and it is one of the biggest in the United States. Among the hundreds of
galleries, the modernist room 901 is located in the back, left side of the building. There, the three
main styles present are fauvism, cubism and surrealism. The museum labels show how the paintings
are from 1910 to 1950, however, after looking more closely it becomes clear that most of them
range from 1920s to 1930s. Majority of the pieces are oil on canvas, with very few exceptions. As
far as the provenance, the artists are mainly from France, there are some Italians, Americans, and
very few artists from other European countries. The overall theme is a tormented perception of the
world, with a voluntary, and sometimes even involuntary, Freudian influence. ... Show more content
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Literally, in French the word fauve means "wild animal", which denotes the recklessness, and
colorfulness that characterizes this style. Fauvists made color the subject of their paintings, thus it
was not just a way of describing reality, and rather the color became the reality. Basically, they gave
color the ability to stand by itself. It was never a coherent movement as each artist had a personal,
unique approach. Many artists looked at non–European art, especially African Art, and were
influenced by it. This is not to be read in an undermining way, but Fauvism is a movement in which
painters experimented colors and their interaction. The founder of Fauvism is Henri Matisse, who
studied in the studio of Gustave Moreau, where he met Georges

Ariana, The Silent Statue By Chirico
Giorgio di Chirico's painting, "Ariana, the Silent Statue," depicts a womanly statue, presumably
Ariana, made of what seems like worn out stone. The location, with its many arches, appears to be
at a train station. Ariana's position exudes discomfort and vulnerability because of her slightly
contorted body (bent head and breasts) and an extended arm over her head that exposes the armpit.
The lower portion of her body displays a pattern of eroded stone that seems to connect to two cracks
between her breasts. The erosion suggests that her body has experienced depreciation that leads to a
harmful effect on the space between her breasts; the pain from the depreciation causes an implosion
or crack near her heart, which acts as a symbol of emotions such as heartbreak. Although Chirico
adds many details to Ariana's body, the dynamic ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Through Ariana's expression, Chirico emphasizes the mental anguish that Ariana seems to
experience as a silent statue. Because Ariana has to remain silent, she perhaps feels a sense of
confinement (underscored by Chirico's use of dark colors and shadows) in her situation of
immobility. W.H. Auden's poem, "Musee Des Beaux Arts," explores humanity's indifference to other
people's hardships. The first half of Auden's poem demonstrates examples of Auden's observations
from Pieter Brueghel paintings. In the first stanza, Auden mentions that "for the miraculous birth,
there always must be children who did not specially want it to happen, skating on a pond at the edge
of

Giorgio De Chirico
In his formative years, Giorgio De Chirico constructed worlds within his paintings that were devised
to defamiliarize his audience from reality and to depart from the purely observational. In The
Melancholy and Mystery of a Street, his implementation of confounding compositional techniques
such as unreliable perspective, strong value, unsettling color, and idiosyncratic movement created
recognizable images within a distorted reality. This was a practice in which he could draw a viewer
into the unease of unfaithful perceptibility and cultivate surreptitious emotional responses, such as
anxiety and foreboding. As a student of classical art and architecture, De Chirico "learned drawing
in Athens." This provided a reference point in his personal ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
De Chirico decorates a cataclysmic atmosphere with staunch value changes. The sky appears murky
and without much light, which does not logically account for the violent contrast between where an
apparent source light is striking (on the left building) versus the shadows cast in other portions of
the picture. The cart has highlights on the side which should also be dark. The ground, where lit, is
warm in hue, but the shadows an unnatural, faded blue. There is an illogical visual conclusion when
comparing the color palette, value, and light source. This raises potentially unanswerable questions:
what time of day is this? Because of the length of the shadows, could it be dusk or dawn? Is there an
oncoming storm? What does this mean in terms of narrative? The pictorial language becomes non
sequitur when using these clues to look for a grounded conclusion. What is rendered seems more
dream than reality. Because of these contradictory color qualities and light sources making value
confusing to interpret, there is a transcendental quality to the image–it becomes difficult to assign
this picture labels or determine with certainty what is occurring. The image is somewhere between
night and day, materiality and fiction, revelation and confusion. These pictorial elements lend
themselves toward discordant

Max Ernst: Surrealist Art
Surrealism
Surrealism was created in the early 1920s in Paris, France. Surrealists created strange creatures and
painted scenes that don't make much sense. They painted dreams as reality and were very creative
with their work. They took everyday objects and turned them into much more.
One Surrealist painter was Max Ernst. Ernst was born on April 2, 1891 in Bruhl, Germany and died
on April 1,1976 in Paris, France. Creating his own style, he used pictures from medical and
technical magazines to help create extreme collages. After producing many collages, he then moved
to Paris where he continued painting. Ernst created his very own technique called frottage. Frottage
is when he would take two pieces of paper and rub graphite on them, ... Show more content on
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In this piece, I see four spaced out rows of hats.The first row of hats are mostly all connected with
hats besides the middle which is connected with a black cylinder. The other three rows are
connected by colors of the rainbow. Some of the paint strokes aren't going the same direction.
Another piece of art by him is called "Dada Gauguin". This piece of art shows a solid color man,
without a face or clothes, standing in front of what looks like a mirror. Next to the man is what looks
like a bush with the same colored man standing in it. The background appears to be the sky because
of the white spots that appear as clouds. The strange man seems to be standing on a black road.
A very interesting piece created by Max Ernst was a piece called "Pieta or Revolution by Night".
They say that this painting is supposed to show his relationship with his father. It shows a man
dressed in all brown on his knees with his eyes closed. The man is holding a boy about the size of
him. The boy is dressed in a white shirt and red pants but he has no shoes on his feet. The
background is a brick wall, but on one side of it shows a sad looking man struggling to walk up the
stairs. The man seems to be the same man that is holding the

Who Is Max Ernst's Attirement Of The Bride '?
Attirement of the Bride (La Toilette de la Mariee) was created by Max Ernst in 1940 and is an
example of illusionistic surrealism. The image depicts different animal and human–like creatures,
phallic symbolism, and is contrasted with its counterpart–the picture within a picture in the upper
left had corner, showing the bride in the same pose, yet with different scenery. According to Lucy
Flint, a writer for the Guggenheim Museum, the image has roots in late 19th century symbolist
painting and echoes the settings and motifs of sixteenth–century German art; which is the birth
place of Ernst. Initially, I did not find myself attracted to the image in a positive way, both the colors
and images were vulgar and difficult to look at. Not only did I find the images vulgar, I found the
scene to be confusing; ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
After researching the image I found multiple things that show the story behind the painting, giving it
meaning in my mind. The blunt spear, held by the bird man on the left side of the painting, has
phallic symbolism (a mimetic image of an erect penis); I also found that the bride in the image is
considered to be Leonora Carrington, a former lover, who Ernst had to leave behind in order to
escape to America. Further showing the sexual longing in the piece is the symbolistic presence of
Ernst in the form of the bird man. "Ernst had long identified himself with the bird, and invented an
alter ego, Loplop, superior of the birds in 1929" (Flint.). This leads people to believe that the bird
man in the picture is a depiction of the artist, showing a longing toward the bride, Leonora
Carrington. Knowing this, I feel the painting is an accurate depiction of longing toward 'the one that
got away', and made me enjoy it more than I thought I would. The background information gained
through research gave this painting function and made more sense than just something that was
done

Alberto Savinio Research Paper
Alberto Savinio was born in Athens, Greece in 1891. He grew up to be a musician, writer, and artist.
For a while, he stayed in Greece to study music. When their father died, he and Giorgio de Chirico,
his brother, moved to Monaco and soon after to Paris. Savinio came into contact with artist such as
Apollinaire, Picasso, Blaise Cendrars, Francis Picabia, Jean Cocteau, and Max Jacob in Paris. He
was not only influenced by them, but also Carlo Carra, and Guiseppe De Pisis. Carra and Pisis were
the two in which made him want to create his surrealism works. The Surrealist Movement was
started in Paris by a groups of writers and artist. They wanted to use the subconscious mind to
unlock the power of the imagination. The term surrealism was coined ... Show more content on
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This one is similar to three of the others that I have looked at because it has what looks like bright
3D shapes that are toys. These are also floating out in the ocean. Unlike Giocattoli, these toys are
wedged between a set of rocks in the ocean. It looks as though it is a shipwreck. I say shipwreck
because there are masts sticking out of all of the colorful toys. Even though the shapes are bright,
the masts and the water/sky in the background look more sad, and somber–like. The difference in
color from the toys and the background give a confused feel to the painting. This one is called The
Lost

Analysis Of The Child's Brain By Giorgio De Chirico
The Child's Brain by Giorgio de Chirico caught my eyes on the first instant time I laid eyes upon it.
Frankly, and to be quite honest, I did not know of its existence, until this very moment, nor did I
knew of its rather complex meaning. The Child's Brain dates back to 1914. The piece seems to take
place in Greece, based on the Greek column on the right of the piece. And it is an oil on canvas
painting by the Surrealism artist, Giorgio di Chirico. Di Chirico was born in Volos, Greece, in 1888,
and passed in Rome, Italy in 1978. According to the Art Story website, "for almost a decade before
the Surrealists had begun to speak about the power of dreams and the unconscious, de Chirico was
painting images such as this that spoke about exactly these themes" (TheArtStory). The surrealism
movement began in 1920's. It is characterized by the depiction of an artist's unconscious mind, or
dreams; moreover, events that have not happened, as a form of reality. One of di Chirico most
successful works was "A Child's Brain." The work of art portrays a shirtless, young male (lack of
chest hair, tenderness in his face, and prominent lack of muscle mass as an adult male would have)
standing in front of a yellow table which covers his body from the waist below. On top of the table
is a closed yellow book. In the middle of the book, there is a red bookmark. This bookmark is what
has been allegorized as a representation of a male and female intercourse. On a "Child's Brain" by
de Chirico

The Works of Magritte Essay
Rene Magritte was an enigmatic and strange man who painted surrealism paintings. Little is known
about his childhood except that his mother, Regine Magritte took her own life by drowning herself
in the Sambre river. Young Magritte is thought to have discovered her body floating with her night
garment covering her face. There is speculation that this trauma was an influence on many of
Magritte's works. When Rene Magritte took up his brushes, he created beautiful visual riddles that
delight and bewilder the viewer. His clean lines and highly detailed finishes made his brush strokes
nearly invisible; his paintings look as if they came from a printing press. Magritte referred to his
paintings as "his labors." He did labor over the paintings ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
The exploration of the mind and the way our conscious mind perceives the symbols of our
subconscious minds was new ground and it gave art a new voice with which to sing. The surrealist
artists believed the dream state and subconscious mind to be an untapped and very fertile creative
fount of inspiration. The symbolism of dreams and the expressive images generated by the
subconscious were far more thought provoking than the representational, logical images of the
conscious mind. The surrealist artists were creating art out of what others thought to be garbled and
unintelligible. They were in effect taking a concept created to heal and using it to create art instead.
They were on to something with this. No matter what the medium or the style used, a bit of the self
becomes visible and evident in the result. Art therapy is one of the modern descendants of this
movement. The movement spread and soon there were surrealist groups cropping up in the metro
areas of the world. It was around this same time that Rene Magritte was shown a painting by
Giorgio de Chirico and soon became member of the surrealist group. Today, the name Magritte has
come to be synonymous with Surrealism. It may have been that Magritte felt attraction to the
surrealist movement because of its ability to convey an idea with great eloquence as well as its focus
on the deeply meaningful rather than the superficial. His statement about the works of Giorgio de
Chirico supports this

Analysis Of The Sailor's Barracks By Giorgio De Chirico
From our trip to the Norton Museum of Art one piece out of the allotted few struck me as odd and
interesting. The Sailor's Barracks by Giorgio De Chirico is a oil on canvas
impressionist/metaphysical work of art. The painting is composed of multiple small objects laid
about somewhat carelessly on a tilted plane in the foreground with a long piece of architecture in the
background that stretches towards the horizon.
The foreground is separated by a tilted dark wall, on the left side in an unknown item that appears to
be 3 donuts shapes surrounding a sphere with 4 straight tubes attached. The contraption is also
laying on its side on top of some similar colored box. Between each side lies a small silver baton.
On the right is a green pipe on a white pad. Next to that is 2 red balls and a blue ball on top of a
yellow triangle. Deeper in the foreground lies a folded white card, and possibly stacked books with
a red ball on top of them. Last is a checkerboard, a silver football shape and a what looks like a
yellow bell with a case.
The background architecture is in 45 degree perspective and features a gray pill shaped pillar as the
front facing corner with narrow dark arches down topped with square windows down each side of
the building. The sky is cloudy and there are flags blowing in the wind on the opposite corners of
the building. In the shadow of the building is 2 small figures smoking.
Chirico uses lines in an interesting way, there are a lot of lines created by

René Magritte Essay
René Magritte
Belgian Surrealist artist René Magritte was a master not only of the obvious, but of the obscure as
well. In his artwork, Magritte toyed with everyday objects, human habits and emotions, placing
them in foreign contexts and questioning their familiar meanings. He suggested new interpretations
of old things in his deceivingly simple paintings, making the commonplace profound and the
rational irrational. He painted his canvasses in the same manner as he lived his life –– in strange
modesty and under constant analysis. Magritte was born in 1898 in the small town of Lessines, a
cosmopolitan area of Belgium that was greatly influenced by the French. Twelve years later,
Magritte, along with his parents and two younger brothers, ... Show more content on
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In 1922,
Magritte and Georgette randomly ran into each other at a botanical garden in Brussels, and the
couple married soon thereafter. Soon after getting married, Magritte supported Georgette and
himself by painting wallpaper designs and designing posters, devoting only his free time to serious
painting. Also in 1922, Magritte was shown Giorgio de
Chirico's painting, The Song of Love. This painting's manipulation of reality supposedly moved
Magritte to tears, and Magritte later said of de Chirico: "[He] was the first to dream of what must be
painted and not how to paint." In 1925, Magritte painted what he considered to be his first major
work, Le Jockey Perdu (The Lost Jockey).
Supported by a contract from the Galérie Le Centaure in Brussels, he began to devote his full time
to serious paining. In 1927, he held his first one–man show at the Galérie Le Centaure. While the
show flopped and Magritte received much harsh criticism, the gallery's continued sponsorship
allowed Magritte to further hone his artistry. Magritte then moved to Paris to work alongside other
Surrealists. During this time, he painted many bizarre and macabre scenes. A classic example of
Magritte's work at this time is his 1926 painting, L'Assassin Menacé
(The Threatened Assassin). While in Paris, Magritte became acquainted with much of Surrealist
theory,

Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection Analysis
Abstract
Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection is a cornerstone of the Art Institute of Chicago's
distinguished holdings of Post–Impressionist and modern art. Assembled by Frederic and Helen
Bartlett in the early 1920s, it was presented to the museum and placed on permanent display in
1926–at a time when works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and even Georges Seurat were still
considered too radical for the collections of most American institutions. Today the Helen Birch
Bartlett Memorial Collection comprises some of the most important and iconic paintings of the late
19th and early 20th centuries.
Art Institute of Chicago: The Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection
The Art Institute of Chicago is a Museum and art school located ... Show more content on
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The imposing modern wing exhibits collections of modern art, contemporary art, photography,
architecture, and design more complete that has ever seen. The Department of Contemporary Art
presents international art from 1945 to the present. It consists of more than 1,000 works that include
painting, sculpture, installation, and new media. It show works by Willem de Kooning, Eva Hesse,
Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Joan Mitchell, Bruce Nauman, Jackson Pollock, Gerhard Richter and
Cy Twombly, among some of the presentations more remarkable. It is considered to be one of the
finest and most comprehensive in the world. This extraordinary collection of modern art from the
Art Institute showcases some of the icons of the period, including Bathing in the River of Matisse;
The Bird of Gold of Brancusi; The time punching by Magritte; Black Cross, New Mexico from
O'Keeffe; Shoe of Orozco; Picture of Dorian Gray of Ivan Albright; and Woman standing of

Rene Magritte Accomplishments
René Magritte once said "Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is
hidden by what we see." Nearly his whole life's work was devoted to uncovering what was seen by
the eye. His work gave a new perspective to many daily things, and helped to popularize a new style
of art, surrealism.
René Magritte was born on November 21, 1898 in Lessines, Belgium. He was the the oldest of three
boys in a well–off family. Two major events influenced his career as an artist. The first was when he
and a friend saw a painting in a cemetery. The painting encouraged Magritte to paint outside of the
box, as the painting had been found in an out of the box location. The second influential event in his
life was the suicide of his mother when he was just 14 years old. This was very traumatic for him, as
he and his mother were said to be very close. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This art school focused on traditional techniques of artistry, which were not interesting to Magritte.
This caused him to lose interest in art for a while until a fellow student introduced him to the new
and upcoming styles of Futurism, Cubism, and Purism. Art critics say his early works were
influenced by Cubists Jean Metzinger and Fernand Leger. Magritte would only identify as a
surrealist when he saw the work of Giorgio de Chirico. As Magritte developed his own style and
came into his own as an artist, he became more well known. In fact, many of his more well known
pieces, including The Son of Man, The Listening Room, and The Blank Check were painted during
the latter portion of his

Mark Rothko: Influential Artist In The Modern Art Movement
Arnold Escamilla
ARTS. 4350
Professor Keitz
March 28, 2016
Mark Rothko I consider Mark Rothko a very influential artist in the Modern Art movement. Rothko
was a humble man who had his own perspective on art. He claimed that he was art and that he was
the canvas. He was inspired by people around him and many artists before him. His simple art gave
him clarity to his heart and soul, always being true to himself with his emotional art. Mark Rothko
was born Marcus Rothkowitz in Dvinsk, Russia (now Daugavpils, Latvia), on September 25, 1903.
He immigrated to the United States with his family in his youth. He was the fourth child of Jacob
Rothkowitz, a pharmacist by trade, and Anna Rothkowitz. The family immigrated to the United
States when Rothko ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In 1937, Hitler was able to gather as much as 16,000 avant–garde artworks that were originally in
display in the national museums of Germany. He also ordered to ship about 650 artworks to Munich
in preparation for his art exhibition called the Degenerate Art or Degenerate Kunst. In the said art
exhibition, Ernst had about 2 paintings that were on display. However, these 2 artworks were
reported to have disappeared, with the possibility of have been destroyed. In New York, he joined
Piet Mondrian and Marcel Duchamp, who were his fellow avant–garde artists from Europe. With
these two artists, Ernst inspired a number of aspiring and professional American artists during that
period. What captivated American artists about Ernst's works was his evident rejection of
conventional styles and imageries in painting. These techniques were largely gained from his
father's own styles, which he refused to follow in his later works. As young American artists were
more interested in fresh and novel approaches to painting, this Ernst's unique style captured the
attention of painters who became exposed to his artworks. In particular, Jackson Pollock was
enthralled upon seeing the extraordinary works of Ernst. Hence, the young artist became one of
Ernst's followers, among a few others. Specifically, it was Ernst's collage aspects in his paintings
that fascinated those who viewed his masterpieces.

Melancholy and Surrealism in European Art

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