Romance: Art History Project

1. By: Lauren Priebe

2. 
Classical Art: Greece

3. Attic Red-Figure Squat Lekythos
Author: Unknown
Date: 400 B.C
Place: Athens, Greece
Medium: Terracotta,
Clay Vase

4. Attic Red-Figure Squat Lekythos
 The Attic Red-Figure Squat Lekythos is a vase painting created in
ancient Greece around 400 B.C. by an unknown artist who is
known as a Meidias painter. The vase painting is thought to be a
story of Greek mythology about Eros and either Helen or
Aphrodite. In ancient Greek, it was popular for artists to use
Greek mythology as their inspiration for artwork. Idealism was a
popular concept during ancient Greek times and the Greek gods
and goddesses perfectly exemplified this idea. The story behind
this painting is uncertain and left up to interpretation but is
believed to be a story of romance between two Greek figures.
The man in the painting is believed to be Eros who is the winged
god of love and he is seen kneeling before the woman. The
woman, either Helen or Aphrodite, is sitting above Eros and he
is undoing her sandal. The artist created his own portrayal of
iconic scenes in Greek mythology stories: the judgment of Paris
and the romance of Paris and Helen.

5. Attic Red-Figure Squat Lekythos
 This particular piece of art is iconic and representative of ancient
Greek art because of the process of making the vase. Many of the
vases made in ancient Greece have two main colors to them: black
and red. This is because of the firing process the Greeks used. The
process consisted of three phases: the oxidizing phase which
turned the whole vase the color of the clay, the reducing phase
where green wood was added to turn the objects black and the
reoxidizing phase which turned the rest of the areas into a reddish
color and left the rest black. Later on in Greece, painters started to
use the colors white and purple to enhance the pieces. In this
particular vase, you can see the black background and the reddish
brown objects. This vase must have been made later in Greece
because the human figures are white which makes them stand out
in the piece. From this piece, I learned how vases were created in
ancient Greece. I noticed they were all similar in appearance and
color and that is because of the process used to make them. One
question I have is how many artists do they think created these
vases?

6. 
The Renaissance

7. Adam & Eve
Author: Albrecht Durer
Date: 1504
Place: Germany
Medium: Print

8. Adam & Eve
 Adam and Eve is a print art piece created by Albrecht Durer of
Germany during the art period called the Renaissance. This piece
is a portrayal of the biblical story of the first humans God created,
Adam and Eve. Albrecht Durer was influenced by Classical styles
of art and that is evident in his art. During the Renaissance, it was
popular for artists to use religious themes in their artwork.
Returning to classical themes and styles in art was an important
part of the Renaissance. In Adam and Eve, Durer uses a method
called the canon of proportions, which was a mathematical way of
drawing human figures. He uses this method in order to create a
realistic but also perfected drawing of human beings. Durer seems
to be influenced by ancient Greek and Roman artists in the way he
depicts the human body. The bodies of these two figures are very
detailed and an ideal form of the human figure. In Adam, you can
see all the muscle definitions in his arms, stomach, legs and calves.
In Eve, you can see the curves of her hips and thighs and the
definitions in her stomach.

9. Adam & Eve
 The rest of the print, like the trees and animals, remain
very much in the background of this picture and are not
the main focus. Even though these objects are secondary
to Adam and Eve, the detail in the objects is strong and
very true to nature. The focus of the piece is on the two
people and their beauty, not the overall story of Adam
and Eve. This piece is a unique piece of artwork because
of the way Durer creates the human bodies in this piece.
When you look at this piece, it seems like you are looking
at a sculpture of a body but it is in print form. He is able to
create sculpture like figures with a pencil. From
researching and learning about this piece, I learned how
much Greek and Roman art influenced these Renaissance
artists. The themes I observed in ancient Greece and Rome
reappear during the Renaissance and evolve, which is
interesting to see.

10. 
Age of Baroque

11. Officer & Laughing Girl
Author: Johannes Vermeer
Date: Around 1687
Place: Netherlands
Medium: Oil on canvas,
Painting

12. Officer & Laughing Girl
 The piece Officer & Laughing Girl by Johannes Vermeer was an oil
painting created during the Age of Baroque. This piece is
significant because of the way Vermeer uses light in his paintings.
During the Age of Baroque, artists used more color palettes and
motions in their paintings by using different brush stroke
techniques. Artists during this time tended to paint realistic pieces
that depicted ordinary people in their everyday lives. Vermeer
was known for painting pieces that depicted the daily life of
middle class people and this piece does just that. This piece shows
a young woman and her suitor sharing a moment alone together.
Vermeer was able to create order and harmony in his pieces with
his use of straight lines. The lines in the window and the map
create the perfect interior view of the room. The objects and
elements in this piece are strategically and perfectly placed and
that’s what makes the piece feel harmonious.

13. Officer & Laughing Girl
 Even though the subject of this piece is the relationship between
the man and woman, the use of light in this piece is essential. The
light can be seen bursting through the window and onto the
woman’s face, which highlights her perfect, porcelain like skin.
The man’s back is to us and the dark shadows used to create his
figure shows how the light is coming into the room. The light
source creates depth between these two people. The single source
of light, the light from the sun outside coming through the
window, is recognized with the Baroque style. Another way this
piece goes along with the Baroques style is the mystery this piece
creates. It is vague in what is going on between these two people.
What are they discussing? What is the point of their time
together? I liked learning about the style of Baroque art because it
had a more realistic depiction of people and the lives they live. We
get to see depictions of ordinary, everyday life instead of idealistic
portrayals.

14. 
Modern Art:
Neoclassicism

15. Mars & Venus
Author: Antonio Canova
Date: 1817-1822
Place: Rome
Medium: Marble, Sculpture

16. Mars & Venus
 The statue Mars & Venus was created by Antonio Canova
during the Modern art era of neoclassicism. Neoclassicism
artists liked to imitate content and people of classical pieces
of art. Canova was specifically inspired by Greek models
and tried to embody that spirit and style in his own pieces
all while trying to put his own spin on them. The Greek
mythology story behind Mars & Venus is that they
indulged in a notorious affair together. In Greek standards,
they are depicted as the perfect romantic couple. This
particular statue by Canova is made out of a single block of
marble. The two figures are idealized human bodies
according to the standards made by classical sculptures
before Canova. Canova had the ability to create the look of
soft human flesh in his sculptures.

17. Mars & Venus
 Neoclassicism was a time where the subject matter people
depicted was of high moral standards and this can be seen in this
piece of artwork. The two figures depicted are high ideals of how
humans should be. Mars is the ideal version of a warrior. Mars is
seen in this sculpture as wearing a helmet and holding a spear, he
is ready for war. Venus is partially draped in a garment and is
seen gazing up at Mars. Another trait that went with
neoclassicism style was the harsh lines that were created in the
sculptures. Canova created harsh lines in his sculpture Mars &
Venus. The lines he created in Mars help to show a powerful
stance. Even with these harsh lines, the piece still has a beautiful,
soft and romantic feel to it. I enjoyed researching this specific
piece because it was my first piece I chose and when I chose it I
thought it would be a sculpture from ancient Greek times. The
more I read about the piece, the more I learned about
neoclassicism and how artists tended to imitate classical art.

18. 
Modern Art:
Impressionism

19. Country Dance
Author: Pierre Auguste Renoir
Date: 1883
Place: France
Medium: Oil on canvas,
Painting

20. Country Dance
 The last piece in my collection is Country Dance painted by Pierre
Auguste Renoir, an impressionist artist. Artists in the
impressionist period did not like the depressing subject matter
that realist artists used so they decided to have pieces focused
more on nature and atmosphere. Renoir’s pieces have a joyful
and charming feel to them. This piece by Renoir shows a typical
middle class couple enjoying a dance together. With his light and
feathery brush strokes he shows enjoyment of the couple. You
can see the pleasure in woman’s face as she glides. The detail he
puts into her face shows in her smile and her eyes. Renoir is able
to create a flowing motion in this piece. The stance that both the
man and woman are in, depict them in the middle of movement
in their dance. The woman’s skirt even has a flow and movement
to it. Renoir also creates a nice contrast in the two figures by
having the man’s suit be dark while the woman’s dress is light. It
looks like they were captured in the middle of turning and
moving across the floor.

21. Country Dance
 Artists in the Impressionism time were rebels who came
together to go against the Academy and French art
establishment. These artists went against the rules and
limits the Academy had. Many artists during this time
studied the idea of light. They saw how light affected people
with shadows and reflections and tried to create that in their
art. Pierre Auguste Renoir was one of those artists who was
fascinated with experimenting with light in his paintings. It
was interesting to learn about the impressionist period in art
history. I love the paintings that came out of this period.
Looking at many of these pieces, I would have never known
at the time that they were rebellious artworks. These pieces
didn’t seem rebellious to me because of the subject matter
and the beauty and charm of these pieces. But after reading
about how they rebelled against the Academy, I could see
why they were.

22.  For the layout of my museum exhibit, the room would be open doors in
the front. The first piece you would see in the middle of the room is
Mars & Venus, which is a statue. This piece would be in the middle so
that people could see it from all angles. It is also a large statue and I
think is a great depiction of romance. It would be great to have this be
the first piece you see in the room and also be the focal point. On the left
side I would have the print picture of Adam & Eve. Directly behind the
statue, on the back wall would be the Attic Red-Figure Vase. I would
have this in a glass square case so that it would be protected and seen
from all sides. On the right side of the room, I would have both oil
paintings Country Dance and Officer & Laughing Girl. I would put them
at the same eye level so people could compare and contrast the two
pieces. In front of all the pieces I would have the description of the piece
on pages that looked like an open book. People would feel like they are
reading a story about the piece of art and it would give it a romantic,
love story type of feel to the exhibit.
Museum Exhibit Layout

23. 
How do you think the theme and
concept of romance has changed
throughout art and history?
 How is the depiction of romance in
popular culture today similar or
different from the depictions in the art
periods we learned about?
Question

24. 
 Department of Greek and Roman Art. "Athenian Vase
Painting: Black- and Red-Figure Techniques". Heilbrunn
Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 2000.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vase/hd_vase.htm
(October 2002).
 Fincher-Rathus, L. (2013). Understanding Art. Boston, MA:
Clark Baxter.
 Liedtke, W. "Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675)". Heilbrunn
Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 2000.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/verm/hd_verm.ht
Bibliography

25. 
 True, M. & Frel, J. Greek Vases. Molly & Walter
Bareiss Collection. The J. Paul Getty Museum.
Malibu: 1983. Pg. 78, no. 135
 Wisse, J. "Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)". Heilbrunn
Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 2000.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/durr/hd_d
urr.htm (October 2002).
Bibliography