Painting Styles
Painting Styles
ART 101
April 1, 2012
Painting Styles
Neoclassic Art, Impressionist Artworks and Abstract Expressionism are very identifiable by their form, painting style and the era they speak of. All three have some comparisons and some very evident contrasts.
The Neoclassic era of art reflected resurgence in the interest of the Greek and Roman Eras. People of this time were interested in seeing woman as more upstanding. They were also going back to a high moral tone, recognizing civic duty and virtue in people and society as a whole. The art piece The Emperor Napoleon and His Study at the Tuileries by Jacques Louis David is a reflection of this time and the art. The artist, David, was active in the French Revolution of the time and saw Napoleon as a savior of France. The artwork displays the virtue and civic of a Neoclassical piece. It displays Napoleon as a soldier, emperor and administrator, with the highest regards. There is a lot of symbolic symbols and iconography in this work; the uniform, the clock, a sword, campaign maps and rolled papers or the Code of Napoleon. All of these things recall moral rights, since he was regarded so highly by the artist. The Line is classical, simple and ordered. There is linear perspective through spatial depth. The piece is represential. The light in this painting has great contrast and controls what we see. Napoleon and the pieces of iconography are a focal point while being well balanced in the picture.
Some of these formal elements are carried over in Impressionist pieces while some are highly different. For example, The Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir speaks of the Impressionist era. Impressionist’s paintings spoke of moments in time, the fun, the pleasures, care-free impressions or memories of a person’s life through an artist’s vantage point. The technique of painting was quite different. Impressionists used two or more colors in a single brushstroke. This
ART 101
April 1, 2012
Painting Styles
Neoclassic Art, Impressionist Artworks and Abstract Expressionism are very identifiable by their form, painting style and the era they speak of. All three have some comparisons and some very evident contrasts.
The Neoclassic era of art reflected resurgence in the interest of the Greek and Roman Eras. People of this time were interested in seeing woman as more upstanding. They were also going back to a high moral tone, recognizing civic duty and virtue in people and society as a whole. The art piece The Emperor Napoleon and His Study at the Tuileries by Jacques Louis David is a reflection of this time and the art. The artist, David, was active in the French Revolution of the time and saw Napoleon as a savior of France. The artwork displays the virtue and civic of a Neoclassical piece. It displays Napoleon as a soldier, emperor and administrator, with the highest regards. There is a lot of symbolic symbols and iconography in this work; the uniform, the clock, a sword, campaign maps and rolled papers or the Code of Napoleon. All of these things recall moral rights, since he was regarded so highly by the artist. The Line is classical, simple and ordered. There is linear perspective through spatial depth. The piece is represential. The light in this painting has great contrast and controls what we see. Napoleon and the pieces of iconography are a focal point while being well balanced in the picture.
Some of these formal elements are carried over in Impressionist pieces while some are highly different. For example, The Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir speaks of the Impressionist era. Impressionist’s paintings spoke of moments in time, the fun, the pleasures, care-free impressions or memories of a person’s life through an artist’s vantage point. The technique of painting was quite different. Impressionists used two or more colors in a single brushstroke. This
References: National Gallery of Art. (2012). The Emperor Napoleon and his Tuileries. Retrieved from http://www.NationalGallery.org Sayre, H. M. (2009). A World of Art (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (2012). The Phillips Collection. Retrieved from http://www.mma.org