Film 6: Rembrandt / Greenaway

Peter Greenaway is a British film director, known for his works involving Renaissance, Baroque, and Flemish paintings. His extensive study of art makes him a creditable source of information.

Greenaway choose to only discuss the work of Rembrandt entitled "Night Watch" because of the conspiracy's attached to the painting. I believe that this was an affect approach if, and only if Greenaway's sole intention for the documentary was to inform his audience of this painting. However, this is not an affective approach if his goal was to inform us about Rembrandt.

I believe that Greenaway choose Amsterdam as the location for his documentary for two reasons. First, because the scene depicted in "Night Watch" is set is Amsterdam, and secondly because the original painting is stored on display at the Rijksmuseum.

His use of dramatic lighting aided in showing emphasis on different areas of the painting, and added a sense of mystery to the film in general. This is another example of mimicking the artist. Rembrandt uses brighter colors on some characters and darker colors on others.

Discussion Question:
 Do you believe the mysteries that are attached to this painting?

Film 5: Caravaggio / Schama

Simon Schama is an art historian who hosts Power of Art. He has studied and taught history and art history at college levels and is an established, award-winning publisher.

My favorite work of Caravaggio is called Basket of Fruit. This is an oil painting on canvas. The first thing I notice about this painting is how "light" it appears compared to his other works. This however is deceiving.  If you look closing, the fruit mostly appears to be dead, withered, growing mold, or infected with insects. The second thing I notice is that while somethings appear somewhat 3D, such as the apple, other things look rater flat such as the leafs. The third thing that I noticed was the detail of the basket.

I believe that Schama used dramatic lighting as a way of mimicking Caravaggio's paintings. I don't feel that this makes the Schama's stories any more or any less believable. I find it to be more of an tribute or compliment to the artist.

Discussion Question
Do you feel that Caravaggio's use of contrasting light is sometimes too dramatic?

Flim 4: Hockney / Knowledge

David Hockney is a British artist known for his works as a painter, printmaker, photographer and designer. He has a lifetime of experience in the art field making him a creditable source, however his theory that many famous artists traced their subjects with the assistance of lenses deters people from believing his stories.

The "Secret Knowledge" is a term used to describe the use of lens by artists to trace their subjects. My opinion of art work of the artists who used this technique does not change. While anyone may be able to trace something, not everyone can manipulate different mediums to give a realistic or artist look.

The models of how the lens worked I thought was very fasinating. I'm a very visual learner, and often have a hard time visualizing how things work without some sort of demonstration. I feel that without the models, I wouldn't have have truly understood the way they worked.

Discussion Question:
Do you think that drawing is a natural talent that you are born with, or something that you can learn and develop over time with practice?

Film 3: Michelangelo / Marlow

Timothy Marlow is an art historian, best known for his regular channel 5 feature. He has written many books on the subject of art and culture and is most widely known in Britain.

My favorite piece of work done by Michelangelo is the part of the Sistine Chapel called "The Fall From Grace," a depiction of Adam and Eve disobeying God. The first thing I notice about this piece is how the snake wrapped around the tree turned into a person. In the book of Genesis, it is a snake that convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. The second thing I noticed the blue background. I can't decide if its sky or water. Thirdly, I notice is the obvious nudity, something that in today's time would be censored, regardless of the fact that it is a necessary part of the bible story.

I believe that Timothy Marlow decided to include the significant locations because while Michelangelo produced these masterpieces he travelled back and forth between Florence and Rome. By doing this, Marlow created a sense of authenticity.

Discussion Question:
Do you feel that Michelangelo's religious beliefs affect his art? If so, was it negative or positive?

Film 2: Da Vinci / Bruce

Fiona Bruce, host of the BBC show "Da Vinci: The Lost Treasure," is a British journalist who studied French and Italian at Hertford College in Oxford. While most of her experience may not be with paintings, what she lacks in experience she make up for in her effort to connect with those she interviews. Showing recordings of interviews also adds to her creditability.

One painting that particularly intrigues me by Da Vinci is The Last Supper, a mural originally painted in Milan. For this painting Da Vinci used tempera paint on gesso, pitch and mastic. Having attended Catholic Schools since three year old preschool, I have spent a great deal of time staring at this piece of artwork over the years. My eye is first drawn to Jesus, who is clearly the centerpiece of the painting. Secondly, I notice the chaos  on either side of him. Da Vinci expresses the many emotions that were being felt by Jesus' closest friends and disciples. There is fear, excitement, concern, shock. Thirdly, I notice the structure of the room, the different planes and lines that Da Vinci used as tools to give the illusion of depth on a flat surface.

I believe the storyteller used parts of interviews to show that the information she was giving was creditable. The audience is probably more likely to believe the words of profession art historians rather than a journalist.

Discussion Question
What makes Da Vinci's work so important to the study of art history?

Film 1: Paint / History

According to the film, paint is defined as a pigmented liquid that dries to form a protective film over a surface. Paint is composed of three main components: Binder/Resins, Solvent, and Pigment. Binders or resins are glue like substances such as linseed oil or acrylic polymers. Pigment is the color causing agent that is often made using ground minerals found in nature. Solvents are used to smooth the surface of the paint while drying and is most often water.

It is my opinion that modern chemistry has had the most significant impact on the evolution of paint. For example, artists who use textiles apply chemistry when dying them. Some may use sodium carbonate to set the dye. Another great tool that chemistry gave the art industry is the restoration aspect. The use of chemicals in the restoration process allow the undo-ing of oxidation and other types of damages that occur to painting over time.

A painting is some sort of work of art, usually created on a flat surfaces, primary using paint. A painting can depict several things such as a historical event, a story, an emotion. I feel that is it important that painting can be preserved for thousands of years because of the historical importance. For example, the painting found in ancient Egypt gave us enormous insight into the life of Egyptians, or the cave drawings left behind by Indians gave us information on the type of animals that roamed the earth during those times. Without these visual representations I feel that we would be lacking important insights into human and earth history.

Discussion Question

What colors stand out to you the most? 

Week One: Welcome

Meg Denten
Business Major
I chose this class because I need 3 more Fine Arts credits to graduate. I am not artistically inclined enough to take a course that requires skill other than photography, which I've already taken.