Garrowby Hill by David Hockney

Posted on March 30, 2013 by artforus

Garrowby Hill is one of the most loved paintings by any living British artist and its exponent, David Hockney has become a truly respected international painter. This article looks at the qualities of the painting and the history behind Hockney’s work.

Garrowby Hill is a scenic spot in Yorkshire, UK and it is here that Hockney spends much of his time, with the rest spent in America where he has also lived for several decades.

The artist Hockney also produced some classic work in America as well, including Nichols Canyon and the Grand Canyon. This explains why currently the artist enjoys significant followings on both sides of the pond and that looks likely to continue thanks to his lifestyle which involves time spent in both countries.

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Tree of Life and The Kiss Paintings

Posted on April 29, 2012 by artforus

The Kiss painting captures the essence of Gustav Klimt, who was a technically brilliant Austrian artist famed for his oil paintings and also pencil drawings.

Klimt was fundamentally an expressive artist who wanted to combine his excellent technical skills at capturing portraits with an imagination for colour and symbolism, which together gave us classic art such as The Kiss and the Tree of Life.

Klimt’s Tree of Life painting features wild embellishes of painting and swirling branches which took a traditional religious theme and transported into the world of early 20th century art, giving us one of the most recognisable paintings from around that time.

Those interested in this artist may also like Egon Schiele who was an artist who also enjoyed pencil sketches of the human form, and held similar ability in doing so. His work was also fairly expressive, when considering his oil paintings, though there are clear differences in the ways in which they two artists chose to depict their subjects.

The Kiss itself captured two lovers together in a powerful scene which will quickly resonate with many who see it, with love and romance being such a strong topic to include with in art generally. You will find that both paintings mentioned here were full of detail which covered huge canvases, with even the background elements given a clear focus which left paintings full of interest and excitement throughout.

Few painters have been able to amaze viewers with their work as much as Klimt has achieved, and it is essential to see some of his best work up close if you ever get the opportunity.

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Raphael Paintings

Posted on April 11, 2012 by artforus

Raphael may not have ever been absolute favourite artist but I feel that his career is certainly important enough to warrant inclusion here. To be considered one of the true masters is no mean feat and this article looks to help you to understand more about why Raphael was such an important element with in the Renaissance.

There have been considerable numbers of high profile critics of Raphael over the centuries but his reputation remains strong many centuries after the renaissance was replaced by the later baroque era.

This artist actually came towards the end of the Renaissance and so he was able to appreciate what had gone before and take some of those highlights into his own methods. This opportunity was not wasted and the artist set up producing some of the technically most impressive paintings ever seen across the whole of this productive period.

Please take he opportunity to discover more about Raphael as there is indeed so much to learn and appreciate. You may also enjoy some of the online galleries which are to be found with in several different websites.

It is pleasing that the negative feedback surrounding Raphael has not taken anything away from what he achieved nor has it ruined his prestigious role with in European art history. The simple fact is that Raphael will remain in artistic folklore for many years yet and there has been no sign of his losing popularity any time soon. In fact, if anything, there is a great love for his work now than ever before.

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Italian Painters Masaccio and Giorgione

Posted on March 21, 2012 by artforus

Italian art has been exceptional for many years, and was most impressive in the Renaissance era where it dominated and showed the rest of Europe the way at a crucial time where so many new ideas were coming in all the time.

Giorgione paintings are some of the best examples of art to have come from Italy during this period and this painter brought in some important elements of innovation which had not been seen before.

Giorgione’s best included:

  • The Tempest
  • Sleeping Venus
  • Castelfranco Madonna
  • The Three Philosophers
  • The Test of Fire of Moses
  • The Judgement of Salomon
  • Judith
  • Adoration of the Shepherds
  • Madonna and Child Enthroned between St. Francis and St. Nicasius
  • Portrait of a Young Bride (Laura)
  • La Vecchia (Old Woman)

Alongside Giorgione, you may also like Masaccio paintings as well, which came very early on in the rise of the Renaissance and a quick study of his career helps us to see signs of the transition from the Middle Ages across to the later Renaissance, and all the ideas that came with that.

Masaccio most important paintings included:

  • First Bishop of Antioch
  • Healing of the Cripple
  • Holy Trinity Fresco
  • King of Antioch
  • Madonna and Child with St Anne
  • Raising of the Son of Theophilus
  • Resurrection Oftabitha
  • San Cristoforo
  • St Peter Enthroned
  • St Peter Healing the Sick with His Shadow
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Wassily Kandinsky Paintings & Prints

Posted on March 18, 2012 by artforus

We have loved Kandinsky for really so many years now, more than we can in fact remember, so it was about time that we added a short post about him here, having already covered so many other artists over the last few months.

Wassily Kandinsky was a really abstract artist around the early 20th century although he started off with quite a different approach which was later to develop as he researched new ideas and also spent a lot of time with other like-minded artists who also appreciated modern art thinking.

Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky remains much loved all around the world and his bright colours and bold abstract lines seem to suit the modern day mainstream very well, and you will see examples of his work like that included above, all over the world as his style seems to translate well across continents and cultures with an immediate quality which many find highly accessible.

Abstract art has really grown in popularity over recent years and at the start it was hard for artists like Kandinsky to really make an impression and gain academic approval with their style often dismissed as inferior to the likes of more traditional artists, such as the Renaissance, Baroque or even impressionist periods.

Definitely check out the likes of KandinskyPaintings.org which will go into detail about his career further than we have been able to here and there is also useful galleries which illustrate his most important paintings from across his career, covering all the different styles which he experimented with throughout his career.

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Goya

Posted on March 13, 2012 by artforus

Goya is our real favourite from all the artists out there – but why? You will find a list of his most famous oil paintings in this post which may help you to understand his biggest qualities.

Third of May is the best painting of all and you can in fact see that below.

Goya Paintings

Goya was a true romanticist and you will see so much emotion in his work which was a sign of this movement which included Frenchman Eugene Delacroix. There have been some key historical moments captured with in the work of artists in this style and Third of May is just one great example of that.

We most love the work of Goya from this art movement and some of his most significant paintings included:

  • The Parasol
  • La maja desnuda
  • La maja vestida
  • The Second of May 1808
  • The Third of May 1808
  • The family of Charles IV of Spain
  • Saturn Devouring One of His Children
  • The Witches’ Sabbath
  • The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, from “Los Caprichos”
  • The Dog

Further paintings from the artist which are also well worth checking out include:

  • The Colossus
  • The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters
  • Plate 43 of “Los Caprichos”
  • Don Manuel Osorio de Zuniga
  • Nude Maja
  • Saturn Devouring One of His Sons, from the Series of Black Paintings
  • Still Life with Slices of Salmon
  • Execution of the Defenders of Madrid
  • 3rd May, 1808
  • Duel with Clubs
  • St. Theresa of Avila
  • Dog Half Submerged
  • Goya’s House
  • The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters
  • Plate 43 of “Los Caprichos,”
  • Blind Man’s Buff
  • Those Specks of Dust: Perico the Cripple, Who was Caught Giving Love Potions to Lovers
  • This is Worse, Plate 37 of “The Disasters of War”
  • Linda Maestra
  • Plate 68 of “Los Caprichos”
  • St. Justina and St. Rufina
  • Alejandro O’Reilly
  • The Witches’ Sabbath or the Great He-Goat
  • Black Paintings Goya series
  • Saturn Devouring One of His Sons
  • Cartoon for the Tapestry of the Dining
  • Room in the Prado Palace
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Michelangelo Sculptures

Posted on February 28, 2012 by artforus

Artist Michelangelo was clearly a highly talented artist but his sculptures are amongst his most respected work of all, particularly David and Pieta which remain his best known sculptures of all.

This brief post lists his best of this art form and we strongly encourage you to take the time to research these in great detail.

Pieta Michelangelo

See below for a full list of Michelangelo sculptures:

  • Head of a faun
  • Madonna of the stairs
  • Battle of the Centaurs
  • Crucifix
  • The Ark of St Dominic
  • St Petronius from The Ark of St Dominic
  • St Proclus from The Ark of St Dominic
  • Angel from The Ark of St Dominic
  • Sleeping Cupid (Antique forgery)
  • Bacchus
  • Crucifix
  • Pieta
  • David
  • Madonna and Child (Madonna of Bruges)
  • St. Paul
  • St. Peter
  • St. Pius
  • St. Gregory
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Michelangelo Paintings

Posted on February 28, 2012 by artforus

Italian art has a great debt of gratitude to Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci – the true masters of the Italian Renaissance. Our favourite painting from these two was the Creation of Adam, which you can see below.

Creation of Adam

Michelangelo produced some incredible art during his impressive career including those listed below.

  • Creation of Adam
  • Last Judgment
  • Separation of Light and Darkness
  • The Libyan Sibyl
  • The Conversion of Saul
  • Sistine Chapel Lunette and Popes
  • Matyrdom of St Peter
  • The Flood
  • Creation of the Sun and Moon
  • Creation of Eve
  • Conversion of Saint Paul
  • Crucifixion of Saint Peter
  • Entombment
  • Fall of Man
  • Torment of Saint Anthony
  • Prophet Jeremiah
  • Punishment of Haman
  • Separation of Land and Water
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Leonardo da Vinci Paintings

Posted on February 18, 2012 by artforus

Da Vinci Paintings

Leonardo da Vinci is clearly one of the masters from the Renaissance and also now possibly the most famous artist in history. You can find more Leonardo da Vinci paintings here.

Da Vinci sat alongside artist Michelangelo is bring new ideas which had not really been seen before and there cannot be any way to overplay the importance of these two artists who were ambitious and skilled in equal measure.

Incredibly, the artist became all of the following during his life:

  • Polymath
  • Scientist
  • Mathematician
  • Engineer
  • Inventor
  • Anatomist
  • Painter
  • Sculptor
  • Architect
  • Botanist
  • Musician
  • Writer

It is difficult to find anyone since who has done so much and to such a high level as Da Vinci and Michelangelo which is why they are still so well known so many years later.

It is Da Vinci’s paintings which probably remain his best known work, and the best of them are listed below.

  • Mona Lisa
  • The Last Supper
  • The Annunciation
  • The Vitruvian Man
  • St John the Baptist
  • Baptism of Christ
  • Adoration of the Magi
  • Leda
  • Portrait of Ginevra Benci
  • Virgin of the Rocks

There has been a recent exhibition of several of these in London, UK and that proved to be one of the most popular exhibitions of all time, which underlines how the artist is still so well respected and loved, be it his paintings, sketches or other ideas and techniques.

Please use the resources supplied in this article to find out more about this truly inspirational character that we all still adore today right across the world.

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Hans Holbein

Posted on February 3, 2012 by artforus

German art has been highly influential upon the overall direction of European art over the past few centuries and has been strong in several different art movements which we will cover in this post.

Caspar David Friedrich for example was a skilled romanticist painter who covered landscapes in an innovative style over many years. This art movement was all about adding one’s own emotions into the work and was an important pre-cursor to the impressionists which was an art movement that began in France around the mid-19th century.

Additional to German art influence was Hans Holbein, famous today for his highly publicized portraits of the English King Henry VIII. Holbein built a strong reputation after moving to the UK where he was to become highly connected with politicians, religious leaders and also members of the Royal Family, which at the time was in England only.

Hans Holbein may not be as academically respected as some other German painters but he certainly was important as a portrait painter and his career also has great historical significance because of the way that it provides visual records of many key members of English society during the 16th century.

Albrecht Durer was perhaps the most significant of all artists mentioned here and his career came several centuries earlier at a time when European art was really in a transitional phase. Durer was highly skilled in many different art mediums and this helped to single him out as someone with ability and ideas that were perhaps ahead of his time in a similar way to the Italian Renaissance masters.

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