Claude Monet – 1899

“La Grenouillére” -1869

Claude Monet is probably the most famous of the French Impressionist’s, earning him the unofficial honor or being the “father of impressionism.” His work is the most consistent of all the impressionists, which is a direct result of his painstaking approach to capture the essence of the French countryside he loved so dearly. In order to adequately express its beauty, Monet would paint the same scene several times over in order to account for changes in light, shadows, and various other differences. The result of these long studies are beautiful masterpieces of art which have become some of the most sought after works in existence. While his efforts were tedious, his dedication to beauty and application of skill yielded a catalog of work only a master, which Monet surely was, could have created.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

“Claude Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil,” 1873

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French painter, who lived from the mid-19^th into the early 20^th century. He is credited, along with several other artists, with the development of Impressionism.  After hanging his works in the first impressionist show ever held, Renoir’s acclaim quickly grew from that point in 1874.  Renoir’s work focused on the human form, particularly that of nude women. He attempted to portray his subject as if caught during a spontaneous action. In a sense, Renoir was the first candid camera. His use of bright colors gives an almost ethereal glow to the figures, which further illustrates his admiration for the human form. Renoir admired his contemporary’s as well, as evidenced by his multiple paintings of many of them. With Renoir at the center, the French Impressionist movement was well underway. Many masters, like Claude Monet and Alfred Sisley, emerged alongside Renoir, creating one of the most beloved artistic styles in the world today.

In the age of technology, art no longer has to be physically permanent to last forever. This fact has taken a form of art formerly seen as criminal in nature, and created a new movement referred to as street art. Most people have heard of Banksy because of his widespread following and longtime anonymity; however, there are a plethora of other artists who never see the limelight due to the nature of their art. It is difficult to openly take credit for your masterpiece when it was technically illegal, in some cases felonious, like in Texas, to create. The answer is didgital photography. By creating illegal street art, photographing it, and distributing it via the internet, a virtual artists market has been created for an artform that has never before been lucrative. Thankfully, this has increased the quality of the work and will hopefully lead to a decriminalization or perhaps legalization of this artform.

Environmental Art is becoming a popular trend in today’s “Earth-conscious” world. As landfills reach capacity, the need for alternatives to trash disposal are becoming greater and greater by the day. Some artists have chosen to express their concern for the growing landfill problems with their artwork. For instance, artists like John Dahlsen, have chosen to utilize the excess trash to create art that is provocative due to its unique composition and its implicit message. By using the trash, and presenting it as art, environmental artists have come to the forefront of art movements worldwide. As the problem continues to grow, so will the art that protests it. With all bad situations, a silver-lining is usually included, and this is no different. I find that the thought process that goes into these large-scale installation pieces are influential on my style as both require extensive thought and meticulous execution to work appropriately.

“Silver Spoons and Hotel Rooms,” is a painting done by contemporary artist Charlie Isoe. While I don’t know a great deal about him as an artist, I have seen this painting and a few others of his that have really spoken to me. I appreciate that he has such technical skill with portraiture, yet, once he has it seemingly perfect, at least if realism was the goal, he instead draws cartoonish, and oftentimes, demonic, facial features, like large blood smears, or jagged teeth over the face. I appreciate that essentially his work seems to exposing the wickedness of humanity below the skin-deep beauty. Aside from the close-up facial transformations, Isoe is also fond of having humans interact with animals, particularly cartoon animals with devious looks who seem to be up to no good. In a world where society is ever guarded about how they appear outwardly to others, it is nice to believe that somebody is still attempting to paint what we look like on the inside.

Former President George W Bush was an ineffectual president at best. The same is true with his artwork. There is nothing special about it, nor will it be winning awards or catching the eye of too many serious collectors. While this is all true, there is one valuable lesson to be learned by following his example. All artists become the subject of much criticism, yet not all artists can handle it. Bush has shown that rather than allow strong criticism deter you, it is possible to find solace in your artwork as a means to escape the scrutiny of life. After all, during his presidency, the US was misled into a costly war in Iraq, but rather than allow these failures to destroy him, he turned to art, albeit of novice skill, to drown out the overwhelming sound of millions of peoples criticism.

1)   Jean-Michel Basquiat is truly an unfortunate artist. While his work was far superior to that of Andy Warhol, he was forever stuck in the shadow of the pop-art icon, and due to his unnaturally short life span was never given a chance to outlive this stigma. His work is very provocative yet primitive in many ways as well. Focusing on “suggestive dichotomies,” Basquiat’s work revolved around a singular hero, oftentimes the artist himself, fighting against social injustice.  While alive, his work was in demand, which was unheard of for an African American artist at the time. Born in 1960, his role as an African American in a post-civil rights movement America, was to be an icon for artists, both black and white alike, to be a symbol that unified the races with his thought-provoking work. Sadly, he was never able to fulfill his potential because of his untimely death at the age of 27 in 1988.

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was a German artist and mathematician. In his twenties, he gained a widespread renowned in Europe for his woodcuts, which have since come to be known as “master prints.” His work varied drastically but was often religious in theme. By combining his knowledge of Italian with German humanism, Dürer created a unique body of work. He is regarded as the greatest artist from the Northern Renaissance. In addition to his masterful artwork, Dürer was also thought to be a sympathizer to Martin Luther’s cause during the reformation. Entries in his diary solidify this belief and offer much insight into the religious themes frequently seen in his work. Between his beautiful engravings, provocative paintings, and academic work, Dürer is surely a master, and very accurately embodies the idea of a Renaissance man through and through.

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