Stella's Art Blog

Francisco Goya was a Spanish painter and printmaker. He lived from 1746-1828. His artistic career started out with joyful and lighthearted paintings to pessimistic and upsetting ones. His portraits are shown to be lighthearted and pretty, however, as his career continued, he branched off towards more grotesque and scary paintings.

The Arts and Crafts movement was a movement in the 1880-1920s in Europe and North America, and eventually Japan. It stood for craftsmanship with simple forms of media. Modern machinery was taking over, and the Arts and Crafts movement stood for individual craftsmanship. Famous artists of that period include A.W.N. Pugin, William Morris, and Charles Robert Ashbee.

Rococo is a style of interior design, including painting, architecture, and sculpture. It originated in the 18th century. The word Rococo is derived from the French word rocaille, meaning rock or rubble. The style of rococo is lightness, elegance, and usage of curving. Some well known rococo artists include Pierre Le Pautre, Jean Berain, and Nicolaus Pineau.

Vermeer was a Dutch artist with 35 found pieces of artwork attributed to him. He often used skills such as light and composition to create well-balanced pieces. He often used soft shading to create a sense of depth, and used light pastel colors to illustrate a calm atmosphere. Vermeer used a "camera obscura", a box with a small hole and lens in it. Mirrors were on the inside of the box, reflecting the image inside the box. This technique helped artists exaggerate light and shadow on their paintings by looking at their reference through a camera obscura.   (Camera obscura)

            Jan Van Eyck was a Netherlandish painter who immersed himself in studying the techniques of oil painting. He lived from 1390 c to July 1441. During his life, he lived in Belgium and mastered the ways of oil paints. He was mainly focused on religious pictures and portraits of people, but was also known for his use of symbolism. In his painting Arnolfini Portrait , a woman and her husband are seen in their bedroom with a little dog. At first glance, it seems like an average portrait, but if closer inspected, small and incredible details are hidden throughout the piece. An example of this is the mirror on the wall of the room- if looked at closely, the viewer can see the reflection of the husband, wife, and Jan Van Eyck himself.

        Giotto (full name Giotto di Bondone) was a painter. He lived from 1270-1337. He came from Italy, and was known for his religious paintings. In this painting by Giotto, Jesus is seen dead being mourned by his mother Mary and his followers. Angels from above are seen flying down to see him. This piece was created in 1305.  Giotto uses emphasis to make Jesus stand out, as he is the center of attention in the piece. He also uses contrast between the bright gold of the halos and the dark grays of the background. The halos help the people stand out from the background.  After observing this piece closely, I found the angels quite strange. Their heads are disproportionate to their bodies, and their faces are exaggerated and morphed. 

Gargoyles are water spouts, with a trough cut in them so the rainwater falls in and exits through their mouth. The name comes from the French word for gullet, "gargouille". Grotesques are sculptures of mythical creatures for decorative purposes. They have no practical purpose, unlike gargoyles.