The ART Thread: From Da Vinci to Warhol

[Blasty]

I was wondering if anyone here was as big a fan of fine art, paintings and the like as I was and cared to discuss them in any way? I thought we could use this thread in any way to talk about our favorite painters, paintings, post pics of them and what the paintings mean to us and try to interpret them, anything really.

I have always loved art but recently I have been more into it and I discovered the site, art.com, which is a great way at buying art cheaply. They have prints and posters for as little as $4.00 of famous paintings. You can spend more and have them framed, mounted, put on canvas, ect. But anyway, I have been buying some of the cheap art prints to decorate my work space at my job and I'd thought I'd share some of the paintings I love. These are some I got recently:



This is by Georg Baselitz, a German painter and the style is post-modern or Neo-Expressionist. The painting is called 'Volkskunst' and was done in 1997. I am by no means an expert on art or anything of the sort. I just know I love alot of it and looking at it just makes me happy. I understand this painter often paints things upside down which is interesting. I just loved the use of colors with the flowers here. I love alot of modern art.



This is by Joan Miro and is called 'Singing Fish' . I love alot of his work. I'm a great fan of surrealism. And I think it's a very cute and colorful work.




This is by American painter Edward Hopper and is called 'Ground Swell', painted in 1939. I think it's is beautiful and quite relaxing. And hot, shirtless men


I wish I was better as describing WHY I love art LOL. I find painting just extraordinary and stimulating. Those are just a few I recently bought. Feel free to post your fave paintings!

[Ciro]

Lovely idea Blasty, but there's so much to love BEFORE Da Vinci and AFTER Warhol

In fact, I could spend hours looking at Medieval art. The more stylized the better. I admire, but am not really drawn to the Classic and Modern eras...the things I truly love start around early Christianity and end with the 1300's, and then I jump to the 1800's and 1900's.

That first painting you posted is very nice, even though I'm always a little suspicious about the validity of the "neo" movements, especially Expressionism. Although looking at some of the other things by Baselitz, he's not as slight and superficial as a lot of other "neo" artists. I particularly like this one

[Blasty]

Oh yes, Ciro, I was just trying to come up with a snazzy thread title LOL. I enjoy ancient art and medieval art as well!

I love that Baselitz painting you posted! Very spare and haunting and creepy! And so different from the other few I've seen of his!

Some more paintings I just got:


That is La Promenade des Anglais from 1928 by Raoul Dufy, a French Fauvist painter. I thought it was just delightful! I love it's seeming disarming simplicity! Very charming.

Now here is The Artist's Garden at Vetheuil from one of my all time favorite painters, Claude Monet:


Monet is just sheer bliss for me! He just has so many paintings that just give me so much happiness! I'm a big fan of impressionism. This one here is a classic example of how he takes an idyllic setting and breathes life and beauty into it! I want to BE in that painting and on that path with that little girl! It's so evocative.

[Ciro]

I enjoy Impressionism, although not as much as other things from the 1800's. I just recently (like, since last Summer) started appreciating some of the things Impressionism did when I had the chance to see up close some Roman frescoes in my parents' hometown, one of the cities that was hit by Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD, and I found it fascinating how very impressionistic ancient painting was (seriously each figure was made using only 3 colors)! It made me like Impressionism a little more, understanding how those artists who never had the chance to actually look at Roman frescoes managed to evoke something so simple and primal.

Speaking of prints, I don't have many as I don't have much room in my bedroom, but my parents got me this in Florence and I love it



It's Gentile da Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi, from the 1420's I think. It's still Gothic so I love it...florentine art became much more boring just a couple of decades later.

[nadine]

Great thread.

I'm a fan of the French artists in particular Monet. I've got a few of his prints at home. Absolutely love Signac. One of my absolute favourite prints I wanted to get I couldn't.

[Blasty]

I enjoy Impressionism, although not as much as other things from the 1800's. I just recently (like, since last Summer) started appreciating some of the things Impressionism did when I had the chance to see up close some Roman frescoes in my parents' hometown, one of the cities that was hit by Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD, and I found it fascinating how very impressionistic ancient painting was (seriously each figure was made using only 3 colors)! It made me like Impressionism a little more, understanding how those artists who never had the chance to actually look at Roman frescoes managed to evoke something so simple and primal.

Speaking of prints, I don't have many as I don't have much room in my bedroom, but my parents got me this in Florence and I love it



It's Gentile da Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi, from the 1420's I think. It's still Gothic so I love it...florentine art became much more boring just a couple of decades later.

That is quite beautiful and serene, Ciro. The patterns on the clothes so wonderfully detailed - they're glorious - I love the gold color here in particular.

[Blasty]

Great thread.

I'm a fan of the French artists in particular Monet. I've got a few of his prints at home. Absolutely love Signac. One of my absolute favourite prints I wanted to get I couldn't.

I had not heard of him! Thank you for turning me on to him.


Love the colors he's using here! It just shimmers with rosy optimism!

[nadine]

Totally agree.

This one is my all-time favourite - I saw it on display when it travelled to Canberra and then 9 months later again at Musee D'Orsay in Paris. If anyone knows of a place that is selling the print let me know because so far haven't been able to find one.



Signac: Les Andelys

I want to go to Canberra before April to see this exhibition since I missed the Italian Exhibition last year.

http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/TOULOUSE/

[Blasty]

Totally agree.

This one is my all-time favourite - I saw it on display when it travelled to Canberra and then 9 months later again at Musee D'Orsay in Paris. If anyone knows of a place that is selling the print let me know because so far haven't been able to find one.



Signac: Les Andelys

I found it on art.com!!! Here it is.

However it is not cheap! The smallest size is $34.99. For some reason all his painting prints seem to be rather pricey. Of course, that price could be worse - as we all know how much real paintings can go for. It's probably also because they mostly seem to have his on higher quality prints, giclee ones, which always go for more than regular prints. You should check out art.com - their inventory is IMMENSE.

And I love the paining. Quite extraordinary how he captures the lake there! The water looks so real and the reflection is stunning.

[Ciro]

Of the lesser-known Impressionists my favorite is Gustave Caillebotte

This one in particular



I also love De Nittis, one of the two official Italian impressionists

[Blasty]

That Gustave Caillebotte painting! OMG I love it. I've been looking at it on art.com. It's incredible. The depth he creates - wow. The way he paints the cobblestones - you can practically feel yourself walking on them. Love it.

[nadine]

The De Nittis one travelled to Australia - that was the exhibition I missed. *sigh*

Thanks for the art.com link shall check it out. I had been there ages ago so it must have been added from the last time I visited it (which was about a year ago).

[Souler]

My very favorite painting, for some reason, is one I discovered at the National Gallery when was in London last year: An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump by Joseph Wright of Derby. I don't know what gets me so much about this picture, I'm usually a fan of more abstract art. All the people on there feel so real: the scared young girls with their father trying to calm them, the couple to the left that seems more interested in each other than the experiment, the man to the right watching with great concentration, the skeptical, yet intrigued look of the boy far right, the scientist looking at the spectator... I feel you could write an entire novel based on just this painting. The best moment of Skyfall for me was when Bond just happened to be sitting in front of this in the National Gallery Scene, lmao.

[Critix]

I love Renaissance and Baroque art. I studied it in Florence and fell in love!

This is Botticelli's Primavera.



And Caravaggio's erotic and sexy Bacchus!

[Aldo]

Those are amazing, Ciro. When younger I was really into impressionists but the past few years I've been more interested in painters like Turner, Rothko and Hopper. But you know those guys, so I want to share a couple of Mexican painters you've probably never heard of.

Saturnino Herrán




Joaquín Clausell


(these are the murals he painted on his atelier in Mexico City)

[Aldo]

I've been creating a tumblr on Mexican art, and actually the next two weekends I'll be in the city of San Luis Potosí giving classes to a group of contemporary jewellers and designers who will create work inspired on Mexican creators. Last year I gave the workshop here in Guadalajara and we focused on Pritzker-winner architect Luis Barragán, Hasselblad-winner photographer Graciela Iturbide and well, Carlos Reygadas. It was quite interesting and fun.

http://alvareztostado.tumblr.com/

[cdmc]

Andrew Wyeth: Christina's World



Shani Rhys James: Turning the Tables



Titian: Venus of Urbino



Gustave Caillebotte: Les Raboteurs de parquet



William-Adolphe Bouguereau: Gabrielle Cot



Gustave Moreau: Cavalier



Antonio Lopez Garcia: Madrid from Torres Blancas

[Ciro]

Great Tumblr Aldo, consider yourself followed

Speaking of our national artists that are maybe not very well known abroad, these are some works by my absolute favorite Italian artist, Alberto Burri. He was active in the 1950's but actually started working with raw materials and paints while imprisoned in Texas, after he was captured in Tunisia.

He did amazing things with different materials, mostly plastic, burlap and pumice and other things as well. His works are mostly an expression of the depression he suffered from after the war, but during his later years he also started experimenting with abstract visions of lunar landscapes, galaxies as well as the texture of earth and plants.

Visiting his museum in his hometown, Città di Castello, was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

[J2DR]

Oh! This is such a great great topic. I wish I knew more about art... One of my favourites is Joaquín Sorolla.

[Cricket]

This is a very wide subject! I love art from all periods, and try to see as many exhibits as I can. Lately, my interest has been in conceptual art and video installations.

Anyway, to start, some of my favorite living artists include:

Gerhard Richter:


Fernando Botero:


Yayoi Kusama:


Richard Serra:


David Hockney:


I used to be pretty cool on Cindy Sherman, but I've come around recently. I like her a lot now: