A Bigger Splash, 1967 by David Hockney, Tate Gallery, London.
Hockney was interested in capturing a splash of water that only lasts for mere seconds and depicting it on canvas. Throughout his career he has done series on the same subjects.
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Romance of the Sea
Captain Kidd, 1907 by Howard Pyle.
Pyle was better known as an illustrator and this comes from the Book of Pirates, which he also wrote.
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Starkist
The Mermaid, 1910 by Howard Pyle, The Delaware Museum of Art.
This was the painting Pyle was working on when he sailed for Italy to study mural painting by studying the Italian Renaissance masters. He died while in Italy.
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Final Exam
The Architect’s Dream, 1840 by Thomas Cole, The Toledo Museum of Art.
On my final for intro to art history, I would always include this work which the students had not seen before and ask them to identify at least five styles of architecture – it was fun and a good way to end the exam.
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All Signs Point to Nativity
The New-born, c. 1640 by Georges de la Tour, Musee des Beaux Arts, Rennes.
Often artists would mask religious scenes by setting them in the present and leaving out all of the traditional “signs” of a religious nativity scene such as a halo on the mother and child, but the calm the beauty and the presence of a figure who could be perceived as St. Anne, seem to indicate a religious meaning.
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Unexpected News
The Annunciation, c.1441-3 by Fra Angelico, Museo di San Marco, Florence.
Calm pervades the scene as Mary is informed by the Archangel Gabriel that she is carrying the child of God. St. Peter the Martyr (the patron saint of the inquisitive) looks on as she receives the news. Fra Angelico, a Dominican Monk, was known for his palette of pastels and serene depictions.
Commissioned by Cosimo de’Medici.
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Breaking it Down
Composition 8, 1914 by Piet Mondrian, The Guggenheim Museum, NYC.
This is Mondrian’s interpretation of a tree after seeing the cubist work of Braque and Picasso. He eventually took it to an even more abstract level.
Piet Mondrian Composition C (No.III) with Red, Yellow and Blue © 2007 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust c/o HCR International, Warrenton, VA -
Women’s Weeds
Dress 3 by Karen LaMonte, 2001. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
LaMonte honors women, dresses and the art of glass in her work. You see the body beneath the garment, but the garment really is the star of the show.
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Big Business
The Chrysler Building, 1930, architect William Van Alen, New York.
An homage to all things modern, the tallest building (until the Empire State eclipsed it one year later), decorated with hubcaps, hood ornaments and steel so shiny it looks like chrome. It remains an Art Deco Icon.
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…and carry a big stick.
Ballet Rehearsal 1874 by Edgar Degas. The Metropolitan Museum.
The teacher in these paintings was actually a dancer and friend of Degas and not the class teacher. His name was Jules Perrot.
Your Daily Art 