After reading it, we found that we not only have an understanding of the history of western art, but also have a deeper understanding of the masterpieces of famous and influential figures in various periods. Knowing how to appreciate painters and the styles and characteristics of their works from the background of the times certainly broadens our horizons and improves our aesthetic ability.
If I had read this book before going to Europe in 2007, when I stood in front of the masterpieces of the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Louvre and Versailles, I would have seen and absorbed more than the tour guide explained to me.
I spent the whole morning sorting out this book and felt particularly fulfilled. Whether it is to share it with more people or to read it yourself later, it is particularly meaningful.
In the history of human art, or plastic arts, works generally swing back and forth between these two styles: one is called should and ideal, and the other is called originality and truth.
The same is true of people's spiritual history, just as a child learns to draw, and never learns to draw until he has mastered a certain skill; Then I feel that my skills are not enough and I need to express myself more; Finally, I went back to the beginning. I think what impressed me most was the simplest and simplest.
The whole history of western art is related to the growth of children, so we can understand it according to this context.
Why is Botticelli a painter who reveals the most important theme of the Renaissance?
Teacher Murong Yindao said: When we look at art history and painters, we must look at what happened before him, or what kind of environment he was in at that time to achieve such success. Because we can't look at it with the arrogance of modern people, you say a modern person has never seen anything? All kinds of blockbusters, widescreen, you have seen everything before going to see Botticelli's paintings, which may not be enough, but you should think about what happened before Botticelli. We have just introduced the Middle Ages, which are very rigid figures, and even children have adult faces.
In this case, suddenly appeared such a picture, a naked goddess stood there beautifully, showing people that the god of beauty was born. Seeing such a picture, you are suddenly shocked and feel that there is something alive, which is particularly touching. Because people will naturally be moved by those feelings. You just said you were shocked, right? Graceful posture and texture suddenly make people feel that the new century has begun. So its title is also very good-spring and the birth of Venus.
The "Three Masters" of Renaissance
Leonardo da Vinci is a bit like a mountain. He is a genius who penetrates clouds. He can do anything, like the peak.
What about Michelangelo? Like the sea, he is broader, more energetic and has a great sense of strength.
Where's Raphael? He is like an endless grassland, which makes you feel comfortable, sweet, peaceful and quiet. He is such a halo.
the rococo period
? The painting "The Daughter of Liusipas" is a crisscross work by Ma Benteng, who uses diagonal composition instead of horizontal and vertical composition. But it is oblique and staggered, and the whole picture has a surging and particularly impactful feeling, which is one of the characteristics of his composition.
? /kloc-Dutch school of painting in the 0/7th century
Rembrandt's greatness should lie in his use of light. There is a kind of light called "Rembrandt light". If the sense of volume in the previous painting is not so strong, it may be because the lighting is not wonderful enough. His light has become a fixed paradigm. Caravaggio's light is very high, Rembrandt is a little lower, starting from the first three quarters of the picture, which is not too high. Then there is a shadow here, but there is a bright triangle in the shadow, which is such a combination of light.
Another feature is that he actually paints more secular life themes, and he does not serve religion. For example, in Professor Du Pu's anatomy class, he attracted a group of teachers and told the students what anatomy was all about. This kind of thing was not displayed before, but he did. "Night Patrol" depicts the militia self-defense forces, and such a group of characters appear in the painting, which emphasizes the story.
There are some quiet moments in life that are very touching, but we may live in a hurry and ignore this part. Only Vermeer, who has been painting a picture for two or three years, is in no hurry. He is particularly good at capturing this moment, so I think this is a touching place.
Rembrandt is much stronger. Ordinary painters are characterized by both motion and static, while Vermeer is static. Rembrandt's paintings have a strong dramatic conflict, whether it is such a particularly dramatic picture as Running or Night Patrol. You can feel Rembrandt's light beating, and there seems to be a fire on his self-portrait face; But Vermeer's paintings seem to have stopped time. In his picture, there is light coming in outside the window, but it is cloudy and you can't feel the sunshine. His light is diffuse, like a girl reading a letter by the window or a maid pouring milk.
academism
The earliest representatives were Pu Sang and LeBron. Pu Sang painted The Shepherd of Arkady, and LeBron's most famous work is The Palace of Versailles.
Rococo style era, emphasizing decoration, details, soft expression, and more emphasis on emotion.
From Italy to Holland and then to France. The French style is really different from the Dutch style. Dutch style will have a lot of local flavor, such as life and potatoes, which is a simple feeling, with farmland and avenues. But after arriving in France, it was dominated by the court. "Warm wind makes tourists drunk" is a feeling of special enjoyment.
With the succession of Louis XV and Louis XVI, the whole of France became worse and worse, and then Napoleon began to appear, and the Great Revolution began to appear, so the whole artistic trend changed. This section is called the revolutionary situation.
In the revolutionary situation, Goya and David were the first two people to lead the artistic transformation. Why does this time become a dividing line? What is the biggest difference between the paintings of the revolutionary situation and those of the previous academic school?
When the years are quiet, or when the warm wind makes tourists intoxicated and everyone is extravagant, you will naturally accept those sweet things. But in the revolutionary era, it must be very turbulent and intense when you hear this name, so in this case, there is no room for a so-called quiet desk or a quiet easel. Your canvas will certainly reflect some changes of that era.
Art history is also a process of recording history. At this time, there is a lot of propaganda spirit in the painting, that is, they will use this painting to inspire people and inspire a large number of people to do one thing.
David has this view. He said that our art serves politics or the needs of this revolutionary trend.
The power of vision lies in being clear at a glance. I speak today, you should listen; I'm writing today. Will you be reading it for a long time? But a painting, when you see it at a glance, the gas field, atmosphere and everything are clear at a glance, so it is really inflammatory.
During the revolution, David had a student named Angel, and he was also great. Angel has a famous painting called Maids in Palace, which is a model of neoclassicism. His generation is called neoclassicism, which is extremely accurate. There are also a pair of fountains, which show a girl watering the urn.
Angels are not within the scope of revolution. Just because he happened to be David's student, he was arranged at that time, and he inherited the academic model. He is the last glory of the college.
The person who really inherited David's revolutionary power was Delacroix.
In history, we often see two people opposing each other. The antonym of angel is Delacroix. Angels are precise, rigorous, solemn, beautiful and idealistic, and then they arrive at Delacroix, and they are real and dynamic, so he is also a representative of romanticism. People call him "the romantic lion".
? Impressionist period
Monet is a master of impressionism, or the most famous one sought after by fans now. Monet painted "Water Lily" and "The Old Japanese Bridge in Givini Garden".
? Cezanne was called "the father of modernism" by Picasso.
Cezanne's way of thinking is no longer to restore a real world in the original way, and no longer to consider this table and this cup. This perspective should be like this. He thinks more about its composition and what kind of composition is behind these things.
He wants to see its internal structure, the structure of all these cups and tables. Even if this structure is not accurate, in his view, it is the eternal thing he wants to pursue. Those precise shapes and mottled colors are all his disdain. What he wants is such a more metaphysical way of thinking that peels off the surface of objects.
Matisse's famous saying: "Yes, this is a painting, this is not a person."
Matisse and Picasso were both inspired by African mask art. Why did Picasso later become a more comprehensive person?
Picasso condensed the development of art history. You see, when he was young, he showed his talent very early. He painted realistic oil paintings at the age of thirteen or fourteen, learned the early painting experience of human beings, and then walked down all the way, gradually reaching the stage where his body became more and more confused and less like.
He is also influenced by African sculpture art, so his painting style is that the characters are more deformed, more generalized and more refined, imitating the modeling characteristics of African sculpture. But he didn't stop there. He is always changing, always bringing forth new ideas and always taking the next step, so he is a never-ending person.
Also affected by these factors, Matisse may move towards the effect of local paper-cutting; But for Picasso, he developed cubism, and it is more difficult to judge what it belongs to. He has been constantly innovating, so he is worse.
post-impressionism
Van Gogh is classified as "post-impressionism"
Judging from the time, they are almost all of the same generation, and everyone knows them. The reason why he "pasted" it is because, like Monet, no matter how deformed he is, he is actually painted according to the lotus pond, which is clearly distinguishable. There are not many personal factors, but the picture effect caused by this light and shadow is actually realistic. However, post-impressionists such as Van Gogh and Gauguin actually painted the world not in their eyes, but more in their thoughts and understanding.
Looking at Van Gogh's Starry Sky, it seems that the starry sky is flowing and the stars are melting.
A period of symbols, dreams and subconsciousness
At that time, people like Kandinsky and mondriaan painted a lot of pictures, just some radiation or pieces of color. Why?
This is also a kind of conceptual creation. You see, before we talk about Picasso, you can carefully identify all the things of Picasso, and there are still traces to follow. This is a dove of peace, this is a cow, this is a face, this is a horse ... Just like in guernica, you can always find the corresponding figure that children can recognize.
But in mondriaan, isn't that a color block? He doesn't have these graphics at all. When you arrive in Kandinsky, make some radioactive colors or lines or combinations of points, lines and surfaces. This is "painting for painting". It no longer displays a shape. I draw something that you can understand. Without this thing, it doesn't exist. I just hope it's beautiful.
They show these colors, and when points, lines and surfaces are combined, they will be beautiful. Without mondriaan's exploration, there would not be these modern buildings in our later generations. For example, a square house, how can there be such beautiful things? It is because of their exploration.
Can we ordinary people go home and dump it?
Beauty is regular. You should have a sense of rhythm, ups and downs, changes, rhythms and conflicts, as well as harmony and unity of opposites. This is the basic law of beauty, and what contains this law is beautiful to you. It does not contain, even if it is abstract, it is still not beautiful.
Later, when the commercial society became more and more developed, there was Popism. Populism began with clip art.
Finally, we look back from the beginning, starting with rock paintings, then ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, Rome, then into the dark Middle Ages, and then the Renaissance. In the late Renaissance, Titian and Venetian schools appeared, as well as German and Dutch schools. Then to baroque-romanticism; Then he began to enter the Dutch painting school in the17th century, which was the period of Vermeer and Rembrandt. Then came to the academic school; Then the great revolution began, and after the great revolution, modern impressionism entered; Then postmodernism began, until the final abstraction and three-dimensional, and finally to pop.
I hope we will not be ignorant when we appreciate these paintings in the future. When you have a little knowledge in your heart, you will feel happier when you go to see that painting. May we all become artists of life, like and appreciate art, and make our life more interesting.