ArtCorner

Gustav Klimt founded an art movement called Secession in Austria. He was its president from 1897 until 1905. One of his most famous paintings, the Kiss, is a noteworthy example of the Secession Art Nouveau movement.

Born the son of a Viennese engraver, Gustav Klimt studied art at the Vienna School of Decorative Arts. He and his brother Ernst as well as another fellow graduate opened their own art studio in 1882. Here they specialized in murals, making a lot of money painting for museums, theaters and other public facilities.

Gustav Klimt was a very ornamental artist, as evidenced by his exquisite Expectation, Fulfillment, the Kiss and The Virgin – magnificent paintings. He and the other Secessionist painters favored contours and organic lines in their paintings. Gold and silver are prominently displayed in the works of Gustav Klimt, certainly an influence of his father who engraved those two metals.

Most of Gustav Klimt’s works were considered scandalous, because they were erotic, sexual and contained nudes. The Kiss, for which he is best known, was first displayed in 1908 and, while much admired, was still considered highly controversial.

Traditional canvas paintings were uncommon for Gustav Klimt’s work. He primarily painted murals, designed posters and illustrated magazines. In 1900 he was commissioned for the next three years by Vienna University to create ceiling murals using not only paints but also glass, metal and ceramics.

In 1905 Gustav Klimt’s life took another new turn, and his work turned to jewelry and fashion.

Klimt continued painting landscapes and portraits of private patrons of the Vienna elite until his death in 1918.

Recently, a Gustav Klimt portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer from that era was sold for a record $135 million, the highest sum ever paid for a single painting.

Pierre Auguste Renoir was born in 1841 in Limoges, France, but moved to Paris with his family when he was 13. His first paintings were flowers on China, as part of his work in a local porcelain factory. In 1860 he studied under Charles Gleyre where he met Alfred Sisley, Frederic Bazille and Claude Monet, fellow student. He studied at the Louvre and then attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

In the 1870’s Renoir’s Impressionist technique reached its peak, with glorious paintings such as Lunch at the Resturant Fournaise (The Rowers’ Lunch), Dance in the Country, Dance at Bougival, and Gabrielle and Jean.

Two of Pierre Auguste Renoir’s most famous from that period were The Swing and Bal at the Moulin de la Galette, a wonderful composition of many of his friends and Montmartre girls. His fully defined technique rendered facial expressions and movements masterfully. Renoir often used his friends and acquaintances such as fellow artists and writers. He spent weeks and sometimes months perfecting his paintings.

In 1890 Renoir married Aline Charigot. He painted his new bride and several of their friends in Luncheon of the Boating Party, a masterpiece on which he spent many months.

Beginning in the 1880’s Renoir became more interested in classical art and female nudes. The Bathers, a series of paintings nude female figures, were completed in 1887. They depicted feminine grace superbly, with an excellent portrayal of pearly textured and soft female skin.

Other beautiful paintings for which Pierre Auguste Renoir is acclaimed are Young Girls at the Piano, The Garden at Fontenay 1874, The Rose Garden at Wargemont 1879, and The Engaged Couple.

Pablo Picasso is the artist most commonly mentioned when we talk about modern art. His paintings, sculptures, ceramics and prints number in the thousands. He created modern art for 75 years, noted for works such as The Dream, Child Holding a Dove and Boy with a Pipe.

Pablo Picasso, though controversial and sometimes viewed as a charlatan has been mentioned by literally all art critics as the painter that dominated and had the most influence on art in the twentieth century.

Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga Spain in 1881. His father was a drawing and art teacher and quickly recognized his son’s artistic brilliance. Pablo attended the Barcelona School of Fine Arts at the young age of 14 and still managed to skip some elementary art classes.

Picasso went through many changes in his life time that are reflected in his art. He evolved his style from early blue period all the way to his flagship style- Cubism.

The art movement known as Cubism was initiated by Picasso. Its subjects were broken and reassembled in strange and abstract ways. Fragmentation through geometric forms expressed painting in an entirely new way. Depth isn’t shown in this art form, instead, planes of indistinguishable area. This was the beginning of truly avant-garde and abstract art.

Woman and Dove and The Red Armchair are but a few of the great reproductions of this father of cubism.

One of his most moving paintings was painted in 1937. Guernica was a protest against a Spanish Civil War air raid on a village in Basque. Guernica is huge, painted on canvas using only black, grey and white.

Since Picasso died in France in 1973, Spain has yearned to reclaim its most famous 20th-century artist. Picasso never set foot in his homeland since 1934 mainly because of his nemesis, Dictator Gen. Francisco Franco. While his paintings are in museums and collections around the world, there are still relatively few in Spain itself.

“What distinguishes modern art from the art of other ages is criticism.”
-Octavio Paz

I am frequently asked about different artists, and how they’re related to the different art genera’s. Well, I decided to go ahead and write a short summary about each movement and the artists that transcended the movement into infamy.

Hope this document can help get a better grasp of the modern art movement and the different streams that emerged from it. Read more »

Claude Monet’s life works were impressionist paintings. These works of art heavily influenced other exalted painters such as Degas and Renoir. Monet was considered the more radical of the impressionists and definitely one of the leaders of the Impressionist movement, which is still considered one of the most important of the modern art world.

Oscar Claude Monet was born in Paris, attending the Swiss Academy for one year in 1859. Later studying in the studio of Glenyre he met Sisley and Renoir and the three of them began the Impressionist movement. He moved to Giverny in 1883 where he began painting his home and the lily ponds and gardens in his beloved yard.

Some Famous Monet Oil Paintings include Poppy Field in Argenteuil, Walking near Argenteuil and London House of Parliament.

Some of the most famous of Claude Monet’s impressionist works Water Lilies, which is actually the name for three different paintings that he did at various times in his life. The first was painted in 1903, the second in 1906 and the third he worked on between 1916 and 1923. His beautiful Weeping Willow oil painting on canvas was painted in 1919, while the famous Madame Monet and Her Son may well be the most appreciated of Claude Monet’s paintings. It is an artfully crafted look at his wife and child. His wife often modeled for her husband. The image portrayed in this painting is classic Claude Monet: a vast array of color, cool shadow contrasts and warm daylight.

Spring and White Water Lilies are other impressionist oil paintings for which Claude Monet is much heralded.

Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani was born in 1884 and began his painting career at age 14. A sickly child, he began sculpturing in 1902, later attending the Venice-based Reale Istituto di Belle Arti.

In 1906 he moved to Montmartre, Paris, and attended Academie Colarossi. Early works such as Portrait of Anna Zborovska, Bride and Groom and Gypsy Woman with Baby, were products of a great influence of Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, Theophile Alexandre Steinlen and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

In 1909, Modigliani met the accomplished sculptor Constantin Brancusi. They both settled in the artist colony area of the bohemian city Montparnasse. With the guidance and influence of the kindly crafter Brancusi Amedeo Modigliani concentrated on creating magnificent sculptures until 1914. He also completed a number of paintings and drawings during that time as well.

The bulk of Amedeo Modigliani paintings were completed between 1916 and 1919 – vibrant wonderful works such as Portrait of Madame Hayden 1918, Nudo Disteso, and Portrait of Anna Zborosvka.

Although Modigliani was to find two supportive dealers he struggled for public attention, displays and sales during his lifetime. Between 1914 and 1916 he was represented by Paul Guillaume, and then for the year 1917 Leopold Zborowski was his agent. The only solo show Modigliani was ever given, however, was in December 1917 at the Galerie Berthe Weill.

Modigliani was to meet his true love, lifelong companion and model in March of 1917. He and Jeanne Hebuterne lived with him in Nice and then in Cannes, finally returning to Paris in 1920. Amedeo Modigliani died in Paris January 24, 1920.

Considered the father of abstract art, the Russian born artist, Wassily Kandinsky was a man of vision.He wanted to create symbiosis between sites and sounds into what was once referred to as a painter’s symphony that would stimulate the senses, not just the eyes, but the ears as well.

The British Telegraph has written a wonderful article about Kandinsky, as a prelude to the new exhibition at the Tate Modern Art Museum – Kandinsky: Path to Abstraction. This unique exhibition will display the versatile sides of Kandinsky. How he transformed Modern Art around 1911, and in addition, achieved a new pictorial form of music.

What do you think about Kandinsky? If you happen to adore him, like I do, and are in London between now and October, stop by the Tate for a truly fantastic glimpse into the world of one of the 20th century most important artists.