ArtCorner

Three men who conspired to pinch Edvard Munch‘s “The Scream” and “Madonna” were sentenced to nine year in prison for their roles in the grand theft. Both paintings were recovered, but suffered damaged.

Two years after the theft, police recovered the paintings, which were cut and pierced. Even broken glass found itself into the canvas as the frames were broken during the heist.
There are four separate editions of “The Scream,” Munch’s best-known work, depicting a frail figure apparently earshot by a scream. The image has become an icon of modern human anxiety.

The three convicted felons were also sentenced to pay a total of $262 million in compensation to the city of Oslo, which owns the paintings.

New York will be invaded by Impressionism this Friday, as an important and esteemed collection of the Impressionist master, Claude Monet, will be on display in the most comprehensive retrospective of the proclaimed artist in the last 30 years.

Spectators will become exposed to many of his early famous paintings of the suburban Parisian countryside and the famous water lilies series. However, the show will also include his lesser-known abstract late pieces, in thick impasto style, which appear to have influenced 20th Century artists such as the cubists – Picasso and Braque.

Organizers of the show are trying to examine Monet’s universal appeal. Why does everyone seem to love Monet?

“It’s because it makes you feel good about life. People just are happy when they look at Monets,” said Joseph Baillio, curator at Wildenstein & Co. “Some intellectuals feel that Monet was a superficial artist because his images are so reassuring. Monet is challenging, but you have to be able to go into depth with Monet to be able to understand where the challenges are.”

So if you get a chance, drop by the Wildenstein & Co. gallery on E. 64th St. and enjoy a journey of Impressionistic proportions…

Gustav Klimt is one of the most admired artists of the past year. His “Portrait of Adelle Bloch-Bauer I” broke the record for most expensive oil painting ever bought. Klimt is a rare combination of East meets West as his art is heavily influenced with Eastern symbolism, colors and dies. His art was always considered contentious as it is saturated with profanity and nudity.

This is a short animation film that is trying to take a glimpse into the world of Gustav Klimt, I hope you enjoy the ride:

The animation of this film incorporates many of the Gutav Klimt masterpieces. See if you can spot the paintings used in the film… See the Gustav Klimt Oil Paintings Gallery…

It cannot be denied that Salvador Dali has a special place in the world of Modern Art. His flamboyant personality has been a source of controversy, kept alive by Dali’s own provocative exuberance fueled by critics and the press. The press has always pointed a double edge sword towards Salvador Dali calling him a genius and a mad man at the same breath.

To his defense Dali would have great come back lines for the press and his critics:

• “The only difference between me & a madman is that I am not mad.” – Salvador Dali
• “Every morning when I wake up, I experience exquisite joy – the joy of being Salvador Dali…” – Salvador Dali

I wanted to share with you some great information that I found about some of the interesting works of Salvador Dali:

The Persistence of Memory (1931). Dali has said that eating Camembert cheese inspired the melting watches: “Be persuaded that Salvador Dali’s famous limp watches are nothing else than the tender, extravagant and solitary paranoiac-critical Camembert of time and space.” The image of the melting clocks would become a trademark of Dali and would reappear in many subsequent works.

Mae West’s Face which is set as a Surrealist Dwelling (1934-36). The furnishings of a room are transformed into a portrait of Mae West. The soft lips were to become a sofa object for Edward James.

Sleep (1937). Dali feared sleep and saw sleep as a monster supported by crutches.

You are welcomed to comment and ask about any other work of Salvador Dali that you would like to discuss…

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, one of the most solemn days of the year for the Jewish people around the world. I wanted to dedicate this day to Marc Chagall and his works of art that depict so beautifully the life of the Jewish people back then in Eastern Europe.

This is a short animation film inspired and ignited by the works and symbolism of Marc Chagall:

The animation of this film shows the symbolic denotation of Marc Chagall paintings. See my previous post on Marc Chagall’s Symbolism to understand what each of these symbols actually portrays.

The American conceptual artist Sol LeWitt recently passed away at the age of 78 after a long battle with Cancer.

LeWitt was a driving force in establishing Conceptualism and Minimalism as dominant movements of the post world war era. He was the opposite of fellow artists such as Andy Warhol playing the roll of artist as celebrity. He tried to suppress all interest in him as opposed to his work; he turned down awards and was camera-shy and reluctant to grant interviews.

LeWitt will always be remembered for his unique style, as he reduced art to a few basic shapes (polygons and spheres in space), colors (primary reds, yellow, blue) and unique lines. He played with these guidelines and created a distinctive style that will always be a synonym to conceptual art.

Sol LeWitt’s seemingly simple geometric sculptures, drawings and jazzy wall paintings established him as an immortal star of Twentieth Century American art.

The Dutch painter Piet Mondrian painted compositions of rectangular planes in primary colors.
This unique art form has been a source of inspiration to many artists during the Twentieth Century. His work is considered deceivingly simple, as his art is as deep and as passionate as it gets.

Want to make your own Mondrian painting? Take a look at this cool painting game to Make Your Own Mondrian Oil Painting!

The headline of this post is actually Pablo Picasso’s reaction to the death of Henri Matisse, one of the painters that inspired him and many other artists of the Modern Era. Matisse (1869 – 1954) used colors in a way that was never seen before his time. Modern and Twentieth Century artists are heavily influenced by the way he constructed his paintings with seemingly simple, yet entirely brilliant, strokes.

This is a short video depicting the great art works of art by Henri Mattise…

In 1955, Henri-Georges Clouzot filmed the famous documentary “The Mystery of Picasso.” This is a video showing Pablo Picasso as he paints. The result is a time-lapse photography documenting how Picasso created his artworks. What’s amazing is that he actually alters the canvas as he progresses, basically taking a relatively normal painting to begin with and turning it into a cubist masterpiece.

Born in Deauville France, Suzy Rocher later changed her name to Suzy Solidor when she moved to Paris in the late 1920′s. Early in 1930 she became a popular singer and opened a chic nightclub called Boite de Nuit.

One of the singer’s most famous publicity stunts was to become known as the “most painted woman in the world”. She posed for some of the greatest known artists of the day including Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Her stipulation for sitting was that she would be given the paintings to hang in her club and by this time she had accumulated thirty-three portraits of herself. Boite de Nuit became one of the trendiest night spots in Paris.

Solidor’s most famous portrait was done by Tamara de Lempicka.

Solidor met Tamara de Lempicka sometime in the early thirties and Suzy asked the artist to paint her. Tamara agreed, but only if she could paint Solidor in the nude. Solidor agreed and the rest is history…