The Kiss has become one of the most popular paintings in the world and is Austrian artist Gustav Klimt’s most famous painting. The Kiss Painting shows off Klimt’s best known style of gold shades and symbolic additions, and it is this that has made his work so popular with modern art lovers who prefer something uplifting to add to their homes.

The glowing themes of The Kiss painting by Klimt showed lovers intertwined into one being, symbolizing the strength of this bond. Some art traditionalists rejected this for its use of eroticism, but others found it refreshing.
Gustav Klimt’s popularity and appeal across Europe with more modern-thinking art lovers helped him to sway the seas of discontent that erupted from the erotic nature of many of his paintings. His prominent role in the Viennese Society and links to several galleries and museums across Austria helped him to continue his style. Klimt fans loved his use of golden backgrounds, intensive colors & ornamental layouts.
(more…)

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
– Albert Einstein

The value of creativity has been discussed by many business visionaries. Michael Dell said, “It’s through curiosity and looking at opportunities in new ways that we’ve always mapped our path at Dell.” Bill Gates said “I’ve always been an optimist and I suppose that is rooted in my belief that the power of creativity and intelligence can make the world a better place.”

Leaders often place a value on “thinking out of the box.” But if creativity is so important why do large and small companies often leave it to chance?

The development of creativity in your organization should be approached with conscious intent. You need to create an atmosphere that fosters creativity. Many organizations have gray cubicles, bare walls, bland conference rooms, and semi-isolated employees working in small areas covered by creativity-reducing colors, visions and sounds. How can we expect people in this environment to think creatively for our organizations?

So what can companies do to improve this most critical element called creativity? It is amazing how much can be done with a relatively small investment.

• Replace standard corporate posters in conference rooms, hallways and offices with beautiful oil paintings. Hand-painted reproductions of great masters such as Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and Klimt.
• Invest in a simple sound system that plays classical music. If this is inappropriate in some work zones, designate break rooms and conference rooms for music. A study by the University of California, Irvine demonstrated that IQ scores rise significantly (although temporarily) when subjects are tested while listening to Mozart.
• Designate a room a company “thinking room.” Place small toys, crayons, markers and paper in the room. Let employees express themselves in this room a few times a day. You can even have a mandatory “10 minutes thinking time.”

The ability to think creatively should not be the sole responsibility of the leader or CEO of the business. This function could be shared by all and by doing so increase the productivity of any company. The three steps listed above are simple to take and require a relatively small investment. It’s vitally important to enjoy this process and let your own creativity dictate the application of these steps.

The fashion community, Polyvore, which is a site that lets you mix and match products from any online store to create outfits or any kind of collage, created a great collage that focuses around the Amadeo Modigliani painting – Woman with a Hat:

I love the way this collage was mixed and matched with fashion items and all to emphasize the color scheme that the oil painting can go oh so well with…

In 1937 During the Spanish Civil War; the Fascists devastated the peaceful town of Guernica with aerial bombings executed by the Natzi Luftwaffe.

Picasso’s painting the Guernica, was his reaction to the tragedy.

The following is an amazingly detailed 3D representation of the painting, an amazing work by Lena Gieseke:

I had the pleasure of visiting the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid this summer, the home of the Guernica. It was one of the most amazing and heartfelt encounters I have ever had with a piece of art. The massive scale and the vivid terror the painting entrenches over you are hard to describe.

The prestigious auction house Sotheby’s in its last Impressionist & Modern Art Sale has seen an awakening of the international art collectors market.

“It is a real shot in the arm for the art market…” says Simon Shaw, Director of Impressionist & Modern Art for Sotherby’s New York. “There is great apettite out there for the right works as long as they are estimated at an attractive level…”
(more…)

The popular online art gallery, overstockArt.com, revealed today the annual Top 10 Oil Paintings rankings for 2009. Topping the list is Vincent van Gogh’s irrefutable magnum opus, Starry Night.

Van Gogh’s Starry Night reclaims its title as the world’s most popular oil painting a year after Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss snatched the title away. According to overstockArt.com’s statistics, van Gogh has the top two most popular oil paintings in the world, with Starry Night in first place and Café Terrace at Night in second. “Van Gogh consistently remains the most popular artist in the world, his total sales numbers have left everyone well behind,” said David Sasson, CEO of overstockArt.com.

The top oil paintings sold online according to overstockArt.com are:

TOP SELLING OIL PAINTINGS Most popular art on the plannet:   courtesy of overstockArt.com © 2009 All Rights Reserved

RANK ARTIST MASTERPIECE #1 Vincent Van Gogh Starry Nightt #2 Vincent Van Gogh Cafe Terrace at Night #3 Gustav Klimt The Kiss #4 Claude Monet Poppy Field at Argenteuil #5 Pierre Auguste Renoir Luncheon of the Boating Party #6 Claude Monet Garden Path at Giverny #7 Pablo Picasso The Rest #8 Georgia O'Keeffe Red Cannas #9 Wassily Kandinsky Farbstudie Quadrate (Color Study of Squares) #10 Pablo Picasso The Dream

According to Sasson, the Top 10 list is released annually due to popular demand. “A lot of people want to know what’s selling best because it helps them stay up to speed with the latest trends and allows them to know which paintings are the hippest and most desirable on the market.”

“In the business world especially, where image is everything, many companies strive to keep up with the latest interior décor trends to maintain a modern appeal that will impress customers and clients,” said Sasson.

Van Gogh’s masterpiece, Starry Night, was created in 1889. To celebrate the 120th anniversary of the creation, overstockArt.com developed a special rendition of the masterpiece in deep oil paint. This special version of Starry Night was created by overstockArt.com over the course of a year, it took seven months to dry and weighs over 18 pounds. This distinctive one-of-a-kind 36″ X 48″ reproduction of Starry Night is available to purchase for $2,458. The conventional 20″ X 24″ reproduction is $119.

In 2009 overstockArt.com sold more than 45,000 oil paintings. They are one of the Web’s most successful distributors of wall décor items with over 10,000 daily visitors and 100,000 loyal customers.