It was with a historical painting that Edgar Degas made his Salon debut in 1865, with “The Suffering of the City of New Orleans.” The art work symbolized the suffering of the American city, which was occupied by Union troops in 1862 during the Civil War. However, the painting had not garnered any attention. This happened because, in the same exhibit, Manet’s “Olimpia” had monopolized the critics’s conversation. “The suffering of the City of New Orleans” turned out to be also his last historical work of art.

Degas’s point of view, his approach in making historical events was very theatrical. The history of the events was more as a spectacle than presenting what had really happened. However, in the mid-19th century interest in historical artworks began to diminish noticeably, because private collectors who commissioned paintings had changed their preferences.

Before giving up this art genre, Degas painted a big number of historical events between 1855 to 1865, some of them in large-format. His approach came from the painters who caught his attention, such as Dominique Ingres, Eugene Delacroix and Puvis de Chavannes. Many of his projects never left the planning stage. The most important work of this period in Degas’s life wasn’t “The Suffering of the City of New Orleans,” but rather the “Spartan Girls Challenging Boys,” painted in 1860. The artist made sixteen drawings and two oil sketches representing this historical event, before settling to one approach. Furthermore, the historical paintings betray the doubts of the artist in concerning the conflict between genre requirements and his interests. This is why Degas exhibited the painting as late as the fifth Impressionist show in 1887, and kept it in his studio throughout his life.

After passing through his historical period, Degas started to make portraits and eventually found his own unique style, which he is so famous for today, of painting dance and movement in the Impressionist style.

The name Picasso was brought to life between 1897 and 1899. This is the period when Pablo Ruiz decided to change his name. The young painter ceased to sign his paintings with the name of his father and chose to finally adopt his mother’s name. Thus, he opted not to use any of his fourteen names: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz.

The decision to use the Picasso name was thought over a long period of time. He experimented with variations of his maternal family name, by signing his drawings with “Picaz”, “Picasa”, sometimes accompanied by the undeniable nickname “Io”. The painter claimed that his father’s name was too common in Spain, and the desire of changing it came through the impulse that the exotic sounds of his mother’s name gave to him, marked by doubling the letter S. “Even the names Matisse, Poussin and Rousseau have the letter S doubled “, Picasso confessed to his photographer Brassai.

There are other speculations, as to what motivated Picasso to adopt his mother’s surname: It was said that Pablo changed his father name out of superstition. His father, also a painter, had not been successful and had a mediocre career. Thus, the young painter wanted to drive away this bad luck, once he became aware of his unmatched talent.

Whatever the reason for his choice, the name Picasso eventually became one of the most dominant in the art world, and in particular, is attributed to Cubism. The name’s destiny was to become the most important brand for twentieth-century art.

The following is a list of the top posts of the week that we’ve shared with our facebook friends on the overstockArt.com facebook page. We try and make our facebook posts informative and engaging as we love to hear what our fellow art lovin’ friends have to say about particular artists and their art. So if you have a moment, check out the overstockArt.com facebook page and share your passion for art and wall decor with us!

1. The ornate decorations of the holiday season can bring to mind the highly decorative art of Austrian Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt (1862 – 1918)?, particularly the bold and lavish works of his Golden Phase like “The Kiss”.

   The son of a gold engraver, Klimt’s work is often distinguished by elegant gold or colored decoration, by spirals and swirls. Klimt made prominent use of gold leaf in many of his paintings during his Golden Phase. These works are noted for figures (painted without shadows) which are composed of flat, highly patterned areas of decoration and which seem to radiate from the canvas. For our full gallery of Klimt’s richly decorative work, visit The Gustav Klimt Gallery.

2. Vincent Van Gogh “Starry Night” Most Popular Oil Painting in 2011 – We released our Annual Top 10 List; Van Gogh Remains Most Popular Artist in the World. For the complete list and more about the Top 10 Oil Paintings of the year go to: Our Special ArtCorner.com Announcement
3. Kymia is the Next Great Artist! – From the exciting and ever stressful season finaly emerged Kymia is the big winner of this year Bravo TV’s “Work Of Art: The Next Great Artist”. Catch the top art from the second season of Work Of Art: The Next Great Artist on overstockArt.com.
4. Living in the moment and indulging in life’s temporal pleasures were among Pierre Auguste Renoir‘s favorite themes, and he expressed them more than any other Impressionist. A renowned leader of the Impressionist movement, Renoir (1841 – 1919) enjoyed depicting his friends and lovers with expressive candor, conveying a youthful exuberance and intimate charm that suggests visions of an earthly paradise. By focusing on the ‘here and now’ of his time, these fleeting moments become relished nostalgic memories. Renoir’s portrayal of luminous color, skillfully varied brushstrokes, nuances of light and shadow all worked together to form a warm sensuality.
5. Considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art, Winslow Homer (1836-1910) excelled at illustration, oil painting and watercolors. Largely self taught, Homer worked independently of artistic convention and his body of work is prolific and varied. His idyllic farm and rural seascape scenes, many of which like “Moonlight” feature solitary figures, have become classic images of nineteenth-century American life.

   A versatile artist who displayed a wide range of subjects, styles, and mediums, Homer initially won acclaim for Civil War battlefront illustrations rendered for “Harper’s Weekly” and is best known for his works that capture the beauty and mystery of the sea, but throughout his career Homer took several working vacations that produced a vast array of images depicting the inhabitants — mostly women and children — of farmlands and coastal villages in America and on England’s North Sea.

6. Born last week in 1886 (d.1957), Mexican artist Diego Rivera rose to legendary status in his own lifetime. As famous for his tempestuous personal life and provocative political stance as he was for his larger-than-life murals, Rivera enjoyed international renown during his artistic career, but since his death a continued tendency to focus on the details of his life and his controversial politics often takes precedence over appreciation of his artistry. “Nude with Calla Lilies” is a stunning reminder of Rivera’s ability to masterfully present universal images and ideas in his art.

   While Rivera’s overall accomplishments as an artist are often overshadowed by the searing social and political commentary found in much of his work, his artistic legacy has also been further eclipsed in the last half century by a growing appreciation of and interest in the works of his wife and fellow artist Frida Kahlo. Yet Rivera’s artwork, created for the masses, continues to hold mass appeal. Discover the art of Diego Rivera, or marvel again at his artistry, by browsing our collection of his work.

7. “No art is less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and the study of the great masters.” -Edgar Degas

   Given his playful subject matter, it can difficult to reconcile with the above Degas’ quote with what we know of the artist’s work. Furthermore, Degas’ reputation as one of the founders of Impressionism – a style that was all about movement, and that many considered bohemian—lends to the idea that he painted any random dancing scene that happened to strike his fancy. Most people are not aware of the fact that Degas was a renowned draughtsman, and considered himself more of a Realist than an Impressionist.

   Degas’ earliest works were conventional historical paintings, but he is of course best known for his paintings and sculptures of dancers. He was taken with dancers because their grace and movement offered him an artistic challenge, and so he applied his academic artistry to their depiction. In an attempt to create prefect ballet scenes, Degas painted them repeatedly; dancers now account for more than half of his oeuvre.

   Visit our entire hand painted Edgar Degas collection.

8. Using form and color, Georgia O’Keeffe (1887 – 1986) created organic compositions both intimate and dramatic. The swirling forms in “From the Lake I” capture attention and draw the viewer in, while the blues and turquoise impart a contrasting calm. Make a dramatic difference in your décor — enliven your home with the contained energy of O’Keeffe’s “From the Lake I”.

   O’Keeffe developed a compelling personal style, and her abstract representations of the beauty of the American landscape are among the most innovative works produced by American artists in the early part of the 20th century.

   Browse our entire Georgia O’Keeffe collection.

9. Very little is known about the life of Johannes Vermeer, which only adds to the intrigue of the unnamed subject of his masterpiece, “Girl with a Pearl Earring.”

   Vermeer (1632 – 1675) was baptized as “Joannis,” but he is also called “Jan” or “Johan,” depending on the source. He lived his entire life in the Dutch town of Delft, where he was both an art dealer and a painter. Vermeer’s work was well-regarded in his hometown, but a local patron commissioned many of his paintings, and Vermeer’s otherwise limited oeuvre prevented him from gaining wider fame. When painting, he worked slowly, and with great care, and scholars have determined that most of his works are set in the rooms of his home at Delft.

   That the subject of “Girl with a Pearl Earring” may have been invited into the artist’s home is one of many factors contributing to the painting’s mystery. Romantics speculate that the girl is a lover of Vermeer’s – a theory supported in part by the intimacy of her gaze. More pragmatic hypotheses suggest the girl is merely a model, and that the painting is a “tronie” – a popular genre that focused on facial expressions, rather than creating a recognizable portrait. Whatever Vermeer’s motivation, there’s no denying he created a classic.

10. Painted in 1869, Monet’s “Thunderstorm” depicts the view from his family’s coast-side retreat in Normandy, France. Stormy landscapes were far from Monet’s vernacular at this point in his career. This painting in particular is noted for Monet’s use of pale and luminous colors in the context of a fleeting state of nature. And, though “Thunderstorm” was met with criticism by the art salons of Paris, is seen as an achievement given Monet’s personal challenge to stray from his normally bright palettes and sunnier scenes. But Monet’s foray into gloomier subjects was never complete, as amidst this corner of thunderous landscape he renders a small boat romantically floating on the water – a sweet and wonderful detail to appreciate.
11. Gustav Klimt’s richly colored and elaborately detailed “The Tree of Life” has become an iconic representation of the timeless themes of love and life, but while many may consider the work appropriate for the living room or bedroom, Klimt created the original work to adorn a dining room.

    Klimt created “The Tree of Life” as a three part mosaic for the dining room of industrialist Adolphe Stoclet’s palatial home in Brussels. Made of marble and adorned with precious stones and gold enamel, the original work would have provided quite the conversation piece for Stoclet’s dinner guests!

12. Gustav Klimt’s “Water Serpent” series contains his signature elements: highly ornamental areas, dazzling gold tones, and an erotic jolt involving a female subject. Klimt (1862 – 1918) rose from poverty to great significance in the Viennese Secession and Art Nouveau movement. Over the course of his career, he produced works depicting regeneration, love, death and explicit sensuality, embedded with symbols emphasizing the freedom of art from traditional culture. Gustav Klimt Paintings‘s are a lavish palette of Egyptian, Classical Greek, Byzantine and Medieval styles.

    Visit the complete Gustav Klimt Gallery to view more of the artist’s muses.

13. The relationship between Vincent Van Gogh’s art and his madness will always be debated, but Van Gogh may have expressed it best himself: “I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.” Although he suffered ongoing attacks (likely caused, at least in part, by epilepsy) van Gogh produced many of his most powerful works during his one year stay at an asylum in Saint-Remy, France. Capturing the life force inherent in nature, “The Mulberry Tree” is a striking example of van Gogh’s output while in voluntary confinement at the asylum.

    Seemingly at the height of his artistic ability, Van Gogh’s stay in Saint-Remy proved to be one of the most productive periods of his career; tragically, the paintings produced were among his last — he took his own life just months after leaving the asylum. Exhibitions following his death finally brought van Gogh’s work the fame he never received during his life. An inspiration for the Expressionists, a continuing influence on generations of artists, van Gogh created a lasting legacy as one of the most acclaimed artistic geniuses of the modern era.

This is it! We hope you will continue to enjoy reading our ArtCorner blog and come join us on facebook for more artistic discussions!

I once knew a man who loved nature. When he was young, he used to climb mountains. Alpinism was his passion. The top of the world was the place where he could find peace, where it was quiet, away from the annoying sounds of the city. As he grew older, he got married and had children. Time passed before him and soon he felt the desire to be in the middle of the nature once more. He didn’t have time or money to climb mountains anymore. So in the middle of the city, in the little garden in front of his flat he set a tent.

Some people feel the nature so ardent in their soul that they transform the environment around them, so they could feel peace once again. Claude Monet painted nature, but at the end of his life he wanted to be inserted in it as in a dream. He brought nature to his home, by building a paradise garden at Giverny. Monet builds, this way, a live canvas made by the painter’s artistic fantasy. He managed to perfectly harmonize with his painting a real and physically place, developing the naturally topic drawn before actually settling it on canvas. This operation is directed towards the continuous search of merger with the beauty and untouched nature.

At the beginning of May 1883, Monet and his family rented a house situated near the road between the towns of Vernon and Gasny. He transformed the barn into a painting studio. The beautiful landscape gave Monet suitable motifs for his paintings. During the 1890s, Monet built a greenhouse and a second studio. A spacious building well lit with skylights. At the end of 1890 he could buy this property, when his dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel had been increasing success in selling his paintings. Then in 1893 he bought a plot on the South border of the property, where, after getting the authorization, he created the famous water garden with the floating water lilies, irises, willow trees and carob tree planted around. After the garden had been accomplished, it was extended in 1901. Monet had proven a tremendous care for the flower beds and hedges, and the choice of plant species: anemones, irises, poppies and climber roses. Monet was able, by methods he only knew, to grow in the garden many exotic plants from Mexico or China. He wrote daily instructions to his gardener, precise designs and layouts for plantings, and invoices for his floral purchases and his collection of botany books.

His live opera had become the meeting point for the artist’s friends, many of his admirers and nature passionate. With time the garden was transformed into a chromatic combination scattered on several paintings: Artist’s Garden at Giverny, Garden Path at Giverny, The Japanese Bridge, Blutentore in Giverny and the famous series of the Water Lilies.

Thus, the real and final meaning of “en plain air” painting finds full realization in the choice of doing a work, transformed into a harmonious and pictorially place. Therefore, his vision of nature was converted into reality in order to be transferred on canvas.

The art critic Arsene Alexandre wrote in “Le Figaro” newspaper that the artist included in the garden “all the colors of a palette and the tones of a fanfare.” The Giverny place is a “new and unusual show, unexpected as all major surprises.” Marcel Proust described the garden as “a really artistic implementation, more than a model for works, a painted already completed, which glows in the eyes of a great painter.”

The online art gallery, overstockArt.com, revealed today its annual Top 10 Oil Paintings rankings for 2011. Topping the list is Vincent van Gogh’s masterpiece, “Starry Night.” Other artists named on the 2011 list include Salvador Dali, Wassily Kandinsky, Gustav Klimt, Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso.

Van Gogh had a spectacular year with his art taking the top three spots in overstockArt.com’s annual list of the top best-selling oil paintings of the year. “Starry Night” is back to reign supreme as the most popular oil painting of 2011 after a short relinquishment of the title to another of the artist’s masterpieces, “Branches of an Almond Tree in Blossom” in 2010.

The top 10 oil paintings sold online in 2011 according to overstockArt.com’s statistics are:

1. “Starry Night” – Vincent van Gogh
2. “Café Terrace at Night” – Vincent van Gogh
3. “Branches of an Almond Tree in Blossom” – Vincent van Gogh
4. “The Kiss” – Gustav Klimt
5. “Garden Path at Giverny” – Claude Monet
6. “Poppy Field at Argenteuil” – Claude Monet
7. “The Dream” – Pablo Picasso
8. “Farbstudie Quadrate” – Wassily Kandinsky
9. “Persistence of Memory” – Salvador Dali
10. “The Old Guitarist” – Pablo Picasso

“Van Gogh consistently remains the most popular artist in the world,” said David Sasson, CEO of overstockArt.com. “While ‘Starry Night’ and ‘Café Terrace at Night’ have been staples on our top 10 lists throughout the years, we credit the continued popularity of ‘Branches of an Almond Tree in Blossom’ to the unique interpretations of the painting we introduced last year.” In 2010, overstockArt.com debuted several renditions of the painting featuring different colored backgrounds. The online art gallery trademarked the red rendition, which according to Sasson, was an instantaneous best-seller and remains one of the gallery’s most popular paintings.

Picasso has two oil paintings in the Top 10, a testament to the wonderful year he had in the limelight as his art was featured in museums across the United States and has been stolen and recovered several times throughout 2011 alone. In addition to commissioning thieves to try and steal a Picasso, private collectors have given Picasso art the highest bids in auction in 2011 and his mass appeal has been fueled by international press coverage.

Woody Allen’s film, “Midnight in Paris,” has given the artists of the roaring Paris scene in the 1920′s a surge that is visible in the year’s top 10 list: Dali, Picasso, Monet and even Kandinsky are all mentioned in the film and aptly included in this year’s Top 10.

The Top 10 list is released annually due to popular demand, “Consumers and companies strive to keep up with the latest interior décor trends to maintain a modern appeal,” said Sasson. “Just like they care about Pantone’s annual ‘it’ color, they want to know what décor accessories are hot. Our annual top 10 list makes it easy for consumers to stay on top of the trends and find out which oil paintings are most desirable in the marketplace.”

In 2011 overstockArt.com sold more than 60,000 oil paintings. They are one of the web’s most notable distributors of wall décor items with the most comprehensive selection of hand painted reproduction oil paintings, frames, and ceramic art tiles to choose from in the online decor industry.

Do not let thoughts to intervene in the way of creation, do not think, but simply spread on the canvas as you feel, as if your hand would hold the brush like a robot controlled from another dimension. As if the mind is turned off, you are carried away through the world of colors, and the end is seen as waking up to reality.

When you awake, you then look at your canvas and see the creation of a man who was not present, and all that is left are his feeling’s on canvas. This is a characterization of what Henri Matisse accomplished; the artist himself describes his manner of painting as, “you have to offer yourself up in all purity and innocence, almost cleared of memory, like a communicant going to communion.”

If Frida Kahlo restored feelings of anger, grief and despair on canvas, Matisse tried to create a world setting in which sufferers can be relieved from their pain, and how else than making paintings from his soul: “I am after an art of equilibrium and purity, an art that neither unsettles nor confuses. I would like people who are weary, stressed and broken to find peace and tranquility as they look at my pictures,” said Matisse in his memoirs.

His paintings are not complicated. They do not require any special knowledge of art in order to be understood. This was also the artist’s desire. He wanted to empathize with sufferers by showing them a bohemian world, free from the daily hardships, where they can find refuge. And this he certainly succeeds by minimizing the human figure.

It is all summarized in the contour of the character, which is surrounded by bright colors, pleasing to the eye. These colors give you a sense of freedom. Such an example is the famous painting “La Dance,” made in 1909, that stands now on the Museum of Modern Art’s wall, in New York. The choice of colors has its forerunner in Persian ceramics and miniatures which, until the 13th century, often used pure reds, greens and blues in creating ornamental surfaces. In fact, the oriental style will be present in his paintings throughout his life. However, the explosion of color is what highlightened Matisse as an artist. His trademark is the combination of bright colors next to the strong black outline of the characters.

Matisse clearly explains why he chose to represent such characters: “My models are human figures, not simply extras in some interior. They are the major subject of my work. Their forms may not be perfect, but they are always expressive.” Matisse explains how the simple contour of the bodies awakened in him an emotional interest. Therefore, they do not need to be very visible. The people are often seen in lines or particular values distributed on the entire canvas.

This presentation becomes a sort of orchestral or architectonic extension of the theme in the artist’s eyes. The minimalism is taken to extremes to preserve feelings, it is Matisse’s explanation: “What really concerns me above all else, is expression.” He pursuits for the expression not to be a passion we see on a face, but to be located in the entire painting. The position of the characters, the spaces that he left empty, the proportions, they all made a whole, and if you extract one of them, the painting is left without value.

The still-life is a constant part of Matisse’s art. In addition to human figures, still-life completes the big picture that the artist makes through his paintings in search of the peaceful world that alleviates the suffering. The artist explains that nature is part of human, and Man is part of Nature, and both are linked to the entire Universe.

“Still Life with Oranges” is one of Matisse’s famous paintings. Picasso himself bought it in 1944 out of a private collection. Oranges are often to be found in Matisse’s work. Therefore, Guillaume Apollinaire remarked: “If Matisse’s work can be compared to anything, then to an orange. Like the orange, Henri Matisse’s paintings are the fruit of dazzling light.” However, the artist didn’t copy the objects, because he considered that this type of painting is not art. “What counts is to express the emotion they call forth in you, the feeling they awaken, the relation they established between the objects…”

This is the proof that Matisse was looking for feelings even in still art, in order to give peace to the viewer.