Sunflowers

This post will be about Vincent Van Gogh's painting, Sunflowers. This painting is part of a series done by Vincent. This one was done in 1888.

One of the first irregularities that I notice is the fact that his signature is on the vase itself, not in the corner as it usually is done. I also notice that all of the flowers are different. It must have been difficult to do this if he didn't have actual flowers standing in front of him. The one flower I find strange is the one on the far left, which is drawn backwards. There are brown parts on the green. I honestly don't know what the back of a sunflower looks like, but I wouldn't have drawn it with brown spots on it.

Another thing that draws my attention is the wall on the left. It has a strange white area, drawn in a graph-like way. Once again, it makes me wonder what that is. Maybe it is the way the light is falling on the wall and that's Van Gogh's way of drawing it. Maybe not.

I also find it peculiar that the flowers in the bottom part are all... not the standard sunflower. I usually imagine a sunflower to look more like the ones on the top part of the picture, with all their petals.

Young Girl with Long Hair or Young Girl in a Straw Hat

This is Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Young Girl with Long Hair or Young Girl in a Straw Hat, painted in 1884. It is located in the Galerie Daniel Malingue, in Paris, France.

Since I didn't find any information on the piece, you're going to have to read my opinion and my opinion only. One of the first things I notice about the painting is that the girl's surroundings, hat, and hair are all done in very noticable, separate strokes of the paintbrush. Her face, on the other hand, blends together a lot better. Perhaps this is simply an illusion because her face is a much lighter color than everything else. Another thing that I notice is the background. It's a little multi-colored, which makes me try to figure out what it is. Because of the way it is blurry, I doubt it's some sort of wall covering or fabric.

One of the other things that are very noticable is the lady's hair. It's a very bright color, which is very rarely seen.

Another thing that I have noticed, especially about Renoir's paintings, is that it is always called exactly what is drawn. On the other hand, in literature for example, books are often titled something that makes you interested to find out more, but when you hear the name Young Girl with Long Hair or Young Girl with Daisies, you know exactly what is going to be on the picture.

Chekhov's "The Bear"

Today, I'll be writing about A.P. Chekhov's "The Bear." Soon, I will be participating in a play of this piece, and I suppose writing is a part of the arts, so this works...

The basic story is that Elena Popova, a young widow, had been in mourning for 7 months after her husband died. A young man (a single man), shows up at her house, and tells her that her husband was in debt and requests that she pay him immediately. She doesn't have the money, so she states that he must wait until the day after tomorrow, when her servant will return from the city with some money. He cannot wait, since he must pay taxes the next day. They continue to argue, and (obviously) she gets mad and starts to treat him in less polite ways. He challenges her to a duel, and she agrees. While Popova goes to get her husband's guns, Smirnov, the man, realizes how great a woman Popova is. He immediately falls in love with her. (Obviously, the duel is cancelled.) She also falls in love with him.

For the readers who are not happy enough with my summary, an English version can be found at http://method.vtheatre.net/doc/bear.html

I find it very interesting that Popova is able to change her mind so quickly. In the beginning, she is sure that she will never betray her husband, talks about how he was unfair to her, and how she will stay loyal to him. As soon as Smirnov arrives, she begins to change her mind. She falls in love with him much faster than she actually admits it or shows it, in my opinion. I think that she actually exaggerates how unloyal her husband was to her, only to get Smirnov to like her more. Smirnov also promised himself 5 years ago that he would not fall in love again, since he had been in 3 duels over women, he dumped 12 women, 9 dumped him. He was still able to easily fall in love with Popova.

Also, Smirnov and Popova are very different. Smirnov used to be an army commander, Popova... wasn't. I suppose it's true what they say about opposites attracting...

I'll post...

I should probably post about some more... serious art than Garfield. It might just take me a while to find something.

Garfield!

Let's see... I don't want to post about any real art, so it'll be Garfield comic strips for today.

Now I just need a good excuse for not "realy" art... GOT ONE!

We didn't go to any museum, therefore, I didn't see any art, therefore, I cannot write about any art since I "don't geet enough feeling and emotions if a I stare at it from a computer screen." Man, I'm good.

Now for the commenting.

The only thing I can really say, doesn't that guy who draws them get tired of the same characters all the time?

Change... sort of

Originally, this was "a blog about art." Now I made it "a blog about the arts," which means that I can make my own life easier and write about dance and stuff like that, not just drawings.

Cartier

Over the weekend, we visited the Legion of Honor to see the "Cartier and America" exhibit.

I just don't understand how it's possible to create such wonderful works of art. They are so small, yet they make a big statement when you show up wearing a Cartier diamond tiara.

I can't imagine how hard it is to make these precious pieces of jewelry. You must be so careful to place the diamond perfectly, most likely it's very difficult to take it out of the metal to reset it. You must be careful not a drop the diamond under your table, where you won't be able to retrieve it until some cleaning lady finds it... and keeps it for herself (finders keepers).

There were several "mystery" clocks, and it appeared as though the hands of the clock were floating in mid-air.

Many of the jewelry pieces on display were made for or purchased by Marjorie Merriweather Post, who was heiress of the Post Cereal Empire at the time the jewelry was created for her. She gradually became the richest woman in America. To me, it seems a little strange, that a cereal company owner would be so rich. Cereal is something that isn't all that expensive, and I can't quite imagine a cereal lady owning as many jewels as there were belonging to her.

Another aspect of Cartier in America that surprised me was the condition of all the pieces on display. Many of them are about 70 years old, some older, and they are in perfectly fine condition. Of course, one doesn't wear diamond, ruby, and emerald pendant every day of the year, but I would imagine them to be in worse condition.

The Russian Bride's Attire

This piece of art is probably my favorite at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.

What surprises me the most in this picture is everybody's look. The eyes are drawn in such a natural way!

Another attribute of this image is its size. It's enormous and covers almost the entire wall it hangs on. It's a stunning 110 x 147 inches (279.4 x 373.4 cm).

This painting, by the Russian artist Konstantin Makovsky, was painted in 1887 according to the museum, but some sources say that 1889 was the date of completion.

But there's a trick to this painting. There are at least two versions of this painting. There's the large version, which is located in the Legion of Honor, and there is another one. It was done in 1884 and is significantly smaller, at 92 х 145 cm. This one is located in a museum in the city of Serpukhov, close to Moscow, in Russia.

Take a close look at the image on the left, and the one on the right.(they can be enlarged by clicking on the image) Can you find the differences?

In the one on the left, in the left corner of the room, there are two ladies, one of them facing the wall, so her back is toward you. In the other picture , there is one lady with a headdress that is most likely going to be put on the bride.

Also, in the image at the Legion of Honor, in the top left corner, the chandalier is covering the entire object on the shelf (an icon?) and in the other, most of the icon can be seen.

I haven't found any reason or explanation for the two versions. Perhaps one of them was simply a "rough draft." I could, of course, make up a crazy story about how one version was lost, then recreated, then found, but that would be lying, and lying's not good...

First Post!!!

In this blog, I'll be posting daily* about art. I'll try not to make it boring and choose art worth writing about. (I won't write about my 3rd grade replica of Starry Night)



*maybe not so daily... I've noticed some blog writers have difficulty posting every day, so I won't set my goals too high.