Alex Explores Art

  Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons .     Jan van Eyck's  Arnolfini Portrait  was painted in 1434. It is believed to depict Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife at their residence in the Flemish city of Bruges. Van Eyck lived and worked in Bruges from 1432 until his death in 1441, so it is likely this portrait was created or at least planned on-site at the residence. As with many painters during the Northern Renaissance period, Van Eyck used oil as his medium, allowing him to use layers of wet paint and translucent glaze in order to add the subtle variations in color and tone that bring this work to life.      In her biography on Van Eyck for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Susan Jones says, "His artistic prestige rests partly on his unrivaled skill in pictorial illusionism. [. . .] Van Eyck’s ability to manipulate the properties of the oil medium played a crucial role in the realization of such effects." Humanism   ...

Image courtesy of Tutt'Art .      Georgy Kurasov's Stargazer  (2016) liberally employs the whole gamut of visual elements, making it the perfect subject for this analysis.      Kurasov, born in 1959, is a contemporary Russian painter who lives in St. Petersburg, where this painting was most likely made. Supplemental information about the artist is sparsely available, but his own website provides a short biography offering some insight into his work. Growing up in Leningrad in the USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia), the clashing architectural styles within the city struck Kurasov as irrational. This backdrop likely served to inspire his unique style of cubism. He began to pursue art at a young age, but because he had little understanding of color he became a sculptor instead. Kurasov didn't begin his career as a painter until the late 1980s.      Let's examine how Kurasov blends the different elements of art to provoke the wildly contrasti...

    Greetings my fellow ARTF200X students. Welcome to my art blog. I'm Alex and I live in Valdez where I enjoy exploring nature, writing fiction, and making videos. I work as a caregiver for a non-profit, which has given me the opportunity to make friends with some wonderful people. My greatest passion is for writing, but I intend to pursue a practical career in filmmaking as a cinematographer or editor. You are welcome to check out my YouTube channel if you'd like to see some of what I've been up to. Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons .      Circe Invidiosa by John William Waterhouse depicts one of my favorite Greek myths. Wisely, I think, Waterhouse chose to focus on Circe's profound jealousy rather than Scylla's transformation, evoking an emotional response over making a spectacle. Waterhouse, alongside other painters associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood are among my favorites for their expressive details. You can learn more about t...