Wednesday, March 19, 2014

A Glimpse Through French And Russian-French Paintings

By Darren Hartley


Matisse paintings began as still-lives and landscapes in the traditional Flemish style with reasonable proficiency. Henri-Emile-Benoit Matisse was a French artist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor, primarily known as a painter.

The early Matisse paintings tended towards the gloomy, due to the fact that Henri used a dark palette in accomplishing them. It was a rebellious reputation that his first contemporary art experimentations garnered.

It was between 1897 and 1898 that Matisse paintings took a complete change of style with their introduction to Impressionism. The first masterpiece among the Matisse paintings was The Dinner Table, completed in 1897. It was considered radical with its impressionist aspects at the time.

Henri's rebellious talents were displayed in Matisse paintings by 1899. They, however, did not have a clear direction. Sculpture became the discipline Henri turned to when he got stuck with his paintings. Sculpture helped Henri organize his thoughts and sensations.

Matisse paintings made color a crucial element, influenced by the works of the post-impressionists and Japanese art. They reconstructed Henri's own philosophy of still life, stretching it to a forced contemplation of the color surfaces, patterned to Paul Cezanne's fragmented planes.

Adopted from Signac, the Matisse paintings made use of the pointillist technique from 1899 to 1905. Showing a brief movement back to naturalism, they again utilized dark palettes in 1902-03.

The early Marc Chagall paintings showed fabulous and metaphoric images on everyday life as exemplified in Birth, The Deal and A Holy Family. Marc Zakharovich Chagall was a Russian-French artist referred to as the quintessential Jewish artist of the 20th century.

There was a demonstration of a perfect feeling for colors and a mastery of the Fauvism methods in Marc Chagall paintings. They also exemplified a mastery of new trends and tendencies. Among these new trends are Cubism, Futurism and Orphism. They were however reshaped in the Marc way. This reshaping is clearly shown in The Violinist, To My Betrothed, Golgotha and Paris Through the Window.

Marc Chagall paintings that are filled with love and nostalgia included The Pinch of Snuff, The Cattle Dealer and I and the Village. During the First World War, the Marc Chagall paintings became very multifaceted, immersed in nostalgia and represented everyday life.

Window at the Dacha, War, Red Jew, Feast of the Tabernacles, Birthday, Pink Lovers, The Promenade and Bella with White Collar were some of the Marc Chagall paintings exhibited during this period in Marc's life.

War reflected human grief and hardships of war. Red Jew and Feast of the Tabernacles were strongly religious Marc Chagall paintings resulting from intensification of the Jewish persecution. The last 4 Marc Chagall paintings were lyrical works filled with love towards a woman named Bella.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment