Fin Ludwigs Art Explorations

 I will compare the differences between the Hudson River School artists and artists of the Pre-raphealite. By examining their landscape paintings I will point out my aesthetic preferences between the two while still acknowledging their inspirations. The first paintings are both from Hudson River School artists.     The top painting is Into Yosemite Valley  by William Keith, it was painted in 1895 on one of his many trips to Yosemite. The painting is a fantastic example of how the Hudson River School students would pick grand scenes and make them appear even grander. The small people in the image making their way up the hill add a sense of scale to the mountains in the background. This depth from the atmospheric perspective and composition allows the viewer to spend more time in the painting, almost relaxing in the awe of the landscape. The second painting by Thomas Moran titled 'Dusk Wings' was painted in 1860. This painting depicts the grandeur of a sunset as it cas...

  Clockwise from the top left;  Robert Fulton by Jean-Antoine Houdon , Colonel Guy Johnson and Karonghyonty e by Benjamin West, and The Oath Of Horatii by Jacques-Louis David. Morality in Neoclassical art      With these three pieces, you can develop an idea of the return to morality in art prominent during this time. Themes of sacrifices, leadership, and power are all at work in these pieces. These elements together inspire the viewer to take part in the moral ideals of the time. Especially seen in The Oath Of Horatii painted by Jacques-Louis David in Rome during the year 1786 where three men are agreeing to a battle to the death to settle a debate between two cities. This sacrifice was meant to stop greater bloodshed if the cities went to war and was seen as a very noble sacrifice. This narrative promotes the morals of sacrificing the individual for the good of the state, a theme that became prominent in art during this time.     In the paint...

       T his painting is titled " The Rainbow Landscape" by baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens. The work was finished in 1637 and was a way for Ruben to pay homage to the great Flemish tradition of painting landscapes. The piece celebrates the diversity of life and the position we as humans are in to rule over it. You can see this in the classic baroque style of rich colors used to create focal points around the humans, but also giving some of this richness to the animals to maintain their importance second to the humans. All of this is under a massive rainbow that breaks into 3-dimensional space as it comes out of the distant back towards the viewer. the rainbow seems to embody the riches of the land and the blessing of a good crop yield seen in the rainbow ending over the piles of what appears to be wheat.     The landscape has an interesting connection to the Council of Trent, Ruben was a convert to the catholic church and his paintings celebrate the divi...