Art F200X blog Sawyer Christiansen

      For the Baroque blog, I have chosen to write about "The Smoker" by Joos Van Craesbeek. The exact date that "The Smoker" was painted is unknown, at least to me. Some sources claim it was created in 1626, while others claim mid 1630's-ish.     Art elements: This artwork is a tronie, which is a pretty common style among Flemish baroque-era paintings. The background is divided in three vertically, with the top being blue, center being a light brown, and the bottom being a darker brown. I think that the choice to not have the background be one uniform color makes the artwork much less bland, and therefor much more appealing to the eyes. The only part that i don't like is how unnatural the smoke looks; besides the smoke the piece is very realistic.      I was immediately drawn to this painting when I saw it amongst many other tronie's because I've seen this painting in a meme before. While I can't find the meme, I think it was something to do...

      The piece of art I have chosen for my renaissance blog is "A Grotesque Old Woman", more modernly called "The Ugly Duchess" painted by Quentin Matsys.      I'm not sure awe is the correct word for what this piece of art inspires, but it certainly inspires a specific reaction in every person I've shown it to. I would describe the emotion it elicits as a mixture of surprise and disgust. Disgust at what the artist intended to be disgusting, and surprise that it was ever painted in the first place. I personally would not purchase a copy of this painting, I place very little value on artwork in my personal life, so if I were to purchase art I would probably go for something I find pretty or mesmerizing, not disgusting.     The exact reason for the creation of this piece is unknown, but the most common theories are that its a satirized depiction of women who prioritize their looks much past the age that the artist thinks they should, or t...

     The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh is, according to Wikipedia, one of the most recognizable pieces of artwork in the western world, and I've recently begun to believe that the title is well deserved. The Starry Night  was created June of 1899 during Van Gogh's stay at the Saint-R émy-de-Provence, a mental asylum that he was admitted to voluntarily after he chopped off his own ear.      I first saw The Starry Night sometime during elementary school, when a teacher had it printed out and placed on the wall for random decoration. At the time, I thought it was pretty overrated, which is an opinion I held for many pieces of art because as a child I had 0 appreciation for art in almost any form. I've since seen it like a million times since then since it's so popular, and each time it seems prettier than the last.      It started out as just another drawing of the night sky with something ominous towering on the left, which w...