Time for a different, non-political debate.
Get to know each other on a spectrum of… colour… instead of politics.
What’s the most gorgeous painting you’ve ever seen in real life?
Huh? Well, 28 Vermeer paintings are on display at the Rijks museum in Amsterdam, so that triggered me to see what you all like.
I’ll start.
Girl with the Pearl Earring.
My absolute favourite. I don’t know why.
Saw it in the Hague (but will be off to see it in Amsterdam again in March).
A close second would be Caravaggio’s The Calling of Saint Mathew (accidentally stumbled upon it in a small church in Rome… can’t even remember the name of the church. Quite near the Pantheon).
And, my third would be the Mona Lisa.
Incedibly hard to get close to. If you ever go to the Louvre, contact me, and I’ll give you a tip.
If you have a photo of it, cover her eyes.
You’ll see she’s smiling. Uncover her eyes and the smile fades. Very cool.
So, I’m wondering what you all like!
@shavixmir
Gotta be a Van Gogh. I saw the exhibition museum in Amsterdam. Probably one of his starry nights or grain fields. Hard to choose.
@moonbus saidOh, I do like Starry nights!
@shavixmir
Gotta be a Van Gogh. I saw the exhibition museum in Amsterdam. Probably one of his starry nights or grain fields. Hard to choose.
I was down in Arles a couple of Summers ago. Took photos of the cafe from one of those paintings of his.
@shavixmir saidI was able to view the Mona Lisa in the 1980s before it was behind panzerglass shielding. It is an impressive work, The technique is stunning of course, but for blaze of color I’d pick Henri Matisse, the five naked women dancing in a ring.
Oh, I do like Starry nights!
I was down in Arles a couple of Summers ago. Took photos of the cafe from one of those paintings of his.
DaVinci, there are only a few paintings, but I am most taken with the techniques of the masters in applying paint. He, Rembrandt, many of the greats, were totally involved, like their obsession with shadows and curvatures. No brush strokes, many techniques.
So when looking at ANY of their paintings, that is what I look into with my gaze. How did they do it? Is it still a secret? Here is a cool link
https://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/mona_nav/mnav_level_1/3technique_monafrm.html
And this description of the stages ...... Good stuff, Shav. Your hidden side!!
On a light ground, a sketch was drawn using one colour, with the outlines in sepia and the main shades;
– A thin underpainting was then painted, with the contours of volume;
– The final stage was the application of several glazed layers of overtones and the detail.
Over time, however, Leonardo’s dark-brown outline began, in spite of the thin layer, to show through beneath the painted image, making the painting turn darker in the shaded areas. In the main layer he often used burnt umber, yellow ochre, Prussian blue, cadmium yellow and burnt sienna. The final layer of paint that he applied was so thin that it was impossible to see with the naked eye. The sfumato (‘toning down&rsquo😉 method that he himself devised enabled him to do this with ease. The secret to it is to use a very watery paint and a dry brush.
-Removed-The Course of Empire is a series of five paintings showing the five stages of a fictional nation -- The Savage State, The Arcadian State, The Consummation of Empire, Destruction and Desolation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Course_of_Empire_(paintings)
Spanning four monumental canvases, The Voyage of Life takes viewers on a journey through Childhood, Youth, Manhood, and Old Age, presenting each stage as progress along a grand but treacherous river.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_Life
@mott-the-hoople saidYou have no idea what addiction means.
I am overwhelmed by hunter bidens artworks…the addiction just flows from them.
@shavixmir saidWikipedia says:
A close second would be Caravaggio’s The Calling of Saint Mathew (accidentally stumbled upon it in a small church in Rome… can’t even remember the name of the church. Quite near the Pantheon).
The Calling of Saint Matthew is a painting by Caravaggio, depicting the moment at which Jesus Christ inspires Matthew to follow him. It was completed in 1599–1600 for the Contarelli Chapel in the church of the French congregation, San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, where it remains. It hangs alongside two other paintings of Matthew by Caravaggio, The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (painted around the same time as the Calling) and The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (1602).
Great choice.
Kudos for this thread idea.
I was at an art museum in DC or was it Boston 🤔
People were gawking at canvas that looked like a 3 year old got into the paint and they were saying it was "art" 🙄
Meanwhile I was in awe with the giant landscape paintings with incredible detail.
I don't know any of them by name but I'm definitely a landscape kinda guy.
Some of them must have been 15 feet tall. 😳
@averagejoe1 saidnever been gone…using multiple UserIDs
Suzi is back. Gaslighting cannot be far behind.