More pictures to ponder...

[D. Allan]

Jacob Lawrence often used an unusual perspective. In the above painting the perspective is from the point of view of another person resting on the ground - thus the big feet and the big plants in the forground.

Some of the painters of the 18th century painted 'not quite realistic'ally perhaps because the lacked training - especially the American early portrait painters. Their perspective drawing is not quite on. In Joshua Johnson's painting above it looks pretty good - any deficiencies are more than made up for by the way he captures the innocence and sweetness of the eight year old child. Good paintings are always more impressive when viewed in the museum - often suprisingly so.

[D. Allan]

Romare Bearden (1911–1988)

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, the seat of Mecklenburg County, on September 2, 1911, Romare Bearden grew up in a middle-class African-American family. His parents Bessye and Howard were both college-educated, and it was expected that Romare would achieve success in life. About 1914, his family joined the Great Migration of southern blacks to points north and west. In the early twentieth century, jim crow laws kept many blacks from voting and from equal access to jobs, education, health care, business, land, and more. Like many southern black families, the Beardens settled in the Harlem section of New York City. Romare would call New York home for the rest of his life. - http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/bearden/bio1.shtm

[Amelia]

OOooo I really like that one.

[D. Allan]

Aaron Douglas completed this finished sketch in preparation for a mural he painted under WPA/FAP sponsorship for the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library in Harlem (now the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture). The four-panel series Aspects of Negro Life tracks the journey of African Americans from freedom in Africa to enslavement in the United States and from liberation after the Civil War to life in the modern city. In this study for the first panel, a man and woman in Africa dance to the beat of drums as concentric circles of light emphasize the heat and rhythm of their movements. A sculpture floating in a central circle above the dancers' heads suggests the importance of spirits in African culture.

Kansas-born Douglas was a leading member of the Harlem Renaissance, also known as the New Negro Movement, which flourished in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood during the 1920s. This period of intense creativity in the visual arts, literature, music, and dance inspired African Americans to be proud of the heritage of their race. In the early 20th century, European artists such as Pablo Picasso borrowed elements of African art for their own works. Douglas, however, was among the first African Americans to consciously incorporate African imagery, culture, and history into his art. Although he had never visited Africa, the painter was able to create this image from his imagination. It combines the influence of ancient Egyptian sculpture with the modern Art Deco style. - Art Institute of Chicago

[D. Allan]

One of the first African-American artists to achieve international acclaim, Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) welcomed a younger generation of artists into his studio to give them advice and encourage their careers. Tanner's art and example inspired the succeeding generation of African-American artists in their search for racial and artistic identity in 20th-century America.

Tanner, who spent most of his adult life working in Paris and the French countryside, became a hopeful symbol to many artists who were to contribute to the Harlem Renaissance. His artistic success and his international acclaim were an inspiration to this next generation whose art and lives were impacted by racism, modernism, and the call by African-American intellectual voices to simultaneously embrace their African heritage and Eurocentric modern art. http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/6aa/6aa360.htm

[Amelia]

It's both awesome and eerie.

[D. Allan]

Another awesome painting by the Black artist, Henry O. Tanner:

[D. Allan]

This beautiful still life is by a long-lived Texan lady.

[Amelia]

I'll say. WOW

[D. Allan]

And another beautiful still life by a lady. This one shares the abstract qualities with realism. The color is impressive.

[D. Allan]

"Born in Brooklyn in 1934. Selina Trieff studied at the Art Students League in New York in 1951 with Morris Kantor, at Brooklyn College from 1951 to 1955 with Ad Reinhardt and Mark Rothko, and in 1955 with Hans Hofmann. The pensive, introspective, character of Trieff’s work, its spirituality and its iconic format have all been attributed to the influence of abstract painter Mark Rothko. Of her early experience at Brooklyn College the artist has said “From Reinhardt and Rothko I learned that art is a philosophical exploration and that art making involves a mysterious process of self-discovery.” Selina Trieff has been painting in Provincetown since her student days with Hans Hofmann. Over the centuries, great painters have succeeded through portraiture in reflecting more than a particular face, but rather the face of the human condition. Selina's paintings of human faces evoke a profound understanding of what remains true for humans over time in a manner that is both whimsical and mysterious. Selina's somewhat autobiographical classical gold-leaf and oil portraits of human figures read paradoxically like characters on a modern stage wherein the artist, the painted archetypical figures "neither male nor female... but rather the face of the soul" and the viewer, are engaged in a riveting dialogue. Selina's portraits are allegories for our time, or any other." - Laurel Tracey Gallery

[D. Allan]

........

[Amelia]

My art teacher gave me bad grades for stuff like that.

[D. Allan]

You had a bad art teacher! :)

[D. Allan]

Here is a painting for those who like their 'realism' straight.

[Amelia]

Wow, cool

[D. Allan]

.

[D. Allan]

Description of above: Chapin, James (1887-1975) 'Sleeping Child' oil, 20x35

[D. Allan]

For this picture you must go to the artist's web page to see it since because of the copyright. This amazing painting imitates the early masters in subject matter (the descent of Christ from the cross) and rivals them in its realism. It is based on Rogier van der Weyden's painting of the same name in the Prado, in Spain.

In a modern setting and in modern dress it tells its own story - perhaps that of a studio (see the studio light on the floor?) where the model actually died ? notice the shocked, stunned look on the lady front left and the sorrow of the others. Use your imagination. Let me know what you think, please.

http://www.stevehawley.com/b01.html

There are other beautiful painting elsewhere on the same site, that I won't show here. I recommend the entire site highly.

[D. Allan]

Perhaps to revive interest in this thread some nude art would be useful. ? Anyway while you are thinking about it have a look at this beautiful beach scene. The bathers are clothed, so don't be afraid to have a peek. !!

ROFL

[Guest gem]

This one is vague, seems like the people are under the water, but the art is beautiful.

[D. Allan]

It is beautiful. I'm not sure why since it seems childish and naive. Is it the colors? The composition? the prevalence of repetitive design?

[Amelia]

[Denise]

What an amazing picture! The figures look so delicate, like they could break very easily....