.Modé.: October 2010

I go to art galleries once in a while. It was a habit I picked up from secondary school. At that time it was mandatory, which I hated. I got so used to visiting museums and started to enjoy it. Now I go regularly. I went to the Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond exhibition at the De Young Museum.

There were a lot of artists displayed but these are my
Top Seven*
*beware, I'm about to get all artsy geeky on you all :)

(7)
Fernand Khnopff

Portrait of Marie Monnom. (1887)

Brief Bio: Born in Belgium to a rich family. He studied Law for a bit but later dropped out and focused on being an artist. He is from the symbolist movement.

Why I like his art: The painting above reminds me of Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother by James McNeill Whistler. And I like his blurry brush strokes.

(6)
Charles Angrand

Man and Woman on the Street. (1887)

Brief Bio: French painter. He studied at the Académie de Peinture       et de Dessin in Rouen. Being a school teacher gave him financial security and allowed him to continue to paint. He normally depicted rural life. He was part of the neo-impressionism movement.

Why I like his art:: I like how he uses pointillism (meaning to paint in dots) to depict everyday ordinary life. His style of pontillism is free moving and not as rigid as the founder of the neo-imprssionism movement Georges Seurat

(5)
Georges Lemmen

Beach at Heist. (1892)

Brief Bio: Belgian neo-impressionist painter. He mainly painted landscapes and portraits.

Why I like his art: I loooove the colours he uses to express the landscape. He really sets a mood that can only be expressed by just looking at the painting.

(4)
Gustave Moreau

Orpheus. (1865)

Brief Bio: French-symbolist painter. His paintings depicted mainly biblical and mythological figures. He made over 8000 paintings, watercolours and drawings. He died at age 72.

Why I like his art: I've always been intrigued by classical art especially ones that depict mythological figures. I like the Pre-Raphaelite movement and researching him brought back these memories. I like the emotion I get in this painting which is sorrow and loss. I like the earthy tones and the composition.

(3)
Toulouse-Lautrec

La Toilette. (1889)

Brief Bio: Born into an aristocratic family. He broke his legs at a young age which caused his legs not grow properly. This made him a short man and he was pretty insecure about that. He delved into art in childhood and that was what he lived for. Due to the mockery of his stature he drank a lot, this later was one of the causes of his death in 1901.

Why I like his art: I love the roughness of his line work, it reminds me of my style. I like his uses of cross-hatching and contrast of colours in order to expose forms.

(2)
Paul Signac

Women at the Well. (1892) Portrait of Felix Feneon. (1890-91)

Brief Bio: At first he he studied architecture before he went into painting. He was incredibly inspired by Georges Seurat and begun painting in the pointillist way. Politically he was an anarchist.

Why I like his art: The people he paints aren't as stiff as the other painters in the pointillist movement. I love the pastel rich colours he uses to express his context.

(1)
Vincent Van Gogh

Portrait of the Artist. (1887)

Starry Night. (1888)

Brief Bio: Sold only one painting in his entire life. With his paintings, Van Gogh started out with dark colours but after being exposed to Japanese art he used vibrant ones. He wrote letters to his brother who financially supported him at times. He suffered depression and other mental illnesses. Apparently, he slowly died from a gunshot wound that he inflicted on himself.

Why I like his art: His brush strokes and use of colours in order to depict forms is so immediate. What I mean is if he wants blue water he will paint it blue, if he wants lights on the water reflecting he paints the water yellow. It sounds so simple but yet it is difficult to execute. He isn't afraid to use variety of colours.

Notice that I didn't have Gauguin or Cezanne. I'm not big fans of their
work. Cezanne being the one if not one the pioneers of modern art I can appreciate what he has done but I wouldn't buy his art. My problem with Gauguin is  a personal issue, (lol. Stupid I know)the fact that he abandons his wife and five kids to pursue art. Plus his paintings aren't that great. They are okay, I can appreciate them.

The latter brings me to  a question. Is it right to discredit an artist if he or she led a horrible life? If his art was incredible but yet he was a serial killer would you still want him to be celebrated? Share your thoughts!