The Dance Class

“The Dance Class” by Edgar Degas

(Edgar Degas. The Dance Class. http://www.nga.gov/feature/artnation/degas/dancinglife_2.shtm)

Edgar Degas.
The Dance Class.
85 x 75 cm
c. 1873-1876
Oil on canvas,
Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Since the beginning of the class of Impressionism I was fascinated with the interpretation that our professor Charlie told us. The impressionist paintings really looks like memories that we hold on our head, and the may be not clear, but they are still there.

For me, most of the paintings that I have seen, give me like a warm and cold sensation; when I saw them I felt the warm of the act of remembering, but superficially, I feel like in the moment that the picture was being painting, there was cold weather in that place, and that looks like in a lot of paintings, but not all of them. Maybe they seem like that just in Monet’s works.

I chose this image because the dance is a very important activity in my life. Also ballet is one of the infinite creative ways to express art, feelings and emotions.
One other thing about the reason why I chose this painting is because when I saw impressionist paintings I also saw movement, a soft but a notice movement. So if we are talking about impressionism, that for me means memories, movement and smoothness, we are talking of ballet dances too. That’s my opinion.

To represent this painting I wanted to do like a live ballet studio, with a ballet dancer on it. I don’t have it all finish, but I have some advances.

Classic Dance is a way to escape of the hard life and remember those times.

Bibliography:
- Breve Historia del Arte. Impresionismo. Consulted on November 09th 2009. Available on: http://www.spanisharts.com/history/del_impres_s.XX/impresionismo/impresionismo_degas.html
- National Gallery of dance. The dance lesson. Consulted on November 09th 2009. Available on: http://www.nga.gov/feature/artnation/degas/dancinglife_2.shtm

"Adam and Eve" by Lucas Cranach

“Adam and Eve”.

(“Adam and Eve”. Art and the Bible Website. Consulted on Monday October 5th, 2009. Available at: http://www.artbible.info/art/large/517.html)

Classification:

Name of the work: “Adam and Eve”
Name of the Author: Lucas Cranach “The Elder” (1472 – 1553)
Period: 1533
Place where the work is at: Gemäldegalerie der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin
Technique: Oil on panel
Size: 47 x 35 cm
(“Adam and Eve”. Art and the Bible Website. Consulted on Monday October 5th, 2009. Available at: http://www.artbible.info/art/large/517.html)

Analysis:

Color: Secondary and gradations and mixtures of these colors.
Paleta: Warm
Application: Tinted
Composition: Balanced
Type of line: Pictorial
Perspective: By contrast
Lighting: Constant
Theme: Religious
Principles: Emphasis

Specific characteristics of the work:

This is a painting by Lucas Cranach. In the painting we can see a lion and a deer on the sides of two humans; one woman and one man. This two naked people are holding an apple, that was given by the snake that holds on the tree. This is a typical and famous image nowadays because it was a symbol of the catholic religion.

What is so especial and unique about this work of art?

The painting represents the exact moment where the human is condemned to live in the real world, not in paradise anymore. In other words, the painting represents the saint, as it is said in Genesis 3:6: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 3. Art and the Bible Website)

Relevant events of the context:

During that time Europe was beginning to send explorers all over the world, in hopes of finding wealth and trade routes to other countries, this period of time was known as the age of exploration. Europe was in the beginning years of the reformation, and in the middle years of the renaissance. (Michael Sakowski. What Happened Between 1500-1600. School in your home.com)The reformation started in 1517 when the German priest Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses against the Catholic Church’s abuse of money and power to a church door in Germany. This caused thousands of people to convert from a primarily Catholic to a primarily Protestant religion. But still, there were countries where the religion was so strong, and it was represented in sculptures, paintings and buildings. (Michael Sakowski. What Happened Between 1500-1600. School in your home.com)

During the Renaissance people were becoming more educated, more books were being made with the help of Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in 1444. Technology was becoming more advanced and people were able to invent better weapons and armor. The richer people had more money to spend on paintings by people like Michelangelo and Leonardo de Vinci. (Michael Sakowski. What Happened Between 1500-1600. School in your home.com)
Reflection: Relationship between the context and the work:

This painting reflects the ideology of that time, because everything was about the religion, God, the Virgin Mary, and in this case, the sin. There were two kinds of people in that time, the good and pacific ones, and the sinner. The painting obviously wanted to reflect the sin, the reason of being here, down earth, and not with God. The reason of your dirty soul and for that you need to confess and pay for it. Maybe this painting was required for a church, or maybe Lucas Cranach just wanted to do it.

The impact of the scientific and technological advances in that time are not reflected in this painting, because as I said before the whole theme is Religion and the Religion sometimes was against what the Scientifics used to say.

Personal Reflection:

I chose this painting because I am Catholic, and maybe I am not as the people used to be in those times but I believe in God, and this painting believes too. This is the part of the history where God sent us to live down here because of the sins that we have committed, and if you clean your soul, in the end, you can go back to paradise, where we were before.

That is what the painting makes me feel; it makes me feel repentance of my sins.

Geographic location of the place of the origin of the work:

Map of Europe. Germany. Ken Clark International. Consulted on Monday October 5th, 2009. Available on: http://www.kenclark.com/o_east-europe.shtml

Bibliography:

- Map of Europe. Germany. Ken Clark International. Consulted on Monday October 5th, 2009. Available on: http://www.kenclark.com/o_east-europe.shtml
- Michael Sakowski. What Happened Between 1500-1600. School in your home.com. Consulted on Monday October 5th, 2009. Available on: http://www.schoolinyourhome.com/history/luke-1500-1600.htm
- Genesis 3. Art and the Bible Website. Consulted on Monday October 5th, 2009. Available on: http://www.artbible.info/bible/genesis/3.html#6
- (“Adam and Eve”. Art and the Bible Website. Consulted on Monday October 5th, 2009. Available at: http://www.artbible.info/art/large/517.html

My own creation:

This is my creation of the painting of “Adam and Eve” of Lucas Cranch. As I said before, I saw this painting as the representation of the sin, because in the bible it describes this scene (Genesis 3:6) as the time where both humans take the forbidden fruit and eat it, Disobeying God.

So I did my representation of the sin, but in our souls. The mirror is the symbol of our souls; the apple is the symbol of the sin, so, what would happen if we commit a sin? Our soul will break down in thousands of pieces and in somehow we would be able to enter in the devil world.

This is my opinion about the painting, maybe Lucas wanted to express the moment in which we are condemned, by following the temptations. So maybe he wanted to make people feel guilty to repent.

I wanted to express what the painting of “Adam and Eve” makes me feel, as I said before, it makes me feel repentance. And when I see my creation, I think about my soul, and how it could be if I commit a sin, is it would be like the broken mirror?

Una and the Lion

“Una and the Lion”
Artist: Briton Riviere (1840 - 1920)
Art style: Currently not assigned to an art style.
Work: Una and the Lion, from Spenser's Faerie Queene (1880)
Size: 152 x 107 cm (59,9 x 41,9 inches)
Technique: oil on canvas
Location: London, Private Collection

Based on “The Faerie Queene”, an incomplete English epic poem by Edmund Spenser, we have “Una and the lion”, painted by the artist Briton Riviere, who was born in England on August 14, 1840. He was specialized in animal paintings, most f them lions, leopards and dogs.

The short story is this one: Red Cross is a knight who is searching Christian sanctification, that is represent by the two virtues that Edmund Spenser believes are the most important: Chastity and Holiness. Red Cross is representative of the virtue of holiness. He wants to be with Una, a beautiful woman who represents Truth. On his way, Red Cross mistakes falsehood for Truth in the character Duessa, who attempts to get Red Crosse to leave Una.
And the story goes on, and on…

This is an interesting poem for me, but not necessary to make me feel what I felt when I first saw “Una and the lion”. I can honestly say that at the beginning I chose other painting to make this assignment, but then, I saw this painting and I knew it, I knew that this was THE painting for ME.

For me, this image is more than a beautiful woman of white walking with a Lion and the little lamb through these woods. For me the painting represents protection, kindness, honesty, and love. Also I have to say that I love animals, I don’t understand why people kill animals, but that is not my point; my point is that in the moment that I saw the painting I felt in peace.

Looking at this image I can imagine the painter who was sitting in his chair, in some opened space. He was wearing pants and a white shirt. He was around 39 years old. He was thinking about Una, maybe he was in love with her. He probably wanted to be the knight of her heart; with all the virtues she could ever imagines. But in reality, he was in love with the story, with the poem, as I am with the painting.

I have never seen a painting with such a meaning for me. I think also the technique influenced on what I felt. The places of the characters, the expressions of them, the light coming from the left top and the giant trees that are in the back are things that I think the artist put them with a reason; to stand out the pure of Una and the protection that she needs.

“Protected”
Photographer: Carolina Castellanos Velasco
Idea: Alejandra Castellanos Velasco
Date: september 06th 2009
Models : Alejandra Castellanos Velasco (girl) , Bummer (dog).

As I said before, when I saw “Una and the Lion” I felt protected, and I spontaneously thought in my dog. When I am with him, I am myself, is the real me, I can’t be more honest if it is not with him.
My dog is one of my best friends, he knows how I feel when I am with him, and he will be always for me; just be one day with someone who listens to you every time and it will be the same.
If you see closer you will see that he knows what I’m thinking, and in “Una and the Lion” the Lion knows what Una is feeling.

The image represents my way of escape.

Another image...

“No more loneliness”

Photographer: Carolina Castellanos Velasco

Idea: Alejandra Castellanos Velasco

Date: september 06th 2009

Models : Alejandra Castellanos Velasco (girl) , Bummer (dog).