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✍🏻 Author: Genevieve Munch

16 Fascinating Movies on Painters

Since the rise of film, there have been many movies on painters, including both famous and lesser-known figures.

We all know the moving picture is a great medium to entertain and educate about all things under the sun. Additionally, it can be a beautiful way to achieve a nuanced and different view of a topic. And, of course, with the rise of so many streaming options, we have most movies at our fingertips.

Many movies on painters develop storylines beginning with their early life and explore details of their personal lives to create a beautiful portrait. However, others on this list (such as Girl With a Pearl Earring) take a bit more creative freedom while still teaching us a bit about the artist. It’s also lovely to experience the vision and artistry of the movie directors.

We’ve put together some of the most iconic movies on painters, from biopics to dramatized histories.

1. Frida (2002)

First up on our list of movies on painters is Frida. In this 2002 film, Salma Hayek stars as Frida Kahlo, the famous Mexican painter. It chronicles her life from her youth, when she suffered life-altering injuries from a traffic accident, through her adulthood, when she persevered through significant hardship to form the style we know and love her for.

A major storyline of Frida is her turbulent relationship with fellow artist Diego Rivera, the well-known muralist painter. At the beginning of the movie, she meets the older, already established artist and falls in love with him, eventually marrying.

There are also some interesting political contexts in Frida. Her husband, Diego, was a political activist and she is immersed in that world. Additionally, at one point, she becomes romantically involved with Leon Trotsky.

The Rotten Tomatoes critics’ consensus reads that “Frida is a passionate, visually striking biopic about the larger-than-life artist.”

2. Séraphine (2008)

Séraphine (2008) is a critically-acclaimed movie that follows the life of Séraphine-Louis, a French self-taught painter. Although she isn’t the most well-known artist on this list, the movie is well done and sheds light on her life and work.

In the film’s opening, we meet Louis, a maidservant in France who paints after work and whose inspiration is nature and religion. Soon, an accomplished art dealer Wilhelm Uhde discovers a painting of hers—he then becomes determined to support her.
His efforts did bring her relative success and financial gain—she was recognized as a prominent “naïve painter” of her time. However, this success launched her into a period of mental instability, and Louis spent the end of her life in an asylum.

The French-Belgian film won many awards—In 2009, it won the César Award for Best Film, with Yolande Moreau also winning Best Actress.

3. Lust for Life (1956)

Of course, we have to include Lust for Life, a biographical film on the famous Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh.

Based on a book of the same name, Lust for Life chronicles the fascinating life of van Gogh. From his early years as a minister in an impoverished mining town to his later years in Arles, France, we watch the many rather tragic events of his life unfold.

It was well received upon its release in 1956, and it remains one of the most iconic movies on painters to this day. Additionally, despite being one of many van Gogh films, it still remains as one of the most famous.

4. Vincent and Theo (1990)

vincent and theo poster movies on painters

Let’s talk about another van Gogh film—Vincent and Theo.

Vincent and Theo, as the name suggests, focuses on the relationship between the van Gogh brothers. Throughout Vincent’s life, Theo provided his older brother with constant financial and emotional support.

The film explores both similarities and differences of the siblings. Theo, an accomplished art dealer, and Vincent, an aspiring painter, are depicted as being touched with similar madness while deeply caring about their social respectability. It also does a lovely job showing the various locations in Europe that Vincent lived in.

The film concludes with their deaths—first Vincent, and then Theo just six months later. It’s a tragic but touching story of two brothers who remained lifelong friends despite hardship.

5. Mr. Turner (2014)

One of the more recently-made movies on painters is the 2014 drama film Mr. Turner. It is based on the last 25 years of the J. M. W. Turner, the English Romantic painter.

It is a dramatized version of his later life and focuses on some of his more controversial traits. Throughout the film, he travels, paints, visits brothels, and stays with aristocracy. Additionally, it explores the rivalry between Turner and fellow English artist John Constable.

Regarding the subject of the film, director Mike Leigh said, “I felt there was scope for a film examining the tension between this very mortal, flawed individual, and the epic work, the spiritual way he had of distilling the world””

The film was universally liked by critics, with both the actors and director receiving widespread praise.

6. Pollock (2000)

Let’s move forward in art history with Pollock, a 2000 film based on the famous Abstract Expressionist painter Jackson Pollock.

The film begins with the artist being rocketed to fame after being featured on the cover of Life magazine. It moves on to cover his tumultuous personal life, compounded by heavy drinking and a volatile personality. His famous technique, sometimes referred to as dancing around a canvas, is also well documented in the movie.

A major storyline is Pollock’s relationship with Lee Krasner, his wife and fellow artist. Krasner was a support to Pollock, and often a sort of guidance as to what contemporary art should be. Marcia Gay Harden, the actor who played Lee Krasner, actually won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

7. Basquiat (1996)

In Basquiat (1996), painter Julian Schnabel pays homage to fellow artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Interestingly it is the first film about an American painter written and directed by another visual artist. Schnabel was actually working as an artist in the 1980s, around the same time as Basquiat.

Basquiat, like many other movies on painters, chronicles the life of the artist from his early days until his death. If you watch the film, you’ll see Basquiat’s graffiti-roots to his eventual collage-style paintings and commercial success.˜ It is also an interesting portrait of the New York art scene in the 80s.

The film has a star-studded cast—for example, David Bowie portrays Basquiat’s very close friend Andy Warhol. Basquiat was received fairly well by critics and the public. However, some reviewers feel that Schnabel inserted himself too much into the film.

8. Artemisia (1997)

Let’s move to a completely different era in art history with the 1997 film Artemisia.

It follows the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, the Italian Baroque painter who was one of the only well-known female artists of her time.

The director Agnes Merlet said, “I didn’t want to show her as a victim but like a more modern woman who took her life into her own hands.” This shows the beauty of the movie—it is a dedication to a woman who succeeded in her own right at a time where women were barred from many opportunities.

The film received mixed-positive reviews. One review on Rotten Tomatoes reads, “The film does a pretty good job of both recreating the world of 17th century art and of avoiding too much historical anachronism.”

9. The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)

Another Italian painter biopic is The Agony and the Ecstasy, which focuses on the great painter and sculptor Michelangelo. Like the above-mentioned Lust for Life, this movie is a film adaptation of an Irving Stone novel of the same name.

The Agony and the Ecstasy focuses particularly on the strained relationship between Michelangelo and Pope Julius II during the painting of the magnificent Sistine Chapel.

Interestingly, the Sistine Chapel couldn’t be used during filming—instead, a reproduction of it was made in a studio also in Rome. Additionally, there was difficulty when the two lead actors did not get along.

The film received generally positive reviews when it premiered in 1965. Some people thought it was heavy on the dialogue and light on the drama, but still did a good job of showing Michelangelo’s personality and the Pope’s understandable frustration with him.

10. Camille Claudel (1988)

Okay, this movie is about a sculptor, not a painter, but it’s a lovely movie that we had to include!

We are talking about the French film Camille Claudel, which explores the life and work of a female often paired with and overshadowed by her romantic partner, the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin.

In Camille Claudel, we learn about the somewhat troubled life of Camille, a sculptor in her own right. At first, her being linked to Rodin allowed her to overcome some prejudices that many women artists faced at the time—however, this gradually changed. As Rodin became more and more famous, their relationship strained as he became involved with other women.

In real life, Camille Claudel lived to be 78 but didn’t achieve widespread recognition for her work until after her death.

Isabelle Adjani, the lead actress, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

11. Utamaro and His Five Women (1946)

This 1946 film is a fictionalized story of Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro. As a historical drama, it adds a lot of theatrics into the life of the famous printmaker.

While it is inspired by Utamaro, it is first and foremost a fictional movie based on a novel of the same name. For example, as part of the plot, Utamaro is inspired by five women who fight to be his lover. It also has a unique episodic structure, unlike all the other movies on painters written about here.

Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, the movie was made during the Allied occupation of Japan after World War II. Therefore, the production was overseen by the occupied forces. In fact, movies such as this one were rarely made as they were seen as possibly nationalistic in a tense time of history.

12. Edvard Munch (1974)

Here we have a biographical film of the artist behind the apocalyptic and iconic Scream painting, Edvard Munch.

This 1974 production covers roughly 30 years of the Norwegian painter’s life. We see some of his most profound influences, especially the death and disease in his family, as well as an affair with a married woman he had as a young man.

The film is in a “docudrama” style: there is a mix of reenactments, voiceovers, characters talking directly into the camera, and even some improvisation by the cast. The director, Peter Watkins, made an interesting choice to use non-professional actors. In fact, to imitate the negative response that Munch’s paintings received in real life, he actually hired Norwegians who genuinely disliked his work.

The famous Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman said Edvard Munch was a “work of genius.”

13. Girl with the Pearl Earring (2003)

You’ve probably heard of the famous Johannes Vermeer painting Girl with a Pearl Earring, but did you know that both a book and a movie were made about it?

For some reason—in part due to some of the more mysterious aspects of the painting—the artwork has captured people’s fascination.

This movie focuses on a young woman named Griet in addition to the painter Vermeer. Griet, played by American actress Scarlett Johannsen, is a young and shy peasant maid who works at Vermeer’s house. Over time, she becomes his assistant and model for his most famous work. This storyline is quite fictionalized, as the identity of the model in the painting is not known.

The film received generally positive reviews and was nominated for three Oscars. One of the top reviews states that although it is a bit slow at times, its pace allows you to soak up impressive visuals and cinematography.

14. Surviving Picasso (1996)

In Surviving Picasso, the accomplished Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins stars as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century—Pablo Picasso.

The film is made through the perspective of Francoise Gilot, one of his lovers. The producers, in part, made this choice because they couldn’t get permission to use his artwork in the movie, making it more difficult to focus on his art and opting instead to focus on his personal life.

Although it is an interesting exploration of Picasso’s life, it received fairly mixed reviews. While critics enjoyed the performance of Hopkins, they were underwhelmed with the overall storyline. It is fairly critical of Picasso’s personality, depicting him as a monster, while not spending too much time on his artwork.

15. Montparnasse 19 (1958)

Last on our list of movies about painters is Montparnasse 19, a 1958 movie about the last years of Italian painter Modigliani, directed by Jacques Becker.

This French-Italian drama film follows the painter in his late years spent in poverty in the Montparnasse neighborhood of Paris. He struggles to both make and sell paintings while his health suffers from substance abuse. Additionally, “Modi” falls in love with a girl from a wealthy family, who are very against their relationship,

A major storyline of the film focuses on his desire to express the beauty of two women in his paintings, which he is unable to do in terms of commercial success. It is a haunting portrait of the desperate last year of Modigliani, and out of all these movies on painters, lives up to the stereotype of the struggling artist.

16. Andrei Rublev (1966)

Last but not least on our list of movies on painters is Andrei Rublev, directed by the famous director Andrei Tarkovsky.

This fascinating Soviet-era biographical movie is loosely based on the Soviet religious painter Andrei Rublev and is set in early 15th-century Russia. In addition to exploring the figure of Rublev, it also tries to paint an accurate portrait of medieval Russia.

The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is “Andrei Rublev is a cerebral epic that filters challenging ideas through a grand scope — forming a moving thesis on art, faith, and the sweep of history.”

Many people regard Andrei Rublev as one of the greatest films of all time, and absolutely one of the best movies on painters.

And that’s our list of Movies on Painters

From the Renaissance to the 21st century, artists have captured the fascination of the public, so there are understandably many movies made about them. In fact, there are many, many more films that are dedicated to artists than the ones on this list.

If you’re a fan of art history, check out some of these movies on painters! While quite a few of them are older productions, their themes are timeless, as is the art featured in them.

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14April2022

10 Illuminating Facts About The Kiss by Klimt

✍🏻 Author: Genevieve Munch

10 Illuminating Facts About The Kiss by Klimt

The Kiss (or in German, Der Kuss) is one of the most reproduced and recognizable artworks of all time by Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. Painted around 1908, it remains one of the most famous works in Klimt’s expansive oeuvre.

In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at The Kiss by Klimt, learn a bit about the fascinating artist behind the work, and explore some interesting facts about the work. Additionally, if you want a reproduction of The Kiss, you can purchase one on The Soul of Art’s Redbubble page.

What’s Happening In The Kiss by Klimt?

As the name suggests, The Kiss depicts a tender moment as a man and a woman embrace each other among a patch of flowers. Although they appear to be standing at first glance, they are actually kneeling. Strings of golden shapes flow down the woman’s bare ankle onto the patch of wildflowers. The man cradles the woman’s face lovingly yet passionately, his face bent down to kiss her. The woman has an expression of peace, her eyes closed in the tender moment. Blush fills her cheeks, adding to the sensuality of the scene.

One of the most iconic aspects of the painting is the clothing. They are both dressed in elaborate, beautiful, and golden robes decorated in an Art Nouveau style—the man’s robes is speckled with black and white rectangles, and the woman’s with bright sinuous shapes.

The background is gold and flat, naturally bringing the viewer’s eye to rest on the couple. The bottom of the painting is dominated by flowers, also treated in an abstract way. Interestingly, the patch of flowers ends dramatically, making the figures seem as if they are on the edge of a golden abyss, only interrupted by the artist’s signature.

Gustav Klimt is known for his dramatic Symbolist works centered around themes of love, sexuality, and intimacy, which he typically explored with the lone female figure. The Kiss is no different, although it does bring in feelings of sweet tenderness, perhaps more than some of his other more erotic paintings.

About Gustav Klimt

Before we focus specifically on The Kiss, let’s do a brief overview of Gustav Klimt.

Although he received a mostly classical art education, he quickly departed from a realistic style, moving instead toward Symbolism. This style is quite broad and spans literary and visual art, but often employs metaphorical images and mythological references to represent absolute truths.

Klimt was a founding member of the Vienna Secession, a movement in the Austrian capital that broke with some of the mainstream conventions of the time. In a time when more radical artists—such as Klimt—were being denied opportunities because of their style, the Vienna Secession aimed to give exhibitions to unconventional young artists. Oddly, before they founded the Secession, the talent of radical artists was recognized, yet they still missed out on opportunities in favor of more conservative artists.

Another interesting note is that these forward-thinking artists did not drive the Secession towards any one style. They accepted Naturalists, Symbolists, and Realists alike and focused their energy on giving all kinds of artists chances to exhibit their work.

On a more personal note, Klimt was quite private and famously never did a self-portrait. He reportedly said, “There is nothing that special to see when looking at me.”

To learn more about the life of Gustav Klimt, check out The Soul of Art’s post on him and more of his most famous works.

So, what exactly makes The Kiss so remarkable? We see it everywhere—on mugs, blankets, posters, and more—but let’s take a moment to really linger on the deeper aspects and context of the painting to appreciate it to the fullest.

1. Society of the early 1900s thought it was scandalous.

If you are a student of art history, you might’ve noticed a pattern: some of the most famous artworks that we still admire today caused some sort of outrage when they were first exhibited. Claude Monet, Marcel Duchamp, Judy Chicago….the list of artists who outraged the public goes on and on. Gustav Klimt is no exception.

How did this relatively modest artwork (by today’s standards) cause an outcry? Even though the figures are completely clothed, many people perceived the painting as completely scandalous. This reading was partially due to Klimt’s established reputation as a painter focusing on sexuality and desire, at times in a profane way. He famously said, “all art is erotic.”

There’s no denying that Klimt had an interest in exploring sexuality—however, interestingly, The Kiss was on the tamer end of his work. So, although it was more modest, it still indulged in themes that were too much for some to handle.

Additionally, some even viewed The Kiss as sacreligious, since he uses excessive amounts of gold leaf, a materially often reserved for religious subjects in the past.

2. The artist created The Kiss in the aftermath of dismal failure.

Let’s build off the first fact by putting The Kiss into the context of Klimt’s career. Even though The Kiss was scandalous to some, it caused much less outrageous than his previous work. There is even some speculation that Klimt reacted to this failure by creating a more modest work.

What was it that caused so much scandal in the years before he created The Kiss? In 1894, he received a commission to paint three paintings on the ceiling of the University of Vienna’s great hall—he didn’t complete them until after the turn of the century.

Once completed, the paintings were criticized as being dark due to its radical themes and pornographic due to the nude figures Klimt included. Traditional ideas were transformed into more sexual themes, which offended the public. For example, he used female nudes as a metaphor for philosophy, jurisprudence, and medicine.

The paintings were heavily derided and tarnished Klimt’s image from every corner—religious, aesthetic, and political. They were not displayed on the ceiling and Klimt had to take them elsewhere. The three paintings were eventually destroyed by retreating German forces in 1945.

After this failed commission, he vowed to never accept another one again. Shortly after, he painted The Kiss. While The Kiss was also marred with some con

3. The Kiss by Klimt was made at the height of artist’s “Gold Period.”

The Kiss by Klimt belonged to a period where he achieved positive recognition and financial achievements: his “Golden Period.” In fact, some historians consider The Kiss to be the height of this phase.

This era is aptly named. From roughly 1901 to 1909, Klimt used a significant amount of gold leaf in his works, resulting in glittering compositions. The extensive use of gold was partially inspired by Byzantine art, which we’ll explore more below. However, it is worth noting that his father was a gold engraver, so the material had a personal element as well.

The Kiss, in particular, actually includes gold leaf, silver, and platinum, resulting in a beautiful sparkling surface, made even more dramatic by its enormous 6 x 6-foot dimensions.

The gold leaf in this (and his other Gold Period pieces) is a big part of what makes The Kiss so recognizable. We can’t help but imagine how spectacular the massive dazzling composition is in person at its home at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere in Austria.

4. The people who inspired the figures in The Kiss are unknown.

Part of what makes Klimt’s work interesting and mysterious is that he didn’t really talk about the inspiration behind his work. He rarely provided an explanation of his work. The Kiss is no exception, so naturally there’s a bit of speculation on who the figures are.

There are different views on who the figures in the painting are. Some think that the woman is based on Emilie Flöge, his lifelong companion, but others suggest that she is “Red Hilda,” a model of the time. Either way, she bears a strong resemblance to figures in other Klimt paintings, such as Goldfish and Danaë.

The woman’s face is one of the most realistic parts of the painting. So, although we don’t know who she is, she does feel like a real and specific person. Additionally, the woman’s face shows Klimt’s formal artistic talent regarding realism.

On another note, some historians suggest that The Kiss may be Klimt’s visual manifestation of a Greek myth, Orpheus and Eurydice, which was a popular story among painters around Klimt’s time.

5. It was sold before Klimt finished it.

Even though some saw it as pornographic (especially in the wake of previous artworks that jaded Klimt’s image), The Kiss was actually sold before Klimt had finished it. The Belvedere Museum of Vienna, Austria, was the purchaser, and it still resides there today.

They paid 25,000 crowns for it—which translates to roughly $240,000. While this isn’t a mind-blowing price ticket for today’s art market, it was a big deal back then. Before that sale, the record number of crowns for a painting was 500.

The Kiss by Klimt remains an Austrian treasure today, and it’s very unlikely it will ever be sold. However, for context, Klimt’s portrait painting Adele Bloch-Bauer sold at auction for $135 million in 2006, which broke the record for the highest price ever paid for a painting. Just imagine what The Kiss would sell for!

6. It embodies many different artistic styles.

Part of what makes Klimt’s work so visually unique is the melding of many influences, namely Byzantine and Japanese art.

Let’s start with the Byzantine-esque qualities. Have you ever seen the stunning gold mosaics of the Byzantine era? One quick look, and you’ll be able to tell that he was inspired by these in The Kiss. Definitely check out Byzantine art if you haven’t before.

So, how does this influence present itself in The Kiss? In Byzantine art, the figures are not typically painted in a realistic way—for example, faces in Byzantine mosaics have a flat feeling to them. However, the biggest Byzantine influence can be seen in his extensive use of gold leaf. This influence came about after Klimt took trips to Venice and Ravenna, where he came across the glittering Byzantine art in places such as the Basilica of San Vitale.

Additionally, like many French Impressionists, Klimt was heavily influenced by Japanese art, specifically woodblock prints known as Ukiyo-e (think of the iconic Great Wave by Hokusai). In fact, Klimt was an enthusiastic collector of Japanese art.

In The Kiss, this can be seen in the flattening of perspective and the overall simplified composition. For example, the figures just barely stay in the borders—this unconventional cropping is common in woodblock prints. There’s also a tension between flatness and 3-D feelings common in Japanese prints.

Lastly, this isn’t an influence per se, but it does have an air of fin-de-siecle spirit. There’s a sense of decadence and complicated emotion associated with some art at the turn of the 20th century.

7. It is a beautiful display of Klimt’s Art Nouveau style.

Briefly, Art Nouveau was a style of architecture and design that employed flowing curved lines and shapes. These elements were transferred into fine art through Symbolist painters like Klimt.

The shapes decorating the robes are the best examples of this. The woman’s robe is full of organic and whimsical circles, while the man has starker geometrical features on his outfit. These bold choices, combined with the fine, delicate lines Klimt uses to form the hands and facial features, form a very interesting balance and visual interest. He also creates masculine and feminine energy and emphasizes the union of spirituality and sensuality.

Klimt freely used design elements in all of his work. You can see these patterns throughout Klimt’s paintings, especially soft swirls, imbuing Art Nouveau into the body of work. Overall, it’s an interesting example of Art Nouveau in fine art.

Video Source: Smarthistory

8. The Kiss by Klimt departs from his other work in some ways.

The Kiss, although often might be the first work you think of regarding Klimt, actually departs from much of his work. This is largely due to his inclusion of a male figure in the painting. Although he often explored love and sexuality, Klimt typically did so through the lone female form. Even though his face is hidden, just the mere inclusion of his figure is out of the norm for Klimt.

Additionally, we mentioned earlier how it’s comparatively tamer than other works, especially in that the figures are clothed. The only skin visible is the women’s foot.

9. There have been many references to The Kiss by Klimt in pop culture.

You’ve probably seen The Kiss on art websites, but did you know it has made quite a few appearances in pop culture? Something about the painting has caught on with different media. Although it’s not necessarily the most serious element of The Kiss, it’s fun to explore some of the places it appeared in the roughly 115 years since its creation.

One example is in the famous American show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In one scene, there are several posters of The Kiss, showing how common it was as a dorm room poster. It also shows up in The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, the movie This Means War, and the anime series Elfen Lied.

Here’s another fun one. Klimt’s glittering, dramatic robes, both seen in The Kiss and other works, were the inspiration for the Christian Dior Spring 2008 Haute Couture collection. Check it out—it’s really interesting to see these sparkling geometrics in person. The reference is pretty obvious once you’ve seen Klimt’s work, and it’s neat to have Klimt’s abstract language come alive as a real outfit.

Lastly, Google commemorated The Kiss by Klimt with a “Google Doodle” (a temporary modification to Google’s homepage logo) in 2012, coinciding with Klimt’s 150th birthday.

10. The Kiss has been featured on a coin.

Pop culture isn’t the only place The Kiss by Klimt shows up! In 2003, roughly 100 years after Klimt’s famed Golden Period, the Austrian mint issued a commemorative 100 Euro gold coin featuring The Kiss. This also coincides with Klimt’s 150th birthday.

There is a small etching of The Kiss on one side, and on the other side, there is a bust of Klimt. It is a lovely way to celebrate this famous Austrian painter and one of his most iconic works.

Buy The Kiss by Klimt on The Soul of Art!

What do you think of this dazzling work? If you like The Kiss by Klimt as much as we do, you can purchase a print on Redbubble. Check it out here!

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Blog Post, Famous Artists

22March2022

Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt Art Prints

✍🏻 Author: Genevieve Munch

The Luminous Works of Gustav Klimt

With his glittering gold canvases and timeless themes, Gustav Klimt remains an iconic name in art history. Let’s explore what makes his work remarkable as well as learning a bit more about his life and style.

The Artist’s Biography

Born in 1862, Gustav Klimt grew up near Vienna, Austria. His father was a gold engraver, and his mother had hoped to be a musical performer, which never came to fruition.

Klimt’s drawing skills shined in school, so he applied to the Viennese School of Arts and Crafts (Kunstgewerbeschule) and easily got in. His art education was traditional, and he continued to excel in painting and drawing. Soon after graduating in 1882, he rented a large studio in Vienna, and quickly became in demand in the city’s cultural elite.

By the end of 1892, his younger brother Ernst—whom he worked closely with—and his father died, leaving Gustav financially responsible for his family in a time of grief, and his work production slowed.

Before moving into his later career, we want to highlight one specific event. In the late 1890s, Klimt was commissioned to paint the newly-built ceiling of his former university’s Great Hall. He chose to use Symbolist language that was hard to read, a negatively received shift. He was also admonished for his use of nudity—he vowed never to accept a public commission again.

The mature career of Gustav Klimt

Klimt is closely associated with the Vienna Secession, which resulted from a schism amongst the leading group of artists in the city. Due to being overlooked in favor of more conservative artists, Modernist artists broke ties, thus forming the Vienna Secession in 1897, which Klimt served as president for.

A main pillar of this movement was to provide young and unconventional artists an opportunity to exhibit. The group quickly gained a positive reputation in Vienna, and Klimt remained closely aligned with the movement until 1903.

Klimt’s productive period was from 1898 to 1908—actually, all of the works below fall into this time frame, his “Golden Period.”

Interestingly, Klimt never did a self-portrait, saying, “There is nothing that special to see when looking at me.” He was known as a reserved man throughout his life and rarely talked about his work.

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Some of the most iconic works of Gustav Klimt

The Kiss (1907–08)

The Kiss is large at 180×180 centimeters—the size combined with the generous application of gold leaf makes it have a powerful presence on the wall and even online.

Klimt was interested in Byzantine mosaics, and if you can see this influence in The Kiss, especially with the use of gold and flatness. There was also a personal connection to gold—his father and brother were both metalworkers.

So, what’s the painting of? Two figures, fully robed, dominate the composition. A man kisses a woman, cradling her head, in a moment of both intensity and sensitivity. They kneel at the edge of a patch of flowers. Art historians suggest it’s Apollo kissing Daphne in mythology—however, it can be thought of outside of mythology. It’s simply a human moment, one of both passion and tranquility.

Fun fact: the painting was sold before he finished it. This was a rebound from Klimt’s scandal caused by previous “pornographic” work. Now, The Kiss is one of the most reproduced paintings ever.

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1903–1907)

Also called The Lady in Gold, this luminous work has many similarities to The Kiss.

Commissioned by a Jewish banker, the work depicts his wife, Adele. Klimt chose again to use gold and silver leaf alongside his Symbolist language. Apparently, he did more preparation—over 100 sketches—for this than he did for any other artwork.

Adele is transported into a sort of heavenly realm here. Historians have different readings on the work—some feel that she embodies divine femininity, while others feel she looks melancholy and aloof. In the opinion of some, there is little focus on Adele’s character (technically, less than 1/12 of the portrait is actually of her face, hands, and hair).

Klimt loved painting women, saying, “I am less interested in myself as a subject for painting than I am in other people, above all women.”

The Tree of Life (1905)

The Tree of Life references the symbol present in theologies and is his only landscape painting made during his Golden Period.

How Klimt paints it is unique. The branches are twisting and twirling, illustrating life’s complexity. Like much of his work, there are divided interpretations. Some feel he paints it with the concept of unity at its core, while others feel it emphasizes masculine and feminine energies, especially since he includes figures. He uses a lot of imagery—particularly many geometric shapes—for the viewer to ponder in their own time.

Klimt includes a blackbird near the center, so the eye has a stark anchor while the branches reach up and out. Since blackbirds are symbols of death in many cultures, Klimt reminds us that everything has a beginning and also has an end.

All about the style of Gustav Klimt

Let’s dive a bit deeper into Gustav Klimt’s style.

Themes in His Work

Klimt often explored love, intimacy, and sexuality. Although some of his works were well-received, much of his more erotic work scandalized the Viennese establishment. (He is known to have said that all art is erotic).

His art is also brimming with mythological allegories, symbols, and philosophical ideas—although he leaves the exact meaning up to the viewer. Additionally, Klimt explored the human psyche in his paintings, although his work isn’t overtly personal.

Gustav Klimt’s Influences

Two major aspects of Klimt’s paintings are glittering appearances from gold and silver leaf and their often lack of perspective. This is, in part, the Byzantine mosaic influence, which he saw on a trip to Italy. In fact, Gustav Klimt’s paintings have a mosaic feel to them with their smattering of geometrical shapes. He also derived influence from Egyptian, Minoan, and Classical Greek sources.

For example, in The Kiss, the foreground and background are flattened into planes, and the figures’ robes are reduced into shapes. The only perspective in the work is the action of the man cradling the woman’s sideways-facing head.

To wrap up this Klimt spotlight, we want to leave you with a powerful quote by Klimt: “Whoever wants to know something about me ought to look carefully at my pictures and try to see in them what I am and what I want to do.” He spoke through paintings, not words.

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8March2022

14 Famous Landscape Paintings You Should Know About

✍🏻 Author: Genevieve Munch

14 Famous Landscape Paintings You Should Know About

In this article, we will explore some of the most famous landscape paintings ever.

Of course, this is a genre with a long history going back to ancient times—to cover all the famous landscape paintings in one article is a daunting task. Still, this article should give you at least a taste of some of the greats and some context as to what makes them remarkable.

Before we get into the paintings, let’s talk about the genre itself. There are many reasons why artists might choose to paint a landscape. For example, they might be painting nature simply for nature’s sake, to convey a religious or mythological scene, or to discuss man’s relationship to the earth. Technically, landscape painting can be loosely defined as “a picture depicting scenery on land.”

Without further ado, let’s dive into one of the richest genres of art by highlighting some of the most famous landscape paintings across the globe and throughout the centuries (in no particular order).

The Hunters in the Snow (1565) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Hunters in the Snow is a painting by the Dutch master made during the Northern Renaissance.

This work is in a series by the artist which depict different seasons of the year. Set under an overcast sky, the painting appears set in the depths of winter.

In the oil on wood panel composition, hunters return to their village after a seemingly unsuccessful hunt, having only caught a fox; the dogs slouch behind the hunters, adding to the resigned mood. The group is at the bottom left corner of the painting, facing away from the viewer as they begin to descend into the valley.

During the 1560s in the Netherlands, there was an abundance of religious art, which makes this work stand out—it appears secular, and perhaps Bruegal was trying to capture the ideal country life of the past. The painting has inspired many things over the centuries, including poetry, films, and television shows; maybe you already recognize it, or maybe you’ll see it around now that you’ve learned of it.

The Hay Wain (1821) by John Constable

Touted as “Constable’s most famous image”, The Hay Wain is considered one of the greatest English paintings of all time, as well as one of the most famous landscape paintings.

The title refers to the wooden wagon in the middle of the composition, making its way through shallow water. It is a peaceful countryside scene that Constable was famous for—this particular work shows a watermill operated by his family, and it still exists today. Interestingly, although the work is a Suffolk scene, Constable actually made it in his studio in London, working from many preparatory sketches.

Constable is known for his famous landscape paintings now, but he was never financially successful during his lifetime. Soft greens, ochres, and blues fill his work, alongside voluminous clouds, and almost always form a serene countryside landscape.

To give some perspective on Constable’s posthumous legacy, listen to this: in just 2019, two drawings by the artist were found in a dusty cardboard box, selling for 60,000 and 32,000 Euros.

Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California (1865) by Albert Bierstadt

Bierstadt was a landscape painter associated with the Hudson River School, a mid-19th century movement in America that saw artists making landscapes influenced by Romanticism.

Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California, was Bierstadt’s first large-scale Yosemite picture, a subject for which he would become well known. Here, he paints the iconic American spot in a grand, idealized way. Intense golden rays fill the work, like many of his most famous landscapes. This glowing quality is sometimes referred to as “luminism.” The work is beautiful on a screen, of course, but to get the full effect, one needs to see the massive 163×245 centimeter work in person.

To give some insight into how much reverence Bierstadt had for the natural world, here’s a quote by the artist himself:

“The magnificent beauty of the natural world is a manifestation of the mysterious natural laws that will be forever obscured from us.”

The Horse Fair (1855) by Rosa Bonheur

This monumental painting is eight by sixteen feet and is brimming with astounding anatomical accuracy that French artist Rosa Bonheur was famed for. Born to an idealistic, artistic dad, Rosa started studying art at the Louvre at the age of 14. She was almost exclusively a painter of animals, which she rendered in a realist style.

One such masterpiece is The Horse Fair, in which she paints a collection of draft horses at a Paris horse market. She apparently went to the fair twice a week throughout 1850 and 1851—her endless sketches paid off to create an absolutely stunning work paying homage to the raw power and beauty of horses. To illustrate her devotion to art, she actually dressed as a man, with the permission of the Paris police, to avoid harassment as a female.

Rosa Bonheur, due to her obvious talent, progressive family, and ruthless determination, was a commercially successful painter during a time when very few women could pursue a career in the arts.

Impression, Sunrise (1872) by Claude Monet

Impression, Sunrise is an iconic work that depicts the port of Le Havre, Monet’s hometown, in a light and airy manner that we know and love Monet for.

Although undoubtedly we know this as one of the most famous landscapes of all time, Impression, Sunrise was ridiculed when first exhibited. In fact, critics used its name to put it down, saying it was more like an impression than a finished painting. Little did they know this painting set into motion one of the most famous art movements in modern art history—Impressionism.

We could easily include dozens of more landscape paintings by Monet. Still, this particular one was so influential in art history that it absolutely deserves mention. Monet’s love of nature can be summed up in this quote by him:

“The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration.”

Mont Sainte-Victoire (1904–06) by Paul Cézanne

Cézanne is another artist who could have many more paintings on here. However, like Monet, we want to highlight a painting that changed the course of history in addition to being beautiful.

Mont Sainte-Victoire—which depicts the magnificent mountain in southern France, where Cézanne lived—is painted with a semi-abstract vocabulary. The bright blues and greens fill the surface of the painting, forming a geometric representation of nature, which paved the way for artists such as Matisse and Picasso to take even more radical abstract approaches in art with movements such as Cubism and Fauvism.

In the words of Cezanne, “Art is a harmony parallel with nature.” You can see this philosophy echoed in his work. This was one among many famous landscape paintings of Mont Sainte-Victoire.

Cliffs Beyond Abiquiu, Dry Waterfall (1943) by Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keeffe rose to fame for her unique New York cityscapes, secluded American West desert landscapes, and up-close semi-abstract of graceful blooming flowers. She was well known as an artist as early as the 1920s, making her one of the first modern female painters to gain respect in New York.

This particular work embodies what O’Keeffe was so masterful at New Mexico desert-scapes rendered in a very stylized way. The large oil on canvas work is dominated by a magnificent beige cliff with specks of greenery throughout. Regarding her love of the American Southwest, O’Keeffe says,

“It was all so far away—there was quiet and an untouched feel to the country and I could work as I pleased.” In Cliffs Beyond Abiquiu, Dry Waterfall, you can absolutely tell that she adores this secluded sandy corner of the world.

Small Rhythmic Landscape (1920) by Paul Klee

Although we often think of landscapes as realistic, there are many other types to explore. Small Rhythmic Landscape by German artist Paul Klee, a figure who naturally resists being narrowed into any specific era of art history, is an example of a much more abstract approach to landscape.

Part of what makes Paul Klee’s approach so unique is that he thinks of rhythm as an important element in art—perhaps influenced by his love of music. In fact, he first pursued becoming a professional musician before turning to art in his teenage years.

In 1914, Klee traveled to Tunisia, where he was inspired by the colors of the region. He noted that the bushes there acted as musical notes in the landscape, forming a rhythm. This abstract thinking of art and music being closely related led to Klee’s mature style, which Small Rhythmic Landscape exemplifies.

It doesn’t represent a specific place like these other famous landscape paintings, but rather a scenario where the artist distributes the elements of nature, such as color and space, into a miniature symphony.

The Fighting Temeraire Tugged to Her Last Berth to Be Broken Up (1838) by J.M.W. Turner

We can’t possibly not include a work by British artist J.M.W. Turner, the creator of some of the most famous landscape paintings of all time. He worked in the same era as the above-mentioned Constable, but while the latter favored rather straightforward depictions of rural life, Turner made extremely dramatic seascapes.

He loved spending time near the River Thames and did quite a few paintings of water scenes and ships in both watercolor and oil paint. The Fighting Temeraire Tugged to Her Last Berth to Be Broken Up shows this tendency, as it depicts the warship that played a role in the Battle of Trafalgar. In the composition, it’s being towed up the river in a glorious light, shortly before it was broken up for scrap.

He made this at the height of his career, having previously enjoyed 40 years of exhibitions at the Royal Academy of London. His work was renowned for being very atmospheric and impressive in its depiction of light.

This painting remains an iconic and popular work. In 2020, the work was put on the new £20 note in the UK. You might’ve also heard of the Turner prize, a very prestigious annual award given to British artists, which was named after J.M.W. Turner.

Monk by the Sea (1808–10) by Caspar David Friedrich

Famous Landscape Paintings - Monk by the Sea

Caspar David Friedrich was a German Romantic artist who made incredibly atmospheric and moody landscapes such as this one. Like most Romantic artists, his practice utilizes his emotional response to the natural world.

The Monk by the Sea is Friedrich’s most radical composition as it largely forgoes perspective and depth. The hazy planes of sea and sky emphasize the small figure of the monk, standing before the presence of God in the vast landscape. The monk is cut off from us, in his own moment, both physically and spiritually. There are no traditional landscape elements like trees or houses that might soften the effect—only a hazy sky and a flat foreground.

The Monk by the Sea is allegorical, featuring a sole person against the sublime backdrop of nature. In fact, this composition is a prime example of the sublime concept. Many landscape artists lean into this idea—some of them on this list. Essentially, the sublime refers to immense greatness, almost beyond any measurement or imitation. This is a prevalent concept in art history, especially in the most famous landscape paintings, and is a timeless concept we can all still relate to.

The Starry Night (1889) by Vincent van Gogh

You’ve probably seen this one since The Starry Night is undoubtedly one of the most famous landscape paintings of all time. Van Gogh made this in the last year of his life while living in an asylum after a long bout of mental illness.

The Starry Night is a beautiful mix between observation and emotion. Clearly, the Post-Impressionist work is not realist yet it is very much inspired by the view outside Van Gogh’s window. The work is iconic for different reasons. First, its vivid rendition of the stars, moon, and landscape resting below is one full of emotion of someone viewing the world and seeing beauty, intensity, and movement. Secondly, it’s beautiful that while Van Gogh was struggling in isolation near the end of a life defined by failure, this is what he chose to paint—a beautiful rendition of the night sky outside of his room.

Just a year before making this work, he wrote in a letter, “For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.”

Today, the painting has an estimated worth of $100 million. Still, Van Gogh died broke and was financially supported by his brother Theo throughout his life.

A Bigger Grand Canyon (1998) by David Hockney

Moving a bit further into vividness and abstraction, let’s explore a work by the famous contemporary artist David Hockney.

The British artist is famous especially for his contributions to the pop art movement of the 1960s. His work is bright, full of color, and is a unique combination of the simplification of pop art and the realism of art forms such as photography. Although he’s most well known for his compositions of backyard pools, we wanted to include one of his famous landscape paintings.

A Bigger Grand Canyon is really made of 60 canvases that form a 12×6 foot arrangement. It depicts the Grand Canyon in the USA from different viewpoints and at different times of day, making a Cubist-like composition. The colors are bright, exaggerated, and the shapes of the land masses are simplified. Yet, he captures the awe-inspiring and very real experience of standing in front of an amazing natural formation with specificity.

View of Toledo (1600) by El Greco

One of the older works on this list, View of Toledo, is a Mannerist masterpiece by the Greek artist (although he lived much of his life in Spain) known as El Greco.

Part of why this work stands out in art history is due to its magnificent, vivid, and somewhat abstract depiction of the sky, similar to why The Starry Night by Van Gogh is also so stunning. The sky sits above the hillside of the Spanish city of Toledo, which is painted to emphasize greatness, almost reaching up towards heaven. Huge clouds dominate nearly half the moody landscape, with the bright sun illuminating the edges of the cloud.

View of Toledo is one of only two surviving landscapes by El Greco. Possibly, it was one of the only Spanish landscape paintings of its time. Additionally, it was made in 1600—making it very rare, as Spanish paintings of the Renaissance and Baroque periods were uncommon.

Christina’s World (1948) by Andrew Wyeth

We want to leave you with a landscape that is a bit different from the others on the list—when you look at this painting, you’ll be able to tell why. While undoubtedly a landscape, this work has a great emphasis on Christina’s sole figure. The viewer instantly wonders why Christina is crawling in the middle of a vast field, hundreds of meters away from her house, and the angle of her body is very dramatic.

Christina captured Wyeth’s attention as her next-door neighbor, and he featured her in several paintings. According to Wyeth, Christina suffered from a degenerative muscle condition, possibly from Polio. She could not walk, but preferred to drag herself using her arms rather than use a wheelchair.

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3March2022

Paul Cézanne

Paul Cézanne Art Prints

✍🏻 Author: Genevieve Munch

Paul Cézanne: His Life, Work, and Legacy

When learning about modern art, Paul Cézanne is a major name as a prominent and influential Post-Impressionist. Most notably, he’s often praised for bridging two instrumental styles: Impressionism and Cubism.

The Life of Paul Cézanne

Paul Cézanne was born in 1839 in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence. His father was a wealthy banker, and his mother was “vivacious and romantic,” a passion for life which she passed along her passion for life to her son. Interestingly, Cézanne grew up a good friend of Emile Zola, the now-famed novelist.

He studied drawing at times growing up, but when it came time for university, he enrolled in the University of Aix to study law in compliance with his father’s wishes. However, he soon moved to Paris and dedicated himself to art, much to his father’s disapproval.

There, Paul met Impressionists—whose light, airy compositions were starting to attract attention—and was heavily influenced by their work. He aimed to merge their fleeting observation of nature with the heavy permanence of classical works he admired in the Louvre. Reportedly, he wanted to take Impressionist ideas but make his paintings “something more concrete and solid, similar to the art of the museums.”

Although he exhibited with the Impressionists, his work was perceived as more crude than artists such as Monet. In the late 1870s, he spent most of his time in Aix—a move which significantly influenced his work. His sunny surroundings and friendship with painter Camille Pissarro led to a brighter color palette, filled with joyful greens and dazzling blues, marking the beginning of his mature period that we know and love him for.

Throughout the 1880s, he made many still-lifes and portraits in his sculptural manner, departing more and more from Impressionism. In the last few years of his life, he focused on two subjects—the beautiful Mont Sainte-Victoire in Aix and the Bathers series in which nudes exist in a landscape. In his last few years before his death in 1906, young artists such as Pablo Picasso were inspired by Cézanne’s subjective use of color apart from form. It wasn’t until 1904 that Paul Cézanne enjoyed widespread fame as a great artist.

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Major Works of Paul Cézanne

Let’s jump into some of the great masterpieces of Paul Cézanne.

Table, Napkin, and Fruit (A Corner of the Table) (1895–1900)

Let’s start with a still life—a classic subject—but one that Paul Cezanne puts a twist on. After studying Old Master painting at the Louvre, Cézanne formulated his own semi-sculptural approach to still lifes.

Cézanne approaches the shapes of the fruits and the folds of the cloth in a very architectural, dimensional way. Rather than focusing on strict realism, Cézanne chooses to make a dynamic push and pull between all the geometry in the scene. There’s a lovely rhythm between the individual fruits and the fruits and the background. We think of this through the artist’s philosophy—the idea of “constructing” a picture rather than simply “painting” it.

Les Grandes Baigneuses (1898–1905)

Cézanne was uniquely interested in bringing the weight of classical subjects into the modern era. Les Grandes Baigneuses (The Large Bathers) is a quintessential example of this goal.

In this composition, he brings the modern nude into a still-life arrangement under a heavenly arch of trees, bringing back classic monumentality that he felt had lapsed. The figures seem more like statues than anything else. He reinterprets the Western motif of the female nude in a purely structural, abstract way, making for a very radical and monumental masterpiece.

Mont Sainte-Victoire (1905)

This oil on canvas work highlights all the techniques for which we have come to love Paul Cézanne. As mentioned, Mont Sainte-Victoire—an enormous feature of the landscape in Aix—was a favorite subject in his later life. This particular rendition was one of his last paintings of it and remains one of the most famous.

He creates the scene with an abstract vocabulary, with architectural forms of color making up the magnificent Mount Sainte-Victoire. Rocks and trees are suggested by mere slabs of paint rather than specific features. We’ll get into it more when talking about his style, but he treats color and form equally, making for an almost mosaic-like surface of dazzling springtime colors.

The following quote by Cézanne illustrates the beauty of this work: “Shadow is a color as light is, but less brilliant; light and shadow are only the relation of two tones.”

All about the style of Paul Cézanne

Why were some of the most famous artists of all time—such as Matisse and Picasso, who together recognized Cézanne as “the father of all us”—so enamored with his work? To answer this, let’s explore the innovative style of Paul Cézanne.

An important aspect of Cézanne’s style was his use of optical phenomena. He was fascinated by the simplification of geometry, and he aimed to bring these ideas to the canvas while observing nature. For example, an orange becomes a sphere and a tree trunk becomes a cylinder.

He wanted to move away from the idea of the transient moment, long favored by the Impressionists—instead, Cézanne captured more permanent and heavy pictorial qualities of life around him. You can see this tendency as early as his Paris years, when his work evolved into more solid architectural studies than many of his contemporaries.

Additionally, in Cézanne’s mature work especially, the colors and forms possessed equal pictorial weight, making for a dynamic, solid composition through and through. Although this might sound insignificant, it was a move towards abstraction that paved the way for artists like Picasso to take art in a much more radical direction. Cézanne’s influence can even be seen as late as 1950 with the rise of Abstract Impressionism in the United States.

We want to leave you with a quote by Paul Cézanne that we think is a lovely sentiment for any artist or art lover:

“I could paint for a hundred years, a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing.”

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12February2022

What Are Mediums in Art? All You Need to Know

✍🏻 Author: Genevieve Munch

What Are Mediums in Art? All You Need to Know

Among the many things to decipher when viewing a work of art is what it’s actually made from. To help you do this, we’re going to go over one of the important concepts in art—the medium. Although it is a foundational concept in art, the term medium can actually mean quite a few different things and can be rather nuanced.

So, what does medium in art mean? According to Tate, there are three definitions for the term:

The type of art (e.g. painting, sculpture, printmaking)
The materials an artwork is made from (e.g. oil paint on canvas)
The liquid in which the pigment is suspended to make paint. So, the medium of the medium of oil paint is linseed oil. This can include other additives that an artist might add the change the quality of the paint.
Basically, the medium is used to refer to both the type of art and the artistic material used.

The point of this article is to explore the various meanings and some common examples, so well go over the overarching medium as well as the more specific materials used. It might sound a bit confusing, but it all falls into the idea of the physical material through which the artist gets their artistic message across, and the reality of it is that people use the term “medium” quite loosely nowadays. Lastly, while the medium isn’t absolutely crucial to understanding the concept of the artwork, it is always helpful and interesting.

So, we’ll try to cover as many as we can, but of course, with the evolution of art comes the evolution of mediums. The list is endless, really, and if you’re an artist yourself, don’t let this list limit your ideas!

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What are mediums in art? Painting

The majority of this article will be about painting, especially oil painting, because there’s simply so much to talk about—understanding what are mediums in art really begins with painting. Painting has a long history, from cave paintings 65,000 years ago to the present day, and there are tons of different kinds, so let’s get started:

Oil Painting

When you look back into movements in art history, you’ll come across a lot of oil paintings—many mediums on museum tags will simply say “oil on canvas.”

It has been the most popular form of painting for several centuries now—while newer technologies have been invented since, it remains popular because of its unique qualities, namely flexibility, long drying time, and the range and depth of colors and values you can achieve. For example, the luminescent quality of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring is largely due to them being painted in oil.

The origins of oil paint date to at least the 7th century CE, when artists used oil (probably from walnuts or poppies) to decorate a cave complex in Afghanistan. However, we most often start oil painting’s history in the 11th century, when it became a widespread European practice. Since then, oil painting has been used by artists all around the world. Here are some famous oil paintings and their specific materials as they are normally written:

Mona Lisa (1503–06) by Leonardo da Vinci. Oil on poplar panel.
The Starry Night (1889) by Vincent Van Gogh. Oil on canvas.
American Gothic (1930) by Grant Wood. Oil on beaverboard.
The Boating Party (1893–94) by Mary Cassatt. Oil on canvas.

So, what is oil paint exactly? It is a medium consisting of pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. You can use a variety of drying oils, such as linseed oil, poppy seed oil, and walnut oil. The typical oil paint is smooth and buttery, and artists can use these mediums to make it even flowier. Here is a brief list of oil painting mediums that are designed to alter its viscosity, surface finish, or drying time:

Turpentine is a traditional solvent used to dilute oil paint but has a heavier odor than other mediums. Turpentine is derived from natural resins from trees and was invented in 1777, making it a somewhat later invention.
Low odor thinners are basically Turpentine substitutes that has fewer odors since they are petroleum-based. It has very similar properties to Turpentine—it dilutes the paint and helps it dry faster. Many manufacturers produce their own version of this, but “low odor thinners” will typically be written on the bottle. It also tends to be cheaper than Turpentine.
Linseed oil dilutes the paint and slows drying time, allowing the artist to make adjustments for longer. Typically, linseed oil has a yellowish tint. There are different kinds of linseed oil that each offer something different, especially in terms of drying time.
Safflower and Poppy oil are similar to linseed oil, but are a bit paler so are especially good when mixing with white or lighter colors. They also take longer to dry.
Walnut oil has been a go-to medium with oil paint for centuries. Some Old Masters favored walnut oil rather than linseed oil because it was slightly less yellow and dries faster.

There are also options that are more environmentally friendly and further reduce the odor, flammability, and toxicity, which is attractive to some artists. Another interesting aspect to think about is air travel—many of the above mediums aren’t allowed on planes, so artists are looking for more natural oil mediums such as lavender oil.

Briefly, some disadvantages of oil paint is that it tends to run more expensive, there are more chemicals involved in the process, and to some, the long drying time is not ideal (although artists, to some extent, can speed up the drying time by adding mediums). Additionally, like all art, conservation can be difficult.

Let’s go over some overarching steps of creating an oil painting so you can understand it further:

Usually, oil paintings are done on canvas stretched over wooden support, secured with tacks or staples. Before applying the oil paint to the canvas, artists apply a primer—typically gesso—to reduce the absorbency of the cloth. One can also use a smooth panel, also primed, for a less textured surface.
After their surface is prepared—whether it be a panel, canvas, or even paper—painters move on to adding the oil paint. Typically, painters apply oil paint in thin layers, which allows them to achieve a beautiful luminosity, subtle graduations of color, and realism through building up the painting in subtle layers. This is something very unique to oil painting. This step includes added the above-mentioned mediums to affect texture and drying time.
Finally, a coat of varnish should be applied to protect it from the atmosphere it sits in—this thin coat can be matte or glossy, and protects it from minor abrasions and accumulations of dirt or smoke. Varnish also brings out the full tonal range and color intensity of the colors. This varnish can be removed by experts many years later if needed.

You’ll notice that a lot of oil painting mediums have to do with drying time, since that is one of the most distinctive characteristics of it. Some artists love this longer drying time; others hope to extend it even further to flesh out a specific area without pressure.

Lastly, one more concept that is important to oil paint is that every color is, in fact, a little bit different. Different pigments naturally have different drying times, so different colors will be affected. For example, Raw Sienna and Cobalt blue will dry relatively fast (around two days) and whereas Permanent Rose might take upwards of five days to dry.

So, that wraps up many concepts regarding the medium of oil painting and the mediums withinoil painting. It’s a fascinating form of art that continues to thrive in popularity, so its helpful to know some of these terms.

Watercolor

Watercolor is made from pigments suspended in a water-based solution. As opposed to many other forms of painting that use linen and canvas, the typical support is watercolor paper, which is usually made from cotton. Watercolors are often easy to spot due to their delicate translucent appearance.

Watercolor is an ancient art form, especially in Asia—it’s been the primary art form in China, Korea, and Japan, as they have long been making “brush” or “scroll” painting which are forms of watercolor. India and Ethiopia also have long watercolor art traditions, but in the United States watercolor wasn’t seen as a legitimate way to make a “finished” artwork until more recent decades. Rather, Western artists used it as a sketching tool.

What are mediums in art? Acrylic Painting

Invented in the 1930s in Germany, acrylic paint remains a very popular media for artists—it differs quite a bit from oil painting so it is makes an attractive alternative for many. It is a formula of acrylic resin, water, and particles of pigment.

Chemically, it is very different, so it has different properties when in use. Briefly, they are:

Fast-drying—between layers, it only takes 15-20 minutes to dry
More opaque
Much more elastic than oil paint

To artists, acrylic opens up a whole new world. It’s slightly more flexible than watercolor, but it dries much quicker than oil paint, making it a powerful art medium in its own right. It can be used for thin painting to sort of mimic the appearance of watercolor but can also be built up with a very thick impasto technique. Additionally, acrylic paint is great for use on many different surfaces—artists are not limited to just canvas or paper.

Here are some acrylic mediums to affect the qualities of the paint:

Glazing medium will make acrylic paint a bit more transparent and will allow for subtle glazing techniques.
Gloss medium will make acrylic paint both thinner and glossier.
Matte medium will make the acrylic paint (which is naturally glossy) a bit duller.
Gel medium is a paste-like, white substance that will thicken the paint. This is perfect for impasto techniques. Gel mediums can come in gloss and matte versions as well.
Modeling paste is a thicker version of gel medium. It’s also harder, so you can almost sculpt the surface of your painting.
Texture gel is an interesting one—you can imitate textures such as sand or glass beads by adding this to your acrylic paint, making it a fun experimental medium.

Their faster drying time and extremely bold colors made them perfect for emerging visual art movements like Pop Art in the 1960s. Additionally, the mediums for acrylic paint are generally going to be less toxic than those of oil paints, which is another plus for many.

A particularly interesting quality of acrylic paint is that since it’s flexible and elastic because of its chemical makeup, the paint will actually contract and expand depending on the atmosphere around it. This allows minimal flaking and cracking, which is extremely common with oil painting, which is a huge plus for conservation.

Gouache

Gouache is very similar to watercolors, but you’ll see it listed as a medium so we wanted to cover it separately. The main difference between gouache and watercolor is that the latter is more opaque—when you apply it to paper, you won’t be able to see the paper beneath nearly as much as with translucent watercolors. It is sort of in between watercolor and acrylic in this way.

Encaustic

This is another painting medium that is a bit less common, but you’ll definitely see it around. Also called hot wax painting, it is made from pigments mixed with hot wax; the molten medium is then applied to a prepared wood or canvas surface. Typically, the common basis of encaustic painting includes beeswax, damar resin, and pigments.

We wanted to include it since its a very interesting, unique, and ancient art medium—it actually dates to the 5th century B.C.E., and continues to be popular today.

Some famous more modern artists who worked with encaustic are Pablo Picasso, Jaspar Johns, and David Hockney.

What are mediums in art? Drawing

Drawing can encompass a myriad of media, just like painting. As it refers to anything made with an instrument to mark paper, some of the instruments that fall under drawing are graphite pencils, pens, colored pencils, markers, charcoal, and more.

Like painting, drawing has a very long history, both as an art medium and in regards to broader uses. Throughout art history, drawing often served as a preliminary step in order to form a foundation for a painting. Young people training as artists often had to master drawing first—this is still sometimes the case today, where many art schools require Drawing 101 to be taken before painting classes.

Each of these markmaking materials serve as their own medium and have their own qualities—charcoal, for example, is great for subtle blending and gradations, where as markers are intensely bold. When looking at what are mediums in art, you might see the following regarding drawing:

Charcoal on paper
Pen on linen
Colored pencil on paper

Sculpture

Sculpture is another ancient art medium that still thrives today. The list of sculpture mediums is long, but here are some of them:

Wood
Clay
Wax
Stone
Metal
Fabric
Glass
Plaster
Marble
Random “found” objects

These mediums may be carved, molded, wrought, sewn, welded, combined, and more. Sculpture is a medium that arguably has gone under the most radical transformations with the evolution of art—artists have ventured into installation, found materials, and more, so sculpture undoubtedly can look much different than a classical Greek sculpture that we are all used to.

Photography

The last overarching medium were going to touch on is photography. Photography, according to Tate, is “the process or practice of creating a photograph – an image produced by the action of light on a light-sensitive material.”

But, like many mediums in art, there is further classification involved. The biggest difference is non-digital, which was invented much earlier, and digital. Non-digital photographic mediums include, for example, include complex chemical processes such as tintype photography. Digital photography was invented in 1975, and the way that people note the medium of digital photos depends on the print method and paper used. This invention seriously through the art world for a loop, and made critics and artists themselves consider the question of what are mediums in art. Now, it is considered fine art, but it took about a century to get there.

…. and then some more

If you’ve visited a museum of art—especially a museum of modern art—you’ll know that this list is not exhaustive. With every year that passes, another artist finds a material that hasn’t been used before. So, when considering the question “what are mediums in art?” it’s really changing as time passes.

Take, for example, Marcel Duchamp submitting a urinal to an art exhibition in 1917—at the time it was ridiculed, but now it is one of the greatest works in history and it paved the way for future movements. Or, let’s look at Tara Donovan, a contemporary artist who makes huge installations made completely out of styrofoam cups. Yet another artist who’s pushed boundaries is Andy Goldsworthy, who makes ephemeral works directly in nature—he’ll arrange delicate twigs and bright flowers, photograph his creation, and then let nature reclaim it. And then, there’s a whole range of performance art and digital art that needs a whole article of its own…

That’s all to say that while we have thousands of years of painting, drawing, and sculpting, we also have new mediums being invented everyday by innovative and passionate artists. We hoped this article informed and inspired you.

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26January2022

How to Paint Like Monet: A Look Into the Famous Impressionist’s Process

✍🏻 Author: Genevieve Munch

How to Paint Like Monet: A Look Into the Famous Impressionist’s Process

Claude Monet is, of course, a very celebrated name in art history. He is most closely associated with the movement of Impressionism, which aimed to capture fleeting moments in the world.

His enormous, beautiful paintings of delicate lilypads, summer gardens, and dreamy water reflections are famous for their shifting light and unique depiction of color. In addition to his serene scenes of nature, he also made paintings depicting Parisian city life and portraits of people, illustrating the diversity of Impressionism.

Now, nearly 150 years after Impressionism’s heyday, it remains a remarkably recognizable and loved art form. And, by following some of the basic tenants and remembering the philosophies of the Impressionists, you can learn to paint like them and create beautiful compositions of the world around you.

About Claude Monet and Impressionism

What makes the Monet painting technique so special? To answer this, let’s look at Impressionism overall— it’s worth knowing a little bit about the Impressionist movement and its context in history.

Impressionism was founded in the 1860s in Paris by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, and others. Their approach differed from other painters of the time in that they hoped to capture the fleeting moments in nature—they went about this by sitting outside (en plein air) and quickly painting the scene before them, with an emphasis on how the light shifts on nature’s shapes. They might’ve spent several sessions in the same place, but each session tended to be short. Most other artists of the time only painted in their studios.

The first group exhibition of Impressionists was in Paris in 1874 and included Monet. One of his works displayed, Impression, Sunrise was mocked by critics—its title was used as a way to insult it. To them, it was a silly and incomplete impression, not a legitimate painting and definitely not a masterpiece. In addition, the bright colors of Impressionism departed from the more somber shades of a popular academic painting of the time.

Despite initial rejection by the art world, Impressionism emerged as the prominent style in Paris by the 1870s and 1880s. Fast forward to today, Claude Monet has been the subject of hundreds of exhibitions posthumously and his work continues to achieve very high prices at auction.

How to Paint Like Monet: A Look at a Typical Impressionist’s Technique

Before we get into specifically how to paint like Monet, let’s look at some of the Impressionists’ general techniques, themes, and trends. Here are a few general ideas to keep in mind regarding the overall approach of artists in the Impressionist school:

They focused on the optical effects of light. They didn’t dwell on realism, but rather the effects that light can have on things in the world. They were interested in the vibrations that can be made through color, not technicalities of space and mass.
They often used short dashes of paint to form strokes, which was intended to form the essence of the object as opposed to the exact detail of every part of the object.
Impressionists employed generally lighter palette.
Most Impressionists often avoided hard edges by working with wet-on-wet paint. Objects tend to fade into each other subtly, and definite edges were used sparingly.
Unlike the thin glazes of Renaissance painters, Impressionists used thick paint to create an opaque surface throughout the composition. This is called impasto. This takes Impressionism even further from ideas of realism.
They painted at a time of day with long shadows to more accurately catch dramatic light.
The use of broken color is central to their technique. This means they optically blended colors, rather than on the palette. For example, they might stipple colors on top of other colors to achieve an effect, rather than blending it smoothly on the canvas. This is a specific way they achieved the optical effects of light that we mentioned above.
They used complementary colors next to each other to achieve heightened vibrancy and contrast.

Supplies You’ll Need to Paint Like Monet

Oil paint. You can use acrylic paint and still try and mimic Monet’s process, but if you truly want to paint like Monet, gather some oil paint tubes (acrylic paint wasn’t invented for 80 years after Impressionism).
Oil paint medium, such as turpentine.
A palette. Anything can do—but again, master Impressionists would’ve used a wooden hand-held palette. You could also use a plate of glass or a plastic palette.
A primed canvas or panel.
Paintbrushes. The Impressionists used hog bristle brushes, which allowed for the thick application of paint which they liked, but nowadays there are a lot more options than animal hair brushes. You can opt for synthetic brushes to achieve similar effects. Gather a few different sizes to create variety in brushstrokes—Monet used several different sizes and shapes himself. You can see this when you closely look at his work.
Optional: an easel! Especially if you want to paint en plein air, you should come up with some sort of stand to hold your canvas and supplies. That way you have the mobility and a comfortable way to work.
Optional: a palette knife. This helps you create some of the rougher strokes to give the composition spontaneity and abstract feel.

Before you get started, let us reiterate our six main pillars of Monet’s painting techniques. Keep them in mind as you work!

Apply paint thickly—build it up over time.
Use complementary colors. A good way to go about this is looking at a color wheel and looking at colors opposite of each other. For example, yellow and purple are complementary colors.
Mix color as you apply it to the canvas, rather than on the palette beforehand.
Keep it bright. Impressionists made light and airy works, especially Monet.
As you work, you might find that squinting is helpful. Squinting makes you look at things out of focus, and in a way, this is was Monet was doing when he overlooked specific details of the scene before him. Shadows and highlights stand out to you as detail of shapes gets lost.

Step-By-Step: How to Paint Like Monet

So, you want to make an Impressionist masterpiece by following the Monet painting technique? We’ve put together some overarching steps to follow—this isn’t a step-by-step painting with pictures of a specific scene, but rather foundational steps to approach your unique composition with.

Additionally, while Monet painted quickly in terms of how much he put on the canvas in an hour, he did it over several sessions in order to let the oil paint dry. However, you can consolidate into one session if you wish, especially if you opt to use acrylic paint.

Pick Your Spot Outside!

Many of Monet’s paintings were made at his home in Giverny, near Paris, which remains a popular destination for travelers today. Works of nature were most often painted at Giverny—so, to get started, find your own Giverny for inspiration.

Pick a nice day and move outside for your painting. You’ll find a lot of tutorials of how to paint like Monet, but when you think about it, that’s not actually painting like him if you’re painting inside and copying a work. As we mentioned, he painted outside for a reason! So head outside and find a scene that you hope you hope to paint. If you can’t go outside, try to find a window with a nice view.

Remember, Monet painted with an emphasis on light—so keep that in mind when you’re finding your spot. Maybe you can paint early or late in the day to achieve the same long shadows that he did.

This is a bit more conceptual, but remind yourself of the goals of the Impressionists: to capture the fleeting appearance of nature. Take a moment to immerse yourself in your setting. Even if it’s not quite as serene as Monet’s garden at Giverny, try to focus on the beauty of the nature before you. We’ll end this step on a quote by Monet:

“The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration.” –Monet

Prepare Your Palette

Before you start, get some colors down on your palette. There isn’t really a right or wrong way to do this, but remember Monet’s frequent use of complementary colors, and make sure you have white in your palette to vary the tints. Try to avoid black—even shadows have colors.

If you want to adopt a color palette like Monet did in many of his outdoor paintings, such as Water Lilies, you can put the following colors on your palette:

Cobalt Blue
Cadmium Yellow
Alizeron Crimson
Ultramarine Blue
Brilliant Rose
Emerald Green
Hooker’s Green
Titanium White

But any colors will do. Again, you canadapt this to acrylic paint, but Monet used oil paint.

Make a Loose Pencil Sketch

Let’s get started with a known Monet painting technique. He often started his paintings with a loose sketch of the composition. Using a pencil, try your best to block out some outlines of the shapes in front of you. This doesn’t make anything totally set in stone though! You can of course adjust the composition a bit as you go.

You’re trying to capture the feeling of the scene before you, not copying it, so don’t get too caught up on photorealism. Just block out the major components: a horizon line, a water line, a tree shape, or a fence line, for example. Think of them as a framework as you fill in colors in the next step.

This is best expressed through the words of Monet himself:

“When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field or whatever. Merely think here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape.” –Monet

Fill in Large Color Blocks

Start filling in blocks of color according to your light pencil lines—just go for it! Start broad. Don’t worry about exactly matching the color of what you’re looking at. As we mentioned earlier, squinting is a good tool for this. Fill in the blues of the sky and water and the greens of the grass, for example.

Remember that you don’t have to paint it all at once, so don’t feel the need to get everything in right away. Monet himself tended to start more vague before narrowing in on smaller shapes of the painting. So, we will go back in to add smaller marks later.

Tip: A common Monet painting technique was crosshatching, which created a subtle yet vibrant texture. Rather than making every brushstroke the same, he created lines which crossed over each other to form dimension. So, in your painting, use horizontal and vertical strokes to indicate how light bounces every which way in the world. Look closely at one of his paintings to identify this Monet painting technique.

Keep Adding Color and Develop the Contrast

This step is a continuation of filling in color. Start adding in smaller shapes. Don’t be scared to put yellows next to blues—putting different colors side by side just creates optical effects that the Impressionists were so fond of. Use a variety of brushes to make the whole composition vibrate as you learn how to paint like Monet.

As far as color goes, Monet relied on emerald green to form the bright foliage in nature. Pink, as a complementary color, goes great right next to it. Perhaps if you’re adding leaves to trees, lilypads to water, or other interruptions on planes of green, you could use pink to do so.

This is the step where you add smaller marks—fill in the leaves of trees, add small highlights in bodies of water, and anything else to complete the work.

Focus on Gradual Transitions

This isn’t exactly a step, per se, but something to start paying more attention to as you continue to add details. By focusing on how you treat transitions between colors and shapes, you can affect the final painting dramatically. This is a more technical aspect of learning how to paint like Monet.

The softer the edges, the more volume and ambiguity there is on the surface of the painting. The tighter the edge is, the more definite and concrete something appear. So, if there’s something sitting on the surface of the water or flying in the sky, you’ll want to create those objects with slightly more abrupt edges, whereas the water or sky will be a hazy blend.

Let’s look at this in terms of Monet’s painting specifically. He primarily used gradual transitions in his work with a smattering of abrupt edges. A good example is the edge of the water lilies on ponds in his paintings.

Keep this aspect of the painting in mind as you add detail. Trust your intution of what you’re looking at—if you feel that there is a large block hazy block for part of the composition and a definite stroke for a specific flower, follow your gut, and translate it onto the canvas.

Add Final Touches, But Don’t Overthink It.. and here’s how to paint like Monet!

Easier said than done, but as you finish up the painting, remember where the term Impressionism comes from—the feeling that the painting is an spontaneous impression. Not a rigid, calculated, and totally realistic depiction of nature, but a fleeting perception of something.

Therefore, don’t overthink what you have on the canvas. Resist the urge to fill in every last detail. Just reflect on the overall feeling of where you are sitting, step away, and enjoy the fact that you’ve frozen a moment in time.

The beautiful thing about the Monet painting technique is that it can be repeated so differently each time. He was experimental, and the way the world looked in front of him impacted what he put down on the canvas. He made so many scenes of nature based off his instincts, and you can too. If you’re not satisfied with your first try, give it another go.

Additionally, the ideas of Impressionism go beyond nature. If the Monet painting technique resonated with you, feel free to venture into more man-made areas.

Hopefully, this article gave you some insight into the painting process of one of the most famous artists in the world. Of course, you can’t recreate the mind of Monet, but you can follow his philosophies when creating your own work—that is really the best way to learn how to paint like Monet.

Video Source: David Dunlop

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19December2021

10 Stunning Paintings by John Singer Sargent

✍🏻 Author: Genevieve Munch

10 Stunning Paintings by John Singer Sargent

A hugely popular artist in the late 19th century, John Singer Sargent made about 900 oil paintings and over 2000 watercolors during his career and established himself as the most fashionable painter on both sides of the Atlantic ocean.

Although born to American parents, he spent most of his life in Europe. He enjoyed international success and fame throughout his career, especially for his portraits. As we can see from his paintings, Sargent had an impressive grasp on technical skills—this ability drew some criticism for its apparent “superficiality” in his later years. In the words of the artist, “It is certain that at certain times talent entirely overcomes thought or poetry.” However, when exploring John Singer Sargent most famous paintings, you’ll find beautiful nuance and emotion in addition to obvious formal painting abilities.

His commissions followed the grand manner of portraiture—which are portraits started during the High Renaissance that use visual metaphors to emphasize nobility and wealth. On the other hand, more informal paintings by John Singer Sargent were landscapes paintings and studies done in a looser Impressionist style. Later in life, he enjoyed doing mural paintings and working outside, or en plein air in the company of his friend, the famous Impressionist painter Claude Monet.

Let’s explore a bit more about the artist himself before diving into some of the most well-known paintings by John Singer Sargent.

A Brief Biography before describing the Paintings by John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent was born in Florence in 1856 to American parents. He grew up traveling around Eruope with his family, spoke four languages, and enjoyed a cosmopolitan upbringing. Realizing at a young age that he hoped to become an artist, he went on to study painting in some of the best schools in Europe, including the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Throughout the 1880s, he regularly participated in the Paris Salon—most often, his works were full-length portraits of women, which generally received positively.

Sargent’s best portraits expertly reveal the individuality and personality of his sitters. This ability set him apart from others portrait painters of his time—he made the sitter shine on the canvas while capturing the essence of their being. Actually, in some instances, this led to his sitters to be shocked or upset with the final work.

However, one of the earliest notable events in the career of the artist is a scandal he caused at the 1884 Paris Salon because of his painting Portrait of Madame X (we’ll dive specifically into that painting below). Viewers immediately saw it as overly erotic and inappropriate. Because of this scandal, Sargent moved to England, establishing himself as a leading portrait painter. He also traveled to the USA to paint, but he always returned to Europe, and enjoyed fame in multiple continents. In his later years, he largely turned away from portraiture in favor of landscape paintings.

Let’s explore a few of the many paintings by John Singer Sargent.

Paintings by John Singer Sargent: Master Copy

Source Video: SIMPLIFY Drawing and Painting

1) The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (1882)

This early painting illustrates Sargent’s fascination with the Old Masters. Specifically, he adopts the natural and unposed manner akin to that in Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez.

The Boit family was among many American expatriates who lived in Paris in the late 1870s. Sargent was friends with Ned Boit, the girls’ father who graduated from Harvard Law School turned painter. He was married to Mary Louisa, whose inheritance allowed the whole family to live abroad. They lived in a luxurious apartment in Paris close to other Americans.

John Singer Sargent painted the family’s daughters in the foyer of their home—an peculiar intermediate space to choose for a setting. The room is sparse with only a rug and two tall Japanese vases, which were prized possessions of the family, and dwarf the girls in comparison. The girls wear casual clothes, all very similar to each other.

This painting deviates from traditional group portraiture in many ways—it is quite casual, is a mix between a portrait and an interior scene, and the girls’ features are not painted with specificity as most portraits are. Because of these unconventional aspects, critics initially had mixed reactions to the work.

At the time, it was interpreted as a fairly straightforward depiction of girls at play; since then, commenters have suggested that Sargent was abstractly expressing the ambiguities of adolescence, adding more interest to the discussion around the work.

2) El Jaleo (1882)

John Singer Sargent started working on this massive canvas in Paris following a five-month trip he took throughout Europe and North Africa a few years previously. El Jaleo‘s titlerefers to a popular dance—Sargent captures the essence of this dance with the bright lights, dark colors, and a dancing model in mid-motion.

The composition is based on drawings he made in southern Sapin on his trip. El Jaleo translates to “the ruckus” and fills rooms with heels clicking, hands clapping, and sounds of singing and guitar.

The enormity and drama of the composition is emphaszied by its unique placement in the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. The painting is housed behind an elaborate arch—when you enter the space, you feel as if you are in the dance hall along with the figures in the painting, emphasized by the huge size of the canvas.

3) Portrait of Madame X (1884)

Sargent’s Portrait of Madame X, done in 1884, is now considered one of his best works and was the artist’s personal favorite; eventually, Sargent sold it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. However, when it was unveiled in Paris at the 1884 Salon, it aroused such a negative reaction that it partially prompted Sargent to move to London.

The painting depicts Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, an American expatriate socialite known as Madame X. She was a high society woman famous for her elegant appearance and controversial reputation. The woman’s family did not commission a portrait—Sargent was simply captivated by her beauty and the scandal that was associated with her. He wanted to paint this controversial societal figure while capturing her stunning beauty—the artist hints at her reputation through a clearly self-confident pose.

Gautreau got bored with sitting for the painting. Sargent apparently said, regarding her personality, “the unpaintable beauty and hopeless laziness of Madame Gautreau.” Sargent attempted to increase his own fame by depicting her beauty in this portrait; he did so by working without a commission to emphasize her daring personality and style.

Among the paintings by John Singer Sargent, this one is the most infamous.

4) Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose (1885)

carnation-lily-lily-rose-from-the-world-s-greatest-paintings-published-by-oldham-s-press-in-1920.jpg!HD

One of the more Impressionist paintings by John Singer Sargent is Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, which depicts two children lighting up Chinese lanterns in a garden.

In September of 1885, Sargent was boating on the Thames with fellow American artist Edwin Austin Abbey, and on his trip, he saw Chinese lanterns hanging among trees and lilies. While staying at a Worcestershire, England, shortly after moving from Paris, he started this composition using his hosts’ daughter as a model. However, soon after, he switched models to the daughters of another friend as they had the exact hair color Sargent was seeking.

He painted this outside in typical Impressionist fashion over a few months—he only worked on it for a few minutes every night when the lighting was perfect. Reportedly, he had to replace the natural flowers with artificial ones as they died out later in autumn. You can sense the purple evening light that Sargent was going for. At one point, he cut off two feet of the painting, making it nearly square.

When it was exhibited at the 1887 Royal Academy exhibition, the work was met with mixed reviews. Displayed in Britain, the painting was seen as too “Frenchified” by some. However, there was also much praise, and Tate Britain bought the work later that year—it remains in the Tate collection and is currently on display.

5) Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood (1885)

Although he was known for oil portraits during the height of his career, Sargent experimented with different media and styles early on. Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood demonstrates this and shows a different work than he is typically known for.

John Singer Sargent met Claude Monet while studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris—their friendship would withstand many years. He painted this work while visiting Monet in Giverny, outside Paris, and captures his contemporary painting en plein air. Monet’s second wife, Alice, is in the composition, sitting to her husband’s right.

The composition is interesting in that Monet is painting an expansive sky, his easel very visible, but Sargent chooses to paint a portrait of him and his wife, subtly exploring their relationship in doing so.

6) Bedouins (1905–1906)

Sargent traversed the then-called Ottoman Empire (now Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt) in 1905 and 1906, resulting in compositions inspired by his travels. Here, he depicts Arab desert nomads, known as Bedouins, who often lived in camps together.

This image, although it is more Impressionist that most of his works, shows the subtle nuance yet realism that Singer always achieves. In both the surroundings and the clothes of the men, he uses warm tones that hint at a desert setting under an intense direct sun. Their faces mostly covered, the two mens’ faces are serious and intense at the viewer. This was one among many works inspired by the Bedouins.

7) Another of Paintings by John Singer Sargent: Lady Agnew of Lochnaw (1892)

This captivating portrait highlights the varied skills in John Singer Sargent most famous paintings.

The woman—who was the young wife of barrister Andrew Noel Agnew—reclines in a chair. Her pose is fairly informal, yet her gaze is direct. Her expression is both mysterious, serious, and pleasant. Her outfit is elaborate and flowy, with fabric cascading down the composition, tied together with a large lilac sash. She is surrounded by the colorful upholstery of the armchair and the Chinese wall hanging, all of which come together to harmonize with Lady Agnew’s dress.

This 1892 painting made Sargent famous. Following the positive reception, he enjoyed heightened commissions and a dedicated following by Edwardian society—he became known as the most fashionable painter in both Europe and America. Additionally, Lady Agnew became more prevalent in society and was seen as a great beauty.

This painting brings together much of what Sargent does so well—the loose brushstrokes feel as if he painted them with ease, adding to the relaxed atmosphere, and the composition feels very fluid. However, she is still painted with realism and a distinct personality. He painted this in a total of just six sessions, later saying that sometimes his best results are created with fewer sittings.

This stunning work undoubtedly belongs on the list of John Singer Sargent most famous paintings.

8) Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth (1889)

This intensely dramatic painting depicts actress Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth. In 1888, the Shakespeare play was running at the London Lyceum. Dame Ellen Terry was a famous British actress whom captivated Sargent’s stage presence and appearance—he subsequently convinced her to sit for a portrait.

Interestingly, Sargent chose to invent a pose instead of replicating one from the actual play. He paints the subject in the moment when she places a crown on her head after the murder of Duncan, the Scottish king—this scene does not happen in Shakespeare’s text nor in how it was performed. A significant element of the composition is Terry’s elaborate costume, which flows down the entirety of the work. Sargent beautifully captures the iridescent effect of the outfit with tiny dabs of color.

Apparently, Sargent wanted to make a convincing dramatic portrait of both the actress and the character, a unique and complicated objective for a portrait. This work stands out from many other paintings by John Singer Sargent for a few reasons—the person is in a moment of apparent acting (not sitting as herself, even though it’s a portrait) and it has a very theatrical pose.

9) Mrs. Carl Meyer and Her Children (1896)

This portrait exemplifies what Sargent was so famous for—upper-class portraits. In Mrs. Carl Meyer and Her Children, Adele Meyer sits on a luxurious piece of furniture while her daughter and son stand behind her. Her arm reaches up to hold the hand of the young boy, but all three of their gazes stare out at the viewer.

Like many of Sargent’s commissions from affluent clients, this work portrays a family as a wealthy and sophisticated member of elite London social circles. His job was to capture them in the most flattering, luxurious, and glorious manner possible, which Sargent does expertly—the gilded furniture, the large rose silk gown of Adele, and an open book all point to this. The family looks like a sophisticated scholarly group surrounded by belongings that could’ve been in the Palace of Versailles. Although it is a group portrait, the emphasis is undoubtedly on Adele in order to solidify her place in society and convey her glamour.

10) Gassed (1919)

Standing at over 7.5 feet tall and 20 feet long, Gassed conveys a much different atmosphere than his portraits of the upper-class. He paints the aftermath of a German mustard gas attack in this painting.

Whereas most of the paintings by John Singer Sargent employ light and airy colors to capture scenes of leisure or sophisticated poses of bourgeoisie ladies, this work predominately uses somber khakis, beiges, and greens.

Sargent worked for the British Ministry of Information starting in 1918 to capture soldiers’ experience of wartime and the Anglo-American cooperation. In both the foreground and the background, groups of wounded men are walking towards a medical tent; they are holding onto each other for guidance, as the gas has compromised their vision. Dead bodies are everywhere on the sides of the road.

The painting evokes a touching sense of comraderie tarnished by the sorrows of war. Even though these men are alive right now, they are suffering from the agonizing effects of mustard gas.

It is one of several Modern masterpieces devoted to the atrocities of World War I and other early 20th century conflicts. Gassed was mixed with varied reception—some people thought it was plainly patriotic in almost a tacky way, but it remains a powerful symbol of conflict among the large amount of war paintings. Even though this isn’t exactly the typical painting of the artist, its powerful emotion and documentation of history makes it among John Singer Sargents most famous paintings.

After viewing the Paintings by John Singer Sargent here his Legacy

While Sargent was very well-known and fashionable during his lifetime, he (like many societal portrait painters) wasn’t significantly talked about in art history until more recently. Now, we recognize his style as an exciting blend of Impressionism and Realism, all executed with precision yet personality. We also remember him for subjects beyond portraiture—his landscapes and informal group portraits are masterpieces in their own right.

As far as monetary value of paintings by John Singer Sargent, an oil painting titled Group with Parasols (A Siesta) sold for a whopping $23,528,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in 2004. This widely surpassed the previous highest sale of a Sargent work by over double. John Singer Sargent most famous paintings are still highly sought after.

Needless to say, the masterpieces by Sargent have withstood the test of time and are still well thought of in the long history of art. A unique figure who existed within several different styles, John Singer Sargent created work that is distinctly him while beautifully immortalizing all of his subjects.

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10December2021

10 Tips on How to Make Money With Artwork

✍🏻 Author: Genevieve Munch

10 Tips on How to Make Money With Artwork

We have heard the stereotype of “the starving artist.” We’re used to hearing the stories of painters barely making an income in the past, but there are several answers to the question of how to be an artist and make a liveable income doing so.

Before we had the Internet, artists were more heavily tied to institutions to create income from their works, such as galleries and wealthy and supportive patrons. With the rise of social media and countless digital tools comes many more opportunities to sell artwork as an artist!

So, if you’re looking for a quick guide to how to be an artist in terms of finances, keep reading below for some insights. We’ll start by going over some overarching ideas and then giving you some specific resources that you can use to make money.

Develop Your Business Plan

Before we get into some specific places you can go to sell your work online and in person, let’s dive into some foundational ideas.

Unfortunately, your talent alone isn’t going to automatically make you enough money—you’ve got to make a robust strategy for how you can leverage your abilities into a living.

While the internet does give you a ton of ways to sell your artwork, there is also a lot of other artists online, too. But, with some research and planning, you can make your artwork more visible in digital space. It’s important to be present on multiple platforms so that you can market yourself in different ways, which we will get to below.

When you’re making money with your artwork, you’re running a business—and, like any business, there are important foundational principles to build on. If you need to brush up on your business skills, take advantage of the many online resources, like Udemy, which has nearly 200,000 online courses for low prices.

Another overarching idea to apply to your money-making plan is to find your niche. What specialty can you market yourself with? Figure out what you can offer best and what you enjoy most so that you can effectively lean into those skills. You don’t have to put yourself in a box, but don’t spread yourself so thin that you don’t have an artistic identity. Art is a form of expression and you don’t want to lose your passion for art by offering things that you don’t love.

On a more emotional topic, being an artist also comes with criticism—when you’re making art that you care about and putting it out there, you’re going to get good and potentially negative feedback. When selling your artwork, it is essential to curate a healthy mindset so that you can leverage your skills in the best possible way without sacrificing your mental health.

Let’s start to answer the question of how to make money with artwork with some concrete examples. Some of our suggestions will overlap with each other a little bit, and with all the ways to market yourself online, you’ll surely be able to adapt many of these points into your life.

1) So how to make money with artwork? First tip, Selling Artwork on Instagram or Other Social Media

Gone are the days where you had to display your work in person to show it off. With Instagram, Etsy, and other online art websites, you can have a robust platform to sell your work. On these sites, you can connect directly with consumers all around the world. Instagram is a great way to advertise your work and the other platforms you’re on, too. In fact, some people might consider Instagram an essential tool as an artist—some even use Instagram as their website.

However, artists need to put a bit of effort into amassing some followers and gaining visibility on the global platform. If you’re an artist, we’ve compiled a list of quick tips to improve your Instagram presence.

Take good quality photos of your work—try to use natural light and a clean background.
Consider the overall visual identity of your account. Try to stick to a unified brand that represents your art practice.
Engage with your audience! If you’re getting comments on your post, try to take the time to reply back to them.
Post regularly—at least a few times a week, if possible.
Do some hashtag research and include effective ones in your posts. There are countless useful resources online to find the best ones for you.
Link your website, Etsy page, or another online platform in your biography. Tip: You can use a LinkTree account to compile a bunch of links into one.
Use the Instagram Story function to advertise upcoming sales, exhibitions, events, and insights into your art practice!
Make sure you are replying to any Direct Messages (DMs) that you get.

Lastly, consider making an Instagram Business account. It’s free, but unlike the basic personal account, it gives you good analytics so you can see what content is performing well. There are also useful money-making features, such as the ability to tag products. For example, if you’re selling a series of prints, you could actually tag the product listing in a photo so viewers can go directly to buy one.

Instagram is an awesome tool to showcase your artistic practice and generate sales at the same time. It might take some time to grow your following, but you can absolutely get there with time and effort. And, if you manage a Facebook account, a blog, or a website, you can recycle some of the content to make it a bit more manageable.

2) Selling Related Products to Your Art

Many artists will sell merchandise in addition to their work. For example, maybe you want to adapt your designs to planners, invitations, or greeting cards.

You could also do seasonal sales. Perhaps you want to make customizable holiday cards or graduation cards. If you wanted to get more adventurous, you could even sell blankets, t-shirts, hoodies, or home decor. This isn’t up everyone’s alley, but it is absolutely a way to make money as a creative.

One con of this method of selling is that a good chunk will normally be taken out of the sale for production cost. Down below we’ve linked websites to check out for selling a variety of products.

3) Create a Professional Website

Having a professional website dedicated to your professional art career is a good idea. You can also maintain accounts on other sites and put them on your website—you don’t need to sell all your products through your own website, although you could if you wanted.

Make sure your website is easy-to-use and professional-looking. Having a business website can also help you further develop your visual brand, which you can then adapt to social media. With so many website builders online like Wix and Squarespace, it’s easy to create your own site without needing to know how to code or being too tech-savvy.

Additionally, websites are a great way to tell your clients a little bit more about yourself. You can put your artist statement, biography, and any awards or education you’ve received, and any other information to express your art practice more fully. It’s a good way to add reputability to your practice without having to go through an online gallery or something similar.

4) How to make money with artwork? Easy, Selling Commissions!

Commissions, of course, are a great method for how to make money with artwork. Mention that you’re available for commissions both on your website and on any social media—mention specific types you’re willing to do, too. Pet portraits and family portraits are always popular. If you’re a photographer, you could offer an artsy photoshoot. You could even offer on-site painting, like murals, if you’re talented in that realm.

There are some websites that make it easy to connect directly with people looking to commission an artwork. For example, Artfinder, Art Please, and Artists&Clients are all options.

You can typically price commissions more than you would other artwork since they are custom-made. Don’t sell yourself short! Figure out a pricing strategy that makes sense for your time and efforts.

Note that if you’re not as big on customer service this can get a little more tricky. Since you’re working directly with a client and probably charging them more than for your other work, sometimes navigating this relationship could get more involved than you prefer.

5) Write an Art Blog

This might not be for everyone, but it is absolutely is an answer for how to make money with artwork. If you’re a fan of writing, you can write an art blog! Some examples of content you could feature are:

Interviews with local artists
Tips on forming a career as an artist
Tutorials on specific art techniques
Reviews of exhibitions you’ve been to
Reviews of art supplies
Op-Ed pieces on recent art trends

As far as making money from blogs, there are definitely ways to make it work—blogs are so popular for good reason. There are loads of resources online for how to monetize your blog. Some ways include paid ads, affiliate marketing, and promoting products on your blog.

Just remember that your blog should probably look different than your portfolio—it’s not your personal art website. However, you can still use blogs to market your art, any courses that you might offer, or even an eBook that you wrote.

Blogging might not be the most profitable method on this list, but if you enjoy writing and are willing to put time into it you can definitely generate some income from it.

6) Selling Artwork on Etsy

We mentioned it briefly above, but let’s dive into Etsy. It’s such a major marketplace that it gets its own bullet on our list. This is an extremely popular platform for a reason—a lot of artists use Etsy to earn a steady income. Whether you make jewelry or paintings, you can open an art store on this worldwide platform.

There are pros and cons that come with Etsy. Let’s start with the pros:

It’s really good for beginners. The platform is friendly and helps you set up your store.
There is so much information online on tips for how to get traction on Etsy. With such a big marketplace, there are lots of experienced people willing to share their tips on their blogs.
You have the comforts of being on a big platform. There are more privacy measures in place, built-in analytics, and it has secure communication, as well as a help center for resolving issues.

The most major con comes with the size. There are a lot of sellers on Etsy, so it might take a bit to stand out—but, the beauty of the hand-made products of Etsy is that every seller is unique. Etsy also charges a transaction fee and takes 5% of your sales.

If you’re just starting out trying to figure out how to make money with artwork, Etsy is a good place to start.

7) Selling On Creative Market

Do you make digital artwork? If so, this is an important tip for how to make money with artwork. Creative Market is another online platform, but rather than the physical products of Etsy, it allows artists to sell their digital artwork.

Products can be a whole host of things: fonts, textures, wallpapers, Adobe tools, and templates for anything from business cards to presentations. If you’ve got a talent for graphic design, definitely check out Creative Market.

Creative Market does take 40% commission on sales, but there are some pros to counteract that number. The interface is great, it’s easy to reach your target audience, and again you have some of the security comforts of a larger platform.

Other online marketplaces that you can sell more design, photography, or illustration type work are:

So, don’t worry if you’re not a master oil painter offering commissions. If you’re embracing digital methods for making your art, there are still plenty of options for selling your work.

8) To learn How to Make Money with Artwork consider to Sell Canvas Paintings or Other Fine Art Online

If you’re not a digital artist and like to stick to traditional paint and canvas, there are great platforms online to help you sell your work. A really popular one is Saatchi Art.

On there, you can post high-quality photos of your work after making an account. It is more focused on fine art as opposed to the broader marketplace of Etsy.

You can sell both prints or original works on Saatchi Art. Like most places online, you’ll have to deal with commission; this one takes 30% per sale. You are also in charge of shipping.

Here’s a list of more websites where you can potentially sell your art online:

Artplode (no commission involved, but there is a flat fee of $60 per listing)
UGallery (a curated online gallery that charges 50% commission)
Artfinder (online art market that charges 30% commission)

9) Sell Your Work at Art Fairs and Other Events

Let’s move offline for this idea. Of course, you can sell your work in person! There are a wide variety of events nowadays to sell your art at. Although young people often buy online, there are still a lot of people who would prefer to see your artwork in person as they make a purchase, especially an expensive one.

Check for local art fairs, farmers’ markets, festivals, and other events that you can sell art at. Make sure you have a business card and plenty of artwork to sell! Not only is this a great way to make some money, but it’s also nice for connecting with your local community.

You can also advertise your availability for commissions if someone is interested in something specific.

10) Teach Art Online

This is a different idea than most of the things on this list, but you can actually make some money by teaching art online. Even if you don’t think of yourself as a teacher, being an artist means that you have valuable experience and unique knowledge in creative fields.

Some of the more popular platforms where you can sell your courses and teach online are Udemy and Skillshare. If you aren’t ready to jump into a platform, you can make simple online tutorials and post them on your website or YouTube. You can test the waters there, get a feel for the content that people might want to see and how your followers interact with you.

You might be surprised at how many artists choose to develop a following as a teacher in Skillshare in addition to their own art practice.

Know your worth and make a living as an artist now that you know how to make money with artwork!

As an artist, you’re making unique products that you spent a good time on—remember that when you’re trying to make money off of your artwork. Don’t sell yourself short! Come up with a pricing strategy that works for you to learn how to make money with artwork — some artists calculate based on the price of materials plus an hourly rate, for example.

You can combine a lot of these methods to build up your income and in fact, many of them work really well together. You can advertise your Etsy on your Instagram, your Saatchi Art profile at an art fair, and showcase your commissions online.

Selling artwork is a unique business—and, just like any successful business, it requires dedication, discipline, and organization. Although art is a more creative product than many other businesses offer, it still needs a plan to burgeon into something big.

Combine many of these ideas to create robust channels of income. There are a lot of methods for how to be an artist nowadays and how to make money with artwork. Don’t limit yourself to just one!

Just a note…would you like to learn to paint like Monet? Then read the article “How to paint like Monet“….

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