Professional Documents
Culture Documents
GE 06: ART APPRECIATION
First Semester , SY: 2020- 202 1
NAME: GROUP 7
SECTION: CBET 01 303P
PERIOD: IMPRESSIONISM
PERIOD: CUBISM
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1.
What do you think is the meaning of the artwork from each period? How do they differ from one
another in terms of characteristics, elements and principles of art?
In my perspective, the artwork of Claude Monet which is the Impression: Sunrise portrays
a serene and calming scene while the sun rises, it does not just show detailed brush strokes but as
well as the feeling of being in the front of the port. Claude Monet painted Impression: Sunrise in
1872 in Le Havre, France, which is Monet’s hometown and during 1872 he visited the area
regularly. During these visits, he would paint scenes in the area, including the port. There are a
total of six canvases that depict the port in different ways; at dawn, during the day, at dusk, in the
dark, from the water and from the viewpoint of his hotel room. The most famous in this series was
‘Impression, Sunrise’. This piece was painted from his hotel room just as dawn was breaking. The
artwork of Pablo Picasso named Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, in my opinion, is about being
against the expectation of painting the ideal representation of female beauty and instead
distorted the women's body and was made up of geometrical shapes. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
was a revolutionary art not only because of its modern style of art, but because of its courageous
interpretation on the image of a woman. The females back then were visualized as feminine,
gentle and calm. However, in Picasso’s work, it depicted nude females in a nontraditional
manner. These females are angular, unfeminine, and unflinching in their nudity. This was the
reason why the people during his times were disgusted with his artwork making it very
controversial during his times.According to what we have researched, some people say that it
portrays five nude females, some said that those are prostitutes in a brothel on Carrer d'Avinyó, a
street in Barcelona. Each figure is depicted in a disconcerting confrontational manner and none is
conventionally feminine. The women appear slightly menacing and are rendered with angular
and disjointed body shapes. The figure on the left exhibits facial features and dress of Egyptian or
southern Asian style. The two adjacent figures are shown in the Iberian style of Picasso's native
Spain, while the two on the right are shown with African mask-like features.
The artwork of Claude Monet shows the characteristics, principles and elements of
impressionism. An important characteristic of Impressionist painting is the type of brushstrokes
utilized. Short, thick strokes of paint are applied to the canvas to quickly capture the essence of
the subject. The brushstrokes visible in the water in Impression: Sunrise create a sense of rhythm
which reflects the feeling produced by the motion of the sea. Another feature of Impressionist
painting was the distinct application of color. Colors are placed side by side and are mixed
optically by the viewer’s eye. This technique is evident in the sky and water portions of
Impression, Sunrise. Lastly, Impressionist painters consigned heavy emphasis on natural light—a
practice that can be detected throughout Monet’s work including the sunlight reflection in this
particular artwork. It was characterized by small, thin lines which were clearly visible to the eye. It
emphasizes on the accurate depiction of light. Impressionism art does not reflect the reality of life
but it shows the impression of what the person, object or place looked like in the artist’s
perspective. Impression, sunrise shows an obvious characteristic which was immediacy execution
and how it was captured in just one perceived instant. The use of bright colors in portraying the
sunrise gave an elegant touch while he used dark colors to accentuate the waterline of the harbor
making it a good realistic impression on what a harbor looks like. On the other side, the artwork of
Pablo Picasso shows the characteristics, principles and elements of cubism. Les Demoiselles
d’Avignon by Pablo Picasso employs geometric shapes in depictions of human and other forms,
which is the characteristic of cubism art. The painting is composed of little cubes and other
geometric shapes such as squares, triangles and cones. In cubism, paintings are often
monochromatic. You’ll find only muted colors. Artists would choose one basic color for the entire
work, and its variations when needed. Objects are deconstructed and “analysed” from different
angles, and turned into a fragmented composite. That explains why the first of the two phases of
Cubism was called Analytic Cubism. It emphasized the principles of cubism such as the geometric
form, lines and simplified composition.