1.

THE BIRD SELLER

Artist: Vicente Manansala

Year: 1976

The Bird Seller (1976) is a cubist artwork that in a static yet dynamic style that depicts the life of a
modern Filipino (“Vicente Silva Manansala,” n.d.).The Bird Seller is an oil on canvas artwork that
employs a clear cubism technique pioneered by Manansala himself. The superimposition of shapes and
colors is a feature of this art style. Furthermore, despite the fact that the painting is a flat, two-
dimensional work made up of simple geometric patterns, the overlap of straight and curved lines, as
well as stiff (triangles) and circular (birds wings) shapes, produces movement. Aside from that, the
artwork has a wonderful vibe to it. While the artwork contains hints of fiery red, reddish-brown, and
yellow, the green and blue hues dominate the picture, producing a soothing atmosphere punctuated by
bright interruptions. As such, a Filipino vendor of tropical birds is seen in The Bird Seller, bowed over by
the weight of a pole across his shoulders. Sunday markets, modest living, and struggles come to mind
when I see this sight. Having said that, I believe Manansala's objective was to depict a scenario from
ordinary life.
2. The Lovers II, 1928 by Rene Magritte

The Lovers II (1928) is an oil on canvas painting depicting two people in love. Through veils, the figures
kiss each other. They are in a room where the back wall, side wall, and ceiling are visible. The rear wall
has a blue-grey color that is lighter on the bottom half and darker on the upper half. The side wall is
brick red, lighter at the bottom and darker as it progresses to the top. The ceiling is white with a
decorative trim along the red wall's border, however it does not continue along the blue-grey wall's
border. The male figure is dressed in a black suit with a white shirt. He wraps his arms around a woman
dressed in a red sleeveless dress with white accent. The tanned arm of the woman is visible. In relation
to the woman, the guy is in a domineering position. He bends down to kiss her while she tilts her head
up. The faces and necks of both figures are entirely obscured by a yellowish curtain. The veils are tight
against the front of the face and top of the head on both figures, then loosen towards the back. The
woman's face is slightly slanted to the left, highlighting her lover and exposing the distinctive contour of
his nose.

The room and the lovers are the two main components of this painting. Magritte presented two figures
with their faces covered by a white fabric, caught in an uncertain context, and unable to genuinely speak
or touch, unlike Gustav Klimt's sensuous and passionate tableau The Kiss. Many people wonder if this is
a kiss of forbidden love. The deathlike material separates the two people indefinitely, creating a
mysterious mood that celebrated this image. The room is painted in such a way that it appears nearly
insignificant. There are no windows to provide perspective, and the strong colors are shadowed.
However, it's unusual to see a space with so many different colors on the walls. The lovers are the main
focus, and they are the ones that give the greatest mystery and interest to the story. They're both
positioned in a way that's provocative. With his shoulders inclined, the man is in a commanding stance.
The woman looks to be turning her head up towards him, but after examining her body position, it
appears that she is leaning backwards. The veils are the most important feature of the lovers. It's
actually a fairly uninteresting artwork, but by merely veiling the faces, it becomes considerably more
engaging and thought provoking. With all of these aspects, though, the psychological impact is
significantly larger. The color blue is associated with tranquility or water, both of which are linked to life.
Red is connected with fury, lust, and love, whereas white is associated with purity and is also the least
visible. The color black is often connected with death, which the guy may represent. The woman is
clothed in crimson, which might be seen as a symbol of love or passion. The veils have a whitish or
grayish color, and depending on how you interpret them, they could represent purity or fading or
corrupted purity. It's difficult to fit all of these parts together to make a single meaning. It's the
culmination of aspects that are meant to have an impact on the audience. The Lovers is one of those
paintings that piques your interest and makes you think.

3. The Stone Breakers

Artist: Gustave Courbet

If we look attentively at Courbet's picture The Stonebreakers from 1849, we can see the artist's
sympathy for the underprivileged. Two figures are seen here breaking and removing stone from a road
that is being constructed. Such job is left for chain gangs in our age of strong jackhammers and
bulldozers. Courbet's work features characters dressed in worn and tattered attire, and the two stone
breakers are set against a low hill typical of the rural French town of Ornans, where the artist was raised
and spent most of his time. Everywhere except the upper right corner, where a tiny patch of dazzling
blue sky appears, the hill reaches to the top of the canvas. This has the effect of isolating these workers
and implying that they are physically and economically entrapped. Courbet wanted to portray what is
“real,” thus he depicted a guy who appears to be too old and a youngster who appears to be too young
for such strenuous activity. This isn't supposed to be a heroic story; rather, it's meant to be a realistic
portrayal of the abuse and hardship that was a regular element of rural life in mid-century France. And,
as with so many great works of art, there is a strong link between the narrative and the painter's formal
choices, which include brushwork, composition, line, and color. Courbet's brushwork, like the stones
themselves, is rough—rougher than one might expect for the mid-nineteenth century. This shows that
the artist was consciously rejecting the highly polished, sophisticated Neoclassicist style that dominated
French painting in 1848 when he painted his picture. The failure to focus on the elements of the image
that would normally garner the greatest attention is perhaps the most defining feature of Courbet's
approach. Hands, faces, and foregrounds are traditionally where an artist would spend the most effort.
Courbet was not one of them. If you look closely, you'll note that he tries to be even-handed, paying
equal attention to faces and rock. In these respects, The Stonebreakers appears to lack the
fundamentals of art (things like a composition that chooses and organizes, aerial perspective, and
completion), making it feel more "genuine."

4. Barge Haulers of the Volga " by Ilya Repin

Repin's Barge Haulers at Volga is one of his early works; when he finished it, he was still a student at the Fine Art
Academy. Repin's rapid move to realism was unexpected, as he was largely known for devotional paintings based
on Biblical readings at the time.
Repin visited Ust-Izhora, a tiny village near St Petersburg, in the 1860s as part of his plain air preparatory study for
a painting about Iov. The artist soon became aware of a group of barge carriers at work. Repin was struck by the
contrast of poor, hardworking people breaking their backs against a prospering and wealthy upper elite. He started
working on the painting's first watercolor draft right away. Repin decided that the composition of this initial draft
was too hazy and didn't adequately represent all of the feelings he wanted to convey, so he traveled to the Volga
River to learn more about the life of barge transporters. He continued to work on each character and the future
masterpiece's creation there.
Repin spent the entire summer in Samara, on the Volga River, becoming acquainted with the daily lives of barge
transporters, speaking with them and getting to know them. Kanin, a barge transporter who used to be a monk but
left the monastery, was one of the people Repin became acquainted with. Kanin is one of the painting's primary
figures.
The painting's arrangement was made in such a way that the observer gets the impression that the group of barge
transporters is moving towards the painting's frame, as if attempting to step outside of the canvas. Each barge
transporter has a unique expression based on Repin's observations on the Volga during the months he spent there.
A ship is depicted on the far right of the artwork, and it is Repin's symbol of development, which will eventually
replace barge carriers with machines. The picture was a critique of nineteenth-century social concerns in its
totality.

In 1873, the artwork was initially displayed to the public in St Petersburg during an exhibition that would
later go to Vienna for the World Exhibition. The public's reaction was divisive: academic painters
responded badly to the work, denouncing it. Other painters, writers, and poets, including Nikolai Gogol
and Fyodor Dostoevsky, admired the piece. The reaction to the artwork at the World Exhibition in
Vienna was mixed, despite the fact that it was purchased by Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. The Russian
Museum in St Petersburg is now displaying Barge Haulers on the Volga.

5. The Scream

Artist: Edvard Munch

The fearful, unnatural, ghostly face in the background, the bright orange sky. Back then, the image
wasn't really appealing. However, it became one of my favorite paintings over time. Something in
Munch's tempestuous painting from 1893 piqued my interest, and I wanted to figure out what it was.
The Scream, according to Munch, was a painting he created to depict his soul. Rather than painting
pictures precisely to truly represent the subjects in them, he chose to paint his feelings in an
exaggerated style, rather than focusing on realism and perfectionism in his art. Munch claimed that he
depicted an existential crisis in his painting. He was strolling down a road similar to the one depicted in
the artwork as the sun sank, creating a stunning, colorful backdrop. His buddies were walking alongside
him, but when he stopped to stare out at the sky in front of them, they continued going. He then
described experiencing a panic episode, in which he became exhausted, nervous, and claustrophobic all
at once, and the weight of nature and the world descended upon him.

So, what triggered such a strong reaction in Munch's thoughts on that particular day? Many people
experience panic attacks on a regular basis, and the majority of them will have at least one at some
point in their life. Munch's, on the other hand, was a combination of an attack and an existential crisis.
Was there something else going on in his life that caused him to suffer a nervous breakdown or lose
touch with reality? Yes, it is correct. One of his sisters was committed to a mental institution prior to his
collapse due to significant mental health concerns. He also had to deal with the death of his mother
when he was five years old, as well as the death of one of his sisters when he was around thirteen years
old. Tuberculosis claimed both of their lives. His past was extraordinarily painful, which most likely
contributed to both his existential crisis and his decision to paint The Scream. He had health problems as
a child and missed a lot of school; his problems even prevented him from going outside in the winter.
Munch's father was verbally abusive, and he exploited the death of Munch's mother to justify his
behavior, arguing that she would not be proud of her children. Munch later faced further abuse from his
father since he despised Munch's career. His early efforts were heavily criticized by the general
audience. It's evident that his childhood trauma had left him with a slew of mental health difficulties,
and the constant abuse and stress of his job didn't help matters. Other studies have concluded that The
Scream and Munch's account of the ensuing existential crisis are both evident indications of
depersonalization illness. The illness causes sensations of separation from one's self and environment,
as if one is suddenly witnessing rather than connecting to one's own body. Childhood abuse is assumed
to be the cause of depersonalization disorder. Extreme stress and panic attacks are common symptoms
of the disease. Munch's description of having an existential crisis on the bridge away from his friends is
thought to be similar to the symptoms of depersonalization disorder. Munch displayed signs of acute
stress and claimed to being verbally tortured by his father throughout his youth, therefore it's very likely
that he did suffer from such a mental disease. Since he acknowledged anxiety and also showed
indicators of sadness, it's likely that this wasn't the only mental ailment he was dealing with. Whatever
else he was going through, it's almost certain that it had an impact on his existential crisis on the bridge.
The Scream wasn't just a stress reaction or an out-of-character panic attack. It represents Munch's dark
and hard days as he faced with mental illness and trauma, as well as his attempt to reason and explain
his experience via what he knew best: painting.

Munch checked himself into a mental health facility after painting The Scream because he said he was
hearing voices. The Scream was not the sole result of excruciating anxiety and a lack of mental health.
Despite being the most well-known of Munch's works, many of his other paintings dealt with mental
illness. Some of the paintings were portraits of his sister, who had died. Anxiety, his picture painted after
The Scream, looks uncannily like the famous masterpiece.