Ebook Gallery

When is an Impressionist not an Impressionist? Answer: when that Impressionist is Edgar Degas.

The Little Fourteen Year-Old Dancer.
Sculpture.
Courtesy of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptek, Copenhagen.

Degas is considered to be one of the key participants in the Impressionist movement; however, he took objection to this and tried to distance himself as much as possible from being characterised in this manner. Whilst his contemporaries delighted in spontaneity, bright colours, and the effect of light, Degas maintained that his art was completely devoid of spontaneity.

The study of the old masters and an interest in realism and composition, this is what shaped the artist’s work and style. This evolution in personal style and approach to art is reflected in the change in genre from his early to latter works. Initially seeking out a technique to rival that of his revered El Greco (Scene of War in the Middle Ages) his stylistic leanings then noticeably altered to include an interest in portraying events, people, and places in a realist manner.
Character studies were a particular favourite of Degas, L’Absinthe, The Ballet Instructor, and At the Stock Exchange are all notable examples of this. → Read more

It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who said: “Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art.”

GEORGES BRAQUE
Still Life with Fruit Dish, Bottle and Mandolin, 1930.
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf.
© 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.
Courtesy of The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.

However, there are many forms and styles of accepted ‘art’ which do not conform to conventional definitions of beauty. Take Cubism as an example. Many art enthusiasts, whilst acknowledging that the likes of Pablo Picasso and George Braque are masters of their craft, are confounded by Cubism. Abstract art may have this effect in the general sense, but there is something about Cubism which perplexes and befuddles the viewer. → Read more

Sex sells. Or at least in today’s society, the marketing world strategically incorporates erotic imagery in advertisements to gain consumers’ attention. If the moniker “sex sells” is true for advertisements, could it also be true in art? In nude paintings, does the artist aim to “sell” something by enticing us with the image of a naked and supple body?

When looking through Felix Vallotton’s artistic catalog, the amount of nudity is great. Vallotton used naked women in any context, from nude women bathing to nude women playing with kittens.

Félix Vallotton, Nude Women with Cats, c. 1897-1898.
Oil on cardboard, 41 x 52 cm.
Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne

Vallotton, like most artists, appreciated beauty, including the beauty of the naked human body. But while the artist might have seen the beauty of the female form, what exactly does the observer experience when confronted with subtle eroticism? → Read more

Last year, Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ reignited the old “What is art?” discussion. Serrano shocked the art world in 1987 with a photograph of a crucifix submerged in a jar of his urine. He again sparked controversy in September 2012 when Piss Christ was featured at the Edward Tyler Nahem Gallery in New York. The photograph not only shocked the religious communities who were offended by the desecration of a holy symbol, Serrano’s work also forced even the most open-minded to ask, “Is this art?”

A quick Google search of the definition of art yields this: “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture.” I guess no one can argue that Serrano used his imagination to produce his work. But did he really apply creative skill? Admittedly, Piss Christ is creative, but skilled?

No. Absolutely not.

Maybe I am too quick to judge Serrano. And maybe he is ahead of his time, and we are (or at least I am) incapable of appreciating his talent. When Pablo Picasso first entered the art scene, many dismissed his work in the same fashion I dismiss Serrano. Only after his death were people able to appreciate his creative genius.

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Lee Krasner
“Nude Study from Life”, 1938.
©2013 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation/ Artists Right Society (ARS), New York.
The Menil Collection, Houston, gift of William J. Hill, in honour of Christopher de Menil.
Courtesy of The Menil Collection, Houston.

If all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players, then where do the Surrealists sit?

According to my imagined global map of where art movements should be located, the Impressionists are based in the South of France, the Blaue Reiter in Germany, the Nabis in Stockholm, Cubism in Iceland, the Old Masters (da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, etc.) in Italy, Aestheticism in Decorative Arts in Shanghai, Digital Art in Oslo, and Lyrical Abstraction in Tokyo.

Of course, this is entirely subjective, but I think that certain countries, or cities, really do go hand in hand with the style or ideals that various art movements represent. → Read more

When T.I. and Jay-Z sang about their unmatched amount of swagga in “Swagga like Us”*, I don’t think they imagined that John Singer Sargent’s niece Rose-Marie Ormond is also known for swagger.

Swagger, or grand manner, is used for paintings that suggest noble qualities through visual metaphors, and Sargent is especially known for his swagger portraits. One of his many swagger portraits is The Cashmere Shawl featuring his niece Rose-Marie.

The Cashmere Shawl, c. 1911 by John Singer Sargent
(50.7 x 35.5 cm).
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Hayden Collection—Charles Henry Hayden Fund.
Photograph © 2013 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

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Did you know that for many people, July 14th marks a very special day in the calendar? Of course, yes, Bastille Day falls on that day – auspicious event, revolution, storming of the Bastille: paving the way for Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette’s final meeting with the guillotine – however, that is not the event that I am referring to.

Aubade, Leçon n°6.

In addition to La Fête Nationale, nudists the world over celebrate the lesser known, or at least lesser-publicised – National Nude Day. Whilst readers in England may not have been aware of this day, our friends on the other side of the pond certainly had their fill of ‘Nude’-related headlines. Halifax, Canada went with the flow a day early with their not-quite related, but well-timed, naked bike ride. → Read more

During my middle school days, I donned black jeans, mid-calf black combat boots, a Ramones T-shirt from Hot Topic, and a studded belt. Thanks to the growing fame of Good Charlotte and Green Day coupled with our young, impressionable minds, everyone at my school flocked the racks of Hot Topic (a rock-inspired clothing store) searching for the Punk look.

And as trends go, when a newer, cooler style appeared, we discarded our punk attire and jumped onto the latest bandwagon. But not everyone is as fickle as my classmates or me. For the true punkers, clothing and music are the mediums through which they express their individual freedom and anti-establishments views. Although punk is meant to break away from the mainstream system, the mainstream fashion industry has swallowed their style and transformed it into couture.

I wonder how punkers feel when they see their style emulated by the masses or when it’s emulated by Versace. I wonder how Sid Vicious, the man who wore a Swastika T-shirt, insulted Freddie Mercury, and carved “Gimme a fix” into his chest, would react if he knew he inspired Chanel.

Left: Sid Vicious, 1977
Photograph © Dennis Morris – all rights reserved
Right: Karl Lagerfeld for House of Chanel (Vogue, March 2011)
Photograph by David Sims / art partner

I admit it; I’m guilty of stealing the punk style simply because it was cool and edgy. Although I dressed like a little punker and listened to punk music like The Ramones, Sex Pistols, and Billy Idol, I never had anti-establishment ideals. I mean, I was twelve; I still so timid to say a bad word, let alone have strong social opinions. I was no punker, just a poser.

D.I.Y.: Hardware; Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Punk: Chaos to Couture, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The exhibit Punk: Chaos to Couture currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York explores the role punk culture plays in the fashion industry. The exhibit will be running until 14^th August. And while we’re on the subject of fads and fashions entering the mainstream, why not take a look at Eric Shanes’ Andy Warhol, and revisit the man whose whole artistic career was dedicated to dissecting and celebrating today’s mass consumer culture.

There is no doubt that the Byzantines have bequeathed us a culturally rich, and, at times, mysterious, legacy. Emperors came and went, but tradition and culture were passed down, leaving aspects of Byzantine history which yet linger, in legend or Eastern Orthodoxy, even to this day.

Box (Reliquary), Byzantine Possibly Macedonia, c. 500.
Courtesy of The Menil Collection, Houston. Photo: Paul Hester.

Legend, you may ask? Certainly! Greek fire: a Byzantine invention (despite the misnomer). What proved to be a fearful weapon against their enemies also served as hazardous for Byzantium’s own forces, so it was eventually disregarded, and the secrets of its alchemy have been lost to us. → Read more