"Outside of the Lines"

Dry point etching Printmaking

Caravaggio was one of the most influencial artists of the Baroque Period

His style defines the Baroque movement intense & dramatic lighting a lot of tension deep hues

A painting that is “Caravaggioesque” not only expresses these above characteristics, but also characteristics involving...

1) the blending of the shades, and2) keeping all the lines clean & solids making the form seem more rounded & 3D.

Subject: realistic images of highly regarded subject matterSuch as religious figures resemble everyday people ~ wow...aNew idea!!!Therefore, his REAL style stocked critics.

David with the Head of Goliath, 1609-1610, Gallerie Borghese, Rome

Judith Beheading Holofemes, 1598-1599, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome

Rembrandt & The Technique of Chiaroscuro

The term chiaroscuro refers to a strong, self-conscious juxtaposition (manipulation) of light and shadow.

This technique was initially pioneered by Leonardo da Vinci, further developed by Caravaggio, and finally perfected by Rembrandt.

Over the course of his career, Rembrandt consistently used chiaroscuro to produce some of the most visually arresting and psychologically evocative paintings in the history of art.

Rembrandt was able to achieve three (3) specific effects which have become trademarks of his style: dramatic intensity, rhythmic visual harmony, and psychological depth.

The Anatomy of Dr. Tulp, 1632

The Money Changer, 1627

dramatic intensity: By placing the point of greatest illumination on a central, active figure, and simultaneously muting elements of the background, therefore he could focus the viewer's attention onto a specific action in a manner similar to the way in which stage-lighting functions in the theatre.

rhythmic visual harmony of light & shadow: Rembrandt’s paintings can create a sense of pattern and a sense of movement. Rembrandt's canvas in The Nightwatch is rippled with rhythms of lighting. Here, the viewer is not so much urged to read meaningful content into the dynamic patterns of light and shade, but rather simply to delight in the formal, quasi-musical arrangements of such patterns.

psychological depth: we find that his brilliantly rendered faces are deeply marked with shadows. This makes them into a kind of text to be deciphered by the viewer.

Taken together, Rembrandt's achievement in rendering dramatic intensity, visual rhythms, and psychological depth--all by way of chiaroscuro--effectively signals his absolute mastery of this technique. It is therefore with a great deal of justification that art lovers today regard Rembrandt as "the master of light and shadow."

The Nightwatch,1643, oil on canvas, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Rembrandt was thought to be the greatest Dutch painter and also one of the greatest of all time. His most important painting was The Nightwatch where he attempted to produce a feeling of movement in a type of picture which was usually, of necessity, static, he create a picture very close in spirit to the Italian Renaissance.

Rembrandt succeeded in... integrating a large number of figures so that they appeared natural, and he gave the composition a sense of balance.

How was Rembrandt able to achieve this?He intensely studied people, objects and their

surroundings ‘from life’. This preoccupation with direct observation was what

lead to his compelling descriptions of LIGHT, space, atmosphere, modeling, texture and human situations.

The Nightwatch,1643, oil on canvas, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Rembrandt ~ The Printmaker

Rembrandt was known as the most innovative printmaker of the 17th century.

Within his extensive body of over 350 etchings, there were suggestions of various kinds of illumination and painterly effects.

Subject: It shows the deepest point of Christ’s suffering: the moment of his death on the cross at Golgotha. Massive beams of light slice through the darkness. The light focuses on Christ, the two murderers who were crucified beside him and the crowd round about.

The Three Crosses, 1653, drypoint etching, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Raft of Medusa, 1818-1819, 491 cm × 716 cm (193.3 in × 282.3 in), Oil on canvas, Musee du Louvre, Paris

Theodore Gericault

was a profoundly influential French artist, painter and lithographer, known for The Raft of Medusa and other paintings. Although he died young, he became one of the pioneers of the Romantic movement.

Subject: an over life-size painting that depicts the moment from the aftermath of the wreck of the French naval frigate Medusa.

• 147 people set adrift• 15 died in the 13 days before their rescue• they endured starvation, dehydration, cannibalism

& madness• event became an International scandal displaying

the incompetence of the French captain

Raft of Medusa, 1818-1819, 491 cm × 716 cm (193.3 in × 282.3 in), Oil on canvas, Musee du Louvre, Paris

The composition of the painting is constructed upon two (2) pyramidal structures. The large triangle on the left of

the canvas (in red) forms the first. The horizontal grouping of dead & dying figures in the foreground forms the base from which the survivors emerge, surging upward towards the central figure as he waves desperately at a rescue ship.

The viewer's attention is also drawn to the centre of the canvas, then follows the directional flow of the survivors' bodies to the right. A single horizontal diagonal leads us from the dead at the bottom left, to the living at the highest point.

Two other diagonal lines are used to heighten the dramatic tension. One follows the mast and leads the viewer's eye towards an approaching wave that threatens to engulf the raft, while the second is composed of reaching figures, which leads to the distant silhouette of the

Argus, the ship that eventually rescued the survivors.*The Argus is represented by the yellow circle.

The work's lighting has been described as “Caravaggesque,” after the Italian artist closely associated with tenebrism ~ the use of violent contrast between light and dark.

Even Géricault's treatment of the sea is muted, being rendered in dark greens rather than the deep blues that could have afforded contrast with the tones of the raft and its figures.

From the distant area of the rescue ship, a bright light shines, providing illumination to an otherwise dull brown scene.[

TERMINOLOGYtenebrism: from the Italian tenebroso (murky), (also called dramatic illumination) is a style of painting using very pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and darkness becomes a dominating feature of the image.

Who is Edward Gorey?Edward Gorey was a creative American artist, writer, and illustrator.

The pen and ink illustrations have a characteristic and unmistakable Gothic style, and many of his books have been published around the world.

Edward Gorey created over 100 books, in a style that defies boundaries and description. His illustrations tend to be finely detailed, dreadful, and distorted, along with his text. Some of his books contained no writing at all, merely a series of sometimes perturbing illustrations.

Edward Gorey's books were frequently set in the Victorian & Edwardian eras and usually took place in England, though some had more ambiguous locations. As a result, Edward Gorey is quite popular among the Gothic community, which has a fascination with dreadful Victoriana.

TERMINOLOGYabecedarium (or abecedary): is an inscription consisting of the letters of an alphabet, almost always listed in order. Typically, abecedaria (or abecedaries) are practice exercises.

The Gashlycrumb Tinies, 1963

Edward Gorey

StyleGorey is typically described as an illustrator. His books can be found in the humour and cartoon sections of major bookstores.

His experimentations ~ creating books that were wordless, books that were literally matchbox-sized, pop-up books, books entirely populated by inanimate objects.

Gorey classified his own work as literary nonsense .

The Gashlycrumb Tinies, 1963

TERMINOLOGYliterary nonsense (or nonsense literature): a categorization of literature that uses sensical and nonsensical elements to defy language conventions or logical reasoning.

The effect of nonsense is often caused by an excess of meaning, rather than a lack of it. Nonsense is often humorous in nature, although its humour is derived from its nonsensical nature, as opposed to most humour which is funny because it does make sense.

Who is Burton?

He is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist.

He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice and Wonderland ~ to name a few.

A prevalent theme in Burton’s work: 1930s horror films is nevertheless a prime source of material for all of his work. That which is perceived as monstrous is never associated with evil in Burton's films; his "monsters" are always misunderstood creatures looking for forms of love and acceptance.

Edward Scissorhands, 1990

Characteristics of Burton’s Style

One of the most characteristic elements of Tim Burton films is their visual style.

The strange worlds in his movies are designed with a recognizable style that is heavily indebted to German Expressionist films of the twenties.

Distorted perspectives, sharp contrasts between light and dark, and stylized lighting, typical ingredients not only of German Expressionist cinema but also of Universal's 1930s horror films.

Burton's love for all things dark, shadowy and bizarre has contributed to this visual style in determining the look of his films.

Corpse Bride, 2005

The Nightmare before Christmas, 1993

Ideas/inspiration for colour application ~ hand colouring of etching

The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993

Pencil crayon/washes?!

Alice in Wonderland, Concept Art, sketch by Tim Burton

Who is Takashi Murakami?

Murakami’s exhibition at the Palace of Versailles

He is an internationally creative contemporary Japanese artist.

He works in fine arts media ~ such as painting and sculpture ~ as well as what is conventionally considered commercial media (fashion, merchandise, and animation) and is known for blurring the line between high and low art.

He coined the term superflat, which describes both the aesthetic characteristics of the Japanese artistic tradition and the nature of post-war Japanese culture and society.

Superflat is also used as a label to describe Murakami’s own artistic style and that of other Japanese artists he has influenced.

His work has been noted for its use of color, incorporation of motifs from Japanese traditional and popular culture, flat/glossy surfaces, and content that could be described at once as “cute,” “psychedelic,” or “satirical”.

Important Motifs:Among his most famous recurring motifs are smiling flowers, iconic characters, mushrooms, skulls, Buddhist iconography, and the sexual complexes of otaku culture.

Murakami has also produced sculptures, balloons, ‘all-over’ wallpaper installations, animated works, prints, posters, and assorted merchandise.

Light my Fire, 2001

Who is Yoshitomo Nara?

Nara first came to the front of the art world during Japan’s Pop art movement in the 1990s.

Subject Matter:The subject matter of his sculptures and paintings is deceptively simple: most works depict one seemingly innocent subject (often pastel-hued children and animals drawn with confident, cartoonish lines) with little or no background. But these children, who appear at first to be cute and even vulnerable, sometimes display weapons like knives and saws.

Their wide eyes often hold accusatory looks that could be sleepy-eyed irritation at being awoken from a nap ~ or that could be undiluted expressions of hate.

The mange and anime of his 1960s childhood are both clear influences on Nara's stylized, large-eyed figures.

Nara corrupts these typically cute images by infusing his works with horror-like imagery. This juxtaposition of human evil with the innocent child may be a reaction to Japan's rigid social conventions.

What influenced Nara’s work?The punk rock music of Nara's youth also influenced the artist's work. Recalling a similar ~ if more unsettling ~ image of rebellious, violent youth, Nara's art embraces the punk ethos.

However, Nara has also cited traditions as varied as Renaissance painting, literature, illustration, ukiyo-e and graffiti as further inspiration.

But perhaps most significantly, Nara was raised in an isolated countryside, living a largely independent childhood. This inevitably influenced his independent subjects that inhabit so much of his artwork.

What is perhaps most interesting about Nara's work is the fact that he blends commericial goods with high art.   This raises the question if he is a designer rather than an artist.  Some examples of his commerical goods can be seen here.

Because of this combination of high and low art, Nara is allowing his art to be seen by people all over the world, rather than being limited to a gallery space,  this is why he stands out as a groundbreaking artist.