Good afternoon. It’s Tuesday Nov 6th 2018

Sketchbook:Today the theme is “Pushing the limits” and “Breaking the rules”.

Sometimes new things come by doing things in a way that is not the “normal” way or the usual way. When you know that there is a “rule” but you try something new and you get interesting results and sometimes even ground-breaking work.

We’re looking at what is expected versus what we want to do, being unique

Often artistic advances are made by going in a new direction. We have to know what rules are worth breaking

We are not talking about things such as speeding which can be dangerous. We are talking about pushing the edges. Ways of dressing or music that is new and fresh,

Making Connections:

Breaking the rules in art:

According to the information in your text book “Art in Focus” two English artists born in the early 1700s who both painted in the Rococo style, had a professional rivalry that carried through most of their lives.

Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792 ) was a well-respected artist who painted portraits. His portraits of children were highly desired. He was able to make the children seem completely natural and at ease.

Lady Elizabeth Hamilton by Sir Joshua Reynolds 1758, Oil on Canvas

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lady_Betty_Hamilton_-_Sir_Joshua_Reynolds.png

National Gallery Of Art Washington DC.

Another version is this one to the right:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lady_Betty_Hamilton_-_Sir_Joshua_Reynolds.png#/media/File:Elizabeth_Hamilton_by_Reynolds.jpg

Reynold’s greatest rival was Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), another portrait painter who had started off his career painting landscapes but who became well-known his portraits and for being able to capture the lace and silks and fashionable clothing. This was all before photography. Gainsborough caught the attention of the Royal Family and this added fuel to the fire between the two artists.

Gainsborough often came into conflict with the “hanging committee” at the Royal academy as he was very particular on how he wanted his work displayed.

http://www.humanitiesweb.org/spa/gcb/ID/20

Sir Joshua Reynolds gave a lecture to the Royal Academy of Art. He “stated that blue, a cool colour, should always be used in the background. He said it should never be used in the main part of a portrait. When Gainsborough heard this, he accepted it as a challenge and began planning a blue portrait”

Gainsborough’s painting, The Blue Boy” became an immediate success.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Boy

The Blue Boy c.1770 Thomas Gainsborough. The Huntingdon Library Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California.

http://huntington.org/webassets/templates/general.aspx?id=14392

Reynolds never publically said that he had been wrong but after Reynolds had visited Gainsborough when he was dying delivered another lecture to the Royal Academy. “Reynolds with tears in his eyes, this time praised the rival who had challenged him”

This link gives some of the background information on Gainsborough

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/gainsborough_thomas.shtml

This link gives information on Sir Joshua Reynold’s background

http://www.nndb.com/people/898/000084646/

Cubism:

You might also look at work by Picasso. Do portraits have to look realistic?

Dora Maar au Chat,1941, Pablo Picasso

http://www.pablopicasso.org/dora-maar-au-chat.jsp

Fashion:

http://www.queensofvintage.com/the-man-who-broke-the-rules-fashion-designer-paul-poiret/

There are designers who have become fashion changers by breaking the rules. Paul Poiret was one of these designers. He was born in 1879 and died in 1944.

You may want to look for artists or designers, musicians, poets, dancers that are ground breakers, who push the limits and break the “rules”