Sun
Francesca Sellars 223554
The sun in Art The sun can be considered a part of many artists depictions of not only landscapes , but also every day scenes. Artists throughout history have depicted the effects of the sun and light in many ways , experimenting with colour , mood and brushwork. For my project od ‘The sun’ I aim to research artworks that can be associated with the sun , especially compositions that use strong sunlight, sunsets , use of colour and subject matter associated with travelling to warmer climates and working outside en plein air . From this initial reteach I intend to create designs and advertising material for an exhibition featuring selected artworks related to my theme
Landscape with Hagar and the Angel 1646 Claude Lorrain Oil on canvas 52.2 x 42.3 cm
Landscape with Hagar and the Angel Landscape With Hagar and the Angel’ by Claude Lorraine is a 17th century classicism style painting created in 1646. It is a mythological landscape , depicting a story from the bible , in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 16. On the left of he painting in the foreground stand two biblical figures . On the left is Hagar , an Egyptian servant to Sarah , childless wife of Abraham . In the biblical story , after quarrelling with Sarah , Hagar runs away with her child , Ishmael where she meets an angel at a spring in the wilderness . The angel , right of Hagar, tells of how Ishmael will find a great tribe and she should return back to Sarah (he points this way ). Left ; a depiction of Hagar and her son , Ishmael , who are banished , by French painter Gustave Dore Right;
Claude , Hagar and the Angel, Oil on Canvas, 1646, largescale https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/server.iip?FIF=/fronts/N-0061-00000034-WZ-PYR.tif&CNT=1.0&WID=800&HEI=800&QLT=85&CVT=jpeg 10/02/17
John Constable’s Dedham Vale , inspired by Claude's landscapes
In the painting Hagar dressed in blue looks frightened at a winged figure who points towards the fortification. The landscape is painted from a high view point, allowing for high degree of perspective , depth and space . There is a Low horizon set just under halfway across the painting with a large sky creating a further sense of grandeur and deep space. Overlapping forms of the trees cut off and frame the composition also creating depth and direct our view into the painting. Claude's technique of smoothly applied oil paint to create a picturesque idealized landscape somewhat over rules the figures who are small in the foreground .
Claude Hagar and the Angel, Oil on Canvas, 1646, large scale
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/server.iip?FIF=/fronts/N-0061-00-000034-WZPYR.tif&CNT=1.0&WID=800&HEI=800&QLT=85&CVT=jpeg 10/02/17
Claude Lorrain Claude Lorrain born Claude Gellée ( c.1600- 1682), known as ‘ Le Lorrain’ in French, was a French painter , engraver and draughtsman born in Chamagne , Duchy of Lorraine, north eastern France . Claude is associated with the Baroque movement and is famous for painting many landscapes of sea ports and sunsets . Claude spent most of his life living and working in Italy and was one of the most important artists creating landscape paintings . The status of Claude’s landscapes are heightened by the addition of small figures representing characters from the bible or mythological stories .
Self portrait , Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée )
After living in France , Claude left for Germany in 1612 and then moved and settled in Rome where he became a studio assistant a landscapist Agostino Tassi. Claude began sketching in the roman countryside with artist Poussin , and ideas from his drawings were then transformed into oil paintings, later finished in his studio .
Later throughout history , Claude has been an influential artists, inspiring many artists such as john constable , for his painting such as Dedham Vale. Constable esteemed Claude as 'the most perfect landscape painter the world ever saw'.
Seaport at sunset (1639), Louvre
Coast Scene at Brighton: Evening C.1828 John Constable
Coast Scene at Brighton: Evening Coastal scene at Brighton : Evening is a c. 1828 oil on paper landscape painting by English romantic painter ,John Constable . The romantic seascape/ landscape painting depicts constable’s view of the sun slowly setting over Shoreham-by-sea, a seaside town and port, west of Brighton. The painting uses a range of techniques to capture the intensity of the sunset and create a peaceful, tranquil mood . Here constable also uses contrasting warm and cool hues which can also create a sense of melancholy in the scene , this may be linked to the illness of Constable's wife Maria, who died six months after the painting was created .
Similar to Constable’s Dedham vale , this painting not only depicts a picturesque landscape, but depicts constables' emotions when emerged in the landscape , with possible links to his thoughts at the time of his wife’s declining health, such as the contrast between the warmth and coldness of the scene
Right; Shoreham- by –sea
Constable uses a range of hues and direct use of colour to build up both warm and cool tones , which contrast in the composition . The sketchy appearance of this piece rejects academic styles of painting , and instead uses colour and brushwork to create an intense landscape.
Organic , natural brush strokes , stippling of colour to create a natural land surface and figures
The setting is painted with a low horizon and a range of both warm oranges , yellows and red along with blue and grey tones build up a sunset at the centre of the sky . In the foreground and mid ground we can see use of organic, natural brush strokes and stippling to create small figures walking across the beach and the green land at the centre of the beach . Further into the background colours begin to blur and merge creating atmospheric perspective and we can also see grey tones silhouettes of land in the distance past the sea .
John Constable John constable , (1776 – 1837) was an English painter , associated with the Romantic period . Constable was born in Suffolk, later known as ‘constable country’ which is the setting for many of his famous painting such as Dedham vale. His father also owned land , which constable often painted . Constable's landscapes were unique, showing his intensity of affection for the landscape he knew so well . Constable did not attend a grand tour , nor did he have any formal academic art training , instead constable viewed the work of other artists through black and white prints .
Non academic methods of painting were adopted by the artists such as impasto style , quick sketchy brushwork and use of complimentary colours .Constable also created many cloud studies , en plein air, whilst watching the clouds in the landscape , these studies inspired the sky for one of his most famous landscapes , Dedham Vale.
Suffolk
The Fighting Temeraire 1839 J.M.W Turner
The Fighting Temeraire The Fighting Temeraire painted 1838 by J.M.W Turner is an oil on canvas romantic painting , displayed at the Royal Academy in 1839 . The painting depicting the last voyage of the 98 gun fighting ship , ‘The HMS Temeraire ‘which served during the French revolutionary , in the battle of Trafalgar, 1805 .
In the painting the misty Temeraire ship on the left is being towed by a steam tug , in front of it , towards its final destination, where it will be broken up for scrap . Turner has used impasto paintwork and loose brushwork to create the sunset scene . The composition is also based on contrasts such as warm tones against cool tones , and dark forms vs pale .
In the foreground we can see warm earthy tones in the reflection of both the ship and tug reflecting on the sea . The dark rusty colored tug progresses forward in the midground , blowing steam away into the sky , followed by the the misty ghost like Temeraire , who’s masts protrude into the low lying mist and clouds . Towards the background the colours merge and blur creating atmospheric perspective . A bright sunset is created by the low lying sun , set just above the sea bringing warmth to the right side of the composition . Almost ¾ of the composition is filled by the sky , similar to Constable’s depictions of Dedham vale which showed a large portion of the sky . Turner began to paint the sky with layers of glazes, then brushing yellow and red tones into the paint to create clouds.
J.M.W Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) was an English romantic landscape painter born in Covent garden, London . Turner is often regarded as an artist that elevated the status of landscape paintings( a low genre ) to that of History painting . Turner attended the royal academy schools from 1789, developing a revolutionary approach to painting. The romantic painter created scenes with dramatic brushwork , a sense of movement and intensity of light, also being known as ‘the painter of light’ .
Turner was largely inspired by Dutch artists in the 17th century and by the Italianate landscapes of Claude Lorrain . In his will , Turner asked for Claude’s painting ‘Port Scene with the Embarkation of St Ursula’ 1641 , and his Dido building Carthage to be hung between Claude's 'Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba' and 'Landscape with the Marriage of Isaac and Rebecca' at the National Gallery.
The Slave Ship 1840 J.M.W Turner Oil on canvas, Large Scale
The Slave Ship The slave ship , 1840 is a large scale oil on canvas painting by Turner , depicting a slave ship on a rough stormy sea . The painting was influenced by anti-slavery, which was growing very popular at the time, led in 1850 due to the British empire forcibly ending the trade of slaves by trade nations. The painting has strong links to the Zong Massacre , a mass killing of African slaves that took place in1781 on the Zong (a British slave ship) .
The ill and dying slaves were thrown overboard rather than being taken back to Britain , as insurance could be claimed . This is seen in the painting as the hands of slaves can be seen emerging from the sea in the bottom left side of the painting. The large political painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in1840 , during the same time the anti slavery league meeting was held. An illustration showing slaves of the Zong massacre being thrown overboard
In the foreground of the composition we can see a chaotic sea painted using intense warm colours and impasto brushwork creating a choppy , dynamic sea. Emerging from the left hand side of the sea we can see the hands of the slaves reaching out as they have been thrown overboard . The limbs of slaves can also be seen protruding from the sea on the right hand side of the composition. It is clear that the paint has been applied quickly to create an intense , dramatic and dynamic appearance , heightening the horror and terror within the scene.
Toward the mid ground the warm colours continue and some of the paintwork appears to be scratched, creating definition on the waves , also towards the left hand side mid ground cool colours begin to enter the composition , creating a contrast between warm and cool . Behind the waves in the distance we can see the dark red slave ship’s silhouette being overpowered my the sea as it sails away , leaving the slaves behind.
New Pigment ; Chrome yellow
On the horizon line and meeting the sky directly at the Centre is the bright , saturated sun . The sun casts a bright warm sunset , using a new colour , chrome yellow. The sky also features many other hues such as oranges, purples and reds which create a fierce , warm sky. Both the colour and brushwork used my turner have helped create a scene incredibly real and chaotic. John Ruskin , a famous Victorian art critic owned this painting , and championed Turners work , helping him become a successful artists moving away from academic art. Turner's painting in part represents nature punishing human beings, especially the precarious position of the ship at sea. Ruskin emphasised the way Turner created an image of shipwreck as punishment for the slavers.
Romanticism Romanticism was an arts movement spanning from the late 18th to the middle of the 19th century . There was no definitive style although art from the romantic period emphasised the belief in the individual experience and emotions . The movements took many forms in both painting, literature and other arts . This was also moving away from the rationalism of science and the enlightenment to look at the unknown and the unexplainable experiences. Romanticism saw nature through new aesthetic categories: as either the sublime, or picturesque. The sublime saw great , vast , overpowering landscapes such as Caspar David Friedrich’s ‘Wanderer above the Sea of Fog ‘ 1818 (right) In contrast , the picturesque depicted beautiful , often quaint pastoral landscape scenes , such as John Constable’s representation Dedham vale , 1802 (left) Both of these Romantic artists have portrayed the beauty of nature in different ways , showing unique individual experiences and emotions of nature overpowering man . Dedham Vale , 1802
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog , 1818
Impression Sunrise 1872 Claude Monet Oil on canvas, small scale
Impression Sunrise Impression sunrise , 1872 is an oil on canvas impressionist landscape by Claude Monet , shown at the first impressionist exhibition in 1874. During the Franco-Prussian War between 1870–1871, Monet was in Britain to avoid the conflict. Whist there he studied the works of Constable and Turner, who inspired Monet's innovations in the study of colour. Upon returning to France, in 1872 Monet painted Impression, Sunrise or ‘ Impression: soleil levant’ depicting a Le Havre harbour. The painting hung in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874.
From the painting's title, an art critic , Louis Leroy coined the term "Impressionism", which he intended to be derogatory. In 1874 after the first exhibition , the group of artists including Monet , previously known as ‘the anonymous society’ became the Impressionists.
In the foreground of the composition Monet has used quick sketchy impasto brushwork with stippling on the sea to create the illusion of ripples on the water. In the centre of the composition’s foreground we can see the silhouette of a man on a small fishing boat , followed by more silhouettes behind . To the right of the figure on the boat the sunset reflections hits the water creating a beam of direct orange colour on the water’s surface, paint using horizontal stippled brush strokes .
In the midground and background , dark shadows and silhouettes of cranes and boat masts emerge from the working harbor, the cool blue hues of the silhouettes and the sea , contrast with the vibrant warm tones created by the setting sun .
Claude Monet Claude Monet born 1840 , was a French painter and founder of French impressionism. Monet was a practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing perceptions of nature , especially the technique an style of en plein air landscape painting . The term "Impressionism" originated from the title of his ‘impression sunrise’ which was exhibited in the first impressionist exhibition of 1874 , hosted by Monet and his fellow impressionist painters as an alternative to showing in the Paris salon. Monet's began depicting the French countryside through his paintings , adopting the method of repeating the same scene multiple times to capture the changing of the light throughout the day ,this can also be seen in his series of Rouen cathedral .
From 1883 Monet moved to Giverny , in the south of France where he bought a house and began a project of painting his surrounding landscapes and most famously , various paintings of lily ponds . Later on In 1899 he continued by painting vertical rows of water lilies and large scale paintings which occupied his time for the next 20 years of his life , living it Giverny.
The Impressionists In 1870, before the first impressionist exhibition , Monet and Pissarro move to England and returned in 1871 , moving to Argenteuil , in the suburbs of Paris. The impressionists , originally called ‘The Anonymous Society of Artist-painters, Sculptors, Engravers etc.’ consisted of a core group including Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, Degas and Morisot. The main aims of the impressionist’s first exhibition was to display their artwork without being ruled, without jury or honorary awards and to have a space to sell their artwork . The impressionists had no fixed rules or manifesto but collectively produced work with characteristics such as the use of complimentary colours, impasto , visible brushwork, a sketchy ‘ ebauche’ appearance and the use of colour to accurately depict light and its changing qualities in ordinary, often landscape scenes. The impressionists also had the help of new colour theories and the availability of paint in metal tubes, allowing them to be portable to paint en plein air . Many of the impressionist landscapes show the landscapes of Argenteuil and the suburbs of Paris , newly accessible due to transport links by train from the centre of Paris.