Journey Through Art

Art in a Changing World: From the early 19th to late 20th centuries several art movements were popularized and then replaced as change swept across the world like never before. Largely due to the Industrial Revolution and the effects it had on the world at large, the rapid pace of growth across every facet of society was monumental. As a reflection of this rapid change the world of art began to take a new shape, as art " for its own sake " was now the modern ideal.   Often referred to by the umbrella term Romanticism , artists of this time were constantly challenging old ideas with fresh ones, and because of this waves of artistic styles washed over society, as if the dams of creativity had finally been open. From the Romantic style to Realism,  Post-Impressionism to Art Nouveau, artists working in every medium had near-limitless opportunities to express the world as they saw it. Post-Impressionism: Post-Impressionism,  a term coined by English art critic Roger Fry i...

The Enlightenment: During the 1700s new ideas and philosophies emerged in the wake of the Humanist thinkers of the Renaissance. The Enlightenment was a time in which revolutionary ideas were put forth by men such as George Berkeley, Immanuel Kant, and John Locke, in order to challenge the feudal system in place at the time.  They and many others questioned the basis of long-held traditions and foundational beliefs, calling to question inequality and the divine right of kings. If men were created equal in the eyes of God, how then could a monarchy justify its absolute authority over the lives of its people? While this movement was largely concerned with the rights of European men, the ripple effect it had would later create the waves needed to start many human rights movements in our own recent history.  As the middle class continued to grow, thinkers of the Enlightenment turned their attention to the flagrant spending of the aristocracy, living carefree lives in their pos...

  Francesco Borromini Façade  of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane  (San Carlo at the Four Fountains) ,  Francesco Borromini,   1638-1641, Stucco, Rome, Italy The Artist: Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) was a brilliant architect living during the boom of the Baroque. Born Francesco Castelli in Bissone, Duchy of Lombardy (Italy), he got his start when his father sent him to Milan to learn stonecutting. There, he was trained in both architecture and sculpture, later running away to Rome (1620) to become a draftsman and stonemason in the office of Carlo Maderno. Borromini plied his trade during the time of legends such as Caravaggio and Bernini, and while he was well-known, he never quite escaped Bernini's shadow. The two being rivals may have only worsened the temper of this already volatile man, yet Rome benefitted greatly from their need to outdo the other. Though he was especially gifted, Borromini would be his own undoing, finding himself without a friend or patr...

  Sofonisba Anguissola Sofonisba Anguissola,  Portrait of Catalina Micaela of Spain,  1577-79, Oil on Canvas, Pollock House, Scotland   The Artist: Studying Europe and the art of the Renaissance, I learned about the master of portraiture Sofonisba Anguissola. Until recently, I had no idea she existed, her name being overshadowed by legends like Michelangelo and Albrecht Durer. However, she was an internationally celebrated artist and master of her craft. Born around 1532 in Northern Italy to Amilcare Anguissola and Bianca Ponzone, Anguissola, and her 5 sisters and brother were given a thorough education. In 1545 Anguissola's father, in an almost unheard of move, insisted his daughters pursue the arts more seriously and sent the artist and her sister to local artist Bernardino Campi to work as apprentices. The artist even exchanged letters through her father with Michelangelo himself, who critiqued her work and helped her grow her artistic skills. It was for a challen...