Winslow Homer Homer’s motifs were mostly man in nature. Many of the images were narrative – telling stories of everyday life and how people interacted with the natural world around them. None the less, as he matured as an artist the illustrator in him gave way to his interest in color, light and how brush marks could evoke an entire experience. Looking at his paintings we are transported into a moment in time that is sharp and clear – but hard won. His work embodies many of the newly minted American values and the idea that personal effort can over come many obstacles.
Transcript
Winslow Homer
Homer’s motifs were mostly man in nature. Many of the images were narrative – telling stories of everyday life and how people interacted with the natural world around them. None the less, as he matured as an artist the illustrator in him gave way to his interest in color, light and how brush marks could evoke an entire experience. Looking at his paintings we are transported into a moment in time that is sharp and clear – but hard won. His work embodies many of the newly minted American values and the idea that personal effort can over come many obstacles.
Snap the Whip. 1872. 22 x 36 in. Oil on canvas.
On the Trail. 1892. 12 5/8 x 19 7/8 in. Watercolor.
A Wall, Nassau. 1898. 14 ¾ x 21 ½ in. Watercolor.
Vincent Van Gogh
• Van Gogh’s work used many different motifs – although mostly he tried to portray life as honestly as he could see it. He always felt that art should show the artists most immediate and profound feelings. His acid yellows against sharp greens speak to almost all viewers of his profound discomfort while the flowing marks and colors of his sunflowers and irises show us an explosive beauty. Viewers relate with out effort to both the elegance of his painting techniques and to images take us into his most personal thoughts.
The Potato Eaters. 1885. 114 x 81 cm. Oil on canvas.
Irises. 1889. 28 x 36 ½ in. Oil on canvas.
Langlois Bridge at Arles with Women Washing. 1888. 21 ¼ x 25 ½ in. Oil on canvas.
Wheatfield with Crows. 1890. 20 x 40 ½ in. Oil on canvas.
Claude Monet
• Monet’s motifs include ponds and landscapes – but his interest is in conveying how light instantly defines what we see and how it is ephemeral. Both light and the existence it illuminates – our lives – are short lived but can be beautiful.
Irises in Monet’s Garden. 1900. 81 x 92 cm. Oil on canvas
Water Lilies (The Clouds). 1903. 74.6 x 105.3 cm. Oil on canvas.
Les Nymphéas (Water Lilies).
Paul Cezanne
• Cezanne used many motifs – but was always concerned with the process of seeing and how we took in a view in small segments. Experience for him, was in fact, a series of moments that blended together as a whole. He obviously had seen and appreciated Monet’s work.
Henri Matisse
• Matisse painted what was around him, people, still lives landscapes – but he turned what he saw in to colorful flat shapes. His images became abstractions of nature that conveyed his optimism about life.
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