Art is the Solution

Solar Music Source: WikiArt I am often captivated by the paintings of Spanish-Mexican painter Remedios Varo. Varo was one of the most imaginative artists of her age, employing a complex set of symbols and visual story-telling techniques to convey meaning. As a result, her paintings often conjure images of some half-imagined, legendary past, steeped in magic. Varo’s profound creativity can be seen in paintings like Solar Music , a masterpiece that was created in 1955. The piece reflects Varo’s perennial interest in creation and creative acts. The piece depicts a forest, painted in shades of red and other earth tones. A woman—who strongly resembles Varo—stands in the center of the scene, dressed in a voluminous robe that seems to be made out of the forest floor itself. She draws a bow across a beam of light; this, presumably, is the solar music. In this artistic world, the combination of light and music (symbolized by the bow) creates a mystical force. A flower springs from the earth whe...

À mon seul désir Source: Wikimedia Commons When we think of art, the first things that come to mind are often paintings or sculptures. Today, however, I want to talk about a different type of art: tapestries. While tapestries were and are produced by many cultures throughout the world, they were especially common in Medieval Europe. Unfortuantely, not many of those tapestries have survived to the present day. The Lady and the Unicorn is one of the finest examples of these surviving tapestries. The Lady and the Unicorn is a set of six tapestries created in France during the sixteenth century. Each tapestry depicts a woman in the company of a unicorn; the scenes are set on a red background strewn with hundreds of tiny flowers and animals. Five of the tapestries represent the five senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. The sixth tapestry—which bears the words “À Mon Seul Désir”—is harder to interpret. This phrase translates to "to my only/sole desire" or "accor...

The Hunt in the Forest Source: Wikimedia Commons Today is the first day of deer hunting season in Pennsylvania, which is basically a holiday in our state. So, in honor of this occasion, I wanted to share a painting that celebrates hunting. The Hunt in the Forest is one of the final known paintings produced by the great Italian Renaissance painter Paolo Uccello. Uccello was one of the earliest painters of the Renaissance movement and today is known for his groundbreaking experimentation with visual perspective. The accurate representation of three dimensional space was one of the defining characteristics of the Renaissance style, and Uccello was well known for his obsession with perspective. In fact, the artist’s obsession with perspective resulted in somewhat stiff, formulaic paintings. For example, The Hunt in the Forest features row upon row of identical trees arranged in a repeating pattern. Ranks of dogs and hunters, arranged in symmetrical lines, charge toward the woods with sp...

The Open Window Source: Wikimedia Commons There are some themes that are universal in art. Over the centuries, artists have returned again and again to the motif of a figure gazing out a window. This theme is especially common in Western art, where it often implies anticipation, curiosity, and other outgoing, external characteristics or emotions. The Open Window is an example of one such painting. The piece was created by Elizabeth Okie Paxton. Today, Okie Paxton is best known as a painter of the Boston school, a group of Bostonain painters who focused on portraying interior scenes or landscapes in a painterly, almost impressionistic style. Although it was unusual for women in general to become painters, it was relatively common in Boston, where there were many artists willing to take on female students. The style of the Boston school was eminently suitable for a female artist, as women were usually constrained to painting domestic scenes. Although Okie Paxton focused on these interior...

The Thankful Poor Source: Wikimedia Commons Happy Thanksgiving! This year, many Americans are celebrating the holiday in unusual ways, unable to participate in large gatherings. However, that doesn’t change the fact that it is an important day of gratitude for many of us, and Henry Ossawa Tanner’s masterpiece The Thankful Poor is the quintessential image of gratitude in American culture. To my mind, Tanner’s style can be best described as realism with a painterly, almost Romantic style. Tanner primarily focused on scenes of everyday life and religious paintings; his work was known and renowned around the world. Significantly, he was also one of the first African-American painters to be celebrated internationally. The Thankful Poor depicts a man and a boy, perhaps a father and son, sitting down to a table that holds several empty plates. Although they don’t have much, the two express their gratitude through prayer. The piece captures the hardships faced by everyday, working Americans—...

The Angelus Source: Wikimedia Commons As we all prepare for Thanksgiving tomorrow (if you live in the US and celebrate it, that is), I thought I’d share a painting that reminds me to be grateful for all the blessings in life. The Angelus is one of the most recognizable and moving piece of art in Western history. It was created by Jean-François Millet, one of the leading painters of the Realist movement in France. The Realists rejected the drama and overwrought emotion of the Romantic movement, choosing instead to portray the unglamorous trials and tribulations of ordinary life. Millet was particularly interested in rural life and created many paintings of farmers, their lives, and the countryside. However, The Angelus is, without a doubt, his most famous painting. The piece portrays two farmers engaged in digging potatoes. They have paused in their work and stand with their heads bent in prayer. In the background, the fields stretch away towards a sky streaked with bright clouds. Acc...

Exploring the Sources of the Orinoco River Source: WikiArt When you’re looking for a painting to spark your imagination, you can always count on Remedios Varo. Varo was one of the most creative and original artists of her age. Her paintings feature strange structures and otherworldly contraptions as well as a vast array of colorful and unusual characters. Though her art often portrayed fantastical scenes, Exploring the Sources of the Orinoco River has its origins in actual events. The piece depicts Varo in a strange, red boat sailing through an aquatic forest. Water spills from a crystal goblet that stands inside the trunk of a tree. The water feeds the river, the mystical source of the Orinoco River in Varo’s imaginings. Varo was part of a real expedition to the actual Orinoco River in Venezuela in 1947. This experience undoubtedly inspired Exploring the Sources of the Orinoco River , which was painted more than ten years after the original expedition. However, Varo’s artistic renderi...

The Crucified Christ Source: Museo del Prado In the history of Western art, there are few painters better known and more revered than Diego Velazquez. Perhaps only the likes of Michelangelo, van Gogh, and Picasso are more famous; Velazquez is certainly the most important painter in the history of Spain. While Velazquez is best known for Las Meninas —a truly astonishing portrait—it is far from his only masterpiece. Velazquez’s Crucified Christ is a deeply moving and unique piece. As the title suggests, it depicts Christ’s crucifixion. He hangs dead upon the cross, radiating holy light. His body is painted in the polished perfection of classical style, yet Velazquez didn’t shy away from painting Christ’s pain and suffering. Blood runs down his face and his head hangs low. As the Prado Museum describes the painting, “The presence of a wound in his side, which occurred after Christ’s death, indicates that he has already expired, yet he seems to be holding his body in check on the Cross, ...

Women of Algiers Source: Wikimedia Commons There are few Romantic artists more famous than the great French painter Eugène Delacroix. Like all Romantic artists, Delacroix’s work is expressive, filled with emotion, spiritual energy, and visual drama. He was also interested in seeking authenticity within artistic expression, which Delacroix sought in Eastern cultures, a trend in art known as Orientalism. Orientalist painting emerged in Europe in the nineteenth century. It typically involved depicting sensational or stereotypical depictions of Eastern or Middle Eastern cultures. Generally, Western artists found these cultures to be more “primitive” or authentic, which made them of artistic interest. While Orientalist art reflects a deeply flawed understanding of non-Western cultures and intense ethnocentrism, Delacroix truly believed he was looking for truth in his art. He explores this idea through his monumental piece Women of Algiers . As the Louvre (which owns the painting) notes , “T...

Faraway Source: Arthur There are few artists more quintessentially American than Andrew Wyeth. His art captures twentieth century American life with an undefinable yet vital energy. His paintings typically feature neutral color schemes and deceptively simple compositional choices; however they pack a big emotional punch. Faraway is a good example of this aspect of his work. The piece depicts a young boy—Wyeth’s son Jamie, who would later become an artist himself—sitting in a field, gazing at something the viewer cannot see. He wears a black coat and a fur cap; he grips his knees as though trying to keep warm. The field itself is full of dry, yellowed grass, which might represent autumn or winter. The sense of cold and barren sterility of the field adds a melancholic air to the piece. The meaning of the title Faraway is a little unclear; although, it is clear that it holds the secret to understanding this piece. The title could refer to Jamie’s state of mind, referencing his wistful, ...

While everyone praises the grace and beauty of Renaissance art and the drama of the Baroque, it is the weirdness of Mannerist art that truly captures the imagination when you look back at the history of Western art. Visitation Source: Wikimedia Commons Mannerism was a style that emerged in the 16th century as a reaction against the Renaissance obsession with proportionality and naturalism. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes it as “characterized by artificiality and artiness, by a thoroughly self-conscious cultivation of elegance and technical facility, and by a sophisticated indulgence in the bizarre,” noting that Mannerists believed that Renaissance artists fixated on style to the detriment of the subject matter. Italian artist Pontormo was one of the great masters of the Mannerist style. One of Pontormo’s finest paintings is his Visitation , a motif that many artists returned to again and again throughout Western history. In Christian tradition, the Visitation refers to a visit th...

Les Mangeurs de Serpents Source: Wikimedia Commons In the late-nineteenth century, Paul Gauguin established an artist’s community in the Breton town of Pont-Aven. Many artists who were exploring abstraction and other new forms of expression moved there to work and experiment in a creative environment. Among these artists were members of the Post-Impressionist, Symbolist, and Les Nabis movements. One such artist was Paul Sérusier, one of the early adopters of the move toward abstraction in art and a follower of Les Nabis . Les Nabis were a group of artists who sought to connect to a higher spiritual reality through their art. They believed that art had the ability to reflect the human soul and to express a deep level of meaning. Their motto explains it all: "sounds, colors, and words have a miraculously expressive power beyond all representation and even beyond the literal meaning of the words." Sérusier accomplished these goals through a bold, expressive style that featured...

Le Mystère Catholique Source: Wikimedia Commons When considering the history of Western art, it’s easy to imagine that art has become more secular over the years. While European art was once almost exclusively religious, artistic horizons began to expand in the eighteenth century, allowing painters more latitude to express themselves. Although it’s tempting to view this as a linear progression, many artists continued to find new ways to explore religious art through a modern lens. Maurice Denis was one such artist. Denis was associated with Les Nabis , a group of artists who sought to connect to a higher spiritual reality through their art. They believed that art had the ability to reflect the human soul and to express a deep level of meaning. Their motto explains it all: "sounds, colors, and words have a miraculously expressive power beyond all representation and even beyond the literal meaning of the words." That being said, the work of Les Nabis tended to be very particu...

The Cadence of Autumn Source: The De Morgan Foundation The artists of the Pre-Raphaelite movement are often known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. However, in actuality, female artists and writers were essential to the success of the movement. While many people know about the contributions that female writers such as Christina Rossetti made to the movement, the work of female painters is less well-known, it is equally important. Evelyn De Morgan was perhaps the most successful and prolific female painter of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Her work is characterized by an intense and vibrant palette of colors and an interest in spiritual and allegorical themes. The Cadence of Autumn is a particularly allegorical painting. De Morgan painted it towards the end of her life, in a contemplative and reflective mood. The piece depicts the four seasons of the year as stages of human life. On the left, a young woman in a purple robe carries a basket of fruit, representing the growth and vitality ...

There are few subjects in Puerto Rican art that carry more emotional and cultural significance than the baquiné . The baquiné is a traditional practice that has its roots in African cultures; the ceremony, which is essentially a wake, celebrates the child’s ascension to Heaven after his or her death and is underpinned by the belief that the dead infant is now an angel.  Baquiné II (El gran ciempiés) Source: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Naturally, this sad, yet poetic, subject inspired much creative and emotional outpouring. In fact, the baquiné is the subject of one of the most famous paintings in Puerto Rico’s history: Francisco Oller’s El Velorio .  Baquiné III (Zape, zape, zape) Source: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Which is why José Alicea’s Baquiné series is such an important group of paintings in the story of Puerto Rico. Alicea, who studied with the great Puerto Rican artist Miguel Pou, is best known today for his prints and woodcuts. This particular series of prints ...

Nuit Effet de Lune Source: Wikimedia Commons French painter Félix Vallotton is probably best known for his paintings of domestic life in nineteenth century Paris. While his interior scenes have been rightly praised, he also executed many fascinating landscapes throughout his career. Vallotton took an unconventional approach to landscapes, painting from odd or unusual angles. He was known for throwing out the rule book when it came to these scenes, choosing instead to simplify such scenes into something that gave emotional resonance. Vallotton seemed to be particularly interested in the night sky, a subject he returned to several times throughout his artistic career. Nuit Effet de Lune depicts a moonlit night sky filled with puffy, pillowy clouds. Dark trees are outlined against the sky. The composition of the scene suggests that it was painted from the point of view of someone laying on their back and looking up, perhaps a stargazer. The colors in the piece are extraordinary. The brig...

Les Licornes Source: Artsy Symbolism was a reaction against the increasing industrialization and standardization of the modern world. The Realist movement celebrated these aspects of modern life, and Realist painters devoted themselves to capturing the world in all its gritty disarray. The Symbolists, however, felt that artists should seek a higher truth in their work. French artist Gustave Moreau—one of the leaders of the Symbolist movement—sought to achieve this through mythological and religious subjects, portrayed in a fantastical style that drew inspiration from the art of the Italian Renaissance. While many of his paintings are wonderfully weird, dramatic, and elaborate (in the best possible sense), Les Licornes is a particularly lavish and fantastical piece. The painting depicts a group of richly dressed princesses surrounded by a herd of unicorns. According to my research , the painting depicts a magical island with an all-female population, inspired by Themyscira, the mytholo...

A Burial at Ornans  Source: Wikimedia Commons I am of two minds when it comes to Realism in art. While I generally believe that art should portray the details of real life and not shy away from the gritty aspects of reality, it is undoubtable that less realistic art is often more fun and enjoyable to look at. Yet, however you feel about Realism in art, it is impossible to deny that Realism plays a crucial role in the history of art. The Realist movement in Europe was pioneered in the mid-nineteenth century by French artists, including Gustave Courbet, who is widely considered to be one of the great masters of European Realism. The Realist movement was a reaction against the drama and emotional excesses of Romanticism and the pomp and stoicism of Neo-Classicism. Instead, the Realists sought to capture the reality of everyday life, complete with mundane and unpleasant details. Courbet’s A Burial at Ornans is one of the most famous paintings of this age (although Courbet and his art ...

Birth of a Human Soul Source: Arthur There’s something about the world of art that seems to attract off-the-wall people. Maybe it’s the creative atmosphere. Maybe it’s the bohemian lifestyle. Maybe it’s the paint fumes. Who knows. What I do know is that Philipp Otto Runge was what I would call an off-the-wall individual. Runge was one of the greatest artists of the Romantic movement. He was a renowned painter of portraits who was known for his intense style. Not only did Runge write a truly gruesome story for the brothers Grimm and develop the idea of the color sphere—a crucial development in the study of color—he was also a religious mystic. Runge was a devout Christian who claimed a mystical understanding of God’s mysteries. His spirituality is clear and present in much of his art. He believed that symbolism and science went hand in hand, and he sought harmony between the spiritual and the natural world through his work. These aspects of his work can be seen in Birth of the Human Sou...

Mrs. Carl Meyer and Her Children Source: Tate Museum There are few American artists more famous than John Singer Sargent, even though he didn’t spend much of his life in America. Famous (or, more accurately, infamous) for his Portrait of Madame X , Sargent is best known as a portrait artist, which is why I’m going to be talking about his Portrait of Mrs. Carl Meyer and Her Children , which is one of my favorite Sargent portraits. As the title suggests, the painting depicts society matron Adèle Meyer with her two children, Elsie and Frank. The family was affiliated with the Rothschilds’ banking business and the De Beers diamond company, making them tremendously wealthy and influential. Sargent’s creation is an opulent and elegant portrait. The three sitters pose around a gilded sofa; all are richly dressed in silks and lace. While these aspects of the painting are fairly straightforward; Sargent’s compositional choices make it an unusually dramatic and engaging portrait. Sargent painted...

In 2006, citizens of Finland voted The Wounded Angel their country’s national painting, and it’s not hard to see why. While the exact meaning of the painting is unclear, it is a profoundly moving piece, one that appeals to the viewers on a deep and personal level. The piece was created by Hugo Simberg, one of Finland’s most famous painters. He was a member of the symbolist movement, an artistic movement that sought to expressive higher truths through art. Simberg revels in strange and supernatural subjects, and his work typically has an otherworldly and melancholic aura. The Wounded Angel Source: Wikimedia Commons His Wounded Angel is certainly a melancholy piece. It depicts two young boys carrying an angel, in the form of a small girl, on a stretcher. The angel has a broken wing and a bandage wrapped around her head. The landscape behind the three figures is actually a real place, the Töölönlahti Bay near Helsinki. In fact, the path the angel traveled still exists and is open to the ...

Strange Garden Source: Wikimedia Commons I first encountered the painting Strange Garden while doing research on another piece of art, and I knew immediately that it would be the perfect painting to brighten up these short November days. The piece was created by Polish artist Józef Mehoffer, who was well known as a painter and a designer of items like textiles and stained glass. His work was inspired by the Symbolist and Post-Impressionist movements. Although he was relatively famous in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, today he is virtually unknown outside of Poland. Strange Garden was painted between 1902 and 1903, when Mehoffer had already become a successful and well-known artist. The piece was created while Mehoffer was on vacation with his family and depicts members of the family standing in a lush garden. The focal point of the painting is a small, nude boy in the foreground. The boy holds bunches of flowers in each hand and seems to glow from within. The boy ...

Self-Portrait with Unicorn Source: Pinterest The world of Surrealist art is wild and wonderful. The Surrealist movement represents a flourishing of imagination, taking viewers into the visionary world that lurks just out of reach of the conscious mind. Studying a Surrealist painting often involves a deep dive into the painter’s psyche, and this is especially true of self-portraits. There are few genres of painting more revealing or more interesting than the self-portrait. As the term suggests, self-portraits reveal the way the artist sees themselves, in a literal or symbolic sense. Spanish-Mexican artist Remedios Varo’s Self-Portrait with Unicorn is one of the most stunning and interesting examples of the self-portrait genre. Varo was one of the most creative and original artists of her age. Her paintings tend to be inhabited by a vast array of colorful and unusual characters that are unrecognizable as either humans or animals. However, her self-portrait makes use of a more convention...

Portrait of Sophie Gray Source: Wikimedia Commons There are few artistic movements more aesthetic than the Pre-Raphaelite age. Pre-Raphaelite artists strove to create beautiful artwork that was also serious and meaningful. John Everett Millais was one of many who were inspired by a desire to create serious and realistic art that was also pleasing to the eye. While Millais is most famous for his gorgeous and evocative painting of Shakespeare’s famous painting Ophelia , his Portrait of Sophie Gray is an often overlooked masterpiece. Sophie Gray was the younger sister of Millais’ wife, Effie, and she was something of a muse to her brother-in-law. Sophie lived with her sister and brother-in-law for several years when she was young and modeled for several of Millais’ paintings. However, it is his portrait of Sophie at age fourteen that is most memorable. Young Sophie Gray stares defiantly out from her portrait, fixing viewers with a bold, challenging stare. Her eyes capture a powerful and ...

Reflection Source: Wikimedia Commons As we drift towards winter, I thought I’d share a painting that reminds me of spring and summer. With its warm, vibrant colors and serene subject matter, it is certainly a piece for gentler weather. Reflection depicts a woman, dressed in a long, flowing garment, gazing down at her reflection in an indistinct body of water. The landscape blurs together here, detail lost in a haze of bluish-purplish water, rolling blue hills, and a pinkish sky. Simply put, it is a feast for the eyes, a cheerful and peaceful painting that inspires introspective calm. French artist Odilon Redon executed a number of these soothing, colorful paintings after recovering from a serious illness in 1895. During this period, he developed a dreamlike style that was heavily inspired by Japanese art and the natural world. Redon himself was a rather revolutionary artist. His paintings and drawings are wildly creative and inventive, utilizing a unique and easily recognizable visual...

For one reason or another, self-portraits are massively popular in the world of art. There are many possible explanations for this. For obvious reasons, most people are deeply interested in themselves, and self-portraits eliminate the need for a willing and cooperative model. However, the genre of the self-portrait also offers unique opportunities for experimentation and introspection that are unavailable in other forms of art. That being said, some self-portraits are just plain weird and crazy. So, today I’m going to share some of the most unusual self-portraits I could find. Let’s dive in! The Desperate Man by Gustave Courbet - I have to be honest, this self-portrait holds a sort of panache that is almost unparalleled in art history. The Desperate Man captures the artist Gustave Courbet at the tender age of twenty-four. The self-portrait portrays Courbet in a moment of emotional turmoil. The artist stares wildly out at the viewer as he runs his fingers through his hair. His shirt bi...

Pioneers of the West Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum During the Great Depression, the American government created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to stimulate the economy and employee out-of-work Americans. As part of this mission, the WPA hired artists and writers to produce works that celebrated American culture and history. Helen Lundeberg was one such artist. Lundeberg was one of the co-founders of the Post-Surrealism movement. Post-Surrealism was the Americanized response to Surrealism. It can be best described as a more socially conscious version of Surrealism. While traditional Surrealism tends to be introspective, Post-Surrealism looks outward. It focuses on creating a sense of wonder in the viewer and takes an interest in science. In some ways, it could be considered an aspirational style. Pioneers of the West is one of the paintings Lundeberg produced while working for the WPA. It depicts a group of pioneers with oxen and covered wagons setting off on a journ...