Art is the Solution

Young Girl Reading Source: National Gallery of Art Jean-Honoré Fragonard is perhaps the most famous painter of the Rococo movement, a highly elaborate and decorative style that is most commonly associated with eighteenth century aristocrats. In fact, it is fair to say that his work is almost synonymous with the artistic movement it represents. I like to think of Rococo as a stereotypical wedding cake: covered in flowers and puffs and frills. The Rococo movement is an outgrowth of the Baroque movement, and it retains the sense of energy and dynamism characteristic of Baroque art. However, where Baroque art tends to be dark, heavy, and dramatic, Rococo art tends to be light and breezy; it’s full of pastel colors and the subject matter tends to revolve around romantic love, youth, and playfulness. Like other painters of this period, Fragonard is well-known for his extremely secular, often erotic paintings that depict the carefree lives of France’s upper classes. However, there is anot...

The Swing Source: Wikimedia Commons The Swing is perhaps one of the most famous paintings in the Western world. Over the years, it has become a symbol of the Rococo movement (probably because it demonstrates the characteristics of the Rococo style without too many raunchy details, which are rather prevalent in rococo art). So, today, I’m going to use The Swing to talk about the Rococo movement and its characteristics. Rococo is a very distinctive style. It’s highly elaborate and decorative, and the easiest way to describe it is “over the top.” I like to think of Rococo as a stereotypical wedding cake: covered in flowers and puffs and frills. The Rococo movement is an outgrowth of the Baroque movement, and it retains the sense of energy and dynamism characteristic of Baroque art. However, where Baroque art tends to be dark (in color), heavy, and dramatic, Rococo art tends to be light and breezy; it’s full of pastel colors and the subject matter tends to revolve around romantic lov...

The Daughters of Governor Ramón de Castro Source: Google Cultural Institute Yesterday, I mentioned the work of José Campeche in my post about Francisco Oller’s Still Life With Plantains and Bananas . I briefly discussed his work in that post, but I wanted to talk about in more detail. So, today, we’re going to be looking at Campeche’s painting, The Daughters of Governor Ramón de Castro . As the title suggests, the painting is a portrait of the two daughters of Ramón de Castro, who was the governor of Puerto Rico at that time. Campeche is an interesting figure in art history. He was the first Puerto Rican artist to be recognized by art historians and he is widely recognized to be one of the most significant and famous artists from the island. Campeche was the son of a freed slave, who was also a restorer and painter of religious statues. He received formal artistic training from a former Spanish court painter, and later became a popular portrait artist among elite Puerto Ricans....