19th Century Archive

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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A masterpiece happens when the artist doesn’t miss to include anything in the contexts of logic, theme, aesthetics, subject and reality. Though, that’s not an ultimate definition or the key to create a masterpiece. Those are just the few elements which we see in a masterpiece regardless it is a painting, story, sculpture or a building. They are mostly very comprehensive. The current painting could be categorized as a masterpiece of the artist. Giving enough weight and stance to each object in the painting, he hasn’t missed the littlest details of the real environment. Even a little squirrel on the lower left corner stands there un-boastingly. The painting could be called a veduta. The tribe resting beside the stream is a fortunate one for the […]

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American, Dog, Famous, Horse, Lander's Peak, Mountain, Stream, Tent, Tribe

(4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)

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Exaggerated portrayal of a real place in Arles, France, Café Terrace at Night is much revered painting. In modern times, the real café on which the artist drew his painting is renamed as the Café Van Gogh and is reconstructed so it could look like the café in the painting. That’s the height of the painter in today’s time. Many visitors visit the café and stands at where Van Gogh placed his easel. As Van Gogh wrote in his letter to his brother Theo, the painting doesn’t depict the exact scenario of the place. The bright orangish-yellow and green texture of the café is the artist’s creation as well as the brightly blue starry night which artist described as a containing poor pale whitish light. […]

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cafe, Famous, Night, rhone, starry night, Street

(1 votes, average: 2.00 out of 5)

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This Ukiyo-e piece is the most famous Japanese painting in its type. It represents a monstrous wave ascending over the two Japanese Boats. In the background is visible the infamous Mount Fuji (known for being active volcano mountain) covered with ice. The Great Wave of Kanagawa Analysis Ukiyo-e paintings are always very minimalistic, few colored, flat and yet impressive with its distinctive style. All of those characteristics are available in this picture. Due to the cumbersome process of making a Ukiyo-e, artists try to make a simple and with low colored painting. Contrary to that notion, Great Wave is comparatively rich with details and colors. The two boats with full of fishermen are called Oshiokuri-Bune. They are the fast boats which transports the live fishes […]

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Beautiful, Boat, Boatman, Famous, Mount Fiji, Mount Fuji, Mountain, Sea, Storm, Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji Series, ukiyo-e, Wave

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In some stories the most vital moments aren’t filled with armies battling or acquiring the throne. In the deep look, vital moments in such stories are those which bear the possibility of eliminating the subsequent havoc happened and after which is crossed, there is no turning back. Greek mythological story of Oedipus has many such moments in his life. The direst one is represented in the current painting by the French painter. Oedipus’ prophecy of killing his father and marrying his own mother Oedipus was the son of King Laius and Queen Jacasta of Thebes. On his birth the king knew about the prophecy which stated that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his own mother. To eliminate such horrible possibilities, the king left […]

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French, Greek, Greek Mythology, King, Neoclassical, Oedipus, Sphinx

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Completed in 1824, The Sea of Ice or sometimes referred as The Wreck of Hope is a piece by the German painter Casper David Friedrich. It represents the accident of a ship which is drowning under the ice while the broken ice sheet by the accident has arisen upwards significantly. The top and bottom of the painting also resembles the popular color use of blue vs. orange, abundantly apparent in modern day art, films, posters and paintings. Subject The subject isn’t a random depiction of ice and ship-accident. The painting was made during the period when the expeditions to the north and south poles were in talks. Though, the attempts to a successful expedition are much older than the 19th century. The original title for […]

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German, Ice, Romanticism, Ship, Shipwreck

(13 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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Indian artists aren’t as much known as the western artist. Though, if we think about India one name comes in our mind, Raja Ravi Varma. One of the few 19th century Indian painter who had the caliber to stand alongside the top level western artists. Here is presented one of the best art works by Raja Ravi Varma. He was known, mostly, for depicting the scenes from either Ramayana or Mahabharata, two grand Indian epic poems, which are often equaled with Iliad and Odyssey by Homer. But, in reality, such comparisons are baseless. Subject of the current painting is taken from the Indian epic poem Ramayana. Literal meaning of Jatayu Vadham from Sanskrit is the killing of Jatayu. Story of Jatayu Vadha (The Killing of […]

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Bird, Epic, Epic Poem, Jatayu, killing, Ravana, Sita

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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The Titan’s Goblet by American artist Thomas Cole is a romantic landscape painting which combines the elements of reality and fiction into one and creates a fictional landscape with very conveying representation. It was made in 1833. The composition The setting of the landscape is regular with mountain ranges, setting sun, a river (or lake) and big bright sky of evening in the background. It is an aerial view of the scene. Until this, it is a regular landscape painting. But, the point of interest in it makes the whole difference moving it from the category of landscape to the sub-categories of romantic and fictional landscape. A big, made out of rock goblet stands slightly on the right side of the painting. It is full […]

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American, English, Goblet, Greek Mythology, Romanticism, Sunset

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A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is a fine example of Georges Seurat’s pointillism. Painting took him two years to complete and during the first year he didn’t included the pointillism in the art work. He made the painting on the island of La Grande Jatte near Paris. Pointillism The painting is depicted in the style of pointillism which was called divisionism at the time of the execution. It is an assemblage of small dots and very small brush-strokes to create a full picture. If looked from a certain distant it creates a perfect picture. Though, at a closer look it seems to be just the collection colorful dots. Even the faces which seems to be having nose, eyes and lips […]

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Afternoon, Beautiful, Dog, Famous, Fishing, French, Garden, Island, Monkey, Pet, Pointillist, Post-impressionist, River, Umbrella

(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Sometimes referred also as Barbara Dmitrievna Mergassov Rimsky-Korsakova, the “Madame Barbe de Rimsky Korsakov” is a portrait of Russian aristocrat woman. It was painted in 1864 by the German painter Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Identity of the Woman At some places, it is suggested that the woman is the same person who married to the famous Russian music composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov due to the same endings of the name and the same time-period of their births. But, there is no full evidence about it as some important sources suggests Nadezhda Rimskaya-Korsakova to be the composer’s wife. Other speculations are that she also appeared in Russian writer Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel Anna Karenina. But, the identity of the portrayed woman isn’t firmly definite. Art analysis The portrait […]

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Aristocrat, Beautiful, Beautiful Woman, Russian, Russian Woman, Three Quarter Length Portrait

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Whistler’s mother is an oil-on-canvas painting by American-born painter James McNeil Whistler revealed in 1871. The real name of the painting is Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, but in general, it is more famous as Whistler’s Mother. It is now reckoned as one of the most famous paintings in the world and has been described as an American Icon and “Victorian Mona Lisa”. It is a painting depicting artist’s mother, Anna McNeil Whistler. She is sitting on a chair with ease- her left side towards us- and looking straight. The emotions on the face of quite, cold and the natural discerning peace are portrayed vividly. As if, she is living her most quiet and peaceful years. After the revelation, the painting got much […]

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American, Famous, Full Length Portrait, Mother, Motherhood, Old Woman, Profile Portrait, Sitting Woman