Western Archive

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading...

The landscape’s grandeur of “In The Higher Elevations” stuns us when we find out the little man standing middle of the river and also his relative height to the tall trees on the side and the mountain itself. Joseph McGurl has brought out the grandeur of the nature in the current painting with emphasizing on the beauty of the scene. As much as serenity the scene reflects, there also happens to be almost hearing the silent sound of nature in the air over the river. A sound of originality and authenticity. The raw form of nature where standing one alone man feels to be very tiny in front of everything. Painting analysis: Realism, Luminism, En Plein air and Staffage Joseph McGurl is a realist artist […]

Read More...

En Plein Air, Hill, Luminist, Mountain, Realist, River, Staffage

(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

Loading...

The Creation of Adam is a part of the Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco created by Michelangelo. It is the most famous part of the whole ceiling. The depiction represents God accompanied by angles giving the ‘touch of life’ to Adam. It is a visual representation of the event from the Book of Genesis when on the sixth day, god created Adam, eve and other flora and fauna. Story of Creation of Adam and Eve According to the Book of Genesis (the first book of the Hebrew Bible), God first created Adam on the sixth day. He put him in the Garden of Eden and went away to create other things like animals, trees, rivers, etc. (including trees of knowledge and life). Then after he brought […]

Read More...

Adam, Angel, Biblical, Famous, God, Iconic, Italian, Mythology, Nude Man, Sistine Chapel Ceiling

(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

Loading...

Dali’s paintings always forced us to interpret meanings out of the irrelevant things he put in his paintings. They were sometimes grotesque, sometimes beautiful, dreamy, alien or totally unrelated to the world. But, every painting made sense through Dali’s own symbolism which often represented a subject. Though, the subject could be a message or just a simple depiction of an intriguing muse or something which grabbed Dali’s attention. Melting Watches and Unreal Creature For many critics, The Persistence of Memory is a demonstration of a dream world. It includes all the elements a dream could have. Though, the title itself represents the painting as being a memory fading away after a long time. Or being distorted after considerable time period. Reason for critics to interpret […]

Read More...

Ant, Famous, Fly, Mountain, Surrealist, Watch

(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5)

Loading...

Two simple American faces, one staring at us and another staring away blankly. A pitchfork in the man’s hand and an American Gothic house in the background. These simple things have made the picture so popular that it has appeared in almost all kind of media in modern times. From the Simpsons to The Rocky Horror Picture Show and from the every magazine (such as Time) to big movies, the painting has appeared, parodied, copied numerous times. Today it enjoys the similar popularity gained by other iconic paintings like The Scream by Edvard Munch and Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. The gloomy faces of the couple may have indicated them as being a couple in their old times and having not-so-well life. But, an […]

Read More...

American, Americana, Daughter, Double Portrait, Famous, Father, Half Length Portrait, Iconic

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading...

Guernica is a well-appraised painting by the acclaimed artist Pablo Picasso. This mural sized painting was artist’s reaction to the real life bombing on the town of Guernica in Spain during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. The painting and its world-tour during the year helped largely to bring the world’s attention towards the ongoing civil war and its harsh consequences. Today, the painting has become the anti-war symbol. According to some reviewers, the painting was the greatest accomplishment of Picasso’s career for its impacts on the world about the bombing. Picasso and his fellows pushed Cubism ahead with entirely accepting the art-movement and the represented art is a piece of cubist art. The Real Guernica Bombing Bombing of Guernica happened on 26th April, 1937. […]

Read More...

Black and White, Bull, Famous, Horse, Mother and Child, War

(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Loading...

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 […]

Read More...

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

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Loading...

La fornarina was a skillful depiction by high-renaissance artist Raphael. It resembles with Leonardo’s Mona Lisa in terms of the posture, use of the model and the alleged idea behind the portrait. It also includes some elements of popular painting style Chiaroscuro which Raphael borrowed from Caravaggio. La Fornarina, Raphael’s Mistress It is said that the model seated for the portrait was Raphael’s real life model called Margarita Luti. The title of the painting means “the baker’s daughter”. According to Giorgio Vasari, the renaissance period art historian, Raphael was “a very amorous man’ and often looking for ‘amorous pleasures’. Allegedly, during his life he had many mistresses one after another, including daughters of his patrons. Margarita Luti appeared in Raphael’s another portrait La Velata as […]

Read More...

Beautiful, Beautiful Woman, Chiaroscuro, Famous, Italian, Italian Woman, Mistress, Nude Woman, Roman Woman, Sexy Woman, Symbolism, Three Quarter Length Portrait, Three Quarter View Portrait

(3 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

Loading...

Peter Paul Rubens, the 17th century Flemish Baroque painter painted the first version of the biblical subject Massacre of the Innocents in 1612. It took him two years to finish the painting. It showcases the intense scene of King Herod’s (Herod the Great) soldiers killing the infants of Bethlehem during his reign. Massacre of the Innocents The subject of the painting is the intense massacre of the infants during the time of Herod the Great who after a prophecy, got furious that a Jew boy (Jesus) would uproot his grand reign. After getting outwitted by the Magi, and not knowing which baby would be the reason of his diminishing reign, in fury, he ordered to kill all the infants under age of two. It was […]

Read More...

Biblical, Children, Expensive, Famous, Flemish Baroque, Infants, Innocent, Massacre, Mother, Motherhood, Nude, Soldier

(2 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)

Loading...

Leonardo executed very few works during his lifetime compared to other renaissance artists. A major reason is that, he was involved in way too much other works associated with science of human anatomy, botany, physics, armory, architecture and many others. But, on the other hand, his deep research and observation in each field helped him between his various fields at some points. The field of painting includes almost everything the nature has to offer and Leonardo just observed everything from fossils, mountains to the moon. Deriving information and hidden facts (for his time) from sources, mostly his every painting came out as a masterpiece from the artistic view point. His every new composition, color, style and new techniques were followed by the Leonardeschi. Sfumato After […]

Read More...

Angel, Children, Famous, High Renaissance, Italian, Madonna, Madonna and Child, Rock, Sfumato, Virgin

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading...

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 […]

Read More...

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