The Raft of Medusa

"The Raft of Medusa" was painted by Géricault in 1818 at the age of 27. It was painted on a canvas with oil paint and is 16 feet by 23.5 feet. What I find interesting about this painting is the history behind it; most paintings tell a story but this one depicts a real moment in history. The ship was a French naval vessel, named Medusa, that got stuck on a sandbar. For three days they tried to free the ship but when it didn't move, the 400 people on board took the six small life boats and make shift rafts and set off on a 13 day journey home with little food and drink. Only 15 of the 400 people made it back and created a huge scandal in France. The painting now hangs in Paris, France at Musée du Louvre

Horse Cave painting at Lascaux, France, c 15,000-13,000 B.C.

Horse

Cave painting at Lascaux, France, c 15,000-13,000 B.C. 

The first paintings were probably made in caves according to the text book, which is pretty cool. This painting was created by using charcoal. The painting consisted chunks of red and yellow that was crushed into a powder and applied with brushes or blown onto the surface through the use of bones that are hollow. I think that this painting is very cool, especially how it was painted. It says in the text that they painted the animal that they wanted to hunt which is pretty awesome! I love how this painting isn’t perfect, it’s outlined and not colored entirely. This painting is very simple, yet nice. Since there isn’t a background to it, it looks like the horse is just there hanging out! 

"The Liberation of Peon"

 "The Liberation of Peon" by Diego Rivera is mainly inspired by Mayan murals and was painted in 1931. Peonage is a system of employed servitude established by Spanish colonizers, where natives were forced to work the land. This man was left to die by ruthless soldiers but then found by sympathetic revolutionary soldiers to tend to his broken body, What I like about the painting is the earthy tones Rivera decided to use. He used many warm, brown toned shades to depict the atmosphere and the origin of where the painting is representing. As observing this painting, I realized that Rivera used many rounded lines throughout. I also thought that the eyes of the horses were a bit alluring. I feel like this also has some sort of a connection to the body of Christ when he was crucified. There is a lot of religious imagery in this painting. This was a common trait in the Mexican revolutionary art movement.

Fowling Scene

This painting, "Fowling Scene" from the tomb of Nebamun, depicts Nebamun standing on a papyrus boat with his wife beside him, and son below. The hieroglyphics below his raised arm describes him as 'taking recreation and seeing what is good in the place of eternity.' Egyptian society was obsessed with immortality which inspired a lot of their paintings. It is very interesting that there are some possible hidden messages in the painting. Fertile marshes were seen as a place for rebirth, while hunting animals shows his triumph over the forces of nature as he is reborn. This picture depicts Nebamun dominating, forever happy and young, surrounded by a rich marsh. This picture connects Egypt's belief of eternal glory. I find it fascinating that the artists in Egypt painted in tombs. They found ways to get around the touch edges by first laying down a coarse layer of mud plaster before painting. Most paintings in tombs have lasted this long because of Egypt's extremely dry climate. 

Villa of the Mysteries

This painting is called "Villa of the Mysteries" which was painted on the walls of a villa in Pompeii. Though the building that houses these paintings was built long before the time of Jesus, the pieces were not rediscovered until 1909 due to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. The Villa of Mysteries was thought to depict the initiation of young women into the cult of Dionysus, the god of wine. I like how there is use of a light source which gives the painting some depth. The fact that this was also painted over the span of four walls adds to fact that it tells a story of initiation.

This painting by Bruegel the Elder, named "Tower of Babel" was made in 1563. The painting is currently located in the Kunsrhistorisches Museum in Vienna. Bruegel was painting the infamous in Greece that the people said "lead to heaven". According to architects and historians, the tower was furnished with elaborate couches and gold tables. The painting does show great contrast from the top of the tower to a lighter color down the rest of the tower. This portrait is a great example of a Mesopotamian civilization. I like this painting a lot because it shows how things looked back in that time from an artist's perspective and the actual painting itself is put together well.

The Hand of God, detail of the fresco at the apse of Saint Climent de Taüll.  (Catalonia, Spain).
At first glance of this beautiful painting, I did not see a hand coming from a circle. Instead I saw a person falling into a whole/circle. Honestly thats what I thought and felt what made this painting beautiful. As I read the fine print about this painting, I realized I was incorrect but yet the meaning behind the painting was still special. This painting is now hanging in a chapel in catalonia, Spain. It was made during the Second golden age of Byzantine.