FINAL!

The Old Violin, 1886
Oil on Canvas
William Michael Harnett


The City from Greenwich Village, 1922
Oil on Canvas
John Sloan


The Old Violin is oil on canvas created by American artist William Michael Harnett in 1886. It is American modern art and was created at the end of the 19th century, a fairly quiet time in American history. This piece is still life and was created in the trompe l’oeil style (French for “fool the eye”). In trompe l’oeil, the artist creates the objects in the portrait in a manner where everything appears to be real. The City from Greenwich Village was painted by American artist John Sloan in 1922. It is also oil on canvas. While it too is American modern art it wasn’t created until the beginning of the 20th century in the Ash Can movement. It is a post-World War I piece and was created just as the “Roaring 20s” began.

In The Old Violin, the viewer must interpret what the subject is to them. The very nature of the differing objects in the painting can construe several different meanings. The artist puts forth a possible subject of “a look into (a moment in) the life of a musician.” But one can also look at the portrait and get the feeling the artist chose to put random items together and was simply creating art for the sake of art. The City from Greenwich Village on the contrary has a very definite subject, a view of the nightlife in New York City.

Both artists used several visual elements to create their pieces including color & light to give the picture time, line to create movement & define volume and shape. In Sloan’s piece, the prominent use of the color yellow in its primary (plain yellow), and tertiary (in-between colors such as yellow-orange) forms, creates the lighting that is cast at the base of the figures. This, along with darker hues, or colors, used on the upper parts of the figures, implies the absence of the sun overhead and thus the time of day, night! Harnett took a different approach in his work. Unlike Sloan’s painting which uses a mixture of color to create light and dark, Harnett use the technique chiaroscuro. With chiaroscuro the artist employs values, light and dark, to record contrasts of light and shadow in the natural world, contrasts that model mass for our eyes (Getlein 92). Sloan and Harnett both use contour line, a line that defines the outline or surface of an object or figure and directional line, one that creates movement through the painting. Sloan used contour line to give mass and volume to the train and track and directional line, which carries one’s eye from the front of the train back through the buildings. Harnett’s use of the combination of chiaroscuro and contour line on the music sheet make the paper curl off of the picture plane and gives the violin thickness or mass. Both artists used straight line in their works. The vertical lines (which are also directional) of the skyscraper on the right in Sloan’s piece create movement taking the eye upward and beyond the edge of the painting and diagonal lines used to create windows move the viewer’s eyes from the front of the building to the rear. The vertical lines of the bow, strings and the grooves in the door in The Old Violin create movement making the viewers eyes move up and down the painting.

Sloan and Harnett used the visual element of implied space. The space is implied because the portraits were created on a flat surface and there is no mass of the objects the viewer sees. Both paintings suggest depth in two dimensions; however, this goal was achieved very differently by each artist. When creating his buildings, Sloan employed linear perspective, where lines (that form an object) recede away from the viewer and disappear at a vanishing point, and proportion, size of objects in relation to other objects. Both of the elements make the larger objects of the painting seem closer to the viewer, thus making the viewer have to travel into the picture, into the implied space. Harnett, creating his painting in the trompe l’oeil style, utilized the chiaroscuro technique which, again, creates volume and mass. In The Old Violin, the artist was actually able to emulate the objects so well, that they were mistaken for three dimensional objects.

The Old Violin and The City from Greenwich Village are both balanced asymmetrically. When something is asymmetrical, or not symmetrical, forms on either side of the vertical axis (an imaginary line drawn down the center of the work) do not correspond to (or mirror) each other (Getlein 125). Harnett accomplished this by using the implied weight of the door-pull, newspaper clipping, envelope and a large portion of the violin and placing it to the left of the axis while the right side carries the implied weight of the bow, a smaller portion of the violin and the weightier metal hinges. Sloan placed several “thicker” buildings and the cluster of buildings in the horizon to the left of the axis while placing the train, smaller buildings and the skyscraper that runs off of the picture plane to the right.

Sloan’s work conveys a very different mood from that of Harnett’s. When viewing The Old Violin, one will have to take into account their interpretation of the piece in order to decide the mood. If one were to look at all of the objects and associate them as part of a musician’s accomplishments (e.g. is the newspaper clipping in reference to a great performance and does the envelope contain a congratulatory letter?), then a joyous, prideful mood may be obtained. However, if the objects represented something else to the viewer (e.g. the newspaper clipping is a bad review and the envelope contained a “pink-slip” so now the musician is “hanging up” his violin), than a somber melancholy mood would be construed. The City from Greenwich Village, on the contrary, has a very definite mood. It is one of energy. The bright light Sloan used for implied illumination, the people walking, and the cars driving toward the light gives the sense of nightlife. Perhaps a "Roaring 20s" party that was loud and lively enough to awaken an artist in the middle of the night!

The City from Greenwich Village and The Old Violin are both oil on canvas. This means that they were created on canvas that was stretched across a frame and the "paint" is actually pigmented oils. Sloan applied his oils liberally with obvious brushstrokes and he employed the glazing technique. This is where the artist applies thin layers of color upon one another. Harnett applied his oil deliberately ensuring his painting was devoid of brush strokes but he also employed glazing to give the aged affect to some objects.

The City from Greenwich Village is a very simplified piece. When looking at the painting, the viewer will see exactly what the artist is trying to convey yet the Sloan did not attempt to mimic each detail of what he was seeing the way Harnett did. The Old Violin is extremely realistic. That is the very nature of the painting. The artist intended for the viewer to mistake the objects for the real thing and he accomplished his goal quite well.

The City from Greenwich Village and The Old Violin are both very different works of art that will most likely appeal to very different audiences. The lively colors and the energetic mood of Sloan’s work make this painting inviting, and the subject and content gives the viewer an unmistakable connection to the city, any city. I chose this piece because even though I am not a city slicker, I enjoy associations with it. The City from Greenwich Village has the ability to spread its energy throughout a room while hanging from any wall. In my opinion, the darker colors and bland subject matter of The Old Violin, though very beautiful, make this piece a little less inviting. It tends to be more of a conversational piece rather than a warm decorative work. I chose this painting because I am fascinated with the work of the trompe l’oeil style. The talent of the artist resonates anew each time I view the piece (live or in a photo). This painting alone gave me a new appreciation for the works that are created by artists and I learned to look passed the “picture” on the canvas. After viewing Harnett’s The Old Violin for myself, the artists’ ability became the most beautiful thing to me when looking at ANY painting.


Source: Getlein, Mark, Living with Art, 2006 8th Ed.

Activity #13 - Write About It!

The City from Greenwich Village by John Sloan is oil on canvas, 1922. In this representational piece, Sloan captured a night in the life of New York City as he could see it from his apartment in Greenwich Village. Sloan was known as (one of) The Eight or an Ash Can Painter because of this work (as well as others he painted with similar subject and content).(1) Works in the “Ash Can School” movement consisted of painting with busy streets, tenements and back alleys as subjects.(2) The City from Greenwich Village was completed during the period known as “The Roaring 20s”. It was post WWI and Americans were starting to pick up the pieces of their lives, including their nightlife. Though prohibition was in effect at this time, people still enjoyed night time social engagements. Notice how your eyes are drawn to the light beaming from beneath the subway train. One gets the feeling of a charged, high energy atmosphere permeating through the apparent rain shower. Though Art Deco would have been a better known movement of that time, this piece does not fall into that category. Art Deco was bold, fancy and boastful. The City from Greenwich Village was simply a snapshot, of sorts, of real life as it happened so it can also be associated with the Realism movement.

The Old Violin by William Michael Harnett is oil on canvas, 1886. Created in the late 19th century, this piece is a still life that was done in the trompe l’oeil (fool the eye) style. The objects in this painting were meant to look real and the artist made every effort to achieve that goal by deliberately applying paint devoid of brushstrokes as well as employing other techniques. The Old Violin is a representational piece that simply displays objects that could be found in everyday life and thus can be associated with the Realism movement. This technique of painting has its origins in the Baroque period but was revived by Harnett during the American Modern art period.(3) When looking at The Old Violin, it can be difficult to associate the painting with one period or another or even one movement or another. Because of the trompe l’oeil technique used, all of the objects look real and they don’t seem dated. The violin and even the envelope are both something that could be something found in everyday life from 1886 to 2007. Since trompe l’oeil was not a widely practiced method, it too never “ran out of steam” or has become dated (it’s still practiced today). The Old Violin could easily pass for a painting that was created during the post-modern era.


(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashcan_School
(2) https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/img/assets/3760/al_acta_33_2.pdf
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trompe_l

Activity #11 - Write About It! -REVISED (cited)

The Old Violin by William Michael Harnett is oil on canvas, 1886. This painting is American modern art and was created at the end of the 19th century. Impressionism was the art movement of this time but this painting is not an Impressionist piece (characteristics of Impressionist painting include visible brushstrokes, and unusual visual angles. This piece has neither). The Old Violin is a still life and in the time when Harnett created this work, American artists in the U.S. had found a ready market for this type of painting(1). A still life tradition was established by artist Raphaelle Peale in Philadelphia that lasted until the early 20th century. During this time Harnett and other artists gained fame for their work.

The City from Greenwich Village by John Sloan is oil on canvas, 1922. This painting is American modern art and was created at the beginning of the 20th century. It is a post-World War I piece and was created just as the “Roaring 20s” began. The 20s were a time of the Art Deco movement. Art Deco was purely decorative and was seen as elegant, functional, and ultra modern. It touched upon architecture, fashion and visual arts. This piece shows no signs of this movement. The City from Greenwich Village would be considered Realism that show signs of the night life associated with the “Roaring 20s.”

Source: (1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_life
http://en.wikipedia.org

Activity #10 - Write About It!

The City from Greenwich Village is oil on canvas by John Sloan, 1922. The paint in this portrait was applied quite liberally with very noticeable brush strokes. When viewing The City, one will be able to see the thickness of the oil and the method used to acquire the look of different elements in the work. In this painting the artist used the glazing method. Glazing is when thin, translucent veils of color are applied over a thicker layer of underpainting (Getlein 175). When looking at the sky, you will notice how the artist starts with purple as the base color. He then adds clouds using varying white paints and “light” (from the distant skyscrapers) in varying oranges, over the purple. When looking at the focal point of the painting, the train and the surrounding lit buildings, one can see the glazing technique in creating the light alone. Sloan appears to have started with a darker hue of yellow and continually added lighter hues on top of one another. Take notice to the skyscraper to the right of the train, glazing is also apparent. Sloan started with a darker, unlit building and used the glazing technique to imply the reflection of light off of the surface.

The Old Violin is oil on canvas by William Michael Harnett, 1886. This type of painting is called trompe l’oeil, which if French for “fool the eye”. In this technique, the artist created the objects in the portrait in a manner where everything appears to be real. The paint is thin and was applied to the canvas devoid of brush strokes because the objects are not meant to look as if they were in a painting to begin with (the door on which the violin is hanging may be the only exception because in real life you probably would see brush strokes on a painted door). The artist wants you to notice the objects in the painting but does not want you to see the painting in the portrait. Harnett also employed the method of glazing in this piece. Quite noticeably, the violin and the door hinges have a base color applied to them and additional color was applied on top to give the look of wear or age.

Source Getlein, Mark, Living with Art, 2006 8th Ed.

Activity #8 - Collage

After photography, can anyone tell what my other love is? This project gave me the opportunity to combine the 2!

Activity #9 - Write About It! - REWRITE

Rewrite:

Before the camera, when an artist wanted to capture a subject on canvas, he simply captured the subject on the canvas.

The widespread use of the camera brought about many changes to the appearance of visual arts. The most noted change, artists realized that the subject didn’t have to be the most important item on the canvas. When a picture is taken with a camera, the finished product encompasses far more objects than the photographer intended to see, yet these items tend to add to the overall presentation, feel, meaning of the work. For example, a pre-camera artist may want to paint a toddler in his Sunday best holding his favorite toy. The painting would probably consist of the child with his toy on a solid background. A photographer, attempting to capture the same content, would end up with a finished product that may include the entire toy chest and other less important items belonging to the child in the background. Painters realized people enjoyed the look of photographs and all they encompassed and their artwork began to emulate photographs. No longer did painters wait for a specific subject to create a portrait, they did as cameramen did and captured everyday life. City scenes, landscapes, action scenes. Whatever a camera could or would photograph, a painter could or would paint.

The style in which paintings were created changed too. When photographing a scene, especially from a distance, one may be able to tell what they are looking at but that doesn’t necessarily mean the camera capture a very good picture of the image. Artists like Claude Monet, began to paint in a technique that mocked the blurry, yet distinguishable figures in photographs when painting his landscapes. Thus Impressionism was born. When looking at an Impressionist painting up close, you will only see lines, dots and splashes of color that really make no sense at all. Once you step back and take a second look, the colors will come together and the figures will begin to make sense.

The painting themselves began to emulate photographs as well. No longer was the subject centered on the picture plane with a noticeable border along the edges. Paintings were actually cropped on all sides as if the painter saw his subject through a camera lens.

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Original work:

The invention and widespread use of the camera has had several effects on visual arts. From the inherent use of the camera to the uses of the camera, the visual arts world has simply developed a new extension belonging exclusively to photographs.

Before the development of photography, the works of visual artists, such as portraits, were reserved for the well-to-do. Artists were commissioned for the lengthy processes of creating such paintings and the finished products were viewed only by a few. By contrast, photos could be created relatively quickly (when compared to a painting) and inexpensively, thus introducing itself to middle and even some lower class people allowing them an invitation into the world of visual arts. On the same token, people who would never consider themselves artists were given the opportunity to capture subjects, without the talent a painter would have, that were just as aesthetically pleasing as an oil on canvas. Quite frankly, a new breed of artists was developed!

When a painter recorded people or events, the finished products were the results of his interpretations. A viewer of his works is left to wonder how much truth is contained in the painting. Is the situation as peaceful as he says it is or are things far worse? With the length of time it took to create a painting, one is left to wonder is there still peace in the land or is the hardship still ongoing? Photography brought truth to the arts and it brought it much faster than a painting ever could. When looking at the photograph, Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange 1936, (Getlein 217) there is no denying the turmoil in the life of the subjects. And because it is a photograph, 1936 viewers knew what was going on at that time, not months later.

Many careers in the visual arts have been created directly from the use of photography. Be it on film or digital media, whether its photojournalism or fashion model photography, the use of the camera has impacted, even made, many lives in the art world.

A true photographer will know that just the way a person feels when they see a beautiful painting in a museum, if a subject is captured correctly on the other side of his lens, it is just a breathtaking. Photos have a way of capturing the beauty of the real world (and beauty is in the eye of the beholder!) and allowing one to actually own it.

Source: Getlein, Mark Living With Art, 8th Ed. 2006

Activity #7 - Write About It - MID-TERM

Politics and The Social Order is a theme that encompasses the very fabric of our society. Its works would include projects ordered by leaders that would symbolize their power (e.g. The Great Pyramids), or even representations of the rulers themselves, perhaps a sculpture or a painting. (Getlein 57) To understand what the Politics and The Social Order theme may include today, all one has to do is look at pictures of the Bald Eagle soaring in the sky with a picture of the American flag waving proudly amidst the mountains or visit the moments in Washington, DC and admire the architecture of the Lincoln Memorial. Works that lead us back or make us think of our government are the epitome of this theme.

Just like our government and political system, all of the works that would fit under Politics and The Social Order are not always peaceful, happy and full of pride. The American government is a democracy and its citizens have a voice in decisions that are made. Of course, simply having a voice and utilizing it when one is not satisfied is not necessarily enough to make a change of governmental proportions. Or is it? Perhaps a group of voices all shouting the same thing would be enough. Or would it?

Regardless of the outcomes, for more than a century, American citizens have been voicing their opinions, outrage, support, contempt, and disbelief in the form of demonstrations. Here, a collection of photographs, one from each decade of the 20th century, has been put together to show Politics and The Social Order from the average citizen’s perspective. Each picture tells a story, a cause of that era.

As days pass and the issues are no longer relevant, these works of art serve as a reminder. Once time has been captured in this manner there is no way, short of destroying the work, of denying yesterday. That is the purpose of these photographers’ works. Stories can be passed on, lessons can be learned and memories can be refreshed. Most importantly, the road traveled to get where we are today can never be forgotten.

Though these pictures spanned the course of almost 100 years, all of the photographers managed to capture the same thing, human spirit. Facial expressions, body language, emotions, gestures, and text are present in these photos. The artists captured visual elements such as implied line, direction and movement, shape, space, linear perspective and time. They utilized visual principals such as unity, asymmetrical balance and emphasis.

Note: All of the photos will be described by their year.
In the 1963 and the 1945 the photographers captured a linear perspective as well as movement. When looking at the protesters, the viewer knows that they are moving along their path and somewhere behind them there are more demonstrators to come. In the 1980, implied line, movement and direction have all been employed. When studying this picture, the viewer will first focus on the person farthest to the right and their eyes will move in the direction, along the path (or implied line) that the men are marching. One can tell that the men are in motion because the photographer captured the stride of the men’s steps. The use of space by the photographers tells a lot about the attention given to the cause. In looking at the 1922 or the 1936, one may wonder how many people will be impacted or affected by the issue at hand. When looking at the 1963 or the 1991, the viewer will know that there is a great concern among the people for this particular issue. Emphasis was used in the 1909, the 1976, the 1991, the 1963 and the 1980. The 1909 protest was in reference to child slavery, thus the photographer stressed that fact by photographing only children. In both the 1976 and the 1991, the photographer captured emphasis with large white signs. The 1963 and the 1980 were both racial issues and the artists chose to capture only the races at issue. All of the pictures, with the exception of the single person photos, contain unity whether it’s the signage being carried by members in the crowd or the simple act of marching in unison. Finally, each photographer managed to capture perfect balance in these pictures. All of the photos show asymmetrical balance, quite noticeably the 1945. The larger woman in the front of the line along with a portion of the gentleman behind her are balanced off by the 3 people in line behind them.

Each one of these photographs speaks volumes. No matter what the subject or content, the fights that are captured in these pictures have made life what it is today and are important to all of us. They serve as a reminder of where we have been and they can guide us to where we are going. When life’s issues seem too hard, a quick peek at this collection will remind us of how hard things really could be.

source: Getlein, Mark Living With Art 8th Ed. 2006

Activity #6 - Politics and Social Order - MID-TERM

Protests & Demonstrations of the 20th Century


1909 Anti-Child Slavery Demonstrators
photographer: unknown
source: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Reading Room
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/


1918 Free Speech Demonstrators
photographer: unknown
source: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/


1922 Amnesty for War Protesters Picketer
photographer: unknown (possibly Herbert E. French)
source: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/


1936 Fair Labor Demonstrator
photographer: Rothstein, Arthur
source: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/


c. 1945 Marchers for Imprisoned War Objectors
photographer: unknown
source: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/


1954 Anti-Integration Protestors
photographer: unknown
source: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/


1963 Civil Rights Demonstrators
photographer: Leffler, Warren K.
source: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/


1976 Freedom of Choice Demonstrators
photographer: Leffler, Warren K.
source: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/


1980 Iranian Student Protestors
photographer: Leffler, Warren K.
source: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/


1991 Gulf War Protestors
photographer: unknown
source: http://www.news.wisc.edu/wisweek/wartimeline.html

Activity #5

John Sloan’s The City from Greenwich Village is oil on canvas, 1922. This painting is a portrait of Sloan’s view of New York City from his Greenwich Village apartment thus capturing the theme Looking Outward: The Here and Now. In painting in the theme The Here and Now, the artist simply finds his inspiration from his life as it is here, now, in this place and at this time. (Getlein 64)
In The City from Greenwich Village Sloan employed several visual elements to include that of time, atmospheric perspective, shape, and light. Using these elements, the artist was able to create a scene that depicted exactly what he saw. Most of the figures he designed could not be mistaken for anything other than objects found in a city. Skyscrapers, row houses and subway trains are all indigenous to cities. There are also people and cars in the painting. The people appear to be walking, the cars are driving, and as well the train is moving. All of this activity shows life in motion as the painter painted. The use of color to create light signifies the time of day Sloan was attempting to capture and the atmospheric perspective shows what the weather was at the time the artist was inspired create his painting.







The Old Violin, 1886 oil on canvas by William Michael Harnett, could possibly have two themes. The first theme, The Here and Now, could be supported by the title. The second possible theme, Art and Art, would be supported by the content of the picture. The theme Art and Art is quite simply an artist creating art just for the sake of creating.
Since this painting was created in trompe l’oeil, “fool the eye”, it has an extremely realistic look to it. At first glance, all of the objects in it will be mistaken for the real thing. Once the viewer is past the point of realizing the truth and just appreciates the painting, one can see that every figure in the picture could have been found in the artist’s everyday life, The Here and Now. Harnett employed the principles of unity and variety to the painting. A viewer could easily find a connection to all of the objects in The Old Violin and walk away with the feeling that they looked at a day in the life of a musician (whether or not Harnett was actually that musician).
Art and Art as a theme could be supported by dissecting the figures Harnett put into his painting. The artist applied the principle of variety in his work as well. A violin, a bow, and a music sheet really have no (immediate) connection with a door, a newspaper clipping or an envelope. Combining these items together makes one wonder why these things and it also adds to the question, “What is art?” (Getlein 76)

Source: Getlein, Mark Living With Art 8th Ed. 2006

Color Game

CLICK HERE

Activity #4 - Write About It!

The Old Violin is oil on canvas painted by William Michael Harnett in 1886. This piece employs the design principles of scale, unity & variety, and asymmetrical balance.

Since this piece is what is known as trompe l’oeil, or “fool the eye”, every item in the painting has to be to scale. Scale means size in relation to a standard or “normal” size. (Getlein 136) When something is said to be to scale, it means it is normal size.

There is also unity and variety in The Old Violin. Unity, the sense of oneness, link all of the objects in the painting together, even if the link is only implied (perhaps the envelope was used to mail the newspaper clipping to the musician and the newspaper article was about a performance). There is also variety, or differences, in the objects. Why would the violin be secured to a door? What does an envelope have to do with music?

Asymmetrical balance is another principle Harnett applied to his work. When something is asymmetrical or not symmetrical, forms on either side of the vertical axis (an imaginary line drawn down the center of the work) do not correspond to each other. The figures in this painting appear to be balanced. This was accomplished by using the weight of the door-pull, newspaper clipping, envelope and a large portion of the violin and placing it to the left of the axis while the right side carries the weight of the bow, a smaller portion of the violin and the (implied) weightier metal hinges.

The City from Greenwich Village is oil on canvas by John Sloan, 1922. Like The Old Violin, this painting utilizes the design principles of unity and asymmetrical balance. However, it also employs emphasis and rhythm.
All of the figures in this have unity. Everything Sloan painted can be found in a city on any given day. The picture is asymmetrically balanced by placing several “thicker” buildings and the cluster of building in the horizon to the left of the axis while placing the train, smaller buildings and the skyscraper that runs off of the picture plane to the right.

Emphasis means attention is drawn more to one part of the painting than others. In The City from Greenwich Village, emphasis is placed on the train, the building to the left and people below the track. This is accomplished with the light Sloan created with the varying yellow hues contrasting with the dark hues on the roof of the train and of the house.

Quite simply, rhythm is repetition. The windows on the buildings and train, and the slats of the tracks (which can be seen to the front of the train on the right side) all have rhythm. The rhythm changes a bit in some places with the presence or absence of light.

Sources: Getlein, Mark Living With Art 8th Ed. 2006

Activity #2 - Write About It! - REWRITE

The City from Greenwich Village is oil on canvas created by John Sloan in 1922. Sloan uses several visual elements to create his picture including color & light to give the picture time, line to create movement & define volume and shape.

The prominent use of the color yellow in its primary (plain yellow), and tertiary (in-between colors such as yellow-orange) forms, creates the lighting that is cast at the base of the figures. This, along with darker hues, or colors, used on the upper parts of the figures, implies the absence of the sun overhead and thus the time of day, night! Sloan uses a bending contour line, a line that defines the outline or surface of an object or figure, to give mass and volume to the train and track. Notice how this line creates movement through the painting carrying one’s eye from the front of the train back through the buildings. Straight line is used to create the buildings. The vertical lines of skyscraper on the right create movement taking the eye upward and beyond the edge of the painting and diagonal lines used to create windows move the viewer’s eyes from the front of the building to the rear. This use of diagonal lines creates a linear perspective which is when parallel lines appear to recede and meet at a vanishing point, ultimately creating a feeling of distance. Sloan also employs a linear perspective to the buildings located behind the bend of the track, creating distance in a new direction. Sloan’s use of atmospheric perspective is accentuated by the use of colors on the buildings on the horizon. Secondary colors (a mixture of 2 primary colors) and tertiary colors of orange and red-orange are used to create the shape of the skyscrapers as well as imply light, as opposed to the brighter yellows used in the foreground. Atmospheric perspective is the observation that distant objects appear less distinct due to the scattering of the light by moisture in the air. It was raining the night Sloan painted this picture from a window in his Greenwich Village apartment.

The Old Violin was painted by William Michael Harnett in 1886. It is oil on canvas. Harnett was best known for his work in trompe l’oeil, French for “fool the eye”. This technique involves producing extremely realistic imagery that creates an optical illusion.

Unlike Sloan’s painting which uses a mixture of color to create light and dark, Harnett use the technique chiaroscuro. With chiaroscuro the artist employs values, light and dark, to record contrasts of light and shadow in the natural world, contrasts that model mass for our eyes (Getlein 92). Notice the shadows from the music sheet, bow and door-pull. The presence of the shadow not only implies the presence of light, but it lifts the objects off of the picture plane. The picture plane is the “door” on which the violin is hanging. As with The City from Greenwich Village, Harnett uses contour and straight line to create volume and movement. The combination of chiaroscuro and contour line on the music sheet make the paper curl off of the picture plane and gives the violin thickness or mass. The straight line of the bow, strings and the grooves in the door create movement making the viewers eyes move up and down the painting.

While both paintings are representational, works of art that depict forms in the natural world, they vary greatly in their presentation. Sloan’s The City from Greenwich Village is simply a portrait of, not to be mistaken for anything else. Harnett’s painting is deliberately deceptive and is meant to be mistaken for the real thing.

Sources: Getlein, Mark Living with Art, 8th Ed 2006

Activity #1 - On Line Museum Visit

The City from Greenwich Village
John Sloan, 1922











The Old Violin
William Michael Harnett, 1886

CREATIVE BLOG

Brew said we can find elements of art every where in our everyday lives. I almost go hit by a car when the linear perspective of this street caught my eye while leaving the museum!!

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Anyone recognize?

Color Wheels - These are all non-traditional color wheels I have found. Some considered abstract, some for computer use (CMY) and one created by a 3rd grade art class! All very nice to look at.
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This painting by an unknown artist of an African-American woman ironing reminds me so much of this painting by Vermeer of a Dutch woman sewing.

Fun with Illustrator! This is my first project ever in Illustrator. I find it funny how I really admire my own work, but not long before my creation, I used to cringe at those Charles Schwab commercials that created people with the same technique!

One of Lateefa's paintings, Who Is She?.

This is a portrait by an artist named Lateefa. It is called Envelope. The caption with the picture said she unable to show her work on a website she had been utilizing. She is a photographer as well as a painter and apparently her work was so good, it was mistaken as being "copyrighted" material and it was blocked from public display. I just recently discovered her work but I am already in love with her!

Activity #3

The pairing of eyes. An asymmetrical black & white.

The beautiful Orthemis Ferruginea dragonfly. The perfect subject of a symmetrical photo.

Art 101 FAST TRACK

yet i feel like i am on the slow bus with this blog thing!