Dada Photomontage

Renaissance and Baroque

     The renaissance was a time period in Europe that took place from the 14th to the 17th century. During this time people got involved with an artistic movement called humanism. Humanists focused on the abilities people had to solve problems and come up with rational solutions to rather than solutions that had to do with religion. Realism became popular during the renaissance. Geometry and the anatomy of light also became important in art during this time. 

     This is the painting 'Paul Preaching at Athens' by Raphael. Light is used to draw focus to Paul. Linear perspective is used to place people further back in the painting and create a vanishing point in the middle of the piece. 

     Baroque art occurred from 1600-1770. Baroque art showed a heavy amount of emotion. These paintings were normally very dramatic and used light and positions of objects to give a focus and mood for different pieces. It was also a type of art that was used to help restore Catholicism. Emotions exhibited in Baroque art are clear for the viewer. 

                                     

     This painting titled 'Adoration of the Shepards' by Bartolome Murillo is from the Baroque period. The lighting in this painting brings the focal point to baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Everyone is crowded around the newborn, giving him the greatest focus. The birth of Christ is an important piece of the Bible, which shows the restoration of Catholicism here. 

Intro to Design Principles

1. Unifying an artwork is making it so everything in the piece belongs together. Artists do multiple things to unify their artwork. One thing they do are repetitions of similar colors, warm or cool, throughout the work. Another thing artists do to ensure the unity in their art is to use similar shapes.

This is Frida Kahlos's, Roots, from 1943. Kahlo creates unity in this painting using similar warm colors for the figure's clothing and other parts of the painting. She repeats the leaf shape throughout the figure's body, all of similar color. 

2. An artist creates asymmetric balance using contrast of colors and shapes/forms. Forms and their placement can also create asymmetric balance.

This is Edgar Degas' "Jockeys Before the Race." Degas uses asymmetrical balance in this work. In the foreground, there is a jockey on a horse to the right, with the left side of the foreground empty. The painting is split vertically in two by a pole down furthest in the foreground. The softer and harsher colors of the horses shoe color contrast. Another color contrast is between the ground and the sky. The illuminated shape in the upper left of the painting creates a balance between the left and right sides of the work.

3. 

This is a street art piece by Banksy. The over sized flower attracts attention. A person looking at this piece will follow the stem of the flower which goes around the corner of the street is was painted on. If this piece were to have been made on a much smaller scale, it would attract less attention and seem less relevant due to it's change in size. Normally a large figure will draw a lot of attention in a work compared to a smaller object.