Essays on Visual Arts

To many the creation of a piece of art lies in the hands and ideas of the artist. Michelangelo’s David is a perfect example of a mesh between the mind of a genius artist and the ideals and theology of the time. Michelangelo contribution to the…

Graffiti, often viewed as a form of urban art, has sparked heated debates about its legitimacy and whether it should be protected as a form of artistic expression. While some argue that graffiti is a criminal act that defaces public property, others contend that it…

When I was younger my parents took me to Italy, at the time I was only eight years old, therefore, I did not care much about art, or the museums we visited. To be fair I was very young. To this day I still remember…

Should graffiti be protected or banned completely. This is a hot topic a discussion today. Graffiti is artwork or writings displayed on public walls. Whether graffiti is a form of art or a crime is a debate that has been contested for a long time…

So, what do we first think of when we hear the word ‘art’? Maybe some beautifully done portraits, colours splashing by and similar stuff. But does art really end there? At least I don’t think so. You see, we cannot really separate art from our…

The people who make up today’s thriving photographic community are our eyes to the world. Whether established artists and journalists or passionate emerging voices, they inform us, they inspire us, they amaze us, they put our world in the broader context of history. My personal…

There is no doubt that each piece of art is created differently making them unique in their own way. This is because not every artist is the same. In addition, everyone uses their creativity differently. These two pieces of art, Starry Night and Monogram, are…

Post-Impressionism includes a huge change of particular innovative plans that every one offer the basic inspiration of reacting to the optimally of the Impressionist development. The development introduced partner period all through that sketch rose above its old job as a window onto the globe and rather…

Abstract Fashion defines the social phenomenon of the way the people dress in a particular style depending upon various factors such as place, occasion, etc. It has always been considered to be a whim to a certain group of individual, stereotyping the body forms of…

Architecture in Latin is called “architectura” originally from Greek “arkhitekton”. Architectural drawing has never been taken for granted. All things we design and sketch are from our thinking to hands. Therefore, drawings are the main develop to architectural project. When designing, our drawings act as…

Photography is a word derived from the Greek words, photo meaning “light” and graph meaning “to draw”. The scientist Sir John F.W. Herschel first used the word in 1839. It is a technique of making pictures by using light or rays falling on a sensitive…

When photography was first brought into use, it was largely thought as an objective device of reproducing reality. This belief, however, has soon been challenged by the emerging realization of how powerful camera manipulation could be. In Benjamin’s article on mechanical reproduction, he discusses the…

Firstly, we have this beautiful piece by Edouard Manet. Olympia includes a bare lady leaning back upon a chaise relax, with a little dark cat at her feet, and a dark female worker behind her wielding a bunch of roses. It struck watchers—who rushed to…

Édouard Manet was a French impressionist painter in the 1800s who invoked the wrath of Parisian critics by not only breaking free of conventional methods, but also by creating some of the most scandalous works of art in his time. He painted emboldened, naked, sickly-looking…

When discussing artists in this class, one artist stood out above the rest, with the amount of influence and impact, he had on the world through his art. Thomas Nast influenced the world through his work by making issues that people were aware of accessible….

Starting from January 30, 1933 to May 8, 1945, around 17 million people were killed in Germany in what is known as the Holocaust. At that time, Adolf Hitler’s, Nazi Germany aimed to remove people who were not of German descent from Germany and especially…

From birth, babies are creating learning about the world. This segment centers especially around how kids develop through taking part in tactile encounters in the zone of Visual Arts. The term ‘art’ inside this area alludes the different fine arts of visual expressions, for example,…

‘The Starry Night’ reveals insight into the idea of current in liquid elements, a standout amongst the foremost confusing plans to clarify numerically and among the toughest for the human personality to get a handle on. From why the cerebrum’s view of light and movement…

Pictures depict meanings, communicate as symbols and signs and have the power of affecting human behavior and emotions. A picture is viewed as an expression of the desires of an artist or even as a mechanism that elicits the beholder’s desires. Pictures or images also…

The artworks Watson and the Shark and Saint George and the Dragon share a common theme of storytelling because they both present a story from history that is frozen in time. Both works are dramatic and show a human trying to fight off a ferocious…

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York organized a variation or adaptation contest to celebrate the work and life of the artists whose art pieces displayed at its museum for a chance to win a fall scholarship to the School of Visual Arts…

This painting was painted by John Singleton Copley on 1778 in National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C., USA) and it has a three painted version. The two versions of Copley’s Watson and the Shark exist. One is in the National Gallery of Art and the…

Dorothea Lange is a photographer famous for her photographs to support change. These photos were especially crucial throughout the Great Depression. She was born in 1895 and died peacefully in 1965. The moment she gained fame was in March 1936, when she took photos of…

When people think of graffiti, they would most likely discard it as incidents of vandalism or the rough, violent cries of the ignorant and impoverished, but does graffiti deserve a place in art establishments? What exactly is graffiti? Is graffiti vandalism? Can it be considered…

The artist succeeds at formally introducing all of the characters in the painting. Contextually, by lining the gods up in this order, the artist has successfully created a sense of movement that helps explain the historic roman myth. As with all myths, this particular story…

Edward Munch’s painting looks as if it’s a scene from a horror film. One of his most famous paintings, The Scream, is a well known painting for the amount of expression given in just a single piece of artwork. The main image shown in the…

 Days before my trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art I did a little research about the place. And to my surprise, the Met is the biggest art museum in the United States. And when I tell you they were not lying. I can not…

Is graffiti vandalism? Yes, graffiti is art and shouldn’t be viewed as vandalism because it allows people to express themselves about what’s going on in the world and how other people see it to compare what other people see as well. Some people like to…

There were many influential artists during the Early Renaissance. These artists expressed their unique abilities through painting, sculpting, music, and even architecture. One prominent figure during this remarkable era is Sandro Botticelli. Botticelli, best known for his mythological work, was an eminent painter during this…

Many people see graffiti as another form of vandalism. But is that true,  is graffiti art or vandalism ? How art can become a vandalism? I believe graffiti is just another form of art. Let’s start from who exactly Banksy is. Well, we do not know…

The A Sunday on La Grande Jatte is warm, bright, joyful, and peaceful when people at first sight, and it is hard for you to imagine this oil painting can be well preserved after a century especially in texture and color. By the perception, we…

Picasso! The household name of Pablo Picasso belongs to a man of incredible escapism. Having experienced 19 different art movements, he knew all too well how to push the bars of art and break out of the jail cell. A movement that he helped create…

Graffiti is a creative, unrestricted, and exciting art movement that is varied and diverse, or is Graffiti vandalism? It is growing in popularity every single day because the works are mainly exhibited in the streets. The art movement is growing in terms of styles, size,…

In 17th century during the era of Baroque art in Europe, the Dutch Art dared to introduce a new shocking subjectivism and style that was unique and challenging to traditional artwork. The Dutch Genre Art was characterized by small finely crafted details, often depicting simple…

Design Movements began since the end of the nineteenth century. There has been a series of ‘movements’ that have shaped the history of product design and style of design: Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, De Stijn, The Bauhaus, Modernism, and Postmodernism. Those design movements are…

The Scream, which was created by Edvard Munch is one of the most famous art pieces in the world. Edvard Munch crafted this work of art on a flat canvas with a medium of oiled brushes to depict the expressionism of the art piece. He…

The most famous example of these houses is The Eames House. It was built and designed by Charles Eames and Ray Kaiser. They were a husband a wife duo that are ranked among the most important designers of the 20th Century. They designed the Eames…

Bauhaus is one of the most known visual arts educational institutes; it was found by Walter Gropius in 1919 but, has been banned for the last few decades. Bauhaus has always been a debated focus serving a crucial role in the design market and it…

Ayesha Sultana and Subdoh Gupta both find inspiration from man made metallic objects to creat their artworks. Although the way they artworks greatly differ both aesthetically and symbolically they both use metallic objects to inform people. This is a fundamental example of an artistic experience…

The Isenheim Altarpiece made in 1516, by Matthias Grunewald and Nikolaus Hagenauer, this piece was created for a Isenheim Hospital. Hence, during the 1500s, sculpted altars were common and popular. This piece is related with the German Renaissance, one of the most important pieces of…

Found in the temples of ancient Hindu worshipers, Vishnu as Varaha helps give current viewers a small glimpse into the tales/stories of Hinduism in its authentic form. Now found in the Dallas Museum of Art, the relic while plain at first sight, contains tremendous amounts…

French sculptor, Auguste Rodin, known for his sumptuous bronze and marble figures, considered by some critics to be the greatest portraitist in the history of sculpture, created one of the most world famous bronze statues to exist, Le Penseur or the Thinker. The 6-foot, 1.8-metre…

In the late 19th century to mid 20th century a cultural movement, known as modernism took place. This culture change happened in a changing time of industry and urbanization. The movement started after the first world war. The meaning of modernism means ‘the culture radical…

The painter behind The Arena Chapel, Padua (The Scrovegni Chapel) frescoes was limited by its Patron. Enrico Scrovegni whom built the chapel c.1305. The painter commissioned was Giotto di Bondone. Although Giotto gained inspiration from Scrovegni, on what to depict. It would be inaccurate to…

Few would argue that independence and modernism are clear-cut states of being, or that they are necessarily mutually reinforcing. The process of de-colonization often takes years, if not decades, and vestiges of dependency—in corporate exploitation, military installations, and trade can linger long after a declaration…

  In his famous essay, “Modernist Painting” , Clement Greenberg, views the progression of art as an unfolding tradition. Greenberg’s careful attention to the formal properties of art, stern approach to criticism, and thought-provoking ideas about modern art has made him an influential figure for…

Edouard Manet’s ‘Olympia’ is an oil painting created in 1863 and first displayed in 1865 in the renowned Salon in Paris . At first glance, particularly in a modern-day context, it may seem as though ‘Olympia’ is a typical portrait painting of a nude model…

Modernism has always had a major impact on the development of Architecture in all past, present and future periods. “Modernism” essentially emerged within architecture during the 1920s due to industrialisation and social changes after many drastic changes around the world. As a response to these…

“We shape our buildings, and afterwards, our buildings shape us”. These words by Winston Churchill are itself a testimonial to the tremendous impact that architecture has forever had on mankind. But to what extent does this impact our collective national identity and in shaping our…

David Hockney is generally known for his many famous artworks. David Hockney was one of the most popular British artists who left an enormous impact on the art community. He has inspired people around the world in many ways including art and his courage. He…

Evolution in science and technology resulted in architects to experiment with new materials and techniques, which gave them better freedom to create new forms. Modern architecture was based upon the use of glass, steel and reinforced concrete; the idea that form should follow function; an…

Jan Van Eyck was a painter during the 15th century, his work heavily influenced Early Northern Renaissance Art. During 1432, Van Eyck painted the Ghent Altarpiece, which I consider a masterpiece. His piece was one of the first oil on wood paintings perfected in the…

In this period of modernity, where the architecture has evolved in terms of language and ideology, we often overlook the architecture that gave way to this evolution. The moment in the evolution of building technology in which two possible alternative solutions to an architectural problem…

Before the introduction of photography to society the sole resource to create realistic images was for a skilful fine artist to capture the scene from life using traditional materials. There has been a huge technological advancement in our abilities to obtain images from around the…

In the play Romeo and Juliet, the contrasting idea which I chose to incorporate into my Banksy inspired artwork is society and individuals. In the play, even though Romeo and Juliet are immensely in love with each other, they struggle against the public and society….

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In the painting “Penelope and the Suitors”, the artist John William Waterhouse uses the example of the suitors trying to get to Penelope and receive her love, but Penelope ignores them to show loyalty to her husband Odysseus who is out at war, while in…

 Painting in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Landscape painting is a genre of painting that illustrates the natural environment around us. Often, landscape painting depicts nature in its ideal state. Such paintings can be traced back as far back as 4th-century China. Though these types…

Seeing that most of the population of tourists that choose to take a cruise to Alaska, this magazine will be based off that. In order to boost the tourism in Alaska, this photo shows a newlywed couple really enjoying themselves. Later in life they would…

Throughout its history, the eye has been called the noblest of the senses and has been epistemologically privileged and other senses thrown into the background. Despite in Greek culture, it was conceived as a prerequisite of wisdom, in other words, as a “vision”; in the…

Each location has its very own distinctive characteristics. Romans interpreted “genius loci” as a spirit of a place space. It uses “locations as distinctive atmosphere” . Phenomenology was a significant development in Philosophy worked upon broadly by Edmund Husserl in the 19th century. Phenomenology as…

As an architect or designer, we have responsibilities to make a sense of comfort and memorable experience through space. Designing a space is also about recognition of memory that inspires us to create spatial recognition from the past/nostalgia scenes that also enrich our present (Bastea…

Garden design and everything related to a landscape architecture is nothing new. The history of the art of creating gardens goes back to antiquity. Landscape architecture has evolved over the years. However, both in the past and today, a well designed garden, was a symbol…

Street art is a kind of art that starts by paint or spray, it has a lot of different methods and its mainly on public areas and high way over passes or even exterior building walls, its well known as an enjoyable work of art,…

“Art isn’t the legality of something, but the creativity and meaning behind it” ( Galan). There is plenty of graffiti and most people don’t normally think about the meaning behind it. You really can’t go a day without seeing graffiti. You will mainly see it…

The Pieta is a renaissance Sculpture made between the years 1498 and 1499 by the legendary artist, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni or most commonly known as “Michelangelo”. The Sculpture is located in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The Statue was commissioned by a…

The elusiveness of the statue is what makes it so powerful: Donatello’s interest in the things of this world, in the body more so than in the larger biblical narrative Donatello’s David is the earliest of the three I am comparing. Donatello actually made two…

Wassily Kandinsky  created paintings where inspiration and imagination ultimately formed the painting itself. He used colour to represent a spirituality influenced hugely by music. However, it was after being exposed to Monet’s “haystacks” and its use of colour potential that he found true inspiration to…

Jamie James argues that, Pop Art is essentially ‘high art mimicking low art,’ it takes aspects of popular culture and elevates them to what would conventionally be referred to as Fine Art. The Pop Art movement first emerged in the years following the end of…

Salvador Dali was a surrealist painter. He is mostly known for his bizarre paintings and ideas. However, not only was he a painter, he was also a writer who ventured into filmmaking. I find it quite amazing that Salvador Dali branched off into film making….

From a young age, Frida has been an advocate and critic of her society and of others. When she was a teenager, she attended the National Preparatory School and she was part of a group of young people who showed sympathy for socialism and cultural…

The painting Dawn at the Alamo painted by Henry McArdle in 1875-1905 is a great historical piece to still have around. We should appreciate the fact this painting is still around for us to see since none of us were around to witness the battle….

In the movie Mona Lisa Smile, the main theme of the movie relates to Simone de Beauvoir thoughts about how women are stuck in immanence by men and society. A non-traditional woman name Katherine Watson, the university’s art history teacher tries to show the young…

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon was born in Coyoacan, Mexico on 6 July 1907, as the second daughter to her parents. Her mother, Matilde Calderon y Gonzalez, was of Spanish/Native American descent, while her father, Guillermo Kahlo, was a German/Hungarian professional photographer with European…

In spite of being the outrageous games, Skydiving has one of the fastest developing fanbases out there. Nothing can compare with the energy of freefall, joined with the gentler parachute coast towards the ground. It feels you can’t miss, and bouncing with the best and…

My approach to this task will be to talk to you about what surrealism is and two very important and pioneering artists within the genre. The two artists I have chosen are the amazing Salvador Dali and Hans Bellmer. I have chosen these two because…

 “Time is a storm in which we are all lost,” stated William Carlos Williams. Salvador Dali, a famous Spanish artist illustrates a painting which agrees with that statement. Salvador Dali is one of the most protean and prolific artists of the 20th century. During his…

Similar to any form of art, whatever is created is subject to the perception of the viewer. This is certainly true in regards to an art as visually consuming as photography. There are various ways in which a photo can be viewed, and they may…

Dorothea Lange’s is the mother of seven children and they are migrant agricultural workers. Her husband is a native Californian in Nipomo, California. At the time during the great depression and the Dust bowl life got migrant agricultural workers was extremely hard with the decline…

Creative and non-creative people have argued about the definition of art for centuries. ”What is art?” is the most fundamental subject in this doctrine of aesthetics, which actually means, “how do we define what is defined by art?” Can we easily define art as something,…