There is a meme going around on Facebook where you post a famous work of art as a status update, and everyone who likes the post is assigned an artist and has to choose another work of art to post on their timeline. I got to know of it via Bhooshan, and posted this one:
A great example of impressionistic painting – instead of photographic detail, the focus is on capturing movement and the *changing* play of light – both of those have come through beautifully here.
As a result of this, 42+ people liked it, and a bunch of those actually continued the chain and posted some lovely paintings. I decided that it was all pretty enough to capture in a blog post, so here goes the list. The caption under each picture is taken from the comments of the person who posted this painting.
Bhooshan’s painting that started it all for me:
I like the visual texture of this painting.
And here are the various people who posted things in response to mine:
BVHK posted this:
The Supper at Emmaus is a painting by the Italian painter Caravaggio who is known as an exponent of Baroque painting. I’m posting this because a. I found this painting very realistic b. Caravaggio is well-known for his use of lighting and I noticed the shadows etc. in this painting c. Caravaggio seems to be a very interesting character d. According to the Wikipedia page, “Caravaggio had a noteworthy ability to express in one scene of unsurpassed vividness the passing of a crucial moment. The Supper at Emmaus depicts the recognition of Christ by his disciples: a moment before he is a fellow traveler, mourning the passing of the Messiah, as he never ceases to be to the inn-keeper’s eyes, the second after, he is the Saviour.” and for a change, I sort of ‘got this’ So was very kicked about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio
Dhananjay Nene did a photograph instead of a painting:
This is a second in a series of six photographs of Rhein. There is something very special about the photograph. If you want to take a break and try to come up with some guesses, now is the time to do so without reading any text below. I’ll soon give away why this is a special photograph. What is special about this photograph. Frankly it seems like a bland photograph. But it is an art created by subtracting rather than by adding. There is a substantial amount of editing that has gone into it including to remove dog walkers and a factory. Something more curious about this photograph .. **drumroll** this is the most expensive photograph ever. A print was sold for $4.38 million. More details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhein_II
Dipali Ekbote:
I choose today, Vincent Van Gogh’s Sorrowing Old Man (‘On the Threshold of Eternity’). As Van Gogh’s works go, this one’s very different in its brush strokes and the lack of vivid bright colours and depictions of several outdoor themes. I first got fascinated with Impressionist art when, as a child, I found Camille Pissaro’s biography at my uncle’s house and loved it and the art for its lively, at times surreal form. Van Gogh, a strong Post-Impressionist artist brought his own unique style of painting to what he saw but infusing it with the emotion of his mind. And what a mind it must have been. Living with acute and prolonged periods of mental illness, and being able to create the prolific works of art that he did, especially in the last years of his life. I think this work, completed two months before his death, depicts the artist’s anguished state so well. He chose to title it with “On the Threshold of Eternity” clinging to his faith in existence of a higher self and an eternity. Don McLean brings Van Gogh to life in the absolutely wonderful song “Vincent” – a personal favourite. Do listen to it if you haven’t heard it yet. http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starrynightlyrics.html
Neena Kamal:
Raja Ravi Varma was an Indian artist from the princely state of Travancore (presently in Kerala) who achieved recognition for his depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. His paintings are considered to be among the best examples of the fusion of Indian traditions with the techniques of European academic art. This painting is called Jatayu Vadham and the scene is from Ramayana. I personally loved the detailing in this one! Loved the way falling feathers, different emotions are captured.
Koushik Sekhar:
One of my favourite paintings is by Raza. I dont know why I like it – maybe I like round objects . It was my screensavers/wall paper for years.
Kanchan Pant:
Diego Rivera a mexican artist. Someone who’s style of large sized fresco paintings and murals I have loved. I love the warm colors of all his paintings and murals. Bold, simple and yet dramatic http://www.diegorivera.org/flowercarrier.jsp. I like the irony of this painting where there is beauty…there is also burden. You almost wait for that moment when the man is going to rise with the basket on his back.
Sarika Phatak Paranjape:
Presenting one of the not so popular art piece – Van Gogh amendoeiras, 1890, by the very famous Vincent Van Gogh. I dont know anything about art but it gives me great joy every time I look at this painting. The composition is fantastic. I aspire to look outside the window of my house one day and see beautiful blossom like this with blue sky and nothing but calm around me. To me, great art is something an art illiterate like me would look at and fall in love with!
Makarand Sahasrabudhe:
It was a difficult choice to make but I picked this one as an example of incredible attention to detail and an understanding of how reflections on a spherical surface work. I had the privilege of seeing this lithograph at the Escher in Het Paleis recently. A reflecting sphere hangs in the Palace and once can actually hold it like Escher did and see the room behind. Drawing what one sees is out of question…
Ankur Panchbudhe:
Here’s an art work I have liked for a long time – Velazquez’s Las Meninas – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Meninas It’s a painting of a royal household, maids of honor (“las meninas”) to be specific, but it’s very real, sympathetic and elusive. It also has that portal-ish feel, as if the viewer of the painting actually disturbed the proceedings and made everyone to look at him/her.
Asmita Jagtap:
“The Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer Vermeer was a dutch painter who specialised in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. I find the picture intriguing, it seems as though the girl wants to say something but is hesitant and doing so with her eyes. This was one my very first encounters with art, about 15 years ago, and remains to be a favourite. I had made a pencil sketch of this, except there were no lips drawn, to highlight the hesitation. Will try to share if I find it (in the attic) Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Vermeer
Keep checking this page for updates for the next few days.
