FRIEDRICH AND CHURCH: ICE

Caspar David Friedrich (German, 1774-1840)

The Sea of Ice

Painted 1823-4

Oil on canvas, 97.6 x 126.9 cm

Kunsthalle Hamburg, Germany

Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826-1900)

The Icebergs

Signed and dated lower left: F.E. Church 1861

Oil on canvas, 164 x 286 cm

Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Norma and Lamar Hunt

THE NORTH POLE
No one owns it.  

The North Pole is in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. There is no land, only ice.
The Arctic sea ice keeps the global climate balanced and cool.

ICEBERGS
Icebergs break off from iceberg producing land glaciers.  This is called calving.  

Large chunks of ice are called floes.  When floes collide they form a jagged line of ice chunks.

Navigating in the Arctic ocean is dangerous. The ice is constantly moving. 

The Titanic struck icebergs near Newfoundland on it's maiden voyage to New York in 1912.

Watch a large iceberg calving:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC3VTgIPoGU

THE PAINTINGS
In which painting are chunks of ice colliding?

Why did both artists paint shipwrecks?

Who is stronger, nature or man?

Which picture was done first?

FRIEDRICH

Friedrich never went to the North Pole. 

He read about Parry's 1819 Arctic expedition in search of the Northwest Passage (connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans). 

During a cold winter in Dresden he saw large packs of ice floating on the river Elbe. 
This inspired him to create the painting.
Studies:

Kunsthalle Hamburg

CHURCH

Church went to Newfoundland and Labrador where he made sketches.  
He used very small brushstrokes so the picture would look more "real".
He painted Icebergs in 1861 the year of the onslaught of the American Civil War.

People loved the Icebergs and a British man bought it.  It disappeared until it was found in 1978 in a boy's boarding school in Manchester, Britain.  

Watch what lies beneath the ice:

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/oceans-narrated-by-sylvia-earle/oceans-arctic?source=relatedvideo

TIEPOLO: CLEOPATRA'S BANQUET

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Venetian, 1696-1770)

The Banquet of Cleopatra, 1743-4

Oil on canvas, 250.3 x 357.0 cm

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

Fenton Bequest, 1933 (103-4)

THE STORY
The kingdom of Egypt was nearing its end. Queen Cleopatra was ruling Egypt alongside the Roman general Mark Antony.  They got married and spent too much time and money on parties and other pleasures.
Mark Antony was known for his lavish taste in food and wine.  Cleopatra bet that she could throw an even fancier banquet than Mark Antony.  For the occasion Cleopatra wore earrings with the largest, most precious pearls in the world.  At first the meal was simple.  Mark Antony laughed at her and thought he had won the bet.  Then came desert.   She took off one earring and dropped the pearl in a glass of vinegar.  The pearl dissolved and Cleopatra drank it.  Lucius Plancus seated next to Mark Antony at the table was the referee.  He declared Mark Antony the loser.   
(From Pliny the Elder's Natural History, AD77-79)

Rome declared war on Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Rome won the war and Egypt became part of the Roman Empire.

For closer viewing copy and paste this link:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Giambattista_Tiepolo_-_The_Banquet_of_Cleopatra_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

THE PAINTING

It's huge: 2.5 x 3.75 meters.  

Which moment of the story did Tiepolo paint?

Do you know anyone who'd swallow a precious pearl over a silly bet?
Are you surprised that it was the end of Egypt?

Is the scene set in Egypt or in Venice? Hint: look at the architecture and the dresses.

What could the servants be whispering to each other?

On the balustrade people are pointing fingers and playing music.

Look for people behind the pillars.

Can you see Mark Antony's face?

What is their body language telling us?

TIEPOLO 

The Venetian Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was a super star. His pictures are like theater sets.  Like Mark Antony and Cleopatra, Venetians in the 18th century were big spenders. Together with his son, Giandomenico, he painted glorious ceilings in castles.  He painted more of the story of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the Palazzo Labia in Venice (closed to the public).  The most dazzling ceiling is in Würzburg, Germany, Apollo and the Continents, 1750-3:

http://www.residenz-wuerzburg.de/englisch/residenz/treppe08.htm

THE JOURNEY

Our painting made an interesting journey.  It belonged to Augustus III of Saxony, King of Poland and then to the Tzars of Russia.  It was sold by the Soviets to the museum in Melbourne in 1932. After 200 years of travel I suspect it has found it's final home.

REMBRANDT AND VERMEER: MAIDS

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606-69)

The Kitchen Maid, 1651

Oil on canvas, 78 x 64 cm

Nationalmuseum Stockholm

Johannes Vermeer (1632-75)

The Milkmaid, c.1660

oil on canvas, 45.5 x 41 cm

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Two of the greatest artist of all time lived 64 km apart from each other and probably did not know one another.

Both painted household maids instead of princesses in fancy silk dresses.

Rembrandt was 45 when he painted The Kitchen Maid in 1651 in the bustling metropolis of Amsterdam.  

About nine years later the 28 year old Vermeer painted The Milkmaid in the small town of Delft. The Netherlands was a very rich country then. More people could read there than in any other place in the world.  

PLEASE CLICK TO COMPARE:

http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/compare/?item1=vQHdAs3gudsWnA&item2=9AHrwZ3Av6Zhjg&hl=en

Do the two young women look content?

In one painting the woman looks straight at us and it feels as though one could talk to her.

In the other painting the woman looks down on her chore with a little smile.  

Would you like to taste the bread pudding the milkmaid is preparing?

Both women have big, strong hands.  Who's hands are sunburned?

Which picture was painted on a dark ground and which one on a light ground?   

How many colors does each artist use? 

REMBRANDT

Rembrandt placed this painting in the window of his house to trick passersby.   He wanted them to think it was a real person.  Do you think his trick worked?

Where does the golden light come from? The brushstrokes are swift and sure and create a warm atmosphere.  She is leaning forward and relaxing her head in her hand.  Is she tired from her work?

VERMEER

There are three tiles behind a foot warmer.  Find one of Cupid and one of a single man.   Could those tiles be a hint that the milkmaid is in love? Is the kitchen elegant or simple?

Zoom in on a broken window pane and the holes in the wall. 

The light shining through the window casts it's shadow and creates contrasts.  Can you see the outside?

Vermeer applies many layers of paint.  At the end he dabs thick dots of highlights.

Rembrandt painted 600 paintings and Vermeer painted 32.  Both were poor at the end of their lives. Do you like one painting more than the other-why? Who took longer to paint his picture?

Let me know how you feel on: www.oldmastersrock.com

CAREL FABRITIUS' PETS

CAREL FABRITIUS (Dutch, 1622-54)

The Goldfinch

Signed and dated 1654

Oil on panel 33.5 x 22.8 cm

The Hague, Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis

THE GOLDFINCH

A Goldfinch does tricks and sings beautiful songs.  This bird can fill a tiny cup with water from a container and pull it on a chain to his feeding box.

Pets were important in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century.  People even brought them to church.

If you print the picture and pin it high on the wall you may think the bird is alive.  This is what Carel Fabritius wants us to feel.

The Sentry

Signed and dated lower left 1654

Oil on panel, 68 x 58 cm

Schwerin,  Staatliches Museum Schwerin

THE SENTRY

Is the Sentry (a soldier who keeps guard) asleep or cleaning his gun?

What is he guarding?

His dog is certainly wide awake and is watching his master's every move.

Can you see the lower half of a picture of a monk (Saint Anthony Abbott) with a pig?  

Please spot the legs of another soldier.  

Is he coming to wake, have a chat or change places with the guard?

The Sentry detail

CAREL FABRITIUS

Zoom in on the pictures and look at the quick, rich brushstrokes.

Only about twelve pictures by Fabritius exist today. Had he lived a longer life he might have become as famous as his teacher Rembrandt and Vermeer who also lived in Delft.  Fabritius died in an explosion of the Delft gunpowder magazine.  When The Goldfinch was restored they found tiny scratches.  Perhaps the picture had been pulled from the rubble of the artist's studio.

A SELFIE

Circa 1645

Oil on panel, 65 x 49 cm

Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen

COURBET'S FOX IN THE SNOW

GUSTAVE COURBET (French, 1819-77)

Fox in the Snow-1860

Oil on canvas 85.7 x 128cm

Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation of the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O'Hara Fund, 1979.7.FA

FOX IN THE SNOW

Where does a fox find food in winter?
What time of the day is it?
Is it windy or still?
The fox uses his amazing hearing and the magnetic field of the earth to locate his prey. If he faces north he will find something to eat.
Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF2H2i4b6Io

From where did the fox pounce?

Why did Courbet choose this moment of the hunt?

Why does the fox arch his back?

Does the scene look real to you?

Can you feel the fur and the snow?

GUSTAVE COURBET

Courbet is a bit like a wild animal with a paintbrush. He is quick and rough and goes for the canvas with a palette knife laden with paint.

Watch this to see how Courbet may have painted:

http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/videoDetails?segid=3731

CONSTABLE'S CLOUDS

CLOUD SPOTTING

Look up at the sky.  If you look long enough you will start seeing things: creatures, animals and even monsters.

CLOUDS

How do clouds form?

Can clouds be identical?
What causes clouds to change colors? 

Is the sky timeless?  Can you tell that these pictures were painted about 200 years ago?

PAINTED CLOUDS

At which time of the year does Constable paint these pictures?  


Hint: it rains a lot during the colder months in Britain!
What kinds of birds are in the second picture?
JOHN CONSTABLE


Constable looked at the sky for hours on end. Did he sit in a chair or lie on his back?  
He spent summers on the Heath in Hampstead, near London.

When Constable saw clouds he loved, he had to paint them fast.  The wind can move them so quickly that they change their shape in a split second.

Weather scientists called meteorologists say that Constable’s clouds are always accurate.  He never traveled abroad.  
Looking at these pictures is a bit like looking at abstract art.  You only find out what you see by taking your time and using your imagination! 

It would be fun if you shared what you saw in the sky on: www.oldmastersrock.com  

1.     STUDY OF CUMULUS CLOUDS, “Sep. 21 1822 past one o’clock looking South wind very fresh at East, but warm.” Oil on paper laid on panel, 286 x 483mm. New Haven, Connecticut, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon collection, B1981.25.116

2.      STRATOCUMULUS CLOUD, 1821, Oil on paper laid on board, 343 x 397mm.  YCBA, Paul Mellon Collection B1981.25.155

3.      STUDY OF ALTOCUMULUS CLOUDS: “Sept’r 13th one o’clock.  Silent wind at North West, which became tempestuous in the afternoon, with rain all the night following.”  Oil on paper on board, 248 x 302mm, YCBA, Paul Mellon Collection, B1981.25.156

4.      STUDY OF CUMULUS CLOUDS: “Augt 1 1822 II O clock A.M. very hot with large climbing clouds under the sun.  Wind Westerly.”  Oil on paper laid on canvas, 305 x 508mm, YCBA, Paul Mellon Collection.  B.1981.25.144

5.      A CLOUD STUDY, SUNSET.  Ca. 1821, 152 x 241mm.  Oil on paper on millboard.  YCBA, Paul Mellon Collection, B1981.25.128

6.      STONEHENGE, 1835, watercolor, 387 x 597 mm inscribed on the mount: “The mysterious monument of Stonehenge, standing remote on a bare and boundless heath, as much unconnected with the events of the past ages as it is with the uses of the present, carries you back beyond all historical records onto the obscurity of a totally unknown period”.   London, Victoria & Albert Museum, Isabel Constable Bequest.

RUBENS' DRAGON SLAYER

Lights, camera, action...You are about to watch a Baroque action movie (rated PG).

A beautiful horse is rearing up in fright. Underneath a monster is on his back fighting for his life.  The dragon is having a bad nose bleed and is pulling out the stick. 

A Roman is about to strike the final blow. The picture is taller than your living room.

THE SCRIPT
George was an officer in the Roman army. According to legend the dragon lived by a spring that gave water to the town.  Each day the people gave a sheep to the dragon to distract him. This way they could get their water.  When they ran out of sheep, young maidens were brought to the dragon.  One day even a princess was offered to the monster.  George came to her rescue, slayed the dragon and the princess was free.
COSTUME DESIGN
A mythical creature sits on George's plumed helmet, ready to pounce. Who is it?
Which animal's skin is covering the horse's back?
A wild cat's head is holding up George's cool gladiator sandals. Name the animal!
A gold and blue silk tunic peeks out from underneath the shiny armor.
SUPPORTING ACTORS
The horse is foaming at the mouth. Can you hear him snort?
Does the woman holding the lamb look worried?
MAKE UP
How long would it take to curl and brush the horse's hair?  Zoom in and you will see that Rubens scratched the curls into the wet paint. For this he used the tip of the wooden paint brush.
THE DIRECTOR
Like George, Rubens was fearless.  No picture was too big and no story was too scary for him.  He was 30 years old when he made this picture in Genoa, Italy.  Back home in Antwerp he built a beautiful house with a studio that you can visit today.  
http://www.rubenshuis.be/Museum_Rubenshuis_EN
FRONT ROW SEATS
Do you feel as though you are sitting in the front row of the movie theater?
Will you give Rubens the Oscar prize for Best Picture of 1608?  In his time Rubens was more famous than Steven Spielberg is today. His action pictures were shown in palaces, castles and churches.
For more Rubens look at The Lion Hunt below.   Careful, it's rated PG-13!

Can you spot an actor who is in both pictures?
Perhaps you could make your own movie of Saint George and the Dragon.

SIR PETER PAUL RUBENS (1577-1640)

Saint George and the Dragon, 1606-8
Oil on canvas, 309 x 257 cm
Museo Nacional del Prado, PO1644

The Lion Hunt, 1621
Oil on canvas, 248.7 x 377.3 cm
Alte Pinakothek, Munich

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