Buying Paintings: Gothic Art

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 Some of the most valuable early artwork comes from a point of time before the Renaissance had begun, and going on through the early Middle Ages, referred to as the period of Gothic art. During this particular time in history, the artwork took on telling narrative stories through pictures, and much of these pieces were Christian and secular in nature. Some of the earliest examples of Gothic art are sculptures found on cathedral and abbey walls, and the first real form of Gothic artwork began as architectural works in fact, even becoming the subject matter for many stained glass windows at the time. The style of painting that further defined Gothic art wasn’t produced until nearly fifty years after Gothic architecture and sculptures, and even though the break between Romanesque artwork and the Gothic styles has remained imprecise at best, the beginnings of Gothic artwork seems to occur in various areas at different but related intervals. The artwork began in England and France around 1200, and in other areas like Germany and Italy between 1220 and 1300. The paintings stayed just as narrative as the architecture on church walls during this time, and has stayed the territory of secular storytelling for a long time afterwards. Though Gothic art in paintings has had a relatively short time as the medium of choice amongst the artists, there is evidence that the artwork falls into four particular styles of these paintings, and these were the most common forms during this time period. The fresco, the panel painting, the illuminated manuscript, and the artwork done on stained glass are all depictions of Gothic painting. Of these particular types, stained glass artwork had remained a strong reminder of those ages long past, and is still created by master artisans that learned their trade skills from these dark ages. In the case of the other three particular forms of Gothic painting, frescoes continued to be used as the pictorial narratives on church walls in southern Europe, and were a consistent incorporation of early Christian and Romanesque traditions. In Italy, during the 13th century, the panel painting began and spread throughout Europe. With this proliferation, panel paintings became even more predominant by the 15th century, and becoming even more popular than stained glass at the time. Since not all monumental works have survived, illuminated manuscripts are the most complete record of Gothic painting, and provide a comprehensive account of styles that would otherwise perished. As the state of the world began to change, so too did the interpretations of the artwork as a reflection of these changing times and attitudes, and the movement became known as International Gothic by the late 15th century. From there, it had evolved into an art form depicting not just secular stories and allegories, but also resulted in the occurrence of more illuminated manuscripts and paintings as increased trade and the rise of cities and universities grew. With this proliferation of growth, more people were literate, and lead to better records kept with this occurring. Leading up to many of the well-known medieval artists today. The International Gothic style of artwork was developed in Burgundy, Bohemia, and northern Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. During this period in Gothic art, artists traveled widely around the civilized world at the time creating a common aesthetic among the aristocracy of the time, and removing the concepts of contrary artistic styles. The main influences for this period in artwork were derived from northern France, the Netherlands, and Italy. It was during this time, that aspects of rational uses of perspective and setting became a common feature, and other features included flowing lines and rich coloring. In the case of Gothic sculpture, it had evolved from the elongated forms of the Romanesque style, and became a more naturalistic expression in the early 12th and late 13th centuries. Influences from Greek and Roman statuary were incorporated into drapery, facial expressions, and poses. The sculptor Claus Sluter and the changing tastes for more naturalistic styles became a harbinger for the end of the Gothic period of art, and signaled the beginning of the evolution into Renaissance period at the end of the 15th century. [gallery ids="162,168" type="rectangular"] In a time period where upheaval was the normal occurrence of many of the people then, Gothic art fell into the broad scope of medieval artwork that included such disparate elements and styles as Viking art and Celtic art, but in varying degrees relied upon the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire and the early Christian Church. In fact, much medieval artwork has the history of these elements conjoining and converging into the remarkable artistic legacy we read about today, and have contributed over time to the outcome of many other forms of art from the Renaissance to the present day.

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Don’t Avert Your Eyes

Don’t Avert Your Eyes
There are some fine artworks that can be described in no other terms then that they are “difficult”. They may deal with harsh themes of fear, pain, loneliness or themes of violence such as war or suicide. When we encounter these kinds of art works in shows or galleries, it is our natural instinct to avert our eyes or just avoid that part of the show because we know it will upset us.
But we need to know how to look at difficult fine art as much as we can look at art that pleases us. The artistic soul does not confine itself to just themes of happiness and peace. There is something about the artistic temperament that can produce some of the most beautiful art works from the torture in the soul over personal tragedy or social wrongs.
Never has this been more evident than the explosion of art that came out of the great wars of the last century. It seems that after each great conflict, artists came forward with stirring and moving art works that reflect the horror in the human heart and soul that is a result of these terrible events in human history.
Sol this is one good reason to patronize and appreciate what the artist is trying to say to us. By expressing those strong emotions in the form of art, the artist is performing an act of emotional purging personally. But because the place of artist in society is sometimes to bring healing, that catharsis of the soul the artist goes through can perform a similar catharsis for you and I when we are strong enough to expose ourselves to that art work.
It is also important to remember that the artist is not necessarily trying to upset you and not to allow others to interpret the artist for you. Not long ago the photographic artist Robert Mapplethorp created a huge controversy with a show that included some very graphic sexual images. Along with those images were some lovely photographs of flowers, fruit and children. But because the artist has offended the sensibilities of some, many interpreted his other art works, particularly those of the children as obscene.
Look at each artwork in its own context. It is possible that Mapplethorp was just making a commentary on the beauty and innocence of young children. But because the children were nude and because Mapplethorp was gay and had produced other very provocative sexually charged pieces, the viewers projected perverted sexuality onto those pictures of children. The lesson to us is that we cannot let other circumstances to influence how we react to art. Each artwork stands on its own. We, as educated consumers, must judge each work in its own setting to see what the artist may have been saying with that particular work.

There may be astounding beauty even in scenes of tremendous suffering and human tragedy. So when you look at a difficult piece, in addition to letting the theme and the pathos of the piece talk to you, be sure you judge the artwork artistically as well. Study the colors, the relationship of the objects to each other, the use of realism, surrealism and abstract art concepts to add depth to what you are looking at. Always let the artwork be an artwork. Then you will enjoy multiple meanings and layers of cognizance to what the artist has presented.
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Native American Indian Art Wood Carvings of the Pacific Northwest

Summary:
Overview of Native American Indian art wood carvings of the Pacific Northwest which are some of the most striking forms of aboriginal art in the world.




Article Body:
Native American Indian art in the American southwest is dominated by the magnificent pottery and jewelry in the region.  When it comes to the Pacific Northwest region which covers the states of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia (Canada) and the southern part of Alaska, the Native American art here is mostly wood carvings.  This is not surprising since unlike the southwest desert, the Pacific Northwest is abundant with forests which have provided the wood as raw material for the region’s Native American Indian art.

The wood carvings of the Pacific Northwest Native American art come in many different forms.  The huge totem poles which are carved on entire tree trunks are probably the most famous.  Certainly the most common form of contemporary Pacific Northwest Native American art is the plaque wood carving.  The entire range of Pacific Northwest Native American Indian art subjects including eagles, ravens, thunderbirds, bears, killer whales and salmons are carved as plaques to be hung on the wall.  A more complex project and usually higher priced would be the masks which are also carved out of wood.  The Pacific Northwest Native American artists make some of the most striking aboriginal masks in the world.

Creative artists and carvers from this region have also used wood to carve out bowls, paddles, rattles and boxes which are all expertly decorated with Pacific Northwest Native American Indian designs.  Some carvers have even carved more day to day objects such as letter openers out of wood again decorated with the region’s Native motifs.  Although not restricting themselves to just wood, the Pacific Northwest Native American artists also do art prints, paintings and precious metal jewelry but overall wood is still the most common material used in their artwork.

The Pacific Northwest style of Native American Indian art is still unknown to many parts of North America and the rest of the world but this will definitely change as the 2010 winter Olympics in British Columbia approaches.  The world will see British Columbia and as visitors to this Canadian province have already noticed, there are fine examples of Pacific Northwest Native American Indian art everywhere one goes in the west coast of Canada.

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Aug 2017