Boulevard des Capucines

Boulevard des Capucines by Claude Monet is an oil painting on canvas from 1873-1874.

• The blurriness of the the people create a sense of motion and time. This contrasts with the people that have more sharp lines, who are most likely standing still.
• This painting is almost monochromatic except for the slightly greenish-brown color and peach-colored splotches. Because blue is associated with cold temperatures, the painting has a cold feeling.
• The buildings and implied lines of the trees and people draw your eye up and down the painting.
• While the whole painting has a "fuzzy" feel, there is atmospheric perpective as the definition towards the horizon loses clarity.

Between Red_044

Between Red_044 is an oil on linen painting made by Seahyun Lee in 2008.

• This painting is clearly monocromatic (as denoted by its title).
• The negative space, which fills up much of the linen, forms a jagged shape that could be interpreted to resemble a variety of objects. Personally, I think the negative space resembles the shape of a dragon.
• By observing the varying sizes of buildings throughout the painting, the scale indicates the depth and distance of the various mountain ranges. 
• By using different shades of red, Lee depicted very detailed textures in the mountains and trees.

33

33 is a magazine collage made by Carl Plate in 1945.

• The proportion of the pig to the man is obviously very abnormal. Normals proportions of humans to pigs are reversed in this collage, capturing your attention.
• Plate skillfully incorporated pictures to make it appear as though the source of light is coming from one side. The shadow on the doll matches the shadow on the pig.
• Because of the text on the left, it would seem that the pig and man go together. Therefore, the presence of the doll gives the collage a feeling of randomness. The unclear meaning of the number 33 also adds to the randomness. 
• The matching colors of the paper of the text and number 33 draws attention to those two details amidst the otherwise black and white collage.

O the Roast Beef of Old England (The Gate of Calais')

O the Roast Beef of Old England (The Gate of Calais') is an oil painting on canvas made by William Hogarth in 1748.

• This painting creates depth with one point perspective, as the lines of the building lead to one vanishing point in the distance.
• The gazes of the people guide you to the focal point of this painting, which is the roast beef (as hinted by the title).
• Hogarth used major differences in lighting to emphasize the focal point. The meat (aside from the sky) is the most lit and saturated part of the painting while the beggars in the foreground face into the darkness. Therefore, there is a sense of subordination in this painting. Through this, I think Hogarth was trying to communicate a message about society and aiding the poor.
• The lower position of the beggars indicates that they are closer to the viewer, and they create a frame for the scene.

Freedom of the Human Spirit

Freedom of the Human Spirit is a plaster sculpture made by Marshal Fredericks in 1964.

• The diagonals of the two people's bodies and birds give the sculpture a sense of motion. Because this sculpture is in the round, the smooth diagonal lines can be viewed from any angle.
• Conceptual unity draws this peace together. Because flight is associated with freedom, Fredericks is equating the freedom and flight of the people to that of graceful birds.
• The texture of this sculpture is very smooth, which matches the gliding and flying forms.
• The smaller base of the sculpture makes it feel as though the figures are shooting out and up. This leads you to focus on the figures that appear to be floating.

Love's Mirror or A Parable of Love

Love's Mirror or A Parable of Love is black pen and ink over pencil with ink wash on paper made by Dante Gabriel Rossetti sometime from 1850-1852.

• Rossetti uses hatching and cross hatching to create differing values throughout the drawing.
• The pattern on the brunette's dress draws more attention to her because it contrasts with solid clothes of everyone else.
• The emphasis is on the faces of the couple. The woman's face is seen in real life, the painting, and the mirror, and the man gazes directly into the mirror. This drawing seems to want to show that there are multiple sides to everything. Even the two facial expressions of the ladies in the background add to this idea.

House

House is a stone sculpture made by Dong Hun Sung in 2001.

• Due to the preconceived notion of stone being heavy, this sculpture seems to have a lot of mass.
• The top part of the sculpture that looks like a house has an open volume while the lower rock has a closed volume.
• This sculpture is monochromatic because the natural color of the rock does not deviate from the same hue, and Sung simply added white to the house and one side of the sculpture. 
• The geometric form of the top house and straight edge on the side contrasts with the raw organic form and texture of the unaltered rock. The white paint highlights this divide between geometric and organic.

The Harvesters

The Harvesters is an oil painting on wood made by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1565.

• Many lines draw your eye throughout the work. The implied line made by the rows of harvested wheat, actual line from the unharvested wheat, grassy path, and trees direct your eye back and forth across the piece. The vertical lines of the tree and wheat structures draw your gaze upwards.
• Bruegel also utilizes atmospheric perspective. The people closest to the foreground are in clear focus. The landscape behind them, particularly towards the lake does not have as much detail and fades into the sky.
• There are varying degrees of color saturation to help focus the attention on the foreground. The yellow and green in the foreground is more saturated than the yellow and green in the background. Near the lake, the faint hint of green turns into gray.

The Tiburtine Sibyl

The Tiburtine Sibyl was made with pencil, black chalk, pastel, and gold paint on paper by Edward Burne-Jones in 1875.

• The blue in the lady's dress is the most saturated area in this drawing and pulls your eye across the page.
• As you compare the size of the lady to the size of the four small figures above her, it is clearly apparent that there is a major difference in scale. Her large size gives her a sense of importance while giving the little figures a sense of subordination.
• This drawing displays a beautiful use of chiaroscuro, creating a wide range of values.
• Although I am not sure of the background behind this drawing, there appears to be a mythical or spiritual sort of conceptual unity denoted by the animal-nature of the woman and saint-nature of the four tiny figures. 

PH-77

PH-77 is oil on canvas by Clyfford Still painted in 1936.

• The most notable aspect of this painting is the skewed proportion of the men's arms and hands compared to rest of the their bodies. While I am not too familiar with the size of wheat, this wheat appears to be very small compared to the men, adding more the skewed proportion.
• The sky shifts from a very dark shade of blue to white right above the men's backs. This further adds to a sense of burden--it's as if the sky is pressing down on them.
• Still used a darker shade of brown to create shadows on the men's faces, matching their downcast expressions.
• The angle of the men's long arms and legs display alternating rhythm.

Fish, Crab, and Two Boys

Fish, Crab, and Two Boys was made with crayon and watercolor on paper by Lee Jung-Seob sometime between 1916 and 1956.

• The red of the two boys and green of the fishes and crabs are complementary and draw your eye in a circular direction around the piece. Since they form diagonal lines, this also creates a sense of motion.
• The red and green contrast conceptually as well. The humans are red and submissive (and maybe even dead) and the animals are green and active. The red dots of the animal's eyes might be suggesting that there is a sort of human element to these attacking creatures.
• The white line also helps to draw your eye across the page. 
• Because of the even distribution of the figures across the page, this piece feels balanced..

Lamp

This untitled lamp was painted and sculpted by Emily Carr out of varying materials sometime between 1913 and 1927.

• The motif of the owl-type animal is repeated 5-6 times around the main surface area of the lamp shade and the pointy-oval motif is repeated below the owl.
• The fish-type cut-outs hanging along the circumference of the lamp shade display alternating rhythm. The varying shapes and painted designs add to the sense of rhythm.
• The geometric form of the top of the lampshade contrasts with the organic form of the fish cut-outs and carved animal of the base. 
• Although there are two types of form in this piece, it still has a sense of unity because the style of animal designs remains consistent throughout the piece. For example, the owl and animal on the base of the lamp have similar eyes and rounded torsos. The wavy black lines along the lamp shade further incorporate the geometric part with the organic part.

Picture of the New Year

Picture of the New Year is ink painted onto a silk scroll by Zhao Chang sometime between the late 10th to early 11th century.

• Chang incorporated sufficient of variety of sizes, colors, and shapes with the flowers: there are enough different types to make the painting interesting, but not so many types that it seems chaotic and disjointed.
• The overlapping flowers and rock give the painting a slight sense of depth. I think it is particularly interesting that the holes in the large dark rock create windows for the flowers behind them.
• This painting has asymmetrical balance because the position of the rock and white flowers more towards the left side of the painting balance with the pinkish-purple flowers in the right foreground of the painting. Asymmetrical balance seems to be a common characteristic in Asian artwork.

The Abduction of Europa

The Abduction of Europa is oil on a panel by Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn from 1632.

• The gaze of the people, sense of motion, and contrastingly bright light draw the attention to two possible focal points: the lady on the animal and the two people on shore.
• Rembrandt used the paint to create intricate textures in the tree and on the surface of the water, especially where the animal's hooves touch the water.
• There is one light source shining from the left side, causing there to be varying degrees of values from extremely reflectively white to nearly pitch black.
• The red of the lady's dress contrasts with the green because they are complimentary colors and balances with the motion from the lady on the animal. 

The Evening Air

The Evening Air is oil painted onto a canvas by Henri-Edmond Cross in 1893.

• Cross uses the angle of the sails, the tree vine, and the lady's hair to imply motion, probably from wind.
• Optical color mixing blends colors together while providing intense contrast at the same time.
• The large size and lower position of the three ladies, trees, and bushes compared to the smaller and higher people, trees, and bushes creates a sense of depth.