Art, Giorgio de Chirico

 

Art Sunday; Giorgio de Chirico

This has been a very ‘surreal’ week for me, rain, rain, and more rain,  intermittent with days that are hot, humid and overcast.
With utter disregard to the weather the grandchildren spend their days out playing and reappear when hungry. They’ve made friends with the local children, oh if only life remained that simple.My decorating is progressing nicely; I’ve come to a stop now until I persuade someone to take a cupboard door off for me. Most things I tackle myself but this door is beyond me, the hinges are welded into place with 50+ years worth of paint and I need the door off before I can sort out the door frame and then paper around the door. Apart from this ‘cupboard door’ area and the middle bit of the ceiling, the room is finished, I just need to reassemble it and find some suitable curtains.
I’m not always that taken with surrealist work, but this I like. I like the rich earthy colours, the ambers and reds, the deep yellows and the hint of sunlight. I also like the architectural subject matter, these surreal street scenes devoid of people appeal to me. Although; I’m not sure if they appeal to me because I’m a bit obsessive about architecture, or because I like the lack of people.

Giorgio de Chirico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Giorgio de Chirico July 10, 1888 – November 20, 1978) was a Greek-born Italian artist. In the years before World War I, he founded the scuola metafisica art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists. After 1919 he became interested in traditional painting techniques, and worked in a neoclassical or neo-Baroque style, while frequently revisiting the metaphysical themes of his earlier work.
Read more on Giorgio de Chirico from wikipeadia here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_de_Chirico

Biography of Giorgio De Chirico

Giorgio De Chirico was born on 10th July 1888 in Volos, the capital of Thessaly (Greece). His father Evaristo was an engineer and his mother, Gemma Cervetto, a noblewoman of Genoese origin. Two years later in Athens, his brother Andrea was born. Andrea adopted the pseudonym of Alberto Savinio in his work as a writer and musician.
During this time Giorgio, whose father always supported his passion for art, took his first drawing lessons with the Greek painter Mavrudis. And it was in Athens that De Chirico realized his first painting, entitled "Still Life with Lemons (Natura morta con limoni)". In 1906, following the death of his father, the De Chirico family moved to Germany where Giorgio attended the Academy of Fine Arts and came into contact with German artistic, literary and philosophical culture.
He read Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Weininger, continued studying the Ancients and studied the art of Arnold Böcklin.

Read more of the biography here

http://www.italica.rai.it/eng/principal/topics/bio/dechirico.htm
I found this a lovely description of his work;

Melancholy and Mystery of a Street, 1914

'Here a desolate street has been captured bathed in that particular kind of afternoon sun in Autumn when all appears as if in limbo. It is not yet sunset, but it is clear the day will soon end. Long shadows accentuate every texture and movement. The ethereal light seems almost tangible, giving the world the appearance of a dream, and in the dark shadows night has already come.
In this eerie space something profound has or will take place, but we are not privy to that scene. This is an empty stage. We are shown the street soon after or just before an unseen dramatic event. The threatening shadow of a statue, out of sight, draws towards it a girl - also appearing as little more than an emanation. The box on wheels, with its shadowy interior, seems to indicate entrapment, further emphasising the sense of impending tragedy.
The imposing facade of a dark building dominates the foreground while an extended white wall on the left gives the illusion of depth, an exaggerated perspective foreshortening the vanishing point, creating an ominous sense of unreality, of sur-reality through spacial distortion. Each arch seems as if an eye, silently staring into the claustrophobic space. As De Chirico explains visiting Versailles, "Everything gazed at me with mysterious, questioning eyes. And then I realised that every corner of the palace, every column, every window possessed a spirit, an impenetrable soul."
In this unsettling, haunting work, Giorgio De Chirico, a founder of the Pittura Metafisica (Metaphysical Painting) style, a forerunner to Surrealism, presents the very concept of the street as it being dense in history and in possibility, in melancholy and in mystery. Any banal empty street, in this light, could be seen as sinister and yet disturbingly beautiful.
Overall, I think I like this work, and even if I didn't, anyone who reads ( and understands )  Schopenauer, Nietzsche has to be admired.

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Jul 9 I really like this artist's work. Surrealism has always been a favourite of mine.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Jul 8 Most interesting style. A style using shadows, light and starkness in any ancient area around the Mediterranean leaves me with a sense of the heat and dryness of a summer afternoon.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 8 aaranaardvark said The picture 5th from the top, the one of the clock and so on.... it was the cover picture of the Penguin edition of 'The Castle' by Franz Kafka ... I read it in the 1970s... I have a special retaionship with Giorgio de Chirico and I must confess that since that time at the very least .... we have been lovers.. I can see how De Chirico and Kafka could compliment each other..........perfect partnership really.

delete reply aaranaardvark wrote on Jul 8, edited on Jul 8 The picture 5th from the top, the one of the clock and so on.... it was the cover picture of the Penguin edition of 'The Castle' by Franz Kafka ... I read it in the 1970s... I have a special retaionship with Giorgio de Chirico and I must confess that since that time at the very least .... we have been lovers..

delete reply rabbitfriendhere wrote on Jul 8 I would think that Greece would be the perfect place to paint such paintings. I really love them too. I love the way he paints the light and shadow in that long way. I've seen similar light and shadows from pictures from when we were in Egypt.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Jul 8 I like the architecture too.

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Jul 8 Oooooh, i love them!

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Jul 8 i like them and the coloring but i do find them disturbing :)

Art, Marcia Baldwin

 

Art Sunday; MARCIA BALDWIN

It took me a while today but here I am. We had a brief window of sunshine this weekend, it lasted from Saturday morning all the way through to Sunday afternoon, and obviously I had to take the rare opportunity to spend some time in the garden. The granddaughter continued operation snail hunt and the grandson was away with his friends doing what ever it is that 11 year old boys do. And now the grandchildren are back to their mothers and the weather has resumed its usual torrential downpour. Apparently the rain is set to last until at least Thursday, I’m so glad I decided to spend a much time as possible in the garden this weekend.
Finally I have time to think about Art Sunday……………and I’m devoid of ideas. I messed about on the net, I googled this and googled that and eventually came across this lady. Her work is so vibrant, so colourful, so cheerful, so full of joy, I just had to post. This reminds me of all the wonderful, warm, sunny days we have had in other, less wet summers.

This is what the artist says about herself

         
''My name is Marcia Baldwin and I am a full time professional artist specializing in Oil Paintings.
I love large formats and brilliant color. My true passion is color theory and design and how compositions can play an emotional role in the viewer. Art has always been a passion of mine. I knew from a very early age that art was going to be a strong influence in my life and that I wanted to know as much about art as I could possibly learn. I still strive to learn something new every day.
It takes practice and patience to be a full time artist and I am finally able to devote one hundred percent of my professional life to my studio work.  After many years working in and around art, making a living as an advertising designer, art teacher, art consultant, photographic artisan and many other niches.
I finally opened my art studio to the dedication of purely fine art. I am a trained artist, receiving a BFA and a MFA in the seventies and eighties, respectively. I loved the years I put forth to formal art training.
It is invigorating to be around people with that same passion to learning and exploring the creative and problem solving side of your personality. The people who share this passion greatly influence your though patterns about your art work. It is really great to see the different outcomes from the various people when working on a creative project. We are all looking at the same thing, painting or sculpting or drawing, but each individual will see it a little different and the creation of beautiful works, each individually unique. It is truly amazing.
 For myself, I love oil painting. I love animals and flowers and nature itself. I believe that I was given a talent by God to share His beauty about the world through the use of paint and canvas. I try to relate the love of nature and His Blessings through my art. I hope that the collectors of my work can be touched in some way to Stop and Smell the Roses for a moment and reflect on the joy and beauty that has been given to us each day.
I live in a very beautiful state, working and living on the shores of a lake surrounded by huge tall pine trees and stately southern live oaks. Nature is bountiful. Foxes play and romp across my front lawn. Squirrels and birds hop from one feeder to the next. Wildflowers and flowering trees such as redbuds and dogwood are a blanket of beauty through undergrowth among the trees. It is truly a blessing that I have been given this time to work in my art studio and be surrounded with this serenity. I hope that the passion I have for art and the passion I have to share natures beauty is reflected in my work.''

And this is her web site

http://marciabaldwin.artspan.com/mbr_bio.php#.T_Cr1ZGhkY4
 

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edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 2 veryfrank said Humidity stones and water under the pot and a simple grow light, much like an orchid or African violets. lol......... that's a bit worrying, African Violets are the only plants I've ever managed to kill.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Jul 2 No wonder she's such a good artist in my opinion. Her philosophy of life certainly helps. The bird of paradise is one of my favourite plants. lol

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Jul 2 I really love her use of colour. Her work really does express a joy for nature. I think i know what she feels, I get a similar feeling from photographing nature. My favourite painting is the one fourth down from the top.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Jul 1, edited on Jul 1 forgetmenot525 said I think it could be a bit demanding Humidity stones and water under the pot and a simple grow light, much like an orchid or African violets.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 1 veryfrank said agree, it is lovely. recently I've been thinking about getting one of these plants. It's not something I see often in garden centers or shops, I think I may have to order one online and I think it could be a bit demanding, but they are such unusual plants I really would like to give it a go.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Jul 1 Everything is just so impressive. I would be pleased to have any of them or perhaps fabrics of some of the prints, a la William Morris prints.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Jul 1 forgetmenot525 said posting the bird of paradise plant twice was a mistake..............but I'm going to leave it because that's my favourite :-) I agree, it is lovely.

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Jul 1 fantastic! WOW.......great use of colors and beautiful choices of subjects. thanks!

delete reply kathyinozarks wrote on Jul 1 I love her beautiful vibrant colors too and I don't usually like bright colors in paintings. I enjoyed reading what the artist had to say sorry for all the rain seems we are extreme heat and dry and you are all rain and no sun

delete reply rabbitfriendhere wrote on Jul 1 i absolutely adore this artist!!!

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Jul 1 love the brillant colors anyone that paints chickens is ok in my book :)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 1 posting the bird of paradise plant twice was a mistake..............but I'm going to leave it because that's my favourite :-)