Skip to main content

Venus and Mars

I would like to start off my first post for this blog Sandro Botticelli's Venus and Mars. I remember this painting in my Renaissance Art History class in I was in university. When I first saw this painting, I was surprised to see Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, fully clothed in a dress of the Italian Renaissance because usually I see her with little to no clothing at all. I was also surprised to see Mars without his armor being the Roman god of war. To me, it's like a personification of love conquers war.

    
                                                                            Artwork Facts

Artist: Sandro Botticelli
Year: 1483
Medium: Tempura
Dimensions: 2'3" x 5'8"
Movement: Early Renaissance





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

American Gothic

 Believe it or not there are two artworks called American Gothic. While on is a painting by Grant Wood, the other is a photograph by Gordon Parks . They both have different meanings as well. I would to cover both these artworks on this post. So, this is a two for one post today.  I do not know when I was the very first time I saw this painting. To me, I first thought it was just rural scene with a farmer and his wife. More details about this painting came to me as I got older. It turned out the models were the artist's sister, Nan Wood Graham and the artist's dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby. This artwork has been often parodied over the years.                                                                         Artwork...

Happy Women's History Month!

Since it is International Women's Month, I would like to post about one of my female visual artists :the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954). In my opinion, I think that Kahlo was the inventor of the selfie. Her paintings are as well known as her unibrow. Even though her paintings are categorized as being Surrealist, she did not see it that way. She did not paint dreams. She painted her own reality. I had so much trouble trying to pick a painting I want put on this post. So, I finally decided to post one of my favorites from her: Las Dos Fridas or The Two Fridas. This painting was created in 1939 while her and Diego Rivera were divorcing. The clouds remind me of the pain was pain. The exposed heart of the Frida in the white dress looks like a broken heart. The second Frida depicts a Frida filled with life. I loved how this painting was depicted in 2002's Frida starring Selma Hayek. Check it out sometime. Anyway! Happy Women's History Month!          ...

Nighthawks

 I remember seeing this painting from either from an art appreciation class or  community college from my an American Art and Architecture. Either way, this artwork stood out to me. The painting depicts late nightlife in 1940s Chicago. From the outside, the streets look deserted in spite of four people in a diner. It also depicts how empty and lonely urban city life can be.Even the couple don't look like they are together. It reminds me of the phrase, "together all alone." Artwork Facts Artist: Edward Hooper Year:  1942 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 33.1 in x 60.0 in Movement: American Realism