About Pompeii

I've always thought of Pompeii as a very advanced city inside the Roman Empire. Well..honestly I do not know about any other Italy cities during the Roman Empire. I would definitely like to learn more about their civilization.
What amazes me is that even after the enormous eruption of Mount Versuvius, so many remainings of the city is still here.
I read about some of it in both the Oxford Book and the Art History book...but sadly there wasn't enough information for me to know more about how they lived...

Personally I think the amphitheatre of Pompeii is the most impressive.




This is obviously a demostration showing the advanced system and magnificence of the Ancient Roman Empire. The structure is amazingly symmetrical and is obviously very stable since it survived the eruption. The Romans back then must be very much proud of their civilization. From this I can also see the innovation and creativity within the architects back then...I would've never thought of putting two theatres together to make a colosseum.
Furthermore, I can sense how much the Romans liked entertainment. That must be where the gladiators fought lions. Cruel...but exhilrating somehow. The watchers must had some enjoyment.

I have seen this picture in my Oxford book when it mentioned Pompeii:



The book said the couples was the "baker and his wife" but when I searched it up the data said their identity is disputable.....?

Again, very impressive style with some interest in casting some shadows to create three dimensional space, especially considering that this was a wall painting.
Although I am not very touched on the emotional side of this painting. I wish they could've had some more expression to make connection with the viewer..but maybe it is just my opinion because I like to seek sympathy with the piece of art. However, it is a good job for a contemporary piece in the Ancient Roman Time. The Greeks would've done it better....I think.....

Anyway, I think Pompeii is a very interesting subject for me to discuss about, despite my lack of knowledge about it. I may watch a movie about it someday, especially about the last day of it. (Sorry I like looking at the despair of the people and the atmosphere before the volcano is about to erupt...it is ART)

PS. Versuvius is a great name....I wonder why would people use this name on a volcano...

Neoclassical Art

You know what I have realized in my taste of art?
I like a lot of art having simple designs and down-to-earth styles. Unlike the ostentatious jewels and frivolous mood in the Rococo art, it is very modest. It's very hard to imagine the style of Rococo and Neoclassical can be so close in time. It is an extremely big shift in such a short time...or maybe it is because there was already anti-Rococo style during the period but it just never made an impression on people back then...

Well anyways I really like some of it. Although I am not so fond of the frequency of Napoleon being portrayed as a invincible leader. Well..he is invincible..maybe just not simple and plain enough.

My favourite is the Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi done by Angelica Kauffmann.




I like the beauty of modesty of Conelia. Her clothing are simple but has a graceful mother vibe to her. Especially when she gestures her "precious jewels" towards the woman that was showing off her jewelry. The distinct contrast reveals Cornelia's love as a mother very well.

But maybe I am a bit of hypocrite saying that I like Neoclassical art. Because I don't really enjoy the political drawings and sculptures of histoical figures. Like Houdon's George Washington and stuff like that.
I mean, they are okay but...historical figures are very cliche.

So maybe I am not a fan of Neoclassical painting.
Just genre paintings I guess then.
Okay.

About Dutch Art

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a good start of the year.
My start is pretty awesome overall :) Not exactly very special but I was happy and satisfied. I hope this will be a good year for me.
So this is the first update in 2011! Yay :D

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I was reading the Art History book and I saw a section on Dutch art.
At first I frowned, questioning:"What the heck is Dutch art? It doesn't sound very special."
Of course that was before I read the book and saw the art XD
I really like the style of Dutch Art during their Golden Age. I love its details and advanced techniques in portraiture as well as still life and flower painting.
I can understand the Dutch's love for genre painting, I guess, because Amsterdam and other Dutch areas give me the "down-to-earth" kind of feeling. I wonder why it never gave me an urban-like impression..I haven't even been to Amsterdam before and it's strange how the image just formed in my head :/

The first portrait that made an impression on me is the "Buffoon Playing a Lute" by Frans Hals. When i think of "portraits", I think of pictures with a person drawn in naturalistic style with that person's most distinct characteristics of the appearance. Just appearance. With no expression what-so-ever. And usually in my mind, a portrait contains only one's body above one's shoulder as well.

But look at this:



My first reaction seeing it is this: o_0

And then it completely altered my mind about portraits. This portrait shows movement and emotion that depicts the characteristic of the person-both appearance-wise and personality-wise. The convincingly joyful smile is also a very rare case during that period of time. This also made an impression on me because it gives me an warm feeling seeing the person enjoying life so much.

I also like the still lifes of Dutch art, especially their vanitas paintings. I like their idea of wanting to show the fleeting life because this way it emphasizes the "moment" more. (Why is this starting to sound more and more like Impressionism..? Hmmm)



An example.

Flower paintings of Rachel Ruysch impressed me as well. I like her detail of each petal as well as the colours.



Pweety~~

But unfortunately to be frank, the Genre paintings of Dutch Art is not as impressive in my mind. It's like any other genre paintings to me. I can't see anything special except maybe their light source.

Well that's about it ~