What a thoroughly enjoyable project! Despite not really liking this unit, this project has more than made up for it. It took me a while to get into it but once I did, I go really stuck in!
I looked at this painting at the National Gallery for the annotation for this unit and at first I wasn't sure whether to use it for the project as well. I looked on the web and in books for other paintings but the detail and variety of reproductions and quality put me off. I thought that as I had seen the painting up close and seen all of the details for my self, this painting was the best one to use.
I had bought a postcard already to put in my collection and this was helpful, especially as the requirement was not to use other resources for the description part. It helped not only to refresh my memory on the painting, my annotation picture is not great, but also it meant I could put a ruler across the image to determine the lines and composition.
The notes from my annotation were very helpful and reminded me of small elements in the painting, such as the sea shells, that can't be seen on the postcard.
I did find though that the sheer volume of content in the painting made it difficult to keep within the word count limit, and I did go over just a tiny bit. My first draft was nearly 2,000 words so I had to be very efficient with words and almost ruthless with what I needed to say and what could be left. I didn't mention some of the smaller details in the background, and I didn't even look into potential symbolic references to the animals, the flowers in the foreground or the instruments.
Overall, I mostly enjoyed getting into the picture in such detail, really breaking it down and seeing what makes it so good and work so well. It amazes me to think that Titian, and other artists, are able to plan all these elements to work together and not to let it be obvious.
Friday 23 April 2010
Unit 7 - Project
Analysis of a sixteenth century Italian painting with a mythological theme
‘Bacchus and Ariadne’, by Titan.
Painted 1520-1523. Oil on canvas, 176.5 x 191 cm
The painting shows a procession of approximately ten people coming from the woods to the right, led by a man (Bacchus) in the centre of the painting. He is leaping from his chariot to a lady (Ariadne) on the left; she is pointing towards the sea and horizon in the background.
The main activity in the painting happens in the foreground at the viewer’s level. The boy in the centre who looks out of the painting draws in the viewer.
Despite the majority of elements being positioned to the right hand side, attention is firstly drawn to Bacchus due to his central position and also his skin tone is light and bright, his startling pose and his pink cape.
The eye than follows the revelling and drunken procession into the foreground. At the back of the procession is a man carrying a wine barrel, another on a donkey in an apparent drunken stupor being supported upright, two ladies with instruments and a man dancing, wrapped in vines and holding an animal’s leg aloft. These elements conclude that some kind of feast has taken place.
Coming into the very foreground there is a bearded man wrestling with snakes and in the centre, looking out to the viewer is a satyr dragging an animal’s head and being barked at by a dog.
Continuing on towards Ariadne, there a two cheetah’s that appear oblivious to the rowdiness behind them and the air of panic between Ariadne and Bacchus. In fact, no one seems to be startled by Bacchus’s sudden leaping (or even by the man wrestling with snakes). Beyond Ariadne, a ship is sailing away into the setting sun and above this we see an oval constellation of stars.
Direction of vision around the painting
Although the diagram is not mathematically accurately, the shape of the elliptical spiral echoes ‘The Fibonacci (Golden) Spiral’ theory and here it opens up the painting, creating a balanced rhythm.
The painting can be divided up using diagonals from corner to corner. Firstly, from top left to bottom right, there is a line created in the downward outline of the first cloud, continues through Bacchus’ body, uses the train of the lady’s blue skirt and finishes with the trailing leg of the bearded man.
The opposite diagonal is created by tone and colour. The top left consists of mostly blue tones in the sky, sea and Ariadne’s dress. Even the ground Ariadne stands on is a mix of earth colours with blue (this causes confusion as to whether they are on a cliff top, as implied by the coastline, or at the shore and almost in the water which is possible as there are shells on the ground). The rest of the painting is of earthy yellow, brown and green tones. The foliage is green with some brown autumnal shades, the people have tanned skins, the first lady has a burnt orange-brown top and the cheetahs and chariot are also shades of brown.
Both of these diagonals therefore place Bacchus at the centre of the image. Almost perfectly intersecting the diagonals and cutting the picture in half is a horizontal line created by the head level of several characters (Ariadne, first lady, bearded man, dancing man) and emphasised with Bacchus’s forearm and the arm of the lady in light blue.
Other colour flashes are found in Ariadne’s blue dress (same blue as the first procession lady) and her red scarf, and in the yellow cloth and a golden urn (bearing Titian’s name) discarded on the ground.
Another way that attention is directed to Ariadne is with horizontals found in the cheetah’s backs, horizon, chariot top, snake and vine band. A line can also be found through Ariadne’s pointed arm, Bacchus’ cape and the treetops. A strong vertical is created from the tree trunks and the first lady’s firmly placed left leg, dividing the action on the left and right. Depth in the painting comes from the use of aerial perspective; the blurred shapes and wash of blue tones of the town along the cliff top demonstrate this.
There are a wide variety of emotions being expressed; the struggles of the bearded man and the wine carrier, relaxed serenity in the ladies, excitement in the dancing man, Bacchus’ seriousness and Ariadne’s distress. The cheetah’s and satyr seem to be the only ones not caught up in the energy of the activities.
The story portrayed is based on a poem by Catallus, telling of how Ariadne is looking out to sea towards her lover, Theseus, who has abandoned her on the island and Bacchus, god of wine and intoxication, finds her and falls in love with her. This account varies from Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’ version in which he finds her asleep.
The painting shows this well although it is not clear that Ariadne and Bacchus have never met before. There does appear to be recognition between them as Ariadne tells him what has happened. It also is not clear why Bacchus is pointing back towards the procession, unless Titan has done it purely to again demonstrate the contrapposto technique.
Viewers of the era would have been able to identify the story and characters involved more readily as the stories and poems, and the elements associated with such stories and certain characters, were common knowledge. For example, the character Silenus can be identified, as he was associated with riding an ass and known as being a ‘foster-father’ and ‘companion in revelry’ to Bacchus. Elements that identify Bacchus are images of wine, vines, excess and intoxication, shown in this particular painting by Silenus’ presence, the wine barrel and the man dancing with vines wrapped around him. The ‘chariot drawn by wild animals’ and women with tambourines, as shown in Ruben’s ‘Peace and War’ painting, are also icons.
This painting has a brightness and clarity that is not seen in many of Titan’s other works, such as ‘Venus and Adonis’ where the look is much softer and has a cloudiness to the atmosphere. They do share a common feature in composition though; both paintings have the story at the centre and one corner is filled with the sky containing a feature of the story.
Bibliography:
‘How to read a painting’ by Patrick De Rynck (Thames & Hudson)
‘The secret language of art’ by Sarah Carr-Gomm (Duncan Baird publishers)
‘Bacchus and Ariadne’, by Titan.
Painted 1520-1523. Oil on canvas, 176.5 x 191 cm
The painting shows a procession of approximately ten people coming from the woods to the right, led by a man (Bacchus) in the centre of the painting. He is leaping from his chariot to a lady (Ariadne) on the left; she is pointing towards the sea and horizon in the background.
The main activity in the painting happens in the foreground at the viewer’s level. The boy in the centre who looks out of the painting draws in the viewer.
Despite the majority of elements being positioned to the right hand side, attention is firstly drawn to Bacchus due to his central position and also his skin tone is light and bright, his startling pose and his pink cape.
The eye than follows the revelling and drunken procession into the foreground. At the back of the procession is a man carrying a wine barrel, another on a donkey in an apparent drunken stupor being supported upright, two ladies with instruments and a man dancing, wrapped in vines and holding an animal’s leg aloft. These elements conclude that some kind of feast has taken place.
Coming into the very foreground there is a bearded man wrestling with snakes and in the centre, looking out to the viewer is a satyr dragging an animal’s head and being barked at by a dog.
Continuing on towards Ariadne, there a two cheetah’s that appear oblivious to the rowdiness behind them and the air of panic between Ariadne and Bacchus. In fact, no one seems to be startled by Bacchus’s sudden leaping (or even by the man wrestling with snakes). Beyond Ariadne, a ship is sailing away into the setting sun and above this we see an oval constellation of stars.
Direction of vision around the paintingAlthough the diagram is not mathematically accurately, the shape of the elliptical spiral echoes ‘The Fibonacci (Golden) Spiral’ theory and here it opens up the painting, creating a balanced rhythm.
The painting can be divided up using diagonals from corner to corner. Firstly, from top left to bottom right, there is a line created in the downward outline of the first cloud, continues through Bacchus’ body, uses the train of the lady’s blue skirt and finishes with the trailing leg of the bearded man.
The opposite diagonal is created by tone and colour. The top left consists of mostly blue tones in the sky, sea and Ariadne’s dress. Even the ground Ariadne stands on is a mix of earth colours with blue (this causes confusion as to whether they are on a cliff top, as implied by the coastline, or at the shore and almost in the water which is possible as there are shells on the ground). The rest of the painting is of earthy yellow, brown and green tones. The foliage is green with some brown autumnal shades, the people have tanned skins, the first lady has a burnt orange-brown top and the cheetahs and chariot are also shades of brown.
Both of these diagonals therefore place Bacchus at the centre of the image. Almost perfectly intersecting the diagonals and cutting the picture in half is a horizontal line created by the head level of several characters (Ariadne, first lady, bearded man, dancing man) and emphasised with Bacchus’s forearm and the arm of the lady in light blue.
Other colour flashes are found in Ariadne’s blue dress (same blue as the first procession lady) and her red scarf, and in the yellow cloth and a golden urn (bearing Titian’s name) discarded on the ground.
Another way that attention is directed to Ariadne is with horizontals found in the cheetah’s backs, horizon, chariot top, snake and vine band. A line can also be found through Ariadne’s pointed arm, Bacchus’ cape and the treetops. A strong vertical is created from the tree trunks and the first lady’s firmly placed left leg, dividing the action on the left and right. Depth in the painting comes from the use of aerial perspective; the blurred shapes and wash of blue tones of the town along the cliff top demonstrate this.
There are a wide variety of emotions being expressed; the struggles of the bearded man and the wine carrier, relaxed serenity in the ladies, excitement in the dancing man, Bacchus’ seriousness and Ariadne’s distress. The cheetah’s and satyr seem to be the only ones not caught up in the energy of the activities.
The story portrayed is based on a poem by Catallus, telling of how Ariadne is looking out to sea towards her lover, Theseus, who has abandoned her on the island and Bacchus, god of wine and intoxication, finds her and falls in love with her. This account varies from Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’ version in which he finds her asleep.
The painting shows this well although it is not clear that Ariadne and Bacchus have never met before. There does appear to be recognition between them as Ariadne tells him what has happened. It also is not clear why Bacchus is pointing back towards the procession, unless Titan has done it purely to again demonstrate the contrapposto technique.
Viewers of the era would have been able to identify the story and characters involved more readily as the stories and poems, and the elements associated with such stories and certain characters, were common knowledge. For example, the character Silenus can be identified, as he was associated with riding an ass and known as being a ‘foster-father’ and ‘companion in revelry’ to Bacchus. Elements that identify Bacchus are images of wine, vines, excess and intoxication, shown in this particular painting by Silenus’ presence, the wine barrel and the man dancing with vines wrapped around him. The ‘chariot drawn by wild animals’ and women with tambourines, as shown in Ruben’s ‘Peace and War’ painting, are also icons.
This painting has a brightness and clarity that is not seen in many of Titan’s other works, such as ‘Venus and Adonis’ where the look is much softer and has a cloudiness to the atmosphere. They do share a common feature in composition though; both paintings have the story at the centre and one corner is filled with the sky containing a feature of the story.
Bibliography:
‘How to read a painting’ by Patrick De Rynck (Thames & Hudson)
‘The secret language of art’ by Sarah Carr-Gomm (Duncan Baird publishers)
Thursday 22 April 2010
Unit 7 - Gallery visit
21.04.10 - Visit to Warwick Art Gallery & Museum
I have chosen to visit the newly refurbished Art Gallery & Museum in Warwick as I have never been here before and wanted to go somewhere for a completely open minded and fresh look. I was originally going to go to the gallery in Leamington but I've been here so many times before and already have opinions on what works and what pieces I like etc.
The gallery has been closed for several months and reopened at the end of March.
I have chosen for this visit to only look at the gallery part, and not the museum area.
The rectangular building is built in stone with large arched windows on all sides. The modern glass entrance leads into the shop and directly into the small gallery area. Walking past the open plan gallery exhibition it goes into the museum area.
The gallery is small, only approx 5m wide x 10 m long. The core of the building is taken up by a stone wall that originally would have been the market 'offices' and the gallery and museum work around this.
As the gallery space is hemmed in on two sides by outer walls that are almost completely glass, one side opens into the museum and the other long side is part stone wall and partly opens into the shop, there aren't any walls on which to display work. They have overcome this by using tall white exhibition/display boards.
The gallery doesn't have a permanent collection, only regular temporary exhibitions (I actually think this is quite good as it would encourage me to go back again although they didn't have a leaflet of the forthcoming exhibitions for me to take away), and so the boards would enable them to arrange the space accordingly. The exhibition currently on is for two artists and the boards had been arranged in such a way that the work of each artist is kept separate but also does link to each other. I was told that the exhibition to follow is sculptural work and so they could take the boards out all together to accommodate this.
The current exhibition is titled 'The Material Life of Things' and features work by Kathy Webster and Jill Irving.
Kathy Webster's work is the first to come to and is a series of still life acrylics of various fruit, flowers and pots. The works have been clearly displayed in groups based on the subject matter. Slightly different subjects have been displayed next to each other but with a gap between them to demonstrate that there is something different. For example, two pictures of food items are next to a group of three pictures, also of food items but these are on cloths. There is a feeling of continuity throughput the display.
On the other side if the board, pictures of flowers have been displayed separately, and some use of the walls between the windows has been made to show 2 charcoal drawings, again, separated because of the difference in medium but still close enough to feel part of the main display.
All of the works had backgrounds in black tones, mainly black/green or black/red, and this really helped to unify all the pieces together. It also allowed for the colours of the focal object to stand out boldly.
As it is quite hard to describe the layout of the boards and the works, I have done a quick diagram;
The black lines in the middle are the display boards. The ones closest to the shop/entrance were used to show Kathy Webster's work and the boards by the museum end were used to show Jill Irving's work. The square display pillar by the window also had Jill Irvings's work on and the other square is to show the display cabinet with items relating to both artists.
In the square created where the two sets of boards meet, the gallery have made a link between the two artists. On the two boards at the end of Kathy Webster's section, a piece from each artist has been chosen to face each other. The works, I feel, are good 'summary' pieces for each artist and also, through the colour schemes and floral subjects, they have a connection to each other.
On the two boards at the end of Jill Irving's section, A3 information cards for each artist are shown. They correspond to the paintings opposite and gave a quick outline of the artists' history, a little bit to explain the works on show and also how they work and are inspired. I thought that it was a good idea to have these cards shown in the middle of the display as having them near the entrance would possibly have influenced the viewer, rather than letting them see the works first and then find out about the background and the artist.
The general layout of the boards was very well done. Even though the most part was in a straight line, by having the end boards at the ends on an angle, it encouraged me to walk around and 'explore' the display.
Jill Irving's work is printed images of insects and flowers. She uses a combination of mono print hand drawings, prints from botanical books and lino print silhouettes of insects. Mixed into this, she often hand writes or uses text from books to label the flowers and some info about them. The softness of this text, sometimes so soft it's illegible or the hand written mono print ones are backwards, means that they complement the imagery and aren't too obvious.
Scales and proportions between the prints have been disregarded. Some prints showed tiny delicate flowers next to a much larger beetle or ant, which did look playful. The paper used also varied from white, cream or grey, and also the use of textured paper with flowers pressed in. The pictures on this floral paper looked more like test prints to me rather than a purposefully planned piece. The ones on the grey or cream smooth paper were quite striking and gave another element to the overall effect of the piece. They almost made the prints on white backgrounds look a bit boring.
On the side by the window were some works that were exclusively lino prints and were more graphic in style. The more tropical animals, the sharp outlines and the colours and layers of paint had a slightly African feel to it, much differant to the other works.
The large wall of windows and bright sunshine streaming in made it difficult to view Jill Irving's work on this side as the had been mounted with glass and had glaring reflections. I had to stand really close and at an odd angle to the side of each piece to view it and found myself moving on much quicker.
Personally, I didn't think Jill Irving's work was as good and I think it is because the pieces are a combination of elements and don't form a complete picture. The individual elements are quite pretty and have been arranged well on the page to create a sense of movement, but I do prefer to see an overall image.
The display cabinet at the end linked the gallery space into the museum display. It contained items from both artists that were a mixture of props, research items and books. It also had some printing blocks in to explain briefly the method used in Jill Irving's work.
Something noticeable that I found with both artists was the obvious mismatch of frames for the pieces. Kathy Webster's were mostly in plain black frames but there were some fancy gilded ones, some with no frame and some modern silver ones. Jill Irving's were mostly white wooden but there were some that were black, plain wood and coloured. For both, as the majority of pieces were unified by the frames, the odd ones really stood out and I couldn't see that they were for any particular purpose.
The gallery's other slightly unusual feature was the use of cafe style music in the background. I don't think this had any particular relevance to the display but it was quite relaxing. Without it I feel the building, with so much stone, would have felt almost hollow and unwelcoming. I sometimes feel in galleries that I am being watched and I can't relax and spend time looking, but here I was very relaxed and was amazed to discover that I had spent an hour and half just looking at this small display.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this visit. It gave me the ideal opportunity to visit a new gallery and to see works by artists I hadn't heard of before. The gallery was very welcoming and the regular change in displays makes me want to go back regularly. The work done to the building to modernise has been done very well and wihout losing the old historic feel.
I have chosen to visit the newly refurbished Art Gallery & Museum in Warwick as I have never been here before and wanted to go somewhere for a completely open minded and fresh look. I was originally going to go to the gallery in Leamington but I've been here so many times before and already have opinions on what works and what pieces I like etc.
The gallery has been closed for several months and reopened at the end of March.
I have chosen for this visit to only look at the gallery part, and not the museum area.
The rectangular building is built in stone with large arched windows on all sides. The modern glass entrance leads into the shop and directly into the small gallery area. Walking past the open plan gallery exhibition it goes into the museum area.
The gallery is small, only approx 5m wide x 10 m long. The core of the building is taken up by a stone wall that originally would have been the market 'offices' and the gallery and museum work around this.
As the gallery space is hemmed in on two sides by outer walls that are almost completely glass, one side opens into the museum and the other long side is part stone wall and partly opens into the shop, there aren't any walls on which to display work. They have overcome this by using tall white exhibition/display boards.
The gallery doesn't have a permanent collection, only regular temporary exhibitions (I actually think this is quite good as it would encourage me to go back again although they didn't have a leaflet of the forthcoming exhibitions for me to take away), and so the boards would enable them to arrange the space accordingly. The exhibition currently on is for two artists and the boards had been arranged in such a way that the work of each artist is kept separate but also does link to each other. I was told that the exhibition to follow is sculptural work and so they could take the boards out all together to accommodate this.
The current exhibition is titled 'The Material Life of Things' and features work by Kathy Webster and Jill Irving.
Kathy Webster's work is the first to come to and is a series of still life acrylics of various fruit, flowers and pots. The works have been clearly displayed in groups based on the subject matter. Slightly different subjects have been displayed next to each other but with a gap between them to demonstrate that there is something different. For example, two pictures of food items are next to a group of three pictures, also of food items but these are on cloths. There is a feeling of continuity throughput the display.
On the other side if the board, pictures of flowers have been displayed separately, and some use of the walls between the windows has been made to show 2 charcoal drawings, again, separated because of the difference in medium but still close enough to feel part of the main display.
All of the works had backgrounds in black tones, mainly black/green or black/red, and this really helped to unify all the pieces together. It also allowed for the colours of the focal object to stand out boldly.
As it is quite hard to describe the layout of the boards and the works, I have done a quick diagram;
The black lines in the middle are the display boards. The ones closest to the shop/entrance were used to show Kathy Webster's work and the boards by the museum end were used to show Jill Irving's work. The square display pillar by the window also had Jill Irvings's work on and the other square is to show the display cabinet with items relating to both artists.
In the square created where the two sets of boards meet, the gallery have made a link between the two artists. On the two boards at the end of Kathy Webster's section, a piece from each artist has been chosen to face each other. The works, I feel, are good 'summary' pieces for each artist and also, through the colour schemes and floral subjects, they have a connection to each other.
On the two boards at the end of Jill Irving's section, A3 information cards for each artist are shown. They correspond to the paintings opposite and gave a quick outline of the artists' history, a little bit to explain the works on show and also how they work and are inspired. I thought that it was a good idea to have these cards shown in the middle of the display as having them near the entrance would possibly have influenced the viewer, rather than letting them see the works first and then find out about the background and the artist.
The general layout of the boards was very well done. Even though the most part was in a straight line, by having the end boards at the ends on an angle, it encouraged me to walk around and 'explore' the display.
Jill Irving's work is printed images of insects and flowers. She uses a combination of mono print hand drawings, prints from botanical books and lino print silhouettes of insects. Mixed into this, she often hand writes or uses text from books to label the flowers and some info about them. The softness of this text, sometimes so soft it's illegible or the hand written mono print ones are backwards, means that they complement the imagery and aren't too obvious.
Scales and proportions between the prints have been disregarded. Some prints showed tiny delicate flowers next to a much larger beetle or ant, which did look playful. The paper used also varied from white, cream or grey, and also the use of textured paper with flowers pressed in. The pictures on this floral paper looked more like test prints to me rather than a purposefully planned piece. The ones on the grey or cream smooth paper were quite striking and gave another element to the overall effect of the piece. They almost made the prints on white backgrounds look a bit boring.
On the side by the window were some works that were exclusively lino prints and were more graphic in style. The more tropical animals, the sharp outlines and the colours and layers of paint had a slightly African feel to it, much differant to the other works.
The large wall of windows and bright sunshine streaming in made it difficult to view Jill Irving's work on this side as the had been mounted with glass and had glaring reflections. I had to stand really close and at an odd angle to the side of each piece to view it and found myself moving on much quicker.
Personally, I didn't think Jill Irving's work was as good and I think it is because the pieces are a combination of elements and don't form a complete picture. The individual elements are quite pretty and have been arranged well on the page to create a sense of movement, but I do prefer to see an overall image.
The display cabinet at the end linked the gallery space into the museum display. It contained items from both artists that were a mixture of props, research items and books. It also had some printing blocks in to explain briefly the method used in Jill Irving's work.
Something noticeable that I found with both artists was the obvious mismatch of frames for the pieces. Kathy Webster's were mostly in plain black frames but there were some fancy gilded ones, some with no frame and some modern silver ones. Jill Irving's were mostly white wooden but there were some that were black, plain wood and coloured. For both, as the majority of pieces were unified by the frames, the odd ones really stood out and I couldn't see that they were for any particular purpose.
The gallery's other slightly unusual feature was the use of cafe style music in the background. I don't think this had any particular relevance to the display but it was quite relaxing. Without it I feel the building, with so much stone, would have felt almost hollow and unwelcoming. I sometimes feel in galleries that I am being watched and I can't relax and spend time looking, but here I was very relaxed and was amazed to discover that I had spent an hour and half just looking at this small display.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this visit. It gave me the ideal opportunity to visit a new gallery and to see works by artists I hadn't heard of before. The gallery was very welcoming and the regular change in displays makes me want to go back regularly. The work done to the building to modernise has been done very well and wihout losing the old historic feel.
Unit 7 - Chapter & Film
Chapter 11 (The Sixteenth Century in Europe), Film 7 (Heroic Ambitions) and Film 8 (The Play of Light)
In my post for Unit 5 (The Early Renaissance) I mentioned that I struggled with the chapter and that it was possibly due to not being able to read it all in one go. Having now read chapter 11 on the later Renaissance, I actually think it has more to do with the subject matter just not doing it for me. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but there is something about this period that just doesn't stimulate me.
There are elements of the Renaissance which I find really interesting, or rather, there are artists at this time that I admire (Jan Van Eyck's technique and use of oils is beautiful, and Durer and Leonardo's sketches are of such a precise nature).
I understand that it was a key time in the history of art in terms of developments in oils and printing, and that the freedom artists came to have allowed for more expression in the works. I feel that it was a time that artists looked back to move forward. They looked at the past for inspiration and to see what worked, and built on that, striving to be better and to get ahead.
In my post for Unit 5 (The Early Renaissance) I mentioned that I struggled with the chapter and that it was possibly due to not being able to read it all in one go. Having now read chapter 11 on the later Renaissance, I actually think it has more to do with the subject matter just not doing it for me. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but there is something about this period that just doesn't stimulate me.
There are elements of the Renaissance which I find really interesting, or rather, there are artists at this time that I admire (Jan Van Eyck's technique and use of oils is beautiful, and Durer and Leonardo's sketches are of such a precise nature).
I understand that it was a key time in the history of art in terms of developments in oils and printing, and that the freedom artists came to have allowed for more expression in the works. I feel that it was a time that artists looked back to move forward. They looked at the past for inspiration and to see what worked, and built on that, striving to be better and to get ahead.
Saturday 3 April 2010
Assignment 1 - completed
I have finally completed and emailed off to my tutor all the work for Units 1-6 and Assignment 1.
This as taken me a lot longer than expected and hopefully I will be able to pick up some speed now that I have finished work for maternity leave.
I think the main problem I have had time wise, is not enough time! When I signed up for the course, the handbooks advised that a unit could be done in a week and I allowed approx 2 weeks instead. However, I have been finding that each unit has been taking me 3, sometimes even 4 weeks. Throw into the mix Christmas and family holidays and we are now just into April.
The OCA's guide of one unit per week is great if the student isn't working full time, or is able to spend at least 3-4 evenings per week studying. Unfortunately I couldn't commit to that many evenings and when you've been at work all day, get home and do dinner/housework, I was only really getting in a couple of hours work before feeling shattered...plus being pregnant!
As this is my first baby, I don't know how much time I will be able to spend studying once he arrives and for what length of time between feeds etc. I am hoping that I will be able to spend at least 1 or 2 mornings a week working and therefore a unit should be done in 1 or 2 weeks.
I have already drawn up a summary of what is needed for the next 5 units up to Assignment 2 and put it into a weekly planner. Generally, I feel it could be achievable for me to read the chapter and view the film in one week, and the following week to complete the annotation and project.
Based on this 2 week rule, and adding on a few weeks for luck, I hope to be able to send in Assignment 2 by the end of July (please don't hold me to this!).
So far, I have enjoyed the studying and can already see a difference in my work. I am much quicker at reading the chapters, knowing what to make notes on and what isn't relevant, I'm more confident in my annotations and generally more aware of what it is that I am interested in and looking for.
Daft as it may seem with it being a History of Art course, but I didn't realise there would be so much history involved. I was looking for a course that had more on the meaning of art and the development of art and techniques through the ages. I have more interest in analysing artworks and understanding there messages. There seems to be too much on the social/cultural changes of the periods. Maybe I'm looking at things the wrong way?
I think that I need to put more effort into my annotations and dedicate more time to these. I am also hoping that the following chapters on myth and symbol will be more my thing.
Units 4 and 6 have so far been the most enjoyable for me both in terms of the actual style and also the major developments that were made during the periods. The High Gothic style with it's intricate stonework and beautiful stained glass, plus the amazing cathedrals that were built are awe inspiring and fascinating to me. Then, the detail and quality of painters like Van Eyck and Durer also amaze me, with their precise skill of painting/printing and the pioneering techniques and methods that they used.
These are in contrast to the blander Classical style of the Greeks and Romans,and the return to the Classical style in early Renaissance Italy. I have not found units 2,3 and 5 as interesting, also as there is more sculptural work in these and I tend to favour paintings. Granted there were some remarkable developments in engineering and architecture, such as the arch and vault, but overall the style and period isn't something I would choose to study again.
This as taken me a lot longer than expected and hopefully I will be able to pick up some speed now that I have finished work for maternity leave.
I think the main problem I have had time wise, is not enough time! When I signed up for the course, the handbooks advised that a unit could be done in a week and I allowed approx 2 weeks instead. However, I have been finding that each unit has been taking me 3, sometimes even 4 weeks. Throw into the mix Christmas and family holidays and we are now just into April.
The OCA's guide of one unit per week is great if the student isn't working full time, or is able to spend at least 3-4 evenings per week studying. Unfortunately I couldn't commit to that many evenings and when you've been at work all day, get home and do dinner/housework, I was only really getting in a couple of hours work before feeling shattered...plus being pregnant!
As this is my first baby, I don't know how much time I will be able to spend studying once he arrives and for what length of time between feeds etc. I am hoping that I will be able to spend at least 1 or 2 mornings a week working and therefore a unit should be done in 1 or 2 weeks.
I have already drawn up a summary of what is needed for the next 5 units up to Assignment 2 and put it into a weekly planner. Generally, I feel it could be achievable for me to read the chapter and view the film in one week, and the following week to complete the annotation and project.
Based on this 2 week rule, and adding on a few weeks for luck, I hope to be able to send in Assignment 2 by the end of July (please don't hold me to this!).
So far, I have enjoyed the studying and can already see a difference in my work. I am much quicker at reading the chapters, knowing what to make notes on and what isn't relevant, I'm more confident in my annotations and generally more aware of what it is that I am interested in and looking for.
Daft as it may seem with it being a History of Art course, but I didn't realise there would be so much history involved. I was looking for a course that had more on the meaning of art and the development of art and techniques through the ages. I have more interest in analysing artworks and understanding there messages. There seems to be too much on the social/cultural changes of the periods. Maybe I'm looking at things the wrong way?
I think that I need to put more effort into my annotations and dedicate more time to these. I am also hoping that the following chapters on myth and symbol will be more my thing.
Units 4 and 6 have so far been the most enjoyable for me both in terms of the actual style and also the major developments that were made during the periods. The High Gothic style with it's intricate stonework and beautiful stained glass, plus the amazing cathedrals that were built are awe inspiring and fascinating to me. Then, the detail and quality of painters like Van Eyck and Durer also amaze me, with their precise skill of painting/printing and the pioneering techniques and methods that they used.
These are in contrast to the blander Classical style of the Greeks and Romans,and the return to the Classical style in early Renaissance Italy. I have not found units 2,3 and 5 as interesting, also as there is more sculptural work in these and I tend to favour paintings. Granted there were some remarkable developments in engineering and architecture, such as the arch and vault, but overall the style and period isn't something I would choose to study again.
Friday 2 April 2010
Unit 6 - Chapter & Film
Chapter 10 - revise sections(The Fifteenth Century in Europe) and Film 6 (The Northern Renaissance)
Reading just these small sections of the chapter has been a really useful way to summarise the key features, similarities and differences between art of Northern Europe versus Italy. Using the works of artists Van Eyck, Durer and Bellini to highlight the achievements of each area and to show the main developments in styles and techniques.
Further to my post on Unit 5 Chapter & Film, the film this time did relate to the later sections of the chapter, and the artists above. Again it was a very neat summary of this time of the Renaissance period and also introduced briefly some others artists and works.
Reading just these small sections of the chapter has been a really useful way to summarise the key features, similarities and differences between art of Northern Europe versus Italy. Using the works of artists Van Eyck, Durer and Bellini to highlight the achievements of each area and to show the main developments in styles and techniques.
Further to my post on Unit 5 Chapter & Film, the film this time did relate to the later sections of the chapter, and the artists above. Again it was a very neat summary of this time of the Renaissance period and also introduced briefly some others artists and works.
Monday 22 March 2010
Unit/Project 5 -
Text on an annotated image -
Jan Van Eyck’s ‘The Arnolfini Marriage’
The painting is a marriage portrait and shows the married couple as the central feature.
The man is dressed in a heavy and dark outfit with a big black hat. His expression is quite sombre and standing nearest the window with his back to it, he is dark and shaded. He appears to have no shoes on although his feet look like they may have been repainted, as they are not clearly defined, a feature that is unusual in comparison to the clarity of the brushwork found throughout the rest of the painting.
The lady stands next to the bed and is dressed in rich vibrant coloured clothes although they also appear to be of quite thick and heavy fabrics. Her outfit appears to be lighter by the use of delicate decorations on her accessories such as the white headdress and the fabric textures. She also benefits from having light from the window shining onto her. Her expression is slightly pensive, one hand clutches at her clothing, drawing them to her chest as if for protection or comfort.
The room looks to be a bedroom, which is an unusual setting for a wedding portrait. The room itself has elements that are quite drab; some of the window shutters are missing, a sweeping brush left hanging off the bed and the shoes left in view. These again make the setting for a wedding portrait quite odd. Contrasting these drab elements are the sumptuous bed, the elaborate chandelier and the decorative wooden carving on the headboard.
A sense of perspective into the centre of the painting is achieved using the lines of the floorboards, window and furniture. Although the couple are the centrepiece, the perspective leads towards the mirror on the back wall. This in turn brings the viewer back into the room with its reflection. The details on the mirror edge show Biblical scenes and this, with the mirrors position, implies that religion is central to the marriage and its portrait. This is also reinforced with the positioning of the couples hands underneath the mirror; the curve of their arms helps to give movement in the picture and to lead the viewers’ eye around. The chandelier points downwards, once again towards the mirror and the couples hands.
Holding hands is the only way in which the couple are connected, although this does not look natural for either people. He has control in the hold while she keeps her hand open stiffly. They both have their gazes averted and avoid eye contact with each other and the viewer. Their expressions are not joyful, and along with their outfits - mainly his - they do not seem to be celebrating their marriage. They do both appear to be wearing very similar, if not matching, metal cuffs with a lattice pattern, possibly a wedding gift to them.
Overall, the image is both beautiful and strange. Despite the lack of celebration, there is an air of calmness and serenity to the picture and it has an obvious beauty from the use of colour and the high standard of skill in the paintwork. Looking beyond this, the peculiar is noticed in the choice of setting and the objects left included. Symbolic interpretations could be used to explain some, or even all, of the peculiarities, and this I feel could only add to the beauty of this painting.
Jan Van Eyck’s ‘The Arnolfini Marriage’
The painting is a marriage portrait and shows the married couple as the central feature.
The man is dressed in a heavy and dark outfit with a big black hat. His expression is quite sombre and standing nearest the window with his back to it, he is dark and shaded. He appears to have no shoes on although his feet look like they may have been repainted, as they are not clearly defined, a feature that is unusual in comparison to the clarity of the brushwork found throughout the rest of the painting.
The lady stands next to the bed and is dressed in rich vibrant coloured clothes although they also appear to be of quite thick and heavy fabrics. Her outfit appears to be lighter by the use of delicate decorations on her accessories such as the white headdress and the fabric textures. She also benefits from having light from the window shining onto her. Her expression is slightly pensive, one hand clutches at her clothing, drawing them to her chest as if for protection or comfort.
The room looks to be a bedroom, which is an unusual setting for a wedding portrait. The room itself has elements that are quite drab; some of the window shutters are missing, a sweeping brush left hanging off the bed and the shoes left in view. These again make the setting for a wedding portrait quite odd. Contrasting these drab elements are the sumptuous bed, the elaborate chandelier and the decorative wooden carving on the headboard.
A sense of perspective into the centre of the painting is achieved using the lines of the floorboards, window and furniture. Although the couple are the centrepiece, the perspective leads towards the mirror on the back wall. This in turn brings the viewer back into the room with its reflection. The details on the mirror edge show Biblical scenes and this, with the mirrors position, implies that religion is central to the marriage and its portrait. This is also reinforced with the positioning of the couples hands underneath the mirror; the curve of their arms helps to give movement in the picture and to lead the viewers’ eye around. The chandelier points downwards, once again towards the mirror and the couples hands.
Holding hands is the only way in which the couple are connected, although this does not look natural for either people. He has control in the hold while she keeps her hand open stiffly. They both have their gazes averted and avoid eye contact with each other and the viewer. Their expressions are not joyful, and along with their outfits - mainly his - they do not seem to be celebrating their marriage. They do both appear to be wearing very similar, if not matching, metal cuffs with a lattice pattern, possibly a wedding gift to them.
Overall, the image is both beautiful and strange. Despite the lack of celebration, there is an air of calmness and serenity to the picture and it has an obvious beauty from the use of colour and the high standard of skill in the paintwork. Looking beyond this, the peculiar is noticed in the choice of setting and the objects left included. Symbolic interpretations could be used to explain some, or even all, of the peculiarities, and this I feel could only add to the beauty of this painting.
Saturday 20 March 2010
Reflections on Project 3 – Studies of free standing Classical figures
During my visit to London, I visited The British Museum to look at and draw various free standing Classical figure statues.
I enjoyed this project much more that I had anticipated as figure drawing has never been by strong point and something I tend to try to avoid. However I surprised myself at how they were fairly decent drawings!
I didn’t allow myself to choose sculptures that would be ‘easy’ to draw. Instead I forced myself to draw the first four that I came to. I did only move onto another sculpture once as it was very similar in dress and pose to one that I had already drawn.
I find it slightly difficult to assess the sculptures in skilful representation as anything like this is good in my eyes, purely because I am no good at it! I did pick up though on one of the sculptures, a Greek youth, that his head seemed to be too small and his neck overly thick in comparison to the rest of his body. However, I would hesitate in saying that this was a poor representation as we will never know without having met the subject.
I also noted how some statues were obviously idealised, others had slight individualities and the portrait bust was definitely a portrait! The use of drapery in the statues, especially the one of the sea nymph, also had the appearance of having been stylised for aesthetic effect.
I would not say that by drawing the sculptures I have a better understanding of them. I am naturally a person who is very observant and visually analytical. Also my drawings are not brilliant copies for future reference as I have potentially introduced more errors into the image. I feel that in circumstances like this, as much as the sketching is good for developing my skills, annotating from a photo would be more beneficial, especially if they are to be used in the future for reference.
Some interpretation (or application of knowledge learnt from study work) could be made to make a judgement on the status of the person especially by looking at the pose and dress, which I feel has the most significance. The youth is naked and stands tall and confident. The nymph is clothed revealingly and free from rigid poses, free from any restrictions and restraints. The lady is demurely dressed and conservative, standing in an elegant yet semi-relaxed manner.
I enjoyed this project much more that I had anticipated as figure drawing has never been by strong point and something I tend to try to avoid. However I surprised myself at how they were fairly decent drawings!
I didn’t allow myself to choose sculptures that would be ‘easy’ to draw. Instead I forced myself to draw the first four that I came to. I did only move onto another sculpture once as it was very similar in dress and pose to one that I had already drawn.
I find it slightly difficult to assess the sculptures in skilful representation as anything like this is good in my eyes, purely because I am no good at it! I did pick up though on one of the sculptures, a Greek youth, that his head seemed to be too small and his neck overly thick in comparison to the rest of his body. However, I would hesitate in saying that this was a poor representation as we will never know without having met the subject.
I also noted how some statues were obviously idealised, others had slight individualities and the portrait bust was definitely a portrait! The use of drapery in the statues, especially the one of the sea nymph, also had the appearance of having been stylised for aesthetic effect.
I would not say that by drawing the sculptures I have a better understanding of them. I am naturally a person who is very observant and visually analytical. Also my drawings are not brilliant copies for future reference as I have potentially introduced more errors into the image. I feel that in circumstances like this, as much as the sketching is good for developing my skills, annotating from a photo would be more beneficial, especially if they are to be used in the future for reference.
Some interpretation (or application of knowledge learnt from study work) could be made to make a judgement on the status of the person especially by looking at the pose and dress, which I feel has the most significance. The youth is naked and stands tall and confident. The nymph is clothed revealingly and free from rigid poses, free from any restrictions and restraints. The lady is demurely dressed and conservative, standing in an elegant yet semi-relaxed manner.
London visit review
I arrived in London earlier than scheduled as traffic and trains were all running well. I visited the British Museum first and as I was early, I had time to look at the postcards on offer whilst waiting for the actual museum rooms to open, thus saving time allocated for looking afterwards.
I had already obtained a map and along with my research into which rooms to visit and what was on display, I very quickly found what I was looking for.
I managed to sketch 4 free-standing figure sculptures for project 3 in various poses, states of dress etc. I also quickly found an alternative portrait bust to annotate as the one suggested, Antonia, had been taken off display and the website not updated (explains also why I couldn’t find it on my last trip!).
Ahead of schedule, I moved on to the National Gallery where I had at least 2 paintings to annotate. If I had time I was hoping to also see some pictures for future units.
Arriving at the National Gallery, they had run out of English maps so I took my chances with a French one, the room numbers at least would be the same. I did find however that the map didn’t show all of the intermediary rooms; twice I found myself in what I thought was the correct room when it should have been the next room along.
The first piece for me to see was Duccio’s ‘Mary & Child with Saints’ altarpiece. I am very glad that I had looked this up on the internet and made a sketch before visiting as there were several in the room that looked similar, and I was able to quickly find the one that I needed without having to read the labels. I spent over an hour at this piece which did surprise me as it isn’t very big at all. I have found when annotating that it suits me better to draw/sketch on one page and to make notes and detailed sketches on another page. I have tried to draw a frame on the page to limit my drawing size but always spill over and leave no room for anything other than short annotation notes.
The second painting I needed to see was Jan Van Eyck’s ‘ Arnolfini Marriage’. I was really looking forward to this as I had first studied it several years ago at college and had been very impressed with the detailing and symbolic references. It turns out that lots of people want to see this, as there was a constant stream of viewers congregated around it. This meant that I struggled to get a clear view and I felt rushed in my viewing and sketching. Even when I did manage to position myself directly in front of it, people were crowding around and even standing straight in front of me.
I managed to get a fairly detailed sketch done and I tried to make as many annotations as possible using my own observations rather than relying on what I had been taught previously in college. Obvious as it may seem, but I did really find that actually looking at the picture rather than textbook/internet images, was much better.
I managed to spend about 45 minutes here and I am very pleased with what I did achieve.
A quick stop for a late lunch and I decided to look at one of the pieces required for the next unit, Titan’s ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’.
By this point my legs were aching from standing for so long and also my arm from supporting my sketchbook while I worked. I was very pleased to get to Titan’s painting and find that there was a bench in front of it for me to rest my weary feet and look at the painting comfortably. Especially as the painting is much larger and there is a lot to look at.
I had quickly looked at the following units in case I did have time to view paintings. Even so, I wasn’t sure what I was meant to be looking at or for, especially as it is a mythological painting. I have made a sketch and some initial observations but feel it would be best to leave this for another visit once I have studied the chapter and can understand the relevance. Based on this I decided not to look at the other pieces until I have done the linked study work so that I don’t confuse myself.
Overall, I am very pleased with my visit this time. My planning ahead has certainly paid off as I had finished ahead of schedule. This is definitely what I will be doing for my future trips.
I had already obtained a map and along with my research into which rooms to visit and what was on display, I very quickly found what I was looking for.
I managed to sketch 4 free-standing figure sculptures for project 3 in various poses, states of dress etc. I also quickly found an alternative portrait bust to annotate as the one suggested, Antonia, had been taken off display and the website not updated (explains also why I couldn’t find it on my last trip!).
Ahead of schedule, I moved on to the National Gallery where I had at least 2 paintings to annotate. If I had time I was hoping to also see some pictures for future units.
Arriving at the National Gallery, they had run out of English maps so I took my chances with a French one, the room numbers at least would be the same. I did find however that the map didn’t show all of the intermediary rooms; twice I found myself in what I thought was the correct room when it should have been the next room along.
The first piece for me to see was Duccio’s ‘Mary & Child with Saints’ altarpiece. I am very glad that I had looked this up on the internet and made a sketch before visiting as there were several in the room that looked similar, and I was able to quickly find the one that I needed without having to read the labels. I spent over an hour at this piece which did surprise me as it isn’t very big at all. I have found when annotating that it suits me better to draw/sketch on one page and to make notes and detailed sketches on another page. I have tried to draw a frame on the page to limit my drawing size but always spill over and leave no room for anything other than short annotation notes.
The second painting I needed to see was Jan Van Eyck’s ‘ Arnolfini Marriage’. I was really looking forward to this as I had first studied it several years ago at college and had been very impressed with the detailing and symbolic references. It turns out that lots of people want to see this, as there was a constant stream of viewers congregated around it. This meant that I struggled to get a clear view and I felt rushed in my viewing and sketching. Even when I did manage to position myself directly in front of it, people were crowding around and even standing straight in front of me.
I managed to get a fairly detailed sketch done and I tried to make as many annotations as possible using my own observations rather than relying on what I had been taught previously in college. Obvious as it may seem, but I did really find that actually looking at the picture rather than textbook/internet images, was much better.
I managed to spend about 45 minutes here and I am very pleased with what I did achieve.
A quick stop for a late lunch and I decided to look at one of the pieces required for the next unit, Titan’s ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’.
By this point my legs were aching from standing for so long and also my arm from supporting my sketchbook while I worked. I was very pleased to get to Titan’s painting and find that there was a bench in front of it for me to rest my weary feet and look at the painting comfortably. Especially as the painting is much larger and there is a lot to look at.
I had quickly looked at the following units in case I did have time to view paintings. Even so, I wasn’t sure what I was meant to be looking at or for, especially as it is a mythological painting. I have made a sketch and some initial observations but feel it would be best to leave this for another visit once I have studied the chapter and can understand the relevance. Based on this I decided not to look at the other pieces until I have done the linked study work so that I don’t confuse myself.
Overall, I am very pleased with my visit this time. My planning ahead has certainly paid off as I had finished ahead of schedule. This is definitely what I will be doing for my future trips.
Next London visit - planning
I have planned my next visit to London to view several paintings for various annotations and projects. Learning from experience of my last visit to London, my planning for this trip is quite a bit more in depth and detailed.
I have used the suggested images for each/unit project (except for one, more on this later) simply for ease, and also as several of the suggestions are images that I have always liked and would like to see.
Especially now that I have read about the background and the era they were painted in and can better understand the piece and to put it into context.
I am planning to set off earlier this time so that I am in London for when the galleries open and this also allows for any delays in transport. Other commitments mean that I have to be left London by 4pm so the early start will help.
I have checked out where the paintings are, gallery addresses and opening times, which rooms the pieces are in, and also the best means of transport within London.
I have made a few notes about each painting (and a little thumbnail sketch for the pieces I haven’t heard of before) and a little about the context from my study notes. This reminder will be helpful for the annotations needed for units I haven’t looked at for a while and hopefully it will stand me in better stead to analyse the pieces.
I have created a rough itinery of the day so that I am planned and have a focus for the day. I have allowed approx 45 minutes at each specific piece and approx 15-20 minutes for quick sketches of classical statues for project 3. I have even estimated and allowed for time between pieces for getting from one room/gallery to another.
Also, I have made a list of the postcards required for each unit. I have so far been finding appropriate images from the internet but I do like the idea of having actual postcards. I will look in the gift shops at each gallery to see if there are any suitable postcards there.
Pieces I must see:
‘Antonia’ marble bust at The British Museum for Unit 3’s annotation
Variety of Classical free standing figure sculptures at the British Museum for Unit 3’s project
‘Virgin & Child with Saints’ Altarpiece by Duccio at the National Gallery for Unit 5’s annotation
‘Arnolfini Marriage’ by Jan Van Eyck at the National Gallery for Unit 6’s annotation
Pieces I would like to at least see, time permitting:
‘Bacchus & Ariadne’ by Titian at The National Gallery for Unit 7’s annotation
‘Nymph with Satyrs’ by Nicholas Poussin at The National Gallery for Unit 7’s project
‘Triumph of Pan’ By Nicholas Poussin at The National Gallery for Unit 8’s annotation
‘Allegory of War & Peace’ by Rubens at The National Gallery for Unit 9’s annotation
I have used the suggested images for each/unit project (except for one, more on this later) simply for ease, and also as several of the suggestions are images that I have always liked and would like to see.
Especially now that I have read about the background and the era they were painted in and can better understand the piece and to put it into context.
I am planning to set off earlier this time so that I am in London for when the galleries open and this also allows for any delays in transport. Other commitments mean that I have to be left London by 4pm so the early start will help.
I have checked out where the paintings are, gallery addresses and opening times, which rooms the pieces are in, and also the best means of transport within London.
I have made a few notes about each painting (and a little thumbnail sketch for the pieces I haven’t heard of before) and a little about the context from my study notes. This reminder will be helpful for the annotations needed for units I haven’t looked at for a while and hopefully it will stand me in better stead to analyse the pieces.
I have created a rough itinery of the day so that I am planned and have a focus for the day. I have allowed approx 45 minutes at each specific piece and approx 15-20 minutes for quick sketches of classical statues for project 3. I have even estimated and allowed for time between pieces for getting from one room/gallery to another.
Also, I have made a list of the postcards required for each unit. I have so far been finding appropriate images from the internet but I do like the idea of having actual postcards. I will look in the gift shops at each gallery to see if there are any suitable postcards there.
Pieces I must see:
‘Antonia’ marble bust at The British Museum for Unit 3’s annotation
Variety of Classical free standing figure sculptures at the British Museum for Unit 3’s project
‘Virgin & Child with Saints’ Altarpiece by Duccio at the National Gallery for Unit 5’s annotation
‘Arnolfini Marriage’ by Jan Van Eyck at the National Gallery for Unit 6’s annotation
Pieces I would like to at least see, time permitting:
‘Bacchus & Ariadne’ by Titian at The National Gallery for Unit 7’s annotation
‘Nymph with Satyrs’ by Nicholas Poussin at The National Gallery for Unit 7’s project
‘Triumph of Pan’ By Nicholas Poussin at The National Gallery for Unit 8’s annotation
‘Allegory of War & Peace’ by Rubens at The National Gallery for Unit 9’s annotation
Unit 5 - Chapter and film
Chapter 10 (The Fifteenth Century in Europe) & Film 5 (Early Renaissance in Italy)
I was not able to read this chapter in one go and kept getting distracted! I struggled to get into the flow of reading and making notes and felt that I spent too much time re-reading sections. I do not feel that this chapter has made much of an impact on me and even going over my notes again, I struggle to feel or be enthusiastic about the subject.
Towards the end of the chapter my interest picked up slightly. The text on paintings and artists rather than the architecture was more appealing and I particularly liked the mythological references to the images. I am thinking once again that I like learning about these hidden messages and meanings in art. They make a piece much more enjoyable to study and investigate.
Also, I like the idea of progress in art and architecture. Durer’s printing accomplishments, and also general developments in architecture and engineering (as seen in the previous chapter on Gothic architecture) are more enjoyable to me, as opposed to the Renaissance trend of going back to Classical styles.
It may also be the simpler ideals and lack of detail of the Classical period are just not as intriguing to me as the intricate work of the Gothic period.
Although this chapter has not been one that I especially enjoyed studying, it has helped me to understand a bit more about what it is in an image that draws my attention and interests me.
This time, however, the film was very useful. I made a lot of notes and found it to explain the subject much better than the textbook. I liked how concise and direct the information was presented along with the corresponding imagery. It really helped me to understand the era and the changes that took place.
I was not able to read this chapter in one go and kept getting distracted! I struggled to get into the flow of reading and making notes and felt that I spent too much time re-reading sections. I do not feel that this chapter has made much of an impact on me and even going over my notes again, I struggle to feel or be enthusiastic about the subject.
Towards the end of the chapter my interest picked up slightly. The text on paintings and artists rather than the architecture was more appealing and I particularly liked the mythological references to the images. I am thinking once again that I like learning about these hidden messages and meanings in art. They make a piece much more enjoyable to study and investigate.
Also, I like the idea of progress in art and architecture. Durer’s printing accomplishments, and also general developments in architecture and engineering (as seen in the previous chapter on Gothic architecture) are more enjoyable to me, as opposed to the Renaissance trend of going back to Classical styles.
It may also be the simpler ideals and lack of detail of the Classical period are just not as intriguing to me as the intricate work of the Gothic period.
Although this chapter has not been one that I especially enjoyed studying, it has helped me to understand a bit more about what it is in an image that draws my attention and interests me.
This time, however, the film was very useful. I made a lot of notes and found it to explain the subject much better than the textbook. I liked how concise and direct the information was presented along with the corresponding imagery. It really helped me to understand the era and the changes that took place.
Unit 4 - Visit
I finally got around to seeing St. Mary’s church in Warwick town centre for my visit requirement. I went early on a Saturday morning hoping to avoid Saturday shoppers and although sunny, it was very cold and windy.
I started by spending time walking around looking at the exterior and making sketches before going inside. I could immediately see obvious differences in styles where various sections had been built at different times. It was good to see these next to each other and be able to make comparisons. The nave has some decoration to it and these were mainly Classical references. The roofline had classical balustrades and urns but the windows had got the beginnings of the pointed arches, although the inner stonework of the window was still very much a rounded arch.
The tower has lots of recesses with plinths on it going up either side of the tower faces, although the statues they may once have held have all gone. The arches on these are rounded where as the central decorations on the tower face again have a slight point. The stonework at the very top of the tower though has similar decorations to the Beauchamp chapel (see below) and could be described as higher gothic in style.
Generally, the nave and tower only have the windows and recesses as forms of decoration. The rest of the walls are plain brickwork.
Moving round the church I came to a section that was suddenly very ornate. The roofline was lower than the nave and apse behind it and this was obviously a later addition. There is very little of the wall that has not been decorated in some way. The arches are definitely pointed although very wide still, and the decorations are slender and intricate. External buttress supports have been built; they are solid at the base but again have a lot of carving to make them less clumsy looking and they are topped by flying buttress vaults, although the roof isn’t that high so I’m not sure if they do serve a support purpose or are merely decorative. There are still distinct horizontal lines in use which would lead me to say that this section isn’t quite of the high gothic period yet which tried to ‘blur’ any horizontals for a ‘heavenward’ effect. This section I found out to be the Beauchamp Chapel, which was built in the mid fifteenth century.
Continuing around the church even more, the apse has a massive window full of stained glass. The level of decoration on the walls is less than the last section but more than the nave and tower. I would have said that as the church was built, possibly starting from the tower end and working towards the apse, the gothic style had developed to become more decorative and this was implemented into the design. There is here though the use of solid buttress vaults with no attempt to decorate them or make them appear less ungainly.
The other side of the church generally mirrors the first side. However, whereas the first side has had the beautiful Beauchamp Chapel addition, this side is very plain with only a few windows breaking up the brickwork and the whole effect is of a functional addition to the Church. These rooms turn out to be the oldest part of the church and are the vestry rooms.
I made several sketches of the overall building and also some of the stonework details. I also took some photos from a distance for a general view. Taking photos was also helpful to be able to see more clearly the details in the stonework that was higher on the façade and out of clear visibility.
Once inside, I again took a little while to look around and think about the layout and styles. The nave has tall and slender columns going into rib vaults. Between the vaults, the ceiling has been filled with plaster and the centre of the vaults has a decorative stone circle, some displaying a coat of arms.
The church is obviously based on the shape of the cross and has a central aisle leading to the altar and two side aisles. Similar to the outside, the only structural decoration is on the windows, with the exception of some coats of arms that have been mounted.
Moving into the apse, the level of decoration increases greatly, again like the exterior. The wooden choir stalls are carved almost all over and the walls are covered in stone tracery. Fan vaults with subsidiary and flying ribs are in use and the windows go right up to the ceiling and almost fill the walls width-wise. There is a high altar here and in the centre is a large tomb for Earl Thomas Beauchamp I and his wife who had much involvement in the building of the church, and it is their coats of arms that can be seen around the church. Almost filing the floor space in front of the high altar are numerous grave and memorial stones.
These grave and memorial stones have been laid on the floor above ‘the bone house’. Down in the crypt, where there are many more such stones, were kept the remains found in graves disturbed by various rebuilds. A section of the crypt has been sealed off and reserved for the earls of Warwick and their families.
The level of decoration increases again in The Beauchamp Chapel, which is even more intricately designed than the exterior. The only areas not decorated are the ceiling space between the ribs of the vaults, and the floor. In here are four large ornate tombs, each with their own distinct designs. This is also the only part of the church to have an original painting, of the Last Judgement, and with so much detail, it is the most colourful part of the church. There is a mix in here of the religious and secular. The stained glass features Biblical scenes and the plasterwork and carving are of Biblical characters. Whereas the tombs are very much a celebration of personal success and status; bearing many coats of arms, with figures of relatives mourning the deceased and even mythical winged creatures.
The Beauchamp chapel has been built for the sole purpose of commemorating Richard Beauchamp whose tomb is positioned centrally and in front of the altar. To the sides, other tombs of relatives have been added at later dates. The feel of this room is very self-indulgent and I would imagine this indulgent style in which they want to be remembered mirrored their style of living very closely.
On the North side of the church, one of the vestry rooms has been turned into a private mausoleum for the family of Fulke Greville. The room is almost completely filled with a black marble tomb in the Classic style. Although nowhere near as decorative as the Beauchamp tombs, it is equally as impressive and domineering. Again, the style of this could be read as a reflection of the persons’ life and demeanour.
The church appears to have been built and used for two main reasons. The first is that of a church of remembrance. The many tombs both inside and outside show this, as well as the area that has been more recently dedicated to fallen war heroes through the ages. There are many other memorial markers for benefactors of the church in various places.
Secondly, the church once had a pilgrimage connection. A list of the relics the church claimed to own included a piece of Jesus’ manger and cross, and part of the burning bush of Moses. The importance of these relics and the crowds they would have drawn can go some way in explaining the obvious wealth the church once had, and of its huge size in comparison to the population of Warwick.
I later found out from the guidebooks I bought, that the nave and south transept, which I thought were the oldest due to their Classical references, are actually the newest parts. They were rebuilt in the eighteenth century after a fire destroyed the originals in 1694. A drawing of the church before the fire shows that the nave windows were more ornate than the ones there now, but the tower was a lot plainer. Why it was decided to rebuild using Classical details on the nave and high gothic on the tower instead of a uniform style is unclear.
In terms of decoration versus devotion, the nave is relatively plain with little to distract the worshipper. Even though it is the plainest part, it still has its own beauty and atmosphere and the small altar does not draw very much attention at all. I imagine many people may find themselves looking past the altar to the apse with its stained glass window commanding attention.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this visit and I was constantly being amazed at the sheer vastness and variety of decoration and the size of the building. I have been past the church many times I the past and never taken notice. Once again, a purposeful visit has opened my eyes to the wonderful buildings and art so close to home.
I started by spending time walking around looking at the exterior and making sketches before going inside. I could immediately see obvious differences in styles where various sections had been built at different times. It was good to see these next to each other and be able to make comparisons. The nave has some decoration to it and these were mainly Classical references. The roofline had classical balustrades and urns but the windows had got the beginnings of the pointed arches, although the inner stonework of the window was still very much a rounded arch.
The tower has lots of recesses with plinths on it going up either side of the tower faces, although the statues they may once have held have all gone. The arches on these are rounded where as the central decorations on the tower face again have a slight point. The stonework at the very top of the tower though has similar decorations to the Beauchamp chapel (see below) and could be described as higher gothic in style.
Generally, the nave and tower only have the windows and recesses as forms of decoration. The rest of the walls are plain brickwork.
Moving round the church I came to a section that was suddenly very ornate. The roofline was lower than the nave and apse behind it and this was obviously a later addition. There is very little of the wall that has not been decorated in some way. The arches are definitely pointed although very wide still, and the decorations are slender and intricate. External buttress supports have been built; they are solid at the base but again have a lot of carving to make them less clumsy looking and they are topped by flying buttress vaults, although the roof isn’t that high so I’m not sure if they do serve a support purpose or are merely decorative. There are still distinct horizontal lines in use which would lead me to say that this section isn’t quite of the high gothic period yet which tried to ‘blur’ any horizontals for a ‘heavenward’ effect. This section I found out to be the Beauchamp Chapel, which was built in the mid fifteenth century.
Continuing around the church even more, the apse has a massive window full of stained glass. The level of decoration on the walls is less than the last section but more than the nave and tower. I would have said that as the church was built, possibly starting from the tower end and working towards the apse, the gothic style had developed to become more decorative and this was implemented into the design. There is here though the use of solid buttress vaults with no attempt to decorate them or make them appear less ungainly.
The other side of the church generally mirrors the first side. However, whereas the first side has had the beautiful Beauchamp Chapel addition, this side is very plain with only a few windows breaking up the brickwork and the whole effect is of a functional addition to the Church. These rooms turn out to be the oldest part of the church and are the vestry rooms.
I made several sketches of the overall building and also some of the stonework details. I also took some photos from a distance for a general view. Taking photos was also helpful to be able to see more clearly the details in the stonework that was higher on the façade and out of clear visibility.
Once inside, I again took a little while to look around and think about the layout and styles. The nave has tall and slender columns going into rib vaults. Between the vaults, the ceiling has been filled with plaster and the centre of the vaults has a decorative stone circle, some displaying a coat of arms.
The church is obviously based on the shape of the cross and has a central aisle leading to the altar and two side aisles. Similar to the outside, the only structural decoration is on the windows, with the exception of some coats of arms that have been mounted.
Moving into the apse, the level of decoration increases greatly, again like the exterior. The wooden choir stalls are carved almost all over and the walls are covered in stone tracery. Fan vaults with subsidiary and flying ribs are in use and the windows go right up to the ceiling and almost fill the walls width-wise. There is a high altar here and in the centre is a large tomb for Earl Thomas Beauchamp I and his wife who had much involvement in the building of the church, and it is their coats of arms that can be seen around the church. Almost filing the floor space in front of the high altar are numerous grave and memorial stones.
These grave and memorial stones have been laid on the floor above ‘the bone house’. Down in the crypt, where there are many more such stones, were kept the remains found in graves disturbed by various rebuilds. A section of the crypt has been sealed off and reserved for the earls of Warwick and their families.
The level of decoration increases again in The Beauchamp Chapel, which is even more intricately designed than the exterior. The only areas not decorated are the ceiling space between the ribs of the vaults, and the floor. In here are four large ornate tombs, each with their own distinct designs. This is also the only part of the church to have an original painting, of the Last Judgement, and with so much detail, it is the most colourful part of the church. There is a mix in here of the religious and secular. The stained glass features Biblical scenes and the plasterwork and carving are of Biblical characters. Whereas the tombs are very much a celebration of personal success and status; bearing many coats of arms, with figures of relatives mourning the deceased and even mythical winged creatures.
The Beauchamp chapel has been built for the sole purpose of commemorating Richard Beauchamp whose tomb is positioned centrally and in front of the altar. To the sides, other tombs of relatives have been added at later dates. The feel of this room is very self-indulgent and I would imagine this indulgent style in which they want to be remembered mirrored their style of living very closely.
On the North side of the church, one of the vestry rooms has been turned into a private mausoleum for the family of Fulke Greville. The room is almost completely filled with a black marble tomb in the Classic style. Although nowhere near as decorative as the Beauchamp tombs, it is equally as impressive and domineering. Again, the style of this could be read as a reflection of the persons’ life and demeanour.
The church appears to have been built and used for two main reasons. The first is that of a church of remembrance. The many tombs both inside and outside show this, as well as the area that has been more recently dedicated to fallen war heroes through the ages. There are many other memorial markers for benefactors of the church in various places.
Secondly, the church once had a pilgrimage connection. A list of the relics the church claimed to own included a piece of Jesus’ manger and cross, and part of the burning bush of Moses. The importance of these relics and the crowds they would have drawn can go some way in explaining the obvious wealth the church once had, and of its huge size in comparison to the population of Warwick.
I later found out from the guidebooks I bought, that the nave and south transept, which I thought were the oldest due to their Classical references, are actually the newest parts. They were rebuilt in the eighteenth century after a fire destroyed the originals in 1694. A drawing of the church before the fire shows that the nave windows were more ornate than the ones there now, but the tower was a lot plainer. Why it was decided to rebuild using Classical details on the nave and high gothic on the tower instead of a uniform style is unclear.
In terms of decoration versus devotion, the nave is relatively plain with little to distract the worshipper. Even though it is the plainest part, it still has its own beauty and atmosphere and the small altar does not draw very much attention at all. I imagine many people may find themselves looking past the altar to the apse with its stained glass window commanding attention.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this visit and I was constantly being amazed at the sheer vastness and variety of decoration and the size of the building. I have been past the church many times I the past and never taken notice. Once again, a purposeful visit has opened my eyes to the wonderful buildings and art so close to home.
Unit 4 – chapter & films
Chapter 9 Medieval Christendom (reference chapter 7, Early Christian & Byzantine Art) & films 3, A White Garment of Churches, and 4, The Age.
When I have been reading the textbook chapters previously and references have been given to other parts of the book, I have pretty much ignored them. My theory being that I am very limited on time and constantly flicking through the book to find these references eats up too much time and would be possibly distracting.
When I was reading this chapter then I did not look up many of the references. However, at the end of the chapter I realised that this is how I was meant to reference chapter 7. This then meant that I had to skim read through the second chapter to pick up on the links and connections to the first chapter, which although interesting, was frustrating. One study skill definitely learnt.
This was overall though the most interesting section so far. Gothic architecture has always fascinated me and to learn about the history and reasoning behind it was exciting. It found it really good to learn why and how the developments took place, and also to pinpoint the aspects that do interest me, notably high gothic detailing and decoration.
I found the religious influences and logic for many of the changes to be particularly intriguing as I come from a Christian family and have heard some of the ideas before, especially the ‘distracting decorations’ one and so could relate to this slightly. The idea of the churches being built heavenward and the ‘divine light’ of the stained glass also linked to my interest in symbolisms and hidden meanings.
By the end of the chapter, I do feel very confident in looking at buildings and being able to identify the features that make it Gothic. Also, to be able to use these to determine what part of the period they come from and also what influences they may have had from across Europe.
The film narrative did not give me any information that I considered new and additional to the text. I did enjoy watching it though for the imagery. It helped me to appreciate the sheer scale of the cathedrals especially the aerial views showing them in relation to the surrounding houses and buildings.
When I have been reading the textbook chapters previously and references have been given to other parts of the book, I have pretty much ignored them. My theory being that I am very limited on time and constantly flicking through the book to find these references eats up too much time and would be possibly distracting.
When I was reading this chapter then I did not look up many of the references. However, at the end of the chapter I realised that this is how I was meant to reference chapter 7. This then meant that I had to skim read through the second chapter to pick up on the links and connections to the first chapter, which although interesting, was frustrating. One study skill definitely learnt.
This was overall though the most interesting section so far. Gothic architecture has always fascinated me and to learn about the history and reasoning behind it was exciting. It found it really good to learn why and how the developments took place, and also to pinpoint the aspects that do interest me, notably high gothic detailing and decoration.
I found the religious influences and logic for many of the changes to be particularly intriguing as I come from a Christian family and have heard some of the ideas before, especially the ‘distracting decorations’ one and so could relate to this slightly. The idea of the churches being built heavenward and the ‘divine light’ of the stained glass also linked to my interest in symbolisms and hidden meanings.
By the end of the chapter, I do feel very confident in looking at buildings and being able to identify the features that make it Gothic. Also, to be able to use these to determine what part of the period they come from and also what influences they may have had from across Europe.
The film narrative did not give me any information that I considered new and additional to the text. I did enjoy watching it though for the imagery. It helped me to appreciate the sheer scale of the cathedrals especially the aerial views showing them in relation to the surrounding houses and buildings.
Tuesday 19 January 2010
Unit 3 - Chapter & film
Daunted in unit 2 by the size of the chapter to read, I decided to make sure I did the reading first this time so that it was done.
It took me approximately 5 hours to read this chapter which is an approvament on my first attempt but still quite a while.
This time I changed the way I made notes. Instead of reading a paragraph and then making a note, I read a sub-chapter or large chunk of text first and then skimmed back over it to summarise and make notes. This meant that I could read and absorb the information and I understood the content and context far better. As I kept stopping and starting on unit 2, I was losing the flow of the text and struggling to make sense of it. Also, making notes as I went meant that they were very lengthy and often repetitive. This time my notes are much more logical and easy to read for quick information.
I feel that this time, I have remembered and understood the text and I enjoyed the reading more. I am definitely on the right track and with more practice I will hopefully be able to do this even quicker.
The following evening I watched the film. Having read the chapter first and having a good knowledge on the subject, the film was easier to watch and gave a very good summary of the key points.
I found that I also enjoyed watching the film as I could sit back a bit more and take greater notice of the images shown, rather than looking away to make notes on it all and missing bits.
The variety of images shown was helpful to better illustrate the message and helped me to understand more and identify characteristics of the works.
I am very pleased with my progress after only 2 units and really fell that my study skills are back in action.
It took me approximately 5 hours to read this chapter which is an approvament on my first attempt but still quite a while.
This time I changed the way I made notes. Instead of reading a paragraph and then making a note, I read a sub-chapter or large chunk of text first and then skimmed back over it to summarise and make notes. This meant that I could read and absorb the information and I understood the content and context far better. As I kept stopping and starting on unit 2, I was losing the flow of the text and struggling to make sense of it. Also, making notes as I went meant that they were very lengthy and often repetitive. This time my notes are much more logical and easy to read for quick information.
I feel that this time, I have remembered and understood the text and I enjoyed the reading more. I am definitely on the right track and with more practice I will hopefully be able to do this even quicker.
The following evening I watched the film. Having read the chapter first and having a good knowledge on the subject, the film was easier to watch and gave a very good summary of the key points.
I found that I also enjoyed watching the film as I could sit back a bit more and take greater notice of the images shown, rather than looking away to make notes on it all and missing bits.
The variety of images shown was helpful to better illustrate the message and helped me to understand more and identify characteristics of the works.
I am very pleased with my progress after only 2 units and really fell that my study skills are back in action.
First Visit - Classical Building - Unit 2
After reading the first visit and project requirements I didn't think that I would be able to do this straight away due to the lack of Classical style buildings in my area.
A look on the internet however, proved I was wrong and there were in fact an abundance of buildings locally that were either completely in the classical style or had classical elements to their design.
I chose to visit the Royal Pump Rooms Gallery & Museum in Leamington as I would also have access to inside, as it is a public building. I had been here several times but had never taken any notice of the architecture or design.
I started on the day by taking many photos of the exterior and notes about the design. I didn't do any sketches as it started to rain. Having read the chapter already, I was able to recognise and identify aspects of the design that are in the classical style. I also noticed the elements that had been added or amended, and the parts that although built at the same time, were not in the classical style, but the regency style of the time.
I then went inside to make comparisons as it had been completely renovated about 20 years ago and most of the original features and layout had been changed. In the public areas there is no evidence of classical influences. Some of the rooms have suspended ceilings and partition walls that could be hiding such details.
The museum area provided a lot of information about the history and origins of the Pump Rooms, why they were built, and the original purpose for them. There was much detail on the discovery of the springs, the era and society of the time, and of the medical side to the Pump Rooms. There was not any information though on the architects or builders, or even who funded the build.
The Assembly Rooms form part of the building and are used for large functions. They were closed for decorating at the time of my visit and could only be accessed by appointment. Images I have found on the internet show that they have been decorated in the classical style with marble columns and statues.
Overall, this visit was a real eye-opener for me. It made me realise the variety of buildings there are in Leamington as I had previously assumed they were all of the Regency style without taking any further notice. I now take more care to look at the local buildings and am always finding buildings with classical style elements.
Although I can't always remember the particular names of the elements, the style is very memorable and identifiable.
A look on the internet however, proved I was wrong and there were in fact an abundance of buildings locally that were either completely in the classical style or had classical elements to their design.
I chose to visit the Royal Pump Rooms Gallery & Museum in Leamington as I would also have access to inside, as it is a public building. I had been here several times but had never taken any notice of the architecture or design.
I started on the day by taking many photos of the exterior and notes about the design. I didn't do any sketches as it started to rain. Having read the chapter already, I was able to recognise and identify aspects of the design that are in the classical style. I also noticed the elements that had been added or amended, and the parts that although built at the same time, were not in the classical style, but the regency style of the time.
I then went inside to make comparisons as it had been completely renovated about 20 years ago and most of the original features and layout had been changed. In the public areas there is no evidence of classical influences. Some of the rooms have suspended ceilings and partition walls that could be hiding such details.
The museum area provided a lot of information about the history and origins of the Pump Rooms, why they were built, and the original purpose for them. There was much detail on the discovery of the springs, the era and society of the time, and of the medical side to the Pump Rooms. There was not any information though on the architects or builders, or even who funded the build.
The Assembly Rooms form part of the building and are used for large functions. They were closed for decorating at the time of my visit and could only be accessed by appointment. Images I have found on the internet show that they have been decorated in the classical style with marble columns and statues.
Overall, this visit was a real eye-opener for me. It made me realise the variety of buildings there are in Leamington as I had previously assumed they were all of the Regency style without taking any further notice. I now take more care to look at the local buildings and am always finding buildings with classical style elements.
Although I can't always remember the particular names of the elements, the style is very memorable and identifiable.
Monday 11 January 2010
Chapter reading & film viewing
The first film to view is 'The Legacy of Greece'.
I thought the information in the film was clear and easy to understand and follow. It gave points in a precise manner and didn't dwell on one point too much or too long.
The images shown however, did not always correspond with the narrative, and the choice of images seemed fairly limited. Pictures of classical buildings in England were shown before explaining why they were relevant and how they had been influenced by the Greeks. I felt that I was seeing repetitions of very similar pictures throughout the film.
As the images and talking weren't always the same, I had to watch it through once to see and hear everything, and I then watched it again to make notes, this of course took up more time than expected. I was also pausing the film to catch up on writing down my notes.
I found the part about restoration and reproducing the sculptures very interesting. I would like to find out more about how this is done, and how the restorers come to their conclusions and decisions about colours and patterns.
The first textbook section to read is Chapter 4, The Greeks and their neighbours.
Having realised that this first chapter was about 100 pages long, I had been quite daunted and put off reading it.
Once I did start, I had gotten about 12 pages in without making any notes at all. Due to the size of the chapter, I did not want to make too many notes in case I just ended up re-writing it, but I had taken this too far by not making any.
I struggled to identify the key points and subjects to note about during these first few pages especially as they were about the culture and history of the Greeks and not so much about the art. I was not sure how much cultural information would be useful and relevant to me. I re-read these pages to make general notes rather than any specific points.
I soon realised that a chapter this size is too much to read all in one go. After a couple of hours my eyes were hurting and I started to feel I wasn't actually taking in the information. However, I was concerned that leaving it for another evening might mean I lose my train of thought. I need in future to allow two evenings for reading, ideally not too far apart.
Having already watched the film and seeing the subject in a quick summary, reading the chapter seemed laborious and the wording to be long-winded.
Hopefully for the next unit, I aim to read the chapter first to gain the in-depth knowledge and then watch the film for more of a summary of the key points. This should also prevent me from having to watch the film twice as I will have already made notes on the majority of the subject. The film may just offer some alternative viewpoints for me to consider.
I thought the information in the film was clear and easy to understand and follow. It gave points in a precise manner and didn't dwell on one point too much or too long.
The images shown however, did not always correspond with the narrative, and the choice of images seemed fairly limited. Pictures of classical buildings in England were shown before explaining why they were relevant and how they had been influenced by the Greeks. I felt that I was seeing repetitions of very similar pictures throughout the film.
As the images and talking weren't always the same, I had to watch it through once to see and hear everything, and I then watched it again to make notes, this of course took up more time than expected. I was also pausing the film to catch up on writing down my notes.
I found the part about restoration and reproducing the sculptures very interesting. I would like to find out more about how this is done, and how the restorers come to their conclusions and decisions about colours and patterns.
The first textbook section to read is Chapter 4, The Greeks and their neighbours.
Having realised that this first chapter was about 100 pages long, I had been quite daunted and put off reading it.
Once I did start, I had gotten about 12 pages in without making any notes at all. Due to the size of the chapter, I did not want to make too many notes in case I just ended up re-writing it, but I had taken this too far by not making any.
I struggled to identify the key points and subjects to note about during these first few pages especially as they were about the culture and history of the Greeks and not so much about the art. I was not sure how much cultural information would be useful and relevant to me. I re-read these pages to make general notes rather than any specific points.
I soon realised that a chapter this size is too much to read all in one go. After a couple of hours my eyes were hurting and I started to feel I wasn't actually taking in the information. However, I was concerned that leaving it for another evening might mean I lose my train of thought. I need in future to allow two evenings for reading, ideally not too far apart.
Having already watched the film and seeing the subject in a quick summary, reading the chapter seemed laborious and the wording to be long-winded.
Hopefully for the next unit, I aim to read the chapter first to gain the in-depth knowledge and then watch the film for more of a summary of the key points. This should also prevent me from having to watch the film twice as I will have already made notes on the majority of the subject. The film may just offer some alternative viewpoints for me to consider.
Trip to London & first annotation
Just a week after receiving my pack, I was going to London for a day trip so I quickly looked at the first couple of units to see if I could tie anything into the trip.
The annotation suggestions for units 2 & 3 were pieces at the British Museum and I thought these would be easy to slot into the day. Unit 2 asks to annotate suggests 'The Elgin Marbles' and Unit 3 suggests 'Antonia'.
I knew a little about the Elgin Marbles beforehand and found these quite easily at the museum. I had not realised however, just how much there was to see in the room. I did a steady walk around the room first to try and take in all the various pieces and the information before choosing a piece to annotate and this alone took almost an hour.
I set myself 10 minutes to sketch the piece and another 10 minutes to annotate and make notes, as well as taking a few photos.
Overall I am pleased with my first annotation, especially as figures and animals are normally subjects I would avoid sketching.
Looking back on the page later, my quick notes in pencil aren't very clear and having forgotten to take a pencil sharpener with me, the last bits with a blunt pencil and very poor to read. My annotation sketch took up more of the page than is recommended in the handbooks and limited the space left for making notes and comments. Next time I think I will draw a faint frame/box to draw inside.
My mark making at the time seemed to be confident but looking back it looks a bit faint, possibly because it was not my preferred subject.
The notes I have made in the bottom third of the page are quite vague and in future I could add to these with additional research if the museum/gallery does not have any further information.
Knowing that time was getting on and I had planned to meet up for lunch, I quickly left to find the second piece.
I thought that 'Antonia' was a Greek Sculpture (it's actually Roman!) and headed towards the Greek rooms of which there are about 5. As I didn't know what I was looking for, I asked for assistance and was directed to one of the rooms but I still had to look at everything in the room and read each label. After about 30 minutes of looking I still had not found it and had to admit defeat and leave.
I know that including this visit into my trip was last minute and hastily planned but I could not help feeling annoyed with myself for not even finding an image of the pieces before so I at least knew what to look for.
I have definitely learnt a lot from even this quick trip that I will use and put into practice for next time:
- Briefly research the pieces beforehand, find images, background/artist information.
- Find out where in the gallery the item is, which room number.
- Find out full gallery address, opening times, exhibition dates, any restrictions. Check maps for nearest train/tube station.
- Ensure I have taken enough materials, including a pencil sharpener
Although I was not pleased with my efforts at the time, I can see now how I have learnt from it and what I could do in the future to make trips and visits more beneficial.
The annotation suggestions for units 2 & 3 were pieces at the British Museum and I thought these would be easy to slot into the day. Unit 2 asks to annotate suggests 'The Elgin Marbles' and Unit 3 suggests 'Antonia'.
I knew a little about the Elgin Marbles beforehand and found these quite easily at the museum. I had not realised however, just how much there was to see in the room. I did a steady walk around the room first to try and take in all the various pieces and the information before choosing a piece to annotate and this alone took almost an hour.
I set myself 10 minutes to sketch the piece and another 10 minutes to annotate and make notes, as well as taking a few photos.
Overall I am pleased with my first annotation, especially as figures and animals are normally subjects I would avoid sketching.
Looking back on the page later, my quick notes in pencil aren't very clear and having forgotten to take a pencil sharpener with me, the last bits with a blunt pencil and very poor to read. My annotation sketch took up more of the page than is recommended in the handbooks and limited the space left for making notes and comments. Next time I think I will draw a faint frame/box to draw inside.
My mark making at the time seemed to be confident but looking back it looks a bit faint, possibly because it was not my preferred subject.
The notes I have made in the bottom third of the page are quite vague and in future I could add to these with additional research if the museum/gallery does not have any further information.
Knowing that time was getting on and I had planned to meet up for lunch, I quickly left to find the second piece.
I thought that 'Antonia' was a Greek Sculpture (it's actually Roman!) and headed towards the Greek rooms of which there are about 5. As I didn't know what I was looking for, I asked for assistance and was directed to one of the rooms but I still had to look at everything in the room and read each label. After about 30 minutes of looking I still had not found it and had to admit defeat and leave.
I know that including this visit into my trip was last minute and hastily planned but I could not help feeling annoyed with myself for not even finding an image of the pieces before so I at least knew what to look for.
I have definitely learnt a lot from even this quick trip that I will use and put into practice for next time:
- Briefly research the pieces beforehand, find images, background/artist information.
- Find out where in the gallery the item is, which room number.
- Find out full gallery address, opening times, exhibition dates, any restrictions. Check maps for nearest train/tube station.
- Ensure I have taken enough materials, including a pencil sharpener
Although I was not pleased with my efforts at the time, I can see now how I have learnt from it and what I could do in the future to make trips and visits more beneficial.
Unit 1 - What is my aim?
Unit 1 asks me to answer:
What is my aim?
Why am I taking this course?
What do I want to get out of it?
My long term aim is to have a degree in an art subject, with most of the content being Art History.
I studied Art History as part of another course about 7 years ago which is where I first became interested in it.
I have chosen this particular course as a starting point as it appears to give an overall view of Art History. I want to use it to remind myself of the various aspects and topics of the subject. I also want to use this course to get me back into studying, planning, projects and essays etc as I am quite out of practice.
I hope to develop and broaden my knowledge and understanding of art, its movements and artists. I would like to be able to understand and appreciate a piece of art in more depth and with more of an analytical approach. Currently I could describe an image or sculpture only in basic terms on a beginners level. I would like to be able to read more into a piece and to be confident in my explanation and understanding of it.
I hope that I can gain a greater understanding of the process an artist goes through and the methods used to create the final piece. To be able to understand why a piece has turned out in that particular way; what the influences and background to it is.
Another key reason for me taking this course is for career development and progression. I currently work in a non-art related job and it doesn’t give me the satisfaction or enjoyment that I hope an art-related career would do.
I have looked into, and applied for jobs in the art world but have found that they nearly all require a degree qualification and/or experience in an art subject. So this is my first step in achieving at least one of these requirements. Whilst I am not in a position to leave my current career, I hope that this course will give me the drive to change my situation and improve my long-term job prospects.
I have been thinking about making this step for some time but have always found reasons to put it off. Now I feel that if I do not start it now, I may always put it off and never achieve my goal.
This course hopefully will provide me with a general starting point to progress from. I would like to look into some of the other courses on offer after completing this one, but only in terms of being supplementary courses to my degree path.
What is my aim?
Why am I taking this course?
What do I want to get out of it?
My long term aim is to have a degree in an art subject, with most of the content being Art History.
I studied Art History as part of another course about 7 years ago which is where I first became interested in it.
I have chosen this particular course as a starting point as it appears to give an overall view of Art History. I want to use it to remind myself of the various aspects and topics of the subject. I also want to use this course to get me back into studying, planning, projects and essays etc as I am quite out of practice.
I hope to develop and broaden my knowledge and understanding of art, its movements and artists. I would like to be able to understand and appreciate a piece of art in more depth and with more of an analytical approach. Currently I could describe an image or sculpture only in basic terms on a beginners level. I would like to be able to read more into a piece and to be confident in my explanation and understanding of it.
I hope that I can gain a greater understanding of the process an artist goes through and the methods used to create the final piece. To be able to understand why a piece has turned out in that particular way; what the influences and background to it is.
Another key reason for me taking this course is for career development and progression. I currently work in a non-art related job and it doesn’t give me the satisfaction or enjoyment that I hope an art-related career would do.
I have looked into, and applied for jobs in the art world but have found that they nearly all require a degree qualification and/or experience in an art subject. So this is my first step in achieving at least one of these requirements. Whilst I am not in a position to leave my current career, I hope that this course will give me the drive to change my situation and improve my long-term job prospects.
I have been thinking about making this step for some time but have always found reasons to put it off. Now I feel that if I do not start it now, I may always put it off and never achieve my goal.
This course hopefully will provide me with a general starting point to progress from. I would like to look into some of the other courses on offer after completing this one, but only in terms of being supplementary courses to my degree path.
Wednesday 6 January 2010
Receiving the pack and starting out
When my pack first arrived at work I was so excited and couldn't wait to get home and open it all up.
I tried to be logical and read through all the handbooks in order but I got side tracked by the textbook and coursework folder. When I did start looking through the units and projects, I suddenly felt daunted at the work that was needed.
I hadn't envisaged how much would be required for each unit. Just part of Unit 2 is to read Chapter 4 of the textbook which is over 100 pages long, and to make 'concise' notes on this and actually take it all in seemed a mission of it's own.
I had planned to set aside every Monday evening for studying but quickly realised that the OCA's guidelines of 1 unit per week wasn't going to be realistic for me. So far I'm working on approx 2-3 weeks for each unit, although Christmas didn't help!
The next thing to puzzle me was the notebooks, sketch books and learning logs. I couldn't get my head around the key role and purpose for each book, how to format them and what to put in them. The handbook seemed to overlap the purposes and didn't seem very clear. I think that the wealth of options and free-choice was actually too much for me. I know this course is very much self-led but I do like to be set off in the right direction to begin with.
To start with I just collected everything into a pile to see how much I accumulated and in what formats. I've finally decided to use them as follows:
Learning Log - online blog reporting on trips, reviews, general thoughts and reflections
A5 Notebook - for everyday notes, planning trips, research notes, film notes
A4 Sketchbook - annotations, general sketches, scrapbook for trip mementos, leaflets, photos, cuttings etc
I've then created a separate folder in my PC documents just for course work and typed up pieces.
The course folder had a summary of visits to do throughout the course. I've been super efficient and expanded this list into a summary of what's needed in terms of annotations, postcard collections, chapters to read and films to watch. Hopefully this will help me to plan ahead and be more time efficient.
Since doing the summary, and having worked out an idea of how long to allow for units, I have added dates that I would like to have the first few units and assignment done by (mid March) and even made a note of what parts of the unit to do each week. This nicely ties in to one of the requirements of Unit 1, planning ahead.
The final thing I wasn't sure about was the collecting of postcards. I'm happy to buy postcards but really struggled to find anywhere online to buy them from. A Google search and looking on museum/gallery websites only seemed to bring up packs of cards rather than individual ones, and I haven't yet found a website with an extensive collection. I did find a forum thread on the OCA website about this and someone suggested I don't take 'postcard' as a literal requirement. I could possibly use internet images and print them off in postcard size. I've started to collect these and save them as a word doc for each unit with a summary of which website I found them on and details of the image.
I do however, quite like the idea of actual postcards and as I'm hoping to make a trip to London in the next few weeks, I will take a list with me and see what I can find.
I tried to be logical and read through all the handbooks in order but I got side tracked by the textbook and coursework folder. When I did start looking through the units and projects, I suddenly felt daunted at the work that was needed.
I hadn't envisaged how much would be required for each unit. Just part of Unit 2 is to read Chapter 4 of the textbook which is over 100 pages long, and to make 'concise' notes on this and actually take it all in seemed a mission of it's own.
I had planned to set aside every Monday evening for studying but quickly realised that the OCA's guidelines of 1 unit per week wasn't going to be realistic for me. So far I'm working on approx 2-3 weeks for each unit, although Christmas didn't help!
The next thing to puzzle me was the notebooks, sketch books and learning logs. I couldn't get my head around the key role and purpose for each book, how to format them and what to put in them. The handbook seemed to overlap the purposes and didn't seem very clear. I think that the wealth of options and free-choice was actually too much for me. I know this course is very much self-led but I do like to be set off in the right direction to begin with.
To start with I just collected everything into a pile to see how much I accumulated and in what formats. I've finally decided to use them as follows:
Learning Log - online blog reporting on trips, reviews, general thoughts and reflections
A5 Notebook - for everyday notes, planning trips, research notes, film notes
A4 Sketchbook - annotations, general sketches, scrapbook for trip mementos, leaflets, photos, cuttings etc
I've then created a separate folder in my PC documents just for course work and typed up pieces.
The course folder had a summary of visits to do throughout the course. I've been super efficient and expanded this list into a summary of what's needed in terms of annotations, postcard collections, chapters to read and films to watch. Hopefully this will help me to plan ahead and be more time efficient.
Since doing the summary, and having worked out an idea of how long to allow for units, I have added dates that I would like to have the first few units and assignment done by (mid March) and even made a note of what parts of the unit to do each week. This nicely ties in to one of the requirements of Unit 1, planning ahead.
The final thing I wasn't sure about was the collecting of postcards. I'm happy to buy postcards but really struggled to find anywhere online to buy them from. A Google search and looking on museum/gallery websites only seemed to bring up packs of cards rather than individual ones, and I haven't yet found a website with an extensive collection. I did find a forum thread on the OCA website about this and someone suggested I don't take 'postcard' as a literal requirement. I could possibly use internet images and print them off in postcard size. I've started to collect these and save them as a word doc for each unit with a summary of which website I found them on and details of the image.
I do however, quite like the idea of actual postcards and as I'm hoping to make a trip to London in the next few weeks, I will take a list with me and see what I can find.
Starting my learning log
I have been doing this course for just over two months and have decided to start using a blog for my learning log.
So far I have been jotting notes into a normal notebook but most of it is barely legible, doesn't always make sense and isn't in any order. I struggle to read and understand it sometimes so I imagine the assessors would find it nigh on impossible!
So I think that typing up my scribbles into a nice, neat format with proper sentences will be far better and beneficial to me.
My first few posts will be typing up the notes I have made so far and then I will start writing new posts in keeping with the coursework I'm currently working on.
When I first read that the learning log could be done in the format of a blog I thought it would be the perfect way to log everything and keep a link with my tutor and fellow students. However, when I realised that the blog wasn't on the OCA website with the forums and portfolios, but on the open web, I was put off.
I had the idea that the blogs would only be visible for fellow students and OCA tutors and only they would be able to write comments on my posts. I was slightly perturbed at the thought of non-students commenting on my posts and possibly giving me advice without them having an OCA knowledge or background.
I've come to the conclusion however that my notes are far too messy to hand in without re-writing it all; this does seem to be the only logical way to keep a record of my progress. I'll continue to use my notebook for jotting down day-to-day thoughts and ideas and then type them into my posts if they are relevant.
Is there anywhere on the OCA website that lists the blogs of other students? I would like to see how other students are presenting their blogs and also to read about other students' experiences with completing their course.
So far I have been jotting notes into a normal notebook but most of it is barely legible, doesn't always make sense and isn't in any order. I struggle to read and understand it sometimes so I imagine the assessors would find it nigh on impossible!
So I think that typing up my scribbles into a nice, neat format with proper sentences will be far better and beneficial to me.
My first few posts will be typing up the notes I have made so far and then I will start writing new posts in keeping with the coursework I'm currently working on.
When I first read that the learning log could be done in the format of a blog I thought it would be the perfect way to log everything and keep a link with my tutor and fellow students. However, when I realised that the blog wasn't on the OCA website with the forums and portfolios, but on the open web, I was put off.
I had the idea that the blogs would only be visible for fellow students and OCA tutors and only they would be able to write comments on my posts. I was slightly perturbed at the thought of non-students commenting on my posts and possibly giving me advice without them having an OCA knowledge or background.
I've come to the conclusion however that my notes are far too messy to hand in without re-writing it all; this does seem to be the only logical way to keep a record of my progress. I'll continue to use my notebook for jotting down day-to-day thoughts and ideas and then type them into my posts if they are relevant.
Is there anywhere on the OCA website that lists the blogs of other students? I would like to see how other students are presenting their blogs and also to read about other students' experiences with completing their course.
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