Archive for January 6th, 2010
The Tree Tradition throughout Art
There is a unique relationship that humans share with trees—we have a codependence on earth, and throughout history trees have been used as a symbol for life and vitality. We are all familiar with the expression “the tree of life,” as well as literary analogies that have been drawn, such as “The Giving Tree” and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” The structure of the tree is even used as a metaphor for the family dynamic.
For hundreds of years artists have captured the aesthetic beauty and cultural significance of these pieces of foliage in their work. Not only do they appear in classic, realist landscapes, but there are also a myriad of abstract tree paintings that show them in a different light. Many fads come and go in art but trees have been—and probably will continue to be—a source of inspiration for artists.
Monet: Painter of Light (Part II)
In his later years, Monet captured the light by painting series of the same scene painted at different times of day. The landscape paintings of his haystack series is especially well known, and you can almost tell the time of day by the shadows in the painting.
Most of the Impressionists were not accepted into the juried Salon exhibits, so they held their own exhibits allowing everyone to enter. At the first one in 1874, among other works, Monet showed his painting, Impression: Sunrise. That name inspired one critic to condemn all the paintings as “impressionistic”, or unfinished. Although the name was intended as an insult, the artists liked it and it continues to this day.