Google brings Masterpieces online – the google art project

The insatiable, and mostly inspiring, efforts of never-evil Google to contain all the world on a 14-inch screen took another giant leap forward with the unveiling of the Google Art Project. Working with 17 of the world’s leading galleries and museums – from MoMA in New York to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, from the Hermitage in St Petersburg to London’s National Gallery and Tate – the project takes the corporation’s street-view technology behind closed doors. It allows you not only to wander, at the touch of a mouse, the corridors and halls that contain many of the greatest masterpieces ever made, but also to view some of those paintings in finer detail than if you were standing in front of them.

The sharp focus is made possible by 14bn pixel photography that brings the most delicate brush strokes into microscopic relief. So far, this headline-grabbing technology is restricted to one painting per gallery – Holbein’s The Ambassadors is the National’s mesmerising example, Van Gogh’s Starry Night is MoMA’s – but it seems inevitable that it will eventually illuminate far more of the collections.

The almost magical potential resource raises many questions, not the least of which is whether viewing online will ever be a substitute for the real thing. (Along with the not-insignificant supplementaries: if it is, what effect will this have on gallery attendance and on our idea of art?)

After spending a few hours on the site (yet another new way of digressing on a screen), the answer to the first part feels like a qualified no. Looking at a painting on screen, however vivid the detail, is wholly different in kind from standing in front of it. Though there is genuine wonder in the backlit clarity of the images – in Bellini’s St Francis in the Desert from the Frick Collection in New York, for example, you can make out the artist’s fingerprints in the surface of the paint – as with any reproduction, what is lost is a sense of the painting as a physical object, as a little framed force field.

Mostly absent too, therefore, is that uncanny sense of communion that great paintings sometimes provide, the feeling that you are in the human presence of something that can talk to you directly across time and space; one element of that latter feeling undoubtedly derives from the sense of effort that brought you in front of the painting in the first place (the closest many of us get to pilgrimage).

You look at the on-screen pictures, as a result, with a somewhat more academic than emotional eye. It’s not a reductive experience (how could this extraordinary level of free access to some of the world’s most enduring images ever be that?), but neither is it the same thing, quite.

Despite this reservation, Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate, was probably right when he claimed the Google project as “the first global art collection” and one which gives us the clearest sense yet of “the digital future for museums”.

There was also, from Serota, inevitable talk of the website bringing “communities of like-minded visitors together to connect in ways that aren’t always possible in the gallery”, which I suppose means that visitors to the site will be able to share responses to particular paintings in a way they might feel reluctant to do while standing next to a stranger in front of a Botticelli.

The gallery directors involved in the project are of course confident that the online versions of their collections will extend curiosity rather than satisfying it; that the art project will act as an advertisement for those who can get to the galleries.

One can only assume that the museums not involved – the Louvre in Paris and the Prado in Madrid, for example – are less sure of that equation. As always, with the digitisation of culture, the answer will not be long in coming.

Source: The Guardian

The Google Art Project

Wake up in an artwork

ART HOTELS

Being a passionate art collector, art lover and art museum visitor, I always wanted to compile this list.

Imagine waking up amidst masterpieces of well known contemporary and modern artists….

There are many art hotels around the world, but these selected hotels have  used their rooms as canvases or gallery spaces. Every room in the following hotels is differently decorated with an artistic theme by famous aritsts. Its almost like sleeping in an artwork!!!!

Fox Hotel   – Copenhagen, Denmark

 

 Every room is a piece of art, with murals, paintings on the wall and matching accessories and furniture. The rooms are decorated by contemporary artists from around the world. There are 61 rooms, 21 artists, 1,000 ideas. The rooms are covered with everything from Manga, pop art, cartoons, graffiti, video game characters etc. Some of the known artists are German artist Boris Hoppek, Italian designer Simon Legno. The hotel is actually owned by the German car maker Volkswagen and was set up in 2005

 

Altier Sul Mare  – Castel de Tusa, Sicily

 

 

 

 

 Atelier Sul Mare is a ‘hotel-museum’ with rooms designed by many talented artists specialized in contemporary art. The idea behind the project is to create a surreal world where the client dreams inside a museum and falls asleep in an artwork. Located along the coast, there is a wonderful view of the sea from the rooms. The unique element in this hotel is that you need to keep changing rooms every day, so as to provide variety to the guests and enable everybody to experience as many rooms as possible. 20 of the 40 rooms were realized by important international names such as Danielle Mitterand, Hidetoshi Nagasawa, Luigi Mainolfi, Umberto Leone & Ute Pyka. 

 

Hotel du Petit Moulin - Paris, France

 

 

 

 

 

This 17th century building, the site of an ancient bakery, has been completely renovated. French designer Christian Lacroix has transformed the interior of this former bakery. The 17 rooms represent 17 ways to discover the area Le Marais, from rustic history to zen spaces.“Each of the 17 rooms corresponds to a way of approaching this area of Paris where you don’t go downstairs by chance but rather because you are drawn by the History and the spirit of the times.” Christian Lacroix. The facade, dating back to 1900, as well as the shop sign, both of which are registered as historic monuments, have been preserved.

 

Gramercy Park Hotel - New York, United States of America

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bold, individualistic spirit of the public spaces at the Gramercy Park Hotel is carried on into the 185 guest rooms and luxury suites here in Manhattan. They are generously scaled and beautifully appointed. Each is different with its own unique layout, vivid Renaissance color palette inspired by Raphael and distinctive collection of art and objects. The Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan opened its door in 1925.

 

Le Sutra – Mumbai, India

 

A non-descript old hotel in the streets of mumbai was refurbished and redesigned by several artists, designers, curators, philosophers and visualizers to create India’s first art hotel. Taking from a palette of philosophy, myth, art form, and historic pride, it turned out to be quite a journey as we delved across time in our search of the illusive Indian-ness.

Well start the journey of experiencing them…… Sweet dreams…

No.5, 1948 – Jackson Pollock – world’s most expensive painting

No.5, 1948, painted by Jackson Pollock, is currently the world’s most expensive painting ever sold. It was priced at $140 million in 2006, when it changed hands from one collector to another. Here’s my attempt at explaining what the buyer could have seen in Jackson Pollock’s painting that could justify the price tag.

Art Collectors and investors are always on the look out for gaining exclusive collector’s items, which could increase their prestige and also serve as an excellent investment medium. In the art field that means, an artwork that has made a significant impact on the history of art or an artwork created by a very influential artist. It is even better if the artist brought about a paradigm shift that changed the conventions of the time. Eg: da Vinci with Mona Lisa, Picasso with Cubism, Lichtenstein with Pop-Art.

Such works automatically assume an august stature which attracts art collectors and investors. There is also the economics of art that plays a role, the rarer the painting the better the investment. No.5, 1948 has all this going for it.

Pollock’s radical techniques and methods made sure that his drip series were (still is) talk of the art community nationally and internationally, with several show conducted in leading the US and Europe. The drip series established Pollock as a leading figure of new American painting. Pollock was an iconoclast and a rebel, which got him a reputation that made him infamous. This in turn was great publicity for his drip series. Pollock with his unconventional methods influenced many artists to abandon conventions of fine art and encourages more creativity and boundary-less expression. Pollock created art history with his new kind of paintings.

There’s also a mathematical theory that explains the popularity of  Pollock’s drip series. Mathematicians and Scientists believe that Pollok’s drip series contains a mathematical, yet natural, concept called a fractal. It is a rough, geometric object that can be subdivided into parts, each of which looks like a reduced-size copy of the whole. In a fractal pattern, each smaller configuration is a miniature, though not necessarily identical, version of the larger pattern. Mathematicians believe this phenomenon is what attracts people to Pollock’s drip series. The fractal pattern they claim is subconsciously pleasing to the eyes.

Now here is my speculation, in addition to the above qualities, the painting was also supported by economics. All of Pollock’s paintings in the drip series (this is Pollock’s trademark) are safeguarded in museums except the No.5, 1948. The paintings hanging in museums rarely get sold which in turn creates a lack of supply in the market that the only one that can be a potential asset is priced exorbitantly. Pieces like this will not only be a good investment but also a status symbol worth exhibiting.

Sources:

http://www.learn.columbia.edu/pollock/html/preface.html

http://www.jackson-pollock.com/jackson-pollock-drip.html (about Fractals)

List of the World’s most expensive paintings

Triva - world's most expensive paintings



3 paintings are works of Picasso
 


2 paintings have the same model - painted by Klimt
 
 


1 painting has a double of it, differentiated mainly by the colour, painted by van Gogh
 
 


the latest of the lot was sold this year in May 2010, for $106.5 million 
 
 


1 painting is actually not a painting at all - its screen printing by Warhol 
 
 


3 paintings have the artists' mistress as models 
 
 


50% of the top 10 paintings were sold in 2006 
 
 

Le Sutra – an art hotel explored

For mind, body and soul

AMINAH KHAN

Explore Indian art and philosophy amid material comforts at Le Sutra: the Indian art hotel in Mumbai.

 

An oasis of calm: Embark on a spiritual journey through India at Le Sutra

As you drift through the mystical world of Indian art and philosophy set amid the tranquil earthy mysticism and eroticism of Le Sutra, you’ll be transported to a time and place far away.

It’s an oasis of calm in stark contrast to the vibrant suburban west side of Mumbai with a bright orange mural on its outer wall that’s really hard to miss. The wall was painted and signed by Baz Luhrmann, the award winning director of “Romeo and Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge”, and the Australian artist Vincent Fantauzzo known for his portrait of the late Heath Ledger and Baz Luhrmann himself.

Once inside, it’s easy to forget that you’re in a city, surrounded by the pandemonium of fast cars, busy people, typical Mumbai chatter and a shopping district that lures residents to indulge in retail therapy.

Ascend the chakras

 

 

At Le Sutra, you’ll be drawn away from the mundane and material as you float in a sort of semi trance on a journey that begins in the lobby and continues as you ride up the elevator, ascending up the 7 ‘ chakras’ (the spiritual body’s energy centres located along the spine) to the pinnacle of peace. Everything here seems surreal, but that’s what makes the experience so unique.

Sutra in Sanskrit means ‘a thread that binds things together’ and Le Sutra is a place where art and philosophy are woven into a tapestry of Indianness framed for the wall of hospitality. A mind-body-soul communion in a place where art form, energy and inspiration are crafted into contemporary artwork that speaks of Indian mysticism is what Le Sutra is all about. Under an hour’s drive from Mumbai’s international airport and conveniently close to West Bandra’s colourful shopping area with plenty of posh pubs and restaurants the hotel is ideally located for the discerning traveller.

This 16-room boutique hotel will take you on a spiritual journey through India with the luxuries of personalised service and hotel amenities, features and facilities that make your stay in Mumbai both interesting and comfortable.

“With a tour of Le Sutra you can actually complete a spiritual or mystic learning of India, which is far more exciting than in an ashram; not that I’m competing with ashrams,” says Mr. Bajaj, the company’s director.

 

There’s something intriguing about climbing down the curving stairways and walking through the corridors with antique jaalilamps over head casting lacy shadows around you. There’s an aura waltzing through every chamber, every hallway here that takes you journeying back in time through Indian mythology.

The reception, where you start your journey through the pages of Indian philosophy, is a rendition of Kundalini, the coiled cosmic energy lying dormant at the base of the spine. This is the energy needed to ascend through the three gunas or levels of consciousness: Taamsic, ‘Raajsic’ and ‘Saatvic’, up the seven chakras (the energy centres on the vertical axis of the spiritual body) that appear in succession as you ride up in the lift to the top floor. The three gunas are the themes on which the art and design of the hotel are based with a floor devoted to each idea.

Each room is a contemporary personification of Ravana, Ashoka or Buddha or an embodiment of sensuality, love or purification and each offers a new experience and whispers a different secret. There’s Dyutta, the gambling room; the Kathak room that depicts the classical Indian dance form and 14 more uniquely decorated chambers here.

Art everywhere

 

 

Le Sutra is a hotel that is art with every detail in the room from the chair to the headboard coming together to tell an intriguing tale of India with an in-room interactive TV that lets you explore the subject in greater depth once your curiosity has been roused.“It appeals to you aesthetically, it tickles your mind and hopefully it’ll inspire your soul. I’m not saying this as a sales pitch but I would like you to experience it for yourself,” says Bajaj.

At Le Sutra you can immerse yourself in a world of art, without going to a museum and take a spiritual journey within yourself in air-conditioned comfort with the luxurious essentials of fresh linen, vivid colours and incense. You won’t find a pool or a spa here but you will find peace of mind and artistic soul food, some instantly visible and some a surprise that you stumble upon but every detail is a flicker that lights the way to spiritual awakening.

“I want to get your body and I know I’ll get your mind, but can I dig deeper than that? Can I go to that part of you which even you don’t know? Maybe your subconscious or your unconscious mind. Can I appeal to that, to those deeper sensibilities, or your spiritual being? Can I tickle that part of you and, if I can, do I have any competition in the world?” says Bajaj.

Times of India, 27 June 2010

http://www.lesutra.in

Essay on soceital progress and its influence on Art

Courtesy Monsoon Canvas 

It is interesting to observe how societal progress or change has affected artists and art through the ages.

The industrial revolution in the mid 19^th century was responsible for many innovations and inventions that influenced painting. One of the main influences was the improvement of quality and variety of paint itself.

Artists were previously restricted to painting in earthy colours, using minerals that were naturally available. However the advances in chemical pigments bought with it the ability to create varied colours and shades that were previously impossible. The new colors like cobalt blue, emerald green broadened the artist’s venue of expression.

Machinery also made it possible to grind minerals faster and in larger quantities, making life more convenient for the artists. Traditionally the artist had to grind the paint himself and then mix it with linseed oil. Paint making was part of every artist’s training. The commercialized version of paint used poppy oil as a binding agent which gave the painting a more textured look.

One of the biggest changes resulted from the invention of collapsible tin tube in 1840. This enabled the artists to move out of their studios and paint outdoors. The artist was able to recreate nature, without depending on vague impressions from his memory. The Impressionists took great advantage of this by introducing bright colors of the spectrum into their paintings and also depicting the effects of changing natural light. The impressionists like Manet, Monet started and ended their paintings outdoors, which was contrary to the then norm.

   

Claude Monet, 1872, Impression, soleil levant,Musee Marmottan

Industrial development also indirectly contributed to the increase in creativity of the artists, as his patronage from nobility and the Church dwindled. The artist now had the freedom to experiment and move away from the restrictions of commission work. Thus the birth of the various ‘isms’: fauvism, cubism, impressionism etc.

Over the years the building architectural style and purpose changed from grandeur to more practical structures that could house assembly lines and the working class. These vertical structures changed the way man understood shapes and also influenced the artists.  Sculptors were equally influenced by the architecture and also the new materials that were used at the time like metal, new technology like welding and new forms and shapes.

With the advent of photography, mass media (print and television), motion pictures, the artist’s perception of image, time and space changed. The new mediums of capturing still and moving images compelled artists to use innovative techniques to attract an audience towards the fine-arts. There was no point in competing with technology, so they chose to innovate. This fact combined with increasing psychological awareness, helped artists to gradually move away from reproducing actual images to depicting a more abstract sense of the reality they experienced. Artists also started thinking in terms of mass and movement rather than a static likeness.

Pop-Artists in the 50s and 60s were inspired by the consumerism in society. Inspiration and themes were derived from everyday objects of commercialization like the new neon signs, television and hoarding advertisements. Andy Warhol’s “100 Campbell’s soup cans” is one of the best examples of this trend. Roy Lichtenstein another Pop artist preferred to create art works based on comic strip imagery subtlety mocking its influence on the American culture.

100 Campbells’ Soup Cans, 1962 By Andy Warhol

The later part of the 20^th century saw artists racing to be unique and original and not merely novel. Major developments like moon landing, science fiction, women’s lib movement, etc played an important role in expanding people’s imagination and outlook. Since the public’s imagination was way beyond what it was years ago, the artist was forced to work harder to create a novel experience for the public. All these influences had a huge impact on the themes artists worked on.

With the advent of computer and electronic imagery, a new genre of art called electronic art, came into being, examples being new media art, interactive art, video art etc. Computers have enabled artists to create images and art works with lesser effort but with unimaginable levels of creativity. With the help of computers, graphic software and the internet, it has become possible to experiment with art more rapidly and imaginatively. The rule of this genre of art dictates novelty, innovation and extreme imagination.

There are surely many more influences that could be mentioned and in future, there is sure to be a lot more influences that determine trends, style and the course of art. But one thing is for sure, artists will never stop imbibing form the environment around them.

The Nude and Art

 

Grace, by Sunitha Anand Rao, courtesy Monsoon Canvas  

  

What does nudity in art signify? Does it always allude to a sensual motive or do artists intend to convey something more? This article tries to delve into other principle reasons for the Nude in paintings.   

To understand the significance of nudity in art, we need to travel back in time when sculptures were the most prominent art form. Sculptures were created to depict various important aspects of social life, especially religion and government. These sculptures formed an integral part of society and adorned temples, court houses, palaces, gardens and other public places of importance. Sculptors therefore needed to have high levels of skill and imagination to make the sculptures seem more life-like. Sculptors experimented with the pose, the symmetry, placement and angle of body parts and various other details to bring out a perfect life statue. This meant the viewer needed to perceive emotions from the sculpture, leading artists to use more than just facial expressions to convey emotions. Sculptors began to use the whole expanse of the body for this purpose, which also meant they could not dress up their subjects, as clothing cannot convey the person’s emotions, but portray them nude. 

Nudity and emotions 

 

The bare body gave the artist more room to express emotions like tension, anger, power, desperation and also allowed the expression of movement. The taunt muscles, bulging veins, contorted torso, sinewy legs, ribbed stomach gave the sculptures a sense of movement. The exaggerations also displayed the mental state of the character portrayed. One of the most famous sculptures is the one depicting a Greek mythological character, Laocoon and his sons called the Laocoon Group. Here the sculptor uses the bare body to show the struggle of the father and the sons with a serpent. The sculptor uses the bare bodies to display the struggle, agony, fear and anger.     Sculptures like Laocoon inspired Renaissance painters like Michelangelo to use the same technique of the nude body, in his paintings, to inspire the viewer with the stories from religion and mythology. Eventually paintings borrowed the ‘nude technique ‘of sculptors to give life and emotion to a scene or story.  Soon the study of the nude (male nudes initially) became an indispensable part of an artist’s training. Art students not only studied nude male models but also classical sculptures which show them how an ideal nude body could be represented. It’s well known, that Da Vinci in his effort to perfect the human muscular and skeletal system dissected and studied cadavers.      

 Nudity and artistic skill    

 Mastering painting of the human body is seen as the truest artistic skill and the vehicle for a wide range of expression. Unlike painting a clothed figure, a nude image required perfect mastery of painting the skin tone, a good knowledge of the skeletal and muscle structure, proportionate alignment of various parts of the body along with alignment of the body to the surroundings and other characters.     

 An interesting quote by an American artist Jacob Collins* sums up the complexity of painting nudes; “I wanted to pour all of my energy into the greatest challenge a painter can face. There is nothing more difficult to paint. To paint a figure clearly and simply, with beauty and strength, to paint the humanity inside the person through their outer body is the hardest and greatest goal. To paint with the skills of past masters while still feeling fresh, to paint anatomical forms that feel alive, to paint a head that feels like it is full of thoughts, is to jump into the world of the great figure painters of times past.”    

 Nudity and virtues  

 It was also common to use nudity when portraying God and Goddess from mythology to bring out the virtues of valor, bravery, courage in case of male nudes and the qualities of beauty, coyness and fertility in case of female nudes. Artists at times, used these depictions to evoke a sense of divinity and innocence in the viewers mind. Although, after the rise of Christianity in the west, nudity primarily depicted shame and humiliation; this was thankfully eliminated by the revival of the renaissance. The Rocco and Baroque periods brought with it nudes that portrayed frivolous or playful eroticism. Rubens’ voluptuous female nudes were sensual and carefree. Paintings of Degas, Manet and the others also depicted this theme. The nude females in these painting provided the scenary with a flippant mood, like a group bathing scene, or enjoying a picnic. It signified the joie de vivre attitude of whole setting.   

 There could be other reasons for depicting nudity in art, than the ones mentioned above; one of the most common reasons is the shock value. Shock value acts as a medium to convey an important message or to increase the artist’s publicity. 

 The above explanation will hopefully help in understanding Nudes and the intentions behind them.  Send me your comments; if you feel there are other aspects to nudity in art, I would be glad to include them as an annex to this article. 

 

 

*Jacob Collins paintings   

    

    

   

   

   

   

 

The Mona Lisa – what’s the big deal?

 

A desultory conversation with my cousin, led us to the subject of art. He said, “What’s the big deal in the Mona Lisa? Why would anyone pay tons of money for it?” Well, I did manage to give him a prosaic answer, which didn’t convince me either.

I must admit that the actual painting, at first look, is quite unimpressive; not because of the quality of the work but because it does not stand up to its perceived image of magnificence. The “Oh my God!” effect is missing. At first glance, it looks like all the other paintings in the Louvre, all wonderfully painted by great masters.

So what’s the reason behind Mona Lisa’s fame? What makes it so special compared to the other famous works? Why were 1.6 million people thronging to see it when it was displayed in New York? Why was every viewer only provided 10 seconds to view it in Tokyo?

Here’s my endeavor to explain it in simple terms… the reasons:

The technique

Leonardo Da Vinci used a number of unique and innovative techniques to paint this picture. The painting redefined the rules of contemporary art at the time and the techniques used by him became an integral part of the art school curriculum. Da Vinci used techniques which were unknown at the time (16th century). He invented the “sfumato” technique which translated means ‘without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke’. It was the norm at the time for artists to proceed from an outline, whereas Da Vinci did not have an outline but used different tones / shades of paint to create an illusion of  light and shadow. Starting with dark undertones he built the illusion of three-dimensional features through layers and layers of thin semi-transparent glazes. He used darker shades to highlight features and borders of the subject. The use of this technique caught the interest of the art circle in Paris and was hailed as an innovation in painting.

There were many other unique characteristics in the Mona Lisa that intrigued the art community and the viewers like the landscapes (mountains and rivers) in the background. A potrait was usually drawn with the background being the open sky, a montone background or a room. The background was also queer due to the dimensions of the mountains.

However, the above uniqueness of the painting can only be recognized by people in the know or by people who have studied the painting; this still doesn’t explain why everybody in the world wants to see it.

The smile

One of the commonly cited reasons for her fame is the ‘Mona Lisa’s Smile’. Da Vinci exploited human optimcal illusion to create a unique smile through perspective and by using shadow work. Da Vinci painted Mona Lisa in such a way that the eyes are the center of the viewer’s attention and the mouth is the periphery. His sfumato technique ensured that both the eyes and the mouth were prominent features. When the viewer looks at the eyes, the mouth falls under the viewer’s peripheral vision and therefore the features of the mouth are not clear, this along with a little shading at the cheek bones make the mouth look like a smile. But once the viewer focuses on the mouth (smile), the smile slowly disappers, as it was not meant to be a smile. That’s the magic of Leonardo’s skill and that’s what made the Mona Lisa unique compared to other grand paintings. There are various interpretations of the smile, some say it is a happy smile, some find it deceptive while others perceive it as a sad smile. The mysterious smile has also given rise to various speculations on who the subject was. The facial expression gives the painting an enigmatic look, leaving the viewer to wonder what the model was thinking, who she actually was and why does she seems happy to some and appear sad to others.

The glamour

Da Vinci’s was said to be an interesting character himself, being an inventor, artist and scientist. In his hey days and under the patronage of Francois I he managed to create an aura of a celebrity around himself. His fame rubbed off on the Mona Lisa which was also favoured by Francois I his patron. One must know that, there are only 20 finished canvas paintings done by Da Vinci during his lifetime, increasing Mona Lisa’s rarity.

The fact that it was stolen in the early years of the 20th century added to its fame. Artists like Ducham, Dali and Warhol publicized the painting further through their different reproductions. The painting has been used as an object for mass reproduction, merchandising, lampooning and speculation, and was reproduced in 300 paintings and 2,000 advertisements.

The Provenance

Da Vinci started painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 and he worked on it for four years. The subject of the paintings is popularly believed to be the wife of a wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The painting was commissioned for their new home and to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea. The subject is Lisa del Gioncondo. In those days, in Italy, Mona meant Madonna, this was how all women were addressed (like Mrs.) and therefore the name Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa is also called La Jaconde. There are other controversial versions as to who the subject of the painting is.

The Mona Lisa was always displayed in a place of importance. It was publicly displayed in the Fontainebleau, Francois I favourite château in 1519. In 1800, the Mona Lisa was hung in Napolean’s bedroom and in 4 years it was moved to the Louvre, which is still its home.

Other controversies

There are rumours of hidden secrets and symbols within the painting.

Academicians have found evidence of various (hidden) layers of paintings within the Mona Lisa. Scholars are said to have, identified at least four different paintings as the Mona Lisa and several people as its subject.

Da Vinci is supposed to have painted Mona Lisa in his own likeness, as a female Da Vinci

Conclusion

The Mona Lisa is undoubtedly the most talked about painting. The above history of the painting explains most of it, but what keeps the painting in the lime light is the fact that Da Vinci’s life itself was full of controversies and mysteries which are still being revealed. The Mona Lisa too is being constantly studied by artists and academicians to discover the apparent mystery that shrouds the painting. Its reputation as a carrier of symbols, secrets and other unknown mysteries will keep the infamy of the Mona Lisa going for a long time.

Well I hope the above sheds some light on “what the big deal is about the Mona Lisa”

Sideline issues – Value of the painting

Before the 1962–3 tour, the painting was assessed, for insurance purposes, as valued at $100 million. As an expensive painting, it has only recently been surpassed, in terms of actual dollar price, by three other paintings: the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt, which was sold for $135 million, the Woman III by Willem de Kooning sold for $138 million in November 2006, and No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock sold for a record $140 million on in November 2006. Although these figures are greater than the 1962 figure which the Mona Lisa was valued at, the comparison does not account for the change in prices due to inflation – $100 million in 1962 is approximately $700 million in 2009 when adjusted for inflation using the US Consumer Price Index.

 
Further reading on the Mona Lisa (reference sources for the article)
http://www.vaisseaudevinci.com/joconde_en.html
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-mystery-behind-the-mona-lisa.htm
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203658504574191611028589426.html
www.monalisarevealed.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa

Mona Lisa impressions by famous artists

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appreciating abstract art

Composition VII, Kandinsky (1913) - Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

On one of my regular gallery visits, I noticed a man staring at a painting and tilting his head from side to side to make sure he was seeing the painting the right way. He then looked at me, smirked, shrugged and moved on to the next piece, as if wishing me luck understanding the painting. 

I admit comprehending abstract art does pose some difficulties to the viewer in appreciating it. The main lament on abstracts is that there is no discernable subject and therefore fails to communicate with the viewer. But this does not mean that abstract art is meaningless doodle, it’s just that one has to move away from the conventional idea of a painting – an image of something or somebody; an imitation of the real world. Understanding the idea behind abstract artworks helps one appreciate a painting for what it actually is – colour, surface, shapes and emotions on canvas.

Everyone can learn to appreciate abstract art if one knows the general objective of abstract art. Let’s start with defining abstract art: Abstract paintings primarily emphasize lines, colours, forms and surfaces in relationship to one another. This means, abstract artists believe that one does not need a definite conventional subject to create art but the colours, lines, geometrical shapes are in themselves the subject.

The general opinion that, there is more to abstract art than meets the eye is true from the perspective of an artist. Every artist’s work is influenced by his immediate surroundings, his experiences and his emotions. The complexity for the artist comes from the fact that he needs to reflect this situation onto the canvas effectively so that the final artwork stirs emotions in the viewer.

On the other hand the viewer is not expected to understand the artist’s intentions. This is practically impossible, unless one talks to the artist (which by the way is true for all kinds of art). The viewer fundamentally needs to stop trying to figure out ‘What’ it is and concentrate on ‘How’ it makes you feel. It is however critical is to switch off the right brain (logic thinking) and let the mind wander; you will see the painting talking to you. It may take sometime but keep staring.

The first abstract art was created by the modern Russian artist, Kandinsky in 1910. The creation of abstract art was accidental. The story goes that Kandinsky returned to his studio one evening and in the twilight he saw his unfinished painting propped up on an easel. From the angle he was standing at, combined with the twilight; he saw an arrangement of bright colour patches, which he thought was extremely beautiful. This realization that colours can bring out emotions irrespective of content was the beginning of Abstract Art.

This was a radical turn of events in Art History. Till then colour was just a medium to portray a subject but with the invention of Abstract art, artists began to use ‘colour’ as the ‘subject’ itself. Theo van Doesburg said ‘his art has no significance other than itself’ and stated that “nothing is more real than a line, a colour, a surface.”

To sum up, do not try to find figurative objects or meanings in abstract art. There maybe none, as the subject is the ‘colourful paint, the crooked line or the triangular shape’ arranged aesthetically to provide viewing pleasure.

Here’s an example of Abstract Art:

RB Murari, 2009, Monsoon Canvas Gallery

The painting is nothing but the glorious and harmonious intermingling of yellow, green and red. The red, yellow and green are the protagonists on a stage of somber brown. The artist has also introduced a measure of rivalry among the colours, at certain parts of the painting the yellow is dominant and at others the red. The layers of paint also bring out the tussle between the colours. This is a good example of how “the colour” is the main and only subject of the painting.