Christopher Craddock Blog Entry #5

7/7/13

Christopher Craddock

ARH 2000: Art Appreciation: Appreciating the ARTS

Professor Dorotha Lemeh

Word count: 218

Blog Entry #5 on Chapter 6

Describing “ The Railway “ viewed in class (1873)

By: Edouard Manet

The painting by Manet know as The Railway was the last painting in which he used his favorite model the gorgeous Ms. Meurent. It took place near Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris. The way Manet places his models and the way he has Ms. Meurent facing the viewer and the little girl facing the opposite direction, looking into the distance beyond the fence, drags the viewers eye into the background where there seems to be the destruction of something that is smoking profusely. The discreet way how Manet has Ms. Meurent in full blue while exposing a little of the inner white and has the little girl in full white while wearing a blue bow creates a invisible line between the two and shows their differences. Even including the black Hat and the black headband show how the little girl could be a smaller version of Ms. Meurent and possibly be her when she was a little girl. In addition the puppy sleeping in the arms of Ms. Meurent portrays a feeling of peace and security that she brings and how love for something or someone can overcome the horrors of death and destruction. Manet loved to paint scenes and this scene shows life in Paris during the 1800s and its current activity of change of culture and beliefs.

Christopher Craddock Blog Entry #4

7/7/13

Christopher Craddock

ARH 2000: Art Appreciation: Appreciating the ARTS

Professor Dorotha Lemeh

Word count: 172

Blog Entry #4

Clay Demonstration

During class Ms. Raheleh gave an excellent lecture of the beauty and possibilities of clay and the different types of methods used when sculpting clay into a piece of artwork. For example the beauty of Rauk Technique and its colorful and differential patterns is one method of clay making. Even the way it is made through alumina, silica, and chemically bonded water. When I was immersed into my piece of clay I realized he durability yet flexibility of the clay and how I could shape and form it into practically any shape I wanted.

The way Ms. Raheleh shaped they clay into an almost perfect bowl proves the technique and time required to make a piece of artwork from clay. The patience, the practice, and the imagination need when creating a piece of artwork is so important that it requires years of studies.

The way clay can be heated so extensively and become harden to the point of a stone the can be used as plates for eating to utilities for protection.

Christopher Craddock Blog Entry #3

7/7/13

Christopher Craddock

ARH 2000: Art Appreciation: Appreciating the ARTS

Professor Dorotha Lemeh

Word count: 227

Blog Entry #3

Describing “ Luncheon on the Grass“ viewed in class (1863)

By: Edouard Manet

                  This painting by Manet portrays within itself several feelings that come alive when we look at it. From the soft yet dark colors used in the painting for the background create this scene where two men and a women sit and have a picnic. The way Manet has left the women naked and facing the viewer pulls your eye towards her eyes and explains how she may feel exposed. The direction of the eyes in which the men are looking towards, for example the man who’s hand is raised pointing towards the women yet his eyes looking at the man and the man in the back almost facing in a direction not towards the viewer or at the other man himself yet looking into the distance as if there is something in the forest Manet has chosen no to reveal. This creates a triangle between the faces of the three. Even the women in the background who is clothed and how she seems to be reaching towards the ground portrays a feeling that she is sad, or has a feeling of remorse.

I can interpret this painting, describe it, and evaluate it to my point of view yet as a critic of this painting I am not the artist who cannot be spoken for, leaving my interpretation of this painting possibly incorrect yet still a valid explanation.

Christopher Craddock Blog Entry #2

7/6/13

Christopher Craddock

ARH 2000: Art Appreciation: Appreciating the ARTS

Professor Dorotha Lemeh

Word count: 240

Blog Entry #2

A discussion of the painting “Sunrise” viewed in “The Impressionist” (1873)

By: Claude Monet

In The Immersionist the painting known as “Sunrise” painted my Monet who loved to paint scenic views of nature and the beauty of it, there is an amazing combinations of all the different tones and shades of blue and orange portraying the way the sun rises in the depth of the ocean. The way he painted this painting dividing the painting into sections, with the top left, the top right, and the middle center and the sections of the painting the eye likes to rest upon. This creates this triangle between the sections bringing the painting together so perfectly that the ability to illustrate the sun rising into a painting clearly proves his expertise as an artist. The way he decided not to focus on the background including the boots and the waves of the ocean helps exemplify the brightness and strength of the deep orange in the sun as it rises from the oceans end. Even the way the reflection of the suns rays span across the ocean drag the eye across the oceans surface creating this perfect differential section of the painting which creates the main focus and beauty of the painting. Finally the smoke coming from the boots in the background and the way they are arranged in such a specific way helps explain the time era in which the painting was painted in Paris and the way steam was used for boots to travel and fish.