The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt

Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp by Rembrandt

In 1632, Rembrandt created The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. In this creation, Rembrandt captured Dr. Tulp in the middle of explaining to fellow Dr.s and patrons the musculature of the arm.

Some say this may be the first time Rembrandt ever signed a painting with his surname, which can be seen in the upper left hand corner. His signature had previously just been RHL (Rembrandt Harmenszoon of Leiden).

It is interesting to note that the official City Anatomist of the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons permitted only one public dissection a year. This body had to be the body of an executed criminal. So, experts have thus dated this event to be January 16, 1632, a day designated for this to be undertaken. With this information, historians are also able to identify the corpse to that of the criminal Aris Kindt (aka. Adriaan Adriaanszoon), a man convicted of armed robbery, sentenced to death by hanging.

It’s fascinating to know some little facts about this painting, and the authenticity of the scene. For instance, typically a Preparator would be involved in the dissection, who would prepare the cadaver for the dissection. This person is not present in the painting. Also, because Dr. Tulp was the Official City Anatomist, he wouldn’t be involved in menial – and bloody – tasks like dissection. This is indicated by the fact that there are no cutting instruments shown in the image, and also by the presence of the giant medical book in the lower right of the painting.

Rembrant himself is a very interesting man. He rose from very humble beginnings to surpass most others in portraiture painting, only to renounce fame in order to liberate himself from moneygrubbing. He was a sorrow filled man, especially in his later years. Three of his children died in infancy, and his wife wasted away while Dutch musketeers were haggling over The Night Watch, another of Rembrants works. He spent the last years of his life bankrupt in the Amsterdam ghetto, tended by his loyal housekeeper. But, historians say he died full of peace, knowing that he was his own man.

Rembrandt was a master of light and dark. The luminosity of his images were like no other before, and like very few since. Truly a master. I love the rosy red tinge to the faces of all those present, which might be accounted to it being mid January. I find it interesting the clothing of all of those present. What I like to illuminate is what’s not illuminated in the painting, the background. It shows us how much Rembrandt focused on shading, which also amplified the magnificence of the subjects.

The painting is located in Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp by Rembrandt

Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp by Rembrandt

 

Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Brueghel the Elder

Pieter Brueghel the Elder ( 1525? – 1569 ) was a Flemish painter fascinated with the idea of making peasant life into artistic scenes of poetry and drama. He thrived on intimate peasant habits, industrial conflicts, and spiritual practices of the time.

When Brueghel was a young man, he traveled over the Alps to Italy to learn from the Italian masters. However, what he did learn was that he was a Northerner through and through, and didn’t take much from the leads of the Italian masters. However, what he did fall in love with was the landscapes of the Italians. Brueghel effectively snubbed the Italian art that was beginning to so enthuse the other Flemish artists in the North. This mentality of Brueghel was aligned with the elder Flemish artists who had for so long fought to create a unique style.

Pieter Brueghel reportedly had an ironic sense of humor, which translated into his landscapes.  The natural backgrounds with such vastness and insight into life are truly breathtaking. Hunters in the Snow takes the viewers eye naturally through the landscape, to observe every nuance of the painting. I personally always start in the foreground, in the front left and sweep my way right and back. Those cliffs are what legends are made of, the distant port in the background, and the frozen canals and creeks that sweep through the landscape provide for my imagination boundless dreams that I would love to walk along and explore.

The thing I am most curious about though, is did they really have skates back then?

This painting was part of a series of landscape paintings started by Brueghel, of which only 5 were finally completed before his death. They all were themed around peasant going about chores and other daily activities. It was done with oil on a wooden panel. Apparently, there are firemen putting out a chimney fire in the background somewhere, which I cannot see..

The painting now resides with a collection in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, located in Vienna, Austria. This painting is an example of the Northern Renaissance movement.

Pieter Brueghel the Elder - Hunters in the Snow - 1565

Pieter Brueghel the Elder – Hunters in the Snow – 1565

 

Takahashi Yuichi

Born into a samurai family, Takahashi Yuichi (1828-1894) is a descendent of the Hotta Clan. Historical Japanese customs promote calligraphy and painting as indications of class and learning, so when Takahashi became interested in art at an early age, he was sent to the notorious Kanō school to study.

Among Takahashi’s accomplishments are attending the Paris World Exhibition of 1867 and portrait of the Emperor Meiji. He taught at the newly established Kobubijutsu Gakkō (the Technical Fine Arts School), and is considered one of the first painters to adopt oil paints in Japan.

His work exhibits some of the raw simplicity emphasized by the Zen Buddhism philosophy. I enjoy the confident bold strokes, slightly messy (dare I say) lines, and astoundingly plain yet diverse backgrounds.

Still Life – Takahashi Yuichi

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José Parlá

José Parlá is an artist. He’s a painter with a vision, deep history of roots art, a new age sculptor, and most definitely an abstractionist.

His work has appeared around the world in exhibitions in London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris.

José works with lines that stretch out from the edge of space, swirling around amidst chaos and frequency.

He studied painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, and The New World School of the Arts in Miami, and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Photo source: José Parlá | www.joseparla.com

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Minjae Lee

Photo source: Minjae Lee | www.grenomj.com

 

When first observing what Minjae Lee does, you think wow. Then you look further into it, and think even more wow. This is what Minjae does.

If you go to Minjae’s website, and look at the about page, you can see a variety of pens, and I highly suspect there is also watercolor there on the originals. So, clearly Minjae is using mixed media. It also looks like it’s done on watercolor paper and who knows what else. Maybe coffee stains?! Continue Reading →

Artist Review: Indigo

Some of you may know her as a stencil artist, some of you may know her as a graffiti artist, some a dancer, and some of you will simply know her as the artist. All these combined, what do we have? A great person and an inspiration to nearly everyone within her reach; oh yes, she does reach far.

Me, as an observer, would define Indigo as a relentless worker who cannot say no. You can see it in her eyes (or hair)! It’s a drive that only people filled with life carry with them, like a little gerbil in a cage, tirelessly running on its little spin wheel. Time, location, hunger.. these are things that do not effect these types of people, and Indigo is definitely tested; starving artist she be.

Her artwork is graceful. You know the feeling you get when you watch an eagle soar through the air? Kinda like that. It just has a being, an existence to it. A natural essence that seems to say: “Yes, this is how it’s supposed to be, can’t you see?”

This artist is also an incredible writer. Read for yourself some of her blog posts. Her stories put you in places. I like those kind of stories, I like those kind of places, a realm of reality that you know exists there, or has existed in the past, but you’re just taking a break with a cup of tea right now on your dreaming to take you there.

One of her latest projects has been the wooden boxes and shelves that you see here. She touches on her thoughts of why she has started this project on her blog.

Indigo once told me when we were in discussion about stenciling (maybe illegally, maybe not): “It’s not just making the stencil cool, it’s about placement. You don’t just stick a little stencil in the middle of a giant wall, it just doesn’t fit.” These words just make sense for all art. Whether it’s stenciling on a wall, or in a collage, pasting onto a sign, dancing to a song, or painting on a canvas if it doesn’t fit, it’s not a proper piece. Yes, granted many artists push these  boundaries to new levels that expand the mind to immeasurable heights, but you still look at it and go: “My that looks easy,” or: “My that fits there.” Her art fits there.

Her artwork is easily available through her Cargoh storefront, but I mention this because they have just created a artist bio video of her, thats simply brilliant.

One of her recent projects is curating an art show at Becker Galleries in Granville Island here in Vancouver, you can see a bit of what to expect with this video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq6k_2djVZs&feature=player_embedded]

Her next venture is a 4week stint in South Africa where she will be part of many great projects that range from desert festival group paintings, to teaching youth the art of expression, to showing in a few galleries that you need to follow her blog to stay updated on!

Note: All photos are courtesy of the artist.

Artist Review: Hazel Dooney

I have recently stumbled upon (no not using stumbled upon) the artwork of Hazel Dooney. To say the least, its inspiring. Hazel is from Sydney, Australia and has artwork on her website from 1995. From reading as much as I can of her blog, I understand why she claims she’s: “emerged as one of the Asia-Pacific region’s most controversial female artists.” This much is evident when her latest blog post starts off: “I am not a ‘joiner’. I am not a ‘people person’. I am solitary, prickly, and on most days absorbed in my work. I don’t like to be distracted. I don’t respond well to those who try.” Oh how this makes me squirm!

Her enamel stuff, one of which is shown above from her Dangerous Career Babes album, is not her stuff that I love the most.  A brief background on enamel: highly toxic and a carcinogenic material. The works of hers that I am awed by are her watercolor stuff. Its raw, very imaginative, and very free.

Her latest series is Flesh Eaters. I have taken a few of her pictures here that are the least provocative, yet still highly contagious. I highly suggest you go to her site to find more of her work, for I personally am in awe of this stuff. It’s just amazing. It reminds me of a the old statues with no arms and heads but just busts.

Hazel has received a lot of publicity from her highly suggestive and sexually extroverted works of art over the years, being banned from showing at certain galleries, which in reality only makes her work more stronger and interesting to the public; which is a good thing.

I have read on her blog that a lot of her work is being sold to China. I’m not sure what it means, but I really do associate the top enamel work with art that one would expect to see coming out of there. Its very precise, very exact, no errors, which is also why it shocks me to see them in contrast with her watercolors, or sketches. It’s very interesting to see such contrast.

From what I have read on her blog she is an extremely powerful and strong woman. She isn’t afraid to search what her mind can bring in a realm that most people blush and shy away from: Sexuality, nudity, feminism, and soft porn. To me, having an image, having a voice, having your own niche to sit in and dig deeper into the confines of (pop) cultures stereotypes or limitations is what artists are meant to do. Being able to spread the boundaries between what is thought, what is real, and what is something you have never dreamed of before is something I admire in an artist, and I definitely gravitate towards. This is what makes me sit in awe and amazement at the end of the day, and this is what Hazel does.

Her watercolor stuff, which I have only showcased one of, is simply amazing. When I sit looking at a raw blank canvas, this is what I wish would be accomplished. The colors are brilliant, and run in an amazing blending pattern that isn’t smooth, isn’t natural, but leaves so much up to the imagination its unreal how inspiring it is.

I hope you can find inspiration, as I have, from this work, for I’d like to ask you: what thoughts come to your mind when you look at them?