Portait of a Man in Red Turban

In the National Gallery in London stands the work of art that helped form our modern day view of painting. Jan Van Eyck's Man in Red Turban drastically differed from the painting styles used before him. The Flemish artist, credited with the discovery of oil paints, reestablished the use of a direct portrait, having not been done for hundreds of years. Painted through the eyes of the man being depicted, Van Eyck creates the sensation that the man is merely looking into a mirror, with the painting as his reflection. This may be the first perfectly done direct portrait, where the eyes of the figure seems to follow one across a room. Through his use of oil paints, Van Eyck is able to capture an amount of detail never seen before. He portrays a naturalism far more realistic than any of his predecessors through the addition of the minutest details: individual capillaries in the man's bloodshot eyes, a relaxed and natural three-quarter head turn, a faint but noticeable shadow of stubble, wrinkles and bags underneath tired eyes. As seen in the magnificent folds in the Turban, the shadows under the folds in the man's aged skin, and the light reflecting off the man's right eye, the oils allow Ban Eyck to establish a better sense of three dimensions.
A controversy among critics has arisen around this particular work of Van Eyck: is this a self portrait? Still in it's original frame, one can read the inscription on the top central panel as it simply says in Greek "As I Can", then below on the central bottom panel in Latin, "Jan Van Eyck Made Me". Although this seems to be fairly solid evidence to the theory, it cannot be proved for sure. What this portrait does depict is the desire for secular artwork from the growing middle class of the time. In years before, painting and sculpture was dominated by the religious figures, disrupted only by the an occasion royal depiction.

Arnolfo Di Cambio's Florence Cathedral

During the 14th century, Florence played a dominant role in European politics, economics, and culture. As a result of their power, Florentines self pride was made evident through the construction of multiple landmark buildings. The Florence Cathedral, begun in 1296 by Arnolfo Di Cambio, is remarkable not only in size, but in it's architectural and decorative qualities as well.  Originally designed to hold the entire Florentine population, the basilican style church channels Early Christian tradition rather than follow it's Gothic contemporaries in France. In contrast to High Gothic style, the Florence Cathedral does not seem to be built to emphasize height, for all of the geometric shapes of the revetment create a strongly horizontal feel. The exterior walls are remarkably ornate with marble-encrusted geometric designs, exemplary of Tuscan Romaneque traditional architecture.

The Cathedral's campanille was designed much later, in 1334, by Giotto di Bondone. The capanille, standing apart from the main church, upholds the traditional Italian style of the main Cathedral. The interior of the Cathedral has a unique shape. The large dome seems to be the focal point, emphasized by the nave which seems to lead straight to it. A spaciousness felt not even in those lofty High Gothic Cathedral is evident in the Florence Cathedral, for the nave bays are much deeper. Continuing with the exterior, there is a strong emphasis on horizontal elements in the interior. The decoratively ornate capitals of the piers inhibit one's eyes from looking any further upwards, as well as elaborating on the piers structural importance. Unlike the Gothic style's need to dissolve any substantial mass or wall space through the use of light, this cathedral does not seem to care at all about melting away solid structures; there are few windows in comparison, and the structural piers dominate the interior floorspace.

Laon Cathedral

The Laon Cathedral located in Laon, France,  represents the classic French Gothic style  of the twelfth century C.E.. As it was constructed in 1190, the cathedral incorporates elements of Romanesque style as well as Early European Gothic tradition. The Cathedral encompasses the Norman Romanesque tradition through the Nave arcade's support system, comprising of alternating compound and central piers, as well as through the vaulting system and the vaulted galleries above (except for the pointed arches). The pointed arches seen in the nave bays, as well as the triforium,  are exemplary of the Early European Gothic stylistic elements of the cathedral. The triforium, the story in the nave comprised of arcades, in  this case, blind arcades, was a new feature used in Gothic architecture accentuating the new found Gothic inclination to break up any areas of continuous wall space.

The Western Facade of the cathedral depicts the transition from Romanesque to European Gothic perhaps even further than the the cathedral's interior. Through the enormous centrally located rose window, the openness of the two tower structures, as well as the doorways' deep porches, European Gothic style dominates the facade.

The High Crosses of Ireland

As Christianity began to spread during the Middle Ages, a series of free standing, stone Celtic crosses were erected across the Irish country side. Usually placed in monasteries or other holy sites, these crosses took on a plethora of different roles: meeting points, pilgrimage trail markers, and a way to spread Christianity to the warrior tribes. Unlike the other preserved remnants of art from the early Middle Ages that tended to be small and portable due to their creators' nomadic lifestyle, these crosses typically were over fifteen feet high.
An example of these monumental works is the "High Cross of Muiredach" in southern Ireland. Probably created in remembrance of particular abbot named Muiredach, this particular cross, fashioned in 923 C.E. and approximately eighteen feet in height, presides over a burial ground. On the Western face, there stands a depiction of the Crucifixion, whereas on its Eastern face, one can see risen Christ as the judge over dead souls, standing over four registers portraying those souls about to be weighed.
In order to gain support in the nomadic warrior tribes inhabiting the Irish countryside, Christians began to stylize these High Crosses. The crosses took on a Celtic shape with concave arms, all connected by arches to form a loop, which some say may represent the sun's power.

Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" Formal Analysis

Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus differs in style from those of his contemporaries, as it seems to ignore the recent knowledge of anatomy and perspective. Painted on canvas using tempura circa 1484-1486, Botticelli depicts the mythical scene of the birth of the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Venus. Floating atop a cockleshell, recently borne from the foam of the sea, Venus is lead ashore to her sacred Cyprus by the breath of the wind goddess, Zephyrus, accompanied by his wife, the flower goddess, Chloris. Eagerly anticipating the goddess’s arrival, the nymph Pomona stands on the shore’s edge, ready to swath the newborn, more powerful goddess, cloak in hand.

Botticelli illustrates Venus in the center of the painting, larger than life, nude and starkly white in color, deliberately gaining the viewers immediate attention. The artist streams light from some unseen sun, radiating from right to left. Even with the overall brightness of the painting, Botticelli emphasizes Venus’s importance further as he illuminates the right side of her figure, allowing the sun’s rays to adorn her with a slightly orange glow. Complemented by the orange tint of her long, wavy hair, this glow contrasts greatly with the light blue of the sea as well as the light blue of the ribbon in her hair. Thus, Botticelli again emphasizes the goddess’s importance. The goddess represents arrant perfection; her soft, yet moderately toned physique, embodies a powerful youthfulness. Botticelli adds to the love goddess’s girlishness by depicting her with flushed cheeks, pinkish lips, and bright eyes. Magnifying her innocence further, the artist places her right arm over her breast, and the left over her “mons veneris”, creating the illusion of embarrassment. Her head is inclined faintly to the left, back towards the sea, but the rest of her body seems to be leaning toward the shore on the right; her left leg is cocked back as if she is about to step off the shell, and onto the shore next to Pomona.

Botticelli combines two major elements of composition in his masterpiece: the golden ratio as well as a hint of an oval composition. The unnaturally large Venus sits in the center of the painting, and from feet to toes, she almost spans the entire width of the canvas. The canvas’s dimensions themselves are that of the golden mean (1.6). Botticelli exemplifies Venus’s importance yet again as he creates the illusion of oval composition: beginning with Pomona’s head, the cloak and the nymph’s arm’s curve up towards the head of Venus; the line continues as it bends over the top of the conjoined Zephyrus and Chloris’s heads; then with Zephyrus’s outstretched, arched left arm, followed by a bent wrist and fingers; all finished by the fluid meander of the cockle shell, and the fold of Pomona’s right knee.

Botticelli adds to the mystical feel of the painting as he refuses to follow the scientifically correct rules of perception. Venus’s size is about equal to the body of the male Zephyrus, despite the fact that Zephyrus is behind the goddess, so that he is able to push her ashore. The angle of Chloris’s knee, wrapped around her husband’s body, is not anatomically possible. Her feet are the same size, although one is clearly intended to be in closer to the viewer than the other.  Even the artist’s atmospheric perception is inaccurate: the waves in the distance are far too large in comparison to those in the foreground; the brown tree trunks ashore are all approximately the same width, despite the obvious deviations in location.

Art Around Nashville

For the last few months, Nashville's botanical garden and art museum, Cheekwood, has hosted the work of the world renown glass blower, Dale Chihuly. Chihuly studied the art of glass blowing at the University of Washington, University of Wisconsin, finishing at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). With his passion for the the art of glassblowing, Chihuly co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington in order to teach others his interesting techniques. Since the beginning of his career, Chihuly's work has been exhibited in over two hundred museums worldwide.

As soon as one steps foot onto the the gardens of Cheekwood, it is impossible not to lose your breath at the sight of the magnificent glass sculptures. Chihuly impossibly composes his art in such a way that it blends in with the landscape seamlessly, yet it draws your eyes immediately. Through his use of color, he adds vibrancy and life to the landscape without creating any sense of superficiality. His piece, "The Sun", sit in the front lawn of the museum's gardens. Made out of thousands of individually crafted glass pieces, ranging in the color spectrum form vibrant reds  to sunny yellows, Chihuly's work exudes a powerful sense of cheerful fun. The unique assemblage of the components captures the illusion of movement as light dances in every direction.  Through his use of blown three dimensional composition, he allows the viewer to experience the art from all perspectives. The organically shaped structure creates a strikingly beautiful atmosphere, as Chihuly combines aspects of the environment, nature, and art.

"January 2" by Clare Coyle Taylor

"January 2" Clare Coyle Taylor

A blur of colors dances across the page. Alone, they are bright, cheerful, but thrown together on the page in a frantic mix of curves and jagged lines, it shows anger. Anger, sadness, among other emotions are evident through the thick, crushed pencil color. In the middle there are two black squares, the center of her hopelessness.  Art is a way for her to express, to feel. She overlaps and mixes the vivid, joyful colors, morphing them into a mass of muted scribbles. The colors extend past the black border, creating great contrast as they stand out against the stark white. We are reminded of the original cheerful nature of the colors as they stray further outside of the border, away from the confusion and sadness. Amidst the confusion, one loses sight of this original euphoria; like the colors, they are sucked into the black hole, forgetful of their previous joy. Although dark, there are two dark shapes in the center of all the clamor; two possible outcomes. Inside one, darkness, rage. But, in midst of the lower, a red; dark, muted, blurred, but a color nonetheless.
As the artist conveys the abstract image on the page, she demonstrates her own feeling clearly through her use of color. The eyes of the viewer are sucked into the center; drawn towards the darkness like moths. Its mood is contagious. One can't help but feel some sort of strong emotion after seeing it: anger, hate, sadness. But, she creates one small illusion of hope. The small square of red in the center black. Through all of the confusion, past the sadness, and beyond the anger, there is hope; the color can regain its formal cheerfulness, not immediately, but over time.

This drawing reminds me of the proverb, "time heals all wounds". The artist seems to take us through her stages of grief, showing two possible outcomes.