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06-11-2007, 07:37 AM
|  | Exalted Member | | Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: The Lower Lands
Posts: 587
| | | Paintings that you really like (no spam)
I guess that the title already says it: this thread is made for the purpose of putting up paintings that you really like. It would be nice if you could explain why you like the painting so much (if that's possible  ), as that would make it more interesting. Basicly, that's all there's to it.
I'll start off with two paintings by Edward Hopper, one in particular. I bought an Edward Hopper calendar last year, I guess mostly because of one picture that struck me back then. I'm talking about his famous Nighthawks (1942, Oil on canvas), the scene of an isolated man sitting in a bright bar in a dark, empty street. Back then I didn't knew Edward Hopper at all, neither this picture, and to me this painting appeared to me as jazz in pictures. It has this sort of sad, melancholy vibe, but without being depressing, if you know what I mean. I'm mostly not really in for melancholy, but this is nice, probably also because it has this pleasant contrast with the socially looking man and woman who are sitting next to him, ordering a drink. Ironically, that also makes the man appear even more lonesome. It's a strong contrast, and as far as I can judge from what I've seen, Hopper was very good with that.
The people behind the calendar that I bought, picked a bunch of very lonely pictures for the first five months. Lonely in a different kind of way than Nighthawks, not really jazzy anymore, but slightly depressing, established by the use of hollow eyes and people's backs. That loneliness can probably be explained by the Great Depression going on back then. Not really my taste, though still good paintings, with an often interesting and good use of colours. For the month June they finally picked a nice, bright picture, and this is the one that I like in particular: Ground Swell (1939, Oil on canvas). It's the picture of a group of youngsters under a very blue sky, sailing in a white boat on a very blue ocean. There also is a feel of loneliness going on in this painting (I would say that's because we only see the people from the back), but it get's heavily compensated by it's beautiful colours. There really is a strong image of blue and white in this picture, and I can really be a sucker for bright blue (though the blue in the picture of the link below are less brighter than the poster version I've got). The more I look at this picture, the more I like it.
What about you guys? Any beautiful/interesting paintings to share that you personally enjoy? (since I can't find a decent picture right now from Ground Swell that is smaller than 100 KB, I can't upload it right now. Here is a link:
Edward Hopper - Ground Swell
I will try finding a suitable picture for uploading later on)
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06-11-2007, 12:16 PM
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| | Nighthawks !! I had to write a 2000 word essay about it in school a few years ago 
One of my favorites is The Fighting Capercaillies by Ferdinand von Wright.
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Last edited by Curry; 06-11-2007 at 12:18 PM.
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06-11-2007, 01:10 PM
|  | Exalted Member | | Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Massachusetts, USA
Posts: 529
| | Hopper really gets at themes of loneliness and isolation, in addtion to Nighthawks, I like his painting Early Sunday Morning.
I consider J. W. Waterhouse to be one of my favorite authors. He was often inspired by literary works in addition to picking themes from classical mythology. One of my favorite paintings by him is Hylas and the Nymphs...I can't put my finger on any paricular reason why, the painting is simply beautiful. http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h5...ouse/hylas.jpg
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06-16-2007, 08:59 AM
| | Exalted Member | | Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: The Lower Lands
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| | @Curry, ah yes, I like the The Fighting Capercaillies. It's a first viewing for me, and I really like it's peacefulness and harmony, and the use of nature is very pleasing. It somehow has a romantic theme, but in a good way, not in the kitschy "beautiful princess locked in the tower" kind of way. Thanks for sharing that.
@kathycf. Good Hopper there. Once again indeed the loneliness theme, but also once again the great use of colours. Somehow, there really seems a united bonding between the blue, red and yellow. I also see the attraction of Hylas and the Nymphs. Normally I'm not into the classic "pale, bare breasted beauty" thing, that sometimes seems more like a requirement for the paintings from that era, than that it got really painted because of the beauty. Like, the crowd just wants to see boobies. Here however, it's fitting, and I also think it's beautiful in a way. And it's indeed hard to explain why.
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06-16-2007, 11:05 AM
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| | Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAmazingOopah 
@kathycf. Good Hopper there. Once again indeed the loneliness theme, but also once again the great use of colours. Somehow, there really seems a united bonding between the blue, red and yellow. I also see the attraction of Hylas and the Nymphs. Normally I'm not into the classic "pale, bare breasted beauty" thing, that sometimes seems more like a requirement for the paintings from that era, than that it got really painted because of the beauty. Like, the crowd just wants to see boobies. Here however, it's fitting, and I also think it's beautiful in a way. And it's indeed hard to explain why.
| Someone at another forum I belong to mentioned she felt Hopper's paintings were sort of the visual version of Raymond Carver's writing, as he was quite "spare" in his style and often wrote about themes of loneliness and isolation.
RE: Waterhouse, he wasn't so much an artist who painted the pale bare breasted women. Many of his works were based on Classical mythology (so yes, some boobies there ), but also Shakespeare and Tennyson. Here is The Lady of Shallot. http://www.its.caltech.edu/~suvir/fa...of-shalott.jpg
__________________ Quote: | his supply of the milk of human kindness is plainly short by several gallons | ~P.G. Wodehouse |
06-18-2007, 01:38 AM
| | Exalted Member | | Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: The Lower Lands
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| | Quote:
Originally Posted by kathycf Someone at another forum I belong to mentioned she felt Hopper's paintings were sort of the visual version of Raymond Carver's writing, as he was quite "spare" in his style and often wrote about themes of loneliness and isolation. | Hmm, I've never read anything by Raymond Carver, but judging from Hopper's paintings and his link to Carver's writing I think I can somehow imagine how his style would be
Interesting painting, The Lady of Shallot, though I like Hylas and the Nymphs more. The Lady of Shallot somehow leans a little bit towards kitsch, for my taste. Hylas and the Nymphs has that too a bit, but definitely less.
One painter I like in particular is M.C. Escher. The way he succeeded in painting optical illusions and making them so acceptable to the human eye is brilliant. He also did in such a pleasant way with these cute, innocent little creatures, like small steam-blowing crocodiles, hooded thief-like men, and caterpillar-like insects (some animal he made up by himself, can't remember the name). There also is often a circular theme in his paintings and I like that balance. The pictures listed below are definitely not as nice as the real paintings or the poster versions, but I guess that that is just a drawback of posting pictures in a forum topic like this. Reptiles House of Stairs Drawing Hands
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06-18-2007, 08:23 AM
| | Exalted Member | | Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 158
| | Frida Kahlo is my favourite surrealist. I'm sure most people on site will know her life story, but if not, loads on wiki. 'Broken Column' which depicts the cruel truth of her infirmity is a wonderful insight into her life.
Also,and in view of other members' opinions, I too love the starkness of Hopper, Gas being my favourite. Why should gas pumps look so wonderfully alone, almost desolate?
Being not so nifty on the techno side will post 'Broken Column' ... and 'Gas' from photobucket. But I know I am not doing justice to either. Just wanted to, well, show some art important to me.
Frida Kahlo: I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy as long as I can paint I drank to drown my pain, but the damned pain learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good behavior.
Frida Kahlo
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06-18-2007, 06:58 PM
| | Exalted Member | | Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Massachusetts, USA
Posts: 529
| | I wish img code wasn't disabled so we could see the pictures right in the posts, but oh well.
Another by Hopper New York Office I think this is a very lonely one. http://americanart.si.edu/hopper/ima...yoffice_1b.jpg
Avane, are you familiar with Remedios Varo? I really like her work. I have one of her paintings Gatos as my desktop wallpaper. http://www.fcgjung.com.es/article_img/Paraiso_gatos.jpg Quote:
Remedios Varo (December 16, 1908 - October 8, 1963) was a surrealist painter. She was born in Anglés Cataluña, Spain in 1908 and died from a heart-attack in Mexico City in 1963. During the Spanish Civil War she fled to Paris where she was largely influenced by the surrealist movement. She was forced into exile from Paris during the Nazi occupation of France and moved to Mexico City at the end of 1941. She initially considered Mexico a temporary haven, but would remain in Latin America for the rest of her life.
In Mexico she met native artists such as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. However, her strongest ties would be to other exiles and expatriates, and especially her extraordinary friendship with the English painter Leonora Carrington. Her last major relationship would be with Walter Gruen, an Austrian who had endured concentration camps before escaping Europe. Gruen believed fiercely in Varo, and gave her the support that allowed her to fully concentrate on her painting.
After 1949 Varo developed into her mature and remarkable style, which remains beautifully enigmatic and instantly recognizable. She often worked in oil on masonite panels she prepared herself. Although her colors have the blended resonance of the oil medium, her brushwork often involved many fine strokes of paint laid closely together - a technique more reminiscent of egg tempera. She died at the height of her career.
| I like this one a lot...it is a shame it is so small.
Insomnia http://espelhodesombras.blogs.sapo.p...ios%20Varo.jpg
Vegetarian Vampires http://orbita.starmedia.com/~latinosweb/rv29.jpg
Creación de las aves (Creation of the Birds) http://www.nyas.org/snc/rw/46/images/varos1.jpg
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06-19-2007, 05:46 AM
| | Exalted Member | | Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 158
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by kathycf I wish img code wasn't disabled so we could see the pictures right in the posts, but oh well.
Avane, are you familiar with Remedios Varo? I really like her work. I have one of her paintings Gatos as my desktop wallpaper. | No I hadn't heard of her at all. But thank you for bringing her to my attention love her style. Can see why you'd have Gatos as your 'wallpaper'. I especially liked Insomnia
Don't know if this Modigliani is going to work out, but it is Woman with a Fan. I've got a repro of it. Love his elongated faces and bodies. http://imagesource.allposters.com/im...an-Posters.jpg
Last edited by Avane; 06-19-2007 at 05:52 AM.
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06-19-2007, 08:36 AM
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Posts: 1,786
| | | Pable Picasso's large (and equally infamous) 'Guernica'. It left a profound impression on me when I saw it in Madrid. He used no colours and yet the shades of grey are powerful, almost deafening with the sound of real bombs. It's truly an amazing piece, but wouldn't want something that has such vivid imagery on my walls.
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Last edited by Tricky; 06-19-2007 at 08:38 AM.
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06-19-2007, 09:20 AM
| | Exalted Member | | Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Massachusetts, USA
Posts: 529
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by Tricky Pable Picasso's large (and equally infamous) 'Guernica'. It left a profound impression on me when I saw it in Madrid. He used no colours and yet the shades of grey are powerful, almost deafening with the sound of real bombs. It's truly an amazing piece, but wouldn't want something that has such vivid imagery on my walls. | You are lucky to have seen such a piece in person. It is very powerful. I've only seen it online and in books. Quote:
Originally Posted by Avane
Also,and in view of other members' opinions, I too love the starkness of Hopper, Gas being my favourite. Why should gas pumps look so wonderfully alone, almost desolate?
| I remember seeing Gas before (a row of gas pumps), but neither of the links you posted worked for me. Said the pages weren't found. I don't think I remember the other one.
__________________ Quote: | his supply of the milk of human kindness is plainly short by several gallons | ~P.G. Wodehouse |
06-19-2007, 12:01 PM
|  | Moderator | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: middle of 10 acres of woods in Ky.
Posts: 933
| | @ Kathy
Really like the...Gatos.  .
thanks for posting a link
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06-21-2007, 12:02 PM
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Posts: 158
| | Seriously nice collection there Kathy. Edward Robert Hughes, he's a Pre-Raph Brotherhood member? I never came across him. Just all the usual suspects. Holman Hunt, Rossetti and Millais, but of course that was 1848, and the B'Hood was obviously organic in it's evolution. And of course after a bit of research E. R. Hughes was a studio assistant to Holman Hunt... ah, the mist clears!
And Rackham... wonderful Rackham Art Images - Arthur Rackham's Illustrations to Alice in Wonderland
should have had this up in the recent re-writing of that particular classic!  Complete the Thought indeed... Alice in Hades, flicking her Bic...   http://vr.theatre.ntu.edu.tw/artsfil...i038/File1.jpg
And well, this was for me inevitable. Love Rossetti in this period[ I]Bocca Baciata.I] Rossetti at his most sensuous. A feast for all the senses.
Last edited by Avane; 06-21-2007 at 12:04 PM.
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