Contemporary art

Contemporary art is art produced at the present period in time. Contemporary art includes, and develops from, postmodern art, which is itself a successor to modern art. In vernacular English, "modern" and "contemporary" are synonyms, resulting in some conflation of the terms "modern art" and "contemporary art" by non-specialists.


In this topic I choose Pop art 
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid-1950s in Britain and the late 1950s in the United States. Among the early artists that shaped the pop art movement were Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton inBritain, and Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns in the United States.  

Why POP ART ?
 pop art is important because it reveals that pop art was far more than an artistic movement that was limited to artists and celebrities. The movement had socio-political implications that are still being realized today. In this regard, pop art could be considered more of a cultural movement or a social movement. The influence of pop art extends beyond the art world by influencing the business world and continually transforming culture into an ever greater artistic spectacle, desperately attempting to grapple with the apparent reality of capitalism. The essential significance of pop art is that economic and aesthetic considerations are not in opposition, as may have been the case in the traditional avante garde.

Art beyond the west

The Buddhist vihara at Sanchi, famous for its Great Stupa is located at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, it is 46 km north-east of Bhopal. The Great Stupa at Sanchi is the oldest stone structure in India  and was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha. 

The most noteworthy of the structures is the Great Stupa (stupa no. 1), discovered in 1818. It was probably begun by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the mid-3rd century BCE and later enlarged. Solid throughout, it is enclosed by a massive stone railing pierced by four gateways, which are adorned with elaborate carvings (known as Sanchi sculpture) depicting the life of the Buddha, legends of his... 
I want to get into some Eastern art, because Eastern art is super cool. And while art history books might make you think otherwise, not all good things come from Greece and Italy. The Hill of Sanchi is situated about 9 kilometres south-west of Vidisha in Madhaya Pradesh, India. Crowning the hilltop of Sanchi nearly 91 metres in height, a group of Buddhist monuments commands a grand view even from a distance. It is unique not only in its having the most perfect and well-preserved stupas but also in its offering a wide and educative field for the study of the genesis, efflorescence and decay of Buddhist art and architecture for a period of about thirteen hundred years, from the third century B.C. to the twelfth century, A.D., almost covering the whole range of Indian Buddhism. This is rather surprising, for Sanchi was not hallowed by any incident in Buddha's life; not is it known to have been the focus of any significant event in the history of Buddhist monachism. 

Modern Art

Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of experimentation. Modern artists experimented with new ways of seeing and with fresh ideas about the nature of materials and functions of art. 

This paintings is  Country road in Provence by Night I have a print of his one hanging in my living room and it has grown on me quite a bit over the last year. I like the juxtaposition between the dark foreboding sky and the light path with two farmers walking home from work. It feels like Fall to me with rich colors and the farmers in their heavy coats. There's a chill in the air.

Van Gogh painted this in May of 1890 while he was staying in a mental hospital in Saint-Rémy that had once beena monastery. He was institutionalized there after a series of breakdowns in early 1889, and it ended up being one of the most creative times of his life. The hospital was surrounded by beautiful open fields that inspired much of his work for the next year, when he worked on a series of paintings of cypresses including "A Wheatfield with Cypresses," "Road with Cypress and Star" (picture above), and probably his best known of these pieces, "Starry Night" . 

According to Kathleen Powers Erickson, Road with Cypress and Star more strongly reflects van Gogh's belief that he would soon die than the earlier painting The Starry Night.

20th century

20th-century art and what it became as modern art began with modernism in the late 19th century. Nineteenth-century movements of Post-Impressionism (Les Nabis), Art Nouveau and Symbolism led to the first twentieth-century art movements of Fauvism in France and Die Brücke ("The Bridge") in Germany. 

One of the 20th-century art paintings is Charing Cross Bridge, London, Charing Cross Bridge is a series of oil paintings by French artist Claude Monet. Painted in between 1899 and 1904, they depict a misty, impressionistic Charing Cross Bridge in London.During the years between 1899 and 1905, Monet travelled to London to capture its sights from the fifth-floor balcony of the Savoy Hotel. Monet was captivated by the London fog, a notable atmospheric effect made markedly worse by the heavy pollution of the Industrial Revolution. He painted the Houses of Parliament, Waterloo Bridge, and Charing Cross Bridge over and over, as he had earlier done with haystacks and Rouen Cathedral, dashing off paintings to capture fleeting atmospheric effects. He was extremely prolific, beginning nearly 100 paintings in London. Thirty-seven of the canvases were of Charing Cross Bridge, only twelve of which he finished in London; the rest he took back to his Giverny studio for completion. 
I like this paintings beacause it shows a lot of creativity. The Art Institute’sHouses of Parliament, Westminster resembles a tissue-thin screen of shifting blues and pinks, suggesting the changing light of the sky through the fog and in the water’s reflections

Baroque

 According to my research, This is the oldest work that with some degree of certainty may be attributed to Rogier van der Weyden; the master never signed his work. If this is the case, it is probably also his most impressive work. As an altarpiece it was intended for a chapel in Leuven, but fell into Spanish hands in the 16th century. Today, it is on display in the Prado in Madrid.

In the center, Jesus is taken down from the cross by a bearded Joseph of Arimathea and a well-dressed Nicodemus. Christ's pale body forms an arch with the upper arm of the woman on the left: Mary Magdalene, known by her low-cut dress.

Christ's body is almost immaculate apart from his wounds; the holes in his hand and feet, the blood on his forehead from his crown of thorns, and the cut inflicted by a Roman spear. I choosed this panel painting because The work is unique in the period because of Mary's swoon; her collapse echoes the pose of her son, as far as to the two figures that hold her as she falls. Denis expresses the conviction that the Virgin Mary was near death when Christ gave up his spirit; Van der Weyden's painting powerfully conveys this idea.

The shape of the crossbow can be seen in the bent and torted outline and curve of Christ's body and arched back, which seems to reflect the patronage of the Greater Guild of Crossbowmen. Powell argues that in medieval theology, a common metaphor compared the form of Christ on the cross to a taut crossbow.
The descent from the cross is a very beautiful painting.

Renaissnce

During the two hundred years between 1400 and 1600, Europe witnessed an astonishing revival of drawing, fine art painting, sculpture and architecture centred on Italy, which we now refer to as the Renaissance (rinascimento). 


Renaissance, a French term which has come to describe the 'rebirth' of interest in classical art and learning, above all from Italy, from the early 14th to the mid 16th centuries. The term is applied as a stylistic label to the art of these centuries.

I agree with the style of renaissance, because Renaissance style was inspired by the art and architecture of ancient Rome. It originated in Italy in the 14th century and gradually spread across the whole of Europe.  The new styles of decoration came to England in the 16th century. Engraved books of Renaissance motifs provided an important source for English designers. Foreign artists and artisans working in London were also influential in introducing the style.
their artworks and sculptures look amazing specially the "The Grostesque"  The Grote

sque was a style of decoration based on ancient Roman wall paintings discovered in Italy in the late 15th century. It featured a combination of scrolling plants, figures, fantastic creatures, masks and vases.

Christian art

what is christian art?Christian art is sacred art which uses themes and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, although some have had strong objections to some forms of religious image, and there have been major periods of iconoclasm within Christianity.What is art? I've read and thought about it, but it's still a vague concept. I read a blogspot by Justin Taylor that summarized an essay by Leland Ryken asking if The Scarlet Letter is a "Christian book". Recently, I read The Christian Imagination: Essay on Literature and the Arts. It opened up the idea of art Philosophy. What is art? What is "Christian art" ? How do I create Art ? How do I enjoy art? "What would be your reaction if you’re told to have only one topic in (all) your art" ? For me, if I am given a chance to be the artist and there is only one prospective topic which is Christian art" it's okay, Because if you're an artist it doesn't matter. Even if you have only one topic you still able to make an art.

Can the Bible help us evaluate art? Consider the concepts found in Philippians 4:8: Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and ifanything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

Let's concentrate for a few moments on this verse in order to see if it might at least provide the beginning of a framework for the evaluation and enjoyment of art.

Apollo of Veii

 The Apollo of Veii is an over-life-size painted terracotta Etruscan statue of Apollo of ancient Veii and dates from c. 510 - 500 BC. It was created in the so-called "international" Ionic or late-archaic Etruscan style. It was discovered in 1916, and is now on display in the National Etruscan Museum in Rome.

The Apollo of Veii is an over-life-size painted terracotta Etruscan statue of Apollo from Veii of, in the 'international' Ionic or late-archaic Etruscan style. It was discovered in 1916, and is now on show in the National Etruscan Museum.

It was probably made by Vulca, the only Etruscan artist we know by name. It was part of a scene of Apollo and Heracles contending over the Ceryneian Hind, 12 metres above the ground on beams on the acroterion of the Portonaccio Sanctuary of Minerva. Apollo, dressed in a tunic and short cloak advances towards his left with his right arm outstretched and bent (his left arm is towards the ground maybe with a bow in his hand); Heracles, with the doe tied around his legs, is outstretched towards the right, leaning forwards to attack with his bludgeon and with his torso in a violent curve.This is very, very speculative, but I wonder whether the idea of putting terracotta statues on the roof of the temple was inspired by the sculptures added to the pediments of Greek temples (like the temple of Aphaia at Aegina, which is discussed elsewhere on KA). These pediments and their sculptures were originally painted, and I have seen reconstructions in which the background of the pediment was painted in a very bright, sky blue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Aphaea#mediaviewer/File:Aphaia_Western_Pediment.jpg Perhaps this is what gave the Etruscans the idea of simply putting their statues against the sky itself, rather than against a painted background? 

There also is a rather obvious Greek influence on the Apollo statue - like a kouros, it has a striding stance, archaic smile, braided hair and no contrapposto. Unlike a kouros, however, this is a clothed figure... These similarities and differences do seem to support the idea of the Etruscans both adopting and altering Greek sculptural traditions.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge, on Salisbury plain in England, is one of the most recognizable monuments of the Neolithic world and one of the most popular, with over one million visitors a year. People come to see Stonehenge because it is so impossibly big and so impossibly old; some are searching for a connection with a prehistoric past; some come to witness the workings of a massive astrological observatory. The people living in the fourth millennium BC who began work on Stonehenge were contemporary with the first dynasties of Ancient Egypt, and their efforts predate the building of the Pyramids. What they created has endured millennia and still intrigues us today.

in fact, what we see today is the result of at least three phases of construction, although there is still a lot of controversy among archaeologists about exactly how and when these phases occurred. 

 we haven't found out the whole story of Stonehenge, but we know parts of it, like, people found bones under Stonehenge, so it might have been a burial place. it was most likely a place where special occasions, like weddings were held. i have been there, and a couple minutes drive away, there is a place called wood-henge, and its like Stonehenge, but its made out of wood. people think there's a connection between the two, but scientists are still trying to figure it out.