It’s difficult to show a 3D image on a flat sheet of paper but that is just what many artists do. One technique for creating the illusion of 3D is perspective. Many of you have explored perspective in art already. One popular art project is to draw a street with buildings lining both sides. The street narrows and buildings become smaller to show distance. If you have not yet tried this project you should do so. It will be usual for comparing to the project I have written below. Check out the video clip and the clear directions on this site to get you started.
Yesterday you read about how Gustave Caillebotte used perspective in an uncommon way. He made the image look like it was tilted toward the eye. Today, I’ll show you how he did this so you can try it yourself.
Caillebotte uses a few techniques to create his strange perspective. Firstly, you’ll notice that the foreground is not boxed in on the edges by the sides of bulky buildings. Secondly, the objects in the background are slightly smaller than they ought to be. This makes the foreground subjects look larger than they are, and it makes the background look farther away. Because of this, the street (or river, or floor, or whatever) doesn’t need to taper off into nothingness to show distance (like in your original perspective project).
Check out the video clip on this site to get you started on your project.
Supplies Needed
Pencil
Colored pencils, crayons, or pastels
Paper
Begin by drawing your street. This time, don’t start the street at the corners of your paper. Set your outside lines slightly above the bottom corners. Let your road narrow more quickly than in your original drawing but don’t bring the end of the road to a point.
Line the road with simple square buildings. You can, of course, get as creative as you want with your buildings but simple buildings will demonstrate perspective just as well. Your buildings should shorter more quickly than in your first drawing.
Now decorate and color. If you want to really Caillebotte’s brand of perspective, try drawing some cars driving into the distance. Be sure to make foreground cars much larger than background cars.
Compare your two drawings and notice the differences between the two. How do the slight changes in method create large differences in the final picture?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Gustave Caillebotte, Part 2
Yesterday you read about Gustave Caillebotte’s life. Today, his art.
Besides contributing money and time to develop Impressionism in France, Caillebotte became respected as a painter in his own right. Actually, he is among my favorites. I love The Floor Scrapers, shown above, and Paris Street, Rainy Day, shown below. The Floor Scrapers is part of the permanent collection of the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. (This is where I saw it and fell in love.) Paris Street, Rainy Day is part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s permanent collection (free admission in February!)
Influenced by photography, a new technology in the late-1800s, Caillebotte’s paintings are markedly realistic. Because a photo was a frozen moment that could be studied, photography allowed painters to see the way light fell and the way it affected subjects. Look at the way the pools of rain between the cobblestones shine in Paris Street, Rainy Day. Notice, also, that the bleached sky reflects on the slick stones themselves.
One other aspect of Caillebotte’s work that you should notice is the way the scenes often look tiled downward toward the viewer. Look again at Paris Street, Rainy Day and notice that the street seems to curve up. Look also at The Floor Scrapers for another example. Most of Caillebotte’s work is like this. Below is a third example of tilted perspective, Sculls.
EDITED: I have corrected the main text of this post. The Floor Scrapers is not on display at the Phillips Collection. I was mistaken. They are showing Small Branch of the Seine at Argenteuil which is also a great painting by Caillebotte and a fantastic example of the way he painted the effects of light. I still recommend checking out the exhibit, Degas to Diebenkorn!
Besides contributing money and time to develop Impressionism in France, Caillebotte became respected as a painter in his own right. Actually, he is among my favorites. I love The Floor Scrapers, shown above, and Paris Street, Rainy Day, shown below. The Floor Scrapers is part of the permanent collection of the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. (This is where I saw it and fell in love.) Paris Street, Rainy Day is part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s permanent collection (free admission in February!)Influenced by photography, a new technology in the late-1800s, Caillebotte’s paintings are markedly realistic. Because a photo was a frozen moment that could be studied, photography allowed painters to see the way light fell and the way it affected subjects. Look at the way the pools of rain between the cobblestones shine in Paris Street, Rainy Day. Notice, also, that the bleached sky reflects on the slick stones themselves.One other aspect of Caillebotte’s work that you should notice is the way the scenes often look tiled downward toward the viewer. Look again at Paris Street, Rainy Day and notice that the street seems to curve up. Look also at The Floor Scrapers for another example. Most of Caillebotte’s work is like this. Below is a third example of tilted perspective, Sculls.
EDITED: I have corrected the main text of this post. The Floor Scrapers is not on display at the Phillips Collection. I was mistaken. They are showing Small Branch of the Seine at Argenteuil which is also a great painting by Caillebotte and a fantastic example of the way he painted the effects of light. I still recommend checking out the exhibit, Degas to Diebenkorn!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Gustave Caillebotte
Gustave Caillebotte’s story is different than many of the other Impressionists you’ve read about here. He was not a struggling artist. In fact, his family was wealthy enough to own a house in Paris as well as property just outside of the city on the Yerres River where they spent summers. They made their fortunes in textiles and then, as Haussmann rebuilt Paris, in real estate. When his parents died, Caillebotte inherited a large sum of money. During his life, he was better known for the money he pumped into the Impressionist movement than for his paintings.
Caillebotte was born in 1848. He began to paint around the time when his family bought the property on the Yerres River in 1860. Caillebotte went away to fight in the Franco-Prussian War and when he returned he began to really study painting. He met a collection of young painters, including Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, and Auguste Renoir, and became interested in Impressionism.
After his father died in 1874 and then in mother in 1878, Caillebotte funded exhibitions for each of these artists. He also purchased their paintings and by the time he died he had an impressive collection of Impressionist works. He tried to leave the collection to the French government if only it would hang the paintings in the Luxembourg Palace but it refused most of the art. Impressionism was still not the prominent and accepted artistic style in 1894. When in the late-1920s the French government changed its mind, it was too late; the widow of Caillebotte’s son said no.
He also helped fund four of the Impressionist exhibitions. It was at the second Impressionist exhibition (not one to which he contributed money) that Caillebotte’s art was first shown.
Unfortunately, this article is too long already. You have just read a short biography on Caillebotte and tomorrow I’ll post the second half which is all about his art. And to tide you over until then, Paris Street, Rainy Day:
Caillebotte was born in 1848. He began to paint around the time when his family bought the property on the Yerres River in 1860. Caillebotte went away to fight in the Franco-Prussian War and when he returned he began to really study painting. He met a collection of young painters, including Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, and Auguste Renoir, and became interested in Impressionism.
After his father died in 1874 and then in mother in 1878, Caillebotte funded exhibitions for each of these artists. He also purchased their paintings and by the time he died he had an impressive collection of Impressionist works. He tried to leave the collection to the French government if only it would hang the paintings in the Luxembourg Palace but it refused most of the art. Impressionism was still not the prominent and accepted artistic style in 1894. When in the late-1920s the French government changed its mind, it was too late; the widow of Caillebotte’s son said no.
He also helped fund four of the Impressionist exhibitions. It was at the second Impressionist exhibition (not one to which he contributed money) that Caillebotte’s art was first shown.
Unfortunately, this article is too long already. You have just read a short biography on Caillebotte and tomorrow I’ll post the second half which is all about his art. And to tide you over until then, Paris Street, Rainy Day:
EDITED TO ADD: Gustave Caillebotte, Part 2
Friday, February 8, 2008
Blogger Award
Look! I have received a blogger award! The person who has recognized my site is a home school mom, Jenny, who writes about her experiences in home schooling. On her site, Little Acorns, home school parents can find some valuable materials such as printable activities and organizational suggestions. There are many shimmering gems of wisdom scattered through her pages. For example, recently she posted about the Dolch Word List which I had never heard of and found quite interesting. I’m not going to tell you what it is if you don’t know because I want you to click through to her great site and check it out.And so now it is my turn to pass on the award. Of course, I would like to recognize Peter’s site, PHO, which is a daily read that I look forward to each morning. Through his amazing photos (I mean it, some of these photos look professionally retouched. He’s very talented) and incredibly well-researched historical passages, Peter takes his readers on tours of Paris. And who doesn’t like Paris? You’ve probably seen me mention his site before.
Secondly, I would like to recognize Kathy Barbro. She teaches art to kids and on her website, Art Projects for Kids, she writes instructions for some of the projects she does with her students. These projects are all successfully kid-tested and the photos show real students’ results. These projects all look like a lot of fun. I am especially intrigued by the Giant Paper Mache Pencils. Today, I will post about an artist and link to a related project on Kathy’s site.
Thank you again to Jenny for singling out my site for this award. It's great to know that people are reading and enjoy the articles and projects posted here.
Please be sure to read the post below as that is today’s dose of art.
Return to main page.
Wayne Thiebaud
I don’t write about a lot of artists who are still living or even who worked in the last century because I can’t show you images of their work. This is because of copy write law. I fully support the rights of artists to their work and so, even though others online, who may not have permission, have posted copies of copy writed art, I will not. I will, instead, direct you to another site where you can look at the artwork.
Wayne Thiebaud (whose name is pronounced Tee-Bow, just like the Gators’ quarterback), was born in 1920 and is still living. He began his art career as a cartoonist and designer before becoming an artist in the U.S. Navy. In 1960 he became an associate professor and continued to teach students for nearly 20 years.
While he was with the Navy Thiebaud spent time in New York (on leave) and began painting the pastries and other “American” food that he would become known for. He was very interested in creating realistic paintings and he did this by using thick paint in exaggerated colors. When he painted cakes, for example, he applied the paint like a baker would spread frosting. The food in his paintings looks real enough to eat. Go judge for yourself here, here, here, and here.
Thiebaud is sometimes grouped in with the “Pop Artists” because he painting subjects from popular culture (like cakes, gumball machines, and ice cream Sundays) but actually he began his work before the Pop Artists. It is probable that he was an inspiration to the movement.
Thiebaud painted other subjects but it is the delicious looking foods that are his best known pieces. You can create your own masterpiece in the style of Thiebaud. Go to Art Projects for Kids for a great art project.
For those of you home schoolers, check out the National Gallery of Art’s math lesson which uses Thiebaud’s painting Cakes to illustrate fractions.
Return to main page.
Wayne Thiebaud (whose name is pronounced Tee-Bow, just like the Gators’ quarterback), was born in 1920 and is still living. He began his art career as a cartoonist and designer before becoming an artist in the U.S. Navy. In 1960 he became an associate professor and continued to teach students for nearly 20 years.
While he was with the Navy Thiebaud spent time in New York (on leave) and began painting the pastries and other “American” food that he would become known for. He was very interested in creating realistic paintings and he did this by using thick paint in exaggerated colors. When he painted cakes, for example, he applied the paint like a baker would spread frosting. The food in his paintings looks real enough to eat. Go judge for yourself here, here, here, and here.
Thiebaud is sometimes grouped in with the “Pop Artists” because he painting subjects from popular culture (like cakes, gumball machines, and ice cream Sundays) but actually he began his work before the Pop Artists. It is probable that he was an inspiration to the movement.
Thiebaud painted other subjects but it is the delicious looking foods that are his best known pieces. You can create your own masterpiece in the style of Thiebaud. Go to Art Projects for Kids for a great art project.
For those of you home schoolers, check out the National Gallery of Art’s math lesson which uses Thiebaud’s painting Cakes to illustrate fractions.
Return to main page.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
