Aquatint Printing

I finally went to see the Philip’s Collection exhibit, From Degas to Diebenkorn, this weekend. It was kind of a mish-mash of art from the late 1800s to nearly the present, which was what I had expected. It was an exhibition of artwork that the museum has recently added to their collection. I did overhear some complaints from other museum goers. Some people felt that the name of the exhibit was misleading. They had come expecting more than just the one new Diebenkorn (in addition to those already in the collection) and more paintings by Degas. So take that as my warning to you. You will enjoy the exhibit if you know what to expect before you go.

So, I was at the museum, enjoying the artwork, and I kept seeing this word that I had never come across before: aquatint. I wrote it down so I would remember to look it up and share the information with you.

Aquatinting is a way to create prints. The artist first creates a design or image. Then he applies resin to a copper or zinc sheet. (Resin is that sticky stuff that gets on your hands when you touch certain types of trees, especially pine trees. It's made into many types of things including the stuff used by artists when creating aquatints.) Once the resin is applied, the artist dips the whole thing in acid. Dipping the plate in acid makes it so that it will print darker than white. After this first dip, the plate would print grey all over.

Next, the artist etches, or scratches, his picture onto the zinc or copper plate. These etched areas will print black. He also uses a special material that stops the acid from further darkening any parts that he wants to leave white (or at least light grey).

Finally, he dips the plate in the acid again, using the acid blocking material as areas reach the darkness he wants.

If you remember my post on John James Audubon, you remember a great example of aquatint printing. His book, Birds of America, used aquatint prints as illustrations. The water color was added after the aquatint printing which can only be done in black and white.

Francisco Goya was a master at aquatint. Pomona College Museum of Art in Cleremont, California as an excellent collection of Goya’s etchings. (I have never been to California. I am judging based on their website and other resources.) Go check out some of the images they have posted and read a little about the artist if you are interested. At some point I’ll post about him here.

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Current NaNoEdMo Hour Count: 9.5/50hours

Linnea in Monet's Garden

Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Cristina Bjork is a long (56 pages) picture book, meant for ages 9-12. Depending on the child, it is also an excellent read-aloud for younger children.

Bjork invites you to travel with Linnea and her elderly friend, Mr. Bloom, to Paris and Giverny where Monet lived and worked. Stroll through Monet’s garden with Linnea as she discovers the source of the great artist’s inspiration for his water lily paintings. View the river Seine in Paris as Monet saw it. And visit a museum with Linnea to more about Impressionism and Monet’s paintings.

Gorgeous water color illustrations of Linnea’s adventures compliment the text. The book also includes black and white photos of Monet and his garden, as well as pictures of his paintings.

The book was also made into an animated movie. I have not seen it but it looks good. If you’ve seen the movie, Linnea in Monet’s Garden, please post a comment and let me know what you thought!

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Current NaNoEdMo Hour Count: 7/50hours
You'll notice that I'm still a little behind...

Claude Monet

It’s terrible that I wrote nearly 150 posts before I said anything much about Claude Monet. If he wasn’t the first impressionist, he at least gave us the word for the movement, and that's a big deal. He also created some of the greatest examples of impressionism as he experimented with light and color and learned to portray subjects with quick brush strokes.

Monet was born in Paris in 1840 but his family moved to Normandy when he was 5. He knew from a young age that he wanted to be an artist rather than go into the family grocery business, and so he went to school to learn technique. When he was 16, Monet met Eugene Boudin who taught him to paint outdoors, “en plein air.” When he went to Paris, many painters cooped themselves up in the Louvre and copied the works of the masters, as you’ve read about already on this blog, but Monet chose to develop the methods taught to him Boudin. He worked outdoors, painting scenes as he saw them rather than the way they were seen by artists who came before him.

Monet served briefly in the armed service until he became ill and had to return home. He met several budding artists, including Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and they began experimenting with the new style that would become impressionism.

During the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), Monet lived in England and studied works by great landscape artists such as John Constable.
In 1873 he painted Impression, Sunrise (shown above), the painting for which the entire Impressionism movement was named. The term “Impressionism” was originally meant as an insult by an art critic but the painters liked it and used the name to describe their style of painting.
After his wife died in 1879 (shown above on her death bed), Monet began in earnest to produce. He continued in the Impressionist style and tried to create a portrait of France with his paintings. In 1883 when he moved to Giverny and, over the next 10 years, planted his grand garden. He loved to paint the garden and the lily ponds. He painted his many series during this time, which showed the same subject at different times during the day. You’ve seen some of these series already, including Water Lilies, Rouen Cathedral, and Etretat.

Toward the end of his life, Monet developed cataracts in his eyes which affected the way he saw colors. He continued to paint anyway, but you can tell which paintings were created when his eyes were bad.

In 1926, at the age of 86, Monet died and was buried in Giverny.

Monet's Japanese Bridge at Giverny.

I'd like also to note that you can now visit Monet's garden. I have never seen it but I hope to someday!

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Current NaNoEdMo Hour Count: 6.25/50hours

Yes, I'm a little behind. But I had to take a really long test.

That's my story.

Nike of Samothrace

Nike of Samothrace (or the Winged Victory of Samothrace) was sculpted sometime between 220 and 190BC by an unknown sculptor. The sculpture depicts the Greek goddess of Victory, Nike, as she lands on a naval ship after a victory at battle. Her dress clings to her body as she leans into the wind that she flew in on. The base that she stands on is the prow (back) of the ship and is an original part of the sculpture. It was found in pieces and put back together before it was shipped to the Louvre in Paris.

Like the Venus de Milo, which you read about yesterday, Nike of Samothrace was discovered on an island in the Aegean Sea. A French archaeologist found the sculpture on Samothrace (thus the name) in 1863. Her arms and head were (and still are) missing and the right wing is a reproduction based on the left wing.
Despite the condition of the sculpture, Nike of Samothrace stands grandly upon the ship on the landing of a prominent staircase in the Louvre. She continues to attract hordes of visitors and to stun even those who didn’t expect to see her.

Unfortunately that’s it for today. I’m taking a graduate school entrance exam early in the morning so I must get some sleep. Wish me luck!

EDITED TO ADD: I forgot to add the pictures last night! Luckily, blogs can be edited. Also, the test went extremely well. I am 99% sure I passed. (I only scores for two of three section and they're unofficial scores. I don't want to jinx myself!) I'll keep you updated.

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Current NaNoEdMo Hour Count: 5.25/50 hours

Venus de Milo

The beautiful marble statue, Venus de Milo, stands 6.7 feet (203 cm) tall in the Louvre in Paris. It was created in about 130BC by Alexandros of Antioch. The French ended up with the Greek sculpture and named it Venus, even though this is the Roman name of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and love. This sculpture has an interesting history which I will relay to you today.

She was found hidden away in a cavern on the island of Milos in the Aegean Sea in 1820. She was broken in pieces: upper body, lower body, top of left arm, left hand holding an apple, and inscribed base. The peasant who found her, Yorgos Kentrotas, knew that he should turn her in to the Turkish authorities but he found her beauty so great that he kept her for himself. He was probably also interested in how much money he could make if he sold her to the right buyer. Eventually, the officials learned of the discovery and took Venus de Milo from Kentrotas’ barn.

While visiting the island, a French naval officer d’Urville discovered the sculpture. He knew it was valuable and wanted to buy it for the French. The peasant was willing to sell it but d’Urville’s captain, uninterested in antiquities, said there was no room on the ship for her. When his ship reached Constantinople, d’Urville showed sketches of the sculpture to the French ambassador who immediately sent someone to buy the Venus de Milo for France.

The French arrived as the sculpture was being loaded onto a ship. It was to be delivered to the Sultan of Constantinople’s translator as a gift from the natives of the island. The French fought for the Venus de Milo and were victorious.
Once at the Louvre, the sculpture was put back together but the arms were not as well finished as the rest of the sculpture so they were left off. Experts later determined that the arms were original pieces of the Venus de Milo. The inscribed base told us who had created the sculpture, Alexandros of Antioch, but it dated the Venus de Milo much later than the French had originally thought. That piece of the base has mysteriously disappeared, though we haven’t forgotten the information it taught us.

French sculptors worked to create a new set of arms for the Venus de Milo but she was ultimately left armless. We do know that the right arm originally rested on the raised knee to hold up the drapery. The left arm crossed her body and held an apple. The sculpture was once painted in bright colors and decorated with jewelry but none of that remains.

Please note that I've added some links to the side bar: Art Knowledge News and Fine Art at Home.

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Current NaNoEdMo Hour Count: 4.25/50 hours