The Art of Understanding Art

A Behind the Scenes Story

Irina D. Costache

• Éditeur: Wiley-Blackwell
• Année: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781118132395
• Édition: 1
• Sujet: Art
• Sous-sujet: History of Art

The Art of Understanding Art reveals to students and other readers new and meaningful ways of developing personal ideas and opinions about art and how to express them with confidence.

• Offers an inquiry—unique among introductory art texts—into the learning process of understanding and appreciating art
• Examines the multiple issues and processes essential to making, analyzing and evaluating art
• Uses cross-cultural examples to help readers develop comprehensive, yet personal, ways of looking at and thinking about art
• Includes an annotated glossary of the 'Art World', institutions and individuals that play a role in defining art as well as diagrams, textboxes callouts and other visual elements to highlight information and enhance learning
• Richly illustrated with over 40 images
• Suggests innovative class assignments and projects useful for developing lesson plans, and offers an online companion site for additional illustrations and information

Part One

Making Art

Viewers come into contact with art decades, even centuries, after its creation, in cultural and geographical contexts substantially different from the original ones. How art is made is largely a mystery for the audience. The creators, the artists, are essential to this process. Multiple other individuals, entities, and procedures are also involved in the creation of art. Their roles are mostly concealed in the finished work, but they are, however, relevant to understanding art. The following chapters examine a series of important elements and factors that affect artists, their creativity, and the outcome of their art. The discussions include an analysis of the definition of an “artist” and the role of patronage, as well as the impact the environment, materials, and context have on the making of art.

1

Artists and Patrons

The painting Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor, 1656; Figure 1.1), by Diego Velázquez (1599–1660), is a comprehensive commentary about artists and their art-making skills, needs, and practices. The artist’s presence confirms his seminal role in the creative process. As a court painter, however, Velázquez had also to fulfill the requests of his patron, the king of Spain. The paintings on the walls, barely visible in reproductions, make references to other artists, including Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), a seventeenth-century Flemish painter who had met Velázquez while working for the king of Spain. The inclusion of the art is a subtle commentary on artists’ training, education and influences. The elaborate definition of space reveals Velázquez’s keen knowledge of perspective and the contemporary scientific concerns with light. Beyond the apparent subject, a royal portrait, the painting reveals many factors and individuals that affect the process of making art. These issues are discussed in this chapter.

1.1. Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor) (also known as The Family of Philip IV), ca.1656. Oil on canvas, 316 × 276 cm. Prado, Madrid.

Photo: Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library International.

Artists and Creators

The term “artist” designates individuals who can communicate through their works, often long after their death, with wide and diverse audiences. This extraordinary ability has enhanced the belief that artists have qualities that set them apart from average persons. Artists are generally perceived to be emotional, creative, and sensitive individuals. Gender, upbringing, education, and many other internal and external factors influence the development and views of artists.

The characteristics of an artist vary greatly across cultures and time. The modern meaning of this term did not exist in many traditions. In ancient Egypt and medieval Europe, for example, artists were skilled craftsmen who worked mostly anonymously and in groups. In contrast, in later centuries, European and Asian artists were acclaimed professionals who often interacted with high officials and royalty. The roles and positions of individuals who created art also fluctuated. In some cultures they fulfilled civic tasks, while in others they were perceived to have magical powers. Some artists were celebrated by their contemporaries and others were ignored.

Today the term artist is used to designate a broad range of creative individuals across the globe from both past and present. This generic usage erroneously suggests that the concept or word “artist” existed in the original contexts. Contradictory to the diversity it is applied to, the meaning of this term continues to be mostly based on Western views and values. Since the fifteenth century this tradition has been concerned with recognizing individual achievements. Inventions, ideas, and discoveries have been credited to the persons who originated them. This view is also at the core of the definition of an “artist.” Artists are perceived to establish a strong bond with their art to the point of merging into one “entity.” Art history has reinforced this oneness: A painting by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) is called “a Picasso.” This union between artists and their work has determined the essential qualities of an artist: originality, authorship, and authenticity.

Originality, Authorship, Authenticity

In the modern Western context, artists are thought to be individuals with identifiable, unique, and visible involvement in the art-making process. The close relationship between artists and their art is expected to produce tangible objects with a consistent style and, if possible, a signature. The key characteristics of an artist and work of art, derived from these expectations, are, as stated above, originality, authorship, and authenticity. Originality refers to the “one of a kind” ideas and style specific to one artist. Authorship confirms the individual creativity of the artist. Authenticity recognizes the work of art as the genuine creation by, preferably, a known artist. Their opposites are copy, forgery, and fake. These concepts have been, and continue to be, in many circumstances, the main criteria used to confirm artists’ merit. Their influential role is underscored by the answer to this question:

Who would you consider a better artist: Van Gogh or someone who paints copies of his famous The Starry Night (1889)?

The validation of an artist based on these elements is rooted in the Renaissance. This period, which started in fifteenth-century Italy, is known, among other things, for the revival of ideals from ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. In art history this entire era, spanning from approximately 500 BCE to the fourth century CE, is often called classical. Two classical ideals were particularly relevant to Renaissance art: individualism and mimesis (the notion that art should imitate, or “mimic,” reality). Before the Renaissance, during the several centuries of the medieval period (also called the Middle Ages), artists were craftsmen who belonged to guilds and worked, like other individuals involved in trades, anonymously as teammates. The raise of individualism in the Renaissance created the need, or perhaps desire, for personal and professional acclaim in many fields, including art. In fact, in his influential book On Painting (1436), the Italian architect and theorist Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) explicitly encouraged artists to seek “fame and fortune.” As artists’ names and identities merged with personalized styles, recognizable authorship and originality became measurements of their artistic worth.

The demand for an art that mirrors reality further advanced artists’ individualism and status in society. The fifteenth-century invention of mathematical per­spective made it possible to create spatial illusions on two-dimensional surfaces. Until the discovery of photography four centuries later, persuasive, lifelike paintings were unique visual documents. Despite the appearances of objectivity, perspective is a codification of perception. It is therefore an interpretation, not an impartial account. There are, however, no other visual sources to verify the accuracy of these convincing imitations of reality. How empowered artists must have felt! The bold inclusion of self-representation in religious or secular compositions throughout this period corroborates artists’ sense of importance.

The painting Las Meninas (1656; Figure 1.1), by the Baroque artist Diego Velázquez, is a case in point. This large canvas represents, in the center, the monarch’s daughter, the infanta (a title similar to “princess”) Margarita, and her entourage. To the left, and somewhat obscure at first, is the artist’s self-portrait. Velázquez’s assertive view of himself within the royal household, higher than everybody else in this picture, confirms his self-worth. Even the king and queen, his patrons, are just a faint reflection, barely visible in the mirror on the back wall. The artist is at ease and actively engaged in his profession. The palette and brush in his hand authenticate the originality of the work. The artist’s focused gaze underlines his meticulous scrutiny of reality.

This painting is based on and defined by Velázquez’s observations and interpretation. Its truthfulness, aside from historical facts, exists however, in this image alone. Did this scene happen exactly as depicted? There is no way of knowing. To emphasize his control over visual representation, the artist conceals the canvas on which he paints. His presence in this royal portrait affirms the importance of artists and their profession: they, and they alone, can create visual documents. In addition, many artists, Velázquez included, have advised their patrons on art collecting and even diplomatic matters. Both Velázquez and Rubens were knighted for their services.

Nothing could be further from the image of modern artists. Rather than interacting with high officials, they have been generally perceived unable, or unwilling, to obey the norms of society. The diminished role of patronage and invention of photography in the nineteenth century, along with many other factors discussed in this book, opened the doors for greater self-expression. Many artists of the period, including Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), searched for innovative ways to reflect their personal visions. These artists and their art are called avant-garde; a French military term referring to an elite force sent on ahead of the ordinary troops. It was first used to describe cultural developments in the nineteenth century. Since then, the term avant-garde has been widely employed to identify art and artists pushing the boundaries of the status quo. The idiosyncratic views of the avant-garde appeared outlandish to the public and even most experts, who dismiss them most of the time. Surprisingly, the defining criteria for the avant-garde continued to be originality, authorship, and authenticity. (See “Modernism” in Chapter 9 for a discussion of the avant-garde.)

Self Portrait as an Artist (1888; Color Plate 1), by Van Gogh, confirms this. The overt visual and historical differences between Velázquez and the modern artist overshadow the extraordinary connections between them. Van Gogh is in front of the easel. He is alone. Neither the obligation to fulfill a commission nor the need to imitate reality curtails his creativity. His personal artistic quests derived from his emotions, ideas, and views have transformed the realm he observes into a unique, personal vision. His surroundings are not a recognizable space, only a series of painterly and colorful marks. Van Gogh’s intensely piercing gaze confronts the audience. Like Velázquez, he is in the midst of creation, his palette and brushes in his hand, but he denies viewers’ access to the painting he is working on. The presence of the artist, recognizable brushstrokes and style confirm originality, authorship, and authenticity: This is a Van Gogh.

The term “artist” has not been an inclusive one. Prior to the modern period, women had limited opportunities to contribute to culture. Their public lives and interactions with influential figures were restricted by social norms. Even though there were several successful women artists in the seventeenth century, it would be hard to imagine any of them in Velázquez’s authoritative position.

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Women and Art

Women have had fewer possibilities than men to participate in the arts. Family obligations and lack of education have been two of the most significant barriers in their quest for successful careers in art and other fields. Some women, however, were able to overcome these difficult circumstances and became acclaimed artists. More women have been actively engaged in the arts in the later part of the nineteenth century. But the rebellious attitude of the avant-garde was perceived unsuitable for them. Even though the number of women artists grew, their participation and contribution continued to be limited until the last decades of the twentieth century.

While their creative voices have been excluded or marginalized, women have been widely represented in art. The female body, often unclothed, has been used to symbolize important values and concepts such as liberty, freedom, justice, and peace. Gender differe...

Table des matières

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Why Should Art Matter to You? A Message to Art Beginners
• Introduction: What Is Art?
• Navigating the Book: A User’s Guide
• Why Is Art Made? The Purposes of Art: A Brief Overview from A to Z
• The Anatomy of a Work of Art
• Part One: Making Art
• Part Two: Disseminating Art
• Part Three: Analyzing Art
• Part Four: Interpreting Art
• Conclusion
• Appendix 1 The Art World
• Appendix 2 Creative Assignments and Writing Projects
• Appendix 3 Glossary
• Appendix 4
• List of Figures and Color Plates
• Bibliography
• Index
• Color Plates