Geometrics in Art
The use of lines and shapes in art can be found in obvious and some not so obvious places. I will discuss my observations.
The square shape is most evident in picture frames. The oldest, made from wood, have been found in Egyptian tombs from 50-70 AD. Hand-carved wooden picture frames began in 12th and 13th centuries.
A fine example of trompe l'oeil (tricking the eye) is the Studiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio, Italy (1478-1482). It 'appears' to be cabinets filled with books and scientific items. [Be sure to look up at ceiling.] It can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer often painted women (perhaps his daughters) in a confined room with light streaming through a window on the left wall.
Many examples by Vermeer are: "The Milkmaid" (1658), "Woman with a Water Jug" (1662), "Woman Holding a Balance" (1663), "Officer and Laughing Girl" (1660), and "The Music Lesson" (1665).
Swedish abstract artist Hilma af Klint painted pure geometry in "The Swan (No. 17)" 1915 with her use of the square, circle, and line.
Dutch artist Piet Mondrian may be the artist best known for using lines. His painting "New York City I" (1942) is a grid, perhaps representing the streets of New York City.
Geometrics in photography (aside from it being framed) can be seen in Helen Levitt's Street Photography. From the 1930s her photos were in black and white, then she worked with color in the 1970s.
Levitt's photos contained doors and windows, sometimes framing children or adults. She had shows at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NY in 1943 and 1974.
American photographer Lynn Saville (b. 1950) famously photographs vacant streets and buildings in her "Dark City" and "Night Shift" series. Edward Hopper inspired!
Shadow boxes, or 3-D boxes, are seen as assemblage art. Pioneered by American artist Joseph Cornell, his "Habitat for a Shooting Gallery" (1943) is a glass fronted box containing multimedia.
Irish-American abstract painter Sean Scully's "Wall of Light" and “Landline" series exemplify his use of the horizontal, vertical, stripes of layered blocks of color. His "Wall of Light Desert Night" is from 1999.
Indian photographer Regnubir Singh said, "color is inseparable from India." His color photo "Subhash Chandra Bose Statue, Calcutta, West Bengal" (1986) shows a statue seen through an open window of a vehicle, and much, much more.
French fashion icon and businesswoman Gabrielle Coco Chanel (1883-1971) lived in the orphanage Aubazine as a child. The windows were framed in black, against white walls. This may have been the inspiration for her first perfume, No. 5.
Advertising and packaging are art. N’est pas?
The square shape is most evident in picture frames. The oldest, made from wood, have been found in Egyptian tombs from 50-70 AD. Hand-carved wooden picture frames began in 12th and 13th centuries.
A fine example of trompe l'oeil (tricking the eye) is the Studiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio, Italy (1478-1482). It 'appears' to be cabinets filled with books and scientific items. [Be sure to look up at ceiling.] It can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer often painted women (perhaps his daughters) in a confined room with light streaming through a window on the left wall.
Many examples by Vermeer are: "The Milkmaid" (1658), "Woman with a Water Jug" (1662), "Woman Holding a Balance" (1663), "Officer and Laughing Girl" (1660), and "The Music Lesson" (1665).
Swedish abstract artist Hilma af Klint painted pure geometry in "The Swan (No. 17)" 1915 with her use of the square, circle, and line.
Dutch artist Piet Mondrian may be the artist best known for using lines. His painting "New York City I" (1942) is a grid, perhaps representing the streets of New York City.
Geometrics in photography (aside from it being framed) can be seen in Helen Levitt's Street Photography. From the 1930s her photos were in black and white, then she worked with color in the 1970s.
Levitt's photos contained doors and windows, sometimes framing children or adults. She had shows at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NY in 1943 and 1974.
American photographer Lynn Saville (b. 1950) famously photographs vacant streets and buildings in her "Dark City" and "Night Shift" series. Edward Hopper inspired!
Shadow boxes, or 3-D boxes, are seen as assemblage art. Pioneered by American artist Joseph Cornell, his "Habitat for a Shooting Gallery" (1943) is a glass fronted box containing multimedia.
Irish-American abstract painter Sean Scully's "Wall of Light" and “Landline" series exemplify his use of the horizontal, vertical, stripes of layered blocks of color. His "Wall of Light Desert Night" is from 1999.
Indian photographer Regnubir Singh said, "color is inseparable from India." His color photo "Subhash Chandra Bose Statue, Calcutta, West Bengal" (1986) shows a statue seen through an open window of a vehicle, and much, much more.
French fashion icon and businesswoman Gabrielle Coco Chanel (1883-1971) lived in the orphanage Aubazine as a child. The windows were framed in black, against white walls. This may have been the inspiration for her first perfume, No. 5.
Advertising and packaging are art. N’est pas?
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